Red Dots - Change to System

[TheCommissioner]

Honestly, in my opinion, if you want voting, leave it as it is. I've had many years of experience (admittedly fewer years than the admins here) running forums and other communities for various video games with moderate success and I can't help but feel if we at the time were to open up the voting and allow users to see who is upvoting or downvoting, it would lead to more friction. 

There are realistically only two suitable options:
 

1. Keep voting, but hide user information as to allow someone to disagree with a comment without having to create a reply to explain why.
2. Abolish voting, forcing those who disagree to come forth and write a reply as to why they disagree with a comment thus creating more discussion, but also opening up your forum to low quality posts. 

Trolls will be trolls. Cyberbullies (in the case of downvoting a username regardless of the content or quality of their contribution) will be cyberbullies and groups will always form. Don't let things get more personal as this will just cause more upset. 

EDIT: I would also like to add that in my opinion, it's rather embarrassing that it's come this far, for both the community and the club that we all support. 

Edited September 7, 2016 by TheCommissioner

[+DoofersDad]

I disagree with both the Commissioner 's options above. There is no reason why allowing folk to see who put dots of either colour forces those who disagree with a post to say why.  Rather, it makes people publicly accountable - a fact which will deter the cyber bullies who currently hide behind the anonymity.

To abolish voting altogether is not really an option IMO. It is important that a mechanism exists to show support for something which really strikes a chord with the community. This could just be a summary of a game or perhaps acknowledgement of something above and beyond the call of duty by someone at the club - thanks for organising travel at short notice, perhaps.

whilst I personally favour having both colours and showing who used the dots, the red dots are less important. No doubt a post which deserves a few red dots will get at least one reply which shows why it was a bad post. If we can only give likes then we have the option of liking the reply. 

[TopSix]

'Mon the red dots! Gave the OP a red one for even suggesting getting rid of them 

[tm4tj]

1 hour ago, TheCommissioner said:

EDIT: I would also like to add that in my opinion, it's rather embarrassing that it's come this far, for both the community and the club that we all support. 

This being an unofficial site, it has little to do with the club. What community do you mean. Local, forum or what?

[RiG]

TheCommissioner is a great username.

[TheCommissioner]

1 hour ago, DoofersDad said:

I disagree with both the Commissioner 's options above. There is no reason why allowing folk to see who put dots of either colour forces those who disagree with a post to say why.  Rather, it makes people publicly accountable - a fact which will deter the cyber bullies who currently hide behind the anonymity.

To abolish voting altogether is not really an option IMO. It is important that a mechanism exists to show support for something which really strikes a chord with the community. This could just be a summary of a game or perhaps acknowledgement of something above and beyond the call of duty by someone at the club - thanks for organising travel at short notice, perhaps.

whilst I personally favour having both colours and showing who used the dots, the red dots are less important. No doubt a post which deserves a few red dots will get at least one reply which shows why it was a bad post. If we can only give likes then we have the option of liking the reply. 

I do get what you are saying. It was especially bad in the past with gaming communities as the majority of the users were teenagers fighting over Call of Duty clans and who was the best at ''quick scoping'' so understandably not the case here, however I do see some the similarities appearing on these forums. The above opinion is just how I would deal with it. In the end we opted for abolishing voting altogether and we found more communication between users was developing. Sadly, as is the case with the niche I was working with the quality of content dropped, but I don't believe that would be the case here with a more mature audience. 

An alternative that I know exists for the Invision Power Suite (this forum software, at least it was available in older versions with a mod from the marketplace) is where if a reply gains too many downvotes, it is hidden until a staff member can review it. 

1 hour ago, tm4tj said:

This being an unofficial site, it has little to do with the club. What community do you mean. Local, forum or what?

I am referring to the forum community. It could be harmful as I am sure supporters of rival clubs will check this site out. I often check out other forums to see what rumors are going around and to see opinions on previous matches between the clubs, especially around transfer windows. It's just a bit of fun, especially when we destroy County. It's not a major cause for concern but I do believe this situation could have been handled differently. 

[ICTPaisley]

Scotty I remember some sort of system before where it would tell you which user has marked you down for a green or red dot. Was there a reason why that was taken away or was it merely just a change in software at the time?

[IBM]

1 hour ago, ICTPAISLEY said:

Scotty I remember some sort of system before where it would tell you which user has marked you down for a green or red dot. Was there a reason why that was taken away or was it merely just a change in software at the time?

Yes I remember that as well, you knew who your pals were  when you got a green one but I am not bothered what system is in place.

[RiG]

12 hours ago, ICTPAISLEY said:

Scotty I remember some sort of system before where it would tell you which user has marked you down for a green or red dot. Was there a reason why that was taken away or was it merely just a change in software at the time?

You still get that now with green dots unless you have turned off notifications. Don't think it does the same for red dots however.

[+Fraz]

14 hours ago, TheCommissioner said:

I do get what you are saying. It was especially bad in the past with gaming communities as the majority of the users were teenagers fighting over Call of Duty clans and who was the best at ''quick scoping'' so understandably not the case here, however I do see some the similarities appearing on these forums. The above opinion is just how I would deal with it. In the end we opted for abolishing voting altogether and we found more communication between users was developing. Sadly, as is the case with the niche I was working with the quality of content dropped, but I don't believe that would be the case here with a more mature audience. 

An alternative that I know exists for the Invision Power Suite (this forum software, at least it was available in older versions with a mod from the marketplace) is where if a reply gains too many downvotes, it is hidden until a staff member can review it. 

