3 ways to make TV/AN a more pleasant and more useful experience

[Old Curmudgeon]

 

This thread is about what you and I can do -- starting right now -- to make this forum more pleasant and more useful.

Can do individually, on our own, without any collective agreements or permissions.

 

I started following this forum more than 20 years ago, so I have earned the privilege of using the TV designation (from the original name, "Thai Visa".)

Even 20 years ago, the level of monkey chatter here was high.

But since then, the noise level has gotten so high, that it drowns out any useful signal.

That noise, of course, is from trolls.

 

I say there's no need to moan and complain about trolls here.

That won't accomplish anything.

But when trolls attack -- as they always do -- there are three things you CAN do:

 

 

 

#1 - Ignore User:

 

Just 5 clicks and that troll disappears from your screen forever.

Not just on one thread, but on ALL threads, everywhere.

Gone!

A very powerful feature of the software behind this forum.

 

Some trolls will think, "Okay, OldCurmudgeon, you ignore me; I'll ignore you!"

And that is exactly the effect I want.

Better for me.

Better for everyone if the trolls just wash out with the tide.

 

 

Quote

13. You will not publicly comment on moderation in an open forum. You will not comment on actions taken by individual moderators or on specific or general policies and issues.

 

#2 - Report Post:

This feature sends an immediate message to the people behind the scenes who keep this forum running.

I'm certainly not going to use proper name for them here, but you know who I mean.

They usually remove reported posts.

But that removal affects only one post on one thread and is not a long-range or wide-range solution to trolls.

 

I use the Report Post function clean up threads I start, but you can use it to clean up any troll posts, anywhere.

Does not have to be on your threads.

 

 

 

#3 -- Start private message (PM) topics.

 

PMs are a very powerful, but little used, feature of this forum software.

Can be 1:1, but also can have group conversations in PMs.

Your own private, hidden, forum.

Trolls cannot interfere in PM conversations ... impossible.

 

 

That's a start to my thoughts on this topic.

Is there anything I've missed that would help??

 

Thoughtful comments welcome, either below or (of course) in a private message.

 

-- Old Curmudgeon

   Chiang Mai

 

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

 

 

Life is all about different experiences and viewpoints.

 

I can say I have never put anyone on ignore and I've no intention of starting.

 

It would be a sad world with no humour or different viewpoints & I can't help feel you are missing out.

 

 

[josephbloggs]

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think you have too much time on your hands and too few friends.

 

Life is all about different experiences and viewpoints.

 

I can say I have never put anyone on ignore and I've no intention of starting.

 

It would be a sad world with no humour or different viewpoints & I can't help feel you are missing out.

 

 

"Ignore" is for people who like living in an echo chamber.

My tips to add:

#4. Spend less time on the forum, post less. Quality of life improves immediately.

#5. Follow simon43's thread "Day to day life in Myanmar". Fantastic reading, and very refreshing as it is someone posting positive experiences from deep inside a country that very few of us will experience ourselves, and is a poster doing good things in the country they live in. Such a contrast with the Thai bashing negativity that infects the rest of this site.

[OneMoreFarang]

8 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think you have too much time on your hands and too few friends.

 

Life is all about different experiences and viewpoints.

 

I can say I have never put anyone on ignore and I've no intention of starting.

 

It would be a sad world with no humour or different viewpoints & I can't help feel you are missing out.

 

 

 

I welcome different viewpoints and people who express their opinions and argue sensible. There are a couple of people in this forum who I disagree with almost in any post, but I still read them because sometimes it's interesting how they think.

 

And then there are some annoying people who just write the same garbage, and they don't know how to explain it or are too stupid to do that. If I read a couple of those posts, I put them on my ignore list. I wouldn't learn anything more by reading the same again and again. Just annoying.

[bokningar]

11 hours ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

#1 - Ignore User:

 

Just 5 clicks and that troll disappears from your screen forever.

Not just on one thread, but on ALL threads, everywhere.

Gone!

I have started to use this for the worst of them.

Makes this place better for me.

[atpeace]

I see posters often and by often I mean very often threatening other posters with the ignore button.  I think this is weak and in most cases it has nothing at all to do with the the person they are threatening being a troll.  I'm not saying there is never an instance where some might benefit from using the ignore but it should be used rarely IMO.

