DL Forum at About.com Dead?

It seems closed. Going to the site and clicking on the forums link keeps you at the DL site's home page. Fine, because it morphed into a little a.e.d. for awhile before dying completely.

On that home page one can see ads and links to Alameda C&U and Kennedy-Western U. Good to see the moderator (as unresponsive as one can get) is keeping up the good standards.

 

That forum has been dead for a long time....it seems that About.com has finally gotten around to burying it.

 

The direct link, http://forums.about.com/ab-distanclearn/start/?lgnF=y, still works.

 

The About.com forum is not closed but it is dead. It started going steadily downhill once Kirsten stopped moderating it. This is what happens when those who have knowledge of distance learning issues refuse to feed trolls.

Currently, we are witnessing a similar process occurring on OnlineCollege. The posts are becoming increasingly more belligerent in hopes that anyone capable of formulating a coherent argument will be goaded, challenged, duped, or sufficiently disparaged or insulted to the point where he or she believes they must post there to refute nonsensical allegations and insults. What they don’t realize is that their posts reveal that they have no knowledge or interest in distance learning, and that they are incapable of civil discussion (even among themselves).

Do they really believe that puerile taunts and toddler-level reverse psychology techniques will prove effective? What could possibly entice any logical person to post on a forum that lauds as their resident experts Dennis, Jimmy, and Dr.Dr. Quack-Quack? Moreover, those three individuals are capable of posting on this forum at any time, so what’s the point?

No, as I previously mentioned, the best thing to do is simply ignore them. Sooner or later, they’ll tire of no one responding to their shenanigans, and the forum will die an ignoble, albeit deserved, death.

 

It is weird that those people would maintain their little, incestuous group, arguing with each other when no one else is available. There isn't a serious discussion to be found--just a lot of hatred and lies.

In the past (even recent past) I've ventured into such fora (like CollegeHints) to try to set the record straight, to no avail. It is futile. I now ask myself two things: first, will it do any good? Will the lies and garbage stop? No. Second, is anyone serious about this field even reading? Of course not. So what's the point?

Judge it by who posts there. That's all you need. Same with CollegeHints and, before, a.e.d and About.com.

 

Can we hope, Gus, that you will take your own advice?








Tom Nixon

 

Gus Sainz wrote:

> The About.com forum is not closed but it is dead. It started
> going steadily downhill once Kirsten stopped moderating it.

Perhaps you should update this, Gus?

 

Different points of view are obviously a threat to some.

I haven't had a problem with abuse. Maybe I don't nurture it.

 

Dennis Ruhl wrote:

> Different points of view are obviously a threat to some.

This is Online-College.info we're talking about? Endless repetition of the same handful of semi-facts, mixed with obscenities? Where are the "different points of view"?

> I haven't had a problem with abuse. Maybe I don't nurture
> it.

The AED troll has 14 DegreeInfo members on his latest abuse list. Do all 14 nurture it?
http://www.online-college.info/article1849.html

 

Thanks

This should probably be a different thread but I wanted to thank the folks on this list.

I found this list first and have gained a wealth of information about schools, tests guides and other aspects of DL. (Working at a college I already knew about accrediation.) After reading some of the posts here, out of mordid curisoty, I ventured onto collegehints and online-college. I am convinced that had I found those lists first I would now be a frustrated, still-seeking advice non-student. Those lists, as far as I can see, offer nothing useful to someone seeking help.

Thanks guys.

 

I’m not sure what you mean, Tom. Despite numerous, taunts, threats, and challenges, I have refrained from posting on OnlineCollege, even though I am registered there. I resisted the urge to post even when someone resorted to spoofing my identity.

When I said that they should be ignored, however, I didn’t mean to say that we should turn a blind eye to, or abstain from commenting on, their activities. I had hoped, by means of my comments, to convince those interested in civil discussion of distance learning issues to refrain from posting on, and thereby legitimizing, fora that have an agenda that distills to the devaluation and demeaning of legitimate degrees, and the individuals who have invested (or are investing) a significant amount of time, money, and effort to earn them. This does not mean that the activities taking place on these fora should not be monitored (just like the activities of other shills, trolls, degree mill owners and promoters, etc.) and discussed. For example, don’t you find the latest wrinkle on the SRU saga (the zen/Macedon postings) interesting and informational?

Keep in mind, Tom, although many of the members these other fora have been banned from DegreeInfo for abusive behavior and violations of the TOS, some of the most prolific posters from these other fora also post here, and their activities and statements on these other fora are extremely revealing as to their true nature and motives for engaging the members of this forum.

 

Who is S. Laven? I am shocked at the mis-information in that quote. Is this person here on degreeinfo, I would love to ask where one of the assumptions came from??????

 

You are right, Mark; the wording should be corrected. I will do so when time permits.

Thank you for your comments. In the future, however, unless your motives other than precision and clarity of communication, don’t you think it would be better if, rather than wasting bandwidth and boring the DegreeInfo members with this kind information, you instead used the private message function of this forum? Alternatively, you could also employ the email link on my Web site entitled “Webmaster” which, as I am sure your extremely discerning eye could not have failed to notice, was designed expressly for such a purpose.

 

One of dozens of aliases of a troll (probably several, probably paid) working from Vancouver, BC.

The troll is uninterested in facts or civil discourse. You will not find him here.

 

Your comments are interesting, Dennis. Taken together, you seem to be saying that you haven't had a problem with abuse because your viewpoints do not differ (and are therefore non-threatening) from those espoused on what Bill Gossett has aptly named “the troll fora.” In fact, you had this to say in response to one of the numerous defamatory scatological posts by the the AED spammer (posting on OnlineCollege as S.Laven):

• ”You seem like such a nice person.”

As of this writing, OnlineCollege’s top 4 posters (number five comes in with less than half of the posts of number four) are

• Dennis Ruhl – 491
• James1 (James Crabb) – 372
• lysias (Richard Evans) - 293
• James Clifton – 191

In other words, Dennis, it’s not that you simply agree with the majority viewpoint…

 

Dennis was launching personal attacks against me in this other thread. I answered all of his questions anyway. He didn't answer any of mine. For example, he accused me of personally attacking him but refused to provide any example.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13210&pagenumber=3

Dennis attacks others for irrelevant things having nothing to do with the conversation. Perhaps Dennis doesn't have a problem with abuse because others tend to forgive him but he dishes out the abuse from his end, he just doesn't have a problem doing it.

 

No personal attack - just a response to one.

Why I don't have a problem is that while I criticize particular schools, I don't normally criticize individuals unless they come looking for it.

 

Dennis, repeating your lie doesn't make it anymore true. Here's an example that I gave you twice before of an unprovoked personal attack you made that was directed against me. I've asked you where I ever made a personal attack against you, because you lied that this was in response to my attack against you. You've never provided that example because it simply doesn't exist.

Like I said before Dennis, you make personal attacks instead of responding to issues. A perfect example is the above linked thread, I'll provide the link for you again so that you can address some of my other questions.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13210&perpage=30&pagenumber=2

You claim to be defending fnhayes degree from Knightsbridge University but instead all you do is make personal attacks. No where do you address any of the issues. The closest you get to addressing this issue is

It apparently really means that Dennis is an expert at personal attacks that are designed to defend academic fraud and bogus degrees bestowed by KU.

 

Thank you for the fine examples to prove my point.

 

Oh I see, so if I point out your lies then I'm making a personal attack? If that's the best you can do in pointing out my alleged personal attacks against you then I thank you for proving that you did in fact lie.