In the rest of the post that you can read by clicking above is a message that I sent to one of the founders of ProgressiveU that I have decided to share with you all so that people realize that I am not just being whiney- I am being whiney and attempting to fix the problem. Thanks for supporting me, and one another in the fight for those who deserve to win the scholarship. Standing together in times of adversity- with people you do not know from adam is what I define as being progressive. On another subject, here is a pole for everyone. Who should win the scholarships (up to three- and do not say yourself, lol).
"Sorry to bother you, yet again, with one of my ridiculous complaints; but this is really getting out of hand. I am not sure how much you are keeping up with the site lately, but many of us bloggers are uspet. Why? Because other, certain bloggers, are creating posts that are one line, and then a link. Or comments that are one word. They are not doing this sometimes- this is the extent of every one of their posts. Not only is this behavior really irratating and distracting, we are also worried that those who deserve to win this contest will not. Because those posts are suppossedly counting for 50 points a piece, even with no reads, these users have more points than the most successful bloggers; combined!
I know that maybe I should focus more on blogging than on this[issue], but its not really about me anymore. Its about other bloggers who work hard and create thought provoking posts, but are being outposted by 'overbloggers' and, well, those who just want the scholarship, not to help people.
I read in your rules that you have the right to not count posts that are not progressive or choose not to let certain users win because they are trying to thwart the direction of the contest and that you can even proseute them. Please tell me, and everyone else, that you guys are watching this all evolve and are not counting these frivolous posts.
On behalf on almost all the bloggers on progressive U,
Debatechick
Ps I am not trying to over step my bounds, I am just trying to do the only thing I know how to do when I have a problem; confront it head on, because complaining without acting gets us no where in life.
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Tell them to put the new rules in BIG, BOLD LETTERS on the front page. That may discourage potential spammers.
Also, how about disabling Guest users? Some of them are also qualified spammers.
no kidding. when this contest ends, I hope a lot of the rules will be changing before the next one, as I have already heard that they will be- but that is not soon enough!
Oh, I know! Maybe there should also be a minimum GPA for future contests. I sure hope people with at least a 3.0 GPA have the sense to not spam.
I think that's a perfectly reasonable request... and I do hope some oversight is already being implemented. Some of these bloggers are out of control.
Another solution would be to limit the contest to bloggers (I am not one) who had progressive u accounts before the scholarship contest started--then at least you would get individuals who were interested in blogging as a communication medium and not simply free money.
~CallieV
I do not think that is fair at all, considering a lot of people didnt know about this site. That would limit its future growth.
And no one, that still blogs here at least, knew about the site before the scholarship was handed out as far as I know. I have been here sice Jan, and there scholarship was here before that.
Well I don't think that it is fair that there is a featured blogger with a link on the home page. Obviously that person is going to get more hits. But whatever, I'm not going to win this contest anyway. I lack the devotion. Debatechick would you email them in protest about that too? Oh wait....
Alex J.
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"Follow not me, but you!" -Friedrich Nietzsche
I do not either, nor do I think that having certian posts on the front page is fair. But hey, I do not make the rules.
We are indeed watching this evolve. Progressive U is a community, and all of you help shape the community.
In response to your feedback, we have set up a check for all new blog posts: any post must be at least 50 words. It's a pretty simple requirement, but it should reduce the number of blog posts that really should be message board posts.
For now there is no word restriction on comments, but we have implemented new spam detection filters. This should prevent some of the past problems, while at the same time allow legitimate guests to post comments again.
Again, don't worry about people "overblogging" for points. People who post good, thoughtful, topical posts are thousands of points ahead of anyone who is just posting short, nonsensical posts. Trust us.
Blog on!
That's true, but most of us don't even care about points anymore, and those people are still around and annoying.
We do want to reduce the annoyance factor, but I'm not sure more rules are necessarily the answer. There are always annoying people in the world -- we have to figure out ways to deal with them.
Our current strategy is to make it easier to find the good posts -- for example, more featured bloggers, more good stuff promoted to the front page, more use of buddies and categories.
If people are annoying you with their comments, tell them about it. If comments get really abusive, flag them so they can be deleted.
