Propeller Week In Review: January 25, 2008 »
Posted By JamesMarcus 8 months, 3 weeks ago in NewsThe heated clash between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama caught the attention of the Propeller crew this week. So did the death of Heath Ledger, the debate over torture, and a video aimed at that endangered species, the U.S. male.
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JamesMarcus
James Marcus is a writer, translator, critic, and editor. He is the author of Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot-Com Juggernaut and ...
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Comments So Far: 40
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Spadecaller8 months, 3 weeks ago
Yeah ...another fine WIR James, and a host of "disbelieving howls".
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JamesMarcus8 months, 2 weeks ago
Many thanks, SC and STONERS. We aim to please here at Propeller.
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hyperbola8 months, 3 weeks ago
Actually the story that got the most votes this week was the five different versions of this one on propeller.
Independent Study: Bush and his officials made 935 false statements about Iraq
News รข;; A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Strangely enough, all five versions (on which I commented) have now disappeared - at least none of them appear in my recorded comments?
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AlphaGnosisComment removed: User banned.4 Replies
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MilesAway8 months, 2 weeks ago
JamesMarcus..."versions were deleted as duplicates, but that doesn't explain why all of them would disappear down the memory hole."
Why bother to explain?
What is difference when one of Republican's president "couldn't recalls" (memory lost) and another one of Democrat's president "didn't had SEX with that women" (memory lost again).
Why bother to vote?
Only two that had any integrity (D.Kucinich-liberal democrat and R.Poul-conservative republican) with their interpretation of Constitution, that was not "for the corporation stockholders by working people" was totally ignored, even by these people they was trying to protect and SERVE...
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injest8 months, 2 weeks ago
"Actually the story that got the most votes this week was the five different versions of this one on propeller".
Five different versions of the same story? Doesn't hat break some rule about gaming the page?
Were the other 4 versions less bogus than the first?
"Independent Study"
George Soros "Independent" ROFLMAO
Bush and his officials made 935 false statements about Iraq.
More News, each and every of the 935 false claims were also made by a USA pols in the years prior to 911 thus once again pointing out Iraq was in the news BEFORE 911
"There is nothing more horrible than the murder
of beautiful theory by a brutal gang of facts"
La Rochefoucauld
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tomboy5018 months, 3 weeks ago
James,
Could you explain to me how I am wrong on both counts? Which two counts? That the spam on the home page is shocking? That it is allowed to flourish? Or that you guys have given spam posts a home because you see them as traffic?
Can you explain to me the value of 2-3 carefair.com posts on the home page daily? Or celebrityjuice-whatever blogs, or all the insurance company or health care/self help/dog obesity spam sites? Half of your home page is spam at any given time. Go look at it right now as I am typing. Do these posts generate comments? Do the regulars vote them up? Why are they there every day...day in and and day out?
A site's homepage is a huge first impression. When I sign in here daily, I go to the home page and wade through this rubbish trying to find timely news and cool posts. The spam makes me want to turn around and sign off.
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tomboy5018 months, 3 weeks ago
(continued) Only when I venture deeper into the site and browse my friends' submitted stories do I find the quality content and community participation in comments. Rarely are these posts featured on the home page...instead it's spam everywhere. Why? You have a great social news community...why don't you listen to them?
A final thought. I am looking at your blogroll right next to the comment box on the Week in Review blog. I take it these are the sites you chose to represent (in general fashion) Propeller's tastes and mood? I don't see ANY of the spam blogs on this list...the regular spam sites you feature prominently on your home page daily. Maybe you should make some additions to the blogroll to truly reflect what you, the editors, deem home page-worthy. Because carefair.com gets a whole lot more traction on Propeller than any of the others you have listed.
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JamesMarcus8 months, 2 weeks ago
I didn't mean my comment in the WIR to sound snide or dismissive. If it did, my apologies. What I was trying to say is this: the Propeller staff expends a lot of energy killing spam submissions to the site. We delete them by the hundreds, along with the originating accounts. But the stuff propagates very fast, and the reason it appears on the home page is because people vote for it. Some of these votes are from sock puppets and voting rings, which we also expunge the moment we detect them. But the best way to keep it off the home page is to vote for quality stories (and submit them), and to refrain from voting for junk submissions. Finally: we derive no benefit from spam appearing on the home page. We have absolutely no motive for leaving it there. It's a pox on this site, and we do our best to wipe it out.
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david_nwpa8 months, 2 weeks ago
Tomboy, I agree. I am really tired of posting gay and lesbian stories if some sock puppet is going to get credit for posting a bajillion stories about Jessica Alba in some lesbian sex scene. Only when you click on the story, you are fed a pile of porn. I know several readers who look for the posts I put there and they comment some time. I am disappointed in that too, because many of these stories I post are groundbreaking news. Come on, how often is it, that Maryland initiates legislation to allow gay marriage? How often does Arkansas start a petition drive to stop gay adoptions? These issues are important to some of us, and should be given a better chance than getting drowned out by all the spam.
