Lock the "Tell an INTPc member just what you think of him/her. Sort of." thread?

[C.J.Woolf]

Here's a new poll to decide the fate of the "Tell an INTPc member just what you think of him/her. Sort of." (http://forums.intpcentral.com/showthread.php?p=1274037) thread. In light of recent history, do you want it to remain open or to be locked?

[Anonymous]

I'm still not decided. But I'm leaning on the side of "no". I just don't like the idea of locking threads in general, I think the problems are with the members instead. Lock them, not the threads. :p

[ApeTheDog]

Yes. We already have enough personal threads on this forum as it is, and the novely value of the thread has gone.

[Madrigal]

Yeah, it's just being used by whiny cowards who complain about someone they can't confront to their face, and I think everytime a negative post is made there, a lot of people feel defensive and paranoid. Then they take those feelings around the forum.

[avolkiteshvara]

I've always hated the concept.

[Hermione]

Dear yammering intpc members. Don't lock the whiny thread.

We like our whiny thread. We don't like all the intpc whingers that keep landing here, plop, just to whine about one little dippy thread. Find something new to complain about. I've already got the economy covered .. and a bunch of other shit. Sometimes this thread is fun. If all the wet blankets go home, it might become fun again at some point.

[kali]

I'm indifferent to the whole thing but debating over whether to lock it has become somewhat insipid. Lock it and the debates will die with it, so yes to the poll.

[Miserable]

Yeah, it's just being used by whiny cowards who complain about someone they can't confront to their face, and I think everytime a negative post is made there, a lot of people feel defensive and paranoid. Then they take those feelings around the forum.

But when we "confront" the person to their "face", we get in "trouble". :unsure:


I haven't given much attention to that thread. But I'm voting to lock it!

It's too cryptic to make any sense, which is useless, doesn't that take up bandwidth, traffic or something, and all of the moderators time and work?

Maybe if they all used the users name instead of "dear, member" people could argue, and talk about that. But I guess, no.

So I vote to lock it.

[manza]

I don't see any real reason to, but I can't say I'd mourn its absence.

[C.J.Woolf]

If the thread is locked, would it result in a net reduction in whining and backbiting, or would it just migrate to other threads? I'd love to know the answer. I guess the only way to find out is to lock it and see what happens, or doesn't happen.

[Scarecrow]

I protest against the closure because I have enjoyed comments in mentioned thread which have made me feel thoroughly great, cheered me up and otherwise made my day.

...why not compromise and make it a "Tell an INTPc member just what you value about him/her"?

[C.J.Woolf]

I protest against the closure because I have enjoyed comments from mentioned thread which have made me feel thoroughly great, cheered me up and otherwise made my day.
OK, then is the answer is to restrict the thread to praise and flirting, and not allow negative comments? It would be more work to moderate, but might be less trouble overall.

[manza]

If the thread is locked, would it result in a net reduction in whining and backbiting, or would it just migrate to other threads? I'd love to know the answer. I guess the only way to find out is to lock it and see what happens, or doesn't happen.

I've consulted some literature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra) on the matter, and I don't think it's going to be an easy fight.


OK, then is the answer is to restrict the thread to praise and flirting, and not allow negative comments? It would be more work to moderate, but might be less trouble overall.

Sounds like a recipe for backhanded compliments.

[Scarecrow]

OK, then is the answer is to restrict the thread to praise and flirting, and not allow negative comments? It would be more work to moderate, but might be less trouble overall.

Praise sounds good. Flirting we have enough other threads for.

[MacGuffin]

I protest against the closure because I have enjoyed comments in mentioned thread which have made me feel thoroughly great, cheered me up and otherwise made my day.

...why not compromise and make it a "Tell an INTPc member just what you value about him/her"?

I like this.

I propose two threads:

one for positive comments where the poster can be direct or indirect;

one for negative comments where the poster has to explicitly name the other person. Forum rules still apply. Warnings and infractions handed out freely.

[A Schnitzel]

Praise sounds good. Flirting we have enough other threads for.

I'm sorry, but if I can't flirt on an INTPc thread life just isn't worth living.

[teleforce]

Praise sounds good. Flirting we have enough other threads for.
but flirting is praise.

[stopharian]

There is already a flirting thread (http://forums.intpcentral.com/showthread.php?t=15519). Park started it years ago.

[ApeTheDog]

Hasn't this thread been surpassed by the whole rep comment system? You can already tell another person exactly what you think, anonymously.

Probably also why the thread ran out of steam, if it did... (I never actively read it)

[spamtar]

Best thread ever!

It is a good thread mostly but people fuck it up by naming the members instead of keeping it anonymous.

There best part of the thread is when an anonymous complement/put down, is misinterpreted to apply to the wrong reader. Its like an old Threes Company episode. All we need is a Mr. Roper/Ferrley...and a laugh track.