Correction to what I said above -- the spam filter for comments is filtering out very short comments, so you should see some improvement there.
There is one primary offender so far: melissa_fox. Melissa, if you're listening -- get with the program!
Thanks so much for replying back! I really appreciate it! I really do! An d I think that I speak for everyone when I say we all do. And I know who that blogger is too but I did not want to say names, but thank you for taking precautions and acknowledging what we bloggers have to say. I do not know how else to respond except THANKS!
oh and I do trust you :) I just needed some feedback and reassurance, as did other bloggers.
Wait. Is there really a 50 word requirement for blogs? I never heard of that.
You know I did not ask to be the featured blogger- and no one is going to deny an honor. But to be honest with you, I have actually had less reads on my stuff than before I was the featured blogger, and I would know. Before I was, I used to have about 150 hits for EVERY POST within two days. Now I am lucky if my stuff gets that many reads- in a week or two weeks. So being featured blogger has NOT helped me at all.
And I am not the only user who has complained, its just more obvious because I was the featured blogger. Many many other bloggers have complained in posts or either in private emails. Not to mention have commented on my posts in agreement. So picking on me is ridiculous. Why dont you talk to some of the other bloggers who have complained to0- but I am not going to rat them out to you because I consider a lot of them my friends and they do not need to be harrassed. So go look for yourself; its not that hard.
Not to mention my problem is not so much with politics than about people's cats. A lot of people write about entertainment etc... and that is cool, but its because those things fall in the catergories PU has assigned. And this is not even about me winning anymore, its about everyone being annoyed about things and other people like Jarespond, nolies32fouettes, LP, Jacquln, the cadet etc... (sorry if I left your name out) that have been here since the contest began who deserve to win- yes more than myself because they are the better bloggers-being overlooked becaue their posts are lost in a sea of other blogs that are short sentences and peoole just get tired of looking for a post by someone other than an overblogger and give up.
By the way- the point is to be progressive and helping people who deserve to win get read is being progressive. Not to mention, not signing in and commenting as a guest really says something about you and your comment, and I will leave that statement at that. I am generally not a mean person, so dont force me to be because I do not want to be. I have done NOTHING wrong, so do not treat me like I have.
Let's stay on topic debatechick. I'm not a student competitor and I chose to just post as guest. It's my right and my privilege to do this. To imply otherwise simply says you can't argue with the main points I made so you have to distract and pull out a different complaint and divert attention from the main point. Now, regarding your statement, that you didn't chose to be featured, I'll tell you that that is also a shameful response. Being featured is an honor and a privilege and a huge courtesy the site has given to you! And yes, I've been here often enough to see people clicking through that link and giving you reads. So whether you asked for it, you still didn't answer the question whether you complained to Art about being given this courtesy and complained about the side-benefits of having them accidentally not be able to post a new featured blogger. Instead of complaining about what others are doing, why don't you post on their threads some polite and useful suggestions. Kindness goes a lot farther than complaining about things every where. As far as 'picking on you' I have seen no other blogger who has posted four different complaint threads on other bloggers. I've seen no other bloggers who have felt the need to create a virtual 'gang war' and boycott of newbie posters. So they're new! Or they don't understand how this works. Wouldn't it be friendlier and more helpful to take the lead and tell them how blogging works in a nice way rather than a way that tells the staff at progressive that their 'policies' suck" or their posters suck. I just feel bad for you, debatechick, because you had a wonderfully written blog but then the last few weeks you've lost track of that goal.
And yes, I'm posting this as guest, because you don't know me from Adam anyways and because I'm not a student or a site administrator.
I can also chose not to respond period because this is ridiculous! I do not have to answer to you- especailly a guest! since none of this acually affects you! so after these responses I will not. Why because I have better things to do than defend this, like oh be progressive. And a virtual gang war? HA I do not dislike any new bloggers, in fact half of my buddy list is what you would call newbies. And When someone makes a post saying I am new, how does this work? if i come across it i give them helpful polite hints. Not to mention because i was the feaured blogger I got private emails asking for advice, which I always politely answered. So before you start crud, as a guest, get all the facts. Not to mention that all of what I have just told you is private, and none of your business. You would be suprised how many helpful advice emails and comments I have sent and received. So dont even.
