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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Bekka H. on April 12, 2002, at 0:02:39
I am feeling acutely aware of the absence of the blocked Psychobabblers. They have so much to contribute to the group, and I hope they come back soon.
Bekka
Posted by Lini on April 12, 2002, at 14:40:18
In reply to I miss the people who are blocked. . . , posted by Bekka H. on April 12, 2002, at 0:02:39
Posted by Fi on April 12, 2002, at 18:45:20
In reply to I miss the people who are blocked. . . , posted by Bekka H. on April 12, 2002, at 0:02:39
I miss some of them too. Particularly Trouble, partly as I value her posts and partly as she often seems to know she's going too far.
I can understand people wanting to sound off. I wish those in the know about what gets you blocked would write their message, but then take a deep breath, and go down the page and revise it. Before hitting the 'confirm' button.
But that's wishful thinking which may also be totally unrealistic.
Fi
Posted by mist on April 12, 2002, at 23:00:10
In reply to I miss the people who are blocked. . . , posted by Bekka H. on April 12, 2002, at 0:02:39
Dr. Bob's intentions are good but personally I think most of the blocks here are more harmful than helpful (especially when they're prolonged—more than a week). The board loses more than it gains.
Some of the posters who've been blocked or warned in the past have annoyed me and I don't agree with some of their views, but at least they keep the boards lively and very few of them do anything destructive.
In some cases no harm has been done at all by a poster who's been blocked (for example, the posts trouble was blocked for recently aren't against anyone, she was just expressing herself and happens to be a particularly intense person).
For me the issue isn't whether or not I like someone or their posts, but about whether the particular post they're blocked for really is or isn't unsupportive.
I used to read another board where a poster once told someone who had been posting repeatedly about wanting to kill himself, that he should just do it, stop whining and being so self-centered and go ahead and die, etc. That's something to block someone for—that type of attitude and destructive hostility directed towards another poster, even in cases when the words aren't that extreme.
And as I said elsewhere, I've occasionally (fortunately not too often) read some very unsupportive, unkind, judgmental, unempathic, cold, even offensive things here that are much worse than what posters get blocked for but they don't get spotted by the civility radar because superficially, they remain within acceptable criteria.
This is not to criticize Dr. Bob but just to point out some flaws in the system in the hope that adjustments might be made to the blocking policy.
Posted by Mark H. on April 13, 2002, at 1:37:55
In reply to blocking, posted by mist on April 12, 2002, at 23:00:10
> "And as I said elsewhere, I've occasionally (fortunately not too often) read some very unsupportive, unkind, judgmental, unempathic, cold, even offensive things here that are much worse than what posters get blocked for but they don't get spotted by the civility radar because superficially, they remain within acceptable criteria."
Hi Mist,
You're not the first person to have said this, but I just haven't seen any recent examples that were that bad. I've probably just not read the offending threads, but I'm honestly baffled by your observations. Could you post some links to recent examples of posts that fit your description above? It would really help me to better understand your point of view if I knew what you were talking about. Otherwise, I'm left scratching my head over a string of negative labels that sound very serious indeed, and that should be addressed.
My experience here has been so positive lately that sometimes I feel like I'm on a different board! I do not want to be oblivious to your concerns.
Many thanks,
Mark H.
Posted by Mark H. on April 14, 2002, at 1:21:47
In reply to blocking, posted by mist on April 12, 2002, at 23:00:10
Hi Mist,
When I thought about more, it occurred to me that you might not be comfortable publicly posting examples, so I've clicked the "post your email address" box on this follow-up in case you ever wanted to write to me privately about your concerns. I didn't mean to put you on the spot.
Warm regards,
Mark H.
Posted by mist on April 14, 2002, at 11:29:20
In reply to Re: P. S. to Mist » mist, posted by Mark H. on April 14, 2002, at 1:21:47
Mark,
I wouldn't feel comfortable posting the links.
I rarely use email for anything but I might email you at some point to explain more the type of thing I was talking about.
At this point I'm more concerned with the blocking policy. It just seems that the board is much richer in what it has to offer when fewer people are blocked for things that aren't harmful.
Thank you,
mist
This is the end of the thread.
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