Just above a post, I saw a big 
and the information that this particular account hadn’t posted since Dec 2018.
ETA: added pic
Yes, there is now a post callout visible for accounts posting for the very first time (irrespective of the account creation date), as well as accounts that haven’t posted in a long time, e.g. two months.
We decided to make these callouts only visible to TL2+ and of course staff.
Interesting.
Could you share why you decided to keep it to >TL2?
It makes life a bit easier, of course, but I would think that anyone >TL2 knows how to click through to the account info (if public). Would make it easier for others as well.
BTW, haven’t seen the “new account” info yet. Does it say “Welcome, comrade, to BBBBS?” ,
It’s “This is the first time (user) has posted — let’s welcome them to our community!”
By saying, “Welcome, comrade”, presumably.
I really appreciate the friendly tone of both messages. Kudos to the people who wrote this. Doesn’t feel awkward or affected.
ETA: I hope if people who do post for the first time or come back after a timeout see this the same way. (But I would assume as much.)
I do not doubt that this was one of the reasons why this was added. It does flag new accounts, but also reminds us snarky types to be generous.
I can see this being more useful not just on BoingBoing, but also on more political locations like Talking Points Memo, where the regulars can now see their new comrades. And the note about welcoming them is a nice way to keep accusations of sock puppetry down.
I think people who do post for the first time won’t see it, though, right? Because they wouldn’t be at TL2 yet.
(I suppose that later on if they’ve reached TL2 and happen to go back and look at their first post–ah, the sweet feel of nostalgia!–they would see it then?)
Yes, that’s correct! There are two reasons we decided to not make it visible to the poster (or everyone)
it might feel shameful to be called out on your first post, or a post after a long absence
you might feel that others were only “obligated” to be nice to you because of the callout and thus any replies are possibly inauthentic
Ah I just realized there’s a third reason
I’ve already flagged at least one post I otherwise probably wouldn’t because someone came out of the woodwork from a year plus dormancy to be pedantic and insufferable. (And conversely tried to like stuff if it’s in any way relevant to the discussion to encourage folks who seem nice but have been on a break for whatever reason)
Great feature IMHO.
I like it.
lately I go a long time without posting anything here.
So there’s a similar Chrome extension for Reddit called Reddit Pro Tools. What it does is add little visual indicators about posters and sources on Reddit. It analyzes the posting history of a user and if they have a lot of upvotes from a couple of subreddits (conservatives, the_donald, kotakuinaction, etc.) it puts a little indicator next to their username to warn you of that.
It does this everywhere on Reddit. It will also put an indicator if the user is a new account. It also flags a post that links to a list of mostly conservatives sources, like foxnews, as “propaganda.”
I find it very useful, but I also find myself automatically downvoting comments and posts by people who are flagged in such a way. I suppose this says more about me than it does for the extension, though.
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
