Chat and Rules

[prospector]

Crystal Guides public statement -
www.theanswerbank.co.uk (a community question and answer site where users ask genuine questions and receive answers from fellow members)

Hi Ed - some suggestions!
Chat
ABers serial chatting using AB as a chat community site gives rise to a flurry of divisive opinion. Chatterbank was tried, but 'abused' and therefore withdrawn ..... B&S and old threads are now chatterbank, in all except name....

{B&S deserves better - too many (sensitive/personal)questions have not been given respect - even with apologies afterwards for insensitive replies.}

AB is a community site and friendships are forged .... so, my suggestion is ..... give ABers a means to get in contact with other ABers without having to publicly disclose on this site their email address etc. OR facilitate / provide for chatting on the AB site

{Banter, humour etc when replying is very different and is part of 'community spirit'.}

Rules
A number of angst posts during the 'reign' of the last Ed were about Rules and that some were applied / while others were not? ...... I am not advocating rules, just saying that it makes for confusion if AB sets down Rules and then do not apply them?

{Some ABers believe they get banned by other ABers using the 'report 3 times function' mischievously. My suggestion is that the final say on banning should be an editorial one before the banning i.e. not automatically generated by the computer followed by Ed review. (Put the banning requests into a file 'pending editorial review')

Good Luck Ed !!

[jno]

the site isn't moderated 24/7, so the automatic suspensions tend to happen late at night when a few users get pretty obnoxious (sometimes), and are looked at by the Ed next morning. Hard to say if any of it is caused by malicious reporting by a single user, rather than indpendent reporting by different ones, but I believe the Ed does keep an eye on over-reporting by individuals. So I think the system works well enough. Bear in mind that it's privately owned and free to use, so there's not a lot of income to pay for full-time moderation.

[Redbel]

Can't add much to jno's reply, other than to say....we get involved in threads (me especially the music ones be it on B&S or music), I know it's wrong to get "chatting" but sometimes you can't help it.

[-Zorro-]

Have you found any gold yet

[smudge]

As Redbel says, it's so easy for threads to go off on a tangent, but If the person asking the question joins in &/or doesn't mind others doing so, then I don't think it harms anyone in the long run - life's too short!

[THECORBYLOON]

I asked a question following the banning of one of ma questions and it ended up wi talking about fences made of marshmallow.. it's a wee bit banter.

[shaneystar2]

I chat ....and until the editor says I can't then I shall continue to do so .I even chat to people in Q&P ...fancy that .
I also answer a lot of peoples questions .
You must obviously patrol the corridors looking for the chatty threads or you wouldn't know they were there.If you don't like them you don't have to read them do you ? What harm is it doing you ?
Apart from confiscating peoples keyboards and tying their hands down there is not a lot you can do about .
As for the reporting... the site is self moderating and it seems to work pretty well as far as I can see.. ..if it ain't broke don't fix it.
As for people who report maliciously ..they soon get fed up or sussed out and go elsewhere.....what goes around comes around .

[shaneystar2]

And by the way ..I quote your remark to Dot in another thread ..

...".as for 'enjoying moaning' ..... 'it annoys' 'irritates' .... go and get some professional help"...


But surely this is precisely what you are doing ....Moaning !!

[smudge]

That's precisely what I was trying to get over in the other 'similar' thread regarding chatting shaney!

So beware all the 'sticklers', this may come back & hit you on the head one day - mind you, it's only soft!! ;o}

Ouch!

[prospector]

I already acknowledged that there is a difference between serial chatting and banter ... justifying serial chatting, knowing that it is not in the 'spirit' of the Site .... 'I shall' .... is no reason and is inconsiderate towards many other ABers ....

I am not against chat but, why surreptiously and in the shadows? Let's get chat either 'out in the open' or 'off'? My suggestion to the new Ed is 'stop the aggro that this causes and act in a straightforward way? Many ABers have expressed irritation in threads, so there is an an issue - different points of view continue - so, I made suggestions for the new Ed.

The previous Ed publicly acknowledged that there was some mischievous 'banning' going on and said in a response to one ABer that she would investigate .... perhaps that ABer knows the outcome of her 'investigation'!

The traffic flow on the Site drops significantly late at night and is minimal after 12 midnight .... I have not suggested that the site be moderated 24/7, just that a stop is put on the deliberate mischievous of a few ABers (often acting late and over holiday weekend times).

I am not moaning and thank Redbel, smudge, TLC for responses (without barbs) even if we are not singing from the same hymn sheet!

[shaneystar2]

What exactly do you mean ...

"justifying serial chatting, knowing that it is not in the 'spirit' of the Site .... 'I shall' .... is no reason and is inconsiderate towards many other ABers ...."

To whom am I inconsiderate ?

Name me someone ...go on ...put your money where your mouth is .Just you by the look of it !
Most of the nice people on here tolerate a few old gals chuntering in the Biddy thread so why can't you ?
If they were so outraged I'm sure you would have seen a lot more complaints about it other than your continual griping .

I don't consider flippant answers to peoples serious questions very nice either ..so please don't tar me with that brush .
Get off your pedantic high horse for goodness sake ....look around the site and give some actual input instead of hanging around in here griping .

[Pantheon]

you have your view .... I have mine.

[shaneystar2]

Talking to yourself are you now.... Prospector/Pantheon ?
Do try and remember to sign in and out if you must have different user names.

[ummmm]

Whoops.....haha

[VINNY100_2]

HaHaHa..it looks like prospectors prospects aint looking so good now...might have bloomin known..
someone with multi-user name's... tut tut....!!
hang on a mo....isnt that against site rule's.(:O)

[-Zorro-]

prospector and Pantheon sitting a tree, all by himself doobidoobidee

[VINNY100_2]

lol Zorro....(:O)

[smudge]

Back home again - bbrrr, still windy & cold!

See Whoever-you-are - I warned you that boomerang might come back & hit you on the head!

Shame it's only soft - it might have knocked some sense into it! ;o}

[ummmm]

That's what really gets me. People harping on about Site Rules. Hypocrisy I tell you !!!!!!

[jno]

it's true that AB isn't really used 24/7 but I'd say nonetheless that a substantial number of posts (a third or more?) come outside UK office hours. If these are to be controlled at all then it will have to be by other users and by the site robots; and I don't know of any way a robot can be programmed to distinguish between banter and blather. Indeed, it's not all that easy for humans.

As a state-registered biddy I indulge in a fair amount of chat myself under controlled conditions (ie everyone is polite and unprofane), and I don't report others for chatting. But I do report occasional posts that I think abusive or obscene - only once, under my single user name, and never in concert with anyone else - and I am happy with the opportunity to do so, as this is supposed to be a site suitable for families. Rules aren't always applied with total consistency, I agree, and a tiny handful of users seem to get away with some unpleasant stuff; but overall I think the site is being run as well as human imperfection will allow.

[dot.hawkes]

at least we all know not to take any notice of this rule spewing muppet, what a joke, give everyone they don;'t approve of a hard time and then leg 'emselves up, lol it's fair justice i say, maybe it is an example to other folk who think they will start laying the law down to people who have every right to use the site as they wish if they don't cause any hurt or upset.

Don't forget to tell the ed which ID you will now be asking her to delete