Site improvement

[Sardean]

Hi
I like cruisers forum and read the posts most days.
Most people i know call it the nasty cruisers forum due to the amount of bickering that goes on.
As i like cruisers forum i tried to think of a way of improving it.
An idea would be to add a couple of buttons to click on for each posting :
Like, agree, dislike, disagree.
It would allow more involvement from readers and make the site friendlier.
Cheers Dean

[Mike OReilly]

Hi Sardean, I applaud your goals, but I’d don’t see how adding “like/dislike” would change the level of bickering. Is there any evidence to this affect?

There is evidence that suggests having everyone use their real names online (their full real name) does have a positive impact. Using real personal pics instead of avatars also appears to help.

The reason online dialogue is often more abrasive than in the real world is b/c there are far fewer social repercussions for behaving badly. The other factor is that it’s too easy to forget that the recipients of our typed words are real people. Researchers have found that names and faces do tend to improve these two factors.

BTW, as someone who’s been around here since 2011 (yikes!), and who participates in the other big sailing forum (Sail Net) I don’t find CF to be particularly nasty. I do find SN to be, in general, slightly more civil, but I find CF to be a pretty reasonable place most of the time.

[Sardean]

Thanks for your reply Mike
It may not help but it would give many who read but dont comment an opportunity to voice their opinion in a simple way that would help promote the majority of great information on the site while also being able to show some that their comment was not inline with their own thoughts. I think this opportunity for interaction would help with frustration and make cruisers forum a more popular site

[Adelie]

CF has gotten very big and there several trade offs when a forum gets big.

Bigger is much harder to moderate and for a courtesy culture to dominate. On the other hand a larger forum has more members and more expertise that can be tapped to answer a question.

The other tradeoff is the tension between the folks who are unhappy about the "censorship" exercised by moderators vs the folks who are unhappy the moderators aren't clamping down enough on rude posting. The moderators walk a line between the two to keep membership loss to a minimum and minimize unhappiness with us.
The anti-censorship folks tend to go SailingAnarchy which deserves it's name and the folks put off by rudeness tend to move on to a number of smaller forums that each have less to offer information-wise but are more civil.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sardean

Thanks for your reply Mike
It may not help but it would give many who read but dont comment an opportunity to voice their opinion in a simple way that would help promote the majority of great information on the site while also being able to show some that their comment was not inline with their own thoughts. I think this opportunity for interaction would help with frustration and make cruisers forum a more popular site

I agree that being able to like/dislike, or some version therein, would give users another way of commenting. SN has a “like” and “thanks” button option, and they get well used over there. I do ‘like’ them, but I don’t think it affects civility. I do think it cuts down on the level of repetitive and redundant posts; people can “like” instead of having to do the +1 thing as we see here.

It wouldn’t be difficult to implement a “like” function here since CF uses the same VBulletin platform as other forums. But I don’t think it’s a burning need or issue.

I also think the mods generally do an excellent (and thankless!) job here. They run a tighter ship than other forums, which has both positive and negative impacts. But in general it’s a pretty civil place to be — most of the time .

[sailorboy1]

My feelings wouldn’t survive the inrush of dislikes

[Sardean]

I spend so much time on cruisers forum i never even use the other sites, if ever you google for marine information CF normally has an answer. Im sorry if i set the wrong tone by mentioning negativity, i do love the CF site and will be continuing to use it. I recently used some great information to go under the powerlines from Brisbane to goldcoast. Now i must go back and thank that poster before i forget as it was invaluable.

[Jim Cate]

Frankly I don't see how the trivial act of "liking" or disagreeing via a button would have any effect on the interchanges between some of the more antagonistic posters here. The moderators do a reasonable job of curtailing real nastyness (helped along by folks reporting offensive posts), and the usual suspects have continued to be abrasive or worse for lengthy periods despite more direct feedback that a "dislike" count.

I find some of the endless arguments to be boring and repetitious... so I skip over such posts and move on to something more rewarding. That choice is available to everyone, and can even be mechanized via the ignore function if a poster continually annoys one.

