@PurplePawprints Ja, ve can't all be der first violiner... some of us gotta push wind tru der trombone

@PurplePawprints beg

@barnabee omg so true... this is bullshit

@barnabee Yep, one of the first things I learned in a Public Relations class. Back then, though, it was announced late Friday so that it got put in the Saturday paper, which not too many people read. Not sure that holds up in these days of the interweb.

@barnabee hahahaha like journalists go home

@matthew Fist.

@joelmw finger

@unixrab

@er1c

@joelmw I agree. If they start censoring and/or deleting profanity, I may have to rethink my stay here.

@joelmw fuck yeah you can, just try to make it interesting.

@joelmw Reminds me of a Daniel Tosh stand up piece...GOD: Hey man, welcome to fucking heaven. TOSH: I'm like, what did you say?! GOD: I said, welcome to fucking heaven. TOSH: Wait, you can swear? GOD: Fuck yea.

Or you know, you could just watch this...

@joelmw yeah... the dictator will still let you swear... IF @jont likes it

@joelmw fuck is the new meh

@studerc "Fuck" is vital to my prayer vocabulary. I'm not kidding.

No more Barney?

@Barney I like Barney.

@gregormehndel I do too! And purple, of course.

I agree. We have to be reminded from time to time how much she likes purple.

@SIMBM purple will be the last color banned... wait til then

@JonT Barney doesn't understand.

@cranky1950 indeed

@cranky1950 - Testing the naysayer rule?

@studerc You realize your prize is a lot like Half-Life 3? every time you bring it up, it gets delayed that much more.

@studerc Shower.

@studerc tub

@studerc @BillLehecka's weird jacuzzi.

@studerc I kinda think the fact that I officially took a bath in Built NY cases made Bath kind of moot, no?

@studerc censorship makes great websites... (1)

(1) see also woot.com

@jimmyd103 @jont will decide

@bruinscbr God, I hope not.

@Squid_07 No, they are not. And, as long as your comment says something other than just those words, it's not likely to get deleted based on my understanding.

@Squid_07 Ahem... BIG(@jont @snapster)BROTHER would like to remind ((beat the shit out of you )) that http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/ns-dict.html is available

@unixrab You actually got me with the 1984 refference... I started laughing and woke up my fiance cause of it... nice

@Squid_07 thanks! Most people miss hyperbole! :-)

@phatmass Wait now, you say meh to this and get stars... I said meh to this and got deleted! The end is near!

@brhfl I guess your "meh" was lacking irony.

If nobody ever says "meh" I will forget where I am.

@phatmass the leadership has decided that the word "meh" is now depricated... say "statusquo" instead

@brhfl sucks to be a peasant.

@phatmass You know when @JonT told us how we could change our user names? And many were trying to figure out how to incorporate "meh" into our names? (I know I was, but couldn't figure out how that would work with my name "lisamehviolet"? ) Well, everytime I read your name now, I see "Phatmehss". And it it pretty much always gives me a little grin.

@vampje I think it's mostly been on the product threads and I just scroll past that. Most of the other threads seem like they'd be all good under these rules.
Edit: but I'll be happy to not have to scroll so much to find the useful posts.

@unkabob

@vampje that was fantastic. I you.

@Thumperchick stand by... this will get interesting

I care about the community. @dave says I do because I read down to here. So I get to say meh!!!!

@dave only 2 goals?? fascist

@dave I enjoy reading all the stuff you scroll quickly past. The silly redundancy of it creates local memes, such as the bath in the neoprene sleeves.
The good stuff is in the eyes of the beholder. Who else is to say?
Maybe I've missed the bad stuff, but I haven't seen but a few questionable posts. If the rules need to be repeated, I really hope the enforcement will remain light-handed.
Maybe if a post is deleted, there sould be a placeholder citing "Rule H" or "Rule T." Surely no one her would ever break "Rule L2."

@unixrab Bye Bye, you won't be missed

@unixrab @unixrab so i am curious, what is your deal? i was mildy amused that someone was mentioend by name in the free vmp offering, but i don't know your back story.

@vampje stand by

@Foxborn cute cat! (you'd miss me)

@unixrab

@vampje Every place has its negative nancy, @unixrab is mehs negative nancy, he hates everything about meh, except the fuku which he pays the full $5 shipping for instead of getting VMP

@communist he seems mostly harmless to me, it feels like he is always on a comedy central roast. usually i'm amused by his antics, but i was honestly curious of his backstory. was it a woot thing, and since i wasn't all that participative inthe community on woot i just don't know?

