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Online Conduct and Impact

Discussion in 'Podiatry Arena Help, Suggestions and Comments' started by Mark Russell, Feb 25, 2013.


  1. Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    Craig and Colleagues

    As with, I suspect, many others, I have been increasingly irritated by the number of derogatory and personally insulting posts by contributors who appear to have no other goal in participating on the forum other than to cause mischief and unpleasantness. Kevin recently issued a plea to end anonymous registration and whilst I fully accept the right to free speech, that has to come with some responsibilities too. The posts in question do nothing to add to the record on Pod Arena rather they devalue this website considerably. Many colleagues have mentioned the value of contributing here in terms of business generation. The public - and prospective patients do read these pages and in that respect the Internet is very much like a shop window. Only sometimes, what is on display, does no-one any favours. I don't know how practical it would be to change registration requirements, Craig, but I would also like to hear other opinions on what is the best approach to inhibit misaligned and malicious posters from further reducing the valuable record Pod Arena has made so far in the short time it's been available. It's worth remembering that when something you do in your leisure time ceases to become fun, then you very quickly stop doing it.

    Sincerely,

    MR
     
  2. W J Liggins

    W J Liggins Well-Known Member

    I agree that the anonymous trolls are irritating to a degree. This is a professional site and the vast majority of the posts are useful and informative. I really feel that the time has come - and I despise overbearing authority - to anticipate what may come about in any case and to disallow anonymous posting here. I state this in the knowledge that not all anonymous posters are trolls or otherwise controversial, but leaving aside exceptional circumstances, I cannot envisage a circumstance in which it would damage any colleague to use their professional names.

    Bill Liggins
     
  3. Lovefeet

    Lovefeet Banned

  4. It's a tricky one. There are the anonymous posters who, as above, hop into any discussion in order to air their tiresome grievances and ruin things by taking them off topic, and a change to the registration rules might help there. But there are also those here for profit, promotion of their product etc who can be equally tiresome.

    And then of course the barefoot brigade!

    A feature I have seen in some forums is a "this is spam" button. If a post is off topic, diversionary, abusive or otherwise unhelpful, any member can flag it as spam and its content becomes hidden, unless clicked on. By the same token a spammed post can be voted "not spam" and a vote added to reinclude it into the thread.

    That way, freedom of expression is preserved and censorship avoided, but the content of the forum can still be moderated, by the people and for the people.
     
  5. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Gets my vote.
     
  6. rosherville

    rosherville Active Member

    If Admin can't monitor posts or will not prohibit anonymous posts, simply ignore and do not respond to the inappropriate posts.
     
  7. blinda

    blinda MVP

    I DO ignore the posts of those on my `ignore` list. However, as I said previously; I can still see their drivel when they are quoted by those who choose to respond. Which irritates. I like Roberts` idea of some form of moderation by posters.
     
  8. Not for me thanks, I prefer a totalitarian government here. That's what I signed up for and that's what I got. Why should I presume to now have the skill to take over that governments role, or to question it's ability, when they have carried out that role almost flawlessly to date?

    Anyway, it's just another ride...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGTWRYMmnuY
     
  9. Duplicate post. Have this instead as an edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tulIlSb64Lc Is it spam? Depends on how deep you think about the lyrics, whether you like the banjo and whether you like me...etc., etc.

    Anyway, here's the lyrics- go figure yourself.

    "I got a pig at home in a pen
    And I got corn to feed him
    I got a dog at home in the yard
    And I got a stick to tease him
    But we're trying to build a monument
    To show that we were here
    It won't be visible through the air
    And there won't be any shade
    To cool the monument
    To prove that we were here
    I got a banjo and a wife
    And I got the songs to please her
    I got a little old house of trees
    And I got the moon and stars to see" Gene Parsons- Monument

    By the way, I really don't care whether you like my posts or not- this isn't facebook.
     
  10. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Not suggesting that posters take over the role of moderating. Admin do a good job, already. Ok, maybe a spam button is not required. I`m sure many of my posts could be considered spam, if you don`t like my flavour of humour or my taste in music. Or, understand the relevance. I`ll just continue to ignore the idiots.

    It's always funny until someone gets hurt....Then it's just hilarious.
     
  11. IntentionallyAnonymous

    IntentionallyAnonymous Welcome New Poster

    While community moderation can be effective when the community is rational and dispassionate, like any democracy there is the danger of mob rule. Even when the mob is objectively correct about a subject - this often leads to the "echo chamber" effect - where the only viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives that survive the moderation system are those that agree with the hivemind.

    One of the greatest purposes (as I have interpreted it) of the Podiatry Arena is to act as a crucible, proving ground, or even a kind of "gladiatorial arena" for ideas. However, with community moderation the discourse can be controlled (or at least appear to be controlled) by the majority opinion. For the years I've been coming here the admins have, for the most part, been very level-headed and fair in how they treated troll/flamebait threads.

    I'm no fan of totalitarian authority, but in this community we have the benefit of a (mostly) benevolent dictator - and that's far more appealing than letting the masses of sock-puppet accounts control the dialogue.

    Also, I support anonymity for reasons mentioned in the Kirby thread on the same subject a couple weeks ago.
     
  12. seth13

    seth13 Welcome New Poster

    One of your "trolls" is in the class of 2016 Des Moines, he populated other forums as well, so far no name, just know he is in that class
     
  13. W J Liggins

    W J Liggins Well-Known Member


    I love 'flamebait', I hadn't heard that one before!

    My point is that a) no-one here should be worried about posting under their own name and b) overweening authority or not, pages such as these may be forced to disallow anonymous posting in the near future. That being the case, leading the way is not a bad thing.

    All the best

    Bill
     
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