Some people are really bad thread hosts

reply to post by onehuman

Yesterday I got up checked to see if some questions I asked got answered and none of them were. At first It would have wound up in rant but then I calmed down to a chit chat.

Sometimes some of the people on here make me want to leave and not come back because of the bad attitudes towards other members.

Originally posted by ovumcranium
OK, I suppose I should have figured this out by now. What does it mean when you "flag" someone? I found a button that says "flag", so I am assuming that means the thread gets bumped up the ladder of fame somehow, is that correct?? What is a star? I just figured out that if you click on the star it lights up - cool, what is the point of that? I didn't realize this was such a social place! I'm assuming a star says that you think that particular comment is cool, yes?? So I'm guessing that people like to collect these - there's a part of me that resists this as childish. Alternately I suppose it shows who's been around longer or who's opinion is respected (or at least appears to be.) But the moderator here says s/he gives out stars for every response - huh?? I guess if your point was to collect them, you would follow this moderator around!! There is a little blue "this post" that you can click on also, but it doesn't seem to do anything, what is the point of that?? And where is the spell-check you were talking about/how does it work? Can you take away stars or flags? I bet there is an information page somewhere, but there are so many new tricks for old dogs.....I also see that there appears to be an advantage/disadvantage to being in a different time zone...? What a hoot, I could start a boring thread, but it might get a lot of attention because no-one is around - busy sleeping, not because it is of particular interest...? I guess all is not fair in love and war! Now what about if you wanted to start a thread that you didn't really want to garner a lot of attention, but just wanted to communicate with like-minded people? Couldn't you just ask people not to flag, so that it would stay off the radar screen of flagdom?? Just babbling...Cheers!!

The stars are like thank yous. I'm not the moderator I am the OP I do not give out stars to everyone just the important comments or comments I respond to.
When you misspell a word a red line appears underneath of the word that is spelled incorectly then you right click the word and select the correct spelling.
Yes you can un-flag a person for any reason. Stars are permanent .
For me anyway Flags can be important because they keep your idea on the new topics board longer so more people can see your idea longer and share or not share your opinion. Everyone wants their idea to be heard expressing yourself and getting a large audience is important because you get to have a broader spectrum of ideas and opinions and better debates. So for me its not popularity but the experience you get from a larger audience. I hope this helps you.
take care

reply to post by granpabobby


agreed. Some times its hard to bite your tongue around here when someone gets your goat.

Hi Onehuman!! Yeah, sometimes no one seems to be around and it's kind of eerie around here!

OK Mr/s. OP, I'm speling wrong on purpois and nothing is underlining in red?? Ugh, what am I doing wrong? And what does OP stand for??

reply to post by ovumcranium


Op stands for original poster.
What search engine do you use I use Mozilla fire fox and Google Chrome.
Also check to see if there is a plug-in for a spell check for you're search browser.

Originally posted by enament
reply to post by SpaDe_

 

Nurturing a thread isn't a bad thing. Sounds to me like you are a good thread host. Some times I find it hard to deal with people like the person I dealt with on this page. There seem to be a group of people around here that seem to want to make people feel bad about themselves. Fun suckers I call them. Having a great day along comes the fun suckers to take it away. Whats wrong with people these days anyway?

The old Hippie saying is ...
Dude..dont Harsh My Mellow !!

Originally posted by enament

You ever go to a thread you liked and decided to become involved with the thread and the OP never responds to you're questions? Or they like you're comments but never give you any credit or a star? Its just plain rude. You should never open a thread and ignore the respondents. You should always be a good thread host.

When I write a thread I try to respond to everyone that becomes active in my thread. And respond to there comments and ask questions to involve the person in you're thread. You ever go to a thread that someone writes and never comes back to check? Any one else ever get frustrated with the OP of there lack of involvement with their own threads?
Well I promise to respond to a majority of you're comments and discuss you're opinions on the matter. I may not respond right away because I'm off to work and have a busy weekend ahead of me but I will find the time to make you feel like you're comments are important because they are to me. So take care all and have a good weekend I look forward to responding to you're responses. And make you feel at home in my discussions.

edit on 29-7-2011 by enament because: spelling

Just wondering what everyone's obsession with stars here is? I've seen many ignorant comments given such weight, simply because they have a lot of stars and are apparently 'well respected'. Honestly this is just an extension of the 'appeal to authority' fallacy that is usually so universally disparaged heres.

Someone's opinion is not more valid simply because they are a lawyer, doctor, judge, have more stars, etc, and the mere fact of them agreeing shouldn't be used to support a claim. Likewise, it shouldn't be assumed that someone being right about topics in the past would make them any more likely to be right about topics in the future. Why are we promoting this type of behaviour? What useful purpose do stars/flags serve other than some sort of ego booster?

EDIT: I hadn't read the last page of discussion when I posted it. While some attempt has been made to explain their purpose, I still think they tend to be counter-productive. Topics don't need flags to stay relevant, interesting topics will have more conversation, keeping them at the top of the thread list. Why do stars/flags need to be visible in that case then? It seems they get used more as indicators of consensus, or a user's reputation, both of which are straying into dangerous territory. Hell, some topics it's obvious the sole motivator is S&Fs

reply to post by Akasirus


When I read a post by someone, a person I've never met in real life...and what they've posted "resonates" with me...I'll give them a star, and most times, flag their thread. If it is thought provoking, and brings others to the virtual table with thoughts that expand my view of on certain subjects, it deserves a star and flag, imoho.

I can see your point of view. You are entitled to your own perspective. So, I gave you a star for taking the time, to express yourself in this thread.

Des

reply to post by Akasirus


This thread is NOT about stars and flags its about being a bad thread host not stars and flags. If you want to talk stars and flags go here. -> www.abovetopsecret.com...


Stars and flags are the thank you button can you say thank you?? Do you say thank you ?

reply to post by Destinyone


Thank you and I hope you got something valuable out of this thread. People need to be more civil with each other around here. I my self have a hard time being civil at times with the button pushers around here.

I must be one of the worst thread hosts on ATS. I interact with people sporadically at best.

But you know something, I cut my teeth on the web of a decade ago or so, and it was a very different internet. It didn't have the cozy "we're all in it together" social-networking feeling I'm starting to see take hold here. And don't get me wrong, actually I like the developing idea of ATS "community" and I'm watching it very closely. But its still a bit hard to get used to. So I don't always interact with people here the way I should. Well its a learning experience.

Even so, I'm convinced my "niche role " in ATS is more just to present topics that I find interesting, and a lot of the time other people seem to find them interesting too, which is pleasing to me. I like to read what people write in my thread and see what directions the ATS minds take it in...I just don't have the mentality here to be a "thread Shepard."

reply to post by silent thunder


Its my opinion that when you author a thread you also take on the responsibility of taking care of it. Answering questions if there isn't a flood of them. Not getting responses from Op's is frustrating to me sometimes it makes me want to leave and not come back to ATS. Being ignored makes me feel like an outsider.

reply to post by enament


Well, OK then. How about this...I'll try to be better. This thread has made me think.


However, I think you will have to understand at some point that ATS is a big place and there are all different kinds of people here with different mentalities and none of us knows the backstory of any of us, really. So there are going to be lots of people here who don't "hold your hand" that way but still have stuff of value to communicate and can still be learned from. You just have to try to see the good in everyone. One man's opininon anyway.

reply to post by silent thunder


Thank you !
I always have intentions of bettering the community here. But I am human and make many comments I wish I could take back. Being taken out of context is real easy to do here.

ATS will do well if they completely remove the star and flag system and set membership like 'junior', 'pro', 'expert atser' much like common forums. This will eliminate the bias.