As 2005 draws to a close, a year with many changes for OSAlert, we have one more big change to make OSAlert a better place. But first, let us take a short look at all the big changes OSAlert has seen this year.
First and foremost, OSAlert has seen a major overhaul of the site itself. We’ve introduced comment voting, registration systems, comment threads, digests, new topic/database categories, and much more. Also, we have done a lot of ‘under the hood’ optimizations of which you, as reader, notice little to nothing (okay, except that stupid janitor, and those pictures of burnt harddisks). We have also experimented a great deal with the whole moderation point system and everything that comes with it. I would like to thank Adam (and Eugenia for keeping an eye on him) for the immense work he has done to improve the whole website, from coding, to posting news (every now and then).
The second, less important change, was a change in management. Eugenia, the woman who single-handedly brought us, OSAlert, to where we are today, stepped down from the top editorial spot, for reasons we can all understand, and sympathize with. I would like to make use of this occasion to thank her for all the great work she has done, is doing, and will do, to make OSAlert a fun, and not to forget, up-to-date, place to be.
Me and Andrew jumped on the ship shortly after Eugenia ‘officially’ stepped down. For me and Andrew, it was a minor change. We had already been running a website similar to OSAlert for about six months, and the only thing we had to change was the url of the admin back-end.
Now, to speak for myself, have the past seven months, since I took over Eugenia’s role, been flawless, or spotless? No, of course not. I know myself well, hence I also know I can be harsh, direct, and arrogant. That’s no surprise at all for me. Hey, I’m just a human too, I make mistakes. However, that does not mean I will change my tone. There are occasions where I truly feel offended; especially when it comes to all the biases I have been accused of (pro-Microsoft, pro-Apple, anti-KDE, pro-GNOME, anti-Microsoft, anti-Apple, pro-KDE, anti-GNOME, etc. etc.). I will never accept it when my integrity gets questioned. So, if you do question my integrity, you can expect a frontal gale (as we Dutch say).
But let’s get back to that final, big change I mentioned. By very, very popular demand, we have disabled anonymous commenting– forever. There will be no turning back. I expect you guys to have one, big question: what took you so long???
Well, me and David weren’t really comfortable with solely blaming the trollish comments on anonymous users. Hence, we were weary of making such a drastic move. But, we got talked into an experiment a few months back– and oh how we liked the peace & quiet. It was a world of difference, and that drew me and David across the line.
So, from now on, you must register in order to comment on OSAlert. For the rest, nothing changes; all non-registered users can still read all the stories and comments. Of course, registration will remain free of charge, at all times.
That’s all I wanted to say, for now. I would like to wish everyone, reader or otherwise, registered or not, a very happy and healthy 2006. Let us all continue to make OSAlert the leading news website on alternative operating systems, and more!
–Thom Holwerda
Woohoo! Happy New Year to everyone @ OSAlert and all the visitors too!
And I hope the moderators will be more gentle in their communications [in the comments section] in the coming year… one of the resolutions maybe?
one of the resolutions maybe?
I’ll have a drink on it tonight
.
I think we all will enjoy (or already are enjoying) a good drink on it.
Happy New Year!
One resolution from everybody should be to not attack the staff directly
Point!
Maybe the staff should refrain from attacking their users then.
Happened to me, and it’s why I went anonymous.
Couldn’t agree More. If the editors dont agree with your comments they attack you, Mod down or delete your post and then threaten to delete your account. Thank god for webmail I can just keep creating a new account.
Not likely. If there are too many sign ups from the same non-commonplace domain, our exception reporting notices it. If you think it’s wortwhile to sign up for a new Yahoo/Gmail/Hotmail account every 30 days just to continue to use OSAlert semi-anonymously, well, more power to you.
GMail lets you postfix (did I just make a word up?) your e-mail to do just this.
Do you know how easy it is to create a mail alias?
Come on, you have to be smarter than this.
1. SMTP tricks (like using the + sign) are already monitored. Multiple addresses to the same domains are alrady monitored. You underestimate our ability to pull information from our own database.
2. Either way, if you really want to skirt the system, go ahead. Those people will likely be ignored anyway – as the community grows and average scores are taken into account. Personally, I think anyone who goes through all that trouble just to be able to post anonymously has larger issues than fitting into the OSAlert community.
You IP isn’t hidden for long…
“Help help I’m being repressed!”
And look how quickly you went and signed up for an account :-). No more hiding now.
Great job OSAlert…time to get things back on track around here (things have deteriorated quite a bit over the past year, so here’s looking to an awesome ’06). Things just keep getting better and better!
-jayson (a loyal OSAlert reader for 4 years and counting).
Yep, I went from “anonymous” to “anonymous”.
Cool. Pat yourself on the back now, and don’t forget to inform everyone just how smart you are.
w00t!
“But let’s get back to that final, big change I mentioned. By very, very popular demand, we have disabled anonymous commenting– forever. There will be no turning back.
What took you so long???
Very nice work handling the site, and I have noticed that large stories load faster.
Great job and keep up the good work.
[dutch] Gelukkig nieuwjaar en de beste wensen! [/dutch]
Happy newyear!
I’ve learned a lot from this community, so…. thanks everyone for all your activities on osnews in 2005!!
What is this, Thom? Stickin’ it to that anonymous bastard[1] in the Syllable thread? I mean, this has to be a personally motivated decision–no rational person would consider this in favor of the site’s growth. And don’t give me the quality argument; we’ve done this before–it’s been established that you just got less of the same crap comments.
So please, explain. I’m actually very interested in knowing the real reason[2] behind the PR.
[1]http://www.osnews.com/permalink.php?news_id=13115&comment_id=79120
[2]http://osnews.com/meta/read.php/1136041002/anonymous_posting_gone_f…
There is no reason other than 1) people requested it, and 2) the test we did a few months ago (we disabled anon. posting for a week) was succesful (higher comment-quality). So there you have it.
My word is all I can give you. As I said, I was against it at first (someone else on the team proposed it), it took months before people even convinced me of doing a *test*, let alone making it for real. But then again, you seem to have your mind made up already, so there really is no use in debating this.
Edited 2005-12-31 19:08
How many readers do you have?
Only 2-3 per week requested it, how many were the same person making the request?
Sounds like you implemented something that less than 1% of your reader base asked for.
Yeah, that’s a smart idea.
For someone who does not like this site, you sure do comment a lot.
Only 2-3 per week requested it, how many were the same person making the request?
None. Want to know why? Because I emailed them back.
But anyway, why don’t you go on and count the people in this thread who agree with what I’m doing? Seems like you are the only one disagreeing… Of course, people who are anonymous can’t comment, so they can’t voice themselves in this thread either… But hey, if you can twist the facts, than why can’t I?
.
Well, let me be the next to make a new email account every week and send you an email to allow anonymous postings again. Sure, some people will agree but it’s a holiday and like you said anonymous people can’t voice their opinions anymore because you stomped them out.
