What would you be prepared to 'give up'?

[Mags Indigo]

 

---

Kidd Krasner wrote:

I've read through this thread, but probably haven't caught up on all the related threads since the switch.  But it occurs to me that thread titles are a major annoyance with spam, even if you never read the contents of a spam thread. 

Therefore, with respect to

titles

of new threads

only:

1. Prohibit special characters other than hyphen (the minus sign), period, comma, colon, apostrophe, double quotes, and question mark.  This would allow accented characters and others needed for foreign languages, but prohibit wing dings, stars, other fancy glyphs, and most especially, the dollar sign and other currency symbols.
2. Prohibit more than one special character in a row, other than ... (ellipses) or -- (double hyphen to represent a dash)..
3. Prohibit more than three consecutive capital letters (ignoring spaces and punctuation), and more than one capital letter within a word (to allow names such as McDougal).
4. Prohibit more than three letters in a row that are separated only by spaces or punctuation.

This boils down to not allowing the titles to be used as visual attention-getters.  The forums aren't intended for advertising (other than some of the commerce-related ones), and with those, the attention-getting titles quickly drown each other out.

---

 

All of your ideas make perfect sense to me - and I'm sure with a bit of 'tweaking' LL could probably come up with even more ideas for limiting spammers by just putting limits on how they can name their threads.

And I really can't understand why it's not being done - though saying that... things are very very quiet here today!!!

[Carole Franizzi]

It's lovely to see you too. It seems that many old faces have disappeared or maybe that's just an impression due to the fact that I've really only had a quick look round and everyone is hidden in little sub-categories of topics.

My absence was due to nice things which I knew would totally absorb me and I still don't have much spare time. But that's good. Being happily busy and caught up in lovely new things is delightful. And yes, it does rather put SL and the like into perspective.

To answer the points you raised - I was always very vocal about the presentialism which the total anarchy in the forums bred (some were VERY territorial) and was always for firmer moderation. My main perplexity, however, remains the one linked to keeping what was created as an adult space fit for minors too. Link keeping the SL forums squeaky clean to maintaining it as a pretty window display for the platform and you get the result I appear to be seeing now - nothing naughty, nothing polemical, nothing which smacks of discontent, nothing outside party lines... Hardly leaves much room for creativity or freedom of expression though, does it?

What's missing, I think, is an adult-only, visible-to-SLers only congregation space where your contributions don't have to fit neatly into a labeled box (art, animations, commerce...bla bla). I rather thought that un-fettered thought processes and creativity were what brought this place into being in the first place.

Or maybe such a place already exists but it's tucked away in some dark corner I haven't stumbled upon yet.

Lurve,

C.

PS Thanks - my silks are hawt, aren't they? Tie-dyed 'em myself.

 

 

[Mags Indigo]

 

---

Carole Franizzi wrote:<snip>

What's missing, I think, is an adult-only, visible-to-SLers only congregation space where your contributions don't have to fit neatly into a labeled box (art, animations, commerce...bla bla). I rather thought that un-fettered thought processes and creativity were what brought this place into being in the first place.

Or maybe such a place already exists but it's tucked away in some dark corner I haven't stumbled upon yet.

Lurve,

C.

 

---

 

We have been asking for this and it seems LL do have plans for an Adult only private thingy (not sure what form) but it will only be open to adult content creators and adult business owners etc. It seems it will be by invite though one can contact Blondin if one wishes. I think LL see it as a way of adult business being able to discuss that business without offence to the 'general public' though - rather than an area where free discussion will be allowed. Time will tell.

 

---

Carole Franizzi wrote:

PS Thanks - my silks are hawt, aren't they? Tie-dyed 'em myself. 

 

---

That explains a lot... :smileyindifferent:

 

[valerie Inshan]

Carole!!  welcome back, we missed you!

[Carole Franizzi]

Me again...

