Wasn’t disagreeing, just adding a thought based on my experience.
As much as I occasionally fall into the trap, maybe you could avoid the word ‘you’ in a comment addressed to me if you’re not talking to/about me. Thanks for the foresight and clarity moving forward.
I think that horse has bolted from the barn and gone elsewhere.
I’ve run guilds in MMOs and moderated at hobbyist forums. Efficient, happy communities have an active moderator who participates in the community. Communities die without that. And I have always relied on a quorum of councillors, whether that be in my position as a guild leader or as a member of a moderator team.
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I’ve done the same in the past to avoid the trap of reacting while upset or uncertain. However time zones and timing sometimes make that impossible and I have had to rely on my own judgement alone.
Understood. Using “one” and instead of the general “you” sometimes feels awkward.
Carrying the ball all the way over the goal is work, and it is yours to do. Please consider that if you don’t take on that awkward, whomever you are speaking with likely will. It’s not their burden, it’s not mine for sure. It is difficult enough to understand someone when they’re talking about themselves, it’s near impossible when they’re talking about themselves but using you as a stand in, or mistaking you for a plural. Thank you.
It’s the “I” statement vs “you” statement thing. I want a community where feelings are respected (if not always understood or appreciated), so I try to use I statements whenever possible. It’s what I can do to foster such a community. Words are all we have here, out of self respect we could each consider using them intentionally, and showing some humility when we’ve not!
I don’t mean to lecture, but that’s no bearing on if you feel lectured to or not! Maybe you do, I hope not.
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It seems neither of us are graduates of the Humpty Dumpty College of Linguistics.
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A little introduction.
I am a long time lurker of the bbs, and to a lesser degree a long time reader of boingboing.
Somewhere about 10 years now I think, how the time seem to fly by,
and want to thank the community for many things, I could probably write a whole book about it…
so I wont go into alot of details and mention individual users or what not.
But on a general note I would say that the openness of many kindred minds has helped me gain a better perspective of myself and my inner struggles.The insights offered, passions displayed and knowledge shared has rubbed off on my little mutant monkey-brain over time, I would go so far as to say it has rejuvinated my way thinking and i am very saddened to see so many valued members packing up and moving out
I cant help but thinking it is because the pressures are mounting all around, so many worrisome developments these past 12+ months and it seems to get worse by the day.
This stretching rack world of ours is cranking vigorously these days and more and more detainees are breaking under its tension. There seem to be an ongoing breakdown in communication, empathy, good faith(not the religious kind), reason and safety in the developed world, and maybe those trends are echoing thru this community as well.
With a newly gained optimism streak I submit that maybe this particular rough patch is part of a growing pain, and not too far off there is going to be a bigger, much needed change for the better all around. Right?
Anyway, a heartfelt thanks to everyone, especially those who always fight to better themselves and the communities they are a part of.
Heartfelt thanks to those that choose to leave, someone else will gain all the good we now will lose out on, that is comforting to know.
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I am leaving this psuedonym. It has become a punching bag. I not get to be rubber, due to all the glue I am accused of being. I have become a favorite kettle to the black pot brigade. (pronounced brig-ahde).
You -WILL- see me around.
Thanks @Bozobub, for reminding me how awful and humorless people can be online. I am not the only kindly soul you’ve driven away. Be proud. Your 5 minute harrassment campaign worked wonders. Again, sorry I bothered you with a light heart and some confusion about your post.
You win son. You win.
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No community lasts. Either there’s a constant influx of new people (which means that the community’s nature will inexorably change), or it will go stagnant and rotten and turn on itself.
Or it’ll just wither.
I’ve watched both videos. It’s interesting how software is used to produce the behaviors that the site owner believes to be most desirable in forum participants.
In the case of the competitive environment considered desirable to get good answers to technical questions: why competitiveness? Why not cooperation? Why not helpfulness? What really would help someone get the most useful answer?
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Competition only makes sense in the context of data, facts, and science – things that can be objectively verified as correct in some way.
Compare with opinions.
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You are correct that influx of new blood is critical to survival, however, there are plenty of 17+ year old communities on the web…
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How many of them have remained essentially unchanged? With largely the same people?
The Well remained intact until the end. Mega Man Melee - a hobbyist roleplay forum - has a significant number of active members being there for 10+ years.
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I’m a member of an electronic music forum that’s been going on just over 18 years. Still a fair number of the original or early members on there, i.e. lots of people with 10+ years time served. Like any online community there have been plenty of bannings and exoduses and just the standard natural erosion that occurs.
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Can not facts emerge when people are working cooperatively together, in a collegiate environment?
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Civility is all well and good and assumed… but I don’t need to be “nice” to people who believe that vaccines cause autism. The data says it doesn’t, full stop.
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The data also says the more belligerently one presents data, the more likely one is to polarize people. That’s probably why the math conferences I attend are rather friendly and nice.
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Where did I say one should present data belligerently? You should present the data showing that vaccines do not cause autism, in a way that is neither friendly nor unfriendly, but in a civil manner.
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That’s starting to sound like “maybe if those nasty liberals were more polite to white guys we wouldn’t have voted for Trump”
Nobody has a duty to be polite. Especially to nasty, idiot, racists.
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