Quoting Rico:

Quote:
Hi Guys,

Or should I say Hi Guys & Gal's to be pc correct & avoid a negative star?

Quote:
Come on, Mark, I'm not trying to quantify anything by how many of this or that group might get offended.  I am simply pointing out that this isn't quite as cut and dried as some seem to think.  We can either sit around like a bunch of old blue haired ladies at a society tea and make vacuous statements about nothing to each other to avoid offense, or we can act like adults and accept the fact that sometimes no matter how hard you try to avoid offending someone, it happens. The true sign of maturity is how you RESPOND in such cases, more than the original remark.  Far too many respond as if their knee just slammed into their nose, and then its Katie, bar the door!

And yes, this is a hobby, and it should be fun.  But, like most hobbies, people have differing degrees of involvement, and you never know what might set somebody off.  So, EVERY discussion is a potential mine field.

John you earned a positive star from me, well said.

I don't read every post, but for the most part nothing I've seen (so far) is so offensive that it should earn negative points. I think it's warranted to take a look at how miss behavior occurs (usually over several posts).

1. OP has strong belief in his/her post content.
2. Comment to OP is interrupted, as a slap, demeaning etc.
3. OP defends position, may snipe back

vicious circle now completed & now has the potential to heat up.

4. Other posters join in, sides are seen to be taken.
5. Chaos, thread loses meaning.

Steps 2-5 negative stars awarded. Thread destruction, still occurs, #1 & 2 not calmed by negative stars. #1 & 2 are now leery of one another & ready to settle a score. Forums with moderators usually <snip> delete & warn, early like step #2 way before thread destruction. #1 & 2 may still dislike each other & are ready to tangle, but they know they can't get away with it, when moderated. Sometimes you just need a cop or moderator policing the board. Or try going to work & be productive via voting, sometimes you need a boss.

Take Care
Rico

Well, what can I say. I'm a little bemused by this. You gave a gold star to someone who says that it doesn't matter how offensive someone is when they post - if they make a point then it's the recipient's fault if they don't like it.

And who suggested that there were posts which deserved negative posts in this thread?

And as regards your 1 -5 list.

If item 1) is done by being racist etc. then that gets a negative vote as well. Having a strong belief is irrelevant.

Hi All,

Quote:
Well, what can I say. I'm a little bemused by this. You gave a gold star to someone who says that it doesn't matter how offensive someone is when they post - if they make a point then it's the recipient's fault if they don't like it.

Wow! That's not how I read that paragraph. Seems like your trying hard to read something negative into the quote.

Excuse me I did not mean negative stars for this thread, I intended to mean this whole forum. From what I've read I would not give a negative star. If you read my previous posts (this thread) you should understand my meaning. I don't give negative stars period.

f

Quote:
item 1) is done by being racist etc. then that gets a negative vote as well. Having a strong belief is irrelevant.

Racist remarks! That would be a violation of TOS/forum rules & should be reported to the admin., & has no business being voted on.

Skip - Qapla' jup!

Take Care
Rico

Keep in mind that a negative vote may stick around for a few days.  Ken has more important things to do like programming. 

Dare I?  Yup, gotta go with it.  I have to agree with Skip here, based on what I've been getting myself in the way of votes.

Granted, this whole thing is new, so maybe thing will smooth out, but the initial indications are troubling.  Looking at the posts that drew votes, the negative votes seem to be coming from those who may be letting their agenda get in the way of their brain.  The ratio is about 9 to 1, positive to negative, but those post that got the negative votes make it pretty obvious who voted that way. 

Just in case anyone wonders, I have NOT talked to Skip about this at all.  This is just my opinion and my observations.

Quoting Rifter:

Quote:
Dare I?  Yup, gotta go with it.  I have to agree with Skip here, based on what I've been getting myself in the way of votes.

Granted, this whole thing is new, so maybe thing will smooth out, but the initial indications are troubling.  Looking at the posts that drew votes, the negative votes seem to be coming from those who may be letting their agenda get in the way of their brain.  The ratio is about 9 to 1, positive to negative, but those post that got the negative votes make it pretty obvious who voted that way. 

Just in case anyone wonders, I have NOT talked to Skip about this at all.  This is just my opinion and my observations.

What bothers me is that negative votes on posts that are not name-calling, belittling, rude or are simply a statement of fact or opinion, are being left by the admin to stand.

It was my understanding that they would be reversed at a minimum, but that does not seem to be happening.

So far, I have cast exactly one negative vote and it was for a clear instance of belittling.

It seems that during this early stage of the system, that you would want to "steer" people in the direction you want things to go by using the reversal capability to demonstrate what you are really looking for.

But maybe that's just me.

Quoting Rico:

Quote:

Wow! That's not how I read that paragraph. Seems like your trying hard to read something negative into the quote.

Excuse me I did not mean negative stars for this thread, I intended to mean this whole forum. From what I've read I would not give a negative star. If you read my previous posts (this thread) you should understand my meaning. I don't give negative stars period.

f

Quote:
item 1) is done by being racist etc. then that gets a negative vote as well. Having a strong belief is irrelevant.

Racist remarks! That would be a violation of TOS/forum rules & should be reported to the admin., & has no business being voted on.

Skip - Qapla' jup!

Take Care
Rico

I haven't given a single negative vote yet - apart from the Spammer who provided the useful test. However, I would use this vote not just to alert Ken to infractions of the forum rules (which I hadn't even know we had until you mentioned them), but also to motre general posts which although technically allowed by the forum rules are not appropriate. And I'll know one when I see it.

I believe positive votes should be given to reward those who have made an extra effort to help others or who have (for instance) spent time working on a plugin which will benefit the community as a whole. It would be rare that a simple post could warrant a positive vote from me unless it was trying to calm a thread down.

Is it really namecalling or invective to accuse someone of whining?  It may only be my opinion, but I don't see this in the same light as calling someone a Nazi. 

If this is the way people are going to view criticism and vote accordingly, I'm afraid I would have to count myself on the side of those who fear that the reputation system is destined to stifle free expression of ideas in the forums.

It troubles me that someone can vote negatively without giving the reasons for that vote -- or giving those reasons to the recipient of the negative.  How can I be expected to "correct" my "bad" behavior if no one tells me what constitutes said "bad" behavior.