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CHAT Is Now A Private Area For Members (& Members' Eyes) Only

I was thinking about a possible good plan for dealing with some things - all members should have a wire in them linked directly to the posts they make and if someone doesn't like what you have posted they press a button and you get a shock.
However upon thinking that through I realised that I would most likely be receiving a whole load of shocks, and there will undoubtedly be some that over-use their button.
 
Trevp666 said:
I was thinking about a possible good plan for dealing with some things - all members should have a wire in them linked directly to the posts they make and if someone doesn't like what you have posted they press a button and you get a shock.
However upon thinking that through I realised that I would most likely be receiving a whole load of shocks, and there will undoubtedly be some that over-use their button.
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Cochise said:
And some who will enjoy using it. :twisted:

Hey, S&M is just one part of normal now :)
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Cochise said:
And i guess this is the sort of thread drift that has gotten us in to trouble. Bad boy, Cochise. Bad boy.
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Not at all, Cochise. You've just helped demonstrate why this place doesn't maintain rigid adherence to a dictionary definition of "Fortean". You brought up thoughts of the Milgram experiment, something most of us are aware of and may find interesting. Not Fortean in a strict sense, but definitely a welcome subject here.
 
I was about to say - angry face? there's an angry face? "Like " in this environment seems to mean "agree with saves me a post". While we're suggesting things to the mods to change, perhaps just change the word "like" to "agree with" or even"thanks for the post". On FB it matters if someone likes you (a pretty childish non-nuanced word for a childish non-nuanced reaction.) Here it doesn't. I might "like" your post because it is well-argued but not "like" it at all because I think everyone posting on the thread is operating one sandwich short.
 
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And when I first joined I appreciated the banned log because it was completely transparent without getting into personal issues. I have inferred that there is a long history of pitched battles and wild accusations against hard-working mods in messaging. I think between keeping it all secret and telling the members what has been done I choose the latter.
 
Lb8535 said:
And when I first joined I appreciated the banned log because it was completely transparent without getting into personal issues. I have inferred that there is a long history of pitched battles and wild accusations against hard-working mods in messaging. I think between keeping it all secret and telling the members what has been done I choose the latter.
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I would agree with that and it prevents accusations against mods that nothing has been done against a certain poster when it has.
 
Min Bannister said:
For yourself and any poster who do not like likes and want to remove the notifications, you can do so like this:-
Click on your name at the top of the page
Click on Preferences
Uncheck the "alert" box for "reacts to your profile post" ...
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NOTE: The steps listed above would disable alerts for profile posts alone.

The separate item "Reacts to your message" (located higher on the Preferences listing) is the one that controls whether you receive alerts / notifications about likes on your regular posts.
 
PeteByrdie said:
I hated the system of reactions to begin with. I remember when you couldn't even 'like' a post on an Internet forum, let alone laugh, frown or whatever. I've come to appreciate the ability to react to posts without having to create another post. These little elements of social media are useful.
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Agreed. I still think a "thank you" reaction might be helpful, but given the other changes being contemplated, it's far from being a priority.
 
PeteS said:
Following on from Chat being made private, I wonder whether mods would consider making the warning and ban posts private to the "offender", perhaps with a generic "post deleted" insertion. We are all adults here and I can't see it serves any useful purpose to publicly out a forum member. Persistent offenders take no notice anyway. Pretty please.
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For the record ...

All the staff members have now weighed in on this suggestion, and the unanimous consensus can be summarized as "No."

The public posting of formal warnings and bans is just about the only way the staff can illustrate where the limits of acceptability lie, besides our posting advice and guidance that some subset of our clientele inevitably and repeatedly ignore.
 
EnolaGaia said:
For the record ...

All the staff members have now weighed in on this suggestion, and the unanimous consensus can be summarized as "No."

The public posting of formal warnings and bans is just about the only way the staff can illustrate where the limits of acceptability lie, besides our posting advice and guidance that some subset of our clientele inevitably and repeatedly ignore.
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Can you just put the new rules simply in a new sticky where everyone can see it instead of randomly posting mod wishlists of best practice and rambling, verbose hints of what may be happening please you fucking big teases you?

Also stickily explain why casual onlookers can’t see Chat, that it exists and new members can get access when they join up. We can deal with their disappointment and lamentations later.
 
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EnolaGaia said:
For the record ...

All the staff members have now weighed in on this suggestion, and the unanimous consensus can be summarized as "No."

The public posting of formal warnings and bans is just about the only way the staff can illustrate where the limits of acceptability lie, besides our posting advice and guidance that some subset of our clientele inevitably and repeatedly ignore.
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"Subset of our clientele'?

That sound so posh. Sorry to sound rude, I don't know what that means. I honestly haven't a clue. Could you please explain. Thanks. I'm so out of touch.

In general, I agree with your decision though. Not that that matters. Just the subset stuff? What does that mean?
 
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"Subset of our clientele"= the relatively small number of members who flout or ignore our explanations of the rules.
 
