BIRDING Category Topics

[Kevin]

44 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

"I'm not sure where to post this so I will post it here."

Remember, you can always send a private message, as opposed to posting publicly.

I didn't think of it or I would have.

@Aveschapines
it is all right with me if you want to delete my posts.

[Charlie Spencer]

1 hour ago, floraphile said:

Oh, no, @Charlie Spencer @Kevin   is it me?  I know I have been guilty of this in the past--before I found I could pull up my old posts from my Profile page.  

Nope.  We have plenty of other reasons to dislike you.  

[aveschapinas]

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

I'm not sure where to post this so I will post it here.

@Aveschapines

It seems that occasionally someone comes along and brings a lot of month old posts back up to the top of the page, of birds that have already been identified, and bringing no new information. To me it is an annoyance because I like to view most of the topics and read them, it helps me sharpen my identification skills. When I open a post and it is an old one and there is nothing but another "agreed" it is annoying to me. I have no problem if someone wants to bring new information the the table, if other wise it wastes my time that I could be learning something.

Can it be done where it give us a flag/warning when you go to post on a old topic? Not locking them but letting people know that it is an old post and probably has already been answered. Or something similar.

I just want to add I am not trying to attack anyone, I'm sure most of the time they don't realize there bringing up old posts.

I will look through the mod settings and see if there is anything like that (although I haven't seen it before). 

I haven't seen this as an ongoing, chronic problem - more something that comes up once in a while. I'm also very hesitant to do anything remotely punitive or negative about it because in the end it's fairly arbitrary; how long is too long? How many answers are needed? This has been discussed extensively in the past with no agreement. I personally find it annoying to see more than 1 or 2 "agreed" IDs, while others have said they feel five or more is reasonable. (Of course if you all could have unlimited likes it would help there; I tend to hit the like button instead of simply posting that I agree.) On the other hand, it also matters who has made the ID or agreed with it, but that's getting into an even messier can of worms we don't need to open.

So if this continutes to happen we could look at adding to the posting guidelines or in some other way suggesting that people not post simply to agree on old uncontested ID threads, but at this point I wouldn't be willing to do anything much more than that. 

And, of course, this discussion needs to remain in general terms and not get into discussing issues with specific members. 

[aveschapinas]

2 hours ago, floraphile said:

Oh, no, @Charlie Spencer @Kevin   is it me?  I know I have been guilty of this in the past--before I found I could pull up my old posts from my Profile page.  

It's generous of you to acknowledge this but don't worry about it! It takes time to adjust to the culture of a forum, and you realized there were other ways to achieve what you want without distracting others so it's all good!

[floraphile]

3 minutes ago, Aveschapines said:

It's generous of you to acknowledge this but don't worry about it! It takes time to adjust to the culture of a forum, and you realized there were other ways to achieve what you want without distracting others so it's all good!

Thumbs-up!

[aveschapinas]

2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

@Kevin, if you're referring to one specific recent new member, we're working on it.  Unfortunately, it appears some approaches that were more ... forceful than mine may have discouraged that member.  I notice he or she hasn't posted since yesterday afternoon, which is unusual.

"I'm not sure where to post this so I will post it here."

Remember, you can always send a private message, as opposed to posting publicly.

Definitely issues with other members should not be discussed in the forums. It's fine to make POLITE, SUPPORTIVE suggestions via private messages, but of course the forum rules apply in private communication too, so personal attacks or rude responses are not OK. I don't have access to other people's private messages so I have no way of knowing if there have been problems unless the person who has received the message alerts me.  I do think it's valuable to consider whether it's likely that others have also communicated with the member, because a lot of suggestions can feel like an attack even if they aren't individually rude. 

If any members feel another member's behavior in the forums has violated the forum rules or is otherwise inappropriate or a problem they should send me a private message and/or report the relevant content. 

[aveschapinas]

3 hours ago, Kevin said:

Can it be done where it give us a flag/warning when you go to post on a old topic? Not locking them but letting people know that it is an old post and probably has already been answered. Or something similar.

 

I looked and I don't see anything like this under my control (I don't really have the ability to modify the site, just manage content and members to a certain extent). Another site I use gives you a simple notice - "the post you are replying to is X days old" - when you reply to old posts, and something like that would be nice. 

But again I'm far more concerned about alienating members than minor annoyances like this that come up occasionally. And people whose posts have been pushed down before they are resolved can bump them up, so that's a way to get past the issue too.

[Kevin]

I am sorry, I wasn't trying to attack any members or cause a problem. I was just wanting to make a suggestion.

[aveschapinas]

4 minutes ago, Kevin said:

I am sorry, I wasn't trying to attack any members or cause a problem. I was just wanting to make a suggestion.

I understand, and I'm also not trying to attack anybody (specifically not you). It's a good suggestion, just not one I have the ability to carry out! And I know lots of other people are reading along so my comments are for the community as a whole, and, again, not specifically directed towards you.