in reply to Reputation and Accountability
Forgive me for coming into this late.
I have a sure-fire solution... When a new user joins PerlMonks, somewhere on the account creation form, there is a standard disclaimer.
Something like the following would suffice, and entertain the hell out of me as a new user:
Welcome to PerlMonks. Here at PerlMonks, we appreciate and encourage open communication between members. However, you should be aware that PerlMonks is not a free forum, and your communication can and may be censored. A reasonable level of quality is expected here, and the enforcement of that level of quality is what has kept PerlMonks from turning into Slashdot or a hundred other crap forums that people with too much time on their hands or too little attention from real, physical people latch onto and often sour for users with honest intentions. A system has been put in place that we find works very well. We're even gracious enough to allow you to post messages like "I don't think this system works. Here's my suggestion for changing it." Wiser ( but not necessarily older ) users who have been around and most likely are charter members of the forum have been given special powers to moderate the content of the site. Mostly, they were here and have been here since the beginning of Time(tm) and are trusted members of the community, and doubtlessly have no intent to ruin other people's enjoyment of the site. If they did have that intent, it would've been flushed out long ago and they'd have moved on before ever reaching Saint, or whatever the level they've EARNED is. Here, the Constitution does not guarantee you any rights, nor do the Bible, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or the Perl Cookbook. You are here on our ( the general population ) good graces alone, and if you don't like it, there's probably some un-moderated, spam-overrun, script-kiddie infested community out there who would love to take you in and pipe your idiocy out to a thousand more people just like you. Thank you, and enjoy.
Note: This should not be viewed as a specific message to chip or anyone else. chip has earned his 2000+ XP with a lot of quality posts. I disagree that anyone should be forced to fess up to squelching, just as I would disagree that no more Anonymous Monk posts would be allowed. Many people post anonymously and may be 10th level members even, because they'd like to avoid starting a conflict, real or imaginary, which may turn into some long-held grudge between members. The ability of one of our trusted members ( they don't get much more trusted than tye ) to squelch someone being offensive to other users is something that should be maintained, and helps keep up the quality of the site. Their ability to do so anonymously ( or not, in this case ) should also be upheld... Now will chip forever have a chip on his shoulder for tye? I really hope not. This place thrives on people working together and enjoying the site, not lurking in the shadows nursing a grudge.
I have a sure-fire solution... When a new user joins PerlMonks, somewhere on the account creation form, there is a standard disclaimer.
Something like the following would suffice, and entertain the hell out of me as a new user:
Welcome to PerlMonks. Here at PerlMonks, we appreciate and encourage open communication between members. However, you should be aware that PerlMonks is not a free forum, and your communication can and may be censored. A reasonable level of quality is expected here, and the enforcement of that level of quality is what has kept PerlMonks from turning into Slashdot or a hundred other crap forums that people with too much time on their hands or too little attention from real, physical people latch onto and often sour for users with honest intentions. A system has been put in place that we find works very well. We're even gracious enough to allow you to post messages like "I don't think this system works. Here's my suggestion for changing it." Wiser ( but not necessarily older ) users who have been around and most likely are charter members of the forum have been given special powers to moderate the content of the site. Mostly, they were here and have been here since the beginning of Time(tm) and are trusted members of the community, and doubtlessly have no intent to ruin other people's enjoyment of the site. If they did have that intent, it would've been flushed out long ago and they'd have moved on before ever reaching Saint, or whatever the level they've EARNED is. Here, the Constitution does not guarantee you any rights, nor do the Bible, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or the Perl Cookbook. You are here on our ( the general population ) good graces alone, and if you don't like it, there's probably some un-moderated, spam-overrun, script-kiddie infested community out there who would love to take you in and pipe your idiocy out to a thousand more people just like you. Thank you, and enjoy.
Note: This should not be viewed as a specific message to chip or anyone else. chip has earned his 2000+ XP with a lot of quality posts. I disagree that anyone should be forced to fess up to squelching, just as I would disagree that no more Anonymous Monk posts would be allowed. Many people post anonymously and may be 10th level members even, because they'd like to avoid starting a conflict, real or imaginary, which may turn into some long-held grudge between members. The ability of one of our trusted members ( they don't get much more trusted than tye ) to squelch someone being offensive to other users is something that should be maintained, and helps keep up the quality of the site. Their ability to do so anonymously ( or not, in this case ) should also be upheld... Now will chip forever have a chip on his shoulder for tye? I really hope not. This place thrives on people working together and enjoying the site, not lurking in the shadows nursing a grudge.
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