Jan 4th 2002, 00:10 GMT

NOTE: This was orginally a coment to one of Lilith’s blog entries. It came out a little longer than I expected, and decided it would make a decent blog entry on it’s own.

You’re not the only one Lilith.

I came to the same conclusion almost immediately after G-Blog.net was launched. 🙂

Gossip rocks. Gossip’s sites rock. But I’ve taken to lurking on PJG. I can’t really remember the last time I felt like postng there. Most of the time I just read the JG news on my Handspring via AvantGo, and don’t even bother visiting the site. I’m tired of reading thread after thread of flames.

It’s a function of the community, and because of the annonymous nature of the internet, people feel free, (and sometimes even obliged,) to do and say things online that they would never dream of in doing or saying in real life.

Unfortuneately, every online community faces the risk of a few members ruining the experience for all, and the larger the community, the geater the risk. Many don’t survive as the original designers intended, degenerating instead into a steaming pile of flaming… (Yes, I end that thought there on purpose.)

On the whole, I think that PJG is still doing well. That is a testament not only to Gossip, but to the community as a whole. I hope that G-Blog.net does just as well. Actually, I hope that it will be far better.

Because this is a more generalized site, I think we have the opportunity to build a more diversified community. This can be a very good thing in that we will have more people sharing thier thoughts, ideas, and feelings on a wider range of topics. But this kind of a success can also be a double edged sword. With a larger user base, and a wider range of topics, we will at some point, undoubtedly, attract trolls and board-flamers.

If we, as a community, can remember to kind, polite, and civil to one another, we will thrive. If we continue post our thoughts, observations, and points of view while remembering that other may not always agree with what we have to say, we will thrive.

You don’t have to resort to flaming to argue a point, even one you feel passionatly about. You should not attack others for having a different point of view, just as others should not attack you. If we can remember to keep things, if not happy, at least civil, G-Blog.net will continue to be a successfull community.

One of the easiest ways to defeat the trolls and board-flamers is to simply ignore them. Most of the time they are just trying to get a rise out of someone. Don’t even give them the satisfaction of a “Yeah, Whatever.” post. I know that it can REALLY be hard sometimes, but it can be done. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sat at the computer typing a response to a troll or a flame in anger, only to re-read and then delete it before posting. I was able to vent my frustration in the writing, which is what I needed to do, but I did not need to post it. I would have only been adding fuel to the fire.

If we simply ignore them, the trolls and board-flamers will eventually give up and go looking for an easier target. And a few Gossip’s creative counter-measures will help too 😉

I miss the spell-checker.

Edited on Jan 4th 2002, 00:21 by Hooloovoo

Jan 3rd 2002, 19:49 GMT

Did I already post this? I probably did, but I’m too lazy to look right now.

They Fight Crime!

EDIT: Oops, I forgot to make the entry public. And should this go into “Humor” or “On The ‘Net”? It could arguably be both. Can I ask that we have the ability to cross-post? Well yeah, I guess I can, since I just did – but will Gossip do it? Maybe, maybe not. I’m just throwing the idea out there.

Great, now this might be fit under “Ramblings” now too. 🙂

Edited on Jan 3rd 2002, 19:57 by Hooloovoo

Update: Not that it matters – since this is a pretty old post, but I’m adding it to the other categories mentioned above.

Edited on Mar 20th 2002, 18:39 by Hooloovoo