Hey @communist

@vampje Since he hasn't really answered what I think your question is, my understanding is his 2 main things are he feels like we're usually not getting really good deals yet like what made Woot what it was in its heyday (but he's still holding out hope that those deals are coming), and he's almost ideologically opposed to VMP as a sort of sucker's game because we're paying $5 to make something a deal that wouldn't otherwise be a deal. How often do you see people say they only bought because VMP made it worth buying, otherwise the extra $5 shipping kills the appeal?

@vampje @jqubed Pretty accurate. I also don't like whiners about when the deal starts each night, and I don't like @JonT because he spammed my home with neoprene and is occasionally plays the role of sarcastic-smart-ass-bully moderator. I try to help the less experienced members of the community understand the difference between, debate, argument, dissent , and actual trolling (with varying degrees of success).

@unixrab It's not @JonT's fault you got neoprene- you had the opportunity to refuse delivery, and you failed.

@dashcloud I got NO such opportunity!!

@unixrab I don't believe you are really upset about the neoprene. Secretly I think you love neoprene. And besides, didn't you say your daughter took one of the cases? She knows good stuff when she sees it. So you should be THANKING @JonT instead of pretending you don't like him.

I meant "take" not "took." I hate it when I notice shit like that after it's too late to fix it.

@christinerenee I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like jont or neoprene

(still working on that last line)...

@unixrab Me thinks that you doth protest too much. (about the neoprene) I mean, it's not like they sent you a bunch of orphans. I think you can handle some neoprene.

@pepsiwine Exactly. And it was only 10 pieces of neoprene. I ordered 180 and I'm still alive.

@pepsiwine forced neoprene is a violation...... IVE BEEN VIOLATED!!!

@unixrab ... I do not like them, Mister Bean!


Hope you liked my ending... :)

@unixrab

@goldenthorn rly

@unixrab nice

@unixrab You're drunk.

@gregormehndel I wish. Just really pissed @snapster

@BillLehecka

@Lotsofgoats

m... ...eh forget it.

@Lotsofgoats That was me. I loved how it turned out. I got what I deserved. https://meh.com/forum/topics/capresso-4-cup-espresso--cappuccino-machine#54cdb4821d189c900a4f2012

@Collin1000 it was really fabulous

@lisaviolet I don't think you missed anything - I was here last night and this seemed to come out of the blue. I think there was a staff meeting yesterday and some higher-up didn't like having to scroll down past posts of "first" or "meh" so he put the hammer down. This doesn't smell like a Jon idea to me, I feel he is being pressured from above.

@hallmike "Hey, JonT, we've got trouble. The experiment isn't circling the drain, but I can see it from here. We need you to boost the quality of user generated content. But don't let them know about the drain thing, don't want to spook them. We got to do this from a position of strength."
"But that kind of heavy handed approach never works."
"Just do it, damnit (sic)."
"Shit. This isn't going to look good on my resume."

@phatmass I have to agree. There would be a lot less scrolling with pagination. That would solve Dave's #1 issue.

@hallmike @phatmass I think I can help you get pagination implemented.... if you really want it.

@hallmike Am I funny, informative, and/or interesting? Well, AFAIC, I'm hilarious. As for what others think,

@lisaviolet

@ForumControlBot @hallmike ...you friggin genius. I should have thought of that. !! OK to steal your URL?

@hallmike

@hallmike I suspect people are overreacting to how strictly those questions should be considered. I think this was a lot more about stopping the product pages from having 50 posts that just say "bath" than much else.

@lisaviolet

@jqubed Perhaps, but telling people their posts are going to be judged by some arbitrary quality standards for levels of interesting or funny isn't the way to bring out the lurkers. If people are already too self-conscious or shy to post, this isn't going to encourage them to suddenly start. I think it will have the opposite effect and drive them further away.

@hallmike I've had @JonT's job on a site that got thousands of posts a day (I had two full-time assistants and more than 20 volunteers helping to flag posts) and honestly think this is a good and even necessary step. Mistakes have already been made too far in one direction ... sure, they'll be made too far in the other direction at times but I think the team here is smart enough to keep this from turning into some wretched PBS-style panel discussion group. If they do it right, the stuff that makes this site special will still be around. We just won't have to wade through as many off-topic or one-word posts to get to it.

@editorkid Don't get me wrong - I absolutely agree that some form of moderation is necessary. I do not, however, think that telling people their posts are now subject to analysis to make sure what they say is funny enough or smart enough or informative enough to meet some vague corporate standard is going to encourage more people to join in. If they would have just said "Hey, please don't only post 'first' or 'meh'." I wouldn't have anything to add.

