The Ethics of "Unreccing"

[SoDesuKa]

I don't really understand why reasonably intelligent, well thought out posts get "unrecced." Is it because you disagree with the conclusions? Frankly, that's not a good reason to unrec something.

If you really don't like what somebody's got to say, ignore the post. But don't push other people away from it - they might be interested in it. Some threads have up to 60 or more responses, but the rec count is zero because of all the unrec's. I think that's childish behavior.

[Fumesucker]

1. A prediction, you're going to get a heap of unrecs for whining about unrec..

:evilgrin:

:hi:

[MattBaggins]

55. And yet you made the OPs point

The OP made a very valid point about the rec system and gets the Pavlovian "it's whining" dismissal.

[Fumesucker]

72. I didn't unrec it myself..

Did't rec it either..

All I did was make a prediction.

[MattBaggins]

85. My bad then

[LanternWaste]

90. Self-fulfilling prophecies can be quite entertaining....

Self-fulfilling prophecies can be quite entertaining....

[Fumesucker]

98. It's not like we haven't seen this exact scenario played out many times here..

I can't think of an example of a thread about unrec that hasn't gone into negative rec territory.

[FarLeftFist]

91. Actually, when I see high posts and low recs I get curious.

[WillParkinson]

2. Won't matter soon, apparently...

DU3 will not have the unrec feature.

[SoDesuKa]

31. There's a Wider Issue Here

It has to do with the willingness to engage in a discussion that includes unwelcome viewpoints.

[applegrove]

141. Thank gosh.

[Motown_Johnny]

3. sometimes we disagree with the premise, not just the conclusions

Unrec exists for a reason. If you have some better use for it, other than voicing disagreement, you might want to present it in the OP.

[SoDesuKa]

32. I Can See How It's Being Used

"Unrec" is being used to suppress unwelcome viewpoints. I see this clearly in the case of controversies in which I don't take a position.

[Iggo]

39. That's certainly not how I use it.

[City Lights]

102. Please explain how an unrec suppress an unwelcome viewpoint.

If I unrec an OP, my unrec does not prevent anyone else from discussing the OP. I think you're giving unrec too much credit.

[lamp_shade]

4. Chin up. I understand DU3 won't even have that feature.

[SoDesuKa]

34. Chin Up

Thank you for your encouragement. The issue will remain in its essential form as a barrier to unfamiliar or unwelcome ideas.

[sufrommich]

5. My answer to the unrec problem is always "holy crap,

what a dumb thing to be concerned about".

[timtom]

11. One person's "dumb thing"

is another's cause celebre. Big umbrella, remember?

[SoDesuKa]

35. Dumb Thing

That's me all over, worrying about dumb things like the ethics of permitted discourse. It's a fairly large issue, IMO.

[sufrommich]

50. Please explain how a silly rec/unrec feature limits

discourse.

[SoDesuKa]

64. Limiting Discourse

The power to rec or unrec is a small power indeed, but the point is that when it is used to suppress an unwelcome idea, it is on a continuum with using pepper spray against demonstrators. We're talking about dynes versus foot-pounds, but that's only a question of how much.

It's significant that despite valid points and Charley Brown's sincerity all around, this discussion has zero recs. This indicates to me that people simply don't like what I've got to say. So they break out the pepper spray.

[sufrommich]

74. Comparing unrecs on an internet forum to protesters

being maced is beyond ridiculous,nor does it come close to explaining how the feature "suppresses an unwelcome idea". You now have 72 comments in your OP and zero recs and yet you still post on the forum with others posters agreeing and disagreeing with you, the fact that your OP didn't make it to the greatest page doesn't mean you've been "pepper sprayed".


"This indicates to me that people simply don't like what I've got to say. " So?

[pipi_k]

88. The only people

who can suppress your ideas here are the people who run the place. If they want to, they can shut you up and shut you out. But they haven't, have they?


People can express a wide variety of ideas here, but that doesn't mean we all have to agree with them. We don't have to like them, and we don't have to decide they are worthy of representing DU as a whole on the Greatest Threads page.

