Forum Etiquette
pearltowerpete
November 28, 2008, 06:12 AM posted in General DiscussionHello all
Criticism of CPod is fine. We welcome your advice and suggestions. I believe in freedom of expression and a lively public debate on these forums. As a forum moderator, I don't like to delete comments, even negative ones, or use too heavy of a unless it's really necessary.
But today Paganfarmer, a trial user who was spamming a lot of groups (trogging, if you like) crossed a couple of lines. We just cannot tolerate hateful or racist comments or personal attacks. As a result, Paganfarmer has been banned and his/her comments deleted.
I'm sorry about allowing this person to damage the atmosphere of friendly discussion that we try so hard to cultivate here.
Most important is that the vast majority of poddies, who are serious, funny people, get back to the important job of learning Chinese. As always, the rest of the CPod team and I will be very happy to take your questions, comments and criticisms.
Sincerely,
Pete
hwangd01
December 02, 2008, 04:30 AMPete, thank you for deleting some of h......'s voluminous and distracting threads today. I think his greatest fault lies not in the offensive nature of his posts, but in his belief that we actually care about what he thinks. Was it just me, or did others also find his mid-life crisis to be really boring? Call a waaah-mbulance, but don't post your whining here. I log on to the community board here to learn from others who know a heck of a lot more Chinese than I do.
I must say, I really enjoy and learn from your posts, as well as those of others such as 长夜, 小虎, henning, 等. I also really appreciate the good citizens, such as calkins and goulniky, who must spend quite a bit of their own time making learning interesting and enjoyable for the rest of us.
After a month and a half, I know how I like to use CPod. However, I think some new and trial users may find the creepy posts to be off-putting. CPod would probably lose users if superfluous and repulsive posts are allowed to proliferate here unchecked.
pearltowerpete
November 28, 2008, 06:37 AMHi misterjess
I'm sorry if we got anything of yours. It was not intentional. Your comments are sharp and on target.
Hi changye
We are always searching for that 中庸之道 between smashing dissent and becoming a madhouse.
xiaohu
November 28, 2008, 08:53 AMWow, too bad I missed the party. I would have loved to see Misterjess's sharp and on target commentary.
So what happened, you just deleted EVERYTHING that Paganfarmer ever posted?
pearltowerpete
November 28, 2008, 09:03 AMHi xiaohu
I think you probably saw it all in the past few days. It's just too bad it won't be around for people to see later on.
And yes, we deleted everything Paganfarmer ever wrote. Unlike some people who start out good and then go rogue, Paganfarmer never added to the discussion.
henning
November 28, 2008, 09:30 AMI still think a "museum.chinesepod" site would be cool - with all the old Saturday shows, the old Advanced lessons (Factory girl!), Word on the Street, a Lantian memorial, an area for the old lesson arts and why not...
...a section on "Forum monstrosities". Here you could archive all the deleted threads of kitty, pageanfarmer, Dave, mad Ed, angry Karen, and all the rest (parental guidance stongly suggested for sequences of intense action and violence).
bababardwan
November 28, 2008, 10:07 AMHenning,
Great idea.I'd love to check out some of the stuff I've missed out on.I'm not feeling optimistic on this one though somehow.Fair enough.
bababardwan
November 28, 2008, 10:08 AMPete,
I hope you've got some rest coming on the horizon.What a week hey? Workmates away ,and spammers/trolls/troggers go rampant.Just wanted to say you've done a great job holding the fort and 'ave a good weekend mate.:)
xiaohu
November 28, 2008, 10:09 AMIn a forum taken over by rogues and troggs, in a time when the very sovereignty of poddies was at a stake, when userposts digressed from profanity ...into pure insanity!!! ONE FORUM ADMIN, finally had the courage to fight back!
Pete: GET TO THE CHOPPER!
Poddie 1: 直升飞机，在 Praxis 的办公室里边？
Pete: The security of the forum has been compromised, we must destroy this infected network before it takes control of the poddie-nation!
