My Two Cents On Rec/Unrec... If I'm Remembering Correctly... The Feature Was Adopted To Keep...

[WillyT]

frivolous, silly, unflattering posts from getting to the Greatest Page for all to see.

I guess it was to keep "embarrassing" posts from being seen by new people coming here to check out DU.

This idea ignores the fact that some posts are recced because of important information (upcoming events/protests/passing of DUers) and other such posts that have NOTHING to do with well reasoned, cogently argued posts, but are just there to notify.

That was then...

Now, rec/unrec has morphed into the intra party pissing contest, and has become an anonymous way to "disapprove" of the post and\or the poster.

That's why you see so many responses like, "Somebody Unrecced THIS?"

It's because people are no longer objecting to the post...they are objecting to the poster.

And it has the effect of demeaning the meaning of being here.

:shrug:

[Fumesucker]

1. Somebody Unrecced THIS?

:evilgrin:

There are a lot of things that certain groups do not wish to see the light of day, anything controversial is going to get both a lot of recs and a lot of unrecs.

[WillyT]

6. LOL... Just As Night Follows Day...

:rofl:

:hi:

[Posteritatis]

2. Meh, it's just people nailing themselves to crosses because they aren't universally adored. (nt)

[WillyT]

5. Oh... I'm Universally Adored... Not My Point, Though...

:evilgrin:

[cleanhippie]

3. "It's because people are no longer objecting to the post...they are objecting to the poster."

Exactly, much of the time.

[Renew Deal]

4. Of course you are correct

And no matter how it was intended, it was always going to be about intra-party pissing contests. It was predicatable (and predicted).

Digg Investigating Claims That Conservatives Are Gaming It

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367490,00.asp

[WillyT]

13. Yep... Saw That...

:hi:

[DevonRex]

7. Let's get rid of rec, unrec and the greatest page. We know what's great and what's not.

A thread is good or not by its own merits, not by some number it ends up with. Besides, freepers can manipulate it. Why give them any power?

If a person likes an OP they can say so. If not, they can say that, too.

But this button clicking thing has reduced DU to a stupid video game like Duck Hunt or something.

[SoCalDem]

39. Yep.. it's like 7th grade all over again.. every day

Old timers often comment on the lack of real discussion, and this is one reason.. Too many people, instead of posting their own ideas within a thread, just do a quickie drive-by un-rec and move on to the next one..

It's as if there's a "secret panel" of judges lurking behind the curtain, ready to thumbs-up or down on thread that they either like or dislike...It's probably inhibiting the free discourse, because many people may be offended to see something they took a long time composing, met with an instant thumbs-down, before enough time has passed for it to have even been read..

No one expects ribbons & trophies, but at least with discussion, many ideas get put into the mix. With rec/un-rec, it's just sycophantic cliquishness & people with a steno-pad,full of names to "un-rec" as an attempt to discourage them & perhaps drive them away..

We went YEARS without it, and should go back ..

The front page used to be full of thread with the most REPLIES.. and with MODERATORS, it should be easy enough to "cull-out" the nonsensical or offensive posts that do not "belong" on the front page. A simple rule that blocks threads with "those words" in the title should do it.:)

[leveymg]

8. It's now a tool of division and derision. Time to retire unrec.

Causes more problems than it possibly solves. Turned the place into a pissing contest between factions. Hurts a lot feelings.

Enough.

[LWolf]

9. I'd like to see the unrecs go away, permanently. nt

[rosesaylavee]

10. Agreed.

I think it's time it becomes history. I rec'd this btw and it's still at 0. Very very childish.

[laylah]

11. My rec brings it to

zero. WTF is wrong with people? (rhetorical question).

Jenn

[SidDithers]

12. Rec's worked much the same way...

there are (were) posters here who could post the telephone book, and get +100, simply because of who they are (were).

Sid

[WillyT]

16. Not Sure That's True Any Longer..

But I do see your point.

:shrug:

:hi:

[LostinVA]

14. Agreed

When OPs that are, for instance, promoting GLBT rights are unrecced, what does that mean? And, to me, that is more embarrassing than having the occasional silly/funny OP on the Greatest Page.

[cayanne]

15. I agree and..

it is why I rarely read DU anymore. I check the greatest page first and it has become a popularity contest. Some DUers think it their DU when in fact it is OUR DU. Many times on the greatest page there are multiple duplicate posts that has turned the greatest page into a joke in my opinion which is why I donate once a year instead if every quarter. DU isn't what it used to be and I unrec more than I rec anymore. I find this Sad!

[TexasObserver]

17. Unrecommended because it's another unnecessary thread.

Why does your post need its own thread? Wasn't your opportunity to comment in the OTHER thread sufficient? Why does this particular thought require yet another thread complaining about the unrec feature?

As for the substance of your post, it's without merit. Posters who chronically start unworthy threads catch unrecs.

If there is a problem with rec/unrec, it is that some posters have absolutely no standards for recommending threads.

Some posters never start a thread that is worthy of being recommended.

[WillyT]

29. It Must Be Tough Being You...

Sorry for the burden, but thanks for the kick.