So, I see little to be gained from this suggestion.

And as to moderators, well, until my Ann (JPA Cate) became one, I had absolutely no idea how much work and time the job entails. I can't tell how many hours a day other mods devote to this thankless duty, but she puts in a hell of a lot. I thank her and the whole team for their efforts at keeping the carnage level down, the spammers out and the general tone acceptable to most of us. Individuals may object to the rules that govern the forum, but they agreed to follow them when they became members, and they have zero say in how they are formulated or enforced. Ain't a democracy... it is private property!

Stepping down from the ole soapbox now...

Jim

[Sardean]

Hi Jim
Ive read heaps of Ann and your posts, i wish i was able to show some appreciation by pressing a like button. I hope i meet you on the water one day, we were to start living aboard and cruising 2 years ago but have had many setbacks, we are now ontrack for a may kickoff, cheers Dean

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Sardean

Thanks for your reply Mike
It may not help but it would give many who read but dont comment an opportunity to voice their opinion in a simple way that would help promote the majority of great information on the site while also being able to show some that their comment was not inline with their own thoughts. I think this opportunity for interaction would help with frustration and make cruisers forum a more popular site

The beauty of this forum is the discussions, not the statistics. It is a great place to learn, read and/or contribute. IIRC, somewhere there is a number of views the post/topic has had. If you simply want a "shortcut" instead of joining, then there are other social media sites for that. I find the technical, cruising and lifestyle issues continually fascinating. I have been here a long time, too, maybe not as long as Mike. Like boats, folks who are new to them tend to want to change things, to which most experienced hands reply: "Learn to deal with what you have for a while before you change anything. You might find it's there for a reason and works just fine!"

Welcome again.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Sardean

Hi Jim
Ive read heaps of Ann and your posts, i wish i was able to show some appreciation by pressing a like button. I hope i meet you on the water one day, we were to start living aboard and cruising 2 years ago but have had many setbacks, we are now ontrack for a may kickoff, cheers Dean

Hi Dean,

Thanks for the kind words! If you want to show appreciation for a post, there is always the "thanks" button. It isn't public acknowledgement, but they are always pleasant to receive. If a post really gets up your nose, use the small red triangle at the left of the post to report it. If it violates rules, or is just egregiously rude, the mods will act to edit or remove it, and if bad enough, will have words with its author.

Glad to hear that freedom is only months away for you. Do enjoy the cruising and keep an eye out for Insatiable II... ya never know where we will turn up, and we're always glad to make new friends afloat.

Jim

[Sardean]

[emoji4]

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Sardean

Hi Jim
Ive read heaps of Ann and your posts, i wish i was able to show some appreciation by pressing a like button...

There is the "Thanks" button.
Oops - I see I'm redundant. Jim.

[denverd0n]

I participate on a number of forums, on a number of subjects, and I have to say that this one is pretty tame compared to many. I really don't see a problem, myself.

[boatman61]

Speaking as one of the more 'In your Face' posters.. and amongst the most often active (21,312) on here when not at sea.. I'm not sure real names would make that much of a difference..
I don't use my 'real name'.. but have been called 'The Boatman' long before I joined CF.. bar tabs around the world can attest to the fact..
However should anyone care to click on the link below this post my name and info is available for those who care to investigate.
Also.. having my name instead of my nickname would not really make any difference to my posts.. its a personality trait not an 'I'm safe coz no one knows me or where I am' thing.
Things do get snotty from time to time I admit and some do revert to Facebook style insults and aggression but, when that happens I know they've lost the argument.. and they know they've lost..
So Revert to ******** Baffles Brains Tactic's..
Anchor's, Chain vs Rope, Radar, Cat vs Mono, Guns vs Don't go there.. just accept that there will always be two sides to a discussion and all's good..
If you like this post.. hit the Thanks Button bottom right..
If you do not.. Have a Grand Summer anyway..