Forum Post: You can vote on comments!
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 17, 2011, 6:13 p.m. EST by ribis
(240)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
To the left of the username on a post, there are two arrows. The top one is upvoting, bottom one is downvoting.
http://www.imagebam.com/image/10924b154498270 - a visual aid.
This forum is lousy. Bad moderation, bad mechanisms. Nevertheless, there is one anti-troll weapon available: comment voting. Every one of you can grant points to comments, helping separate content from garbage. Trolls are starting to do this; nevertheless, everyone needs to participate for it to actually be a democratic process. This can have more effect on trolls than anything else you can do. Use your own judgement. Push crap down, pull constructive material up. If really good comments are nested under dull posts, vote up the top comment the other posts reply to, so the relevant discussion is most visible.
And, a request: reply to this topic if you found it useful. Say anything. Heck, even troll it. This bumping will help keep the topic visible and help keep people aware of the limited tools the forum does provide.
<--These are the arrows you are looking for. The one next to the username is upvoting, the one below it is downvoting.
Incidentally, if you found this helpful, reply somewhere in this topic. Say whatever, but keep the topic alive.
If we could vote on the main post, that would help but we can always vote by bumping.
Absolutely; topic voting would immediately improve things here. Wouldn't fix everything, but it would help keep "LOL Jew Nazi Pinko amirite" topics from trending. Bumps are the closest replacement.
haha I'm on another forum related to work I do, when we don't like someone's posts we pm each other and start bumping old ones.
It's a thought. We gotta mob up
<------ ^ use it +1 em up! helps to turn off add blocker for the site too.
Great Idea, thanks
For those of you interested in learning to use this forum more effectively, take a look at Markdown.
For relevant justice.
well crap, guess im in trouble.
whyd you have to tell people that?! you are seriously inhibiting my ability to effectively troll. damn you.
The forum software is rubbish. And you're (sarcastically) right, this won't hinder you much, but it's what's there, and telling people about it is the most democratic resolution. No censorship, no blocking, no bans, just consensus on what sucks and what doesn't.
ya this thing is built on a sloppy pile of poop.
http://www.phpbb.com/
that really too much to ask for?
that way i can see who is voting me down and spam their threads with pictures of michael jackson
.....ok so i suck at this trolling thing, its a learning process though, yano?
Troll or not, I agree -- a vanilla phpbb would be an improvement over this. It's not optimal, since those tend to have weak voting systems and require direct moderation. Still...this place reminds me of early 90's BBSes, great long streams of stuff in a disorderly list. Kinda quaint, in its own way, but it's not enough to justify this crap.
Vbulletin it has everything and more.
haha, meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemorieeeeeeeeees i actually did come here to kick up dust....yes, im an asshole.....but ended up having some decent convos that i would like to keep track of. the ability to keep track of what you have been involved with is more of an incentive than anything
And yet another good idea! A searchable post log both for self reference and for checking on posters is a perfectly good democratic means for vetting content.
Honestly, trolls understand this stuff as well or better than anyone. I've trolled before elsewhere. Everyone should try it at least once; it's definitely a different perspective, and it lets you see under the lid of how a lot of different people think.
/sign
unfortunately (for the most part) I have gotten completely distracted by "legitimate" back and forths, really havent gotten to troll yet....damnit.
The irony of it is I came here to say "your all wrong and dumb", and have instead inadvertently become apart of the process. I still think there are a lot of dumb and wrong people (on both sides of the argument), but now have a better understanding of what people are upset about....and even agree with some of those people. For those that I still dont agree with, I am at the very least presented a view that I didn't think about previously. My ideals have not been swayed, but can now at least relate with some people. More of a "Ya i dont think you are correct, but if I were in your shoes I would be pissed too" kinda thing.
So I still am not a "follower", but I have a new understanding for the cause.
Hell, have even found myself defending this cause against people that attack with flawed logic (I dont care if you are with or against me, if your being stupid I'ma call you stupid)
To me, that's the "right" way to go about trolling. All IMHO, not grandstanding, yadda yadda, it's what I prefer, anyhow. Start with something you give at least a vague crap about, but don't really understand. Research it well enough to be able to push the crowd's buttons. Then, actually read the responses. Even if you never agree with them, at least you know where they're coming from.
It's the idiots who post endless repeats of the exact same tripe that disgust me. If that's all they're doing, they're not proper trolls; they're either ideologues or spammers -- it's passive, brain-dead nuisance-making, like a toddler banging on a pot. If they won't engage, but persist, it leaves community folks no option but whipping out the ban hammer, which is really prone to abuse.
like a game or popularity contest? is this all there is going to be? the "forum" will/is just becoming a tool for trolls and disinformation.
The real forum is on the ground, in Facebook, in e-mail/IM chains, in IRC, and on Twitter. I'm in contact with my nearest GA, but I'm also trying to help a bit here, because this is the first thing a lot of people see when they look for an Occupy forum. I'd be all for scrapping this forum, because a big part of it is exactly what you say -- an unmetered firehose of blatant trolling, concern trolling, disinformation, rumor-mongering, and other garbage. Unfortunately, I'm not a scripter; I don't have the chops to offer a replacement. So, I spend a little time here, taking a few shots, posting a little bit.
If you or anyone else wants to seriously contribute, contact your nearest Occupy. It's best to actually show up, but there are things you can do without actually showing up, including research, donations, and further online advocacy (especially on social networks). Slumming around on occupywallstreet.org/forum should NOT be any interested person's only contribution.
"should NOT be any interested person's only contribution"
mind the line you are about to cross
i personally dont agree with many of this movements arguments, but i do, however, see potential to actually do some good. having said that, the disorganization is holding this back big time. the best counter to disinformation is consolidated, unified information. i cant figure out why occupy<whatever city>.org hasnt come together. a centralized forum seems like the most logical way to unite...but doesnt seem to be happening.....just seems like an opportunity missed