Where did I twist the facts at? Come on, you are supposed to be an “editor”.
I post alot, but I doubt I’ll be back often now.
You have yet to really offer your opinion on why this is a bad thing? How does registering for an account to post really inconvenience you or anyone else for that matter. What it does do is cut down on the retarded “Microsft sucks”, “Linux sucks” comments that I often got disenchanted over.
Even with moderators it is a daunting task to catch every single one of em.
Even with non-anonymous posts you will still get the “gifted” few who don’t quite get the old addage if you don’t have somthing nice to say then don’t say anything at all. In this example “nice” not being nice in general but from my stand point at least something relative to the article in which the user is commenting.
“What it does do is cut down on the retarded “Microsft sucks”, “Linux sucks” comments that I often got disenchanted over.”
HOW!
Will someone please answer me this? Is there some statistical proof that the “haters” are less inclined to register? Watch: Linux isn’t ready for the desktop. Vista is going to require I buy a top of the line video card and another stick of ram just to send e-mail. Macs are just eyecandy. And I just beat your solution.
It assumes that most of the trolls wont bother to register and post, there will be some of course that will register, but then that’s where voting comes in handy.
One can only hope tho…
Happy New Years from Guatemala to All, and thanks for the staff for trying to make osnews better, realizing and admitting there are problems and trying to fix them, even with measures that many people wont like is better than apathy and doing nothing at all.
This aleviates (or is it Eleviates?) the problem because most Trolls post anonymously because there is less chance of them having to worry about any consequences where as being required to register makes them question this false sense of ‘Immunity’ to consequences that may occur as a result of their own actions.
Personally in my experience I have rarely seen a Troll from someone who is a registered member of a site community, like Neowin for example.
Also I will answer your other question about users who have Dynamic IP’s, well this is solved by IP bands, ISP’s are limited to the IP ranges in which they can use, and in many cases they are then divided again into regional addresses, my ISP does this, they have their main IP range, and then sub-divide that into ranges for different regions. All that will occur is that certain IP ranges would be banned
Thom, You can’t count the people who liked the anonymous posting becuse… Um you disabled it and thereby silenced their Voice.
Thom, You can’t count the people who liked the anonymous posting becuse… Um you disabled it and thereby silenced their Voice.
Why don’t you read my post in its entirity?
Ah, I see now. Sorry I hit that stupid comment and stopped reading the comment there like I do with all Stupid comments. Howver seeing your role in this I thought I would reply.
Imagine that I skip over the comments I don’t think have any value….
What a novel idea.
Aside from the fact that somebody here is trying to prove that trolls don’t have to be anonymous, what exactly is your problem with the end to anonymous postings?
If you really care, start a petition. If you’re nice to Thom, he might even link to it
Meanwhile, it’s great to have OSAlert back, minus most of the trolls…
Happy New Year everybody!
My problem with the end of the anonymous posting is that the comment sections will not only lose the Trolls but also some valuable and insightful input.
I prefer to Post anonymously as that way people can’t associate my comments as coming from a person slanted one way or the other. Otherwise people tend to read comments and respond to comments based upon comments I may have made in the past.
Instead now I will just have to create new ID’s every so often. This is my 3rd on osnews since anonymous posting was originally disabled back in November.
I wonder what number I will be at by the end of next year
Well, you can get a life…
I like your attitude. If I ever make it to Holland, can I buy you a beer?
Bill
I for one am happy that this is being implemented as other news sites and most forum sites already require registered users to post comments. It provides not only an organized structure but also makes it easier when replying to posts as well for casual readers to read comments.
Thom may fly off the handle every great once in a while (who doesn’t?), but I personally won’t believe any of you can’t tell the difference between the week that anonymous comments were allowed and when they weren’t.
Keep it up, and happy new year!
As the year draws to a close here in New Mexico, I only want to thank the staff of OS News for doing a great job all year long. There were some rough spots, but that is what makes life interesting!
Thanks to all the people who visted, thanks for the insights, the flamewars, and genuinely interesting discussions.
I, for one, am looking forward to an even better year in 2006!
Happy New Year to all!
lol I never attack the staff
That’s usually the quickest and surest way to be banned from a site, maybe not OSAlert, but in general lol.
Getting rid of anonymous is a good idea. Now there won’t be as many “idiotic” and random posts are there used to. I think it’s a sensible idea to take responsibility for what you post, not say something “bad” and then hide as anonymous.
This is my first year at OSAlert, and it’s a good one so far. Keep up the good work
–ZaNkY
>Getting rid of anonymous is a good idea. Now there won’t be as many “idiotic” and random posts are there used to. I think it’s a sensible idea to take responsibility for what you post, not say something “bad” and then hide as anonymous.
It is also a good way to ban and remove all guys that don’t think as you.
Re: “It is also a good way to ban and remove all guys that don’t think as you.”
Moderators who do their job don’t typically ban posters who dissagree with their point of view. They do have a right to ban a poster when he/she attitude gets out of hand. Such as using vulgar language or when attacking/insulting others which does little if anything to benefit readers.
OSAlert is by far the best computer platform site on the Web. I’ve been coming here for years and am always impressed by the excellent coverage and high (usually) quality of comments. I wish you all the best in 2006!
Jared
Good wishes for OSAlert in this new year! Thanks Eugenia for all this quality until now and thanks too the the rest of the osnews’ crew who maintained this quality and are trying to make the whole site better for its users.
A new year of good news and happiness for all!
The improvements to the commenting system is so much better now, so congrats for that. The only thing that I would like to see improved is a decent search engine. Thankfully, OSAlert does prodide a link to search via Google, but I can’t help thinking that some efforts towards to the inhouse search capabilities would be better for OSAlert and its users.
May this year bring all of us health , wealth and peace , and many OS to review and disagree on
Happy new year to everyone at OSAlert both staff and subscribers.
Cheers
I’m not so sure about the anonymous thing.
It’s not so much that I’m not sure but that I don’t see you so sure either. I mean, there was that experiment in November and after that Adam wrote in Meta:
Our little experiment to disallow anonymous posting on OSAlert taught us a few things.
[…]
3. It was a nice break, but it wasn’t the solution.
I personally don’t care much about it either way, but let me ask, if it wasn’t the solution a month ago, is it now? How have things changed? What other solutions did you consider, or is this a least evil?
I’m just asking, really.
And, again, Happy New Year!
Now, we all just get to make up stupid shit names and when they get deleted like this one will in 10 minutes we will need to make another one.
Maybe, but a lot of people won’t go to the trouble of registering just to post an inflaming remark.
indeed, registration is annoying even for trolls.
they’ll just use bugmenot.com.
just as i did.
indeed, registration is annoying even for trolls.
they’ll just use bugmenot.com.
just as i did.
And we’ll just set up a scritp, or do it manually, to block each and every account listed on BugMeNot.
It’s just a few more minutes of work, added to the few hours a day, I work for OSAlert. Easy enough.