:nopity:

:shrug:

[sabrina 1]

46. Rec'd because I disagree.

I don't care much about the issue, but it's clear that a lot of people do as it is mentioned so often. I've read several different opinions on the unrec feature and tend to agree with one. That is that it is an opportunity for people to do what was done recently on Digg, coordinate to keep a post or a poster that might be of interest to the community from getting attention by people who disagree with a particular issue. That's the only anti-unrec complaint I think makes sense, especially since now we've seen it in action on Digg.

[bobbolink]

18. And people have been threatened for speaking against the unrec feature.

Kinda says it all.....

[Aramchek]

19. can't you just deal with it?

[scarletwoman]

20. The "frivolous post" thing was only part of it, iirc.

It seemed to me that many of those who lobbied the hardest for the unrec feature were very specifically hoping that it would also keep what they considered "Obama-bashing" posts off the front page.

Didn't quite work out the way they hoped, however. Now I see some of these same people trying to figure out some way of restricting access to the unrec feature.

It's certainly proved to be a double-edged sword, hasn't it? I argued against it from the beginning, and would be happy to see it go away. I think has definitely increased the divisiveness here.

Btw, I've been wanting a chance to re-post one of my OPs from that time, of which I shall always be proud:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6077147&mesg_id=6077147

:D
sw

[ProgressiveEconomist]

21. Thanks for the link to your 'Unrec Day 6' post. And I agree we shoud go back

to the pre-July09 system, without the ability to UNREC. What a failed experiment!

I now see the folly of trying to accomodate those who want push-button negative feedback power, after seeing how surly some of them are in a GD post earlier today (at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8993901&mesg_id=8993901 ).

[nashville_brook]

26. such is the folly of message control.

:evilgrin:

[bobbolink]

27. "I think has definitely increased the divisiveness here."

I first came to the sad conclusion quite a while back that the divisiveness didn't matter.. that it was not only tolerated, but accepted. That is really sad, but a sign of the verbally violent times we live in. And this site was started by people of that generation, who accept that atmosphere.

Remember quite some time ago, when many old-timers were concerned because very good people, very good and thought-provoking posters, were quitting in droves? The public message posted by the Admins was that it was OK that good people were leaving.. they would be replaced by "other good people". Never mind that anyone who has watched the progress of the internet tubes has seen this progression many times.... the more gentle and thoughtful posters get driven out by the harsh ones, and the whole tone of the site changes. Which is has here. It was predictable.

However, I have come to the point where I think the divisiveness is not just accepted, but actually DESIRED. Remember the old Hollywood saying, that there is no such thing as bad press? Well, I think that may be in operation here. Faux news knows that it is controversy that drives business, and it could be that that same thinking is going on behind the scenes here.

I have experiemented for my own curiosity... made negative and controversial posts, and looked at the number of responses, and made kind and thoughtful posts and looked at the number of responses. The result was clear... if you truly want to have people read and respond, you post something negative. That is what we have come to, and I'm sure that negativity brings in more people and more revenue.

Unless and until we begin talking about the real issues that are driving some of this, and bring up honesty (Like the post saying it is OK that good people are leaving... that was honest.... not nice, but honest), it will just continue to deteriorate.

[Uben]

22. Here's a thought....

...don't pay any attention to the rec/unrec count. I don't. If I have something to say, I say it, but not to get attention or recs.
If you are posting here to polish your journalistic skills and need a barometer to see how good you are, remember that we are just a bunch of ordinary people who are here to converse with like minds, not editors or publishers.

[rsmith6621]

23. You Should Only Be Able To UNREC if YOU leave an explanation..WHY!!

[madinmaryland]

34. I do leave an explanation when I un-rec a thread.

[SidDithers]

48. You should only be able to vote for President if you explain who you voted for and why!..nt

Sid

[Bullet1987]

24. I agree that the rec/unrec thing needs to be abolished as well

It's become a way for certain DUers (we won't name names but we all know they are) to form a type of clique to pile on and rec posts that are only favorable to Obama and other Dems. They work in reverse when they see a thread they don't like. We also can't ignore the possibility that DU has been infiltrated by right-wingers who also use the feature. It's become more of a problem than anything useful.

[nashville_brook]

25. "has the effect of demeaning the meaning of being here" -- completely agree.

[Catherina]

28. Unrec is great. It keeps C level stuff off the front page too.

Personally, I like it.

[PJPhreak]

30. As a sorta noob here...

I have been watching the "Troubles" here and at other progressive/liberal sites that I frequent and DU is not the only site with this problem.

First,as a "Big Tent" Party us Democrats have long gotten used to accepting people at face value.We tend to be nonjudgemental,We try to be inclusive.

Well our 'niceness" is being used aganist us. Plain and simple.

There is a group of Freepers/Conservatives out there that have made it their goal to use Guerrilla Tactics to screw up the liberal Message,Not just here at DU but on the Net in general.

For Example This...


Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered (From Alternet)

http://blogs.alternet.org/oleoleolson/2010/08/05/massive-censorship-of-digg-uncovered/

"A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives. An undercover investigation has exposed this effort, which has been in action for more than one year.

