Traits...

[oldhermit]

I've been visiting VirtualDr for quite awhile, even before registering as a member. Far from being an expert, I do have some opportunities to add some little tidbit to an already well covered post. But for the most part, my answers could just as well be left out since they are never complete, and may very well be inappr… er, WRONG!.

The main reason for my visits being to watch for a particular solution to a problem, I will browse the forums for interesting posts. So, as a regular visitor, it's easy to observe some of the little characteristics that set VirtualDr apart while it works its magic for so many in need of an answer. This receiving sufficient attention in the past, there is one other little aspect that, well. shall we say, most would rather overlook rather than cause any waves by mentioning them. And that would be some of the little traits that are common to VirtuualDr, but not necessarily found in other forums. Not all of them, anyway.

Realizing that others may have their own thoughts about what I am about to present, please don't convict me of being a complainer, because I'm not. I find the VirtualDr forums to be most enjoyable in its ability to continually produce useful info amid a good sense of public relations. The threads are even better than average in regard to being readable. Even though an informational site, some posts are still quite refreshing, especially when the issue is not being forced, and some humor occurs in a natural flow while the thread develops. After all, the idea of entertainers giving answers here does not fit at all, but some threads are just refreshing this way. The ones I don't like to see of course, are those that attempt to belittle another just because their thinking is not quite up to par. I have yet to see anyone who has submitted an accepted answer 100% of the time. So yes indeed, we can say that VirtualDr has something for everyone.

Having a working career that never involved computing in any way, I always said that anyone who cannot look at their own shortcomings without gaining some constructive insight, probably isn't worth knowing. So, how about with the cyber-experts?

After a few occurrences, certain traits begin to stand out. For instance, we can thank the membership of VirtualDr for perfecting the art of flaming thru the use of a happy face.

Just as unique is the better acceptance of a member's criticism if he uses the word "Not" in saying something to the effect: "I'm NOT saying you are wrong, but…" and then proceeds to completely annihilate another members integrity and previous answer. Any other style would of course, cause the thread to be terminated previous to when it usually is.

Each thread being a request for information, we sometimes see a member answering another member's comment instead of addressing the question that was actually posted.

Or the suggestion to use something else rather than provide an answer.

On the same token, I can't see any necessity in stating a viewpoint more than once in the same thread. Some members seem to vie for recognition, competing to be the most influential. It is my understanding that all problems will be resolved, and VirtualDr really has shown a high record of success without the need of such tactics.. It's all in writing.

Illegal posts are appropriately sidelined, but some questionable posts seem to pass undetected under the close scrutiny of our moderators (and influential members). Some illegaliities may not be so easily identified, requiring mention of such before a moderator finally sees reason to remove or close the thread. Action is probably determined by the number of complaints.

There are other examples of deception, most of them being concocted as a workaround in an effort to accomplish what the rules clearly stipulate, should not be done. For instance, placing a link to a website and then stating to the effect: "Ya'll come see me…" is justifiably canned as spam. Members are apparently warned when references to their own websites are used in their answers, especially if the site conflicts with VirtualDr. However, spamming still seems to be tolerated when the URL of the site is used in connection with a question that happens to be a legitimate request for help. Ingenious!

Clics have always been a part of VirtualDr, at one time having several, now there are few. Clicees typically only read and answer posts and comments from those within the clic, ignoring perfectly legitimate answers from outsiders. I have seen it where other clicsters have not been able to give a suitable answer, but yet the legitimate answer remains sitting there, completely ignored. Doesn't matter. They are here to talk with their friends.

Need a quick answer for someone else in your clic? Simple! Just PM everybody for the answer, and then post it. Works wonderfully, and is entirely covert. Well, almost.

We also have the crusaders who continually suggest new forums or rule changes under the guise of being for the betterment of VirtualDr. In some cases, the suggestions may actually have some basis, but I would think there is a measure of egotism involved just to affect a change. As ideas are produced to help influence the change, we may eventually see that some of those ideas turned out to be in fact, false. As members stand aghast that admin has actually agreed to make the change, I can only suspect that this occurs after some influential communication at a level that possibly even the mods never see (nor care to see).

And finally, if you want to show others your influence at VirtualDr, just post your complaint in the Feedback forum. The more influence you have, the more comments received.

VirtualDr has the answers, so enjoy!

[TJolly]

That's an essay and a half

[104456]

In any group of people [ours being global] there will be some or many who over time get to know others and form bonds with them even if they never meet face to face it is the way of the human kind to communicate,socialise and integrate this way.

If I or even you know someone or a group more intimately than the other does this assume we belong to a click is it a social pyre [s/p] or faux paux to do so,does it make me/you a bad person?
I myself do not think it is but I personally allow anybody the freedom to verbally disagree if they wish with anything I say or do on the understanding that I may do the same to them.