My comment on the subject has already been deleted proving that I was infact correct in that you are frigging nazis and the opinions of the “editors” are the only opinions that are allowed.
Deleted in 3 .. 2 .. 1 ..
How many?
I bet you don’t have any solid numbers other than Eugenia wanted it.
you are frigging nazis
It’s just not a very wise thing to go and call people nazi, mister. Nazi is a very insulting word, there are a lot of people on this planet, namely who’s six million friends, relatives and neighbours got murdered, who wouldn’t like you for saying that. But anyway, happy new year to you too.
3. It was a nice break, but it wasn’t the solution.
That was kind of Adam on his own, basically. He assumed we all agreed, but it never was thrown into the group to discuss. A few days after that blog posting, I ressurected the isue, asking what we were all thinking. Then the discussion got going.
I bet you don’t have any solid numbers other than Eugenia wanted it.
I’m not going to disclose personal information, but I think we get about 2 emails each week asking for us to disable it (that may not seem like a lot, but remember, it makes up for about 50% to 70% of all the personal emails to [email protected] we get). Other than that, regular readers have often said it in the comments (ie: http://www.osnews.com/permalink.php?news_id=13132&comment_id=80163 ).
Cry for me, I have many relatives that are *** and they wouldn’t have been offended by my comment.
This change is exactly that, just because you don’t agree it doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Look it up.
Edit: Oh, look at that your site won’t even let me say *j e w i s h*.
Hmm, it let me say *n a z i* though.
Edited 2005-12-31 20:39
Ok, thanks for the explanation.
I still don’t have a strong opinion on the subject but if you’re really convinced about wanting it this way, then by all means, go ahead with the plan.
I hope 2006 will be a good year for OSAlert.
>I’m not going to disclose personal information, but I think we get about 2 emails each week asking for us to disable it.
lol 2 emails each week from the 120000 readers. Yeah, so many people have asked to disable it ….
Thanks… this is the best news I’ve heard from OSAlert all year!
I agree completely. It should reduce the troll count some.
Is the absolutely horrid abuse of tables in the HMTL (apparently hyper-mega-table language). That said I’m surprised how smoothely the transition has been. The improvements to the comment and rating system have been a great additions to the site… though at one point it seems like you are almost rewriting SLASH from scratch, but it’s working well. Though I miss the way Eugenia always had tons of sites and original contributions which seem to had slowed down.
bah! My nested comment table code is infinitely worse than OSAlert could ever be.
Peace, Prosperity, Health, Happiness and Satisfaction in all you do, wherever you may be in 2006.
I am looking forward to the thought provoking comments on the “Industry Watch” gateway that OSAlert has become. Its not just about alternate OS’s anymore – it has expanded without anyone really noticing. That’s why it will remain my home on the net in 2006.
Thanks folks. Great work.
Thank goodness for no anonymous posting.
I’m glad for all the changes. I never understood anonymous posting – it goes against the whole concept of an online community.
Eugenia also always got accused of being “pro” or “anti” everything too. It’s hilarious because it’s so impossible.
Great work everyone!!
I feel compelled to finally have registred, after 3 years of lurking, to make a comment.
Thank you. There were so many times in the past three years that I stopped reading the comments because of lame ass anonymous users. If you don’t have the balls to attach your name to something you write, don’t post it.
I like the direction OSAlert is going. Certainly I have disagreed with some of Eugenia’s and others “News” in the past but it wasn’t enough to have me go calling people Nazi’s.
I mean its not like this registration process cost us money and we have no say. We are but mere guests here in the long run of things.
So again, thank you for the decision to disallow anonymous comments!
Edited 2005-12-31 20:43
I was anonymous yesterday, yet I’m not today.
Who am I?
I’m still anonymous.
Happy New Year.
“I’m still anonymous.”
No, you are not. You just registered and I have already read ~6 of your comments.
It is much easier to associate comments based on name then trying to remember which anon user is which based on the first 3 octets of their IP address.
Do you know my name?
No.
How do you know I’m not 5 different accounts now that you don’t see my IP address anymore?
You can’t.
I could be ydoj or odie or garfield for that matter all posting at once.
Removing “anonymous” solves nothing.
Notice the username: suomynona — anonymous
+1, very true, and they know that. I don’t know what the hell brought this on.
They are trying to become a big site, however they lack the practical experience to do it in a way that they retain their existing readers.
That said, I 3 years ago read 10+ times a day. 2 years ago, I realized how immature the editor(s) were. 1 year ago I went anonymous and read every few days.
Now? I doubt I’ll read even once a week. Today I’ve been here the most I’ve been here in months.
Unfortunately, Slashdot is higher quality.
Back to real websites.
Adios.
“That said, I 3 years ago read 10+ times a day. 2 years ago, I realized how immature the editor(s) were. 1 year ago I went anonymous and read every few days.”
Whiners! OSAlert still is, and will be one of my favourite bookmarks in the future.
GREAT WORK Thom, Eugenia, Andrew, Adam
And a happy new years eve even though it’s already 04:07 pm 2006 here in sweden…
“they lack the practical experience to do”
Boy isn’t that an understatement.
Adios to you too. Either come to the site or don’t, but I sure get a kick out of you simultaneously telling everyone how you’re not going to be reading OSAlert anymore while also posting 25 messages to this story.
But making you shut the hell up would solve everything!
“You just justified why 9 out of 10 anonymous people here are so, and why they have no problems blasting the editors of this site.”
Because 9 out of 10 anonymous posters are YOU, and as we all know, YOU have no respect for the other users of this website.
“Well, now that I’ve thought about it and reflected back. They have given the people you call trolls (in some cases undeservatively) more power as you can’t tell who is who anymore by the subnet they come from.”
You could have registered anyway…
“Now? I doubt I’ll read even once a week. Today I’ve been here the most I’ve been here in months.”
It would be our plesure, so far you’ve brought nothing but insults to the table, no logical arguments and no usefull ideas at how trolling can be stoped. Infact, I’d go as far to say that in all the time you ever commented on this site, all you did was troll.
As for bugmenot, an automated script that blocks all user names found on that site would be easy to write.
I’m glad that these changes have been made, but there is still one thing that bugs me: I can vote up anyones comments for any reason (perhaps because I agree with them), but to vote down someones comments I have to have a very specific reason, disagreement is not one.
Thats the one thing I’d like to see changed.
“I was anonymous yesterday, yet I’m not today.
Who am I? ”
I was going to post a reply composed of the letters diiot, but thought better of it.
Bill
That you can randomize anonymous in and of itself a feat worth bragging about
, as well as your IP no doubt. Fight the man 
.
All I’m saying is it certainly is about time they did away with the /. anonymous morons. I have not set foot on slashdot page in almost two years. It was no longer the insightful place of my early twentysomethings. Its a bitter crowd over there.
Here I like at least some form of thought to go into a comment. Attaching a name to your comment hopefully makes you think about it for a second. Well in SOME peoples instant a nano second at any rate.