Poddie: 可是把她的留言删除掉的话，会摧毁我的杰作啊！
Pete: Listen to me...we've got to get out of here! There are Pagan Farmers everywhere, and the Troggs are closing in. I'm going to blow the systems...NOW!
Poddie: 哎呦，那个笔记本电脑可贵了！两百多块人民币啊！
Pete: Forget it, we can't save it, there's no time! GET DOWN NOW! Ha-gah, g...g...ggg...ah!!!
(Poddie hits the deck )
Poddie: 呦，我的脚踢在地板上了！
(Angle in for dramatic close-up)
Pete: 再见...BABY!
(Pete hits the master delete button, blowing Paganfarmers insolent words into the Recycle Bin forever)
This Thanksgiving, if... you're... Pagan... don't... start... plowing!
;)
bababardwan
November 28, 2008, 10:20 AMxiaohu,
lol;very funny.Your piece just got better as it went on.I loved the climax 再见...BABY! which was reminiscent of the Terminators "hasta la vista,baby".You'll have to write more such scripts for our entertainment.Thanks.
Jess_Andersen
November 28, 2008, 06:21 AMyeah ok but pete, ya blew up some of my best work in the process.
antony73
November 28, 2008, 01:03 PMThanks Pete - I am pleased she's gone. Some of pigfarmers comments were such and writen in such a way that they were unpleasant to read and, to a certain extent, have recently overshadowed some of the comments section. The Chinesepod community creates a great learning and sharing tool. Thanks for helping to keep it that way.
pchenery
November 28, 2008, 03:03 PMThanks Pete for taking out the trash !
urbandweller
November 28, 2008, 04:25 PMYeah thanks for clamping down on these idiots Pete! I was wondering how long you were going to let PF get away with that stuff. There was no value in that persons posts so getting rid of it entirely was the right decision. Now I think bababardwan had a really good idea...about only allowing paid users to post comments.
I think that would definitely weed out the troggs from the trolls...err i mean sheep from the goats!!
xiaohu
November 28, 2008, 09:37 PMBy the way, I love Henning's idea of a C-pod museum. 回忆往事
pearltowerpete
November 29, 2008, 01:03 AMHi all
Thanks for the vote of confidence. The warm community is what really sets CPod apart. But I don't need to tell you that.
I'll pass along your idea for a museum or hall of shame. But I don't know about the feasibility of such a thing, as we generally focus all our resources on bringing the poddies new content. In the words of 小平同志： 一切往前（钱）看
Hi babababardwan
Has it only been two weeks? One minute I'm running through the achingly beautiful Taroko Gorge, the next minute I'm fighting off troggers with both hands. Sounds like the start of a Bond movie.
The good news is that as of Monday the CPod team will be more complete, including a fresh new face...
Hi xiaohu
You live in the LA area and you don't have a movie deal? With that kind of writing I might finally be convinced to pay for a theater ticket!
azerdocmom
November 29, 2008, 07:04 AMThanks, Pete, for the open communication regarding this somewhat delicate subject of forum etiquette. No one at CPod has directly addressed the community regarding this. As a long time subscriber, I have seen most of those trolls Henning mentioned come and go and gladly so. Cultivating a community of mutually respectful and enthusiastic learners takes some pruning. I am glad to see you pruning.
I feel that spirited discussions and debates are good, often they help to bring clarity. But, nonsensical comments and insulting posts are just unnecessary and really only serve to dampen the generally congenial spirit of this wonderful community. I for one don't miss them.
goulnik
November 28, 2008, 12:04 PMcan't recall reading any of these troggelucubrations, but this case of ruling by example reminded me of that 18-years jail sentence for ma(i)d attacks in Malaysia. Not that I would object to this type of deterrent :
A former Malaysian flight attendant who repeatedly scalded her Indonesian maid has been jailed by a court in the capital Kuala Lumpur for 18 years. full story...
changye
November 28, 2008, 06:21 AMThe CCP is quicker in action than Cpod is.