Seriously, do we need validation by anyone here? Do we post to get a gold star or some sort of admiration? If so, what’s the point? We don’t even know one another.
Aren’t we here to share ideas with people like us, those that like fixing their cars and help those that need help, maybe encourage them to fix their own cars?
I can understand not wanting to be called a troll but it is quickly clear by anyone with half a brain what’s really going on. Maybe we should go back to the old usenet forums. Everyone knew who knew his business and who was a clown. It was a simpler world back then.
@Remco
Seriously, do we need validation by anyone here? Do we post to get a gold star or some sort of admiration?
Good point. There are some here who simply want to contribute but there are others who want gold stars and strokes. Shallow and immature people will ding others for childish reasons. We all have seen posts who call out others for incorrectly spelled words and other petty things.
I understand ok4450’s bringing this to attention. I myself don’t need pats on the back, etc., but hate it when falsely accused.
The Android browser doesn’t show me anything but name, date, and post and I used to think I was missing something. Until I read it on another browser and found all the passing of judgment strangely distasteful.
For whatever it’s worth, I finally remembered the name of the person who really got the ball rolling with negative “reviews” of several other members of the board.
Does anyone else recall “littlemouse”? He apparently came to the site because of an interest in the puzzlers, and then lingered for a few months, making no comments other than destructive, petty criticisms of other forum members. When I called him on this type of behavior, the very same day I was “awarded” 6 Troll ratings.
Because of his sudden disappearance, I was under the impression that cyberbabe had finally banned him from the site as a result of his divisive, non-productive comments, but…maybe…he is still lurking and was the source of those unwarranted Disagree ratings for OK4450. Just a theory, of course.
The moderators can track the source/authors of all other activities. Since a person must be logged in to click on these agree/disagree/off-topic/like buttons, I’m surprised there’s no tracking for who is doing it.
Whether you admit it or not, everyone needs validation of some kind, and I don't mind admitting I like it when people rate my posts highly.
My take on the tags is that being able to anonymously click “disagree” allows me to tag a post without getting into a long drawn out argument with the person who wrote it. I think that is a good thing, especially if the advice being tagged is dangerous. If I decide to write a response to the post with which I disagree, having multiple “disagree” tags adds emphasis for those who might otherwise follow the bad advice.
BTW, I noticed my “disagree” and “off topic” ratings shot up last night. I knew this rating system was a double-edged sword, and I wondered when it would happen. I am pretty sure who did it, and it wasn’t littlemouse.
I enjoy the interchange of ideas.
There are some really good diagnosticians on this forum so that can make things very interesting.
To each his own, I guess.
Edit: Wow - that happened just last night? Yeah, that’s totally unwarranted. Maybe one should be able to tell who clicks those things, since they are taken seriously.
For the life of me I could not remember who it was that VDCdriver was referring to but the name “littlemouse” does refresh my memory a bit.
Unfortunately, it now looks like Whitey has been whacked pretty hard also.
Being patted on the back is not important to me at all but it makes one wonder how someone who is looking for advice will look at that advice if they see a lot of negative vibe around it. What if someone for instance was leaning towards heeding VDCdriver and decided to check the feedback? They may see those 6 undeserved troll ratings and dismiss any advice completely without considering it being undeserved.
Similar things happen on eBay where someone will bid on items, including vehicles, with no intention of paying. Their only purpose is to screw around with the feedback system and leave negatives.
A couple of years ago there was one incident where someone bid on and won over a 1000 items in one day and another in which someone bid on and won the auctions on over 50 high end cars. The latter involved Benzs, BMWs, and so on to the tune of a million and a half dollars; and all for the purpose of leaving the sellers negatives on their feedback rating.
Possibly some teenagers messing with the system or bored college students deciding that messing with someone is more fun than getting a thesis done.
@RemcoW, I enjoy the exchange of ideas too, but I’ve been involved in some nasty exchanges where no good ideas were exchanged. Having the “disagree” button has allowed me to avoid igniting those unproductive debates, and it leaves me free to engage in more thoughtful and meaningful exchanges.
I hear you there, @whitey. From what I hear, this forum used to have a flame section where you can call people out.
Maybe that’s what it needs again. One can choose to ignore it or have at it at will.
BTW, I noticed my “disagree” and “off topic” ratings shot up last night. I knew this rating system was a double-edged sword, and I wondered when it would happen. I am pretty sure who did it, and it wasn’t littlemouse.
Just on the off chance you think it was me, since you and I had a . . Debate, a few weeks ago, I thought I’d assure you it isn’t. (And I don’t suspect you of being the one who’s been tagging me with ridiculous disagrees either - though I suspect I know who the culprit is).
And by the way, here’s another stupidity of the tag system - Whitey might think I’ve been getting petty with the disagree button, and I certainly think it’s possible that he thinks that. Either way, Whitey does suspect someone of doing it, and he may or may not be right, and I suspect someone of doing it to me, and I may or may not be right - and having said that I suspect someone, anyone who’s gotten in a mild back and forth with me any time recently now probably thinks that I suspect him.
The tag system is creating uncomfortable situations and perceived animosity out of thin air, which is anathema to a friendly, rational adult discussion forum.
Littlemouse… is at the top of my list of the culprit. He’s been here under several different names. If you looked at his posts…all he did was try to disrupt this forum. I wouldn’t put it past his childish games to be the person behind it.
What is going to be done about this? I have racked up 45 disagrees now, the vast majority on posts that did not deserve them, and most within recent weeks. It’s obvious that I and others are victims of a troll who’s running around trying to damage the reputation of people out of spite. Something needs to change to fix this problem, because even if reputation rankings were a good idea, they obviously are not working as intended.
Apparently I’m not the only one getting tagged with them and I’m in agreement with shadowfax this needs to be corrected somehow.
I might note that after racking up 38 disagrees over 2 days when starting this thread there’s only been 1 since. Apparently the electronic assassin moved on to other targets after becoming bored with me.
Are there sensitive souls who haven’t posted for fear of rejection? I hope not, but suspect otherwise. I like the system some sites use where the most valued responses float to the top. That works better when the responses aren’t part of a conversation, but there must be some way of turning the agrees and disagrees into a score that would emphasize the positive. Meanwhile, it’s a broken system. Please turn it off.