You know, people like to sit here and whine about how they're "being censored", but they don't even realize that those they want to prevent from expressing disapproval are being censored.

"We don't want to hear you unless you approve of us or agree with us!!!"

Is that how it is?

[Bunny]

92. Please, for the love of god, explain to me how Unrec suppresses anything.

Really, I'm all ears. You are aware, aren't you, that Unreccing a post does not make it invisible? It's still there, for all the world to see. So tell me, how is it being suppressed?

Oh, and linking Unrec on DU to pepper spraying OWS protestors is incredibly lame. This post itself is worthy of Unrec, too bad we can't do that on individual posts.

[City Lights]

105. Oh brother.

Unrec now equals pepper spray. :eyes:

I hadn't done it til now, but consider yourself sprayed.

:eyes:

[City Lights]

106. Self delete dupe due to DU hiccup.

[Obamanaut]

6. If one is reading threads in GD, the number of unrecs has nothing to do with

availability to other readers. The 60 or more responses keep it pushed up to the top of page 1, thus promoting additional views and inviting more responses.

Some folks may unrec because the subject has been posted more than once (or even twice), sometimes with even the same subject line and source, but with no additional substance in the message block. Why would that merit recs to get the duplicate(s) to the greatest page?

It is possible to post a response in the earlier thread of the same topic. Why the new one? Is it a case of "Look at MINE! It's the good one!"

unrec for whining about unrec.

[Phentex]

26. I unrec for the kind of dupes you are talking about...

and I agree with your first comment. IF people are really interested, they will post and probably out rec the un recs.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lyric]

8. Some people take unrec waaaay too personally.

I can't speak for anyone else, but in general, I don't use rec/unrec to indicate agreement or disagreement with a post. I use it more as a tool to keep bad writing, faulty logic, and embarrassing paranoia off of the Greatest page. I've rec'd posts by people I despise and unrec'd posts by dear friends; it's more about trying to keep the public "face" of the site as attractive as possible, so when new people show up, they aren't immediately driven away by some crazy rant that made it to the front page.

I will usually rec just about ANY civil rights/equality post, though, so long as it's coherent. And I unrec all posts that bitch about OWS. We all have our little biases.

:hi:

[SoDesuKa]

37. Waaay Too Personally

I don't take the "unrec" thing personally at all. I'm just observing how it's being used . . . in my opinion, unethically. The notion that ethical concerns extend to admitting unwelcome ideas into the realm of acceptable discourse is itself an unwelcome idea, in some quarters. I have to laugh at people who are only too happy to identify themselves as being in that camp.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum . . .

[taterguy]

9. I unrec every post whose first letter is a vowel

That's just how I roll

[Demonaut]

99. lol

[Iggo]

128. You're so smooth.

[Iggo]

129. .

[joeglow3]

134. Unrec this

[lunatica]

10. How you behave is, of course, your choice

And I won't even unrec your OP.

But I reserve the right to make my own choices. Thank you for the advice though.

[City Lights]

12. I think it's childish to make a big deal about rec or unrec.

I also think it's childish to use the net number of posts an OP has as a deciding factor in choosing which OPs to read. Who cares what other people think? Personally, both "features" remind me of a middle school popularity contest. Just because 20 people at DU rec a post doesn't mean it's a good OP. And just because the net number of recs is zero doesn't mean it's a bad OP.

[Gman]

13. Unrec on general principles

[Codeine]

14. Your definition of " reasonably intelligent, well thought out posts" may differ

from my own definition, which in turn will differ dramatically from RB TexLa's or NadinB's. :shrug: Unrecc has no actual impact beyond the Greatest Page, which is inherently stupid IMHO.

[Downwinder]

15. The Rec. count has lost its meaning. If it had any.

I don't even look at it.

[SidDithers]

16. Net recommendation: 0 votes (Your vote: -1)...

The unrec feature was created for threads just like this one.

