PM QUESTION!

[\_(•_•)_/]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 5:21pm

To the mods;

If I don’t have a facebook how do I sent PM’s or I can’t?

[Moderator]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 5:24pm

Hi There \_(•_&bull_/

If you don't have facebook and wish to unlock DMs just email [e-mail] w/ any form of identification - and we'll get that set for you. 

[Fetus]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 5:57pm

Why do we need to link a Facebook to reply to private messages in the first place? That seems a little suspicious when you could just as easily add a captcha to limit spam/bots.

[Moderator]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:12pm

As the notice says, it is not just to prevent spam, but also abuse. While the internet will always afford some level of anonymity, the more that people have to put their real name to something online, the more likely they are to think about what they are saying, and hopefully not attack others. 

Now, there are two points about that that I would like to make. 1) Anyone who has high school friends that disagree on politics knows that just by having someone's real name attached to a message doesn't mean that all of their posts will be civil, but it's a start. 

2) We also realize that there is a downside of this in our specific community. There are some individuals (including those that work in the industry) that enjoy posting on the board, because they can share their knowledge and opinions with similarly passionate people, without it impacting their real life friends, work, etc. We obviously hate for those people to lose the ability to post without fear of their online opinions having real-world implications. But, as I've said before today, we are trying to come up with the best resolution to an all-around difficult situation. 

This is where we have arrived for now. Will it be where we land permanently? Honestly, I can't tell you. But, we are optimistic that it will help maintain a certain level of civility on the boards moving forward. 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:15pm

I get what you're doing and why you're doing it, but maybe Facebook isn't the best company to be associated with right now.

[vanbrig]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:22pm

Wait, so if I don't have Facebook I have to email the website a copy of my ID? Sorry mods, but I don't trust you (or most other sites, nothing personal) enough for that. I'll pass on the PMs. 

Updated On: 12/10/18 at 06:22 PM

[Moderator]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:28pm

LizzieCurry, we understand that, which is why I said that I don't know if this is where we end up long term or not. This is certainly not my area of expertise, but I know that our more tech-savvy team members are looking for other ways to authenticate identity other than Facebook. If they can figure that out, and it makes sense in our system, I wouldn't be surprised if that changed eventually; but again, not anywhere close to my knowledge base. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:28pm

WHAT????  RIDICULOUS.  BWW already has everyone's email (from signing up)  NO WAY that I'm going to give you my personal fb info.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:32pm

Short of doxxing or threats, I cannot imagine whatever happened last night was extreme enough to warrant what’s going on on the board right now, this included.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:33pm

Wait, I'm sorry, you now need a Facebook account to send and receive private messages?  That seems crazy and intrusive. 

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:34pm

I wouldn't give my personal information out here either especially because I don't use Facebook and I would never trust to email my information to someone here.

The mods or whoever's decision this was is over thinking this to begin with. You have mods whose job is to remove posts and users who don't follow the guidelines. There's no reason take it any further than that.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:44pm

I have read a few threads over the years that have included horrible verbally abusive language, death threats, homophobia, hate speech, online stalking, etc....  Last night was no where near that level, guys, figure something else out. 

[Fetus]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:51pm

Moderator said: "As the notice says, it is not just to prevent spam, but also abuse. While the internet will always afford some level of anonymity, the more that people have to put their real name to something online, the more likely they are to think about what they are saying, and hopefully not attack others.

Now, there are two points about that that I would like to make. 1) Anyone who has high school friends that disagree on politics knows that just by having someone's real name attached to a message doesn't mean that all of their posts will be civil, but it's a start."

So what exactly do you intend to do with someone who is acting abusive then? Doxx them? Waving their personal identification over their heads as a form of punishment for behavior on an internet forum isn't exactly an inviting or normal practice for any forum I've been on in the past. There are better solutions.

[vanbrig]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 6:55pm

And what about when two users get into a harmless spat over PM and one doxxes the other? What's gonna happen, the post gets deleted? Too late, it's already been screenshotted at least a dozen times. 

Updated On: 12/10/18 at 06:55 PM

[Anakela]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:00pm

Moderator said: "Hi There\_(•_&bull_/

If you don't have facebook and wish to unlock DMs just email [e-mail] w/ anyform of identification - and we'll get that set for you."

 

LOL. No. 

