rubberslug at 5

Our somewhat official birthday is August 16, 2001.

So, happy (early) birthday, Rubberslug. For what it's worth, all of this was built on code that is mostly five years old. It's been long overdue for an update.

But websites are boring. Let's talk about cel collecting.

An phenomenon that we (Rubberslug staff) predicted a few years would eventually come to pass is starting to emerge. For convenience, we can call it The Splintering.

Baylor (and others) have posted about this in detail:
http://allenschezar.rubberslug.com/gallery/weblog.asp

From previous experience, face-to-face interaction greatly reduces willingness to be uncivil. Humans, as a rule unless they are conditioned otherwise, are pretty bad at willfully hurting someone they are personally acquainted with. We are social creatures want to be liked.

So, things like gatherings at conventions help. Notice how very rarely do people who have met at these things end up in arguments with each other? It's not an accident. It's most definitely by design.

My question is this: moving forward, how would you suggest that Rubberslug use its position as a community resource to combat the rising tide of snarkiness? Be as creative as you like with your suggestions.




----

As a side note, something amusing that I like to tell people about problems like this:

[i]"You can patch software, but you can't patch people."[/i]

Happy Early Birthday RS!

I think, as you mentioned Jason, the anonymity factor of the web makes it that bit easier to carry on childish behavior.

One small way to prevent some of that "CB" is requiring feedback with ratings. Honest criticism or praise given non-anonymously (couldn't think of a better word) would at least stop people from messing with the ratings.

As for the other petty nonsense, I couldn't begin to help you there.

LOL Rubberslug just in that cranky toddler faze XD! Sorry couldn't resist the analogy. Happiest of Birthdays Rubberslug :D! To all the Rubberslug staffers a *cheers* and keep up the wonderful work!
On the issue of "the splintering" I do think the fact that most collectors haven't met face to face is a big issue. I know one collector on beta who suggested a get together of surrounding collectors, so maybe a few outings like these might help to bring the collector's a little closer.
Besides that all I can think to say is that the Rubberslug group of collector's need be mindful of general respectfulness, and be conscious of what they're saying whether on chat or in the blogs. Despite what some might think, what comes across via the web is just as hurtful, or maybe more so in some instances, as what is said face to face. The web gives us the chance to review what we plan to say before we say it, so put some thought in it. If you think something sounds offensive it probably does.
In other words "love and peace baby, love and peace"

Well the face-to-face interaction issue can be solved very easily. Just make attendance to Ralph-Con mandatory for all Rubbersluggers and all will be fine :P ~_^

On a serious note though, I agree with birdie's suggestion regarding the ratings feature. It's so easy for someone to give retaliatory ratings simply based on their mood, grudge with the curator, etc. That's not to say that the addition of requiring feedback with ratings would stop that kind of nonsense, but it may help in keeping it from being a major problem.

Sometimes, though, I wonder why we even have a ratings system at all. Maybe the feedback option should be the only thing available?

Regarding the chatroom, perhaps you should make a seperate page that must be visited before one can access the chatroom. On that page you can inform people who are entering the chatroom about the rules, such as no flaming and all that other stuff that tends to lead towards hurt feelings. And also that people shouldn't copy and paste text from the chatroom without the express permission from all that are in the chatroom. Don't know if these suggestions would fly, but hey it's just a thought.

Anywho, Happy 5th Birthday Rubberslug! Kudos to Jason and all the Mods who keep this place up and running. I haven't been here since the beginning, but I hope to be here to enjoy Rubberslug for many years to come ^_^

- RalphVboy

Personally, I have noticed a drop in chat, and I think we all know why. I propose an age limit for chat. Chat used to be a place where folks felt comfortable to talk about ANYTHING. It was so much more friendly then. Now, we have to watch what we say for fear of offending the younger entrants. I say no one under 18 allowed in chat.

I think E is doing a great job in terms of cutting down the number of sale blogs. Hats off to him for his vigilance.

As for snarkiness, I agree with the idea of getting rid of ratings. If you want to compliment someone's gallery, do so in feedback. And as for harsh feedback, I think an automatic ban from RS is in order for those who use the feedback system to harass others. E's approach works for me: break the rules, and take a hike.

Happy birthday to RS! My anniversary is coming in October!