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They probably could which is why you have senior members, moderators and administrators.Quote:
and red dots could easily be thrown out on someone simply because the other person didn't like what they said, etc.
Senior members act as a balance for that sort of thing............. otherwise you will get a eunuch "nanny state" site, with mods and admins making all the decisions.
;)
I teach for VMware. So if you take an Install and Config class or other class you might find me. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by dinowuff
I don't even know what happened to it. Might be archived somewhere, might not. I have no idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by dinowuff
I think the point system has always been a bad thing. I suppose
it was started out of laziness, and because the site wasn't moderated
strictly enough. The point system would automatically ban trolls
and flamers, and elevate the wise and deserving. The forum wouldn't
need an active moderator to exercise judgment.
I go to other forums, and they will close a thread that broaches
a forbidden topic. If a person asks a repetitive question thats
been answered before, a moderator refers the person to an old
thread and closes the current one.
Whatever, the point thing has caused more problems than it
was supposed to solve.
:cool:
Nihil: Hmmmm, I think that all systems are open to abuse. I agree that the system has positive points, in particular it:
1. Identifies people who might be likely to make a positive contribution to the community. Of course, that doesn't mean that they know what they are talking about technically.
Isn't that sort of like giving the smiling guy that walks into the bar with an axe the benefit of the doubt?
Nihil: 2. Provides some sort of incentive to contribute, as there is some sort of progression path.
AntiOnline, the RPG.
Nihil: 3. Allows the membership to deal with those who are annoying, trolling, flaming, or whatever. At least that makes it a collective decision rather than the sole prerogative of the administration/moderation team.
While I agree that the sole decision lies with the Admins/Mods, the caveat is that sometimes users hold grudges against other users, and the complaints (valid or not) could overwhelm the whole idea.
Nihil: Whilst I use them from time to time (generally to encourage newcomers) I think that the usage has dropped off dramatically since they have taken a backstage.
As for site statistics, I would have thought they were possible provided they were held in a separate DB, nowhere near the "proper" vBulletin one.
The details used to be on a separate page that was populated periodically, so I don't see why that couldn't be reinstated.
I would not, never, noway have them on the front page, we just don't have the room with an unadulterated version of vB?
Shop talk. I have no footing on this one.
Anyways, I was an active member of AO when the 'AntiPoints' were first established, as were MsMittens, Negative, PhishPhreak and countless others that are still active today. It was a huge deal back then...now, meh, not so much. I will still throw a green to someone that has given me an insight to a problem that I didn't have before or for an outright solution to a problem that I wasn't properly equipped to handle. The reds go to abusers of the forum (trolls, spammers, abusers, and other assorted fools) that have no business interacting with sane, competent, involved users. In place of a 'greenie', a simple "thank you, O" would be worth so much more to me. In place of a 'red', a simple "Listen, jackass, you are wrong, and this is why: " would serve me much better as well.
That being said, I can only assume that the "points" system only serves to point the admins/mods to suspect threads/users/posts that may be grounds for deletion/bans.
Given all of that, I wouldn't feel bad if the AP's were done away with and a simple "Report abuse" clicker was implemented. I remember who has helped me and who I enjoy interacting with...I don't need a little bar of green dots to justify my (or my fellow AOers) existence here. We know who we are, and embrace new ideas and members as quickly as we will chastise people who are abusing us and the AO community and its resources. I, personally, don't pride myself on my little green dots next to my made-up avatar on a message board filled with other avatars for people who I've never met (but would like to).
I've gone on long enough, but you guys get my point.
MsMittens, the next Newsletter should be a special edition titled "How long can Ouroboros go on a rant?" "Will there be no end?!?"
Laters,
O (Kyle)
LOL. There will likely be no newsletter since I haven't received a single article. Sigh. Same issue. People want it but won't contribute to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouroboros
Blah!Quote:
Sigh. Same issue. People want it but won't contribute to it.
I want it but the experts must contribute :)
Come on people, im sure someone has some valuable input.
ouroboros, there is a report abuse icon. It's the little triangle, red border, ! In the center.
I didn't answer the poll as I don't like any of the choices (yeah, i am one of the idiots that complain at the Slashdot polls not having my choice). The scoring could help in some cases. If you have some degree of intelligence you can usually figure out who is giving a good answer and who is full of hot air. The scoring could help in some cases. Look at it as another tool. Like any tool you are free to use it or not use it. It isn't perfect nor could it be. You could easily have some guy drop in that knows more about a particular subject than anyone on here and give an answer to a problem. His lack of reputation doesn't invalidate his answer, and only an idiot would ignore it for that reason. But if no one knows him should you consider accepting his answer a bit more before you get out the soldering iron and go to work, probably.
That's what reputations are supposed to do in theory, but in practice they fall pretty far short of that goal.