ActiveRain removes points for comments!

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ActiveRain removes points for comments!

No you did not miss the Official ActiveRain post about ActiveRain removing points for comment... I am quoting an anonymous friend who was making a wish... "hoping the AR Gods remove points for comments" anonymous because it is said in a Members Only post.

Do you believe ActiveRain should remove points for comments? I should do a poll about that, huh? I like polls...Nah.

The poll is still open - do you prefer "Great post thanks for sharing" or nothing at all?

The problem for a minority of us are the "Great post thanks for sharing" comments, now known as "GPTFS." We don't like "GPTFS" comments on our posts. I am not saying they don't happen on our posts or that we don't "accept them" but I do not want to encourage "GPTFS" comments on my posts.

Don't bother leaving a comment that leaving a GPTFS is being polite. I'm not buying it.

Personally as much as I dislike "GPTFS" comments I think ActiveRain still needs points for comments. ActiveRain may always need points for comments because there will always be new people learning to blog, network and comments encourage people to write on ActiveRain. Congratulations to ActiveRain on 100,000 members and still growing. Congrats to number 99,999, 100,000 and 100,001.

Teri Lussier made a great suggestion about comments, it's here... the modest proposal in True Confessions What I did for ActiveRain Points Teri wrote:

"My modest proposal would be to allow a few bonus points for the author of the post to give to the commenter who adds the best comment. What is the 'best' comment? That would be up to the discretion of the author, but who the winner of these bonus points is, would be immediately made public. That would cut down on buddies giving points to buddies simply because they like each other. The other addition to this fun, would be that the points could change from one person to another if a more thoughtful comment came in later. Think about how much more pleasant it would be to read well-thought out comment after well-thought out comment! Oh, you could still leave your smiley face comments, or whatever you'd like, but perhaps a bit of encouragement to leave a little bit of value, would be a nice thing around here."

Anyone else have a "modest proposal" or even a not so modest proposal about making ActiveRain comment points more meaningful?

OK I am still itching to do a poll and it's been a couple of weeks since I posted the last one... What are you willing to encourage to have comments on your ActiveRain blog? Efficients comments? GPTFS comments? Sock puppet?

Definitions of comments

GPTFS Members Only

Efficient Comments Members Only

Sock Puppet

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Posted by Maureen McCabe Columbus Ohio real estate on 07/26/2008 07:01 AM

Comments (21)

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21 Comments on ActiveRain removes points for comments!

JUL

2008

here are examples of "I'll comment on your blog if you'll comment on mine"

BLa Bla BLogs... Last Comment: 07/17/2008 04:32 PM

Comments is The Name of the GAME. LETS PLAY TO WIN...... Last Comment: 07/17/2008 06:20 AM

Maureen,

Do I see a trend here? You love those polls. I'm not sure yes or no.

I just posted about my Multiple Choice Solution. Maybe it someday will rate up there with GPTFS. :-)

Maureen maybe we should have a ten word minimum for comments, to eliminate those short stupid ones. But then if they are less than ten and sincere it kind of penalizes those people. Don't have an answer for the gamers or the brainless. Why can't we all just act like adults here rather than kids in the schoolyard?

Maureen I agree with Gary and hope this response is exceptable by you. It does not bother me (the Short comments) and should AR see it not to their liking I think they should post their clear intention. My understanding is the 10 word min. I'm here to gain business and not promote comments.

Maureen,

I do not think there is an easy answer to your question nor should there be. Some people, newbie or seasoned, may not have an honest opinion one way or the other on a given topic and would rather encourage the writer and a GPTFS may be the only way to do that. As a matter of fact I have been guilty of that very thing.

BTW, what about writers that don't respond to comments at all, what is your feelings on that?

Don R.

:-D

Maureen - This is not a new idea, it has been said many, many times before: Content that is not quality is simply shit.

You are what you eat and you certainly are what you leave behind.

Just a thought.

JUL

2008

Gary I believe there is a ten word rule? Or maybe it is charchters... I will be commenting on each of your blogs today to test what gets points. Get ready for a "GPTFS."

Short comments don't bother me in the least.

I believe ActiveRain has a word minimum or a character minimum. People have made the statement which I believe is true that the legendary "Great post thanks for sharing" is NOT enough words or characters. The "GPTFS" comments must have more flesh than those 5 words. What is considered a GPTFS commemt by some of us is not something that about a third of those who have answered in my poll two weeks ago want to encourage on OUR posts.

