Well done Heike.

My thoughts:

I particularly liked the part at the end where you mentioned about not posting when mad. I have a good sense of humor. I'll admit though that at times I have to fight off the urge to let emotions get the better of me. So I sorta lean back. Tell myself to "THINK!!" before I post.

I try to keep in mind such things as "Will this add to the thread?", "Is this appropriate to the topic?", "Has this already been said before?", (Particularly in the same thread). "Can I say this better and more coherently?".

Especially the biggie "Is this a violation of T&C?". Seeing a post that has been removed because of a mod noticing a T&C violation doesn't help ones status in the eyes of the other posters.

One thing that I've noticed is that posts that contain correct spelling and grammar are usually better received than those filled with "leetspeech" (or at least that's what I call it). The less time that I need to spend deciphering garbled words and sentences the more time that I can spend contemplating the meaning behind the post. I'll will say that I'm no spelling/grammar Nazi (and let alone not perfect by any means myself). However, I find that the more garbled and scrambled a post is the more likely it is that I'll simply skip on and ignore it.

One thing to keep in mind is that this site is for discussion of ideas. One thing I always keep in mind is that I could very well indeed be wrong about something. Therefore I always keep in mind that I could be mistaken and have to be prepared accordingly. Entering a discussion with the conviction that you are right, everyone else is wrong and no matter what evidence is flung your way to not even consider it? That misses the point of intelligent discussion. Likewise be prepared to defend your beliefs other than just "I'm right and your wrong." "Your an idiot!" mentality.

Pretty much a summation:
Take your time and think prior to either posting a reply or starting a thread. If starting a thread then think of possible replys that you are likely to get ahead and plan accordingly. If replying think about your mood, what you are trying to say and could it be done better.

I may add more if I think of something. Thanks for listening to me babble on. By the way, I'd give you a star if I could so you'll need to settle for a flag. I hope that it's sufficient.


Edited to add and correct numbers:

11,120,1.

No more edits I promise.


[edit on 31-10-2008 by Deson]

Originally posted by Allred5923

But there are some of us that still don't understand how some of the more serious and controversial threads can be judged by just one MOD and retracted from the forums because he/she thinks it's political trolling or misrepresented topics of discussion.

There is a process 'behind the scenes' where we as Staff discuss our perceptions of the post and/or thread. The 'One Mod' action is usually an 'alert' by which the rest of staff interact with the reason for the alert and then make a decision.

Hope that helps...

Of course, there are some obvious ones where the F-bomb is heavily used. Those types of posts aren't tolerated regardless and there is no need for a discussion regarding its' vorcity...

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A brilliant thread!!!! as a newbie, it not only cleared up some pointers but was more interesting to read than the faq

Originally posted by must be a way
A brilliant thread!!!! as a newbie, it not only cleared up some pointers but was more interesting to read than the faq

you might like to search ATS for

"civility and decorum"
"an end to political baiting"
"911 madness"

it'll save heiki having to retype anymore of these threads that the mods have already posted long before heiki joined 3mth ago.

Obliv_au:

Thank you for helpfully demonstrating that this thread is not redundant, as there are people who've been on ATS for quite a while and still don't "get it."

Your posts in this thread are blatantly critical of me and my supposed motivations rather than addressing the topic, and they contribute nothing.

Perhaps my points have been previously made, and perhaps they have even been made more eloquently or clearly. However, I continue to see people violating these simple guidelines as well as civility and decorum on a daily basis, so apparently not everyone has gotten the message.

Although I personally view your accusation that I desire to become a moderator more as a compliment than an insult, that is not my intent. I simply dislike conflict, despise rudeness and disrespect, and have a low tolerance for stupidity and ignorance. Worn-out rhetoric from closed-minded people continues to derail and sidetrack many otherwise potentially interesting threads, and it annoys me. My suggestions are not likely to actually stop any of it, but at least I feel better for having tried.

I think you could not be more right Heike. I support this thread and your further work throughout the site.

People who insult peoples opinions and intelligences are the people who actually need to be educated. They say things like noob and just flame people in general. I personally consider things to be potentially true until proved false through empirically based evidence. It is fear that makes people react to others in this negative manner.



[edit on 1-11-2008 by Cedik]

actually, you couldnt be more wrong hieki

Actually, YOU couldn't be more wrong. I did not "report" you or alert your posts. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive, but your repetitive and obviously deliberate misspelling of my name tells me something. That is disrespect in my book.

This is ATS, and we do have a wide range of people + views here and you should welcome them instead of reporting them to sterilise your threads.

I report violations of the T&C. If you don't, then you are not a good citizen of ATS. People who disagree and present different opinions without violating the T&C are not "reported" by me. If you bothered to check my history instead of taking opinions as fact, you'd find that several people have argued and disagreed with me and made some fair attempts to rip me a new one in other threads, and their posts stand.

do you like people posting the same topics over again?

Honestly? It doesn't bother me in the least, since I have the option not to read any threads that I don't like or find redundant. I have to wonder why, considering your obvious opinion of me, you found it necessary to read this thread and post in it instead of just ignoring it.

Perhaps that should be added to the list, but it is more or less represented by #4.

its therefore best to leave the mod work up to the mods, they do a mighty fine job already

Yes, they do. And yet, they repeatedly ask for our help, saying they can't be everywhere at once and asking us to alert them when we see a violation of the T&C.
Perhaps you could let them determine whether or not they need any help. Doing "mod work" requires permissions and privileges that neither I nor anyone else who isn't a mod has; they are the only ones who CAN do it.

You sent a lot of time on this tread to educate use on how to be a Good ATS citizen. Well I have come across a lot of threads like this already. I just wanted to add as a fellow member a lot of people agree with you I can see that, but why not bump the already existing threads. I mean you are just a member and the staff and mods have already in great length have went over this topic. You points in this thread are valid but not original.

Originally posted by silverflame
You sent a lot of time on this tread to educate use on how to be a Good ATS citizen. Well I have come across a lot of threads like this already. I just wanted to add as a fellow member a lot of people agree with you I can see that, but why not bump the already existing threads. I mean you are just a member and the staff and mods have already in great length have went over this topic. You points in this thread are valid but not original.

Its always good to update. Many of the newer members wont bother to search for existing threads on the topic, so a refresher is always handy.

And I think Heike has done a wonderful job on it too, its written a lot better than most threads out there