birchy Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I've been thinking about the arrogance displayed by a few members recently - and the subsequent in-fighting that it inevitably causes - and I just thought I'd throw this out there as an idea.. Another forum I frequent actually requires people to post a brief introduction about themselves - their first name and last initial, their age, their education, etc. before they're even allowed to post on the forums. They also require that some form of their name be used as their 'handle' so they can be quickly identified (mine would have to be rbirch or ryanb - initials are not good enough). Pseudonym's are not allowed (no offense Pseudonym!) The idea behind this is that people who create random handles and say nothing about themselves in their profile (I.E. - they were born in 1910 and are now 99 years old) seem to have more of a tendancy to be argumentative and a general pain in the butt. When people have their real names out there, it seems to somewhat deter the whole "everyone's a tough guy on the internet" attitude. If you don't post your intro, the admins delete your posts, no questions asked (after a couple reminders to post the intro first). Some people complain that they want to remain anonymous on the internet and that a first name, last initial is too much info. The reponse is basically, "that's fine, go and post somewhere else then." Would it be worthwhile to do something like that here? Now I fully understand that this forum already has ~2500 members, and asking the majority of them to change their handles may not even be possible - let alone the royal pain in the arse it would be! But I just wanted to throw it out there anyway and see what others thought of the idea.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Hi, my name is Taco and I'm a prick in real life too Sorry couldn't resist Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Birchy: I wouldn't mind that, I'm kinda already doing that with my handle (Mike Smith). Funny you should mention this, I was toying with the idea of hosting a forum that would talk about Canadian politics, economics, culture, religion, where I would only accept people using real names (verified). The I realized it probably wouldn't fly and I'd end up talking to myself. Anyways, what I am trying to say is that I support the idea, even if it creates a little more work for the mods. Anonymity is always the enemy of thoughtful, intelligent discussion, and anonymity does contribute to the s**t shows some threads turn into. Smitty (By the way, all those great thinkers and writers who taught us the very basic principles of freedom of speech? Not one of them - to my recollection anyways - ever advocated anonymity as being a helpful or necessary component of the exchange of ideas. Indeed, it is the very opposite - to actually know the person with whom you are exchanging/debating/arguing your ideas with.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbowtrout Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Hi my name is Chris and I like Cake and Dave's Mom. Sometimes both at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reevesr1 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Taco is a prick, I can attest. He's really big too, so I would be afraid to say that to his face. So my handle is my name, and I don't think my last name is all that big a secret. Many members have either fished with me or been to my house. I've met many others through PMs, and my phone number is on the board somewhere. The degeneration of the board into many petty little arguments (and I've certainly participated in them) is what happens to these forums as they get too large. This one may be too large. I know of one in Texas that had the same growing pains with far too many personal attacks. Many of these attacks took place on the reports page. Mudslinging over methodologies, fish pictures, sharing locations, crowding because of the board, C&R vs C&Eat, etc. etc. Sound familiar? In the beginning of the board it was a fun and friendly place because everyone knew each other either personally or they "knew" each others online persona. The arguments stayed friendly for the most part. But as the membership grew, that changed. It is easy to be an ass to someone you don't know, and someone you probably will never know. It is even easier to be an ass when you are anonymous and so is the person you are blasting. I agree with Ryan that anonymity contributes to that. But shear size contributes as well. Their solution was to be pretty militant on the general chat pages and completely disallow replies on the reports pages. It works to a degree, but the amount of information available and shared had suffered greatly. Would changing to some form of the users name help? Wouldn't hurt. Privacy might be a concern for the administrators. I don't know if you can only allow users who will share their names? I'm all for it, but then my handle and name are already the same. I do believe, along with many others I think, that this board is on a slippery slope right now. I also think that some of the people contributing to the amount of slope (or maybe the amount of slipperiness) know full well what they are doing. There are certainly some fishermen who would be very happy if this place ceased to exists under some mistaken belief that the number of fishermen would decrease because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Sometimes both at the same time. I thought Rickr was going to make me laugh the most today, looks like you stole his crown. Mike (Smitty) Edit: 5:09pm. Rickr just stole it back. This is the funniest day I have had on this board in ages... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flytyer Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I'm interested in seeing what comes out in this thread, personally I like to see us hand out more permant suspensions instead of warnings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navigud Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Time Delay the post until it can be reviewed by one of the mods, if it passes it goes up , if it doesnt we will never see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrinhurst Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Time Delay the post until it can be reviewed by one of the mods, if it passes it goes up , if it doesnt we will never see it. How many posts per day will the mods have to sift through? Some threads grow to multilple pages in a matter of minutes if it gets heated enough. Good idea, but they would have to quit thier paying jobs just to review posts. