New "Hide" and "Flag" tools released today...

Posted by sdesapio 10 years, 1 month ago to The Gulch: General
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From URDAN DICTIONARY (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.ph... ):
"Thread hijacking" - When a person starts a posting on a message board, or forum, or Facebook, that others are able to comment on, that original posting and the comments on it are called a thread. A thread hijacking occurs when one or more individuals commenting on the original posting, go off topic, creating a separate conversation. This is rude, and bad internet etiquette. If people want to discuss a different topic, they should start their own thread.

- - -

Some new tools released today...

"Hide" is for thread authors to help keep their conversation on topic by effectively "hiding" a comment from public views and lists. Example usage: You post a new topic, someone else comments attempting to take the discussion down a completely unrelated and unwanted tangent, hide it. IMPORTANT: Comments are not deleted and are still viewable by anyone - just not as easily accessible (see screenshots attached).

"Flag" sends a notification to Gulch admins indicating that a comment needs to be reviewed. If you think a comment crosses the line of propriety, flag it. This of course is a purely subjective function so do us a favor and think twice about flagging.

Let us know what you think. We'll see how things go. Fingers crossed.


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  • Posted by DaveM49 10 years, 1 month ago
    Works for me. Any online forum needs a certain amount of oversight. 99% of us can police ourselves. The rest....we shouldn't have to see their posts unless we want to.

    Given the number of Rand-haters out there, let's face it, some are going to pop up here.
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    • Posted by Boborobdos 10 years, 1 month ago
      Don't hate Rand but I don't translate her work literally like it's a bible. Apparently there is no room for anything except being in lockstep.

      That's not hating Rand, that's hating an institution created that wants to crush everything else, kinda like what the Westborough Baptist Church does.

      IOW, if someone doesn't worship Ayn Rand the same way you do it's thumbs down.
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  • Posted by mckenziecalhoun 10 years, 1 month ago
    We're guests here.
    We're not owed.
    Set the rules - compete for people with a balance of freedom and safety.
    We'll decide.

    That's what it boils down to.
    I like it that way.
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  • Posted by j_IR1776wg 10 years, 1 month ago
    You should have a cancel button on the Flag message in case it is clicked in error.

    Where is the hide tool? Does it appear only on the threads' originator screen only?
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    • Posted by jbaker 10 years, 1 month ago
      And flag just does that, it just brings it to the attention of the site admins. It doesn't permanently change the flagged comment.
      Just wanted to let you know.
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      • Posted by Hiraghm 10 years, 1 month ago
        Dear jbaker... one guess how you got a rating of -1 on this message.

        It's not malicious. It's a bug you really should fix.

        Hmm... it appears it doesn't let your post drop below zero, even though it shows me that it steadily declines every time I re-view the post and re-click thumbs down....

        Nope, it takes a little more work, but your rating keeps dropping...

        I'm not being malicious, I'm testing the bug on your message.

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  • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years ago
    While it is unfortunate that such measures are necessary, sometimes they are.

    I'm sure that there are some here who wish that I would "shut up", I doubt that there are many who would want to silence me.

    It is curious that those who merit such reaction tend to be progressive/collectivist. They cannot support their position with reason and logic, so they instead proceed to try to block and confuse. And when the cost is inconsequential, they do so unchecked.

    I applaud the actions taken to stem such activities while attempting to keep this a forum of as open a dialogue as reasonably possible.
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  • Posted by $ winterwind 10 years ago
    I'm OK with the idea of flagging something for admins to review. OK, rather than enthusiastic, because I view the site as "ours" rather than "belonging to Atlas Productions, of whoever". But there's no rule that says I have to like everything about something to use it, so, as I said, I'm OK with that part of the feature.

    I dislike the "hide" part of the feature, because sometimes good things come from meandering - but there's no way to know unless the meandering......meanders. There's also a hugs difference between meanderings of silliness, and a deliberate attempt to hijack a post. I would urge everyone to use their "hide" power for good. I would certainly say that the notice of invisibility of hidden comments should not read the same as that noting the invisibility of "points too low" comments. [So you know what you're in trouble for!]
    Thank you for taking this discussion public.
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  • Posted by Zenphamy 10 years, 1 month ago
    So now I've gotta track down the hidden reply to my comment or following comment. Well, it'll be fun.

    I hope authors use discretion. I enjoy some of the meandering, though I think it'll be useful for a few of the most active hijackers. ( I like that term)
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  • Posted by cp256 10 years, 1 month ago
    'New "Hide" and "Flag" tools released today... '

    When I saw that in my Gulch digest, I thought it referred to some new political strategy the leftists were trying!
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