Your guests are worthless? Funny...progressive u not only hosts numerous guests...at this very moment there are 489 of them here but I suspect that progressive u very much values the guests comments as long as they're not spam--although perhaps they'd rather that they register and log in.
So complaining about other bloggers sets the tone for progresive u and affects the credibility of every blogger on this site. Furthermore, posting attack threads against other bloggers goes against the golden rules. How many people will chose to come in and read Progressiveu when they skip around it and see whining about other bloggers all over the place?
No i do not think guest are worthless, you took that out of context. What i was saying is that if you are going to make attacks be a man and sign-in. Thats all i meant. dont use absolute annonymity as a sheild.
Make that four blog posts all with complaints about others for 200 points, plus at least another 100 points in blog comments all about others. So are you going to ask the admins to not count at least 400 points from these posts, comments, and reads? And are you going to ask them to only count the reads from the "featured blogger" for one month...the way they had originally intended it?
How do you know that featured blogger is supposed to be for one month only? and they chose to keep it up there longer! They chose me in the first place! I did not suck up! I did not bribe! I did nothing but blog. The biggest reason not to have a FB is not only because they suppossedly get more reads, but also because they get attacked for something they cannot control. Why do you not go attack the people whose posts are currently on the front page. Heres a hint-some of them have complained too. Lets go attack them now for being good bloggers and getting their stuff promoted- they should not accept the points if I shouldnt.
How do I know? Because I learned to read when I was 4 years old and haven't stopped since then.
Introducing Fran Chambers (AKA debatechick) Our April featured blogger.
Editors will pick new featured bloggers each month. In the meantime, read <a href="http://www.progressiveu.org/node/2495">Debatechick's blog.</a>
Introducing Liz (elvinqueen10).
Liz was the winner of our April minicontest.
Editors will pick new featured bloggers each month. In the meantime, read <a href="http://www.progressiveu.org/node/9325">elvinqueen10's blog</a>
<strong> It's an honor and a privilege Debatechick to be the featured blogger. And even I who is posting as "guest" recognise that! And furthermore it's an endorsement of your blog and elvinqueens that other wonderful bloggers have not had the privaledge to receive. Yet, I saw nobody whining that from the begining of April until today, nobody else had that extra boost. </a>
Yet, I chose to make this particular comment to you today, because I've seen the way you've responded to the others' attempts to blog and implied that they were doing something wrong and that the site administrators were being lax too. Even your post in this thread above, indicated that you had no appreciation for the ways you've benefitted from their policies. No other blogger wrote four separate attack posts against newbies for 50 points each and no other blogger felt that others should be squashed while they themselves were on the recieving end of a tremendous advantage.
That was the point of the comments.
you tell them
Some ideas...
1) You can set a minimum length of posts, which it seems like is in action already.
2) You could limit the number of post allowed in a day.
3) Have a system in which users would recommend blogs, creating a recommended list. A kind of karma thing if you will. I know there is a front page already, but from I can see it must be updated manually therefore not as frequently as an automatic list. I don't think it is created by direct user input either. The recently viewed column is similar in outcome, but a rec list would be more efficient and more directed.
4) Create a waiting period for new users, as in they would have to wait a week after registration until they can post a blog. This would discourage impatient and lazy spammers.
5) Create a moderating team.
6) Create a karma system for users.
7) Put more emphasis on categories. I know we already have them, but they could be better implemented.
Those aren't full-proof by any means, but I think some of those would help the problem greatly. I haven't used Drupal for a while, so I don't know how those ideas would work with the CMS program. But I'm sure there are modules. Some of these might be in effect already, I don't know. I'm just brainstorming.
those are really good ideas! What if we voted on a blog after reading it, like thumbs up or down, and then the posts with the most thumbs up, one per user, like the top three, and then one editor selected post. that way it would be moer fair. I also wonder what you mean by stricter enforcement of categories?
thanks for commenting! good luck, and I hope the editors like your ideas as well.
