This was sage advice that @skieurope has posted a few times that is a friendly reminder of how to best use the forums. The parents forum and cafe were designed as a place for the parents to chat and share information, not really for some young poster to join a conversation and ask about how to hide body odor.
That said, if this thread has become a place to complain about bothersome poster styles, lets add the sourpuss, cranky, negative ones and the sanctimonious, finger wagger, holier-than-thou church ladies. And the hypocrites. Sure miss the days of the clever banter and quick wit that made the parents forum and cafe engaging and fun to read.
I think most of us have a very good idea of the particular poster many are referring to. I am not allowed to discuss that adult.
Here is the issue with fake posters: well meaning people (us) spend time and energy answering a fake poster, depriving genuine people in need of help the benefit of our collective wisdom.
Most fake posters are spotted and disappear quickly, never to be seen again. But some are here for the long haul and when we interact with those posters, we are being manipulated. None of us has unlimited time, and I am guessing that we all choose to devote our energy to those threads which interest us and catch our attention first. IMO, Hobson’s is unethical and is allowing its customers (us) to be manipulated.
Unsophisticated kids are often not very good at titling their posts. They might say something vague, like “ Admissions question” or “Need Help.” I often look at those threads because I want to see if that person actually needs help. I try to help the confused kid who doesn’t understand something. I haven’t been here as long as many others, but in the five-plus years since joining, I’ve learned to distinguish between kids posing as adults, and vice versa.
I’m a writing tutor and I specialize in college essays, so I can also tell when a kid is trying to sound too adult or is disingenuous. Even a very sophisticated teenage writer still sounds like a teenager. I would say that an adult trying to consistently write like a teenager/youth is next to impossible, and I can’t think of an instance when it’s been successful, including this past week.
I choose to be amused by some of the wild stories bored teens post. And if they don’t really want vacation ideas or ideas about kitchen renovations, well, it seems to me the people posting are enjoying the conversation. I think the regular who most irritated me finally got banned.
Not based on their grammar-writing style, which is completely different. Posters get banned for a reason, so when you recognize a banned poster based on their writing style, it speaks more to the reason they got banned than anyone “spending too much time on CC” (another tired insult, along with the often used claims that posters are lacking in reading comprehension).
The thing I find interesting and sometimes funny is when a parent poses as a student then comes clean and states they are really the Parent. Why do that? Maybe some think that CC is only for students or something then realize that it’s not.
Spotting Shady Posters: Timing (right after site reno) and the perception that multiple threads were started (and posts on certain existing threads) to promote conversation specifically to engage Senior Members is suspect. I’m not a long-time member, been here since May 2018, but even I noticed the prolific nature of the posts and the timing of it all.
It’s not that people aren’t welcome or they have to watch where and how much they post when they first get here, I just think several Senior Members were suspicious that they were being played or used for click bait by TPTB after the roll out of this horrible new format. I’m trying to be careful with how I say this w/o breaking TOS, so Mods feel free to delete if necessary, but you do a great job and it’s not right if a poster takes up your valuable, donated time just to increase clicks and ad revenue for CC.
How many people have actually read the terms of service for this site? Or any site for that matter. I don’t.
Its the internet. You will have fake people. Spend any significant amount of time talking with people on it and you will find fakes. Try to avoid it to the extent its obvious and more forward.
We’re well aware that most people don’t read the ToS. We just don’t accept that as a valid reason to get upset when we delete posts or warn users. Kind of like if you get stopped by a cop for using a cell phone when you’re driving - “I didn’t know that was a law!” doesn’t work.
Rather than call it any rant, I’d say it shows our massive frustration.
And rather than now point fingers at senior members, I wish some would realize we all try to be tolerant of long timers who really don’t know everything. None of us know it all. We know that.
As for kids or spammers, we cant wish them away. They have to trip up. I spotted an inconsistency in one. That one was banned quickly and back in about an hour. Same name. All over various threads. Yes, we wonder. Yes, we’re on alert now.
To be clear, and I am only speaking for myself, I do not believe that every/any new poster is a plant. Most truly are looking for guidance, and it should come as no surprise that there is much that they do not know. There is certainly no directive that states that every long-term user needs to answer in every thread. It’s like people complaining about a TV show. Change the channel/read a different thread. As for me, I’m going to err on the side of being helpful; I may be burned a few times, but that’s a risk I take.
Regardless, and at the risk of being repetitive, it is just inappropriate (and a ToS violation) to discuss active members. This includes naming them, listing their initials, links/referencing a particular thread they started, their post count, playing “Are you thinking whom I’m thinking,” etc. And I’m just going to edit/delete such comments.
I don’t either. However, Ignorantia juris non excusat applies, and most of the rules are common sense ones which apply to to most forums
@sabaray , I honestly do not think anyone here has been unkind.
I recently looked back at a couple of my earliest posts, from when I knew nothing. I was warned by a moderator for posting the same question in a bunch of different college forums because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do.
People can tell when a new user doesn’t know how the site works, or how the college process works, and we can tell when someone is simply try to pull the wool over our eyes. Very different things. In my early posts, I only ever recalled one snarky comment from a senior poster. But oh well, we’re human. And there was a big difference between me as a newcomer and someone pretending to be someone they aren’t.
I agree that we are all bound by the terms of service whether we read them or not. Point was that most people haven’t read the terms of service (here or on any site). Someone posted that problems occur when people don’t read the ToS. I think that is the exception rather than the rule (most people haven’t read the ToS but there are no problems with the vast majority of posters here).
Ultimately my suggestion for anyone who does not want to waste time responding to fake/shady people on the internet is to avoid the internet. My guess is that we have all wasted at least a little time responding here to fake/shady posts. Just don’t know it. Was like toupees 20 years ago and boob jobs today: So many people are positive they can always spot one when in reality they can really just spot the bad ones.
And it seems a little ironic talking about time wasting when much of what is discussed on this site is in the nature of time wasting getting people through their day/a break from regular part of the day/etc.
@saillakeerie , the thread is about how to spot the fakers so that people don’t waste their time. Yep, we’ve all wasted time on fakers. It’s good to learn how to avoid doing that, how to recognize them so they can be dealt with. No one is obligated to use the internet at all.
If I’m going to waste time on the internet, I prefer to waste it by helping someone legitimate.
To each her/his own. But guess I would look at it like the saying: better to let 10 guilty people go free than to convict 1 innocent person. Whatever telltales people develop for spotting fakers will no doubt catch some honest people looking for real help. Different people will make different conclusions regarding that dynamic. Guess I would error on the side of helping people and let the fakers deal with what choices they have made.
Well, your point is proven because while many believe there are active fakers on CC, the mods have the last say. For those who aren’t sure how to spot fakers, there’s this thread. Alert the mods if you suspect a faker, as ski has already stated.
So sometimes the Tos is violated by me posting an article that looks great then I realize to late that it had a blog posts underneath it. Sometimes there are no comments yet so it’s hard to tell. Then I just read that some blog posts are OK so it does get confusing but the moderators are very fair and kind and helpful (kissing up a bit ?)…lol.
Someone mentioned about being rude. FYI - I noticed that on a post my “attitude” was sorta rude yesterday so I posted and apologized this morning. Heh, were human but can at least admit when we (I) am wrong.
@skieurope, nope, that is not what I was saying, at all. I am not talking about those new posters that need guidance bc “there is much that they do not know.” And, I most certainly do not believe “that every/any new poster is a plant.” You totally misconstrued my previous post.
@lookingforward mentioned all the things I saw as well, including the inconsistencies.