I am referring to the forum community. It could be harmful as I am sure supporters of rival clubs will check this site out. I often check out other forums to see what rumors are going around and to see opinions on previous matches between the clubs, especially around transfer windows. It's just a bit of fun, especially when we destroy County. It's not a major cause for concern but I do believe this situation could have been handled differently. 

 

14 hours ago, TheCommissioner said:

I do get what you are saying. It was especially bad in the past with gaming communities as the majority of the users were teenagers fighting over Call of Duty clans and who was the best at ''quick scoping'' so understandably not the case here, however I do see some the similarities appearing on these forums. The above opinion is just how I would deal with it. In the end we opted for abolishing voting altogether and we found more communication between users was developing. Sadly, as is the case with the niche I was working with the quality of content dropped, but I don't believe that would be the case here with a more mature audience. 

An alternative that I know exists for the Invision Power Suite (this forum software, at least it was available in older versions with a mod from the marketplace) is where if a reply gains too many downvotes, it is hidden until a staff member can review it. 

I am referring to the forum community. It could be harmful as I am sure supporters of rival clubs will check this site out. I often check out other forums to see what rumors are going around and to see opinions on previous matches between the clubs, especially around transfer windows. It's just a bit of fun, especially when we destroy County. It's not a major cause for concern but I do believe this situation could have been handled differently. 

420 no-scoper^ #rekt 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

18 hours ago, TopSix said:

'Mon the red dots! Gave the OP a red one for even suggesting getting rid of them 

 

[ferben1994]

I dont really care what option we end up with.

I also don't mind if user's see if i red or green dotted them amd if asked would gladly explain why.

I dish out more green than reds anyway.

Unless its dougall. I always red dot that guy. Saves me from dishing out personal abuse to the guy and gettin banned of here altogether 

[CurrieICT]

On 6 September 2016 at 10:19 PM, DoofersDad said:

I do think people should be able to express their disagreement without always being expected to argue the case. Some posts are simply out of order in one way or another and the number of negative marks allows people to gauge the strength of feeling without people needing to respond. But the red dotters should be identifiable so that they can be identified just as the poster who they are criticising can be. 

One thing that is annoying about the current system is that you just see a net reputation for a post.  There is no way for anyone other than the poster to know how many positive and negative votes they got        .  For instance, a post could have 10 green and 10 red dots but with the current system you would not know that anyone had been bothered to like or dislike it at all.  I'm not sure whether option 2 would show who expressed both likes and dislikes but if it does, it would have my vote.  It would allow people to see the extent of interest in a particular post.

 

 

 

As someone very new to the site I think that it is helpful to show if you like or dislike a post that someone has made but if anyone dislikes a post then it would be helpful if they made a post on the site giving their counter opinion.  Giving a red dot and not giving an explanation is like being hit from behind by a bully who then runs away.  

The majority of people that post on the site are adults and we should behave in a dignified and polite manner.  That's not saying we all have to agree with one another on every subject but there should never be green dotting of people we like and red dotting of people that we don't like.  As someone that doesn't know anyone else on the site I consider everyone as a friend as we all have the interests of the club at heart.  Life would be boring if we all agreed on every subject.

By the way I go for option 2.

[GaliantGrunt]

 Only a few folk actually receive more than a couple of red dots as far as I`ve noticed, apart from the odd outrageous ones.

If someone for example gets over 3 or more red dots ,its maybe they who should elaborate or explain their post further.

If people want to debate the response after that its up to them.

 

 

[+DoofersDad]

3 hours ago, GoliathGrunt said:

 Only a few folk actually receive more than a couple of red dots as far as I`ve noticed, apart from the odd outrageous ones.

If someone for example gets over 3 or more red dots ,its maybe they who should elaborate or explain their post further.

If people want to debate the response after that its up to them.

 

 

You don't see how many red dots people get.  You just see the net result.  As I write this you have a net reputation of zero for your post but it might be that one person have given you a green dot and someone else has given you a red dot.  But I agree with the gist of what you are saying - folk tend to give far more likes than dislikes and only a few posts get a significant number of red dots.

[bdu98196]

11 hours ago, Fraser54 said:

As someone very new to the site I think that it is helpful to show if you like or dislike a post that someone has made

Sadly on here some are too juvenile for that, the reality that most posts just ordinary and carry the opinion of an individual is the normal although some are more exceptional and carry good structure and an opinion shared by many therefore get acknowledged (green) and some likewise are just inflammatory, degrading or out to provoke a reaction which lead to red dots. I'd like to think most on here consider when its appropriate to provide positive or negative feedback - however some cant and just see it as a point scoring exercise. 

Its not the system that's the problem, its how people use it or what their motivation is, therefore because of this perhaps the best resolution is to remove the system altogether? If the system isn't being used to acknowledge either end of the spectrum then it has not been grasped (in my opinion).    

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

The clever use of emotion clarifying smileys is sadly considerably under utilised

[+DoofersDad]

2 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

The clever use of emotion clarifying smileys is sadly considerably under utilised

[CaleyD]

4 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

The clever use of emotion clarifying smileys is sadly considerably under utilised

[Scotty]

only joking

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

That is a great idea - initial smiley response

[CaleyD]

This is far better than dots....and there's no restriction on the number of them you can give.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

[Scotty]

for some reason though people did not like the bigger ones ....  

 

I got so much  when suggesting we introduce them that at first I  but then after having a  and a  and even though I thought  I did  all the posts from our members  and with much  from them we decided it was a big  to the new emoticons.

We will make a decision on the red dots sometime before 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]