[ApeTheDog]

But like with an old sitcom once all the angles and situations have been exploited all you're left with are people jumping over sharks. The last pages of the thread have looked a little like that.

The comments on the last pages which I have read represent the three main jokes in that thread (and nothing much else, if I'm not mistaken).

Comments which are written specifically to make people go "is it me?", a few people going "is it me?", and then a few people going "dear anonymous member *insert identifier that makes anonymous member no longer anonymous*" + post in response to something said earlier in the thread.

[spamtar]

But like with an old sitcom once all the angles and situations have been exploited all you're left with are people jumping over sharks. The last pages of the thread have looked a little like that.

The comments on the last pages which I have read represent the three main jokes in that thread (and nothing much else, if I'm not mistaken).

Comments which are written specifically to make people go "is it me?", a few people going "is it me?", and then a few people going "dear anonymous member *insert identifier that makes anonymous member no longer anonymous*" + post in response to something said earlier in the thread.

I understand what you are saying. Its not the show's fault it jumped the shark but bad lazy writers coming up and repeating a formula.

Too bad.

I guess we will all have to get in each others faces now. Maybe thats a good thing but will keep mods busy.

Perhaps just a temporary locking?

[Madrigal]

Sounds like a recipe for backhanded compliments.
That made me laugh, you're so right.


I like this.

I propose two threads:

one for positive comments where the poster can be direct or indirect;

one for negative comments where the poster has to explicitly name the other person. Forum rules still apply. Warnings and infractions handed out freely.

That's not so bad, but I don't like the idea of the postive comments one. It'll probably just become a monster attention whoring thread like the anonymous rep one did in the past.

I actually don't think that these personal comment threads should exist at all. You can always flame someone in a thread, catching them red-handed for whatever. And praising someone can be done on their wall or via reps, or, in an extreme case, starting a thread about them.

[Rhu]

Doing something different and finding a novel way of presenting it is far better than clinging to a tradition that inspires the same passive-aggressive sniping that got old years ago.

...

Happy holidays, everyone.

[Madrigal]

Doing something different and finding a novel way of presenting it

That's a lot to ask.

We've had tons of ways of talking to members individually. Theme song threads, picture threads of many types, suggesting avatar threads, describe the poster above you threads, short story threads, you're at a party with INTPc members threads, shortest books ever written thread, personals threads, the list goes on... How many times can you invent something new.

[Alfredo]

Just like the forum has cycles, why not give the thread a cycle as well? You know, lock it for a few (several?) months and then reopen it at a time when the forum isn't going though one of it's purge/ nf invasion/ troll invasion "seasons".

And if it gets forgotten, well then- it's life cycle ended naturally.

[Rhu]

That's a lot to ask.

We've had tons of ways of talking to members individually. Theme song threads, picture threads of many types, suggesting avatar threads, describe the poster above you threads, short story threads, you're at a party with INTPc members threads, shortest books ever written thread, personals threads, the list goes on... How many times can you invent something new.
MY DEAR MADRIGAL, IS THERE NO END TO YOUR RHETORIC?!
Even if the list of formats has been completely explored (it hasn't), there are thousands of variations on theme that might not suck.

[Rincon]

I'm voting "protest", here's why:

I personally enjoy this thread, both reading and participating. If you want to call me an easily entertained simpleton because of that, fine. I also find it disappointing that people who don't like it can't simply ignore it. And frankly, it's amazing and sad that a post like,


Dear member,

You are a douchebag and a fucktard and I hope you die.

can cause so much drama and butthurt. Are we really collectively that insecure and immature?

But, I am still not voting "no" because there seem to be a lot of members, including mods and senior members, who feel that overall the thread is a source of an unacceptable amount of forum drama. I can see that it does cause some amount of drama and if the majority feels that we cannot collectively ignore or deal with it, then I would support locking it.

[Madrigal]

MY DEAR MADRIGAL, IS THERE NO END TO YOUR RHETORIC?!
Why did I take a moment to seriously ask myself that question? :ph34r:

Even if the list of formats has been completely explored (it hasn't), there are thousands of variations on theme that might not suck.
I guess... maybe I should start one. Just kiddin!

[Jonah Davids]

Lock that sucker down. Seriously, why incourage the kind of cowardly, petty anger and passive-aggressive pissiness that never does a forum good anyway? And I hate the idea that someone might be telling me off, but because they're unwilling to actually communicate it doesn't matter at all and they're just pointlessly spewing venom into the atmosphere.

[Scarecrow]

but flirting is praise.
Praise is esteem. Flirting is adulation. Esteem is superior to adulation.


passive-aggressive

Officially my Most-Hated Word 2009.

