Are Chief Delphi users thin-skinned?

[Conor Ryan]

I've been posting on CD frequently now for about a year, and I've noticed a few things about it. The major thing though is timing, you posted a touchy thread right in the middle of build season. And in build season, everyone has a short temper, why? We have 6 weeks to go from start to finish, its a very high pressure situation for all of us.

That was probably the main reason why as many people gave you Negative rep as they did, but hey lets go review how exactly reputation works

Originally Posted by Negative Reputation FAQ

What are good and bad things to give negative reputation for? Negative reputation should be given if the person is posting something that detracts from the conversation. If the post is rude, inappropriate, breaks forum rules, is not gracious, etc; these are all good reasons to give negative reputation. If you have a personal grudge with someone, their team, etc, is it not appropriate to give them negative reputation for no reason. Giving negative reputation because you don't agree with what was said is not an appropraite use of the reputation system. People are entitled to their own opinions, and just because you don't agree doesn't mean the user was wrong or not contributing to the conversation.

I hope that explains it some more, the rep system is full of Grey area, my best advise is most definetly, THINK BEFORE YOU POST, my second best is, does this offend anyone? and my third would be Does this post benefit from discussion?

Of course you can always review the stickies (*gasp*!) what a concept

[Cody Carey]

Nobody in real life paints a number on me that everyone else everywhere can see... a number that will cause pre-concieved Ideas about me. i.e.) You don't know whether or not I am the most popular kid in my school.
( I was talking about figurative dots too)

AND...

If you are in a professional environment, of course you have a reputation, but we are in a peer environment, Not many people choose whether or not they are going to hire anybody based on chiefdelphi.

[Chriszuma]

Originally Posted by Steve W

Sorry to rain on your parade but reputation is not between two people. I have worked for 31 years in a company where your reputation arrives well before you do. It doesn't take long to lose a good reputation but it takes years to get it back. I have learned that hard way that there are ways to speak your mind and still have a good reputation. It is a skill that your must learn and the sooner the better if you plan on succeeding in the business world.

I've experienced this phenomenon of disproportionate effort required to gain or lose reputation just by being on a robot team. After I do something stupid it takes a long time for people to stop hassling me about it. But when I finish the electronics board and the operator interface on schedule, my respect level doesn't really increase that much.

... It just makes me want to sing an Aretha Franklin song...

[Nuttyman54]

I would like to propose an alternative to jumping on the Negative Rep button. While it can be useful, it often has the effect of getting the person more mad and bitter (and often quite defensive), rather than actually solving the problem. The solution: Follow Arefin Bari's method.
In the game hint discussion this year, I made a post that was quite harsh on one of the senior members of the forum. Instead of giving me negative reps, Arefin sent me an IM (PM's will work too) and calmly asked that I remove the post. I did. Problem solved, no feelings hurt, and no reps lost. I felt that it got the message across much better than negative reps would have.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Cody C

Nobody in real life paints a number on me that everyone else everywhere can see... a number that will cause pre-concieved Ideas about me. i.e.) ...

You in right... ...In real life, you paint the number on your OWN forehead.

How you dress, how you look, what expression you have on your face, your body language, etc.

You may not see the number but it is there.

People make unfair, unscientific, snap evaluations of other people all the time. It is the norm, not the exception.

Think about it.

Joe J.

[Brandon Martus]

My two contributions to this thread:

1) If you think you are getting rep points unfairly, send me a PM¹ rather than PM'ing the rep givers with vulgarity, threats, and other messages that aren't helping your situation. If you're getting unfairly attacked, we can do something positive and productive about it .. rather than sending inappropriate messages to those who have given the negative rep.

2) They're just dots. You can get them back.



¹include a link to the post, please.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

[quote=Cody C]Nobody in real life paints a number on me that everyone else everywhere can see... [\QUOTE]

Untrue...While it may not be a number, you give yourself a reputation (For better or for worse). In your actions, your words, and your mannerisms you are being judged by your peers, always.

In business, that reputation will make or break you...It will get you that great promotion or hold it back.

Here in CD, we can only see the words you have typed. And that is all we have to go on. Until your reputation exceeds those little red / green dots you will be percieved by them, and the posts you make. Choosing those words wisely is sometimes an artform.

Disagreeing with someone is fine as long as you do not degrade or attack the poster. Reread your post and ask yourself -- are you discussing the message or the poster. If it is the poster you should probably re do your post.

Anyways, this is just my opinion on the subject.

[IraJason]

Well let's see, I'm going to share my view of what reputation is...

Reputation is how you present yourself to the world. If you act nice and are generally kind to others, you will have a good reputation, and people will look highly of you because of that. If you constantly bad mouth others and look down upon your peers, you will get a bad reputation, and people will be reluctant to work or associate with you.

As many people have said, it takes quite a bit of hard work to gain a good reputation, but only one mistake to give you a bad one. People are quick to judge, and just one slip, especially when people don't know you, can ruin people's perception of you. And while people may not think highly of you for a single comment, it is not the end of the world. Go out there, make yourself known, show that it was just a mistake and you truly are a good person. While one mistake can affect you for the near future, having a long running positive attitude towards yourself and others shows people your true nature for the long run.