Sid

[elocs]

17. Automatic UnRec for whining about UnRec. n/t

[Puglover]

18. "The Ethics of "Unreccing"

Yes, it's just one of those life long moral dilemmas we all have to deal with. :eyes:

[JNelson6563]

19. Taking DU a little too seriously?

Plagues, famine, war and great unrest going on all over the world and you're crying about unrecs?

Truly visionary. Or whatever.

Julie

[SoDesuKa]

38. Not "Crying" At All

You're using very loaded terminology to describe my bringing an ethical issue before this very excellent forum. Who is crying? Sounds like you've made up your mind what issues you want to consider and don't really welcome considering new ones. And I don't even know you!

[Snotcicles]

20. It should have been set up as recommend and not recommend and both tallies should remain. nt

[SoDesuKa]

40. It Is Being Used Unethically

I'm not sure the unethical usage of the "unrec" figure is curable by keeping separate counts. The source of the problem is in deciding which issues are worthy of consideration in this forum. "Unrec" suggests favoring a limitation on discourse, and the ethics would depend on the motivations.

[Obamanaut]

48. Why not get rid of the Greatest Page. That would render the unrec/rec feature moot, and threads

with little substance and limited responses would disappear from page 1, leaving room for the OPs that get the most responses, which are usually the ones with substance. Usually, but not always.

[City Lights]

133. You clearly do not understand the function of unrec.

You continue to make the false claim that an unrec will keep your OP from being discussed.

The source of the problem is in deciding which issues are worthy of consideration in this forum.

More unrecs than recs will only keep your OP off the "greatest" page. It has nothing to do with how worthy of consideration your OP is in this forum.

[joeglow3]

137. So, you oppose people trying to shout down Tebow discussing God?

[Amaril]

21. It's an internet message board

There aren't any prizes awarded based on which posts have the most recs.

There are; however, ponies........or so I've heard.

[SoDesuKa]

41. Ponies

You gave some thought to the OP, and your response is off the mark. There's nothing here about ponies or rewards. I was referring to ethics - a topic which is separate from rewards and punishments . . .

[Amaril]

61. Unrec'ing is not an ethical issue

eth·ic noun \ˈe-thik\
Definition of ETHIC

1 : the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation

2a : a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values <the present-day materialistic ethic> <an old-fashioned work ethic> —often used in plural but singular or plural in construction <an elaborate ethics> <Christian ethics>
2b : plural but sing or plural in constr : the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group <professional ethics>
2c : a guiding philosophy
2d : a consciousness of moral importance <forge a conservation ethic>

3 : plural : a set of moral issues or aspects (as rightness) <debated the ethics of human cloning>


Perhaps you can explain why you feel the expression of an opinion -- which, really, is all that a rec or unrec represents, an opinion -- on a message board that is frequented by like-minded people would represent an ethical transgression?

My comment regarding ponies had equally as much to do with your comment as your comment had to do with the actual nature and effect of an unrec.

It's called irony


Edit to move a misplaced --

[SoDesuKa]

65. No Way to Argue a Point

Please don't do this - throw out a dictionary definition and claim I've used the word incorrectly. It's not a way to hold a discussion. Are you saying that the decision to rec or unrec is too small to be an ethical matter? We disagree.

[pipi_k]

84. I read your OP again just to make sure

I understand the point.

It seems you are saying that if a person doesn't like something, he should do the "ethical" thing and not unrec. Just leave it alone.

If that's the case, then why is the unrec function there at all? For the time being, I mean. It's there to be USED.

It's not illegal. It's not immoral. It's a function that people can use to express their opinion that the topic, for whatever reason, is not great enough to be on the Greatest Threads page.


So, to make a comparison, if a question has two options for voting...yes or no... people who don't agree with the premise of the question should just refrain from voting at all?

sigh...

I will be SO glad when DU3 is up and running. No more of the same tired old unrec crap. People sitting there getting all paranoid about the "unrec trolls", even when the Admins here have stated that most of the unrecs are NOT being done by "trolls". It's silly and gets old real fast.