[Jonah Davids]

Officially my Most-Hated Word 2009.

Why? It's a rather apt way to describe that pussyfooting, goalpost-changing, giggling, smug, cowardly way of vomiting up words without owning up to them, of deceitfully lashing out while playing at blinking, wide-eyed innocence, tossing barbs without brains and barking without bite. Fuck that noise. It's especially obnoxious and prevalent these days, which is why you've probably heard the term used a lot more.

[teleforce]

Praise is esteem. Flirting is adulation. Esteem is superior to adulation.
o rly? adulation is praise, according to the dick shunnary.

but this isn't important

[aphemix]

@ OP: don't lock it, just scare everyone by talking about locking it.

[ciphersort]

It's especially obnoxious and prevalent these days, which is why you've probably heard the term used a lot more.

Or it's just another abused buzzword.



Officially my Most-Hated Word 2009.

+1

[bass_n_treble]

Just like the forum has cycles, why not give the thread a cycle as well? You know, lock it for a few (several?) months and then reopen it at a time when the forum isn't going though one of it's purge/ nf invasion/ troll invasion "seasons".

And if it gets forgotten, well then- it's life cycle ended naturally.

They already did that last summer. It was closed for a month.

And this forum doesn't have seasons of that--it seems to be permanent. In fact, I think this forum's prominent members secretly love having people to bitch about. It makes the experience seem complete.

[C.J.Woolf]

@ OP: don't lock it, just scare everyone by talking about locking it.
I like the way you think. Evil. :devil:

[foodeater]

This is my report on why I voted protest in the poll in this thread. I voted protest because I do not read the thread being talked about and do not care whether it is locked, not locked, thrown into a volcano or given a full spa treatment on a beach in the Bahamas. This concludes my report on why I voted protest in the poll in this thread. Thank you.

[Jonah Davids]

Or it's just another abused buzzword.



Well, it's technically two words. Anyway, I'm not about to treat it like it's a taboo phrase just to avoid sounding like I'm using the same language as other people. In this case it's completely apt and that is that.

[Madrigal]

I voted protest because I do not read the thread being talked about and do not care whether it is locked, not locked, thrown into a volcano or given a full spa treatment on a beach in the Bahamas.

In that case, you just don't vote. Or post. Or maybe you did it for the casino cash.

[Scarecrow]

Well, it's technically two words.

It's a collocation connected by a hyphen. In that it is one word.

[Resonance]

I'm not sure whether I should comment on the number of troll posts that I perceive in that thread; that would be like giving away the answer to a puzzle once the majority of hopefuls have got it but a few promising ones are still struggling. And since I'm usually on the struggling side...

[wasted wallaby]

I really like that thread. It's fun/ny seeing how much everyone here really loves and hates each other.

[Oso Mocoso]

I voted No because I think anyone who wants the thread locked is probably a limp-wristed butthurt whiner. However, I don't really care on a personal level whether the thread lives or dies.

[HoneyCyclical]

I voted Protest because it doesn't much matter to me either way.

[notjeffgoldblum]

I want to say yes because the thread is boring.

I want to say no because the previous reason is not good enough.

I'd like to see MacG's idea (http://forums.intpcentral.com/showpost.php?p=1274289&postcount=15) come to fruition in addition to leaving the thread open.

[Google Monster]

yes no. Free the people, people be nice! People who cry, the people must die!

[C.J.Woolf]

I like this.

I propose two threads:

one for positive comments where the poster can be direct or indirect;

one for negative comments where the poster has to explicitly name the other person. Forum rules still apply. Warnings and infractions handed out freely.
For what it's worth, we already have a custom/rule to call out a member by name by starting a new thread in Purgatory. The negative comments thread sounds redundant. That doesn't mean I'm against it, but I'd like see your thoughts on it.

[Jonah Davids]

It's a collocation connected by a hyphen. In that it is one word.

Conceded.

[V Profane]

I say lock it. It's ostensibly in good fun, and for the lulz, but really it's just pandering to our worst avoidant tenancies. If you want to call someone out, do it in a rant thread (or rave, I suppose), and expect to have to give reasons/evidence.

[Hermione]

Now see, I am thinking I totally missed the point of the entire thing.

I always thought it was a way for us to laugh at how judgmental and critical we are once we are not busy being introverted thinkers and are given an outlet for all that arrgh that goes on in our heads. We often pin our own projections onto others in our paths, as does everyone else, and so it's interesting sometimes to watch and see what comes of those both in ourselves and in other members.

No? Shit, wrong again. Well, it was fun sometimes while it lasted. All I'm sayin'.

:rolleyes:


It really didn't ever occur to me that it is an outlet for aggression or passive / aggressive stuff, but yeah. Prolly I'd rather not look at that part of it.