Analogue Boy said:
Can you just put the new rules simply in a new sticky where everyone can see it instead of randomly posting mod wishlists of best practice and rambling, verbose hints of what may be happening please you fucking big teases you?

Also stickily explain why casual onlookers can’t see Chat, that it exists and new members can get access when they join up. We can deal with their disappointment and lamentations later.
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I've tried to convince myself that this is written in a cheerily irreverent tone, but it's too much of a stretch.

You're considered an old friend by many of us, but no matter how bad a day you're having or how long you've been a member, you don't own a licence to be rude to people who are, essentially, doing work to facilitate a hobby of yours for free.

You don't have to bow before us or anything close, but the options are essentially to be civil or be ignored.

I don't enjoy writing this.
 
EnolaGaia said:
For the record ...

All the staff members have now weighed in on this suggestion, and the unanimous consensus can be summarized as "No."

The public posting of formal warnings and bans is just about the only way the staff can illustrate where the limits of acceptability lie, besides our posting advice and guidance that some subset of our clientele inevitably and repeatedly ignore.
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OK I bow to the mods very moderate moderation.
 
EnolaGaia said:
NOTE: The steps listed above would disable alerts for profile posts alone.

The separate item "Reacts to your message" (located higher on the Preferences listing) is the one that controls whether you receive alerts / notifications about likes on your regular posts.
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Oops. I have gone back and edited. :oops:
 
So we have buttons for like, love (I assume), laugh (a lot, with tears), wow, and sad.
I do find it difficult sometimes to react to a post with one of the 5 available reactions when (eg) it is a comment or post that I agree with the sentiment but it might be something unsettling/disappointing (when 'like' doesn't seem to cut it).
Sometimes none of the 5 fits the bill, so I find myself compiling a short response post along the lines of "I agree with what you said there..." but ultimately not bothering to post it as I feel my explanation of my agreement is of no interest to anyone but me! (that is, unless I have new information to add).
Which is something which happened only a few posts ago, 'upthread', so I slept on it to compile this post.
Essentially what I'm saying is......the 5 options are great, thanks, but IMO we do need a 6th button which basically lets you agree with what someone has posted without having to 'like' it, or be 'sad' about it, etc.
 
Trevp666 said:
Essentially what I'm saying is......the 5 options are great, thanks, but IMO we do need a 6th button which basically lets you agree with what someone has posted without having to 'like' it, or be 'sad' about it, etc.
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There is always the option to just not click on anything.:) But I think most people would understand that the "Like" button is just a sort of default that shows you have read and acknowledged the post. And if they don't, well you can't really do anything about that.

I am glad this forum doesn't have the one that you have on some platforms, where there is an emoji that has just ripped the still-beating heart out of another emoji. :chuckle: I never click that one, yuck! I just think of Indiana Jones when I see it.
 
@stu neville I have a question about the 'cull' of threads that haven't had any postings for a long time (or whatever criteria will apply).

I know we like to mention to new members that we welcome people reactivating old threads if they go and look at the old stuff and spot something that they want to add to, etc.
How will this recommendation be able to be followed through in future if old threads with little interaction are removed?
I realise that you're being careful to not remove things that should stay (if you know what I mean) but inevitably there will be threads that occupy a hinterland between 'old and useless' and 'possibly fertile land', which could prove to be valuable hunting grounds for someone new with a keen eye and a steady hand.
 
Trevp666 said:
@stu neville I have a question about the 'cull' of threads that haven't had any postings for a long time (or whatever criteria will apply).

I know we like to mention to new members that we welcome people reactivating old threads if they go and look at the old stuff and spot something that they want to add to, etc.
How will this recommendation be able to be followed through in future if old threads with little interaction are removed?
I realise that you're being careful to not remove things that should stay (if you know what I mean) but inevitably there will be threads that occupy a hinterland between 'old and useless' and 'possibly fertile land', which could prove to be valuable hunting grounds for someone new with a keen eye and a steady hand.
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Stu is only proposing to cull inactive threads from CHAT and MAINSTREAM NEWS.

None of these 'culled' threads is being deleted--we are extremely cautious about permanently deleting anything--they are being removed from the visible portion of the board to a storage section that can be viewed and searched by moderators if required.

We are usually referring to old Fortean threads when we speak of reactivating old discussions, but, if need be, we'll continue to do what we have been doing for a good few years now: when a new CHAT topic seems to be gaining traction and the discussion has come up before and was positive, we can exhume the old thread and append the new one to it.
 
I was thinking Colin Clive and Dwight Frye in Frankenstein, but sure.
 
Trevp666 said:
I was thinking about a possible good plan for dealing with some things - all members should have a wire in them linked directly to the posts they make and if someone doesn't like what you have posted they press a button and you get a shock.
However upon thinking that through I realised that I would most likely be receiving a whole load of shocks, and there will undoubtedly be some that over-use their button.
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Reminds me of the Milgram Experiment.

Edit: I see ChasFink beat me to it.
 
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