Only Allow Comments by Paid Subscribers?
lechuan
May 15, 2009, 10:37 PM posted in General DiscussionWhat would users think if chinesepod only allowed comments from paid subscribers here? This may help keep the lesson conversations from getting derailed by trolls and language exchange postings (seem to be happening more frequently recently).
Tal
May 16, 2009, 12:27 AMtvan, Shenyajin is a CPod employee. (Easy mistake to make I guess when one first notices her posts.)
I agree with antony about the moderators, I wouldn't like to see a draconian banning of posts from trial users.
tingyun
May 16, 2009, 12:45 AMMakes sense - she's been very helpful.
Oh, moderators might be helpful - some really silly posts have accumulated that should be deleted. For example, in many of the archives lessons, weird things like people who posted a vast blank space post (so you have to scroll way down to get past it), or clearly inappropriate language.
Tal
May 16, 2009, 01:08 AMThe vast blank spaces are usually I think caused by people posting links to videos on Youtube. After a while the links get broken and the white space results. (Of course for poddies resident in China like me, we only see that vast white space anyway due to Youtube being blocked.)
lechuan
May 16, 2009, 01:36 AMI don't mind language exchange posts in general, I just find it annoying when they're in the actual lesson discussions.
Draconian bans aside, how about community moderation (like on www.engadget.com comments. Each comment has + - ! symbols beside them so you can vote up, vote down, or report a comment). I believe after X amount of users vote down a comment it will be collapsed by default, and only visible if the user chooses to expand it)?
calkins
May 16, 2009, 01:43 AMIt seems there are a number of users on the site who are Cpod staff. I think it'd be good if their avatar had an "admin" label. I think they used to before Cpod v.3.0.
I don't think that comments should be limited to paid subscribers, but I do agree that the site has been slammed with lots of (annoying) fluff lately. I don't know what the solution is, but I agree it should be a priority for Cpod to resolve.
skyfx
May 16, 2009, 03:21 AMi am not an employee of cpod,i think you can join the activity to practise chinese.i would eagerly to help solving the difficulties you encounter in the courses as possible as i can.
user76423
May 16, 2009, 08:31 AMI am not a subscriber and I am not allowed to post in the upper Newbie lesson discussions. So those threads should be free from annoying posts. What I dont like are the many "I am Chinese and I like to learn English" posts.
antony73
May 16, 2009, 12:16 AMIt's been said before, but I think Moderators are the way to go.
lechuan
May 16, 2009, 04:01 PMI wonder if a "sticky" (ie. always at the top) language exchange thread, would alleviate things. It would be clear to new users to post info there.
A synergy between language pods would definitely be a great thing (ie. a free englishpod subscription if you sign up for chinesepod and vice versa).
fadfh
May 17, 2009, 05:52 AMThese off-topic posts are only annoying if you let them annoy you. It only takes 5 seconds to see that a posting is irrelevant and scroll to the next one.
lechuan, wouldn't your suggestion still waste the same amount of time? Furthermore, most people wouldn't be bothered doing this when they don't see immediate results.
lechuan
May 18, 2009, 03:37 PMteach_beach_syd_1, No, setting up a sticky language exchange thread would not waste the same amount of time. It would be a valuable for people interested in language exchange. Those not interested wouldn't have to read it.
I read the lesson threads because I want to learn more about the chinese language as related to the lesson topic.
If I wanted language exchange, I would go to a language-exchange thread. If I want to hear people ranting I would read a rant thread. Some lessons get derailed by pages and pages of comments that have nothing to do with learning chinese. It takes time to skim over these trying to find something useful.
I believe here that "Moderation is Key", in both senses of the word :) I do appreciate the comments of many of the respectful trial users, so agree that a draconian ban would not be for the best.
zhenlijiang
May 18, 2009, 04:44 PMlechuan,
Though I'm not by any means insisting on this, I've already said elsewhere that I think allowing posting privileges to subscribers only is a good idea. This doesn't strike me as a "draconian ban". I didn't post until I bought a subscription--actually I didn't wait the whole week to subscribe, then I was probably so stoped I posted my first comment immediately after--and I guess I just am not really getting the sense of why the right to post during the trial week is so important (enough "I"s in this paragraph! god.).
how about community moderation (like on www.engadget.com comments. Each comment has + - ! symbols beside them so you can vote up, vote down, or report a comment). I believe after X amount of users vote down a comment it will be collapsed by default, and only visible if the user chooses to expand it)?
To this suggestion I would say no, because of what really I most want to say:
The people whose job it is to look after the community and what goes on on the boards are patient and wise, exceptionally fair-minded and knowledgeable, unfailingly courteous, good people. At the same time they're human, not omnipotent, and it takes so much hard work to always be on top on everything that goes on here. As they deserve our respect, they trust us to be respectful (we're grownups--well most of us are, right?) and be the best citizens we can be. I like this honor-based minimal-intervention approach a lot, esp as opposed to a system under which there is constant fear of getting voted down.
Yes, I know I myself have been guilty of polluting and littering here. But I think that appreciating how fortunate the community is to be in such good hands will help keep us good as well!
zhenlijiang
May 18, 2009, 06:01 PMOn language exchange solicitation posts, we discussed ideas here as well, I guess you may have already seen.
maialen
May 19, 2009, 12:27 AMWhat if there was a free account available simply for posting and listening to Newbie lessons? In that way, only people serious about contributing information would post. Also, if a user continuously posts irrelevant info anyway (and they have a free account), their account can be terminated?
bababardwan
May 19, 2009, 11:56 AM"These off-topic posts are only annoying if you let them annoy you. It only takes 5 seconds to see that a posting is irrelevant and scroll to the next one."
A shining example of tolerance which gladdens my heart and a lesson to all of us.This argues well for letting trial users continue to post week after week under different usernames/email accounts,where week after week they put up with annoying posts from paying subscribers.
trevorb
May 16, 2009, 08:54 AMI have had a lot of help over the past Month from Skyfx, who has patiently corrected my chinese. At the same time I have answered some of skyfx's questions about english but have moved to mail if its gone beyond a one line answer in activities to avoid annoying people.
The thing is through skyfx's questions about English I have improved my chinese as I have seen my own language and its built in contradictions in a different light.
Maybe there is room for a synergy between the different Pods i.e. An EnglishPod/ChinesePod and other combinations activity stream that could be subscribed to in addition to regular streams? It may also be worthwhile to allow subscribers to one Pod to interact with their native language Pod (if it exists).
As for the unpaid subscribers, I do see value from them and think chinesepod wins from them, but maybe moderation or a "report this" tickbox would ensure that forms meant for leaning one language do not turn into another.
tvan
May 15, 2009, 10:49 PMlechuan, personally, the language exchange doesn't bother me. I've picked up a few exchange partners that way. Also, some of them (e.g. Jevious and Tina) contributed to Chinese learners during their short tenure. If I'm not mistaken, I believe there's a young lady, Shenyajin, doing that as we post.
I guess that means I also accept the trolls as well. My opinion.