On 11/09/2013 08:23 AM, Bill Oliver wrote:
On Fri, 8 Nov 2013, Robert Holtzman wrote:
On Thu, Nov 07, 2013 at 06:08:47PM -0500, Rahul Sundaram wrote:
Hi
On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 6:02 PM, Robert Holtzman wrote:
To you it's rude, to me blunt. This will never be resolved as it's a
matter of individual taste, enviroment, upbringing, etc. You seem to
have a thinner skin than I do.
No. I can tolerate it just fine but I shouldn't have to. If you
can't be
courteous to other users in this list, you aren't following the list
guidelines and moderators may choose to step in and at that point, your
argument that it is all so very personal and subjective and hence we
should
all tolerate any abuse that is thrown out won't work.
You've stated your position and I've stated mine. End of subject.
Actually, I think both of you are missing the point. I think you need
to look at it from a consequentialist point of view. It *doesn't
matter* whether or not Mr. Sundaram is offended and it doesn't matter
that you are not offended. Both of you will continue to participate
on the user list. Since it doesn't affect your behavior in a
meaningful way, it is of no consequence. That's not true for other
kinds of users, and the moderators need to consider that.
In most lists, there are a core of contributors who post relatively
frequently. They are the ones who keep the list going, keep people
interested, and provide many, if not most, of the answers,
suggestions, topics, etc. As long as these core people continue to
provide these services, it doesn't matter if they piss *each other* off.
However, there are two other constituencies -- the lurkers and the
occasional users. Lurkers read the list on a regular basis but rarely
post. Often they have a relatively decent level of knowledge and will
provide help for a specific topic they feel confident about, but they
won't engage in the everyday back and forth.
Occasional users are those folk out there who don't care about the
user's list per se, but are simply looking for a solution to a
particular problem. They come to the list asking a question and will
likely stop reading once the quesion is answered. Sometimes, if the
list turns out to be interesting and fun to read for the short time
they are monitoring it, they may turn into lurkers or even regular
posters. For instance, I came to this list with a specific question,
but have stayed as a lurker and occasional -- but not particularly
active -- poster.
The important question, I propose as a conjecture, is that it doesn't
matter whether someone irritates the core posters, since it won't
change their behavior in any substantive way. The question is whether
or not certain responses *to the more casual readers* will drive them
away. Will it make the *lurkers* leave or make them less likely to
provide an answer to a question that they feel confident enough to
post about? Will it make the casual user less likely to stay, or,
worse, go somewhere else with questions?
It is useful for any open list whose mandate is primarily oriented
towards support to offer answers to questions that exploit the
broadest range and greatest number of knowledgeable people possible.
If the responses on the list cause others to leave in large numbers,
then they are counterproductive. If, on the other hand, they
encourage others to stay and interact, then they are productive --
even if any individual post is off-topic or irritating to the core users.
Saying that "you can always hit the delete key" is a proper response
to a core user. It is a reasonable, but not optimal, response to a
lurker. It is a bad response to a casual user, because it is the
functional equivalent of "go away." Thus, were I a moderator, I would
look not so much at how irritating a response is, but more to *who*
the irritating response is directed at. If a poster is dismissive
towards a core user, it doesn't matter. If a poster is insulting to a
casual user, it could damage the list in the long run by discouraging
the accretion of new active participants.
Or, as the saying goes, "You can't talk about my sister that way! Only
I can -- because she's family."
billo
Interesting topic, What about the person who WAS once a devoted
person....but due to the responses he was getting....left....and after
trying a slew of other distros...couldn't find anything that compared to
this one?..so he came back, a bit subdued, and hoping his return goes
un-noticed.....what category would he fall into?....lurker?....core
user?...casual user?...(and I MAY be opening myself up to "attack" from
certain people here....but guess I'll just take my lumps and bear it! LoL!)
EGO II
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