Looking for volunteers for SDMB APAS

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

It would seem to me, as a member of the APAS (and even before) that one of the better ways to make this something where a popularity contest is not possible is to remove the names of posters from posts and such. In other words, one could quote an OP and leave the person’s name out of it. One would have to be very good indeed at spotting style and such to know immediately who the person was.

And I would think that the category of “best overall poster” would be more given for quality of posts than “best person”, so to speak. It would be someone who made a visible contribution to a particular forum by their posts. And I would cite the “nameless posts” bit of my first paragraph as an unbiased (as much as this can be unbiased) way of judging that.

Question for all: does anyone really care what I, one poster out of several thousand, happen to think about a GD or ATMB OP? What, in the grand (or even ungrand) scheme of things, do I have that makes my opinion more valuable? I assumed this would be a fun little thing with no particular value when I volunteered, so to speak.

Am I making any sense, or do I need a nap?

42

That’s exactly one of the problems. Regardless of whether you do it thinking it’s of no value, people attach value to it. I don’t want anyone here thinking that their posts are somehow less than worthwhile because they don’t see their post didn’t make the list.

43

I don’t think this is a particularly good idea. But whatever floats your boat.

If I think someone made a particularly good post, I sometimes send email saying I enjoyed it, thought it was thought-provoking, whatever.

And isn’t Threadspotting for the most interesting threads? I just send a thread to tubadiva yesterday that I thought was particularly funny.

44

Well, true, absolute objectivity is impossible. I think we have enough posters here who can be objective enough, however.

Apart from that, I was thinking of it like an anti-pit. It seems absurd prima facie that we may take posters to the pit to abuse their posts but not create something which would serve to do a little "atta-boy"ing, or that such positive remarks would hurt more feelings than flames; I thought “employee of the month” and “student of the month” and other such pseudo-reward systems were very commonplace throughout the adult world. Mods and admins can decide what is appropriate—nay, tolerable—but this could be a rewarding peer-review system.

But… if we can’t do it, we can’t do it.

45

Me neither. Interestingly, you didn’t include the recipe my wife and I submitted for your famous The Teemings Cook Book. […shrug…] Were you concerned that we might think that our recipe is somehow less than worthwhile?

Maybe I’m unusual in that regard, but I certainly hope not. I’m always happy for a person who succeeds or is rewarded in some way for something they’ve done to merit it. I have a hard time sympathizing with people who hold jealous grudges on behalf of others’ happiness.

But if you think that’s how people here are, and if you tell us in an official capacity that we can’t (or even ought not) do this, then no problem. Life can go on. A strange life. A life where people can pile on someone in the Pit and bring them to tears while disdaining an effort to recognize excellence. But life nonetheless.

Just let us know.

46

Because as I said at the outset, I would only have the chance to post about 5-10 recipes per week. I still have a few hundred to get through. Be patient.

I’m not giving any official denial for you to do this. Just my own personal experience that things like this often come back to bite you on the ass.

47

Good advice, Euty. Patience is a virtue. I ask that you patiently await what we do and see whether you find it to be as worthwhile and uplifting for everyone here at Straight Dope as I see it in my own vision. I firmly believe that there are ways to recognize excellence without hurting peoples’ feelings, except, of course, for people who begrudge the achievements of others. And they, in my opinion, are a sadly unmollifiable lot. It just doesn’t seem right to let excellence go unrecognized just because some people can’t stand for others to be happy. That sentiment reminds me of Genghis Khan, who said, “It is not enought that I succeed; other men must fail”.

Someone mentioned Threadspotting. Seems to me the same concerns expressed here apply there. But Tuba, class act that she is, handles it appropriately in my opinion. I think we can do the same.

48

One of the other things that’s been mentioned in this is that we have the Pit for calling people out, but no way to recognize when we think people are contributing. I don’t buy it, sorry. I’ve seen plenty of appreciation threads, birthday threads, and post party threads in MPSIMS, etc., and I think these are ways, among other things, of giving people kudos for their contributions. So I really don’t understand the need for some kind of committee. But that’s just me.

49

After some consideration, I have decided to withdraw form this panel. It is a good idea to acknowledge people contabutions to this boards, but a self appointing committee would give the impression of cliqueish behaviour.

Carry on if you want to, Lib, and I hope that it is a great success.

50

He just doesn’t wanna work with me, is all. Not that I blame the guy. :smiley:

(And to everyone else, I would throw my hat in the “Jeez, lighten up” category.)

51

Well, I don’t see how this is much different than OpalCat’s awards, or even a complimentary thread in MPSIMS or wherever, except that some posters will get to put “Voted ____ by the Academy of Posting Arts and Sciences” in their sigs for a while. shrugs

Anyway, there’s a Yahoogroups list for it now, the group name is apas_panel (@yahoogroups.com of course–go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apas_panel) and I sent an invitation to everyone on Lib’s list of members who has an email address available.

52

Kat, thanks for your help, but when I click the link, I get a message that there is no such group.

Twist, as you wish. But do you think maybe you’ve merely rationalized your way into choosing one clique over what you see as another?

Porcupine, :smiley:

Honestly, do you think that a happy birthday thread, or a 500th post thread, or a gee-he’s-a-swell-guy thread is the same as what we’re trying to do here? I don’t.