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrinhurst Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Oops. Sorry. My name's Darrin. I'm the Fu**ing New Guy. I suck at fishing, but I'm getting better. Thanks to many members of this board. Tungsten, Bigbadbrown, rickr, Crogg, Teck.....just to name those I have actually fished with, and look forward to fishing with again. And everyone else who has helped in offering advice and to take me fishing without even really knowing me. Good forum we have here, don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ÜberFly Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Why not include the fact that they (we) have to disclose if they (we) are affiliated with a store, are a guide or prostaff, rep, etc., as some may be biased towards specific gear, store, etc.? Just a thought... P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedy1 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Call me paranoid but I would never use my real name strictly due to security reasons. People constantly indicate they are planning fishing trips either immediately or in the distant future on fishing forums. Give a guy your name and when you are leaving town and you may just someday come home to an empty house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reevesr1 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Why not include the fact that they (we) have to disclose if they (we) are affiliated with a store, are a guide or prostaff, rep, etc., as some may be biased towards specific gear, store, etc.? Just a thought... P Pete, While I think that is a great idea, I dont think that affiliations is really that big of an issue. I may be too much of a capitalist, but in something this size I kinda expect to be marketed to on some level. But I dont think the folks here with ties to companies or guide services are really the ones stirring the pot, so to speak. It would be bad for business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flytyer Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Call me paranoid but I would never use my real name strictly due to security reasons. People constantly indicate they are planning fishing trips either immediately or in the distant future on fishing forums. Give a guy your name and when you are leaving town and you may just someday come home to an empty house. I totally understand your point. An option to this to register your real name and have it so that only administration can view it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flytyer Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Why not include the fact that they (we) have to disclose if they (we) are affiliated with a store, are a guide or prostaff, rep, etc., as some may be biased towards specific gear, store, etc.? Just a thought... P Many are known to the admins and mods here as we need to know who can post on behave of sponsors and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ÜberFly Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Remember, it was just a thought... P Pete, While I think that is a great idea, I dont think that affiliations is really that big of an issue. I may be too much of a capitalist, but in something this size I kinda expect to be marketed to on some level. But I dont think the folks here with ties to companies or guide services are really the ones stirring the pot, so to speak. It would be bad for business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sundancefisher Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Remember, it was just a thought... P I don't find this site over the top for bad behavior and have fished with a number of people. Can't self policing work also? If someone is a jerk...never respond to their posts. Jerks tend to go away if ignored... Just a thought as I would be opposed to sharing to much personal information on line regardless of the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhurt Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I don't find this site over the top for bad behavior and have fished with a number of people. Can't self policing work also? If someone is a jerk...never respond to their posts. Jerks tend to go away if ignored... Just a thought as I would be opposed to sharing to much personal information on line regardless of the site. I've been called a jerk many times and unforntantly I am still around, lol (just thought I would bring some humor to the table from once) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lundvike Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I totally understand your point. An option to this to register your real name and have it so that only administration can view it I don't know I have met a few of the moderators and I am not sure that I would be willing to share that kind of info with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I've been called a jerk many times and unforntantly I am still around, lol (just thought I would bring some humor to the table from once) unforntantly ya stil ain't ben usin' the spel cheker nohow eather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfishfairwx Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 My Name and info is on the "about me Page".. I do not hide behind anonymity, What I say is what I believe or believe to be correct.. if it offends then educate me, prove me wrong and I will shut up and agree with you, or ignore you.. But discussion and yes, arguing is damn good for the soul and heart... when it changes to something else then that is proof of the persons character... POOR Character... I have no problem with the idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reevesr1 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 But discussion and yes, arguing is damn good for the soul and heart... when it changes to something else then that is proof of the persons character... POOR Character... I LOVE to argue. I catch myself arguing points I don't really even agree with just to continue to argue. It's fun and stretches your mind. However, truly arguing on this website has become mostly impossible as it too often degenerates into personal attacks. That could be a function of websites in general, or maybe even society in general now, I don't know. I do however believe anonymity has something to do with it. But I don't think there is any chance of forcing users to give their real names if they do not want to. I think that horse is already out of the barn. Self policing is a good idea. But reality is that ignoring is damn near impossible. Someone always gives in (and too often that someone is me. Don Anderson called me a cuttie once cuz I always rise to the bait, though I'm betting better at refusing. But I always come up and look.) The best idea I've heard so far is the permanent ban. The problem with banning has been that they always come back as someone else. Don't know that there is any way to stop that. IP addresses? Really, if someone exhibits behavior that we would not put up with in the real world, why do we have to put up with it here? If you can't play nice, see ya. And by play nice, I most certainly do not mean you have to agree with anyone else on this board. If you have different views, there is no reason why you cannot present and argue those viewpoints rationally. If you are good at it, you might even change a few minds. And while I'm rambling, can we call a freakin moratorium on commenting on peoples spelling, grammar, etc.? If you ask me, if you are in an argument with someone and you resort to attacking their argument style, spelling, grammar, etc., you make yourself appear small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbowtrout Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Will siad rickr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Will siad rickr Will ritten BigBlowTrout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Oops......sorry bigB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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