[lpbk2713]

22. The internet/DU isn't the Senior Prom.

It's not a popularity contest. Don't worry about how posts are received.
Your blood pressure will thank you for it.

[SoDesuKa]

42. Blood Pressure

Expressing concerns about ethical issues doesn't necessarily come from indigation . . . is that the reason for your concern about my blood pressure? My blood pressure is fine. I believe "unrec" is being used unethically, and it's not a small issue when it's a stand-in for whether or not you'll allow certain ideas to be discussed. It really goes to the heart of what politics is about.

[lynne]

23. If you're obsessing over unrecs, its time to step back from the computer -

- I tend to unrec those threads that broad brush groups of people or those that assume they have the moral authority to tell others how to act.

Yes, I unrec'd this thread.

[SoDesuKa]

43. Freudian Terminology

I'm always glad when people use Freudian terminology to dismiss an unwelcome idea. I spent a lot of time learning Freudianism, not just in psychology classes but in literature classes as well. I'm not actually "obsessing" over unrecs, but I do appreciate your concern for my well-being. You could have just said you didn't like my idea; instead you couched your disapproval in terms of what's good for me.

[LanternWaste]

94. Let's not conflate "unwelcome ideas" with "petulant and irrelevant ideas".

Let's not conflate "unwelcome ideas" with "petulant and irrelevant ideas". They are indeed two wholly separate things. And although I don't use either rec or unrec, I can readily imagine a scenario in which silliness, petulance, lack of coherence or any other number of factors may dissuade me from not using the feature.

Additionally, I'm still attempting to understand how a rec count suppresses (or less dramatically I imagine, "reduces") my ability to read a particular thread.

[Obamanaut]

24. Behold! A thread whining about unrec, with net recs at 0, and still at the top of the page.

Rec/unrec has nothing to do with thread remaining in view.

This response pushed it back up to the top, as you can see.

[SoDesuKa]

45. Observant Fellow

I beheld, and it was exactly as you had pointed it out.

[Obamanaut]

52. One does what one can. The ethics of 'kicking'. nt

[SoDesuKa]

59. You're Onto Something . . .

Is it ethical to manipulate the machine so that your viewpoint gets a more favored position? You were starting to say something about that, but then you said "NT".

We can't be indifferent to ethics. Not when cops are using pepper spray to shut people up!

[Vinnie From Indy]

25. "Whatever it is, I'm against it" Groucho Marx

Cheers!

[Javaman]

27. "I will not be silenced!!!"

not this again.

this is a rehash of something that went down, (mind you, a truly classic DU thread), a couple of years ago.

please, like unrec or don't like unrec, in the long run, it really doesn't matter a whole hill of beans.

write a good piece and it will be rec'd. it's really that simple.

[SoDesuKa]

47. Hill of Beans

People are using the "unrec" feature to demonstrate their resistance to ideas they don't welcome. I've noticed that especially clearly on threads where there are controversies that don't concern me. Using the unrec function the way people use it is often unethical . . . and it's not unimportant. It has to do with whether ideas will be heard or ignored.

[Javaman]

108. enjoy your Sisyphean mission...

think it unfair all you want, but a well written post is a well written post and will get recs on its merit if it is supported with facts.

railing about how unfair the unrec function is nothing but pure whining.

it's been rehashed on DU countless times and yet, it remains.

I'm sure you will now give me a very insightful retort, to which I will reply and it will go on and on until it dissolves into pure ridiculousness, while forgetting what the original was all about.

your turn.

[BklnDem75]

126. 'to demonstrate their resistance to ideas they don't welcome'

You mean like a protester?

[City Lights]

127. How does an unrec make an OP "ignored?"

:shrug:

Ignore is not the same as unrec.

Your OP has lots of replies, so your idea certainly isn't being ignored. Clearly people are discussing it, but that does not mean your OP is worthy of being on the "greatest" page. Using your logic, every OP ever created should make it to the "greatest" page.

[progressoid]

28. I only rec Cat and Olive Garden posts.

[treestar]

29. It's part of the process and legit

You well thought out post is someone else's unrec material.

