Damnit, I love the SDMB but.....

The BBQ Pit
22

You are correct.

How very disappointed I am in myself for making a math error when I was kindly tring to correct another person. It is amazing that a person like myself who has had so many post-Calculus math classes will make such an obvious mistake. At least I was polite about it - I did not do the all-too-common “doooode! Yer stupid! dont you now math? Its’ 2000 %percentt!” So I followed my own Rule 2, but evidently not my Rule 3. :frowning:

I apologize to andros as well - I evidently had no right to try and correct your post if I was going to make a stupid mistake.

I hope you are not referring to my math error as having invalidated my worth. As to the post on the content of the SDMB - I think I gave a fair presentation of how the board often appears. I also gave several points to being a good new poster to a board that hopefully most will agree with. These are methods I have tried to adhere to for 15 years of posting to boards. Perhaps you have a suggestion as to what attitudes would prevent my being a better poster. I’m serious.

I was going to update it anyways, but it was to refer to my having been called the “Lesbian who knows the most about coal power plants.”

23

I swear to IPU, that abomination by Silo was not posted when I began writing my correction to Anthracite.

Mr. Masterson, I’m not entirely sure why I’m bothering with trying to correct you, since your reasoning is so atrocious in your solution, but, what the hell, you appear to shown yourself to be someone who can benefit from instruction, at least in your latest incarnation.

Consider. The 493.75% that you conclude with appears to have been arrived at by taking the factors of your final two operations (400% and 93.75%) and adding them algebraically. Is there some particular reason you had for needing to add the last two operations, but not the three that preceded them? Which would give you a result of 1,093.75% (100% + 200% + 300% + 400% + 93.75%). This wouldn’t be any more accurate, but at least it would be a bit less capricious and surreal.

200 x 2 (raised to the power of)4.9069 is approximately 6000, but this is the closest you can validly get to having a 4.9anything in the operation (and there’s just no justifiable way of calling an exponent of 2 a percentage of anything at all).

200 + 493.75% (of 200) = 1187.5, btw, and
200 x 493.75% (of 200) = 197500. Did you try running your conclusion through a calculator, at all?

See my comments to Anthracite for some understanding of why I’m making an issue of this.

Your scholastic fortes tend to be in the Humanities, don’t they?

For some reason, I feel it incumbent upon me to mitigate this post with something to indicate that I bear no personal grudge for you, Silo, so let me add this:

And, since this if the Pit: fuck, fuckety, fuck, fuck ::beat:: fuck, fuck.

24

Anthracite:

Allow me to apologize if I have offended with my “try to be a better person” bit. I copied it from Unca Cecil, having encountered it in one of his books.

I don’t tend to form an opinion of a poster by his (or her) post count or length of registry, but rather by the content of an individual’s posts. And that would be quite difficult without a representative sampling. In fact, I recently spoke of Singledad being my new hero. I did and do find the points made by you and Misterecks in your posts to be quite valid (even if I wasn’t real thrilled about the coining of the term WAMEM), and I look forward to reading more posts by both of you.

After all, I gotta get that representative sampling :D.

25

So what’s with this exclusive club that only members with more than 500 posts and who have registration dates prior to December 1999 can be in?

They’re up there on their cloud deeming what posts constitute as good posts and bad posts, and flame anyone who, in their mind, has not posted something good. That’s fuckin bullshit. The reason why people don’t post quality threads, or any threads for that matter, is because they fear being reamed in the ass by those exclusive club members.

“Oh this topic was already covered in a previous thread… [link that follows].”

“Why don’t you use a search engine?”

“Please correct your grammar. I can’t read it.”

“Get out of here you fuckin troll!”

I mean, shit, what the fuck are you supposed to do? Must you consult with a senior member and ask if your thread is going to be okay? Is it going to be Straight Dope worthy? Fuck all that.

It seems like when posts are read, the first thing that is looked at is the member name, the date of registration, and the post count. Only after that will the actual post be read. Which would be convoluted anyway because the reader would not be able to escape the fact that the thread was posted by a newbie.

But wait, if that username had more than 500 posts, then they could say or ask anything in that thread with out any ridicule and/or rejection by other members. They’ve already become “part of the club” so it’s okay. More fuckin bullshit.

As with any content driven website, it’s going to grow in popularity. And with growth comes a more diverse group of users. And eventually, the 80/20 rule is going to come into play. But that’s what this board needs – new blood. It cannot thrive on the same group of members.

Just lighten the fuck up about all this newbie shit. If the content of their post does not spark any interest, then don’t respond to it. It’s that simple.

26

  1. I don’t think that Techie was annoyed at all newbies in general, but only the ones who don’t read the archives, don’t lurk to try to understand the general tone of the board, and then proceed to ask lots of idiotic questions and get pissed when people point out that they are idiots. The newbies who have posted in this thread do not fall into that category, it would seem. Just my inferrance.