You view point seems to attack both the members and the moderators with a whimsical daub of white wash and throughout the underlying tone is not one of a happy camper for what ever reasons you may have.

The forum was designed and is maintained as a requisite of knowledge of computer literate folk who give their free time to try and help others within the bounds of its mandate.
Posters may get several responses and some may well be wrong but as in all things in life you cant be right 100% of the time and it is through mistakes one learns.

I think I have said enough I leave it for other members/moderators to add their 2c if they so wish.

[Nix]

Not wanting to beat a dead horse but maybe oldhermit is refrerring to threads such I fell Asleep At My Computer which was locked and hidden / deleted within a day or so with few rresposnes for apparently being Off topic vs Discogail's 99th birthday which was blatantly Off Topic from the outset yet was allowed to run for a number of days and numerous posts before being locked but otherwise still viewable.

Basically inconsistencies across the forums with indivdual moderators having the 'power' to do what they want in terms of thread control.

Maybe threads that are deemed 'lockable' / 'removable' should be locked, then all moderators vote on whether it should remain locked , removed, re-opened etc. Very time consuming so will probably not happen.

Btw I predict this thread will get locked.

[photolady]

Just one reply from a moderator:

then all moderators vote on whether it should remain locked , removed, re-opened etc

The above is decided not by moderators but by administration.

[Nix]

Originally posted by photolady
Just one reply from a moderator:

The above is decided not by moderators but by administration.

So you are telling me that the site administrators decide on which threads should be locked / hidden.

If that is truely the case I guess it is based on those reported by moderators ?

Aren't the administrators, administrators of numerous sites and thus would spend a lot of time reviewing potential threads for locking from all sites ??

[BIG JOHN]

Originally posted by Nix
Aren't the administrators, administrators of numerous sites and thus would spend a lot of time reviewing potential threads for locking from all sites ??

The sites owned by Jupitemedia all just have one on site Administrator, they are responsibe for the day to day operation of thier site, which is really a big enough job. There are other Admins available if needed but generally they just sit back & watch over the forums.
There are times when the closing or deleting of threads is discussed in our private forum for mods & Admin but not in each & every case. We have a great moderating staff here & I trust them to do the right thing when im not availabe, BJ

[Nix]

Thanks BJ.

I learn more everyday.

Sorry my sleeping at the PC got to everyone.

[BIG JOHN]

You are more than welcome Nix.

Quote from old hermit:
VirtualDr has the answers, so enjoy!

Yes it does & thats why we love it here, with the large membership we have here we run the gamut with all the different personalitys we have, different cultures, different countries. Not everyone agrees with one another but hey thats only human. We all come here to interact with other people & help whenever we can. It's like a big second family to me & thats what keeps me coming back. BJ

[Nix]

even when I should be sleeping, or am sleeping, I'm often here.

[J A L]

Well here it is... This board in a nut shell...


There are many good things here at virtual dr and there sure is favortism and clicks too. Clicks are a natural thing and should be encouraged as long as it is fair and good natured.

Seems everyone has a opinion and here lies the controversay. I believe there is strength in numbers. That is what makes a great tech help board.

As for the favortism... It clearly exhists here at Virtual Dr. I kind have a problem with it. I am sure others do to. I still poke my head in from time to time but still I feel jaded. I have shown proof of favortism and was met with stern talking to, because i made it public. Was it right of me to make it public. I don't know. I felt I had to make a statement and I did. I still post here but not too often now. I post at a few other boards instead. Bottom line is this board provides very good tech support much better than anywhere I have posted. So inspite of wrong doings that is why I continue to post here. I guess I am stubborn and bitter about being done wrong too. That doesn't change the fact that this board gives very good help though. To stand on doing something wrong to a member is to risk losing their help. That hurts everyone. Think about it.

[greengoose1]

oldhermit and the rest of you have started an interesting dialog. One that is needed from time to time. Good constructive criticism is a very good thing to have. And it is needed on VirtualDr. That way we keep ourselves on track.

The word clique is interesting. And more interesting to define. And, yes, we have them. They are always present where human beings congregate. Some are good and others not so good. A part of human nature.

Virtual Dr is a place where newbies (people new to computers) can get stated especially after getting themselves into trouble and a place to grow and learn. But after a point many people will go on in their search for more knowledge and seek out higher levels of learning. And others take over. I guess a matter of succession here.

Change is inevitable.

Here on Virtual Dr there is an ebb and flow as in all organizations.

The challenge for us is to continue to try and make Virtual Dr better. How? As we have started doing in this thread. Listen to one another and with respect. You can make a difference with your opinion. Bring up your opinion or issue if you have one. And maybe, just maybe, something will get done. You never know until you try. But try and then you will know.

