State of the QBN 2019

Out of context: Reply #39

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  • zarb0z0

    I’ve had a think, and I’d like to share.

    This is my only QBN account. I say this to call attention to my faults and flaws; investigate. I speak quickly, sometimes harshly, and I own every word—I have to, or I am nothing. Sometimes, the little chav in me feels randy, and sometimes the gentleman wishes to pop round the shops for no good reason at all. Those extremes show in my posts.

    I like to think I contribute, but I confess it’s likely just in a participatory sense of community. The design work I do is all CAD, FEA/CFD usually, and there’s an incredible overlap between the (PC) tools I use to and the tools a DTP artist uses, but we share almost no software (that I can discern).

    The conversations around COTD, NSFWotD, etc? Those affect me, for that’s where I “contribute” most. Otherwise, you’ll catch me commenting on POTD, or putting Yevgeniy in exceptionally unsafe conditions.

    That said, before I vote for the removal of COTD (et al), I want to point out one small but glaring flaw in the logic of removing questionable comment:

    Cocks gonna cock.

    Tossers post trash, so when that avenue is closed, they’ll post trash where it doesn’t belong. I, for one, do not wish to expect a “clean and sober” QBN, only to find some bellend has sabotaged the POTD thread with a goatse.

    So I vote for the sanitation of QBN...under one condition: there MUST be a way to quickly remove shitposts, shitposters, and troll accounts. There must. If there’s no way to stop that, then the you-know-who-you-are’s of the world will just destroy what we vote to create.

    As far as diversity, I think there’s a possibility of abusing that too. We could easily find an untoward moderator asking for “proof pics” of female potentials to give them priority. We could see a lot of things. What management system does QBN have in place to make sure the ship stays on course?

    Finally, there are not-so-obvious subjects to tackle. We have a “shooting of the day” thread. Why? Do we need a constant reminder that the USA’s media is literally obsessed with showing how tornadoes only strike caravan parks? There’s no equal time for such hot-button topics. And, if there becomes one, we’re no longer a Design Community, yeah? Isn’t there enough of that Elsewhere?

    We have a Donnie Drumpf thread. Why? They have that in the States, it’s called “Fox News.” Who gives a toss about foreign governments buggering themselves?

    We have a Cat of the Day thread. Why? There are countless websites, subreddits ad nauseum for cats, going all the way back to hieroglyphics.

    We have threads so abjectly disconnected from Designing Stuff that, as Bennn said, it really hasn’t been a Design board in quite some time. Would we like it to be? Then those seemingly harmless threads have to go too, as much as I personally would not like to see that.

    Finally, for those who’ve been in this game long enough to remember USENET, there used to be a system where, if you wanted a newsgroup called, say, rec.autos.makers.tvr, you would have to post your proposal to REC's RFC thread, get it voted in by the body politik, and THEN it would be approved. I close my rant with a suggestion that something similar be considered, or something where certain “karma” or “upvotes” or whatever participation-trustworthiness-me... means your posts go through immediately, otherwise they are held for approval (whereupon you get a point when it’s posted). Get rid of ALL the non-Design threads, have a rapid-response team to kill off the trolls and the NSFW content, and limit the methods by which the column on the left gets populated.

    “I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”

    You see, Yevgeniy, site for anonymous not productive for dreams of ink and motion. Use QBN. Is nice.

    zarb0z 0Permalink
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    • Let's just say that the high-and-mighty of us work or aspire to work on efforts to encourage a better society.canoe
    • As designers we're not sworn to that often overlooked oath that journalists have which is to promote the truth.canoe
    • Maybe and tangentially, that's the reason why the $5 BS is a part of our collective challenge.canoe
    • But to equate COTD and political discourse is beyond comprehension...canoe
    • Can someone summarize?robotron3k
    • @canoe, if the argument is that QBN is a Design Community, then any thread that isn't design-related needs to go. If that's beyond comprehension, I can't helpzarb0z
    • < best response yet.MrAbominable
    • I think the threads are all organic and putting too many restrictions will be severely limiting. Otherwise we go for a more organised system...Ianbolton
    • Like here are the 10-15 places you can post now and leave it at that. No more new threads? Sounds limiting to me though.Ianbolton
    • If you don't think COTD backs into politics you may be out of touch. Women are people now too, you guys.i_monk
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