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:07pm

I have tried to remain quiet on the mods’ decisions, and it has been very hard, but this is absolutely ridiculous. You are not getting ANY of my Facebook info let alone my ID!

[Moderator]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:13pm

Fetus said: "So what exactly do you intend to do with someone who is acting abusive then? Doxx them? Waving their personal identification over their heads as a form of punishment for behavior on an internet forum isn't exactly an inviting or normal practice for any forum I've been on in the past. There are better solutions."

No, of course we will not dox anyone, nor hold personal information over someone's head. Again, I am not a tech expert, so I don't 100% know how it works, but from what I have been told, it is simply like logging into Facebook to authenticate the account; a form of two-step verification. From what I understand we will have no access to any information other than the Facebook account and email address you provide to create the account. 

While I can't speak for other message boards – as I don't really frequent others than BWW – I do know that many websites require users to log in via Facebook to post comments. This is not completely dissimilar to that, or just posting on Facebook in general. I don't completely know if/how the Facebook information will be displayed publicly or not, but I will get that answer for everyone when the proper folks are back online in the morning. 

I understand that this is a new step, and is off-putting to many, but we are hopeful that if – even just for the short term – people are required to put their real name on things, that it will improve the discourse. However, as I said before, this is not something that we are committed to doing forever at this point yet, but it is something that we will be doing for the short term, as we continue to evaluate the processes of the board. 

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:19pm

The vast majority of message boards and websites do not require you to link Facebook to make comments, it might be an option but there's always an option to sign up with an email and user name.

Can we please stop being over dramatic about how the conversations here need to be fixed? This place in all my years of being here has never been as bad as people make it out to be. Are there some people who are more snarky than others? Sure, but welcome to the real world. Not everyone is going to like you and that's just fine.

Updated On: 12/10/18 at 07:19 PM

[Anakela]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:22pm

No offense, but, full offense: if you are "not a tech expert" and "don't 100% know how it works" and you "don't completely know if/how the Facebook information will be publicly displayed, or not" and you "don't know if this is where we end up long term or not" and "this is certainly not my area of expertise," etc etc etc, then why are you the moderator who is explaining this? 

And why don't you have a name when you post? 

[Fetus]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:34pm

Moderator said: "I understand that this is a new step, and is off-putting to many, but we are hopeful that if – even just for the short term –people are required to put their real name on things, that it will improve the discourse. However, as I said before, this is not something that we are committed to doing forever at this point yet, but it is something that we will be doing for the short term, as we continue to evaluate the processes of the board."

In no way will forcing people to reveal their identities improve discourse. While many forum software (IPM is the primary one) allow users to register with their social media profiles, it only collects the e-mail address as a form of registration. Forums that use this software aren't using the social media accounts as a means of regulating discourse.

What you are describing here is a panopticon means of surveillance. Users aren't entirely sure how their personal information is going to be used, just that it is being collected and could be used against them as a means of punishment if they speak out of line - which isn't even being properly outlined because it sounds like this was a hasty decision without thinking of potential consequence or backlash.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:48pm

"Fetus said: In no way will forcing people to reveal their identities improve discourse."

Exactly, look at Facebook and Twitter. Both are absolute cess pools with horrible comments with people using accounts showing their real identity. It prevents nothing. 

Look how many people in the spot light alone have had past comments come back up on their personal accounts alone. 

[LxGstv]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:52pm

Just want to point out that not even Facebook and Twitter require you to provide ID when joining, in fact, anyone can create a fake Facebook or twitter account.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 7:54pm

I get what you are trying to do Rob, but most people will say what they want to say, anonymous or not on this board.  This is not a board full of tween children who would never say anything mean to someone's face but will hide behind a computer and tear people down.  I mean, at least I hope not.  

It won't improve anything.  I think that is the point of so many people's posts on here.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 8:02pm

And another way of treating everyone as children.   If there are people that violate your rules (first, you need to be coonsistent about those) you deal with THEM, and instead of "punishig" everyone.   It's not that hard.

 

 

A shame, BWW was a place I'd stop by frequently, but I'm an adult and expect to be treated as one.

 

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 12/10/18 at 8:25pm

This is insane and intrusive. If someone doesn’t have a Facebook, they have to send a photo of a license where you get their address, organ donor status, and other key information? That’s insanity.

I hope that whatever happened last night was truly bad enough to warrant absolutely destroying the community here. And the Adsense money that you probably got from people visiting.