@hallmike See, I just assume I'm funny, intelligent, and/or adding to the conversation - no sticky note required.

@Thumperchick So does everyone who will have their posts deleted.

@Thumperchick ...and that reinforces my point. You already post, and if I'm not mistaken, have some moderator powers as well. But those who are shy or have low self esteem are not going to be encouraged to suddenly join in like Dave thinks they will. And the ones posting "first" think they are hilarious so they aren't going to stop.

@hallmike I have no power here whatsoever. I just talk a lot.

@hallmike I don't think they were saying they were going to analyze our posts as much as they were asking us think ourselves and assuming we're smart enough to know what's a useless post. I don't think anyone posting in here is really a problem poster (and I get some people in here seem to have a problem with @unixrab, but an apparent personality conflict does not equal idiocy or trolling). As a friend sometimes has to tell me, don't overthink it.

@jqubed

@hallmike While I understand your concern, I don't agree that it's an issue. From what I can tell, the people who've been posting things like what's referenced above absolutely know that the post is trollish, or has been told, repeatedly, that the posts are not adding to the overall conversation.
I do realize that a few people will get modded that didn't expect it; but more likely, the people getting modded know it's coming - just like they knew it was coming on woot.

If they put a blanket "Don't ever post this word/phrase" rule in, all the rules will have to be that locked down. There should be room, among adults, to interpret the idea behind the rules. The idea is simple - and overall, has been something this community has lived up to.

I agree that shy posters aren't likely to dive in here - but I don't think there's a way to encourage those posters by adding more rules.

@unixrab I was confused until I opened the image and realized you actually posted a giant white square. Actually I'm still a little confused. Carry on!

@Thumperchick True, and those that know it is coming but do it anyway are not likely to stop by adding more rules. I understand that putting it in writing is necessary so no one can come back with "you never said I couldn't!". My main point is that Dave's second goal: "2) Encourage the smart/funny/clever/insightful lurkers that it's worth de-lurking and posting" is naive and likely to have the opposite effect. Making some people worry that they are not good enough is not the way to get them to join in.

@jqubed what??! ALL I SAID was "Thanks @jqubed" and they modded that to a white square??! unbelieveable. ;-)

I call over-complication on @hallmike

@unixrab lol

@unixrab

@lisaviolet maybe.... but how about a complimentary slap for @jont ?

@SIMBM isn't it kinda trollish to drop a bomb in a forum and then leave ?

@SIMBM I wouldn't expect a response. I'm sure the backlash was not unexpected. But this is just a small flare that will burn itself out without moderator intervention. Mostly back to normal by Monday and forgotten in a week. (@unixrab is tenacious, but he does have other things to do, I'm sure.) But it sort of makes you wonder what the point of post was in the first place. It certainly won't discourage idiocy (or trolling).

@walarney Even if I had things to do (which I don't) ... What will tenaciousness get me? Probation?

Lots of people wanted me banned before the Sellout Wars. You have to get to know people.

@unixrab There may come a day when you decide it's no longer worth your time to try and save this experiment. Sorry to be downer, but this thread is kind of depressing.

@walarney You raise a valid point. It certainly happened with woot.com Have you seen the threads there? It's like standing in line at the Post Office and listening to the "conversations" mind-numbing. Don't follow the wootoffs anymore... don't even bid on BoCs I check it once a day for any decent deals and purchase if applicable.

@unixrab No to pagination- no one reads Page 2 for new content, just the top of Page 1. If you're trying to make the forums active, showing less stuff is not the way to do it.

@dashcloud Well.... I completely agree with you... however, I thought if I said that aloud, they'd immediately implement it on spite alone.

@Thumperchick Previously "don't be a dick" was synonymous with "hate speech" in "The Rules" But now, "don't be a dick" will be expanded to include whatever (fill in the blank ________) decides is dickish behavior. They may even adopt your definition above:

• all posts must add to the conversation
• all posts must change from day to day (that is really gonna hit @barney hard)
• if you say meh, you must explain why.
• Do not be the first person to respond to a "legitimate" post with snark. without adding at least some modicum of direction or help
• do not be only a smart ass or you will piss off the moderators

Well.. I don't find any of that difficult - I find it boring and I don't like it. ... I loathe it. So...uh... ummm what's my Dick Status?

@unixrab You over-complicated things to justify your sometimes dickish behavior. Color me shocked.

@Thumperchick am I still allowed to disagree with your definition of "over-complicate" ? Usually listing things out in bullet form simplifies things. I feel a probation coming.

Ignore Member... That would be so awesome right now.

