Tim Vasquez
EF5
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2003
- Messages
- 3,411
EDIT: Jeff Snyder suggested splitting off this thread from "Is this site dead" since it contains a lot of new info, so here it is.
It's been a few weeks since I've visited this thread (mostly due to the holidays and end-of-year jobs I have to do), but this discussion has been on my mind a lot. I want to thank you all for your inputs. I've read all of the posts carefully and given them careful consideration, even the posts from the self-professed "outsiders" like Andrew Burnett upthread.
It is January 11, and we are in the abyss of the winter doldrums. We are about to start our runup to spring, and accordingly we will be making some site changes, as discussed back in December. Here's what to expect.
* Real names are no longer required as a username. This change will bring us into parity with the vast majority of the better Internet forums out there, and will allow use of amateur radio callsigns and allow some anonymity from data miners, Google, and employers (including the bosses at NOAA and NWS). On the registration form we will encourage the use of a real name, with an asterisk indicating that most of our site currently uses real names and it makes it easier to recognize other fellow chasers out on the Plains. Rob Hurkes made a good point that real names get more recognition; people may see this and eventually convert over to a real name, though some won't for whatever reason. Any user is permitted to change over to a nickname if they want; PM me or a moderator with what you want it to be, and give us a few days. Of course, we do reserve the right to deny any username if it's not consistent with our community standards.
* We will continue the essay requirement, but mostly as a formality. Our moderator team will continue to manually approve each user before they can post. We will throw out only those who omit the essay (indicating early on that they can't read the rules) or who give us the impression that they really don't belong on our site. Nickname accounts will be scrutinized more carefully.
* There is a small chance of some random spam once we allow nicknames in, since the real names policy has been one of our litmus tests. If spam appears here, flag it and move on. Most of the vBulletin spammers are good at jacking up the registration forms but are pretty stupid at blending in as far as the form fields and registration data, and we have different ways of blocking them.
* Programming has begun on that chase targeting game some of you old-timers may remember (picking targets, getting a score). This new game will be improved, database driven, fed with real-time data, and we'll have a scoreboard and statistics.
* Our goal this year is light moderation of the site. We will cease use of the infraction system. Most minor infringements can be overlooked or fixed on the spot if a repeat infringement is unlikely. Moderators are asked to softdelete posts or edit them (stating at the bottom that an edit was made) and if possible send a friendly PM of some kind to the user explaining the right thing to write. If you as a user gets spot corrected for something, I ask that you please not take it personally and consider the moderator's viewpoint. It is NOT a big deal or worth making a stand over. This is a small concession you can make to keep us from having to overmoderate the site, which is what you DON'T want if you don't like being corrected. If a user is not "getting it", particularly in TA, we have means of curtailing their use of parts of the site. We can also remove them from the site on a no-fault basis as not being a good fit for our community.
* Target Area post permissions will continue to be protected. The current system is you opt in, and as long as you are meeting Target Area standards, you remain opted in. I ask that moderators revoke permissions of people systematically contributing noise to Target Area until they have a private talk with the user and reach an accord. Users who see noise are NOT to call it out publically or complain about it... just flag it and move on. If you see a chronic TA problem, you can e-mail a moderator or e-mail me and we'll investigate, but this is not a guarantee that we are willing or able to correct it.
* Malicious use of the site will be dealt with swiftly and sharply: flame wars, callouts, hate speech, undermining the site, refusing to cooperate, and so on. This is where users get on our sh##t list. We MAY give the benefit of the doubt, but otherwise we will move very quickly to give offenders a plane ticket home. Personally, I regret not having acted more swiftly with the bans we've imposed in past years, so that option is there, even more so. For those who don't like it here, it's wiser to quit and get involved with some other weather site, because there's always that chance Stormtrack may change into something else one day and you'll want to have that account waiting and ready.
* We will be bringing back the "thank you" button, probably renamed as a "Like" or "Favorite" flag. We had this a couple of years ago, but it was a mod and it broke during an upgrade. The idea is people can upvote posts that they agree with and emphasize it for other users, much like you see on Slashdot, Digg, Reddit, and Metafilter. In order to prevent the site from fostering a culture of power users or popularity contests, running totals of "like" stats will not be displayed. This also would likely be a positive-only system with no option to "bury" posts, as S/N ratio is not really a problem for us. I will try to get this running again this week.
* Target Area will be restructured as discussed in previous posts to make it more usable. I will be working this out tomorrow.
What would I like from you all? I have only a few requests as we head into 2012:
1. Please stay out of flame wars, trolling, and snarking. This should not be done for any reason. I don't like banning people, but I will do this to keep bad behavior off the board. Enlist the help of a moderator to seek redress, or better yet just ignore it. If you argue with an idiot, people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
2. Give the newbies your time and respect. They are the future of this website. The person who's asking where to apply for a chasing job may, in 2 years, be attending OU Meteorology or giving a talk at ChaserCon. I've seen a lot of stories play out like this over the years.
3. Everyone is in a position to help bridge the rift between Stormtrack and the social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook and show how good we've got it over here. When the opportunity arises, post links to content here, or talk about something you heard here. The more quality content and expertise we bring to Stormtrack, the more we all benefit. Good luck trying to dig up things like forecast thinking for 5/10/2010 on Facebook.
