Note from the Mods

[Aitrus]

Lately there has been an unwelcome trend here on the TSPCenter.com forum. The number of pointless negative comments, as well as a wide rash of negative reputation points handed out with inane comments attached, has spiked tremendously. I believe the causes for this spike are twofold.

First, I think that some are mistakenly clicking on the red “thumbs down” symbol when trying to give positive rep. The red symbol gives the member negative rep, and the green “+” symbol gives the member positive rep. Please make sure you’re clicking on the correct box when you want to give, or remove, reputation points from another member.

The other, and I believe to be the more prevalent, reason is a lack of basic civility. This site is not Facebook or Twitter. Do not treat it as such. What makes this forum a great place to be, and why I agreed to become a moderator, is that we have good discussions, thoughtful dialogue, and unique ideas. Random strangers engaging in Run-by-Fruitings are not normally commonplace, and this lends an environment that is welcoming to those of us who wish to improve our TSP account values.

(Run-by-Fruiting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4_zonfvW0)

I am thankful that this is a country where the freedom of speech is enshrined in its founding documents. That means people are allowed to shoot off at the mouth, give negative rep or troll if they so choose. It’s also allowed for this forum’s admin personnel and moderators to establish standards for acceptable behavior and to ban people that rub us the wrong way when they behave like little children or break the forum rules. This is not a place that welcomes free-for-all ranting, profanity, lack of decorum, personal insults, or lack of decency. If you need a refresher on what the site owner has to say on this subject, I invite you to read his thread: http://tspcenter.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4

When you disagree with something somebody posts, you generally have two choices that display mature behavior. You can either ignore that post / that opinion you don’t like / that pic that irritates you, or you can have a discussion. You don’t shoot off at the mouth, give them negative rep without a good (and legible) explanation of why you’re doing so, or troll them.

I’m not saying that disagreements can’t happen. Rational discussion is what allows the exchange of ideas, leading to improvements in systems and overall progress toward mutual goals. What I am saying is that being a mature adult means you either ignore things you don’t like, or you discuss them rationally. Trolling, rampant negative reputation spreading for truly minor things (such as somebody posting that he’s found a bug and he’s working on a fix in a program that he made himself and offers for free) and snarky, unproductive comments that serve no true purpose, are just a few recent examples of inappropriate behavior. This is the kind of behavior that belongs in middle school, or at best high school, not in the real world where responsible adults live and interact. Anonymity on the ‘Net does not give one license to be uncivil.

When you say something in response to somebody else, what you say and how you say it often tells us more about you than about the person you’re responding to. You don’t have to give your opinion on every little thing somebody says. Choose your words wisely. You have a limited amount of time in this world, so why not make what you say matter more by speaking less often, but in more profound and meaningful ways?

If you cannot abide by the guidelines I’ve stated above, the rules as put forth by the site owner, or by principles common among mature and rational humans calmly engaging in normal interactions, then you are not welcome here.

[mjedlin66]

Aitrus, thank you for all that you do.

[John316]

Well said. Thanks for the all the folks who work hard so the rest of us can enjoy the fruits of this website.

[evilanne]

Many thanks to both of our mods, Aitrius & skiehawk11.

[Tomanyiron]

I would add that giving “negative reputation points with inane comments attached” is there from now on. You can’t erase them, and your name will be forever attached. So this juvenile thing will have a reverse effect and actually becomes a self-imposed negative reputation record for the person giving them.

However if you did click the red “thumbs down” by mistake, you can go back later and add positive rep points. That along with a short explanation, could help on both sides.

[Longstreet]

Hear, hear!

[skiehawk11]

I concur 100 percent with Aitrus.

I'll go further and state that the moderators will investigate and take the appropriate action if complaints are filed against members using the reputation points as a way to troll other members or if moderators see a pattern of trolling.

As Aitrus has mentioned previously, rules about how members are to conduct themselves at TSPCenter.com are located here:

http://tspcenter.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4

[yardbird]

Hello,
These are all good points by Aitrus; thanks for your dedication (that goes for all of the moderators).


p.s. - The run-by fruiting video was funny!

[Aitrus]

Thanks for the support, everybody. I'm hoping that my words will start a positive trend on the forum.

yardbird - Yeah, I wasn't sure how many would get the reference, so I included the clip. Glad you liked it. Moral issues aside, it's one of Robin Williams' best movies, IMO.

[ApeX13]

Yes, well said. Let's not lose the cordial art of being ladies and gentlemen.

[dougellen1]

Love fest !

[bamablue]

Sadly... the anonymous 'social media' world has created a new normal. People who didn't live in a time when you got a punch in the nose for popping-off didn't learn the difficult lessons of civility. Not that every person under 40 years old is a keyboard commando, but it seems that this kind of discord is seen as 'normal' to a growing number of people. You don't have to be a member of the 'get off my lawn' generation to seek good behavior. I sincerely hope that manners and civility never become un-cool in a world where people who don't know each other share ideas...

[12squared]

Up until a month or two ago, I never saw anyone with negative Rep points. Now I note several folks who contribute novel ideas (not necessarily all I agree with) or in depth research who are in the negative numbers - or hundreds of paragraph length posts, while there are several who just contribute one liners with 10 to 50 points.

The Rep Point system is broken.

[Midway]

Is there a way to verify what points I have awarded? Just want to verify I hit the right buttons.

[TomS88]

The Rep Point system is broken.

That would be an understatement.