 

  As for me, never used it and can't imagine using it.  It seems silly to create a bizarre reality where only people you agree with are allowed in which may posters do but up to them.  The silly threats though reflect poorly on the person making the threat.  There are a couple posters on this thread that do this often so maybe I'm missing something 🙂

[Old Curmudgeon]

19 minutes ago, bokningar said:

I have started to use this for the worst of them.

Makes this place better for me.

 

Thanks, @bokningar for that comment.

 

That's how I started, too, just ignoring the worst of them.

This forum improved for me.

Then I ignored more and more, a lot really.

And the forum improved even more!

 

Now, I estimate that I see only about one post out of 10-20.  That's all.

Much more pleasant experience reading here.

 

 

25 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It seems to me many good people left this forum or were thrown out by the admins. And some new individuals, maybe human or AI, bring up lots of traffic. And it seems lots of traffic, just to have more traffic, is wanted by the owners. Sad. But I guess inevitable.

 

I can't comment about who did what, because I don't know the facts.

But traffic, plenty of traffic, is essential for advertising revenue.

And no advertising revenue ... no forum!

 

My goal is to make the reading here pleasant, useful, and efficient -- within that situation.

Suggestions, please, how to do that.
 

[Old Curmudgeon]

23 minutes ago, atpeace said:

I see posters often and by often I mean very often threatening other posters with the ignore button. 

 

Thanks for your thoughtful counter-point, @atpeace.

 

However, I never threaten anyone.

I just do it.

 

Same with the "report" function.

I report about trolling, personal attack, off topic, etc.

Usually on threads I start, trying to keep them clear of troll graffiti.

 

Is there a better way?

 

 

Well, yes, there is one more thing to make the forum more pleasant:

I have removed the little icons in the lower, right corner of every post.

Not only my posts, but every post:

 

I don't care what other people think about posts.

Especially, I don't care what anonymous people think.

I'm capable of forming my own opinions.

So I've removed all of those, from every post, on every thread.

Using web browser add-on, uBlock Origin.

 

Not a big thing, but makes reading easier, more efficient, less cluttered.

 

 

[atpeace]

29 minutes ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

Thanks for your thoughtful counter-point, @atpeace.

 

However, I never threaten anyone.

I just do it.

 

Same with the "report" function.

I report about trolling, personal attack, off topic, etc.

Usually on threads I start, trying to keep them clear of troll graffiti.

 

Is there a better way?

 

 

Well, yes, there is one more thing to make the forum more pleasant:

I have removed the little icons in the lower, right corner of every post.

Not only my posts, but every post:

 

I don't care what other people think about posts.

Especially, I don't care what anonymous people think.

I'm capable of forming my own opinions.

So I've removed all of those, from every post, on every thread.

Using web browser add-on, uBlock Origin.

 

Not a big thing, but makes reading easier, more efficient, less cluttered.

 

 

Makes sense from your perspective. I just look at it differently and if I choose, I just ignore (Mentally-no button ) certain posts on threads.  In most cases I don't even ignore but simply skim through  certain posts.  Some posters surprise me and make valid points or simply make me laugh even though they are generally insane IMO.

 

You brought up the report function. This the function I despise 🙂 It is extremely easy to abuse this function and it was done here during Covid.  You get a group that immediately reports any post they don't like and sadly the discussion was so limited that many threw in the towel and avoided many topics.  Again, definitely a place for the function but should be used rarely and moderators should only delete insincere or "extremely" offensive posts.

 

I'm just a goof living in the sticks so take my opinions with a grain of salt 🙂  Ignoring and reporting  people like me that you might disagree with is silly.

[ColeBOzbourne]

If I'm flipping through television channels and come across one that I really dislike, the idea of 'blocking' that channel never enters my mind. I have no urge to contact the TV station and voice my disapproval. I just move on to the next channel, which is the quickest and easiest solution. Why can't people do the same on internet forums? Why do some feel compelled to waste their time responding to posts they don't like, or tattling to a moderator?

[cdemundo]

 Very good advice.

For some posters here the saying is very true:

"You are not completely useless, you can always serve as a bad example."

I mean that very. literally as I see behaviors and attitudes I don't want to slip or fall into and so I consciously avoid.

 

Sometime I will see a whole page of notifications of people I have blocked one after the other.

Saves me the time of going through pointless posts.

 

As far as different viewpoints etc., most of the people I have blocked seem to say the same thing over and over, I don't need to hear it again.

Being a know-it-all is not a point of view, so I block a lot of those.

There are some here who post in almost every thread and often bring in their unrelated obsessions.

Yawn.

I think I have 3 pages of blocked members.