I LOVE the interent and its randomness and anonymous areas but sometimes you need to be accountable to a community and this place needed it.
Happy New Years all!
If I set my treshold to 3, I see 4 comments. 3 of those comments were made by “osn staff”, so they don’t really count. All the other comments are hidden. Where are these high-quality comments from the registered users?
Other than that, happy 2006.
well now that anonymous posting is not permitted you might want to relax the score threshold. i’m not sure yet how this voting thing works otherwise there are a few i would have voted up already.
no it would not have just been staff
. backwards anonymous did have a post or two that was insightful and at the least thought provoking.
=/ meh. i’ll figure it out soon enough i suppose.
A lot of peoples votes went to modding down idiot anonymous posts. Hopefully we will see more votes go to good posts now.
You do realize that it is far better to mod up good posts that to mod down bad ones?
Of course. I was only suggesting what was probably happening.
I don’t think OSAlert has the same problems as Slashdot. When stories get 500 comments you might want to raise the threshold on Slashdot to read the most relevant posts. You don’t have the same problem here (yet). I’ve seen a lot of good comments at 1 that stays that way permanently.
yay more no more anonymous posting!
It is one of the favourite web sites for me. Just wish everyone in here a happy new year. I wish that in 2006 OSAlert would more and more interesting for everyone.
I’m all for registered users only, the anonymae thing was quite annoying.
But secondly, grow up Thom. I don’t mean to insult you. However, people are going to. Such is the life of a mod/admin. If you take it personally and attack back they’ll eat you alive in the long run.
I recommend swallowing your feelings and dealing with people in the most judicious manner you can. And if they are being polite and discussing, acting like you normally do (cause you’re a great contributor until you get on a personal defense).
Ignore them, the rest of us tend to anyway. Until you attack back.
Oh, and, don’t slow up
. OSAlert has had a pretty good pace lately; keep it up.
” I know myself well, hence I also know I can be harsh, direct, and arrogant. That’s no surprise at all for me. Hey, I’m just a human too, I make mistakes. However, that does not mean I will change my tone. There are occasions where I truly feel offended; especially when it comes to all the biases I have been accused of (pro-Microsoft, pro-Apple, anti-KDE, pro-GNOME, anti-Microsoft, anti-Apple, pro-KDE, anti-GNOME, etc. etc.). I will never accept it when my integrity gets questioned. So, if you do question my integrity, you can expect a frontal gale (as we Dutch say).”
Unfortunately, many times I have seen you stoop down to the level of those very trolls that happen to question your integrity. I quite vividly remember you questioning other people’s integrity, which is quite hypocritical any way you look at it — so, it’s OK for Thom to question someone’s integrity, but be aware of the full frontal Dutch gale coming your way if you dare to question his. I think such attitude sends wrong kind of signals to your readers.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t defend yourself, but I just don’t think that giving a troll a taste of its own medicine is befitting an editor of an online news site of this caliber. You could always try being a bigger person and instead of throwing a hissy fit (which is exactly what it ends up looking like, by the way) defend yourself in a calm, professional manner.
OK, nevermind the above. You’re so cute when you’re angry. Happy New Year, hairless monkey.
— Snifflez the Zombie Squirrel.
“I just don’t think that giving a troll a taste of its own medicine is befitting an editor of an online news site of this caliber.”
You just justified why 9 out of 10 anonymous people here are so, and why they have no problems blasting the editors of this site.
The f-ing ask for it by treating their readers like sh*t.
Hey! Anonymous!
I have a great idea!
Leave!
You are free to stop coming at any time.
Truly, your since of entitlement and the others complaining as if you’re inalienable rights were being destroyed disgust me.
“You just justified why 9 out of 10 anonymous people here are so, and why they have no problems blasting the editors of this site.”
Really? Wow. I must have some secret superpowers that I’m not aware of. I wasn’t even talking about the anonymous people. I didn’t realize my comments had hidden meanings.
Enjoy the peace and quiet.
I thinking reading slashdot or digg or theserverside and ignoring any of the comments there is a better option.
Registering for comments on 100 sites on the web? how annoying is that
That’s got to be one of the most usefull sites I have ever seen.
Thanks!!
Hey cool!
THANKS FOR THE LINK!
There is also http://www.spamgourmet.com/
Great site, highly recommended.
Cool. Thanks. for any gmail users you should also check out gmail aliases. http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12096&topic=156…
I don’t get it. Bugmenot is basically so you don’t have to register to read articles from sites like NYT which require registration just to look at the content. You can do everything on osnews — except post comments.
If you want to post, and you’re going to go through the effort of going to bugmenot, getting a login, and logging in — shit, why not just register yourself?
Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
I find it utterly hilarious that people would go through the amount of time to do this for a freaking post. What a giant waste of time. If you don’t like the direction just don’t comment, or more to the point just stop coming.
Enjoy the peace and silence? I will. Not every freaking article needs 100+ comments with varying degrees of “you suck”, “no, you suck”. I’ll take less comments if I can deal without the lame 4 word poignant replies
.
see you in 2006, year of the Linux desktop, again.
Thanks Thom and everyone else for a very entertaining and mostly informative site…fights and all. I am happy that people will “identify” themselves…maybe “think” a bit before making a really stupid post!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
From a Linux Desktop….it was 2002 for me….
LOL and all it takes is for them to decide to limit the number of IP’s associated with an account. My community site does this. I limit it to two IP’s. Work and home, School and home, so on and so forth.
You keep rambling on like you are the first person to figure out sharing an account to bypass this stuff. All it does is force there hand into associating IP’s with an account. Much like I had to do.
Once again you pay 0 dollars for this community. I’d let the people who do pay the bills do what the want and feel is best.
What if your IP changes every session? Like the 40% of the web on dial-up…
Let me first say that I do support this, since it makes conversations much easier to read and I’m not a tinfoil hat person.
What I find really funny, though, is that, according to the stats page, the “Average Anonymous Comment Score” is finally positive. 0.01 for anonymous, and 0.28 (if you ignore the magic +1 boost) for registered. Well, I guess we’ll see how it works out, eh?
I mean, really, isn’t it evident that Anonymous comments are a vehicle for trolling? Somewhere I read a comic (probably penny arcade) where they, very insightfully, made the equation:
normal person + anonimity + audience => f*ckwad
Thank you very much for all the great work that you guys are doing on OSAlert, it is truly becoming a force to reckon with! May 2006 be a good year for us all!
I won’t register…
Browser: Lynx/2.8.6dev.16-MirOS (compatible; MSIE 6.0; UNIX) libwww-FM/2.14 SSL-MM/1.4.1 OpenSSL/0.9.7g
As many of osnews fans, I would like to wish all your staff a Happy New year especially to Eugenia (I love you!!!) , thanks for providing us the last reviews and notices of the OS-world.
Never change Osnews…!!!
