11 Comments on “Transcript of Town Hall”

• Thanx for posting. I’m sorry I missed it. I love Fluther. I was gone for awhile (to have a baby) and when I came back things were very different. It seems a lot harder to have good discussion and a close community. Those were the two things I really enjoyed about Fluther. Now there are so many how-to type questions. Not that I’m complaining, because I”m not. Just without the community feeling it is a bit harder to really feel attached to the site. Well maybe I just need to try harder 🙂

  14 years ago Natasha aka RedPowerLady

• I couldn’t understand the transcript and would have been just as confused if I’d been there. More and rigid rules and multiple categories will make Fluther too difficult for me to use. Fluther is my last refuge on the net. It may be time to pull the big orange handle and leave the internet for good.

  14 years ago stranger_in_a-Strange-land

• I really don’t think the changes will be that drastic Stranger. I hope you stay. You are so kind, helpful and witty. Just what Fluther needs!

  14 years ago jonsblond

• I like the ideas of having separate areas for serious vs playful questions. I do wonder if this will create a lot more work for the mod team- I’m sure in the first few weeks it will.

  I’m not entirely sure if this will improve upon the quality of the answers, yet I do think it’s a good idea to try. Perhaps this will stop a lot of the “I don’t know the answer but here’s a picture of a goat” responses, or people trying in vain to be funny on a serious topic.

  It will be an interesting trial, to be sure. Thanks for continuing to try and improve the site. It’s not easy to herd cats, dogs, an umbrella, two loose screws and a potato- but you guys seem to manage all right.

  14 years ago gemiwing

• Could somebody summarize the salient new features, please?

  14 years ago dpworkin

• If you would all like to clear up whatever questions you may have and don’t feel like pouring over transcripts just tune in this Friday night at 9:30 (CST) to Random Ass Radio. Andrew will be a guest on the show and we will be taking your calls so you can HEAR, in the fella’s own words, exactly what is going on. If you are too shy to call in you can submit your questions for Andrew at http://www.randomassradio.com/forums , you know, unless you just enjoy bitching, in which case . . .

  14 years ago blondesjon

• *Summary from the transcript:*
  –(Please keep in mind that these are separate quips that Andrew made pieced together. For the full dialogue please read the “transcript”:http://blog.fluther.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/transcript.html )–

  ANDREW WROTE:

  So, I’m going to talk about some issues, as we’ve identified.

  Right now, based on our own observations, the feedback from the mods, and feedback from users that have contacted me about the site right now, one of the biggest challenges we’re experiencing lie in the responses we’re getting.
  This is manifested in a few different ways.

  One: A lot of off-topic responses on questions that may not ask for them.

  Two: Responses that make the asker feel threatened, like “GO GOOGLE THAT”, and generally unhelpful, snide remarks.
  (Even though sometimes questions are not the most beautifully formed, those responses are noted by a good number of people and make them scared of asking questions)

  Ultimately, we need Fluther to be a place for warm, open, helpful interactions.

  So, to recap, the things we’ve been seeing have mostly to do with ‘unhelpful’ responses—both off-topic and downright rude.

  Our past attempt at dealing with this had to do with this distinction between “question” and “discussion” something that’s much too nuanced, isn’t’ used meaningfully, and downright confusing to new members.

  Part of what makes Fluther “Fluther” is this blend of whimsy as well as helpfulness. We don’t want to lose that.

  One, immediate thing we’re doing is devoting serious effort to working on this solution—in fact, as of today, we’ve hired former community manager and dev extraordinaire to act as ‘Quality Czar’ (among other things)—so I want to announce that we’ve just hired Richard Henry on the team.

  So. Things we’re planning on doing:

  1. Get rid of the question/discussion distinction. It’s confusing. It doesn’t really do anything.

  2. Focus on being more consistent with moderation (exactly what Ivan says) The way we’re going to do that is to add a “Social” area, where users can choose to put their questions if they’re looking for things that are silly. Lighthearted. Fun. Things like the one-word story. More hypothetical questions. Etc.

  In addition, we’re really refocusing the other area of the site, and clamping down on off-topic and joke responses.

  Because, you’re right, the guidelines right now are much too nuanced.

  ( In response to question from Blondesjon: No, it’s not about ‘PR’. It’s more about creating spaces where the askers can determine what types of responses they’d like on their questions. Blondesjon: It’s about catering to our existing community. Namely, if we simply said “no more jokes!” that wouldn’t be fun at all.)

  Now, the restricting of the guidelines also means it’s going to be easier to enforce, as well—right now there’s way too much “well, he said this thing, it’s off topic, and I got modded! That’s not fair!”

  As well as really cracking down on the rude, unhelpful stuff as well.

  ubersiren: Yes. Under the new guidelines, jokes are allowed, but only for questions in the ‘social’ area.

  Ok. I’m finished with my spiel.

  –(There follows a question and answer session)–

  14 years ago Dog

• Put simply, I’m REALLY glad SOMETHING is being done to address the left-turn that Fluther has taken. I’m not sure it’ll work (I hope it does), but I’m glad Bendrew and the team are at least trying. I REALLY appreciate that.

  Frankly, I’m pretty close to abandoning ship all together.

  14 years ago cprevite

• I’m interested to see how this plays out.

  14 years ago boots

• Whatever you do, keep it dead simple. Put all the new rules explicitly in writing. I have no desire to “explore” for the rules. I would rather that things be left exactly as they are, just totally ban everything off-topic from the question threads.

  14 years ago stranger_in_a_strange_land

• Thank you, Dog, for posting the summary so I wouldn’t have to bore myself with reading the entire transcript, considering I gave up about 50 or so lines into it.

  The concept of distinction of responses between goofy and serious sounds like a brilliant idea, and I have no complaints. I have a slight feeling, though, that the upcoming “social” area will become something along the lines of a troll “breeding ground,” or simply a very chaotic piece of the jelly pie. Make sure that you guys set very clear and defined lines dividing what goes into each of the 3 categories: Serious, Social, and Shit (troll-stuff).

  14 years ago fred931