 

Just spotted a locked thread (title something like "Generally Entertaining"), authored by Derek (I think) - uhm...wondering if I'm getting the drift...nothing non-SL is permitted? Am I understanding correctly? Even in the off-topic catgory? So basically (if I haven't got hold of the wrong end of the stick, of course), if we supply free publicity for SL by showing how wonderful it is or free customer service through question-answering for fellow SLers, that's okay. If we waste space talking about non-SL stuff, we get shut up? Please tell me I'm wrong. Residents have created just about all of SL content and many of us have paid for the honour of doing so, now we have to choose our words according to LL's market plan?

Tell me I'm wrong. If I'm not, spam really is the smallest of the issues to hand and we've already given up much, much more important things.

 

[Mags Indigo]

@Carole - Nope you've not got it wrong - that about sums it up. LL are fairly tolerant of grumbles and negative comments - but it all HAS to be related directly to SL.

[Carole Franizzi]

Hey Valerie! I definitely lost my SL habit but I did miss you guys and the banter of the forums.

Big hug back.

C.

[Carole Franizzi]

I see.

Well, last time my words were guided by another I was in infant school and was learning to speak. Maybe somebody can explain to me how gagging the folk who created and maintain your product fits into current marketing stategy theory.

To answer your initial question, Mags. I'd rather wade through any amount of spam than be treated like a five-year old by the short-sighted, ungrateful company to which I've given hundreds and hundreds of quid over the last couple of years.

[Mags Indigo]

 

---

Carole Franizzi wrote:<snip>

To answer your initial question, Mags. I'd rather wade through any amount of spam than be treated like a five-year old by the short-sighted, ungrateful company to which I've given hundreds and hundreds of quid over the last couple of years.

---

There seem to be many who feel the same way Carole - unfortunately because disenchanted people either rant too much (and can be ignored as a consequence) or say nothing - or very little - that voice gets lost in all the shouting - if you get my drift. It's easy to ignore a ranting fool or a silently fuming individual. :smileyindifferent:

 

[Raudf Fox]

 

---

Mags Indigo wrote:

---

There seem to be many who feel the same way Carole - unfortunately because disenchanted people either rant too much (and can be ignored as a consequence) or say nothing - or very little - that voice gets lost in all the shouting - if you get my drift. It's easy to ignore a ranting fool or a silently fuming individual. :smileyindifferent:

 

---

 

Yep, the cricket chirping is beginning.  Soon, LL will wonder where everyone went, but it will be too late for them to fix it when it's at that point.  LL used to be such a creative place...

[Carole Franizzi]

I'm having a hard time trying to bring to mind a moment in history when censoring and silencing the creative elements in a community had a beneficial effect in the progress of that society. My perplexity with the whole "adult" issue has always had less to do with wanting to allow non-PG content (.e. naughty stuff) specifically and much more to do with NOT hushing up 360° range of expression (unfettered minds going every which way, with some nonsense along the way, but also - and primarily - with the maintaining of fertile land for fertile thought and invention). "Be creative, folks, but mind your language", again, is a message more appropriate to babes in a kindergarten, wrist-deep in finger-paints than in a platform which wouldn't even exist if it were not for grown-up artists, musicians, film-makers, craftsmen, writers (etc., etc., etc.)

[Storm Clarence]

 

---

Carole Franizzi wrote:

Hey Valerie! I definitely lost my SL habit but I did miss you guys and the banter of the forums.

Big hug back.

C.

---

 

Yay! Hi Carole.  I hope you are well.  It was so good to see your name appear in a thread.  

[Carole Franizzi]

Storm! Lovely to see your name too. I'm very, very well and happy these days (having a ball in RL - long may it last!). I hope you are too.

Big hug,

C.

[Quinn Morani]

 

---

Carole Franizzi wrote:

Me again...

 

Just spotted a locked thread (title something like "Generally Entertaining"), authored by Derek (I think) - uhm...wondering if I'm getting the drift...nothing non-SL is permitted? Am I understanding correctly? Even in the off-topic catgory? So basically (if I haven't got hold of the wrong end of the stick, of course), if we supply free publicity for SL by showing how wonderful it is or free customer service through question-answering for fellow SLers, that's okay. If we waste space talking about non-SL stuff, we get shut up? Please tell me I'm wrong. Residents have created just about all of SL content and many of us have paid for the honour of doing so, now we have to choose our words according to LL's market plan?