This is mario, so I am not completely anonymous. The “test” post (apparently, by an Anonymous user) has inspired me to try and do it myself. Let’s see…
Browser: Lynx/2.8.4rel.1 libwww-FM/2.14 SSL-MM/1.4.1 OpenSSL/0.9.6b
Now that I have register. I feel i belong to an elite
club.
You do :O
a Unanimous posting.
Just test, I’m sorry
Browser: Symbian OS; Series 90 special OsNews Edition
I posted anonymous because I only felt it necessary to correct trollish comments without it affecting my karma one way or another. Unfortunately, the editors of this site prefered the origional troll to my correction of the troll comment. The have said for example… correct him once, and let it be done with… yet they didn’t tell the troll to stop trolling. Otherwise, they might just debate me altogether on the trollish comments that i was correcting… as if they made the comment under a psudonym.
What do you do when the editors agree with the trolls and then they take every effort to make sure you can’t correct them?
Well, now that I’ve thought about it and reflected back. They have given the people you call trolls (in some cases undeservatively) more power as you can’t tell who is who anymore by the subnet they come from.
The troll that used to be (xx.xxx.xxx) is now ydoj or blue or fred.
No one will know (which is very likely already happening, but now it will just get worse).
So, it’s really a good thing for everyone but the people that wanted to eliminate Anonymous.
ascheinberg : there is a firefox extension for bugmenot.com that automates most of the process
I suppose that people will be people and do their best to try and find a way around it. I also believe that there are very few people who will go out of their way to abuse the system, so I doubt we’ll need to write code to try to prevent it.
…unless it becomes a widespread problem.
It’ll be interesting to see how this experiment works out. Out of curiosity why do you keep spelling “wishes” as “whishes”?
The cryptic subject means – HAPPY NEW YEAR! – in estonian. Best wishes to OSAlert team and to all posters!
Wierd, I couldn’t post anonymously in Opera, but it looks like I can in a
text-based browser.
Browser: w3m/0.5.1
Correct. Text based browsers currently can post anonymously.
We’ll see how long we permit that.
We might work to make the mobile/text-mode browsers posting registered-only too, but this won’t happen just yet. We might support some very basic mobile comment login, to supply the login/password every time you have to post a comment or a reply. This is the only way to guarantee that it will work on all mobile browsers (cookies or sessions are not a standard in that world to provide a full “logged in session” at all pages).
Anyways, happy new year everyone!
As a moderator of a medium to large art forum, I can say that this is one of the best decisions made here. I fully and completely support you guys.
I can’t imagine running a forum or comments forum for any length of time with any amount of people in a community with anonymous posting allowed.
If the few people who want to voice their opinion care enough about doing so, they’ll register. Otherwise whatever drivel they were going to post isn’t worth hearing for me, no matter how much I agree.
A fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them. Proverbs 14:3
Why should one have to stoop to using a PoS graphical browser to post here non-anonymously?
Browser: ELinks/0.11rc0 (textmode; Darwin 8.3.0 Power Macintosh; 80×40-3)
“Why should one have to stoop to using a PoS graphical browser to post here non-anonymously?”
Browser is just a tool; using a text-mode browser doesn’t make you “cooler” than everybody else. You really don’t have to climb down from your elitist heaven to post here anonymously, because, to tell you the truth, there are no such heaven at all — you’re simply imagining it.
when i look at the scores in this thread i’m sure that we still start at +1 instead of 0
maybe this should be changed back
Everyone at OSAlert and also the readers hope you have a wonderful and healthy new year. Keep up the great work Thom and crew.
Happy new year to everyone.
No anonymous comments? Good. Very good indeed.
It’s interesting to watch what will become of this. What I can see is that what I feared is already beginning to happen.
Closing communities is never good, if you don’t belive so, you might think about how inbreeding is happening. And this exactly what you can see is beginning to happen here. The closed off you make a group the less room there is for dissent, and the more the groupthink will prevail. The fact that the so called editors of this site are too naive to see through this (look, this is good, if it wasn’t where are the dissidents..? yup, it’s another Thom “I can’t be wrong” Holwerda..) doesn’t exactly help.
This will without doubt make this site less interesting, and no doubt it will not only drive visitors away, but it will quite probably to a large extent turn the comments section into a “club of mutual admiration” thingy, which mayby is interesting to those who participate, but very few else. It will clerly make this place less interesting, and there HAS to be better ways of dealing with trolls. Maybe by banning ip’s more aggressively, but then on the other hand the distict feeling I get from this place is that from time to time, depending on the subject, trolls aren’t just tolerated but even encouraged, so I guess that’s hoping for too much.
Browser: ELinks/0.10.6 (textmode; Linux 2.6.14.5 i686; 102×52-2)
Membership dues are to be paid upon joining. Make all checks payable to The Club of Mutual Admiration.
If you cannot hold a perceived minority position without taking the flak for it, then you should be the first person to doubt your own conviction. This being what it is, you have absolutely nothing to lose in any and all faux oppression.
Closing communities is never good
OSAlert is what you folks call a community? Odd, I thought usenet, mailing lists, and forums were communities. This, on the other hand, is a news site .. you know, as in OS*News*. If I was of the view that this was a community site, I can tell you it would suck in more ways than one. However, I prefer to love the site for what it is.
Happy new year, all!!!
It will quite probably to a large extent turn the comments section into a “club of mutual admiration” thingy…
Because, goodness knows, the registered users on Slashdot all agree with one another. Each and every one of us, we’re right-wing liberal environmentalist Kantian objectivists, all Linux-using pro-Apple Microsoft apologists, GPL-hating free software advocates with communistic capitalist bents.
I’m neutral on disabling anonymous posts and I have my disagreements with OS News staff decisions, past and present, but the assertion that requiring someone to go through a free registration process is “closing the community” is nonsense. Yes, it dissuades people who aren’t willing to take the time to do that, and that probably does dissuade people who aren’t often moved to comment from ever commenting. But the bar is equally high for people on any side of a given issue. That the group of users who are willing to register for an account is definitionally going to be heavily tilted toward people who don’t mind going through a registration process doesn’t mean there isn’t “room for dissent” on any other issue. I see registered users bitch about articles here all the time, and there’s absolutely no reason to think that’s going to stop.
now ill have to post my flames with a real nick.. *cries*..
I wish everyone a itsthesameaslastfsckingyearsogetoverit!
Happy New Year everyone.
Things I’m looking forward to the most this year:
– OS X on Intel notebooks!
– eComStation 2.0
– Windows Vista – what will it be like?!
– Finally getting Linux-savvy after so many attempts. I know I’d like it, but I screw up every time!
– Major Haiku progress – fingers crossed
– SkyOS FINAL! Yes, yes, yes please
– Continued coverage of minority OS’s such as the splendid RiscOS
My thanks to the OSAlert.com staff and its readers for many, many happy hours of enjoyable reading (only slightly marred by the trolls)
Thank you very much Sparrowhawk. I can’t believe it took me to reach comment 113 before anyone actually mentioned something OS related. You restored my faith so I thank you.