“The more liberal stories that were buried the better chance conservative stories have to get to the front page. I’ll continue to bury their submissions until they change their ways and become conservatives.”
-phoenixtx (aka vrayz)

Digg.com is the powerhouse of social media websites. It is ranked 50th among US websites by Alexa (117th in the world), by far the most influential social media site. It reached one million users in 2007 and likely has more than tripled that by this point. Digg generates around 25 million page views per month, over one third of the page views of the NY Times. Front page stories regularly overwhelm and temporarily shut down websites in a process called the “Digg Effect.”

The concept behind the site is simple. Submitted webpages (news, videos, or images) can be voted up (digging) or down (burying) by each user, sort of a democracy in the internet model. If an article gets enough diggs, it leaves the upcoming section and reaches the front page where most users spend their time, and can generate thousands of page views"


Then There is Free Republic.

Before you go off in a tizzy...I go to "The Cesspool of Stupid" to keep with what their up to..."Know thy Enemy as well as you do Thyself" So I put on my fireproof suit and wade into the shit.

There is a organized group of freepers that spend a LOT of time online,Their purpose is to disrupt any and all Liberal Blogs,Messageboards,Websites,and Postings on the net.

They Use Mutiple Accounts,Scripts,Keyloggers and other easy to find Hacking Tools to help in this,Like this Freep...

"To: Mojave

I have 3 logins on there, I make sure to bump a few threads every couple of months to remain active. I am saving them for Election Day +1 2012. It’s gone from BDS to JDS(Jesus Derangement Syndrome). I listen to alot of Christian Esoterica and Dark Conspiracy stuff like PID Radio and I can tell you most Obama supporters are fully in the grasp of the evil one. They mock our savior, our Christian morality, our traditions and worse our Scripture. Some of it borders on blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Looking on there some of them no so obliquely state that if they had total power the would look to exterminate us. We you aspire for perfection with fluid secular morality as your guidepost this is where it always leads, ALWAYS.

15 posted on Mon 21 Jun 2010 08:58:20 PM CDT by pburgh01
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies>"

Yes they are after us...This is one reason I don't do Windows...It is much harder to infect my Linux OS than a Windows OS...No Keyloggers Here!


Time To Fight Back!

[BrklynLiberal]

32. Sorry your post cannot be rec'd. I would do so if I could.

[PJPhreak]

37. lol,Thanks

This is getting really bad,Not just on the net,But all over.

I have nerver in my 52 years on this planet seen US Politics so Polarized,Ever.

Not During Watergate.
Not during Iran/Contra
Not during the "Impeachment" of Mr.Clinton

as I said in another Thread,They Hate Us,They Want Us Dead.Gone.Forever.

And they will not stop,Until they are Beaten Down to uselessness...Or We Are.

Edit to Add:

I think the "Troubles" that are going on around here are a much larger problem than we perceive,They are organizing,Recruiting a group of Keyboard Kommandos and doing a good job at it.

Just like any Enemy...Never think that all "Freepers" are Stupid,Uneducated or witless. Their Not.
Assumptions will bite you in the ass in a hurry.

[BrklynLiberal]

41. Many excellent points in that post. thanks.

[BrklynLiberal]

31. If "UNREC" is kept, let is NOT be anonymous.

Let the unrec'ers have the courage of their convictions.

They do not have to defend it..but they should be forced out of the dark alleys.

[tammywammy]

36. If "REC" is kept, let is NOT be anonymous. n/t

[polmaven]

49. Exactly...

:thumbsup:

[madinmaryland]

33. Un-reccing. This does not need to be on the "greatest page" which

is seen by the world. It a perfect reasonable subject to be discussed in GD, but it should just stay in GD, and not be shown on the Greatest Page. It's an internal DU discussion.

I explained my unrec.

[WillyT]

38. LOL... I Think It's Great That You Responded, I Think It's Great That You Explained...

your reasons, I think it's great we are discussing it, I think it's great that the funding drive was successful and came in on time...

So explain again why this shouldn't be on the Greatest Page???

:evilgrin::rofl::evilgrin:

:hi:

[Vickers]

35. Another non-anonymous unrec. n/t

[Terra Alta]

40. my two cents

I think the whole rec/unrec thing should be done away with altogether... but if it is kept, it should not be anonymous. Especially when we have Freepers unreccing everything in sight. JMO.

[obxhead]

42. This is the third thread I've seen today on the rec/unrec feature.

What did I miss?

[tammywammy]

43. It's just part of the cycle

Next week I think it's back to breastfeed, possibly smoking.

[obxhead]

44. ahhh. Nothing new to pout about.

I thought maybe there was a particularly inflammatory thread I had missed over the weekend that got a lot of both r/u.

Thanks. :hi:

[WillyT]

45. LOL !!! - This Thread Has Been On The Greatest Page At Least 4 Times Today !!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Thanks eveybody... it's been hilarious!

:bounce::hi::bounce:

[Warren Stupidity]

47. unrec'd for whining about unrec

[polmaven]

50. Ditto...

A whole year later, and we are still whining about it.