[VerLux]

Originally posted by oldhermit
Illegal posts are appropriately sidelined, but some questionable posts seem to pass undetected under the close scrutiny of our moderators (and influential members). Some illegaliities may not be so easily identified, requiring mention of such before a moderator finally sees reason to remove or close the thread. Action is probably determined by the number of complaints.

Action may begin with a complaint - I didn't see some spam until I received a "reported post" in one case - but never has it been "number of complaints." Usually we wonder whether something is over the edge enough to close/remove and make that decision without ever receiving member feedback or reporting. We receive very few reported posts. Please, DO mention things to moderators if you're miffed about them. Then we can discuss them. All of us - the moderators and admin - are here to help you and we're glad to listen when anyone has a problem. And I understand that a little problem that keeps recurring is a big problem.

There are other examples of deception, most of them being concocted as a workaround in an effort to accomplish what the rules clearly stipulate, should not be done. For instance, placing a link to a website and then stating to the effect: "Ya'll come see me…" is justifiably canned as spam. Members are apparently warned when references to their own websites are used in their answers, especially if the site conflicts with VirtualDr. However, spamming still seems to be tolerated when the URL of the site is used in connection with a question that happens to be a legitimate request for help. Ingenious!

There are many sites we do link to repeatedly, of course - if you believe there is an undercurrent of spam to the post, go ahead and report it. If we disagree we can discuss it. The reporting tool isn't just for severe cases. Naturally I'm curious to what sites you mean.

Clics have always been a part of VirtualDr, at one time having several, now there are few. Clicees typically only read and answer posts and comments from those within the clic, ignoring perfectly legitimate answers from outsiders. I have seen it where other clicsters have not been able to give a suitable answer, but yet the legitimate answer remains sitting there, completely ignored. Doesn't matter. They are here to talk with their friends.

I think cliques are annoying too, but it's a fact of human interaction including message boards. Personally, if it were my correct answer someone was ignoring, I'd post "..So, did you see my reply? Did it solve your problem?" If the person keeps it up I'd ignore all subsequent requests for help. If the person is like this with everyone to the point where they're wasting people's time and trying a lot of patience, they may lose their posting privilege.

We also have the crusaders who continually suggest new forums or rule changes under the guise of being for the betterment of VirtualDr. In some cases, the suggestions may actually have some basis, but I would think there is a measure of egotism involved just to affect a change. As ideas are produced to help influence the change, we may eventually see that some of those ideas turned out to be in fact, false. As members stand aghast that admin has actually agreed to make the change, I can only suspect that this occurs after some influential communication at a level that possibly even the mods never see (nor care to see).

I don't know much about this one. If it makes you feel better, my suggestions for forum alteration get ignored, too.

[VerLux]

Originally posted by J A L
As for the favortism... It clearly exhists here at Virtual Dr. I kind have a problem with it. I am sure others do to. I still poke my head in from time to time but still I feel jaded. I have shown proof of favortism and was met with stern talking to, because i made it public. Was it right of me to make it public. I don't know. I felt I had to make a statement and I did. I still post here but not too often now. I post at a few other boards instead. Bottom line is this board provides very good tech support much better than anywhere I have posted. So inspite of wrong doings that is why I continue to post here. I guess I am stubborn and bitter about being done wrong too. That doesn't change the fact that this board gives very good help though. To stand on doing something wrong to a member is to risk losing their help. That hurts everyone. Think about it.

Sorry this happened to you, and that you feel wronged. Not familiar with the situation but maybe we could discuss it in PM.

[Nick Grana]

This is a good one and very interesting to read. Maybe it’s my tunnel vision preventing me from seeing some of the remarks made above in this thread.

I’ve always seen VDr as very liberal in its choices. Not radical left wing but more left than down the middle of the road. On some other forums I see the thumb print on a posters back being pushed down by a radical right wing conservative Mod/Admin. I see, also, far left liberal forums that pretty much allow almost anything. And I mean almost anything. You name it and it’s on there.

I don’t know about ‘Cliques’ being formed to hinder or neglect others.
What I do see is a lot of good people that have been around here a long time. Some of these people have a great track record of being on spot most of the times. But then I see some names that look totally unfamiliar to me, that’s not hard to do, and answer a posters problem with an answer dead on the money. I really do think some the most familiar names hold back and wait for others to come up with an answer rather than flood the threads with just their input, good as it may be.

I hang at VDr to learn, help, and have fun. I’ve been in trouble many times so I ain’t no angel but an explanation was forthwith and without prejudice.

As many of you know, a post I made, recently, (probably could be OT just as much as birthday wishes) ran to a natural close. Am I special? I hardly think so. It just shows the amount of rope available on this forum to run its length, come to a screeching halt, or be hung by it.

You go, VDr.