’06 is going to be very interesting. Can’t wait to get my hands on the new Mac. SkyOS final? Would be very nice to see but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Not that I mind. They’re doing a great job and they’ll take as long as they need to get it right.
For OSN in 06, I’d like to see less infighting about which DE is better. The whole OSS industry is touted as being about ‘choice’. I’ve made my choice. You’ve made yours. No amount of kicking and screaming will change that. I’d like to see Gnome threads discussing Gnome, and KDE threads discussing KDE. Maybe that’s a little too much to ask for? I hope not.
Anyway, I wish all OSAlert readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! I’ll dedicate a beer for ya
I can’t believe it! I yet again wrote RiscOS when I meant RISC OS. Mind you, the point remains the same – please continue covering minority OS’s
Edited 2006-01-01 17:16
This has nothing to do with taking flack, that’s called a straw man, but i see you are already a subscriber to the club, so I guess there is little point in arguing with you.
Have fun with your little narrowminded club where you all can confirm each others belifs, like “KDE suckzorZ”, “I prefer Gnome”, and generally pat each others backs (moding up) in cordial conformism.
Browser: ELinks/0.10.6 (textmode; Linux 2.6.14.5 i686; 109×52-2)
Only the genuine comments would be entertained. I have been a reader of OSAlert since 2002 became a member in 2005, this is source of computer for me and many others, a place to share points of views and knowledge. Hope this move quells the troll. A Very Happy New Year to you all and specially the staff at OSAlert.
Edited 2006-01-01 11:03
A real shame to see Anonymous posting go, especially after the trial was originally declared interesting but not the answer. Now it is suddenly seen as a great success.
Some of the best postings I’ve seen here have been anonymous postings by casual visitors, while a handful of registered users have been pouring vitriol on others or pre-judging people’s comments based on who they are.
happy new year!!!
We have already identified several accounts coming from the same people. We will, for now, just place them under children’s diseases, and in a few weeks, nobody will even remember you used to be able to post anonymously here.
“they lack the practical experience to do”
Boy isn’t that an understatement.
Oh Alex, isn’t it fun to take your personal grudges out in the open? How’s the new SkyOS website coming along?
“Oh Alex, isn’t it fun to take your personal grudges out in the open? How’s the new SkyOS website coming along?
”
Precisely why people like to post anonymously. Here is an attack about something totally unrelated to the original comment. And what’s worse it’s coming from the Managing Editor. Someone who is trying to elevate the level of the comments. Instead he is resorting to personal attacks. Nice… Very nice.
Precisely why people like to post anonymously. Here is an attack about something totally unrelated to the original comment. And what’s worse it’s coming from the Managing Editor.
Mister, this isn’t an attack– it’s a insider’s joke from the SkyOS community, and Alex himself knows that too. Do not comment on things you know nothing about, please.
I find it rather intrigueing that you do not attack iExitium for attacking me and the crew.
Edited 2006-01-01 15:51
Maybe you and your crew f*cking ask for it with comments like that one.
No one cares that it’s “an inside joke”
It’s unprofessional, and immature.
Yep, I said I was leaving but I thought I’d check back and boy did I get a laugh by doing so.
Inside joke or not it’s irrelevant to the topic and to the vast majority of other people it appears as a personal attack. Save your inside jokes for an inside message board unless that is what you are trying to create here?
Sorry if you fell I’m attacking you but I’m only pointing out your hypocrisy. I don’t care what everyone else may say however as you are the Managing Editor I hold you much more responsible for what you write and say especially given what you expect others to do.
If you wish to improve the quality of the comments you should start with yourself and welcome open debate among the community no matter how people wish to post.
Inside joke or not it’s irrelevant to the topic and to the vast majority of other people it appears as a personal attack. Save your inside jokes for an inside message board unless that is what you are trying to create here?
God, it mustn’t be fun to be a in a group with you. As soon as two people laugh, you demand they shut up, just because they didn’t involve you.
Yet again another perosnl attack by the Manageing editor. Way to go Thom…
You sure do see personal attacks everywhere.
“God, it mustn’t be fun to be a in a group with you.”
That’s the “personal attack” in the comment. Whenever you criticize someone’s personality or character, you are treading the line of making a “personal attack.”
The bait here is ignoring the commentary that instigates the response that can be considered a “personal attack,” and rationalizing it through an expectation of inequity under the guise of “professionalism.” For example, if a party lies about another party, and the latter party subsequently refers to the former party as a liar, the latter party is attacking the former party.
From OSAlert forum rules:
1. No gratuitous use of profanity, biting sarcasm, or personal disparagement, especially directed at individuals.
2. No personal attacks on story authors, other commenters or news editors of this web site.
3. Even if you are in violent disagreement or have strong feelings, find a way to keep your comments calm, and try to explain your reasoning, not just rant.
Emphasis has been added to relevant text fragments.
The rules as stated do not leave much discretion, so any variation from them by the staff or other posters can be construed as violations or hypocrisy. Since certain parties find entertainment in provoking authority figures to engage in hypocrisy, any opportunity provided will be seized upon.
Some consideration for altering the rules to provide sensible exceptions explicitly may clarify the matter.
The bait here is ignoring the commentary that instigates the response that can be considered a “personal attack,” and rationalizing it through an expectation of inequity under the guise of “professionalism.”
Please use smaller words; I can’t understand them big ones.
For example, if a party lies about another party, and the latter party subsequently refers to the former party as a liar, the latter party is attacking the former party.
No, I’d say that the latter party is defending itself. There’s a difference between throwing a punch at a person who’s just minding his own business and throwing a punch at a person who just knocked you down. I don’t think you can ignore the context of an event without distorting its meaning. I think a proper interpretation of the rules would recognize this.
Since certain parties find entertainment in provoking authority figures to engage in hypocrisy, any opportunity provided will be seized upon.
I wish I could mod this statement +5, Insightful. Trolls enjoy disrupting useful discussion, and Thom would give them far less to work with if he just responded a bit more calmly.
Trollbait against an authority figure is usually in the form of a potential slam. Trolls post something infuriating yet stupid, and if the authority figure includes at least one even mildly abrasive remark, the trap is sprung. Other people will join in to defend the troll from unfair attacks by the staff, at which point the staff treat them the same as the trolls. The goal is met: the discussion is disrupted. The original troll can just sit back and watch the fireworks.
I’ve found that the most insidious way to deal with this particular kind of troll is to respond with lighthearted humor or even a compliment. He simply doesn’t know what to do with it. Think about it: not only has he failed to incite anger and disrupt the conversation, but he’s the one put on the spot. Once that trap is disarmed, it’s almost child’s play to deal with the troll’s post intellectually. At this point, if he doesn’t respond calmly and rationally, he’s exposed as a troll. And if he does respond calmly and rationally, he’s already set himself up to defend a ridiculous position.
