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Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I am writing to you in regards to your own thread in the Pogo Forums called “The Dos and Don’ts of Posting in the Forums”.
I have read your thread and I wholeheartedly agree with what you have stated. If anyone in the forums would actually use your checklist it would really put out the “firestorm” of negativity you referred to in your February column.
The checklist, if used, would actually give a poster a realistic expectation of how they are to be treated in the forums. Sadly, from what I have seen and experienced in the forums myself this does not seem to be the case at all!
It is my understanding that the forum moderators are the ones who decide what posts/threads remains in the forums and what gets deleted and what gets locked. Pogo can’t be very active in there or they wouldn’t allow over half of what is posted in there.
Posters are continually harassed for having a differing opinion. Not many can really discuss much in any kind of civilized manner.
If the topic doesn’t have anything to do with Minis or Pogo games or free tokens it doesn’t last long. It’s usually removed because there are always a few who take it off topic and just start harassing another poster.
Nettie, there are 51 posts that are discussing your thread the Dos and Don’ts of the forums. Most are all saying the same thing. All they see is that posters are setting themselves up for abuse if they post anything in the forums
It seems not many even bother themselves to read your thread or the TOS of the forums.
I have been a Pogo player since 2005. This is about the only negative blight on Pogo and I know many other seasoned Pogo players who share the same view and will not use the forums and tell their friends not to go to them.
Someone from Pogo really needs to take control of the forums and not leave it up to the moderators!
Most sites with forums I have used in the past review a would-be post and either approve or disapprove it before it’s ever posted. If it doesn’t stand up to the checklist it’s not posted. Most also have an “ignore” option also available to further stop abuse and arguments so posters can place the troublemakers on that list that do manage to get through the screening process.
It’s just sad that this has gone on for so long. Why would Pogo let this continue?
Sign me,
Forum-ly a Forums Poster!
| Dear Forum-ly a Forums Poster, The Forums are a place where people go to talk about a variety of topics. Most people are pretty respectful on the Forums, even when they disagree. But, because it’s an open forum, people sometimes get a little heated and say things they wouldn’t normally say. Some folks feel very passionate about certain issues, and it can go from polite to inflammatory fairly quickly. This is par for the course in Forums, I’m afraid. I’ve warned my sensitive friends that Forums aren’t for the weak at heart. You will see things you don’t like. You will see things that won’t sit well with you. You will see things that outright offend you. You’ll also see things you do like. You may even make new friends. It’s a mixed bag. Some forums do require approval before they’ll allow a message to post. We don’t do that on Pogo as it would slow things up quite a bit. Instead, we do have a small team of moderators and we offer players the ability to report abuse for posts that do break our Terms of Service. Basically, we let people say what they want even if we don’t particularly like it so long as the Terms of Service are not broken. And we depend on others to report the abuse if those terms are broken. So, the bottom line here is that if you want to partake in the fun of forums, you’ll have to get used to the type of behavior exhibited by some folks who don’t abide by the Dos and Don’ts laid out in that post. I do encourage my readers to be those who take the high road and set good examples for everyone by remaining polite even in the most heated arguments. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
My friends and I have been discussing a problem that we’re having with “how” people use the Pogo Messages, and we really need your advice.
The people on MY Friends List don’t often pass things along to each other, but when we DO, most of us use the “Forward” button, then select which of the people on our Friends List that we want to send it to.
Unfortunately, as the item gets passed further and further along, some of the friends of a friend of a friend often JUST use the “Reply All” button to send the item on, instead of selectively forwarding it ONLY to THEIR Friends, and before you know it our Messages in-boxes get “spammed” with that item from lots of people we’ve never even hear of.
We don’t want to confront or offend anyone about it because, after all, they ARE “somebody’s” Friend. But they’re not OUR Friends and we don’t appreciate having “strangers” spamming our in-boxes with copy after copy after copy of items that WE already passed around amongst OUR Friends Lists.
Perhaps Pogo could offer a tutorial on the polite use of the Messages function. Until then, how would you suggest that we handle this?
Sign me…
Friend of a Friend of a Friend
| Dear Friend of a Friend of a Friend, What you describe is one of the several pitfalls of forwarding messages. It’s a risk you take when you forward, and honestly, if I were to write up a tutorial on how to be polite about forwarding messages it would consist of two options: either don’t do it at all, or if you simply must, limit yourself to a group of less than 12 people, and make sure that everyone in that group understands that they are not to forward to anyone else outside of that group. I know I sound like I haven’t had my tea in three days on this subject. I do recognize that some people enjoy receiving jokes, sweet stories, and other types of e-mails, but I also know that engaging in this behavior usually ends up in a lot of spam. So, my recommendation is to choose a group of Friends with whom you most enjoy corresponding and ask them if they’d like to be in a “Message Circle” where you and they forward messages within the circle. If they get a funny message from someone outside the group, they copy the funny part, leave the rest, and pass it along to the folks within that group. That way, you can still have your fun, but you cut down the risk of ending up spam lists. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
As a mental health provider and survivor I do take exception to the labeling of any person as “nuts”.
Since the term has been used as a slang term for people who suffer with mental illness it should not be used in a professional manner at any time. Yes, you used it in a cute way but it is offensive to people who have suffered the stigma and labels of mental illness.
Thank you for your re-consideration to the use of this term.
Sincerely,
Standing up for What is Right
| Dear Standing up for What is Right, Thank you for your letter. I appreciate what you’re trying to say, and I certainly understand that mental illness is no laughing matter. If I were a mental health professional, I would never refer to a sufferer as “nuts”. However, the term has been around for a very long time, and it certainly does not apply solely to those who suffer from mental illness. I can understand that it’s possible that because you work in the field, you may see the word in a different way. It is a slang word that’s a common part of the English vocabulary and, generally speaking, is most often used in light reference to a person with whom we may have some sort of disagreement or find funny in a good way. When someone does something a bit off the wall, we often say “You are nuts!” and mean it a compliment. I do try to be sensitive to everyone, but I do feel that today the term “nuts” can be used in a fun way and does not, in general conversation, demean those with mental illnesses. I’d be interested to hear what others have to say on the subject, so if you have a moment, please drop Ol’ Nettie an e-mail with your thoughts. |
Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com
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