Tell me I'm wrong. If I'm not, spam really is the smallest of the issues to hand and we've already given up much, much more important things.

 

---

Hi Carole, it's good to see you back. Sadly, you've stumbled onto the very reason behind the observation you made a couple of posts up about old faces disappearing. Many familiar names have been scarce since the new forum came online. Only time will tell if that's a permanent change around here.

 

[Rhonda Huntress]

---

Aabz Adamski wrote:

Nobody should must to give up anything.

The other forums are not to have spam problem. Only Linden Lab. And it is not to matter what softewares they are using either.

---

Other forums are not as open as these are, either.  You do not need to have a paid subscription to post on these forums.  Blizzard will not let just anyone make a free account with no payment options and start posting on their forums.  They also limit the number of posts someone make and how frequently they can post even after paying for a subscription  Even so, they do have their fair share of spam.  It is just fewer posts and less cost effective for the spamer.  This is a typical setup for any board with a large number of  users.  Smaller forums get away with having a few moderators that verify each new member and can get away with banning an IP range.

[Canoro Philipp]

@Mags

how about muting the spammers to everyone?

the spammers would see their spam all over the forums thinking that he made it, but nobody would see it, and he will not be encouraged to create a new account thinking he is being succesful.

that could work as some sort of control of trolls, they will continue creating posts and threads and wondering why nobody answers back...

@Carole

welcome back! awesome to see you again!

[Seicher Rae]

[Mags Indigo]

Hi Canoro - muting the spammers would be wonderful - maybe eventually it will happen - one way or the other :smileyhappy:

[Mags Indigo]

 

---

Seicher Rae wrote:

Well many people have voiced "why give up anything?" to get rid of the spam because it is just ... odd ... (being kind) that the spam isn't being dealt with anyway! So I'll "ditto" those comments.

As for giving up freedoms, well like in

Animal Farm

everyone here is equal just some more equal than others and some people have more free speech here than others. 

/me grins and is enjoying the irony & is thinking up blog posts

Hiya Mags. The crush still continues, fyi.

<3

 (LoL)

Will hoist a pint to you on St. Paddy's...

 

---

 

I do tend to agree you know - I was merely sparking 'conversation' - which did work.

On the crush thing - nah you're far too straight for an old **bleep** like me - but carry on.... :smileywink:

 

Edit - I used a naughty word apparantly, who would have thought that being female and gay was a bleep thing!!!

[Seicher Rae]

[Mags Indigo]

 

---

Seicher Rae wrote:<snip>

---

 Sigh. What was the topic about? Giving up freedoms or something?

 

---

 

Yes I must admit that the fact that my description (perfectly accurate) of myself getting bleeped out is in a way a perfect example of the ironiy I intended when starting this thread.

[Dana Hickman]

 

---

Canoro Philipp wrote:

how about muting the spammers to everyone?

the spammers would see their spam all over the forums thinking that he made it, but nobody would see it, and he will not be encouraged to create a new account thinking he is being succesful.

---

That's completely brilliant! A "hide this accounts posts for all except self" control for the mods. The spammers won't be creating all sorts of new accounts, nobodys sees what they post except the spammer, they'll spam less because their old junk isn't deleted by mods, and nobody gives up a thing. An "auto-remove posts older than xx days by this account" would also help with the cleanup. Probably a pipe dream wishing for that, but certainly would put a wrench in their works if it did happen.

 

[Cali Souther]

I think you should let newbs make a post or two .. that's how they get involved and interested ... and learn.  I do, however, think it's a good idea to limit the number of new posts by SL age... that might help?

Obviously the 2 minute rule isn't working, eh? 

 

[Ima Rang]

Hi Carole!

Welcome back! 

[Carole Franizzi]

 

---

Quinn Morani wrote:

---

Hi Carole, it's good to see you back. Sadly, you've stumbled onto the very reason behind the observation you made a couple of posts up about old faces disappearing. Many familiar names have been scarce since the new forum came online. Only time will tell if that's a permanent change around here.

 

---

 

Every old face I spot is a cause for great pleasure. So sad to think the dynamics of the old forum have been completely neutralised. 

Delighted to see your name. Truly delighted.