But that’s just my suggestion. If Thom doesn’t follow it, I’m not going to follow him around everywhere and demand that he do so. I hope other people will be refrain from being abrasive with the staff, too.
Some consideration for altering the rules to provide sensible exceptions explicitly may clarify the matter.
Maybe the word “unprovoked” could be added to some of the passages to make everyone happy.
This validates my comment that the OSAlert crew is immature and unprofessional.
Yet another reason this place is worse than slashdot.
My personal grudges? I had always liked you until I knew you not from SkyOS but from OSAlert. You really are doing everything these people are saying. Hell, I’m replying to a personal attack (ouch, by the way). And on the administrative side of things, I can’t believe how rewarding it is to see you become everything you hated about Kelly.
I do like the idea needing to register to post a comment. Alot of profanity was beginnig to show up in the
comments.
….because the bugmenot guys will eventually have a list of logins for OSAlert.com just like they do for other ‘exclusive’ sites.
And while I agree that:
A) it’s annoying as hell to be unable to know if the Anonymous you’re posting to is the Anonymous who responded without doing all kinds of backtracking…
and that:
B) Registering nicknames will eliminate the trolls that tried to hijack Archie Steel’s accomt (anyone remember that?)
I still think that by requiring people to sign up before making a post we may lose many good comments by people who stumble across this site by random and have something to share only to be put off by the need to register.
Only time will tell I guess; Happy New Year everybody!
Edited 2006-01-01 13:18
Overall, I like the idea of disabling anonymous posting. But I’ve never once seen an option to login when browing this site with my PDA, so how am I going to be able to post if I’m on my PDA?
Adam
Overall, I like the idea of disabling anonymous posting. But I’ve never once seen an option to login when browing this site with my PDA, so how am I going to be able to post if I’m on my PDA?
You can post anonymously with PDA, text browsers and phones and such. In fact, you can NOT login via those devices.
We are thinking of creating a PDA/phone friendly login. Pure speculation though.
…and in a few weeks, nobody will even remember you used to be able to post anonymously here. …
That’s uncanny, because any _honest_ regular reader won’t be able to remember a single justifiable reason to remove anonymous posting in the first place. I read all articles at standard thresholds and don’t miss many comments.
There simply is no _ significant_ problem with anonymous users. If there actually was a problem I would agree with the action taken, but this is clearly not the case.
This is an irrational decision taken to satisfy the peculiar internal politics of OSAlert as far as I can make out.
Browser: ELinks (0.4pre5; Linux 2.6.0 i686; 176×66)
I disagree. I think if you reread Thom’s post there were plenty of reasons for the change. Anyways, it is done – we should cease complaining about it.
Anyways, what I look forward to in 2006:
– Vista
– OSX on Intel
– Symphony OS 1.0
– Sky OS Final?
– Many more updates to alternative OSes, such as eCS, AROS, Risc, and Zeta. This all are the type of OSes that making reading OSAlert a necessity.
Thanks to the staff for a wonderful 2005, and heres looking to next year!
That’s uncanny, because any _honest_ regular reader won’t be able to remember a single justifiable reason to remove anonymous posting in the first place. I read all articles at standard thresholds and don’t miss many comments.
1. Other registered users were taking the trouble to mod down the anonymous (f)lamers in many stories comments’ sections so you didn’t find them particularly annoying.
2. You apparently missed the discussions being hijacked by roving mobs of self-styled vigilantes who felt the need to perpetuate the flamewars by attacking the staff.
There simply is no _ significant_ problem with anonymous users. If there actually was a problem I would agree with the action taken, but this is clearly not the case.
Sure there was. For example, it simply wasn’t possible to discuss the original subject matter in some stories because every other post was from some anonymous idiot who couldn’t refrain from nitpicking about inane stuff such as how the article was posted.
This is an irrational decision taken to satisfy the peculiar internal politics of OSAlert as far as I can make out.
No, it’s a good decision which has two important consequences:
1. It gives the registered users in the community a means of tracking who makes which comment. It’s much harder to start a flamewar when everyone knows you’re in the habit of starting them; someone inevitably pipes up and informs the community not to fall into the trap of responding to the flamer. Attaching a name to a lamer also gives him a score history which can indicate whether he cares to make comments worth reading.
2. Even though people can abuse the system – as you are doing ATM – it takes more work now than it used to. Between the anonymous posts and the newly registered nicks with low scores, you’ve gone and justified the OSAlert staff’s decision and made fools of yourselves in the process. And I doubt you’ll ever realize it, which just makes it all the more satisfying.
“That’s uncanny, because any _honest_ regular reader won’t be able to remember a single justifiable reason to remove anonymous posting in the first place.”
You don’t speak for me on this issue. Because as a regular reader I can honestly say I applaud the decision to ban anonymous posting. As far as I am concerned the fact that someone posts inflammatory remarks that they are afraid to claim as there own is a very justifiable reason for the ban. If you are ashamed of what you have to say then don’t say it. Are you too ashamed to post under a recognizable handle?
Bill
Hey, same to the staff and thanks for all the hard work last year. And Thank you, thank you, thank you for this last big change. I have always been annoyed by anonymous posting. If you don’t have the guts to put your handle on a comment, then don’t make it.
Thanks again for all the hard work. OSAlert is usually the first thing I read in the morning when I hit the computer. (Well, right after getting the coffee brewing that is. I have my priorities straight).
Bill
1. Other registered users were taking the trouble to mod down the anonymous (f)lamers in many stories comments’ sections so you didn’t find them particularly annoying.
Since I read at a low threshold anyway I’m afraid the moderation has very little effect on what I end up reading.
2. You apparently missed the discussions being hijacked by roving mobs of self-styled vigilantes who felt the need to perpetuate the flamewars by attacking the staff.
I don’t notice significant abuse on a daily basis, certainly nothing to warrant an outright anonymous posting ban. There is always the occasional bad apple as can be seen with a number of registered users.
Sure there was. …
I’ve been on enough forums to discriminate between abusive behaviour and the acceptable cut and thrust of comment and debate. I’m not seeing anything abnormal at OSAlert.
No, it’s a good decision …
Well it’s a decision to solve an imaginary problem …
2. Even though people can abuse the system – as you are doing ATM – it takes more work now than it used to. Between the anonymous posts and the newly registered nicks with low scores, you’ve gone and justified the OSAlert staff’s decision and made fools of yourselves in the process. And I doubt you’ll ever realize it, which just makes it all the more satisfying.
Mmm, I wouldn’t say my post is a prime example of why anonymous posting should be banned. Neither would I class myself as a fool, though perhaps I shouldn’t be too worried about your comment since your opening gambit consisted of explaining to me how moderation had saved my soul, when I had already explained I used a low threshold (-1) for comments and read nearly all of them anyway – which really does make the end to this post “all the more satisfying”.
