Anonymous/Burner Accounts and CD Etiquette

[SamcFuchs]

I can see where you're coming from, but personally, I support the use of throwaways. I can understand someone wanting to contribute to the conversation, but wanting to keep their opinion separate from the rest of their reputation in the robotics community.

I'll give an example. I'm gay. If, say, Karthik were homophobic, that would really suck. I can't support that. However, if Karthik wants to add his (hypothetically homophobic) opinion to a conversation about the representation of LGBT teenagers in FIRST, shouldn't he be able to do so without running the risk of ruining his reputation as a brilliant strategist and analyst? Would CD look at him in the same way if he held such an unpopular opinion?

Using a throwaway allows people (anyone) to contribute to a conversation without putting their reputation on the line. If someone holds an unpopular decision, that could change the way they are perceived forever, and that's not a risk anyone should have to take. Controversial opinions are vital to a healthy discussion of any topic, and throwaways allow people to contribute them.

IMHO.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by SamcFuchs

I'll give an example. I'm gay. If, say, Karthik were homophobic, that would really suck. I can't support that. However, if Karthik wants to add his (hypothetically homophobic) opinion to a conversation about the representation of LGBT teenagers in FIRST, shouldn't he be able to do so without running the risk of ruining his reputation as a brilliant strategist and analyst? Would CD look at him in the same way if he held such an unpopular opinion?

I'm not sure how I feel about this hypothetical situation. Before this somehow gets misinterpreted, I would like to state that I am an avid supporter and fighter for LGBT rights and not homophobic. I just don't want someone to mistake your hypothetical for fact.

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by SamcFuchs

I can see where you're coming from, but personally, I support the use of throwaways. I can understand someone wanting to contribute to the conversation, but wanting to keep their opinion separate from the rest of their reputation in the robotics community.

I'll give an example. I'm gay. If, say, Karthik were homophobic, that would really suck. I can't support that. However, if Karthik wants to add his (hypothetically homophobic) opinion to a conversation about the representation of LGBT teenagers in FIRST, shouldn't he be able to do so without running the risk of ruining his reputation as a brilliant strategist and analyst? Would CD look at him in the same way if he held such an unpopular opinion?

Using a throwaway allows people (anyone) to contribute to a conversation without putting their reputation on the line. If someone holds an unpopular decision, that could change the way they are perceived forever, and that's not a risk anyone should have to take. Controversial opinions are vital to a healthy discussion of any topic, and throwaways allow people to contribute them.

IMHO.

The issue is anonomy removes accountability. There are plenty of times I wanted an anon account to post my unpopular opinions. If I did my reputation bar would be all green apposed to Christmas themed. But, if I am going to throw my opinion out there then what's the use if I don't use my real identify.

[unpopularideas]

Originally Posted by SamcFuchs

I can see where you're coming from, but personally, I support the use of throwaways. I can understand someone wanting to contribute to the conversation, but wanting to keep their opinion separate from the rest of their reputation in the robotics community.

I'll give an example. I'm gay. If, say, Karthik were homophobic, that would really suck. I can't support that. However, if Karthik wants to add his (hypothetically homophobic) opinion to a conversation about the representation of LGBT teenagers in FIRST, shouldn't he be able to do so without running the risk of ruining his reputation as a brilliant strategist and analyst? Would CD look at him in the same way if he held such an unpopular opinion?

Using a throwaway allows people (anyone) to contribute to a conversation without putting their reputation on the line. If someone holds an unpopular decision, that could change the way they are perceived forever, and that's not a risk anyone should have to take. Controversial opinions are vital to a healthy discussion of any topic, and throwaways allow people to contribute them.

IMHO.

The issue here is that generally CD has a very specific socio-political view, of not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. Is this what Gracious Professionalism is? Is the idea that your personal opinions regarding a matter are negative just because they don't agree with CD's Norm? That is why I use a burner account, I want to voice my opinion, but not have people openly disregarding all of my opinions due to one opinion they disagree with.