  2. I’ve been posting in various SD forums for over two years now (since October 1997) and that entire time, I have heard complaints about how the SDMB sucks now, not like in the Old Days, newbies are all idiots, what happened to the good regs, there are too many trolls now, blah blah blah. As far as I can tell, the first two weeks of the old SDMB on AOL must have been like paradise, and it’s all been downhill since there.

27

Hafta go with TechChick on this one. The complexion of the board has changed recently. You can see from my registration date and post count that I mostly lurk and don’t post just to be part of the “in crowd”

Yes, the board does go through phases, but it seems to me that there was some worthwhile discussion and the silly stuff had some reasonably clever threads among the drivel. The current phase seems especially pre-adolescent. It takes more work, these days, to filter through to the threads that are either interesting or fun. Somehow I can’t imagine the “guy stuff” thread happening now - the combined intellect has been too diluted.

I would encourage everyone, whether you go back to the AOL days or just registered yesterday, to ignore the assholes as much as possible and just try to carry on as if they weren’t here. I firmly believe that a starving troll will eventually give up.

28

Exactly how is that being reamed in the ass? When the search engine was f***ed-up, such a post was a godsend, as it was nearly impossible to find a thread that you knew existed, much less when checking to see if your question had already been brought up and not knowing if any of your search terms would bring it up if it had.

Is it bad to direct someone to a place on the net that might answer the question in general, or just when the link leads to a page of this website? Or perhaps instead of directing the questioner to the previous discussion, you’re expecting every poster who participated in the previous discussion to retype all their posts from that thread and post then to the new thread?

I suppose one might take it as meaning the wording of such a comment could be insulting, except for the fact that the wording you used is fairly innocuous. You’d have to be pretty thin-skinned to see “Oh this topic was already covered in a previous thread… [link that follows].” as insulting.

29

Thank you very much for clarifying; I understand now. And I will always try to be a better person.

Kayla must be lucky to have a polite, intelligent father.

If I knew where my father was, I’d shoot him.

30

I’m probably wading in over my head, cause I’m NOT a stats/math person ( my Dad is!), but, if you’re trying to determine the actual real portrait of this MB, wouldn’t it be more a function of those who actively post rather than those who have only registered? Using those numbers, what is the active composite of the SDMB?

To Techchick: I registered in the same month you did, so I suppose we have seen the same things here. It really has surprised me how much of the goings on and turmoil have really affected me. Some of it upset me and made me stay away awhile. Some of the recent administration decisions I’ve disagreed with. But, after reflection, I can understand their point. Trolls have been a new thing to me, as this is my only internet experience, and it was upsetting at first. But, in any widespread open forum, you just have to deal with the whole range of expression. Some people are gonna be jerks. To read , and absorb, if you’re of a sensitive bent, their twistedness is a real shock. It’s hard to believe people can act that way, but they do. If we could hear the thoughts of everyone on the bus next to us, we’d probably go shit crazy by next week! That is what happens in a forum like this: you’re exposed to many harsh thoughts that you might not hear in your daily life.

Some folks let it roll off them easily. I don’t have that admirable ability, and it sometimes upsets me. But I would never want to regulate or censor this forum. I think that all I’ve seen here have the capacity to decide when they stop reading, and can challenge the folks who are less adept to better themselves. Sometimes I wish that there was more kindness here, though.

31

The statement just by itself is innocuous, I agree. However, it is hardly ever just by itself. It is usually followed by something to the sound of “learn to use a search engine” or “that’s what search engines are for” which also sound rather innocuous, but do have an implied condescending tone.

No, this is not what I am expecting. Almost all of the old threads have the answer posted in the second post. Any posts thereafter are just follow-ups, different points of view, disagreements, those who try to be funny, and the like. So, really, only the second post needs to be copy and pasted into the reply.

But then again, the act of just replying to the thread is in effect, “feeding the troll,” so why do it? I’d venture to say it is to point out the shortcomings of the poster.

32

Hey, all. s’up? I’m goung to commit a cardinal sin! I’m going to pour oil on the waters in the pit!

What follows is MY take on what TC said, so if I’m wrong, flame ME and not her. I believe that, as others have posted, things go in waves. The thing about now is, we have just had a whole lot of shit go down over here. Some popular posters split from the board in a not entirely amicable manner, the whole thing was hacked and down for a week, the software was swiched, and while the new SW seems to be working, it’s NEW, and has some bugs. The point is, right now, skins are thin. To top that off, we have had some new people come in and behave in the most boorish manner. When Teckie said:

I think a lot of folks read: (bolding mine)

without realizing that the meaning is directed only to:

For the rest of you, particularly those on this thread, welcome. Any group of folks that are together for a while get somewhat clickish, and while this is not a good thing, a basic understanding of the group you are interacting with is, if not a must, a strong need. Thing is, the only thing we have to go on is length of time here coupled with the quality of your posts. If your number of posts is too small for the quality to be widely known, than sometimes the number is used as an unfortunate substitute. If you are not deliberetly trying to be stupid, shrill, ignorant, rude or prevoking, I think it is safe to say the above comments don’t apply to you. If you are, then you will be gone in time. It is sometimes frustrating to wade throug the crap to get to the gems, and that is the source of the frustration evidenced here. I advise everyone to either pop open or light up the intoxicant of your choice, or just take a nap. Then, chill, hang out, and have fun. For the veterans, this too shall pass. For the newest members of our MB family, welcome, buckle up, you’re in for the ride of your intellectual life.

