AR-griefing, auto-veto and moderation

[DQ Darwin]

@Cato please be aware this is not directed to you it is just the explanation of my approach on the forums. “I may be adamant or out spoken about what I believe has a value, but I don’t fight, so we are both safe there. I will use the adult approach and step back, shake my head realize it’s pointless to argue and move to something else.”

We are in a state of flux with respect to the new forums they have yet to find a personality although they lead more to the sterile industrial state then that of a community only time will tell how that evolves.

The old forums in particular the GD became a snake pit as most that have lurked or posted over the last year are aware of. But from my point some real community based gems did come out of it and shine without having to be washed to remove the grime.  By reading those two forums one can readily see who was opposed to them, but on the whole they were left alone while the hate and venom spun out of control all around.

 I refer to Hippiestock and Strengthening the SL Community. Both of these were open to the community as a whole, with no restrictions. One Hippiestock and its spin off threads promoted the idea of people gathering and meeting and enjoying themselves with others not unlike any SL based event but without the tools to promote or the capacity to handle more than 70 av’s at a time.

The other was Strengthening The SL Community. This particular thread told personal stories of those that chose to post there. It was open to all to read or post or pass by. But it also allowed those that may have lurked in the background to see problems that have been overcome by others where the circumstances where similar to what they were experiencing. We will never know if others were helped by these stories or not, but they certainly were not hurt. Each poster was more than aware that the content of their respective posts could be used against them, yet even with the environment that was present around them they posted.

Some people fail to realize that a community can be helped even if it is only one member at a time. Each member that is helped will have a spin off effect on those around them. But if one is narrow minded then the opportunity is missed.

What the cause for me to be on shall we say a crusade with respect to those two threads is the fact that they were positive and community assets. Had the OT forum not been opened would they have remained under Make Friends were they started out? When certain people, that I don’t see much from recently, promote ARing on twitter to game the mods then I become more adamant in purpose.

 

But back to the adult maybe it’s just time to walk away shaking my head.

[Quinn Morani]

 

---

Cato Badger wrote:

@Dee: I really don't want to fight about it, but with a degree of inside knowledge I disagree with your perception that it was malice that got Quinn's Strengthening the Community thread moved from Friends to Off Topic. My understanding was that initially Quinn wanted to restart the thread in the then non-existent GD, and put it in the Friends subforum as the next best place. I will take responsibility for mentioning this to Lexie as well as my opinion that I thought that

some of the public and personal disclosures would be better made out of the eye of the general public, once the "for registered members only" Off Topic subforum was opened

by Lexie for us. If you think that was meddling, then I won't complain, as you would be right, but please don't think that the suggestion was made to Lexie with anything but the best of intentions - and of course, Lexie need not have acted upon it if she had not agreed. Cato

---

Cato, I really appreciate your candidness in acknowledging that you suggested the move of the thread in question to the Off Topic forum. Your point above that I have highlighted is a point that has occurred to me as well, and is exactly why I didn't object to the thread having been moved. Although the original thread to which it links is still publicly visible in the old forum archives.

 

As for the future of the thread, I know it has many supporters here, so it's with a very heavy heart that I have made a decision not to attempt to restart it again. I'd prefer to let it live in happy memory of all the wonderful things it has accomplished, rather than see it limp along or become a battleground in the new forum. It's hard to let it go because it has personal significance for me as a result of some wonderful friendships that have developed. But the friendships will remain, and there will be other threads. Perhaps it's time to let some new topics shine.

[DQ Darwin]

Good Morning Quiin, Based on your decision I to will respect your wishes

---

Quinn Morani wrote:

 As for the future of the thread, I know it has many supporters here, so it's with a very heavy heart that I have made a decision not to attempt to restart it again. I'd prefer to let it live in happy memory of all the wonderful things it has accomplished, rather than see it limp along or become a battleground in the new forum. It's hard to let it go because it has personal significance for me as a result of some wonderful friendships that have developed. But the friendships will remain, and there will be other threads. Perhaps it's time to let some new topics shine.

---

 

[Dillon Levenque]

Quinn,

I got your message regarding this, so you already know my opinion but for my other friends here (current and future) I completely understand and support the decision. And in fact it is probably for the best. The one in the archives is there. The new one may or may not have gone on, but you're right: it was meant to be a shared hearth, not a shared battleground.

