Are people on the net saner than they used to be?

[zen-r]

 

[lemon-tree]

Edit : Ooops. I wrote this before lemon-tree posted. Some duplication of ideas here!

Great minds think alike. Think of that as a compliment.

 

[Kayos]

It would be great if you guys could stay on topic and keep personal chatter between each other strictly to PMs. This is not a chatroom.

 

[zen-r]

I agree that the off-topic chat has gone a bit over-board in this thread Kayos, & I will try to cut mine back in future.

But I think you should bear in mind that there was a degree of light-heartedness about the actual topic posted for discussion, which naturally gives rise to this sort of banter. The chat was coming from people who also contributed serious points to the discussion, so it's not as if we were just here to be off-topic. And sometimes chat can make a thread more enjoyable & fun for both the posters & also other readers.

Judging by this & some of your other interventions, you certainly are coming across as one of the strictest Moderators on X10.

 

[ichwar]

Judging by this & some of your other interventions, you certainly are coming across as one of the strictest Moderators on X10.

hehe. That does sound a bit negative though doesn't it? Anyways, kayos told us what not to do.
I'm gonna be the nice guy and tell you something you can do!
If you want to chat and banter about nothing in particular like this, let's just head off over to this thread which in my understanding was created just for this kind of talk!

 

[Kayos]

I agree that the off-topic chat has gone a bit over-board in this thread Kayos, & I will try to cut mine back in future.

But I think you should bear in mind that there was a degree of light-heartedness about the actual topic posted for discussion, which naturally gives rise to this sort of banter. The chat was coming from people who also contributed serious points to the discussion, so it's not as if we were just here to be off-topic. And sometimes chat can make a thread more enjoyable & fun for both the posters & also other readers.

Judging by this & some of your other interventions, you certainly are coming across as one of the strictest Moderators on X10.

I'm all for light hearted chatter that can remain on topic. I really don't like seeing whole topics moving away from the intended goal especially ones that actually have a good premise like this thread. Granted not every thread cam stay on topic because there is such a thing as the topic evolution but those are more present in forums such as Crossfire and places that have arguments regularly.

hehe. That does sound a bit negative though doesn't it? Anyways, kayos told us what not to do.
I'm gonna be the nice guy and tell you something you can do!
If you want to chat and banter about nothing in particular like this, let's just head off over to this thread which in my understanding was created just for this kind of talk!

Great alternative. Thanks for posting this.

If anyone else has any other concerns about this please do not reply to this thread. Pming me will be fine as long as it related to what I've stated.

 

[garrettroyce]

This is actually on topic, Kayos is a shining example of why we can have a forum that is not a chaotic bunch of spammers and flamers

It's funny to think that even "off topic" can get, well, off topic. I think that idea reflects the more mature web 3.0 as opposed to the "bad old days."

 

[Anna]

yes, even in "off topic" there's topics to get off from...

You're probably right that the fact an off topic forum can go off topic reflects how things have changed. When I first got into being on forums, not many moderated the off topic areas, other then perhaps the occasional spam posts, but rarely the "legit" members of the forums

 

[zen-r]

This is actually on topic, Kayos is a shining example of why we can have a forum that is not a chaotic bunch of spammers and flamers

It's funny to think that even "off topic" can get, well, off topic. I think that idea reflects the more mature web 3.0 as opposed to the "bad old days."

yes, even in "off topic" there's topics to get off from...

You're probably right that the fact an off topic forum can go off topic reflects how things have changed. When I first got into being on forums, not many moderated the off topic areas, other then perhaps the occasional spam posts, but rarely the "legit" members of the forums

I had tried to avoid quoting the old "nothing's off-topic, because this is Off-Topic" line, which must get quite annoying for Kayos after a while!

Off course, this is where we, the accused, argue that in fact we weren't really spamming - but instead we were setting up a situation in which the whole premise of the thread could be demonstrated. Q.E.D !

(I don't really know why I've been including myself in this whole "we" bit. I only posted a fraction of the off-topic posts made here by certain other parties, who shall remain nameless . I guess I just like to show solidarity!)

 

[Anna]

guess that would be one way to look at it. Though you could just as easy have chosen not to demonstrate it in that way.

The topic asks whether people are more sane now or not. Suppose by that demonstration we can conclude that no, people are probably not more sane. But it could also be argued that people are more sane, due to the fact you actually did it on purpose for the sake of the topic.

I think it will be hard to find a definite answer to the question.

I would like to think people have gotten more sane and more polite as they realize that anything they do online can reflect on their offline lives. It has (at least here in Sweden) became more common that a potential employer check the applicants online, through searching facebook for instance.

Just recently read an article, where a job coach gave advice about just that, suggesting that limiting access to the full profile might be a good idea. A potentional employer don't need to see the picture your friend took when you were having a party and making a fool of your self (or anything else that would be best kept private).

 

[zen-r]

I think that the demonstration proved the premise, that just because forums seem to have less flaming & other nonsense in them nowadays (the "insanity" referred to in the first post) it doesn't mean that it is because the users are any better behaved by nature.

Rather, that it would seem to be because of other factors including better forum controls being in place, & forum moderators such as Kayos curtailing any unwanted behaviour. This in turn may cause better behaviour, but it isn't necessarily because the users were naturally that way inclined.

(Re the point about anything one does online reflecting on one's offline life : Absolutely.

You should never post anything online about yourself that you wouldn't be prepared to have printed & hung on your local notice board. That includes posting in this forum. Information can stay in internet archives indefinitely. And whilst most facts in isolation may seem harmless, joined together with all the other little facts on other sites & databases, it's surprising what can be deduced about a person, & how that information can later be used against them.)

 

[garrettroyce]

I think we actually proved the opposite. We acted "insane" ourselves until someone stepped in and told us not to. So, even if the general trend is to act one way, it might just be that we're being forced to :biggrin:

I think a great deal of people would do something illegal if it weren't for the prospect of being caught. Maybe the net isn't "saner," maybe the ban stick keeps people in line. Sorry, I couldn't help but to think of Pink Floyd:

The lunatic is on the grass
The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path

 

[zen-r]

I think we actually proved the opposite. We acted "insane" ourselves until someone stepped in and told us not to. So, even if the general trend is to act one way, it might just be that we're being forced to :biggrin:

I think a great deal of people would do something illegal if it weren't for the prospect of being caught. Maybe the net isn't "saner," maybe the ban stick keeps people in line. Sorry, I couldn't help but to think of Pink Floyd:

Weren't you actually agreeing with me? (or were you responding to LadyAnna's post?)

(Ah, Pink Floyd (used to love 'em)

"the lunatics are taking over the asylum" - another old song by a band I loved when they were current.)

Edit: Ooops. It should have been "The lunatics have taken over the asylum" & I thought The Specials did it, but it turns out it was The Fun Boy Three. Clearly I'm getting old, my memories failing )

 

[Sunflower-Products]

Adding reputation has been mentioned in this thread. I'm going to go search on it, but will anyone here tell me what it does?

I think they were ichwar (ein Berliner?) and zen-r so I clicked the scales on general good-guy principle.

Is it sane to act on general principle?

 

[zen-r]

Adding reputation has been mentioned in this thread. I'm going to go search on it, but will anyone here tell me what it does?....

Hi. This question is off-topic. Please, we've already been told once.

Please start a new thread with it & myself & others can try to answer you. It may also be helpful to other people, since there does still seem to be some confusion & a lack of clear, recent information on the subject.

 

[ichwar]

Adding reputation just makes the person you give it to more reputable! :biggrin: