Just a question? Has anyone else noticed a decrease in the level of respect posters give to one another on threads over the past several weeks ? Just within the past 2 days I’ve been on 2 different threads that have been closed because people are unable to state their opinions without being disrespectful, overly critical or rude in some circumstances. Am I being overly sensitive to this or has communication changed on this site?
Well…it is against the terms of service to be rude, disrespectful or the like on this forum. Maybe folks are reporting more posts of this type.
Also, the last two days have been a time off work for many. There likely have been more posts, and more comments in general…thus increasing the chance of some posts that are less than nice.
I don’t see a huge change, really, and I’ve been posting here for…well…years!
Thanks for the clarification@thumper1. I wasn’t sure if it was being reported more often or just increasing.
Perhaps the kids are nervous bc earlies are about to come out? No excuse for the adults tho.
I hit the “back” button when I don’t think what I would say would be nice.
The regs are pretty civil, but sometimes posters mistake straight talk for rudeness. I didn’t know threads were being shut down for rudeness; that’s too bad.
I haven’t seen any threads closed for rudeness. Are the students being rude or is it parents? I can understand students, especially the ED applicants, being on edge at this time of the year - and add to that nosy relatives asking questions at Thanksgiving dinner - and snapping out.
I’ve lurked on one particularly ED thread. It gets 100s of posts within a few hours. The kids have been supportive of each other but they are definitely nervous.
Seems to be adults, fairly recent graduates. Does not appear to be high school kids.
I just checked the Parents Forum, Parents Cafe, and Financial Aid Forums back to Novwmber 25. The only threads with locks on them were moved or merged. None closed. There was one thread which was deleted…and is locked.
I believe you…but the forums where many parents post don’t have any closed threads due to rudeness in the last four days.
I don’t believe threads are shut down for rudeness, unless a flame war breaks out. Individual posts are sometimes removed for perceived violations of the rules of civil discourse.
Not to many jail bars lately. I thought it had been rather quiet.
Hi can someone explain to me about the jail bars? first time I saw it I thought it was part of the poster’s avatar! how long does it take to get out of jail?
Visit the terms of service. 
I also very surprised how uncivilized some discussions are. I believe it mostly adults.
I don’t think it is something new necessarily. I have seen it many times, particularly in hot topic threads that people will tend to disagree. This is why the politics got shut down. Many people are inadvertently silenced when challenging the voices of the majority here
It seems the members here value the “safe space” more than the diversity of conflicting points of view. After all, many CCers belong to the older generation and are less tolerant than those in the new generation, IMHO.
I thought of this the other day: As a parent, if your own college-aged (or high school aged) child shrieks at you, will you be as calm as that professor who is now famous for being shrieked at? If the answer is no, maybe you need to pick up more skills in dealing with millenniums. Also, if a CCer shrieks like that, will CC moderator put jail bars on such a person? If yes, it likely means that CC values the “safe space for everyone” more than a space where people feel comfortable to confront each other without having a concern about being placed on “exile” for some time.
I noticed this as well. What we do not want to see is to have many established “tribes” here and the more powerful tribe could easily over-power or silence the weaker tribe.
I think they put jail bars for different reasons. I know one cc parent got it for sharing same account with her DD.
I personally don’t have an issue with differing points of view. I just think that it’s important for people to be able to state their point of view without being rude or insulting in the process. I think sometimes some people may take greater liberties that they may not take if they were speaking to someone or debating their point of view in person.
I’m not sure “inadvertently” is the right word. I think the intent is to shut down new posters sometimes. It is not a good thing for CC as a whole.
The jail bar explanation is not in the TOS, but it was explained here:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/1625234-jail-bars-p1.html
Some of the finer pts of TOS:
“Courtesy. At College Confidential, we expect discussion to be courteous even when disagreement may be vigorous. When writing your messages, please use the same courtesy that you would show when speaking face-to-face with someone. Flames, insults, and personal attacks will not be tolerated. It’s fine to disagree with opinions, ideas, and facts, but always with respect for the other person. Also, note that messages express the thoughts of the writers, not the community, its owners, staff, or moderators. Visitors who post discourteous messages will be warned; repeat offenders will lose posting rights.”
“General Behavior. Our forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place, and one in which members can post without their motives, intelligence, or other personal characteristics being questioned by others. Members who post in a manner that makes other members unwelcome or uncomfortable, or who conduct themselves in a manner in any way detrimental to the College Confidential community, will lose posting privileges.”
I totally disagree. And it has nothing to do with the members here, but everything to do with the terms of service. Refer to post #17.
I haven’t seen the jail thing. What does it look like?