 

If someone else responds to them I can still go and read blocked members messages but mostly I don't miss those that I have blocked

[Lacessit]

I ignore people who attack me personally, or are so stupid they are beyond help.

[BarBoy]

13 hours ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

to make this forum more pleasan

Pleasant is highly subjective.

 

One man's heaven is another man's hell...

[BarBoy]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

I ignore people who attack me personally, or are so stupid they are beyond help.

Care to name names?

 

🤭

[proton]

Topless pics would be a winner 😆

[Lacessit]

Just now, BarBoy said:

Care to name names?

 

🤭

Too many to list. Some have been banned, or left in various ways.

 

I sometimes leave people on I should ignore, either because they are witty, or absolutely banal.

 

I am undecided about you.

[BarBoy]

Just now, Lacessit said:

I am undecided about you.

Same here.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

Thanks, @bokningar for that comment.

 

That's how I started, too, just ignoring the worst of them.

This forum improved for me.

Then I ignored more and more, a lot really.

And the forum improved even more!

 

Now, I estimate that I see only about one post out of 10-20.  That's all.

Much more pleasant experience reading here.

 

 

 

I can't comment about who did what, because I don't know the facts.

But traffic, plenty of traffic, is essential for advertising revenue.

And no advertising revenue ... no forum!

 

My goal is to make the reading here pleasant, useful, and efficient -- within that situation.

Suggestions, please, how to do that.
 

 

Sure, lots of traffic is good for advertisement.

But if lots of new posts are just crap, then more of the real users are not interested anymore. And then the real users posts less and/or don't come back.

Result: Only crap is left. 

I don't know the online advertisement business. But I guess if 10,000 "users" see an add and nobody clicks on it, then advertisement companies won't pay for that for a long time.

And I don't think AI traffic will buy anything anywhere.

 

In theory I think this forum could get better with fewer idiot posts and more real posts from real people. That's the theory, I don't think that will happen.

 

 

[Old Croc]

5 minutes ago, proton said:

Topless pics would be a winner 😆

You missed the early years and the restricted forum.

[save the frogs]

21 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

I think I have 3 pages of blocked members.

Trick question:

 

How many blocked members do you need to have before admitting that there might be something wrong with YOU? 

 

 

[BarBoy]

40 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

, lots of traffic is good for advertisement.

But if lots of new posts are just crap, then more of the real users are not interested anymore. And then the real users posts less and/or don't come back.

Result: Only crap is left

....err, scuse me but who are you to say whats crap and what isn't? Are you the purveyor of good taste?...

[Lacessit]

39 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Trick question:

 

How many blocked members do you need to have before admitting that there might be something wrong with YOU? 

 

 

Give me your estimate, I'll check and let you know.

 

Not that it matters, if there is something wrong with me it's too late in the day to do anything about it.

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Ignore" is for people who like living in an echo chamber.

It's also for posters who think that using the facility is a punishment and has any effect on anyone except them!

[BarBoy]

9 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It's also for posters who think that using the facility is a punishment and has any effect on anyone except them!

....I wonder how many ignore lists you show up on 🤭

[cdemundo]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

Trick question:

 

How many blocked members do you need to have before admitting that there might be something wrong with YOU? 

 

 

Kumbaya, you love everybody right? Except me?

Your point is taken, but I think it only applies if I think everyone else is a jerk. 

Some people really are jerks.

Lots of things wrong with me but plenty of Ricardo Cabezas here that are on the wrong side of the continuum relative to me.

 

As a wise man once said "Jesus loves you but everyone else thinks you're an A-hole".

[Stiddle Mump]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

I ignore people who attack me personally, or are so stupid they are beyond help.

Indeed!

 

Even if you know someone is stupid, it's not nice to tell them so.

 

Better to get them to see the errors in their thinking. That way everyone's a winner.

[Liverpool Lou]

49 minutes ago, BarBoy said:

59 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It's also for posters who think that using the facility is a punishment and has any effect on anyone except them!

....I wonder how many ignore lists you show up on 🤭

You do?  I don't, but I'd guess it is less than you.

[BarBoy]

11 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You do?  I don't, but I'd guess it is less than you.

...so predictable, Lou.

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

12 minutes ago, BarBoy said:

24 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You do?  I don't, but I'd guess it is less than you.

...so predictable, Lou.

So accurate, also.

[norfolkandchance]

1 hour ago, BarBoy said:

....I wonder how many ignore lists you show up on 🤭

Pot. Kettle.