PLEASE READ THIS NOW!!! Keeping on topic, treating others with respect

Keeping on topic, treating others with respect

We're beginning to pay more attention to moderation of posts, and we need the help of our regular forum participants. Here's what you can do to ensure that DegreeInfo remains the helpful and useful resource that it has always been.

1. Please do not post off-topic or irrelevant messages within existing threads. I've moved or removed several messages that had no place in the discussion thread in which they were located.

2. Spirited debate is fine. Attacking one another is not. If someone posts a message you disagree with, feel free to offer an alternative opinion or politely correct misinformation that's been reported. But please don't make the mistake of going after the poster him or herself. Don't make comments that call into question the intelligence of the poster, or his/her right to hold the opinion s/he does.

3. The moderators and admins have lives, too. This means that we can't possibly read every post all the time. You can help us do a better job by reporting posts you believe don't meet our terms of service. Just click the "report this thread" icon and tell us what the issue is, and we'll look into it.

4. DegreeInfo is a resource on distance learning. It is not, and was never intended to be, a general free-for-all discussion forum. We do have an off-topic forum, but it was intended as a sort of "water cooler" place where people that usually discuss distance learning can make the occasional comment that doesn't fit elsewhere. We did not intend for the off-topic forum to be a place where anyone spends the majority of his/her time. If you find yourself doing that, you should probably find a different community more focused to your interested and needs.

If everyone will cooperate with those guidelines (all of which are pretty much already spelled out on the terms of service), I think it will go a long way toward ensuring the long-term growth and stability of the DegreeInfo community. I'd really rather that we moderators and admins not have to individually contact those of you that don't "get it," but will do so if required.

Thanks much

Chip White
Cofounder
DegreeInfo.com

 

Folks,

With the volume of posts on this board, and particularly with the ongoing joe-job spam attacks, the last thing I have time for is moderating and removing posts with personal attacks or other inappropriate language in them.

DegreeInfo is not a place to attack one another. There are plenty of other boards (or, for that matter, a.e.d) where you can do that.

We've been really lax about enforcing this, but I guess that Bruce and Bill and I will have to make time to do this -- time that could otherwise be used to do other things to make DegreeInfo better.

We shouldn't have to do that. As far as I know, everyone who posts here is an adult, and everyone *ought* to know how to keep their disagreements focused on the *argument topic* without resorting to name-calling, swearing at each other, personal attacks, snide remarks, or other inappropriate language or actions.

An inappropriate comment, flame, or personal attack by another person DOES NOT give any user license to flame or attack back. The appropriate response is to report the post, and Bruce, Bill and I will do our best to address the post in question, contact the poster and warn him/her, and in general try to keep things fair.

If we have to, we will simply start suspending or banning people that can't treat others respectfully, but this type of posting simply will not be tolerated.

That said, we don't have the time to read every post, so we will rely on our regular users to report posts that are inappropriate. Please start doing so.

Thanks much for your cooperation.

Chip
Cofounder
DegreeInfo.com

 

Sounds like I missed something juicy!


Cheers,

 

OK.

 

Acknowledged.

regards,

 

A GREAT TOOL FOR EVERYBODY

This forum is a great tool for everybody. The information here is very helpful and enlightening.It can save you from wasting lots of time our most precious commodity.Im new to this dis board but I do appreciate the ability to network with so many wonderful minds on the ever changing field of education. Thanks for your hard efforts!!! Traderneil

 

Thanks a lot for all efforts.

Hello All,
I have just joined this forum. And I find it very useful. I would like to thank all the folks for contributing religiously to this initiative .
Regards
Vedant

 

Welcome aboard, Traderneil and Vedant.

 

Chip Personal attacks are running on Your Site

Dear Chip You are allowing MRINGER to Attack My Husband on Your Site. AEI DOES NOT AUTHENTICATE ST REGIS DEGREES MRINGER IS FISHY and I am Sick of this teenage website. I want Dr. Bear to See This MRINGER and his personal Putdowns " Fishy" and Ruin This Mothers Business Mrs. Clark R.N.

 

Some hon. Members: Oh! Oh!

 

Member posts commercial website link without written permission

Dear Chip Your Member has posted a website link to a commercial site without written permission or contract. This is a Violation of the United States Code Mrs. Clark R.N.

 

Re: Member posts commercial website link without written permission

Yes it DOES seem something is fishy. Mringer has posted for sometime and has contributed to this site. What is "United States Code" "Mrs Clark R.N."?

 

I think posting that start to get personal or flame should be locked and stopped. They are happening more and more... very disappointing.

I understand some do start them, and some don't start them, but if everybody knew they would be stopped upon the first one, I think they might diminish!

(disclaimer: from someone who doesn't understand who is on which side, or the history of the flames, just that the sides should disappear here - at degreeinfo only).

 

Basic respect...

Kristie,
I think you are right, in the sense that we need to treat each other with respect on this board. However, there is sometimes a fine line between having a strong opinion / polemics, and civility. Also, it is SO easy to just blast something out online, relatively anonymously (the email-you-wish-you-never-sent phenomenom).

On the other hand, what civility has been shown to the SRU folks and other degree mill people who come here to explain how it is that they have convinced themselves that somehow "life experience degrees" are OK? Are they treated with civility and respect (generally) by the main lurkers on this board?

Fine line indeed - but yes, I agree with you. We should all behave like adults, and be willing to engage in intelligent discourse (which can include serious disagreements) without resorting to name calling. The reason I mention the SRU stuff is that I recall people calling Len a "big, fat, hairy liar" and being encouraged and egged on by others on this board. However, if someone does that to Dr. Bear or the other luminaries, they are quashed.

Just my humble opinion - thanks for listening, and for encouraging civil behavior overall.

 

Re: Basic respect...

Len's not hairy.

 

Re: Re: Basic respect...

LOL!

 

United States Code

Dear Friends, United States Code (U.S.C.) for all You non Lawyers is the Highest Code of Law In the United States, besides the Constitution. Calling an Immigrant a Fish is considered a Racial Slur. I am Glad this Degreeinfo.com allows such Racist Talk and Encourages Others to do so. This is so educational how You have allowed Your"members" to say Such conflict driven and Racist Talk Thanks for Everything Degreeinfo.com Mrs. Clark R.N.

 

United States Code = All Federal law???

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/

 

My dear Nurse Clark: My family are Carpathian immigrants to this country. I have spent much of my career working for African-American churches. My current parish has its roots in the expulsion of Germans from Russia, and is located in a predominantly Mexican-American town. I have never heard immigrants or African-Americans use or consider the term "fish" or "fishy" as either anti-immigrant or racist. In short, what you proffer is a red herring. What you reveal, in your protestations of being picked on--which you couch in threatening and abusive language
--is unexampled arrogance, contempt for Americans, ignorance of the proper functioning of this board, and a supreme confidence that, if you can cloak yourself in the righteous robe of victimhood precisely while you abuse and victimize innocent posters such as MRinger, we will all fall over, befooled and complaisantly befouled. Madam, you are mistaken. I suggest you go for a swim and cool off.

 

This thread is getting wierd....... entering the twilight zone......