Attack of the unrecommend trolls

[panader0]

I've only been on a short while this morning and have seen many posts unrec'd. Most got it immediately and they didn't seem like the kind of contentious posts that get unrecs. I think that someone feels it is their job to just automatically unrec posts.

[kentuck]

1. Maybe they just don' like the poster?

Or maybe they are just small, petty, snide people? Nothing we can do about that.

[TexasObserver]

15. Maybe they think threads that lack merit should be Unrecommended.

Maybe they tire of posters who think their every thought deserves a new thread.

[kentuck]

23. Very true.

:-)

[Echo In Light]

24. it only "lacks merit" though if they don't like what the poster represents

That's why some, even though they insist the rec/unrec option is meaningless/irrelevant, immediately get very belligerent and name-calling nasty w/anyone who espouses a contrary view. There's a mob mentality aspect to it that seems to have a life and motive of its own aside from simply perceiving the unrec option in any one way.

[xultar]

28. Unrec just means it doesn't make the greatest page. It has nothing to do with merit.

[Echo In Light]

35. We're speculating as to personal motivations re the tone of certain people's responses

An entirely separate issue from the substance of the thread, which in this case is merely an opinion.

[omega minimo]

41. Making the Greatest Page "has nothing to do with merit"?

:shrug:

[xultar]

52. Yes. A post can have merit and not be on the greatest page. Happens all the time.

[omega minimo]

40. !

The mob has spoken.

[marmar]

2. There's an automatic unrec brigade, esp. with anti-corporate or pro-single payer posts. But....

it all balances out in the end. Important threads get their recs eventually.

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. When you see unusual unrecs...

When you see unusual unrecs, alert on the OP and ask that the mods forward the alert onto the big three and Lythos for investigation.

And now that I thought of that action, I shall go back to a thread with an unusual unrec and do just that.

[TexasObserver]

18. Good threads have no problem getting recommends.

Stinkers do.

[Gold Metal Flake]

25. Way to miss the point.

[TexasObserver]

30. Way to ignore the truth.

There are mostly bad threads that should be unrecommended.

You get one vote. Use it as you see fit, and stop imagining that everyone who doesn't share your opinion is being irrational or disruptive. The last thing mods need is a bunch of posters alerting because in their gut, they just feel there's too many Unrecommends on a thread.

[Gold Metal Flake]

31. You are still ignoring my point.

I'm not surprised. Your posts have been mighty interesting this morning.

[TexasObserver]

33. You're being paranoid, with no rational basis.

Your posts have been mighty TIN FOIL this morning.

[Gold Metal Flake]

47. Your posts have been full of "concern".

[omega minimo]

43. "stop imagining that everyone who doesn't share your opinion is being irrational or disruptive"

[omega minimo]

42. What are "unusual unrecs"?

[panader0]

49. What I was refering to were posts like Atmans fine cartoons

They were quite good and only up for a few seconds before getting unrec'd. They were against insurance companies. There were several more this morning, but no one got as manu unrecs as me. Yah!

[FSogol]

4. With sites like digg and Amazon, internet users are encouraged to add their 2 cents to everything.

So, we are stuck with people who feel it is their duty to give a thumbs up or down to everything.

Why take it personal or call the people doing it trolls?

[MNDemNY]

5. K&UnRec

[MNDemNY]

6. K&UnRec

[Iggo]

7. It's not my job. It's my pleasure. K&U. (n/t)

[sailor65]

8. Time for a DeadHorse smiley, I guess.......n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

34. No smiley but here's a .gif for you;

[sailor65]

38. Perfect....

Thanks!

[lamp_shade]

9. I've notice too but it seems to be just small handful of "disgruntleds".

[Echo In Light]

17. Not unlike some of the belligerent anti-healthcare groups

[SidDithers]

10. I only regret that I have but one unrec to give to this thread...nt

Sid

[xultar]

22. A-fucking-men

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Unrec'd this OP on general principle

:rofl:

[TexasObserver]

12. Most threads, such as this one, clearly earn their Unrecommend.

Very few threads in GD are recommend worthy. They're mainly people posting the latest thought to pop into their head, not topics or OPs of substance.

[WilliamPitt]

13. People. Need. Hobbies.

It blows my mind. I mean, it's a little scary. People really have nothing better to do with their time?

