Suggestion: Identify those who star and flag

Wow, I am hoping that the whole infinite flags and stars for supermods was another code hiccup, and not the norm. That leaves the whole system open to serious abuse from a biased or angry supermod

reply to post by AnonymousCitizen


i have been here since 2007, stars,points, and flags are uhmm...cute, but they are not important to me. it is the revelations of facts and the expressions of opinions that hold value.

Originally posted by pryingopen3rdeye
personaly, i think it is unfair and biased that a supermoderator can flag a thread as many times as they want, but hey what can we do right? after all. they run the site.

ANY forum software allows the admin to set any permissions they choose... I don't see why that is so hard to grasp? You can go online and download a test forum free from Proboards and several others and see how it works.

The owner permission allows absolute control of everything and any admin can set any permission level they want. ATS is one of the strictest for not doing that as they are a business. Other forums are much more lax with those permissions

Posting negative stars simply would allow a group of trolls to hunt down any poster they don't like and flood posts with negative stars. Easy to abuse.

Also bear in mind that 80% or more of content is provided by 5% of the members here. There used to be a statistic page that showed that

Nice deflection Zorgon. What is the real purpose of multiple staring a post? making it look more popular than otherwise. It is at least poor design in the software if it isn't there for that purpose.

Originally posted by Majic

Originally posted by zorgon
As to tracking flags, I know that you USED to do it... because there was a "Threads I flagged" list on profile. Seems that is now gone... but I know it was there...

Considering how my memory is, I can't say that's wrong. There may indeed still be some means of tracking/identifying flags, and perhaps stars as well.

Something does, after all, keep us from just continually adding more stars and flags to threads without limit, though admittedly I'm not sure exactly how that is handled. So when I say I doubt that kind of detail is stored, that doesn't mean it isn't, just that I doubt it, and I have been known to be wrong every now and then -- and sometimes a lot.

I suspect that the user id is stored and that is why the system can tell who has already starred/flagged a post and why at one time 'threads I flagged' was possible.

Per the mod in a previous post, it may not be possible for the staff to see the list but it probably exists. That means the site could determine who did what even if a member can't. Would the site actually care? Most likely more of a way to create a feature then something evil.

So never posting an opinion but starring others might not be as vanilla as it might seem.

It's on your permanent record and someone always knows.

If it is true that some staff can apply mulitple flags or stars to threads then yes I agree it is a bad idea, but sometimes it can also be a good idea. Just imagine trolls propping up topics and posts that do not deserve it, while important topics get neglected.

It could go either way, but from my experience here, I have not seen moderator abuse. Most of the abuse comes from status quo holders, ie big business and government! Why would an alternative site encourage underachievers? Makes no sense..........

I still think you would see an IMMEDIATE decrease in the number of 'ghost flags' that appear seemingly out of nowhere to boost a rather ridiculous flag to the front page in a matter of hours.

And for that alone, it would be worth it.

I mean, how does a thread with only a few posts get 50 some flags in a few hours, hmmm?

reply to post by stanguilles7


I tend to think there are a lot more people that read, star and flag, but don't post much. How else would ATS be able to pay the bills? The people posting regularly couldn't be bringing in enough money to pay the bills I don't think. Of course I could be wrong, but it doesn't sound reasonable to me.

I don't like the idea of that. Then you could put together databases on who likes what topics, who stars whom the most etc.. If it ain't broke don't fix it. The system seems to be working perfectly fine right now.

Other way also is to provide the OP an option to disable the S&F or S/F. This way the discussion will be on neutral ground and free from annoyance from others (if that was the intent).

Of course by doing this - then your Karma will remain inactive/low and nothing to brag about. But if you don't care about it then nothing gain nothing lost but probably a more calmer discussion.

Then again, if the goal is to attract more members and participants in to a heated discussion (with more drama than intellect) then the MODS might see it as a disadvantage.

Either way if the S&F or S/F option to disable is available then all can choose to use it or not.

my 2cents.

I do not like this idea. I give this thread no flags and the OP no stars.

Originally posted by TKDRL
reply to post by stanguilles7

 

I tend to think there are a lot more people that read, star and flag, but don't post much. How else would ATS be able to pay the bills? The people posting regularly couldn't be bringing in enough money to pay the bills I don't think. Of course I could be wrong, but it doesn't sound reasonable to me.

Yes, to a degree, that accounts for some of it. But we know the technology and tactics exist. This isn't theory. And we know they are applied accross the spectrum on all sorts of websites, especially ones political in nature. To pretend it doesnt happen here is foolish.

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
I don't like the idea of that. Then you could put together databases on who likes what topics, who stars whom the most etc.. If it ain't broke don't fix it. The system seems to be working perfectly fine right now.

This argument makes no sense to me.

Here is why:

You are posting your opinions on an internet forum. Your opinions can be put together in databases to figure out who likes what topics. YOU ALREADY ARE participating in a format that makes that quite easy.
If you are concerned about someone tracking your likes and dislikes, why would you be posting your likes and dislikes on a publicly-accessable forum in the first place??

I'll be honest: I just star things that I like or agree with

Flags though I treat differently