No offense to Hormel, makers of meat in a can. Thanks James for trying. I know you mean well and you and the staff are working hard.
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rdy2rck8 months, 2 weeks ago
Since I've been here it always amazes me how you can write this without stepping on anyones toes. refreshingly non-biased
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Bkumm8 months, 2 weeks ago
I really enjoy the WIR, it has become a nice addition to Propeller. There is insight here that we can all take to heart.
As far as the spam, voting rings and sockpuppetitis, I know for a fact that the administrators of Propeller do their best to eliminate as much of it as possible. But, the loyal Propellerheads need to do their part as well. If you see stolen content, report it. If you see spam, report it. If you see an obvious sock-puppet, report it. It isn't being a tattle-tale, it's taking responsibility for your community.
Propeller forever!!!!
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rdy2rck8 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm fairly new and could anyone give me advice. Yesterday, we had an unusually pleasant exchange of our views of God or not. Sock puppet invaded at one point trying to stir things up. He was obnoxious and obviously there to cause trouble and get people arguing. Is this a reportable offense?Does propeller "investigate?"
It sounds to me from all the referances to sockpuppet he's been here for a while.I just ignore it.
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Bkumm8 months, 2 weeks ago
I think that's a valid question and one that deserves to be addressed.
As with any community there are people that will irritate, annoy, instigate and overall cause you to question the common decency of the human species. For you, that might be person X while for me it might be person Y. Is person X violating the TOU? Is person Y? The question comes down to one of intent and reason.
An example perhaps is needed.
Person X goes on a thread and makes some comments that are charged with tension to Person A. Person A responds in kind. Now, there are two questions that need to be answered before we decide how to proceed. Do those people know each other? Many of us have been on here a long time and know each other well enough to tease each other, so if the people know each other was there an intent to cause harm? The other question is whether or not it is a blatant violation of the TOU. If so, it should certainly be reported, but that is problematic as well.
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Eagle_Eye8 months, 2 weeks ago
My advice is to do what I do, may be throw out a few crumbs to the troll, but don't keep feeding it, it is better to hit the block button!! That way you don't have to see the nasty remarks and it takes all the space they use away. By blocking them you avoid the stress of the negativity on the thread.
The user your referring to has a pattern and many sock puppets, they get off on cut and paste which is such a waste of time to even read, better to just block them. You also will begin to recognize a user and their puppets by the style of writing, things said and again the cut and paste retoric.
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Bkumm8 months, 2 weeks ago
from above
Most of us believe strongly in free speech and here on Propeller, as with other social news sites, many of us feel this is the last great democratic frontier. Here people of every race, color, creed and sexual orientation gather to share ideas, argue and comment about the news of the day. So, to what extent is freedom of speech to be curtailed?
The TOU exist to provide some framework, some structure to how the Anchors and Scouts deal with the inevitable conflicts that arise between disparate groups. However, not every comment that is potentially abusive is so. Not every word written in anger is an abuse of the TOU. Some words are and they should be reported, however the auto-censor does a pretty good job of eliminating those words.
Now, for the advice. Here is the metric that I use to determine whether or not I should report a comment or a submission as a violation of the TOU.
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Bkumm8 months, 2 weeks ago
cont
If a comment is something that is racially, ethnically, sexually or religiously charged then you should use your best judgment. For instance, I would report a comment that suggested that all Hindus be burned at the stake because they are heathens and should be killed for the greater glory of the great god Malarky. That is blatantly offensive and should be reported as such. However, a comment that suggests that Hindus are not the chosen people of the great god Malarky and should be converted by force if necessary, would not be worth reporting from my point of view. The first is abusive and suggests a imminent threat of violence while the second, while still suggesting force, is an opinion that does not necessarily advocate violence.
Stolen content, blatant spam and sock puppets are reported at once.
Use of your best judgment is the key to this. Be polite and in general, people will be polite to you. Not always, but generally.
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ETproductions8 months, 2 weeks ago
Top Notch WIR, James. You've got a good eye for detail.
Personally, I think the smack down between the Clintons and Obama is doing incredible damage to the Democratic party. It's the final evidence that the Clintons will tell any lie and trash their own party as long as they think it will get them what they want.
Republicans would be wise to use this opening to reach out to African American voters put off by the Clinton's deliberate use of race baiting to try to pry off the white vote for themselves.
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Shadowolf8 months, 2 weeks ago
Week in Review is nice...points me at stories that I mighta missed!!!
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