Tim
It's been a few weeks since I've visited this thread (mostly due to the holidays and end-of-year jobs I have to do), but this discussion has been on my mind a lot. I want to thank you all for your inputs. I've read all of the posts carefully and given them careful consideration, even the posts from the self-professed "outsiders" like Andrew Burnett upthread.
It is January 11, and we are in the abyss of the winter doldrums. We are about to start our runup to spring, and accordingly we will be making some site changes, as discussed back in December. Here's what to expect.
* Real names are no longer required as a username. This change will bring us into parity with the vast majority of the better Internet forums out there, and will allow use of amateur radio callsigns and allow some anonymity from data miners, Google, and employers (including the bosses at NOAA and NWS). On the registration form we will encourage the use of a real name, with an asterisk indicating that most of our site currently uses real names and it makes it easier to recognize other fellow chasers out on the Plains. Rob Hurkes made a good point that real names get more recognition; people may see this and eventually convert over to a real name, though some won't for whatever reason. Any user is permitted to change over to a nickname if they want; PM me or a moderator with what you want it to be, and give us a few days. Of course, we do reserve the right to deny any username if it's not consistent with our community standards.
* We will continue the essay requirement, but mostly as a formality. Our moderator team will continue to manually approve each user before they can post. We will throw out only those who omit the essay (indicating early on that they can't read the rules) or who give us the impression that they really don't belong on our site. Nickname accounts will be scrutinized more carefully.
* There is a small chance of some random spam once we allow nicknames in, since the real names policy has been one of our litmus tests. If spam appears here, flag it and move on. Most of the vBulletin spammers are good at jacking up the registration forms but are pretty stupid at blending in as far as the form fields and registration data, and we have different ways of blocking them.
* Programming has begun on that chase targeting game some of you old-timers may remember (picking targets, getting a score). This new game will be improved, database driven, fed with real-time data, and we'll have a scoreboard and statistics.
* Our goal this year is light moderation of the site. We will cease use of the infraction system. Most minor infringements can be overlooked or fixed on the spot if a repeat infringement is unlikely. Moderators are asked to softdelete posts or edit them (stating at the bottom that an edit was made) and if possible send a friendly PM of some kind to the user explaining the right thing to write. If you as a user gets spot corrected for something, I ask that you please not take it personally and consider the moderator's viewpoint. It is NOT a big deal or worth making a stand over. This is a small concession you can make to keep us from having to overmoderate the site, which is what you DON'T want if you don't like being corrected. If a user is not "getting it", particularly in TA, we have means of curtailing their use of parts of the site. We can also remove them from the site on a no-fault basis as not being a good fit for our community.
* Target Area post permissions will continue to be protected. The current system is you opt in, and as long as you are meeting Target Area standards, you remain opted in. I ask that moderators revoke permissions of people systematically contributing noise to Target Area until they have a private talk with the user and reach an accord. Users who see noise are NOT to call it out publically or complain about it... just flag it and move on. If you see a chronic TA problem, you can e-mail a moderator or e-mail me and we'll investigate, but this is not a guarantee that we are willing or able to correct it.
* Malicious use of the site will be dealt with swiftly and sharply: flame wars, callouts, hate speech, undermining the site, refusing to cooperate, and so on. This is where users get on our sh##t list. We MAY give the benefit of the doubt, but otherwise we will move very quickly to give offenders a plane ticket home. Personally, I regret not having acted more swiftly with the bans we've imposed in past years, so that option is there, even more so. For those who don't like it here, it's wiser to quit and get involved with some other weather site, because there's always that chance Stormtrack may change into something else one day and you'll want to have that account waiting and ready.
* We will be bringing back the "thank you" button, probably renamed as a "Like" or "Favorite" flag. We had this a couple of years ago, but it was a mod and it broke during an upgrade. The idea is people can upvote posts that they agree with and emphasize it for other users, much like you see on Slashdot, Digg, Reddit, and Metafilter. In order to prevent the site from fostering a culture of power users or popularity contests, running totals of "like" stats will not be displayed. This also would likely be a positive-only system with no option to "bury" posts, as S/N ratio is not really a problem for us. I will try to get this running again this week.
* Target Area will be restructured as discussed in previous posts to make it more usable. I will be working this out tomorrow.
What would I like from you all? I have only a few requests as we head into 2012:
1. Please stay out of flame wars, trolling, and snarking. This should not be done for any reason. I don't like banning people, but I will do this to keep bad behavior off the board. Enlist the help of a moderator to seek redress, or better yet just ignore it. If you argue with an idiot, people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
2. Give the newbies your time and respect. They are the future of this website. The person who's asking where to apply for a chasing job may, in 2 years, be attending OU Meteorology or giving a talk at ChaserCon. I've seen a lot of stories play out like this over the years.
3. Everyone is in a position to help bridge the rift between Stormtrack and the social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook and show how good we've got it over here. When the opportunity arises, post links to content here, or talk about something you heard here. The more quality content and expertise we bring to Stormtrack, the more we all benefit. Good luck trying to dig up things like forecast thinking for 5/10/2010 on Facebook.
Tim
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