eatfoo has been suspended for abuse of reputation system

[Torsten]

Sadly some folks don't get it. Eatfoo systematically negatised archaea after receiving a neg in the thread about the kid that invented a solar tree. eatfoo probably assumed the neg came from archaea because this is who was criticising the topic. he was wrong though as the negs came from 2 other people. It just goes to show that if you try to use the rep system to get even you are likely to get it wrong and even more likely to get busted. eatfoo has 7 rep points subtracted, has a warning point, and has been suspended for 10 days.

anyone else want to play?

[ballzac]

I don't understand why some people take the whole rating system so personally. I negatised eatfoo simply because the topic had already been posted, then debunked by nabraxas. If eatfoo had something else to add (which he didn't appear to) it could have gone in the other thread. Hence, I thought the post was of little value, so I rated it accordingly. I understand that people make mistakes and double post. Negging isn't aimed at the poster, but the post. Regardless of the intention the poster has when they click "Post New Topic", if the thread is of little value then the initial post should be negged. Still, some people want to act like school children...good thing Torsten's here to put them in the naughty corner! <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_tongue.png

[Torsten]

ballzac - your use of the system was absolutely correct and is what triggered a wrong response from eatfoo which why i did not hesitate on the punitive measures. keep up the good work. the system is being largely used the right way and working well, which is making abuse stand out [thank you to everyone who reported the abuse].

[Amazonian]

Not taking sides.... but a pleasant "its already been posted" would have been nicer than a neg ?

[Evil Genius]

Yeah ive seen this in chill space and in the cactus forum right when it happened. Next time i wont hesitate to give a suspension because im sick of it too. When i entered the Thread about the 13yo old genius kid in chill space, it was all red like a pinball machine from the seventies. Then i went to the cactus forum where i found one of Archaea´s post negged in which he wrote something like "nice cactus!". And then another one somewhere else. You know, were not nitpicking...systematic negging is just totally annoying. Some members are very sensitive because they care a lot about what people think of them. I´ve been pm´d from some members that completely stopped posting after they´ve been negged all the time for flycrap. You know, thats not right.

But most people, including ballzac, really have the rep system down cold and cases like this definately became the exception. bye EG

Edited August 24, 2011 by Evil Genius

[Gunter]

Hmmm,

A ban seems harsh, being immature is a punishment unto itself.

I support the decisions of admin here and am not complaining, the admin here is cool.

I neg posts where I think people are being mean, cruel or inconsiderate.

I + posts that I think are well thought, insightful or just neat.

I hope I am not misusing this system, but honestly I don't care if I lose the online popularity contest, I am here for the love of the cause and the info, not to make friends or find people to trade with.

I don't neg posts I disagree with in general, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they all tend to stink.

Edited August 25, 2011 by Archaea

[Torsten]

I neg posts where I think people are being mean, cruel or inconsiderate.

I + posts that I think are well thought, insightful or just neat.

seems like a good approach to me.

Personally i almost never neg post. Mostly out of time reasons though. Just one more thing to do. I use neg when it otherwise saves me making a post that would state my displeasure. I pos when I like something, especially when it has good content.

[mescalito]

The whole rating system IMO is puerile and teenage schoolyard BS.

Is this what FB turns people into LOL

Not everyone who contributes lives here..shock horror!

I'll up someones Neg's if I feel they have been poorly treated within the context of the thread,not whether it has been posted before, because frankly I might not even know this!...to quote "Mostly out of time reasons though. Just one more thing to do" <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_rolleyes.gif

It reminds me of the UTFSE crap.Why not just either stay out, take out the time to repeat nicely, or link to a thread in a grown up manner to a previous post so the recipient doesn't feel like shit!?

[ballzac]

Not taking sides.... but a pleasant "its already been posted" would have been nicer than a neg ?

 

That could be another approach, sure. But why is it "nicer"? The neg was not directed at the poster at all, but the post itself. I don't think the post got offended at all. <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_rolleyes.gif

After all the discussions in the past about what the rating system is for, people still mistake if for a popularity contest.

It reminds me of the UTFSE crap.Why not just either stay out, take out the time to repeat nicely, or link to a thread in a grown up manner to a previous post so the recipient doesn't feel like shit!?

 

Because we really only need one thread on any particularly topic. Maybe 2 or 3 if they are popular, multi-faceted topics. Why do we need ten threads about canning jars? Some people are just lazy. Do we really need to tiptoe around to avoid hurting their feelings? I'm not calling eatfoo lazy. I think it was a genuine mistake. I don't think it was reasonable to assume it may have been posted here before. Hence why I think utfse would not have been appropriate in that context. But when someone starts a new thread to ask where to get xylene or canning jars, or to ask which acacias are known to have .... in them, etc. I think it's totally fair to be short and tell them to utfse. It gets the message across quickly without a lot of effort on the part of the helpful person offering the advice <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_biggrin.png and maybe makes them feel just uncomfortable, or embarrassed, enough to avoid posting without searching first again.

[Gunter]

I agree mescalito, at least insofar as the rating system facilitates a schoolyard mentality in some individuals.

I cannot see any cumulative ratings and so have no use for the system per say, it does not ever enter into my considerations and seems secondary at best to the content in general.