Frank I'm going to make the assumption you mean acceptable not exceptable in answering your comment. Short comments don't bother me in the least. This is not about short comments. A smiley is an acceptable comment on my ActiveRain posts... a one word comment is OK. I don't appreciate the "GPTFS" comments. A cut and paste comment (efficient commenting ) that is left on 9 other posts doesn't thrill me. If that's all someone can get on their blog and it is working for them? More power to them.

My anonymous friend making a wish... may want AR to change the rules. I don't. "hoping the AR Gods remove points for comments"

I think AR did a great job with the Guidelines. They have had to remove a couple of the features because of gamers... the rating system and communities... wondering with the new focus on Localism if communities and neighborhoods will be added again. Or maybe we could still add communities, they just were not worth points.

I don't want ActiveRain to remove points for comments. I have every right to express my contempt for the GPTFS comment on my posts. Just a small minority don't want those on their posts.

I believe discouraging GPTFS and encouraging conversation in comments is a good thing for my blog.

Don asked " BTW, what about writers that don't respond to comments at all, what is your feelings on that?"

To me it is bloggers choice. I don't believe we are obligated to comment back on all comments. I don't. If people feel slighted because of not being commented back to that is unfortunate.

I personally am bored by many of the long threads of comments back and forth on ActiveRain, or even when the blogger uses a comment to respond to each and every person who comments. I lose interest because the conversation is often so diluted so I move along and read something more interessting.

Thanks all for the comments. I love Teri's smiley...

Maureen - Here's my recent observation - with the new localism didn't AR effectively castrate the point system. That was why I cared about points - now we've been vaporized like we never existed - why do points even matter now? Curious about your thoughts :)

Castrate now there's a colorful word. For the longest time I was not a big fan of the point system... Now I think it was ingenious but I think it made for a lot of mediocre blogging AND commenting.

I don't think Local blogging should get a lot of comments. I certainly don't want to focus on local blogging and have posts with a thread of polite "GPTFS" for points or politeness so maybe castrating the point system is a good thing.

I still think there is a point system on ActiveRain and I don't think ActiveRain is going to curl up and die because of Localism. Maybe it will... I'll wait and see.

Mo - I have no doubt AR will be fine I must not have been clear - I know that "we" were whacked off the Localism radar - lol or cry? - So at this point what is the benefit for points now? What do they effect that matters? Am I missing something?

"I know that "we" were whacked off the Localism radar - lol or cry? - So at this point what is the benefit for points now?"

Maybe I don't get how "we" are whacked off the Localism radar...?

If you go to Localism and look up Clearwater Florida - we don't exist (except lol almost ALL the photos are mine) everything else is gone. We had been "top neighbor" under old system and had lots of showing posts - same for Clearwater Beach - I had almost 20 localism features - none of which exist now ...that's what I mean. Now does it make sense? I promise I'm sober right now :)

When it does - I'm still interested in why you think points still have any value?

The last time I whined about it Rich said it is NOT done yet so not to worry about what it looks like now. I had stopped posting to Localism because I wanted to see what it was going to be and because of the garbage comments, so I don't have a lot of visibility there.

I think I posted two new post and reposted two old posts (over six months old so they don't show up?) and a new post today today and as of today I am top neighbor in Franklin County. For now.

I don't think the points ever really had any value, so how could they lose value? The value is in the content. Now if I can redeem the points for something, spend the points on shoes or baubles, the points will have value to me.

Ok - I give up - I must not be explaining it well enough - Anyway for me the points HAVE lost all value so I think your original desire has been achieved - I just wish I'd known before focusing my writing for localism a year+ ago - and never so thankful for my outside blogs. - Enough said.

So last question - you gonna sponsor any neighborhoods?

Neighborhoods.... I'm not telling... You?

JUL

2008

Now I'm ready to discuss AR castrating points.... ouch, ouch, ouch

Here's the thing -- if I put a listing post up I don't really expect comments like "nice house" or "I wish I had a buyer for you" but when I post something about an experience or news item or opinion or whatever I kinda like the GPTFS. At least I know some one is reading it (or maybe they're just going from blog to blog commenting GPTHS without even reading it!)

If you are willing to settle for "GPTFS" on your blog that is fine. I don't think it is going to do much for the readers reading the post if that is the extent of the conversation in the comments, but if that works for you and your blog, that's great.

Teri said on another post... that she tries to draw the "GPTFS" folks into a conversation.... I ignore them. I want to discourage them from commenting on my posts.

JUL

2008

Why is this showing up on Localism? It is not checked for Localism.

It is not on my outside AR blog...

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Maureen McCabe Columbus Ohio real estate

Columbus, OH

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