I am quite glad this thread got started regardless of how it affected 'Strengthening'. As has been pointed out, the negativity that brought everything out in the open had the effect of making more friendships. You can't argue with that. And I also think it helped to make certain actions and attitudes on the part of certain people perfectly clear.

[Cato Badger]

@Dee: I acknowledge the sense of your opinion, and to be quite honest I had not really considered the aspect of SL members that simply lurked in these forums *without* signing in. I made the probably erroneous assumption that if you were an SL resident, you would sign in and would be able to see *all* forums. On balance I think I would still prefer that sensitive threads like Strengthening the Community should benefit from some protection, but I am possibly not the person best placed to interpret the motivations and wishes of those who bared their souls. Perhaps, though, others might have done so if they thought that driveby lurkers from outside SL would not be able to point and laugh, although I am not sure how many of those visitors the forums see. It may be like being prepared to sunbathe topless on a public beach, but not if your brother's friends are there!

[Cato Badger]

@Quinn: Might I suggest that even if you don't positively promote it now (when the culture of the forums is in its honeymoon period and pretty unstable) you might reconsider picking it up agani at some point when the comunity has matured.

[Quinn Morani]

---

DQ Darwin wrote:

Good Morning Quiin, Based on your decision I to will respect your wishes

 

---

Thanks, Dee. :smileyhappy:

[Quinn Morani]

 

---

Dillon Levenque wrote:

Quinn,

I got your message regarding this, so you already know my opinion but for my other friends here (current and future) I completely understand and support the decision. And in fact it is probably for the best. The one in the archives is there. The new one may or may not have gone on, but you're right: it was meant to be a shared hearth, not a shared battleground.

I am quite glad

this

thread got started regardless of how it affected 'Strengthening'. As has been pointed out, the negativity that brought everything out in the open had the effect of making more friendships. You can't argue with that. And I also think it helped to make certain actions and attitudes on the part of certain people perfectly clear.

---

 

I like the idea of a shared hearth. That's exactly what it was, isn't it? Thanks for giving me all of us that cozy visual.

I too am glad Deltango started this thread. I saw Genn Moderator post the following in another thread earlier: "I've removed all off-topic posts from this thread. Please keep this thread on topic so that we can keep it open." This is a better solution (and less punishing to those who follow the rules) than locking a thread that strays off topic. This gives me hope that the moderators are reading threads like this one and listening.

[DQ Darwin]

@Cato, You raise an interesting thought with your post, I am not sure if it was intended or not. But really why did we put our stories out there for all to see, I mean I never left my diary unlocked at home.

I can only speak for myself.  I guess it basically was the thought that if someone out there experiencing the same confusion, self analysis, awareness and misconceptions I did, would see that they can be overcome. If that helped one person (I will never know) then it was worth it. I know that it would have helped me to know someone else had experienced what I did.

Was it therapeutic, maybe a bit of that too.

Anonymity, there is that too, I am Dee here but the story is the the typists.

Ridicule or open to the world well I don't really give a tinkers **bleep** (daamn) in that respect if it helped someone. I was fully aware of the possibilities.

So why did we post, everyone has their reasons but there was also the feeling of kinship (community) and that helped.

Cheers

 

[Quinn Morani]

 

---

Cato Badger wrote:

@Quinn: Might I suggest that even if you don't positively promote it now (when the culture of the forums is in its honeymoon period and pretty unstable) you might reconsider picking it up agani at some point when the comunity has matured.

---

It's a good suggestion, Cato. If the climate becomes conducive to supporting such a thread again, I'll certainly consider it... or at least some variation of it.

 

[Deltango Vale]

I think the climate just changed. The thread has been reopened :smileyhappy:

[DQ Darwin]

[Quinn Morani]

 

---

Deltango Vale wrote:

I think the climate just changed. The thread has been reopened :smileyhappy:

---

Yes, and I'm cautiously optimistic that it will stay open this time.

Also, I browsed the "Community Tools User Group" transcript from yesterday's meeting and saw the following, which is promising as it relates to AR griefing. It looks like they're aware of and prepared to address the problem.

 

[13:44]	Amanda Linden:	many folks walk a fine line re: teh community guidelines.
[13:44]	Amanda Linden:	and, we've had some "report abuse" flame wars for content that was fine.
[13:44]	Amanda Linden:	so, that's gonna end.

There is a lot of other good info in there, too. It really does appear that LL is listening and working to address some of the complaints about the new forum.

[DQ Darwin]

I find this most encouraging. Thanks Quinn.