I really don't care what people online think, I have seen some very fucked up and vile people be regarded as great individuals by online culture ad I have seen some very good people vilified in the same manner, if anything the consensus of online personas strikes me as indicative of what isn't the case, basically you can regard the impressions of people online as uninformed at best.

I have seen the worst that humanity has to offer being praised as good and kind people online, clearly this system rewards dishonest, manipulative and two faced people and tends to disfavor those who are real and down to earth. If you are a liar, a manipulator and a fundamentally dishonest person then you will go very far online, people are too naive to realize how flawed their judgement is, they almost always think that the naked emperor is clothed in the finest garb, so to speak, and are too proud to question their own judgement or to consider things as they seem might not be how they are in reality, pride blinds us all.

It is a fucking shame when it comes down to it, the Tao said it well," sweet words are not sincere, sincere words are not sweet"

Edited August 25, 2011 by Archaea

[tripsis]

I agree mesc. I think it should just be done away with completely. It seems like a pointless system which serves no real purpose.

[Amazonian]

That could be another approach, sure. But why is it "nicer"? The neg was not directed at the poster at all, but the post itself. I don't think the post got offended at all. <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_rolleyes.gif

 

I don't think eatfoo knew what the neg' was for, and that is why he became a temporary serial negatizer. So even after giving a neg, it may have been helpful to also say that the topic had already been posted?!.

I dunno, Heck i am just a hippy who likes harmony <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_smile.png

[ThunderIdeal]

requesting a sticky for "rave or sook about the ratings system".

so long as T doesn't let serial negging get out of hand, i'm happy with the system, it definitely serves a purpose to me, if it doesn't serve a purpose to you then ignore it.

[Gunter]

Ok, I tried to positive the last post on this iPad, fucking thing, it missed and listed it as neg, but honestly I would also like a sticky about the neg/pos system. I have rather large hands and fingers so it is easy to mess up pressing small touch screen values.

Sorry thunderideal.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Archaea

[ThunderIdeal]

well is somebody gonna give me the plus i deserve on that post?

THIS WHOLE SYSTEM IS SO UNFAIR

<___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_bootyshake.gif

[ballzac]

So even after giving a neg, it may have been helpful to also say that the topic had already been posted?!.

 

True. I was just being lazy myself I guess.

[Slybacon]

Can you search for the posts with the most ratings or even better, the ones with the most negs. Now thats a feature worth using....

[ThunderIdeal]

just underneath my post as you read it (the last post) is a dark bar which says 'currently viewing all posts. change threshold?'

you can use this to view only posts with 10, or 20, negs or plusses. a bit useless here because i think only a handful of posts have ever received that much kudos or smiting.

[tripsis]

Neg for laziness! <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_tongue.png

I must admit, I do use the rating system, but I also this it's pretty silly. Most of the time it used on posts which don't even pertain to ethnobotany. There could be a very useful or informative post in one of the ethno subforums, which doesn't receive anything, yet there's rampant use of the system in the social subforums. It's easy to see what sort of post gets a pos, so if people care to have lots of little green marks next to their posts, all they have to do is write from a particular angle. But what function does that serve? If posting views that goes against the flow gets a neg, people may stop posting their views. On the other hand, people might put in time and effort writing up teks, or give away things for free and never receive a pos, so they might think that it's pointless putting in any effort. Honestly, look at how many giveaways get pos'd. Now look at how many some posts in the social forums get.

[Amazonian]

IMO , I see the pos' is mostly used for sense of humor. If we all posted that we thought something was funny , then it would fill the forum up with crap. I agree that it is useful for rating a good tech' or idea, or something useful for the whole community like links etc...

[Slybacon]

just underneath my post as you read it (the last post) is a dark bar which says 'currently viewing all posts. change threshold?'

you can use this to view only posts with 10, or 20, negs or plusses. a bit useless here because i think only a handful of posts have ever received that much kudos or smiting.

 

I am blind, or that doesn't exist...

[ThunderIdeal]

it is the same colour as the bar that says "fast reply", but thinner, and a little way above it. 'currently viewing all posts. change threshold?' is written in the middle of the screen on the bar. i didn't notice it for ages, it's very inconspicuous.

[Slybacon]

Yep found it.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Slybacon

[mescalito]

Wouldn't a Star Rating in the list of POSTS make more sense?

That's what other more friendly,less-judgemental an open-minded Forums have <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_rolleyes.gif

[ballzac]

Really, it should be a "sorting" option on the advanced search page. "Sort by rating", that way you don't actually miss posts that have a lower rating, they just appear further down in the search results. And if you so choose, you can set search results ascending rather than descending.

The system might get used more if you could give any post a rating from -10 to 10. Some posts that aren't bad enough to get a neg might get a -2 or something, and likewise, some posts are good, but don't deserve 10 (a positise) so might get a 3 or something.

Basically, for the rating system to work, it has to be used a LOT. But with only two choices (plus or minus) if everyone rated every single post, it would almost cancel itself out. It also needs to feature in the search function or something, otherwise it's just a number that you see 'while' you're already reading the post.

Then there would also need to be a more well defined set of guidelines in a sticky. Certain things not to rate. Like if the rating system is used as a sorting option in the advanced search, then there's no point in giveaway posts being rated highly. People do it to say thanks, but they would need to do that with words. There's no point in doing a search for "cactus", and the top 100 posts are giveaways...from two years ago.