[BrennanB]

Originally Posted by unpopularideas

The issue here is that generally CD has a very specific socio-political view, of not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. Is this what Gracious Professionalism is? Is the idea that your personal opinions regarding a matter are negative just because they don't agree with CD's Norm? That is why I use a burner account, I want to voice my opinion, but not have people openly disregarding all of my opinions due to one opinion they disagree with.

I actually believe it's quite the opposite, people ARE willing to hurt other peoples feelings by replying/negative repping etc. The reason people make burner accounts is so that if their opinion is ridiculed and considered offensive/stupid they have zero repercussions. That or they just blatantly want to say something they know will be considered offensive, so they would rather not have any responsibility for it.

CD has progressively become a more and more hiveminded group of people for many of the popular threads. Lots of people looking for recognition in the community as "best at this" or "knows a lot about that" as the way that some of the pseudo "celebrity" CDers we have are. People want to be the person that writes that oneliner with all the green dots that people make a thread about to try and figure out what that one liner with not the most substance in it actually means. Or make the funny jokes that everyone laughs at. Too many new students/mentors/people are posting just for that reason. Not to actually be helpful and provide constructive praise/criticism/help to a thread. Instead they resort to lame jokes (some jokes on CD are very funny, most are not) pointing out mistakes, blindly promoting their team/region/whatever, and complaining about teams/refs/volunteers/rules/etc without substance/solutions.

But I guess it's just an internet forum, can't expect too much quality.

[unpopularideas]

Originally Posted by BrennanB

I actually believe it's quite the opposite, people ARE willing to hurt other peoples feelings by replying/negative repping etc. The reason people make burner accounts is so that if their opinion is ridiculed and considered offensive/stupid they have zero repercussions. snip...

Well hold on.... don't generalize here. I use a burner account for multiple reasons...

A. I want to keep my team safe from any repercussions of MY actions.
B. I do not want the harassment from others who disagree with what I say. (Both in the World of FIRST and of Chief Delphi) If you want to have an open minded conversation with me that is fine, but calling me bigoted, sexist, etc. is often what results in the sharing of my opinions.
C. Sometimes, I need to discuss things about my team with a larger audience. Issues arise and I have no clue who to deal with them, so I turn to you guys for help. Some of my opinions my team cannot know of because, as I have discussed elsewhere, I will get terminated from the only team within 20 miles of me.

Also, for someone's assured response of - "Just put 'My posts do not reflect the opinions of my team or its affiliates' in your signature". Well, I dont see that as enough.

Also, Post Morphing has become rampant here

[BrennanB]

Originally Posted by unpopularideas

Well hold on.... don't generalize here. I use a burner account for multiple reasons...

A. I want to keep my team safe from any repercussions of MY actions.
B. I do not want the harassment from others who disagree with what I say. (Both in the World of FIRST and of Chief Delphi) If you want to have an open minded conversation with me that is fine, but calling me bigoted, sexist, etc. is often what results in the sharing of my opinions.
C. Sometimes, I need to discuss things about my team with a larger audience. Issues arise and I have no clue who to deal with them, so I turn to you guys for help. Some of my opinions my team cannot know of because, as I have discussed elsewhere, I will get terminated from the only team within 20 miles of me.

Also, for someone's assured response of - "Just put 'My posts do not reflect the opinions of my team or its affiliates' in your signature". Well, I dont see that as enough.

Also, Post Morphing has become rampant here

Moved burner account discussion to here so we don't further derail the original intent of the thread.

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by BrennanB

People want to be the person that writes that oneliner with all the green dots that people make a thread about to try and figure out what that one liner with not the most substance in it actually means. Or make the funny jokes that everyone laughs at. Too many new students/mentors/people are posting just for that reason. Not to actually be helpful and provide constructive praise/criticism/help to a thread.