Word about someone's reputation does get around, even if it was only a confrontation between two people. The bad does seem to spread faster then then good, but that is why someone should be as professional and courteous as possible to everyone that they meet. While you may not physically have a dot over your head that says whether you are a good or bad person, from what people hear about you, they will judge you for. By being a generally good person overall, you shouldn't have to worry about how people judge you, even if you do make one or two mistakes here and there.

As long as you continually show yourself to be a good person, whether it be on these forums or in real life, its ok to screw up once in a while. Just show the world who you really are and your reputation will reflect that.

[aaeamdar]

Originally Posted by J Flex 188

I feared that this day would be a long time coming. I hope that everyone who reads this thread or posts maintains an open mind about it, because something like this has the propensity to cause a ton of controversy. But at the same time, I believe that this thread should be left open because of the concerns that it raises.

For shortness, I just quoted the one paragraph.

I was going to say something long, but then this durn guy above me meant and stole all of my ideas.

I too think reputation is fairly silly. For one thing, if you were truly interested, it's possible to give yourself as much rep as you want.

Recently, one of my teammates got bad rep for having his signature be 10 pixels too many. I agree with what Flex said. While pyro's thoughts were not well-considered, there was no particularly objectionable part.

To answer the question: yes, I think CD users are highly over-sensitive.

Paul Dennis

[Greg Ross]

And the winner of the second Occasional Grammar Curmudgeon Gold Star award for commendable use of the subjunctive mood is... (drum roll, please...)

Originally Posted by IraJason

As long as you continually show yourself to be a good person, whether it be on these forums or in real life, its ok to screw up once in a while. Just show the world who you really are and your reputation will reflect that.

Congratulations, Ira!



My apologies to anyone whose subjunctivity I may have have overlooked. PM me if you would like to make a nomination.

[aaeamdar]

Originally Posted by IraJason

Well... after reading your thread, you did come off as a bit negative towards rookie teams.

In fact, our team has been praised by some for getting as far as we have this season. Everyone here is just trying to help each other out, and it is usually frowned upon when somebody says something offensive or rude about other members of the FIRST community, especially when they are new and are trying to be accepted into the community as a whole.

I would encourage everyone here to go and read the thread. While it is true that we frown upon rude or offensive behaviour and we definitely /should/ frown upon it, this statement implies something that is not exactly true. I agree with you that rookie teams are not looked down upon.
upon upon upon.

Paul Dennis

[aaeamdar]

Originally Posted by IraJason

Well let's see, I'm going to share my view of what reputation is...

Reputation is how you present yourself to the world. If you act nice and are generally kind to others, you will have a good reputation, and people will look highly of you because of that. If you constantly bad mouth others and look down upon your peers, you will get a bad reputation, and people will be reluctant to work or associate with you.

I agree totally with what you've said. It's factually true. However, a couple quick points before my mentor picks me up by the scruff of my neck and dumps me in the snow:

1. If someone gets a bad rep, they can start a new account.

2. If someone has good rep, you are much less likely to give them bad rep and much more likely to give them good rep, simply based on the fact that they currently have a high rep. This is simply a fact.

Gotta run, seen some great thoughts here. Keep thinkin the good think!

Paul Dennis

[Joe Johnson]

Wired magazine has just published an article titled that I think applies to much of this discussion: The Secret Cause of Flame Wars

I highly recommend the article. I think that some of our problem is just that folks really cannot communicate ideas and intent through text message.

Think about it when you write a message. Complex emotions & feelings are likely to be misunderstood by a significant fraction of your readers...

...For what it is worth.

Joe J.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by aaeamdar

I too think reputation is fairly silly. For one thing, if you were truly interested, it's possible to give yourself as much rep as you want.

Although the reputation system may be flawed, it does have a set task - and that is to show which members of these forums have posted a lot of positive posts which contributed a lot to the the Chief Delphi community. This is a good way to show (more or less) who are the people to ask for help, or who are the people who are "role models" for the rest of the CD community.

I don't know about other people, but I always think twice before I hit the "Submit" button. If I am in a bad mood and the post reflects it, or if the post I am writing is not coming out clearly, or if the post I am writing doesn't contribute anything to the thread, I am more willing to forget it, close the tab, and move on. Having quality posts is much better than having quantity posts.

Originally Posted by aaeamdar

Recently, one of my teammates got bad rep for having his signature be 10 pixels too many. I agree with what Flex said. While pyro's thoughts were not well-considered, there was no particularly objectionable part.

Giving someone bad reputation points for having a signature that is 10 pixels too long may be a bit too extreme. Sending the user a PM, IM, or email is a much better choice than giving them bad reputation.

[pyroslev]

Reptation does not matter to me. Mine has been all over.

At times, some things are blown out of porportions. Some are not. The thing is that some posts (and if I step on toes, it's the truth) people are tired and stressed and posts. (Been there in a bad way.)

Simple answer to the thread's question: People can be overly sensitive and overreact at times but who does not. CD is no different.