@unixrab

@lisaviolet again... Even with the above video: I think the point is being missed. "Dick" is in the eye of the beholder...

@BillLehecka Yes...I think it would.

@unixrab why would any beholder want a dick in their eye? ;) Ok, maybe I REALLY don't want to know!

@Thumperchick I certainly we see a rash of posts that say "The moon told me to say 'meh'"!

@BillLehecka I'll just leave this here- https://github.com/FesterCluck/rabigone

@unixrab Dick IS in the eye of the beholder. So in order to play by the rules we need to know who the Forum Dick "God" is around here and how to suck up to him.
But on a slightly different topic: This all sounds like a lot of effort, improvement, and betterment to ask of people who are customers of a mediocre, unenthusiastic website called 'Meh'. Hypocrite much, JonT?

@pepsiwine you were right at the end: " @JonT "

@dashcloud yes.. PLEASE use this

@Pavlov I did not know that! Your post was very helpful and interesting and has added value to this discussion... I hope that it will be able to remain in this forum.

crap

@Pavlov This is not exactly correct. Message boards retain Section 230 immunity in a much wider variety of cases that DO allow for moderation. http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/online-activities-covered-section-230

@flynnski I'm aware of Donato v. Moldow and I still (along with many, including my own attorney [which may be the only thing relevant for ME here as I trust him to keep me out of the shit]) hold the opinion that editorializing user-generated content may be opening the door for denial of Section 230 immunity if the case is brought in a perilous Circuit (especially the 5th, 8th or the 10th [hell, Texas gave us Lawrence v. Texas and look what a mess it created - I don't want to be THAT guy]). Donato v. Moldow although widely cited, has not really been tested. Many were shocked that Dart v. Craigslist came down for CL, as CL actively editorialized the postings in question ("ads"). I guess I'd rather err on the side of caution and not be a test case. I guess on this one, we'll have to agree to disagree, as the answer isn't set in stone.

@Pavlov Fair enough!

@Pavlov There was a court case, I thought, involving yahoo (in CA) where they held that the owner of the email list was not liable for what users posted on that email list...

@Teripie now we see the violence inherent in the system!

@cleverogre (Psssst....do you think we're being witty enough?)

@Teripie

@Teripie Bloody peasant! :)

IseethatyousawthathesawwhatIdidthere.

@Kidsandliz Naw. Do like I do, color with chalk. That shit smears like crazy.

@Kidsandliz No you can say Meh, just say more than Meh Make if fun, whitty. Like for today's Item, don't just say "Meh" Say "Meh, I'de get if grandma, but the doctor says to keep her away from bright colors. She's like a bull seeing red hobbling towards you on walker."

@pooflady ^^this

@christinerenee I thank you. AND agree with you

@JonT Dammit! I read this all the way through! So I guess it's not about me. I never seen to matter......sniff....sniff....

@JonT It's never about me...I am used to that...

@JonT Thank you for this! I had stopped checking product forum posts because it was getting difficult to wade through the same BS over and over. Its clear you guys have a sense of humor and there is nothing wrong with a good joke. But spamming the same few memes is not funny, its just clutter.

@JonT All of this makes complete sense, but don't expect people to read what's actually going on. People suspend reason when overreacting to rules

@JonT - This all keeps reminding me of the limbo - every time you lower the bar, more people are excluded.

@JonT Maybe this will help shape some of the rules here?

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/21174/

Inclusive Language Campaign’ debuts at University of Michigan Dozens of posters plastered across the University of Michigan caution students not to say things that might hurt others’ feelings, part of a new “Inclusive Language Campaign” at the state’s flagship public university that cost $16,000 to implement.

Words declared unacceptable through the campaign include “crazy,” “insane,” “retarded,” “gay,” “tranny,” “gypped,” “illegal alien,” “fag,” “ghetto” and “raghead.” Phrases such as “I want to die” and “that test raped me” are also verboten.

@unixrab $16 to tell people not to say words most people say everyday? Wonder what it costs to tell them not to use "fuck," "shit," and other such colorful language? Lame.

What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance. ~Havelock Ellis

@Teripie Insane! ;-)

@JonT For some reason, the talk of serving a purpose made me think of this.

(Kickin' it old school today.)

@editorkid We must direct our ire at @snapster ! @JonT is only doing what he's told by the boss.... we can't fault him for that. We can fault @snapster and fart in his general direction...stick our tongues out at him.... annoy him on the product page.... boycott the product page.... sneer at him and try to bother him a lot.

@editorkid Oh, sweet memories…

@brhfl What would you like to say about "Oh, sweet memories..."?

@venussuz :-)