A little off topic, but I agree with this 100%. The worst when someone posts an unpopular opinion and then a 'respected' member posts a meme about "I'm gonna have to get my popcorn ready for this!". It adds nothing to the conversation and just encourages others to bash the unpopular opinion.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

A little off topic, but I agree with this 100%. The worst when someone posts an unpopular opinion and then a 'respected' member posts a meme about "I'm gonna have to get my popcorn ready for this!". It adds nothing to the conversation and just encourages others to bash the unpopular opinion.

Firing shots there, John?

FWIW, I don't do this with "unpopular" opinions, I do this when I know a Summer CD thread will devolve into stupidity.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=14

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Firing shots there, John?

FWIW, I don't do this with "unpopular" opinions, I do this when I know a Summer CD thread will devolve into stupidity.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=14

Shoot, I meant to post that with my burner account

While I'm not a fan of those posts, that one wasn't a major offender and you still have a very high 'quality post' to 'fluff/joke post' ratio.

[wilsonmw04]

The irony of a thread on anonymous accounts fill with posts from anonymous accounts.

"burner" accounts need to stop. If you can't stand behind what you are saying or doing, hide behind anonymity. It's not professional in the least.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Firing shots there, John?

FWIW, I don't do this with "unpopular" opinions, I do this when I know a Summer CD thread will devolve into stupidity.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=14

Consider the message it sends when a well-respected CD member preemptively concludes that a thread will have no merit. Does that encourage other members to take the topic seriously or does it, perhaps, lead others to take it less seriously, ensuring it does, in fact, devolve into stupidity?

Maybe a bit chicken and egg, but I often wonder if nothing said at all is better in those cases.

[GreyingJay]

I do not think anonymous accounts should be used to post "unpopular" opinions or to troll.

I do think there can be a legitimate use case for asking questions or soliciting advice about team dynamics without identifying the team in question.

For example, in some purely hypothetical situations, maybe I'm having trouble with a particular problem student (or mentor, or sponsor, or parent, or...) and I need to ask for advice about how to deal with it. Or maybe my team had a real problem with someone from team XYZ at a recent competition. Or, for a more positive spin, maybe I want to collect ideas for how to celebrate team achievements, such as a really great mentor or student. In these cases I would not necessarily want to post that with my full team attribution, knowing that my teammates are reading.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by GreyingJay

I do not think anonymous accounts should be used to post "unpopular" opinions or to troll.

I do think there can be a legitimate use case for asking questions or soliciting advice about team dynamics without identifying the team in question.

When I was starting out on CD and posted a lot of stupid things, I would just PM the big names in FRC and ask for advice. Literally every time they would reply with essays. With them knowing my team, the situation, and the context of the problem, they were able to help more than random shots in the dark like most anonymous threads asking for help end up. Additionally, it creates an unfair bias because the person answering cannot know other sides of the issue. They can't reach out and really help the team itself. Typically, if they know the team number, they can find out more and get to the root causes of an issue.

If people want real advice about their teams, just PM someone. I encourage students and mentors to PM me if you want, but there are much better people who can dish out advice and I've never met one who won't help.

I think the fact that kids and adults here can't vocalize issues with their names attached isn't helping them for when they need to confront people with real issues in real life.

-Akash

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

When I was starting out on CD and posted a lot of stupid things, I would just PM the big names in FRC and ask for advice. Literally every time they would reply with essays. With them knowing my team, the situation, and the context of the problem, they were able to help more than random shots in the dark like most anonymous threads asking for help end up. Additionally, it creates an unfair bias because the person answering cannot know other sides of the issue. They can't reach out and really help the team itself

If people want real advice about their teams, just PM someone. I encourage students and mentors to PM me if you want, but there are much better people who can dish out advice and I've never met one who won't help.

-Akash

It's plausible that those in distress are also ignorant of this channel at the outset.

I do believe that moderators control the queue of new threads from new accounts, so those that fall into the center of the Venn Diagram of "CD Mods" and "wise mentors" in theory could keep those threads on ice and handle it in PMs themselves.

That's a hypothetical, however.