Browser: ELinks (0.4pre5; Linux 2.6.0 i686; 176×66)
I just love how you’ve conveniently “forgot” to address what possibly is the #1 reason why many people (myself included) prefer registered posting:
“1. It gives the registered users in the community a means of tracking who makes which comment. It’s much harder to start a flamewar when everyone knows you’re in the habit of starting them; someone inevitably pipes up and informs the community not to fall into the trap of responding to the flamer. Attaching a name to a lamer also gives him a score history which can indicate whether he cares to make comments worth reading.”
Since I read at a low threshold anyway I’m afraid the moderation has very little effect on what I end up reading.
You said that you read at a standard threshold (-1), so the comments I and others mod down to -2 or below slip below your threshold. If you take the time to read those, that’s great. There’s always the chance that someone will be modded down for no valid reason.
I don’t notice significant abuse on a daily basis, certainly nothing to warrant an outright anonymous posting ban. There is always the occasional bad apple as can be seen with a number of registered users.
I did notice significant abuse on a daily basis, certainly enough to warrant an outright anonymous posting ban. And comparing anonymous posters to registered users is like comparing apples and oranges as I’ve already explained.
I’ve been on enough forums to discriminate between abusive behaviour and the acceptable cut and thrust of comment and debate. I’m not seeing anything abnormal at OSAlert.
I’ve been on enough forums to discriminate between abusive behavior and the acceptable cut and thrust of comment and debate. I’m seeing a definite problem at OSAlert.
Well it’s a decision to solve an imaginary problem …
Nope. And in case you didn’t notice, these anecdotes and simple restatements of previous positions aren’t helping to lift the ban on anonymous posting.
Mmm, I wouldn’t say my post is a prime example of why anonymous posting should be banned. Neither would I class myself as a fool, though perhaps I shouldn’t be too worried about your comment since your opening gambit consisted of explaining to me how moderation had saved my soul, when I had already explained I used a low threshold (-1) for comments and read nearly all of them anyway – which really does make the end to this post “all the more satisfying”.
I didn’t explain that moderation had saved your soul, nor was it an opening gambit; I merely said that it affected your perception of what you read. Moreover, you continue to prove my point by evading the issue.
I can’t help but laugh at the response some people are having to this decision. Police state! Oppression! Our rights are being taken away by the biased and reactionary mods!
First, this is a private site. You have no rights here other than what you’re given. They can be given and taken at any time. If you don’t like it, get a group together and start your own site.
Second, you should be far more concerned with actual risks of police states and gestapo tactics throughout the world.
If the removal of anonymous posting TRULY makes you spend THAT much energy, rather than trying to, say, work for equality and justice throughout the world – well, you are a truly sad and immature human being.
Truly, have you NOTHING better to do?
I registered. You just put an end to years of laziness!
Well done putting an end to anonymous posting: I had been suggesting it for a long time. It is an important step in the right direction.
However another problem remains, and that is moderation.
As I have written in the Meta Blog, moderation is still being used improperly, namely to mod down posts one doesn’t agree with.
Hehe, I have dynamic IP!!!
Well, I seriously don’t have a reason for making many nicks or going anonymous… I haven’t been attacked or anything AFAIK
Cripes. Other than to troll, I can’t think of a single good reason to post anonymously at OSAlert. An unpopular opinion, argued calmly and logically, won’t be modded down (though not necessarily modded up). If it is modded down, well .. C’est la vie. The world will not be a poorer place because an unpopular opinion about an operating system couldn’t be heard on OSAlert.
If you can’t see this, my guess is that you haven’t been looking. If you thing unpopular views doesn’t get modded down you haven’t been looking. And while the world might not be a worse place for it, it certainly makes this site less attractive.
Further, why would anyone really need to know who wrote a particular posting? You do have a brain, you can judge for your self, and not have to rely on that persons average score. This is especially true since staff here seems to make the totally bogus assumption that a posting that is modded up is somehow of better quality. ANYONE who has been watching knows this just isn’t true, the chance is just as big that it got modded up because someone liked what they read. No point in arguing that, it happens here all the time. Thus scores are not only useless, they are worse than that as they might be directly misleading, since a high average might just as well mean that it was written by someone with popular views, even if what’s in the post is horseshit. And on the other hand the oposite might be true for people with negative averages. Also don’t try telling me registered users don’t troll. I’ve lost count on the nuber of “KDE 5Ux0rZ”, “QT-licensing is a problem” troll-posts I’ve seen in threads about KDE or QT that was posted by registered users.
So the conclusion is that disabling anonymous postings is a cure worse than the disease, since it detracts a lot, for no real gain. That’s the problem. All IMO, obviously.
Browser: ELinks/0.10.6 (textmode; Linux 2.6.14.5 i686; 117×52-2)
If you can’t see this, my guess is that you haven’t been looking. If you thing unpopular views doesn’t get modded down you haven’t been looking. And while the world might not be a worse place for it, it certainly makes this site less attractive.
I don’t see large swathes of posts moderated below the standard threshold – some, yes, but there are always a few posts which violate the rules. You should consider whether the posts in question were moderated down for other reasons. According to the rules, an otherwise good post can be moderated down for bad language, personal attacks, and other disruptive commentary. I’ve moderated some posts down for these very reasons.
On the other hand, if they were moderated down for their opinions, then that appears to be valid now. The warning for negative moderation includes a “Yes, I disagree with this user/opinion” link. I have no idea why this changed.
Further, why would anyone really need to know who wrote a particular posting?
It discourages chronic trolling. If a person wishes to continue trolling, he must go to the trouble of creating additional nicks and switching between them. Most people who want to troll do it impulsively and won’t bother going through the process of circumventing the moderation system. And even if they do, it becomes a little suspicious when people with 1.00 scores keep showing up to defend the troll’s actions.
You do have a brain, you can judge for your self, and not have to rely on that persons average score. This is especially true since staff here seems to make the totally bogus assumption that a posting that is modded up is somehow of better quality. ANYONE who has been watching knows this just isn’t true, the chance is just as big that it got modded up because someone liked what they read. No point in arguing that, it happens here all the time. Thus scores are not only useless, they are worse than that as they might be directly misleading, since a high average might just as well mean that it was written by someone with popular views, even if what’s in the post is horseshit. And on the other hand the oposite might be true for people with negative averages.
You are correct, of course, but the inaccuracy of the scores is the nature of the beast. It’s a permanent work in progress. People have to keep checking whether a post modded +5 is really that good and whether a post modded -5 is really that bad and adjusting them accordingly. It works often enough because people are usually opinionated enough to doubt other posters by tinkering with the scores a bit.
So the conclusion is that disabling anonymous postings is a cure worse than the disease, since it detracts a lot, for no real gain.
And how does it detract? You haven’t answered why anonymous posting is so very valuable. Do you fear that someone will visit you personally in anger because they disagree with your post on OSAlert? If this were a political or otherwise hot-button-issue site, I might give you the argument. But it’s not.
Post as a registered user. What’s the worst that can happen? What value do anonymous posts add that registered posts cannot? I ask these questions honestly.
Edited 2006-01-02 07:51