[extropy-chat] Re: Oxygenating the flame in threads

[Samantha Atkins]

On Aug 26, 2005, at 1:14 AM, Brett Paatsch wrote:

> The Avantguardian wrote:
>
>
>> --- Emlyn <emlynoregan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> What you could possibly do is set up an email
>>> address - say extropy-crap at lists.extropy.org.
>>> People could forward email they disliked to that
>>> address, as a vote against it. Instead of killfiling
>>> someone, you could forward their entire output to
>>> that address, as a permanent mark of disdain!
>>>
>
> I just want to point out this is not what I meant by
> shunning. This sort of technological community thing
> is still feedback.
>
> Human nature is such that some will actively go out
> of their way to give others a bad reputation if some
> system is set up to encourage that they do.

Huh?  What for?  If it is simply feedback positive and negative then  
many will go out of their way to be as fair and even handed or even  
quite kind as they would like to be treated similarly.  Also in a  
mailing list you don't see all the people who are quite pleased or  
even delighted with something you wrote.  It is not only negative  
feedback that doesn't flow so well.

> I'm doing *personally* formally now what I think
> most intelligent people mindful of avoiding wasting
> their time do informally (or they may also do it
> formally). I'm keeping a *personal* database of contacts. Its for  
> my use only. I put the categories
> in and I only update it when I want to. I put down
> my opinion of the IQ and and EQ for posters, as well
> as skills etc and I can add whatever other stuff I want
> to their variable length record.
> I would continue to do it or not irrespective of whether there was  
> a system set up because I can
> and have build the personalised system I want for
> myself. Its just me using a memory extension. And
> its something that I'm treating as a evolving prototype.
> Why am I even bringing this up why not just do it
> and keep quiet about it? I could have.
> But I thought others might find the idea interesting.
> Its not entirely original. Someone else I though it
> was Hal or Harvey years ago posted that they
> were keeping stats and folders of individuals posters
> valuable posts and that someone or other had earned a haircut. And  
> that Gina's Nanogirl posts were automatically
> routed into that database for further credit to Gina.
> I can't remember who it was that was doing it, but it
> struck me as a good idea, so I'm doing something like
> it but with slight modifications. I don't plan to record bad stuff  
> because I am not going to try
> to dwell on bad stuff I am going to try to focus
> my efforts on good stuff because its in my interests
> too. I've only so much time in a day. Also the
> exceptionally good stuff and posters are a far
> smaller amount of data to keep track off and I
> don't like data entry.
>
>>> I guess you'd also want an
>>> extropy-great at lists.extropy.org, to send
>>> excellent posts and favoured postors to.
>>>
>> I like this idea. It's like a hall of shame or a
>> blooper reel. You idea has both the positive and
>> negative reinforcement that is the best basis of
>> heuristic learning. I think this would be appropriate.
>>
>
> Any system that is automated will still require someone
> to maintain. Its another beast that someone will have
> to tend.

Doesn't that contradict "automated"?   I think this can be made very  
low maintenance and if the data is well designed various types of  
information could be extracted that would be useful.
>

>
> I've gotten off track though. The point about oxygenating
> the flame in threads is that people respond to any feedback
> even negative feedback. No feedback can often be
> worse.
> If Jack writes crap and Jill says its crap rather than just
> ignoring it then Jacks thread which may have only been flamebait  
> aimed at drawing out Jill anyway, gets oxygenated
> when it otherwise might have burned out quickly.
> If Jack and Jill dislike each other, and there is an automated
> system they will be running up each others bad rap with the
> some gusto as before. An automated public communal system
> isn't the answer in my view.

Why use it that way?  I have never encountered anyone here who  
doesn't sometimes write things I find valuable and worthwhile.  If I  
could effectively mod up what I find good and mod down what I find  
not so good and the poster cares what readers think then over time  
more good posts are likely from even this person I may not generally  
like very much.  Sounds pretty extropic to me.


> Personal database keeping IS the answer in my view.

Do you really want to claim you have *the* answer to this one?

- samantha

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