Hobbies. Or a nap. Something.

So fucking weird.

[NoPasaran]

14. Would an Unrecommend by another name feel so sweet?

[Regret My New Name]

44. Agree/Disagree?

I didn't interpret that to be the meaning behind the function though... I'd be more willing to rec a post I disagree with if I thought it was interesting or well written, than I would a poorly/boring/typical post I agree with... Ehnnn.

I might be wrong in how it was intended to be used though... Either way, I guess people are using it out of spite... which sucks, me thinks.

[omega minimo]

46. Ah, but imagine the power of UNUNrec!!

[Maru Kitteh]

16. When I trip over someone's lower lip sticking out and hear crying about unreccing

guess what I do?

[Peacetrain]

19. I think sometimes a person just develops a "fan club".. and they could post

the lottery numbers and get a unrec.

[Vickers]

20. Even with Unrecs, the cream rises to the top.

Good luck with this piece of shit thread.

:P

[xultar]

21. Unrec means it doesn't make the greatest page, so what's the big deal?

[UTUSN]

26. The Hugo idolaters prove how to surpress via UnRekkk. See LBN.

Any item negative to Huguito automatically gets irreparably UnRekkk-ed.

[Forkboy]

27. It's a vast Hugo conspiracy.

[mkultra]

29. usually the HIGH POST TROLLS are the unrec victims

those trolls who have worked diligently to cultivate a high post count as a shelter against the stone.

[slackmaster]

32. It IS my job to automatically Unrec certain categories of posts

- Sarah Palin

- Birthers

- Group narcissism

- Anti-Unrec

[TexasObserver]

36. Add these ...

- Puppies

- Cats

- You Go Girl

- Hey, where's (missing DUer) been?

- Fuck those fuckety fuckers!

- Look what the Freepers are saying!


If people want to have those conversations, fine, but why expect them to be recommended to the Greatest Page?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. You know what they say about conspiracy theorists.

They have to keep inventing conspiracy theorists to explain why they suck at life.

[omega minimo]

39. .

:popcorn:

[Regret My New Name]

45. heh... This is still going on?

I thought this would have faded away by now...

[PurityOfEssence]

48. It's the echo-chamber hermit's revenge

Far too many people view this place as a sacred refuge from an annoying world where differing opinions are heard. To them, it is a right to quash any rumblings of dissent so their bliss isn't rattled or their opinions questioned, even if it radically skews the discourse in a way that distorts a reasonable representation of consensus.

Many people like the idea of a fairly unfiltered forum (albeit one with a proclaimed progressive population) as a place where one can experience what's really out there in our subculture.

For the Commissars of group-think, such tolerance is calumny.

Unrec is the intellectual equivalent of a sitcom laugh-track: telling you what's important and what's "bad". Instead of letting ideas and opinions rise and fall on their merit or the skill of their proponents to make a case, the door of moral outrage must be slammed loudly to inform others that certain opinions deserve no airing.

Still, it's just another manifestation of abuse of certain controls that have long been present here. The difference is that things like "ignore" only really affect oneself, whereas this function is more of a whackipedic shortcut to marginalizing the cynics and skeptics.

[MoonRiver]

50. People Unrec for 2 reasons:

1.) They don't like the subject of the thread.
2.) They don't like the original poster.

What's going on with the Unrec function is an entirely subjective, emotional knee jerk reaction.

[panader0]

51. Well, I guess I cleaned up in both catagories.

Some here at DU are friendly, helpful etc. Some are always in a bad mood, waiting to find some post to jump on to spill their bile.
Most are quite intelligent, but some are intolerant of those they consider beneath them.

[MoonRiver]

54. It's greatly diminished the quality of discourse here, imho.

What I seems to be happening is a constant game of Unrec "gotcha." Don't take it personally. I tried to rec the thread but too many Unrecers piled on.

[PurityOfEssence]

55. and many of those are with the status quo

To have the slightest problem with the administration, EVEN if it's a problem from the left, is to walk into the lion's den wearing a meat necktie.

Yeah, yeah, boo-hoo and all that.

Assholism is an equal-opportunity affliction, and the unrec function is a fine arrow in the quiver of the beastly.