Attention remaining Academy members

If you want to bow out, due to the pressures from Euty and others, please feel free. No need to offer any sort of apology or excuse. It ain’t nothin’ but a thang. I understand there can be reasons you might fear doing this.

If others of you support and understand the vision, as Spoofe does, then an expression of that would be appreciated, so I’d have some idea where this might be going.

Meanwhile, there is now one open position in the BBQ Pit. Please apply if interested. Continued interest, of course, would be a signal to carry on.

People, as I see it…

Good things

Excellence and the recognition thereof

Empathy and the shared joy of recognition

An easily accessible collection of outstanding posts

People who care enough to volunteer for good things

Bad Things

Double standards about hurting people

Jealousy and sour grapes over other peoples’ success

500th post threads

People who shun good because they fear evil

This is the second time I’ve tried to do something major through the SDMB that I consider positive. The first time, I was not the leader, and I was over-zealous. This time is different. I’ve decided to lead. And the issue is not one that is so near and dear to my heart as the vilification of those who support Matthew Shepards murderers.

I pre-registered for the pay site, so I’m in it for the long haul. One way or another, I’m going to do this, barring an outright prohibition by the administration. If doing it with you dies here, that’s okay.

Maybe it would work out best if the Academy were composed of non-SDMB people. That way, concerns about cliques and so forth would have even less basis than they do now. I can talk to some of the guys at Apolyton and see if they’d be interested.

God go with you all. If any support this, let me know.

53

Um …

Maybe you’re seeing faces in the woodwork, but would you mind explaining exactly what pressure I’ve applied to either you or anyone else? Or what exactly I might have done to inspire fear?

54

I don’t think you necessarily did it deliberately, Euty. But it’s really no secret that I’m not exactly one of your favorite posters.

And let’s face it, you can’t have it both ways. You express a concern over people getting hurt somehow by not seeing their names on a list. (Nevermind that this was not a consideration when you developed your own list, previously cited.) I don’t know who these people might be, other than people who are prone to jealousy and resentment over the acknowledged achievements of others. It’s easy to see how a fear, born of the same character weakness, might befall these unfortunates when they see a moderator taking a side.

Yes, most of us can separate moderation from posting. But can people do this who cannot separate recognition of someone else from condemnation of themselves?

55

My 2c
Euty I don’t think you have inspired fear (an I don’t think that’s what lib was saying) But you pointed out possible repercussions. I Think what lib was saying is that he would understand if people wanted to drop out if they were afraid or upsetting people, or after reading you warning and reconsidering changed their minds.

Regarding the awards, I think if it can be done objectively it could work, but it may upset some people, however by only having positive categories this would help reduce upsetting people. I do think that it’s a good idea to praise people for good posts, debates etc. Especially considering we have the Pit to take people to take over bad posts . . . it would encourage better posting.

56

Okay, I just want to point out my thoughts…

I saw Lib’s OP. I read the subsequent posts and other posters thoughts on the issue. My immediate reaction was thus: “Hey, this might be fun.”

THIS MIGHT BE FUN.

Sure, somebody’s feelings might be hurt. But should we really refrain from having a good, lighthearted time, on the fear that someone might not approve? Is it really so bad to say “Hey, I thought this post was really, really good”?

If this thing flops, and nobody wants to participate… darn. I’ll move on. But I think it’d be good for smile, a bit of uplifting that, in my oh-so-humble opinion, we sorely need.

57

Lib,Lib, Lib … you have this annoying tendancy to make everything about you, and it’s not. I don’t have any objection to you, but to the idea of group of members setting themselves up to be the arbiters of what is good and perfect. The idea that people might get their feelings hurt is, frankly, a small one. The thing I most fear is that new posters (or even old posters) will decide it’s not worth it because a group of self-appointed overseers who’ve formed a secret society specifically created to discuss posts behind everyone’s back will deicde it’s not worth the judgemental atmosphere.

I just think most of us are wise enough to spearate the wheat from the chaff and don’t really need a tribunal set up to do it for us.

58

:smiley: Ah, Euty. Sorry, that won’t work. None of it. Not the redirection toward me, nor the ensuing prophecy of a falling sky. Heck, I might even send you my recipe for potato soup.

I see things differently. People who don’t care about the awards won’t be phased about posting. People who do care might actually give some thought to their posts, elevating them even to new heights of excellence. (Witness the recent “Pointless Thread” that emerged shortly after this one.) And people who think that they now must not post because someone might read and judge what they write would be doing us all a favor.

Balloting has to be done in secret, for obvious reasons, just like its done with the AMPAS Oscars. But surely you don’t think you’ve painted a fair characterization of what we’re doing. Maybe you mean that’s how some people will see it. Is that what you want at SDMB? People who post without regard to content? People who can’t stand for others to succeed? People who won’t post because someone might come away with an impression of what they posted?

I still can’t wrap my brain around the duality you’ve presented: we are wise, yet we are weak. I think maybe we’re all both of those to one extent or another.

59

Gee, I must have missed something, Lib.

It wasn’t too long ago that you and Mr.Arturo Bondini teamed up and took the entire board to task.

Now we’ve got an Academy, with you as the Prez.

Glad to see that the SDMB regained its former glory.

So, who will tally up the secret votes, and who will cater the big event?

I don’t have a tux, (I’m one of the unwashed)so can I wear a suit?

That’s assuming I’m invited. :slight_smile:

60

:smiley: Pretty near everything, I’d say.