"My Experience"

Too many times we see anonymous posters demanding their opinions be given weight because of "their experience." (Or degrees, or other credentials, whatever). Sorry, but that doesn't fly. If you're anonymous, then no one can weigh your claims. They have no meaning. Here's the list in order:

1. Opinions from anonymous posters.
2. Opinions from posters who are known (and, thus, can offer informed opinions).
3. Evidence, research, etc. that supports your view. The best of all.

The other thing that's tiring is when these anonymous posters insist on (a) insisting they must be heeded until (b) they're "facts" are disputed. Then they move the argument to a new unsustainable position. Boring.

These behaviors don't help the purposes of this board: to exchange ideas and to inform people about the issues related to distance learning and earning degrees. It's hard to resist knocking down each uninformed statement--leaving them unanswered gives them tacit approval. But it changes the tenor of the board--and it's utility. I would ask these anonymous posters to knock it off and stick to things that can be supported. And if you want your opinions to matter, back them up with who you are.

 

I've been enjoying this site for a pretty long time and have read many of the archived threads. I essentially agree with what you are saying. When someone registers for this forum, they agree to the following condition: "The owners of DegreeInfo Distance Learning - online degree forum reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any content item for any reason." Rather than arguing with people who post, for lack of a better word, nonsense, why isn't the thread simply terminated?

 

DegreeInfo members, including Rich Douglas, are free to post their experiences, opinions, thoughts, observations, musings and even their fantasies on our board as long as they conform to the DegreeInfo Terms of Service agreement. It's helpful if these posts are made in the appropriate fora so that we Mods don't have to spend a lot of time moving them around. There is no requirement that people use their full names or identify themselves in any definitive way. Members who post tripe run the risk of having their posts identified as such. People who tire of engaging in such activities are allowed to rest. We virtually never delete posts or threads although recently there was a special circumstance in which this was done. Rich (and Johnny for that matter) are free to express their opinions on this board but I felt it would be important to state clearly that the opinions expressed above do not reflect or represent the policies or practices of the Moderators/Administrators at DegreeInfo.

 

No one said there was an ID requirement.
No one said I was a moderator, which can be verified easily by looking under the poster's name.
This wasn't a call for censorship.
It was, perhaps, a call for others to not take the silliness passively.

IMHO, the vast majority of posts that qualify for the harangue I gave are no where near violations of the TOS. There is no need to delete them. But nor is there a need to close a thread, either, which IS what a moderator did recently. No post seemed to violate the TOS, certainly no warning was given. One day a discussion and the next, slam. Closed. Perhaps that practice should be reviewed.

 

What happened? I always miss the good stuff!

 

That is why you MUST visit here 3-4 times a day! Come on man...keep up!

 

Personally, I agree with Rich. If you have an opinion (and we all do) that is great - share it. When sharing it, do not state it as if it is some cold fact and no facts to support it are needed. Share your experiences (as Kizmet says) because they help everyone.

 

I am happy to have everyone read your post and then read my post. Since you seemed to be interested in setting/influencing DegreeInfo policy I thought I'd just point out that we're all good here.

BTW, remember this . . .

"For the past 12 years or so, I've been posting on quite a few DL-related fora. After pondering it for awhile, I realize that my primary aims in doing so have been two:

a. Showing off what I know.
b. Proving you're wrong.

Oh, sure, there's been no small amount of desire to truly help people as well, but I'm afraid (truly) that reason doesn't crack the top two. Thus....

I've concluded that my behavior has been incredibly narcissistic and selfish. Regardless of the low esteem in which I hold a few posters, I've found a way to get even lower. Thus....

I'm going to refrain from posting for all the right reasons. I'll still read the boards, and will be happy to respond to the few PMs requesting assistance. If I have some salient and extremely essential information another poster requires--certainly a long shot, at best--I'll PM it. I would like to reserve the opportunity to post if I'm convinced it will help the community, but I suspect that will not happen. And I won't be posting this on the other board--most readers there also read here, I suspect. But it really doesn't matter. So....

See you around. I may have something to announce next year. Peace.... "

 

I'm sorry "Kizmet" has chosen to attack me personally, using his/her role as moderator to do so. This person also sent me a PM threatening me regarding a post I asked to be withdrawn recently:

" I was talking about the post the YOU made about your boss and then came begging to have it deleted. I'm the one who took it out, want me to put it back?"

I was going to keep this petty threat to myself until I read "Kizmet's" post in this thread. I'm almost positive threatening someone (in this case, a form of blackmail) is a violation of the TOS. To do it behind (a) an alias and (b) the moderator's role is unfortunate.

I've posted more than 8,000 times on this board alone, some 20,000 times overall on such boards. I've posted a few things I've regretted and asked for one to be deleted. That's in 13 years. I'm disappointed that "Kizmet" would use that as a threat against me in private, or would choose to attack me in public. I don't know who he/she is, but the part I see here is disappointing. There's nothing "moderate" about it, sadly.

 

Which thread was that?

 

Goodness gracious. I step away for the night and whammo. I have been on this board, in some form (first Tireman 4..LOL) since 2004. I have observed many amazing folks in the world of distance education ( Rich Douglas, John Bear, Mark Israel, George Brown, George Gollin, to name a few). I respect each and every one of them. I also respect the folks that have come on board lately and have given so much to distance education. It is a subject that will continue to grow and educate many folks that otherwise do not have the means to succeed. I hope that folks will come together and unite under the distance education banner. We can learn from each other. I do hope calm is the operative word here.

 

Now now, we should all get a long... What ever happened to tolerating indifferences? So many different opinions, from different users, generate a large benefit for this platform. Ideas and opinions enables others to receive other perceptions that they may not otherwise initiate themselves.

Just keep a rule of thumb, always take the opinions of others with a grain of salt. If something sparks your eye, research it until you come to a solid conclusion.

 

The thread: "Why do so many get their doctorate when it isnt needed?" (sic)

No notice, no explanation, just closed. No big deal, just supporting the notion of less censorship, not more. But Kizmet's threat in this thread was a little unseemly.

 

i asked a question, didn't make a threat. I was indicating to Rich that we/me broke a big rule to help him out and yet now he's crying that he's being treated unfairly. No threat, just a question. But here's another point I'll make; how about posting quotations from private messages on the open forum? Pretty much a no-no Rich but you'll do it when it suits your purposes. In my opinion you embarrass yourself.

 

As I said, I didn't make a threat, what I wrote wasn't in a thread and if that other thread was closed it wasn't done by me. That's three strikes Rich. You're wrong on all counts.

 

No one said you closed the thread.

Try being a moderator and not a provocateur and bully. And stop sending me PM's. Leave it alone already. Your behavior is despicable.

 

Gratefully, your opinion is worthless, as is your behavior as a moderator. (Not the first time, IIRC.)

I'm not going to back down, so let's just leave this alone.

 

Here's the most recent: "Don't act like a self-important ass and I won't have to contact you."

Thank you for the "moderate" comment.

 

:haha:See you next time Rich.

 

All this carrying on is over my thread? Seriously? I mean, I was wondering why it was closed and all, but HOW on earth did it bring all this nonsense about? I think there needs to be some perspective here. Everyone take a deep breath and step away for a bit. We're all adults. No one should be behaving like a spoiled brat over something this silly.