Sadly, many interesting threads need some time to percolate and develop, and this is yet another mechanism by which they don't.

There's a concept of community, tolerance and curiosity that is a bit hard to explain to many who only view their success by their ability to humiliate or silence those who disagree. Lest we forget, there are plenty here who are simply seeking approval from others for how well they slag dissenters. It all devolves into a very junior high school kind of joy at hounding the misfits, and the victory of the individual completely eclipses the importance of the interplay of ideas and the flow of information.

Some of the very worst drive-by loudmouths who revel in the sneering couple-of-words put-down are COMPLETELY in lockstep with those who want this place to be nothing more than a celebrity fan site for the administration and its pristine altruism.

Personally, as a liberal, I like to hear what people are really feeling, and beyond the gentlemanly gate-keeping credo of the board to keep it a forum for non-reactionaries, I'd like to not have people piled on with adolescent peer-pressure when they happen to pipe up with something a bit unflattering to our side.

Apparently, it's here to stay, and we'll see how it plays out over time.

[Echo In Light]

58. It would be fantastic if these forums were video responses! It would be VERY telling

...in many instances in allowing people to get a better handle on which personality types tend toward which positions.

I suspect that for a sizable %, it would help to bring some of those up on the fence down to one side or the other once certain posters could no longer dress up their hatred/venom...cause it would show on camera.

Stop and imagine how hateful some posters are, and then imagine that you've, say, walked outside and saw your neighbor taking out the trash, or something along those lines, and you (poster a) approach them and strike up a convo with him or her (poster b), and then, suddenly a neighbor (poster c) from across the street runs out, gets directly in between you and your neighbor, and assails you in the mocking, hateful tone that denotes the favored approach of certain internet posters.

If it seems unlikely to many, it's because it basically is, given that assholes like that prefer a consequence free zone to spew their venom. In fact, the only time I've encountered such open belligerence in real, face to face time, was in encountering drunken goons when I played in metal bar bands, or, going way back to adolescent schoolyard bullies. In either instance, both of those examples involved males who would only act out that way to others because they had safety in numbers. Blowhards never go it alone, and some apparently live to basically name-call others online, even when dressed up in 'objective' garb.

[xultar]

63. I unrec because I think it doesn't belong on the greatest page. Which is

actually what the outcome is.

So if that is the most that can happen..what is the big deal?

[masuki bance]

53. I automatically unrec any threads that whine about unrecs. nt

[panader0]

57. My point was not to "whine" about unrecs

My point was that some posts (not mine) this morning seemed to have been ambushed for NO reason. I am usually quite surprised when I see a respectable post shot down within seconds with no explanation. This happened to Atman's post this morning, and yet the post went on to the greatest page. Of course, as many here have pointed out, undeserving posts shouldn't be on the greatest page. So, I guess, just don't rec them. What I saw didn't seem right, I posted about it, and got flamed.

[masuki bance]

59. Stop whining. nt

[Generator]

56. The unrecommended idea

is the most dumb assed idea on DU ever. It is meaningless and only leads to bullshit-ie the only reason people are unrecomending is either they don't like you, they don't like your friends, or GOD forbid something negative was said about Obama. Another site said it was the final nail in the DU coffin. Probably. WHAT is the point? I think it's stupid but hey it keeps people like me that are critical of all people with power *even Dems" from posting. HEY that's the point.

[Sebastian Doyle]

60. "I think that someone feels it is their job to just automatically unrec posts."

Indeed it is. Just like it was their job to rig online polls here for a certain Clinton stalking horse candidate in the 2003-04 Presidential primaries (who inexplicably "won" many of those polls, despite only having a handful of supporters ever actually present on the board.)

If you could subpoena the IP logs, I'll bet you would find a lot of similarities in the patterns in both instances.

[xultar]

61. ROFL. And what doest all that mean to the world. Did we just solve the Mid East crisis?

I mean seriously what does DU mean in the scheme of things.

DU is but a pimple on the ass of a very large planet.

[gkhouston]

62. Oh, please. If we visited this subject any more often, I'd need an EZ pass for the toll road.

:eyes:

[TrogL]

64. My name is TrogL and I'm an unrecommend troll

But I specialize in un-recommending un-recommending posts.