Peace!

33

I just thought I’d post something here so I could see when I registered, and how many posts I’ve made. Nothing else, just checking the when and how many.

34

Huemr, you can also get the same info by clicking the little rolodex-looking icon labeled “profile.”

35

Well, as a very recent poster ::scratches sloping forehead:: who basically knows nuffin’ from nuffin :: peers, entranced, at electric lights and flush toilets:: seems to me the whole whoop-de-doo is overblown.

Yeah, this place sucks sometimes. So does the local coffee shop, the “e-site du jour” and most family reunions.

So get a grip, get a life and get some perspective. It’s just one point of interaction. Sometimes it’s messy, sometimes it’s sublime but it’s always an individual choice on whether to ride out the hassles, take a break or just plain give the whole hot-dog stand a miss.

'Scuse me, but forget stats, case law and agonizing. This place is just a bunch of people–most of them sincerely interesting–who’ve gravitated around the Straight Dope. The place ain’t stodgy, PC or without controversey.

::splort! spit-take::

Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s aggravating but if the climate don’t suit, then move on. Honestly, participation is NOT required, and there’s huge ol’ world out there, expanding by the minute, all for the taking. It’s no more complicated–much less, actually–then moving out of a town that will never be home. Yeah, you can settle in and then try to reform the inhabitants and impose your will.

Or you can visit once in a while, or choose to reside, on whatever basis you choose. It’s a messy, amorphous and truly global village. As such, don’t be suprised when pernicious in-comers invade. But don’t reject new settlers, either. And if you can’t do that–plant your feet, put down roots and be flexible with your neighbors—then maybe this isn’t the place for you.

FWIW, I like the free-wheeling atmosphere; don’t have to agree with neighbors, but have to get along. And I much prefer the loose rules. The residents and caretakers of the place aren’t perfect, but damned if I’ll agree to stifiling the atmosphere.

Veb

36

Dammit, I wish I said that.

Don’t ever leave us, Veb.

37

techchicke wrote:

Who? What? Where? I’m lost - to which thread are you referring?

Esprix

38

Veb: Excellantavo

39

Veb, very very well said. I hate to do the ‘me too’ post, but dammit, ME TOO!

:slight_smile:

40

Interesting responses–everything from “get along-go along” to “take a hike if you don’t like it.” But most of them seem to be misdirected, and that’s my fault–I wasn’t especially clear about my motives for my post. My motive was nothing more or less than protesting a roundabout attack on me that I didn’t feel I deserved. I also took some shots at the attitudes behind that attack, which resulted in confusion.

And…in doing so I managed to do exactly what angered me about techchick68’s post. She attacked new members indiscriminately; then I went and did the same to older members. Or so the respective posts read to me–perhaps, as Kyla and weirddave suggested, techchick68 didn’t mean it the way it came out. I didn’t mean to imply that every poster who’s been here awhile has appointed himself/herself part of the Beautiful People Club, to which group no others may aspire–I apologize to any who (justifiably) may have read it that way.

I also apologize for the term WAMEM, which seems to have offended kaylasdad99 a bit. It was meant to serve a triple purpose: humor (like all my attempts at humor, it doesn’t necessarily strike anyone else as funny), sarcasm (meant to bite a bit with people who actually operate the way I was describing) and utility (I’m too lazy to think up new descriptive terms every time).

Let me put it this way. I’m not looking to be welcomed, admired, or patted on the head. I’m not whining that nobody will let me into The Club–clubs and I are pretty much mutually exclusive anyway. I don’t need to be told to take a hike if I don’t like it–I’m already aware of that. I just don’t like being defined into a class, and then having that class defined as “assholes.” Perhaps techchick68 would consider me an asshole based on what I’ve written here and elsewhere–that would be her right, and that of anyone else. I don’t mind being called an asshole on the merits, if that’s what someone thinks. I just resent being thought an asshole without cause.

I sincerely hope I was correct about techchick68’s post–that she WAS doing a blanket bashing of newbies. Otherwise I’ve been awful damn verbose for no good reason–I hate when that happens.

41

Well, this has been beaten well into the ground, but just to show that I’m paying a little attention. . .

Kayla’s Dad, you’re absolutely correct in that I meant to write 2000 instead of the much more pedestrian 200. And yes, as you say, I didn’t proofread. The missing zero is nothing egregious, but the sentence in which it was couched was incorrectly phrased.

Of course I was in error saying that 2000 to 6000 is an increase of 300%. Believe it or not, I do know enough math for that. What I intended to say (and didn’t) was this:

I think that works a bit better.

But it sure is a good object lesson on A) how statistics can lie to the unwary, and B) why one should proofread carefully.