I have considered implementing a system on the free pages that would allow anyone to read messages but will require new posters to register a handle and have it confirmed with an email address. Someone would have to be registered to make a post.
What do you all think?
David
BJ21.com Administrator
Maybe it will run off "Shilly off the Deep End" who keeps posting here.
and only one handle per poster.
Someone could set up multiple e-mail addresses faster than you could register and revoke posting ability. In the meantime, the usual gang of idiots will continue to post 'flaws', 'shills', and other nonsense.
Unless it has become an overwhelming chore to moderate, my vote is leave it alone. I agree with SOTSOG, that it would become a very easy game to set up new mailboxes and register names quicker than DHCP hands out leases.
Depending on the system (e.g., you need a password, which is mailed to the email address you enter), it could really slow troublemakers down.
The trade-off is between the downside of making it costly for new (legitimate) people to join the boards, vs. the upside of making it costly/time-consuming for imbeciles to disrupt the boards.
Only the management should care about the downside, in terms of generating traffic. If management is willing to make the switch, I don't see why everyone shouldn't be behind them.
Will this stop disruption 100%? No, but so what?
Lefty
..must be my flu at the moment agreeing with anything he says. But I digress..
Registering handles has been bandied about for at least two years here. Things have degenerated during that time to make the Misc free page virtually worthless.
Something...anything...would be better than how things are at the moment.
...posting will drop off due to the extra hassle involved in registering. I seem to remember Wong himself saying he never bothered with sites where registering an id was required.
A small decrease in posting will have a dramatic effect on traffic, since posts beget other posts, a kind of compound interest effect.
I've just managed to keep the CCCafe, which uses this system, alive for a few years because of tireless contributions of a small number of hardcore posters. But, as far as a commercial website goes it is just not viable.
This isn't a comment on whether is should or should not be done, it is just a prediction.
Posting here is a privilege (well, kinda), not a right, and anyone who does so is a guest of this site. The freedom lies entirely with the caretakers of this, or any other, forum - freedom to let you speak or to kick your ass out if they want. I could personally care less if the unmotivated are discouraged by the two seconds it takes to set up a profile - less traffic is a GOOD thing if it means quality posts - which haven't been easy to come by here.
chem nerd
and expression.
Only those who fear that freedom would seek to limit it.
A Patriot,
Joe.
I dont care to give out my e-mail on the internet. Things seem to be at peace on BJ 21 for the most part and the newbies that post here who believe counting does not work should NOT be continuously insulted and accused of trolling and so forth. I truly believe most inexperienced BJ players and the general public truly feel that counting does not work anymore and are sincere when they say this. How many times has anyone ever heard the humble public chatting in the real world "No one can count 6 decks." "You cant remember all the cards dealt." "You have to be a genius." "The dealer will get good cards too." "Card clumping will make you lose."....... and on and on.... I here it everywhere I go.
When someone at a pool hall or poker table talks about how "Nobody can do it." They sincerely believe this to be true.
By the way I think you are getting a little too personal. If you do happen to change the laws I will NOT be posting here anymore(not that anybody cares).
Look at the downfall of RGE, do I sense a smell of this happening here?
I have scoured the constitution and the bill of rights, and nowhere does it guarantee the right to trash a privately operated and financed Internet website message board.
BJ21 has no obligation to let some psychopath spout gibberish here any more than a newspaper is obligated to print every single letter to the editor that it receives, regardless of content.
Quite the opposite, since some of the problem posts are potentially libelous.
There simply is no free speech or censorship issue here.
It will cause a decrease in the overall number of posts, at least temporarily.
However, it may only be temporary. I believe that several (formerly) regular posters who no longer participate here due to the signal/noise ratio would return if this were instituted.
The net result will be a large improvement in the overall quality of posts, IMHO.
It is a shame that a psychotic individual or two can disrupt a board to the point of making measures such as these necessary, but such is the wide-open nature of the Internet.
You do agree that rge has been critically injured for some time and is now in hopes of recovering. I'm afraid the damage might be beyond repair.
Do you not have a comment about the issue here at bj 21? Your comment above has been left in limbo land.
(:please speak up, dont be afraid :)
RGE21.com switched to semi-moderated posting a few months ago, and we are monitoring it to see how well it works. Introducing a barrier to posting causes a onetime decline in volume. Whether that decline is permanent, or whether it is the start of an upward trend that would not have happened without the switch to a barrier to posting, is something we are trying to determine. It's possible that suffering a onetime decline in volume is worthwhile if it changes a flat trend into an upward trend.
The three advantages of unrestricted posting which BJ21.com currently uses is 1) Quick and easy posting. 2) Lots of interesting posts to read. 3) Ease of posting a message using a handle different from the one you normally use. The disadvantage of unrestricted posting is the volume of problem posts. We currently are addressing the disadvantage by using volunteer postbusters.
The only advantage to having a barrier to posting is you would encounter fewer objectionable posts. The only disadvantage is you would have to register every handle you wish to use. Even at its simplest, registration is cumbersome enough that some people who otherwise would have posted interesting messages will not bother getting permission to post.
We are fortunate that RGE21.com switched to the semi-moderated format, so that we can watch it in action before making the decision about whether to use it on BJ21.com.
Stanford Wong
I have a registered name but I don't like the idea of being limited to one name. Some times I want to ask a question and not have people know it was me because I don't want to reveal I may be traveling to a specific place. Or I may not want people to know I have interest in a certain game. Anonymity is a good thing.
Parker >>>>The net result will be a large improvement in the overall quality of posts, IMHO
That would be counter productive to the GC membership drive. I always thought the reason many leave the 'free' boards and join green chip is because the s/n ratio is much lower on GC. If you 'filter out' the noise and clean up the free pages there isn't much incentive to join GC.
Parker >>>>It is a shame that a psychotic individual or two can disrupt a board to the point of making measures such as these necessary, but such is the wide-open nature of the Internet.
Lighten up Parker. Phycos bring an entertainment factor to the board. It also makes the PB's feel like they are doing something worthy. I used to make a point to checking the board aroung 3AM eastern just so i could catch some of Cameraman Joes antics from down under. Now that dude is funny!!!!
It's all about hit's and without the phycos running around here the hit's will go down.
The educational tyrant running the rge21 show was getting on to
the losing end of an argument with a poster. The dumper threatened
to lock him out. A poster I know wrote that that would be descrimination. The dumper did not put that up. HIEL DUMPER ?
However on this board some infantile has a need to play with identy theft. There is another board that has no moderator, postbuster or
any other "control" Yes they get some garbage; but those on the board
eventually throttle it. I see both sides of this problem; but with
out fully understanding the course, reason, and desired objective
of the owner-the decision of what and how remains in his hands.
Old saying-" you can't please all of the people all of the time."