I read posts if the titles interest me - pay not attention to the rec/unrec count and don't use the greatest page. So it's neither here not there to me.

[SoDesuKa]

51. It's Not All That Subjective

Using the unrec feature as a way to demonstrate resistance to an unwelcome idea seems to me unethical. It's not all that subjective, but it has to do with motivations. True enough, I can't see your motivations, but that doesn't make them indeterminate. Is that the point you're making?

[treestar]

56. But having unrec lets people make that unethical decision

And one open to new ideas would not read threads only because they have the most recs. I can see the concern - those who go to Greatest Page or whatever mechanism it is that informs the reader that these are the threads everyone is talking about. Back when there was only "rec" that would have been easier to achieve.

[SoDesuKa]

It's a Small Power

The power to rec or unrec is small indeed, but using it unethically is on the same continuum as spraying demonstrators with pepper spray because you don't want to hear what they have to say. I'm not coming from left field with this.

Given only a small power, some people still abuse it. And defend the practice!

[SheilaT]

30. What I don't get is why people take

the rec/unrec thing so seriously. I have never done either one, and I don't often bother to click on the ones on the front page.

[Bunny]

33. What's even more childish is complaining about the Unrec system.

No one has ever explained how anyone gets "pushed away" by Unrecs. I read threads on DU and don't pay the slightest bit of attention to whether they're recced, unrecced, whatever. I never look at the Greatest Page. I don't give a shit. NOT ONCE have I been stopped from reading anything here. Claims to the contrary are just whining but luckily for you, the Unrec system is going away with DU3. Enough thin-skinned people pissed and moaned about it for so long that it's being abandoned. Waaaahhh.

[SoDesuKa]

54. Loaded Terminology

You've certainly used some loaded terminology to describe people who raise ethical issues about what might be called the participatory governance of DU. I've said that using the unrec feature simply to show resistance to unwelcome ideas is unethical. There's nothing childish about such a concern.

[Bunny]

69. Oh, I meant to use loaded terminology.

I meant it very much, indeed.

[snooper2]

36. Unrecced because you said the word unrec

:hi:

[coalition_unwilling]

44. I generally only unrec when someone starts an OP with a

blind link, copy and paste of original source material, and no commentary by OP author. And then I only do it if the content is non-progressive.

I agree with you that well thought out OPs should not be un-recc'ed, even if one disagrees with them. I probably rec 100 threads for every thread I unrec. (What can I say, I'm easily pleased and impressed :)

[SidDithers]

49. I unrec when DUers call other DUers Nazis...nt

Sid

[Javaman]

111. Nice post, Hitler!

:hug:

[lumberjack_jeff]

46. There are no ethics of unreccing.

It's the "poke the poster in the eye" button. Everyone uses it differently, but in practice it boils down to a way to separate the cool kids.

[SoDesuKa]

57. Cool Kids

There's quite a lot of concern these days about who gets hears and who gets ignored. It goes to the heart of our political system. People here on DU would be especially well informed about issues that bear on whether ideas have to be cool before they get an audience.

I look at topics where there's plenty of controversy, and well-reasoned, well thought out argument. The rec count shows that people are using the unrec feature simply to express their disapproval of an idea they disagree with, and I call that unethical. Others have accused me of whining, which in a sense demonstrates the point I'm making, that is, the very point that seems to escape them. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

[Renew Deal]

53. I'm not sure if it's worth fighting this fight anymore

But I have always been anti-unrec. It was the opposite of rec. Rec was a positive feature. Unrec was a twice as negative as Rec was positive. Unrec is used in three ways. People used it to keep junk off the greatest page, to secretly minimize the opinions of others, and some other personal mix of reasons that weren't always in DU's best interest. I would always get pissed off when people unrecced Amber Alerts. I understand that some people don't think missing children are important, but there's no reason to go as far as unrec. Just leave the thread alone! Besides that, unrec can't work on a political site. People will use it to silence minority opinion. There's a lot of important and interesting posts about topics which aren't popular. Unrec makes them slightly harder to find. It's not representative of the entire DU community.