Not necessarily stricter enforcement, but more prominence. You wouldn't notice there even were categories if you didn't happen to spot the small reference in each post. Perhaps a new organization of categories that had a menu on the top bar, or perhaps on the side bars. I think it would be better to have the categories on the frontpage as well. That way if someone was looking for a specific topic then they could easily find it. The search hasn't been much help for me in the past, and a category menu would be better.
I just think the site needs a more directed design. There is a lot of content here, much of it good. But a lot of the content is slipping through the cracks because of spammers and how the system works. There is an alotted amount of time a blog gets, and after that it is cast into web oblivion. More ways to reach the content means more reads for good content. If you automate the featured post system then more posts will be featured, allowing more readers to find more posts.
I do have to hand it to the webmasters for something I've noticed...ProgressiveU posts get very good positions on Google. I've had more readers from Google than I have from the site itself.
oh ya, google picks up a lot of our threads, its really nice.
How I can agree. I see a new user around that just bugs me. Posts useless comments, and makes threads that are just the title and make no sense. Thanks for spreading the word.
On another note, how long should a comment be in your opinion?
You attract more bees with honey than with vinager.
Isn't that the saying that basically tells us to be nicer to others? So if you want to see that blogger have a more positive impact wouldn't it be better to give her/him some nice help?
So, If you see a new blogger around that is posting the title and makes no sense then politely tell them how a blog works. Lend a helping hand to that person so that they can actually learn from this experience. Could be that the person read how to get points but doesn't understand that much about how to write an interesting blog post. Chances are that the person might appreciate the help so that they don't have to read another person's page and see mean comments against them. IMO, there are a few new bloggers who could use a helping hand to get a better understanding of this site. You can see that the person is trying to do this blogging thing, but that he/she just doesn't have the right knowledge to be very successful right now. Maybe a kind word or two in her/his thread with a polite offer to help would go a long ways towards eliminating some of the frustrations for everyone.
I think that's what that other 'guest' was saying. And if not...then it's what I'm saying.
ell, I guess that it's true. But it's not that hard to figure out. what I am talking about is comments that make no sense. In this case, it's one person in particular. This person makes completely no sense. Asking what the blog is about, while it explicitly says it right there (Literarily right there). The same person wrote a blog on how one of the blogs had no link to the site. And of course, when they talk bad about my blog, I'll react. This person usually copies a news article, pastes it and gives no comment on their own. I guess I'm Trying to vent. But when all you do is post news articles 5 in a row, and put Yeah, yes and about 3 words each time, something is wrong there. but oh well, whatever happens will happen
I agree with the other user who said give them helpful comments. any person who has annoyed me somehow I give helpful comments- if its warranted. I do not randomly leave comments sayng maybe you should try this- i only comment if the blog is like hey im new or hey how do you get on the front page etc...but then I definately comment if i run into. i am not an expert, there are people on this site who have been here way longer than me! but everyone can use a helping hand.
Oh and while some peoples rude comments to annoying bloggers are funny, i try to stay away from directy stating that persons name or making un helpful comments if i comment on their posts because that just starts fights. I admit i laugh at them, but its not nice.
as far as comments go, realy really long ones are kind of annoying and I dont read them, unless its on my own post, But i mean if you have a lot to say, you cannot help leaving a long comment! however what i do if i think my comment is getting long, is just write a post about it and copy the link as a comment to the other person's blog
I agree with you. I hate when people post 1-word comments, just so they can try to get points. And I hate when people post titles like "Abortion, Gay Marriage, Da Vinci Code, Sex," but don't even write a post, just so people will click on it.
Yeah I hate how some people just post a sentance and a link as a blog. I can think of one person specifically who does this and it is extremely annoying. Also, I too hate when people comment with things like 'cool' or 'me too'. There is no point and they shouldnt get points for that.
One other addition that would be really cool, would be to have im. There are a lot of bloggers on here I would love to chat with other than threw email or comments. Sure we could chat on msn, but having a pu im, like my space's, would make it easier to im and would keep the annonymity of users. Plus it would encourage users to be buddies versus attacking each other.