I'm glad that unrec is going away. It sowed bad feelings amongst the membership.


This is completely my opinion, not anyone else.

[SoDesuKa]

58. Minimizing Other People's Opinions

Yes, minimizing other people's opinions is exactly the point I was making about an unethical use of the unrec function. Here in DU we ought to be especially sensitive to the ways ideas are brought into general currency. Suppression of thought is unethical on its face, it seems to me. It's not a small issue.

[Amaril]

63. And are you not -- in turn --

attemping to minimize the opinions of people who wish to show their dislike of a topic by unrec'ing it?

[Renew Deal]

66. You can "show your dislike of a topic" by saying so in the thread.

Unrec is used to game the system. There are people that say rec should go away with unrec. I disagree. Unpopular topics will have fewer recs if any at all. Popular threads will always be on the top of the greatest page. The threads that suffer are often the most interesting or controversial ones.

[SoDesuKa]

68. Gaming the System

Thank you for using this exact terminology, gaming the system. If the unrec feature were being used ethically, you wouldn't see rec counts lower than the number of responses. It's certainly theoretically possible that more people would comment than rec or unrec, but it's unlikely.

The unrec feature is being used like pepper spray.

[Renew Deal]

71. Pepper spray?

That's a but much. :yoiks:

[SidDithers]

73. On the front page of GD, right now, there are 22 threads with more recs than replies...

So, clearly, people also rec without comment. Does that mean that rec is also being used unethically?

Sid

[Iggo]

83. Yes.

[Renew Deal]

89. I say no

I see those as different issues.

[Mimosa]

77. ^ Exactly so. ^ n/t

[Iggo]

87. If we do away with the greatest page, that solves it.

Popularity contest over.

[City Lights]

110. Exactly!

IMO, the "greatest" page is way overrated.

[CJCRANE]

123. It's more representative with "unrec". Just "rec" only represents 5 DUers.

Balancing it out with "unrec" means that an OP only makes it to the greatest if it represents more DUers than it doesn't represent (if that makes sense).

[LWolf]

60. Many others have made this point before.

Alas, unrec stayed.

Maybe it won't make it to DU3.

[Quantess]

62. I like Unrec. There are several valid reasons for utilizing it.

Unrec serves worthwhile functions. For example, a thread like this one has no business being on the Greatest Page, so the DU community uses unrec accordingly.
This thread is currently at 0, which is proof that unrec works great!

[Renew Deal]

67. lol

I'm not sure what it proves, but your post is funny. lol

[Little Star]

125. Yep!

[rbnyc]

138. ...

I agree. I don't see how it's an ethical issue at all. It's a way of saying that you don't like the post without kicking it to the top of the forum as well.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mimosa]

75. I recced this and agree with SoDesuKa

If an OP is well done, not liking the point of view of a member is no reason to un-rec.

A certain group here on DU seem to swarm some threads in order to un-rec. Everybody knows who they are and why they want some topics to stay under the radar.

[hugo_from_TN]

76. Lighten up, Frances.

:eyes:

[stuntcat]

78. recs and unrecs have made me feel like DU's a bunch of children

and by children I mean babies :P It's completely silly how people use it. Like look here, people listing the billions of reasons for UN-recing things, it really is too much.

I wish there were only REC's, that way if it gets a lot of recs then it has recs, and if it doesn't get recs then it doesn't. But unrecs make everyone bratty. It's embarrassing.

[dipsydoodle]

79. It provides the opportunity to respond to a subject

without kicking it. The same does of course apply to recc'ing but in both cases what is truly absurd is the rate at which rec's can pile up before those rec'ing could possibly have read full details on any link provided.

[The Doctor.]

80. Trolls and Cowards. The few who announce their unrec and reason for it

get respect whether I agree with them or not.

[piratefish08]

81. sorry - but this thread is hilarious!

i tried to rec this, but it's like taking pee out of the ocean now.............

[randome]

82. Rec, Unrec and Ignore are all features I will never use.

Information on DU should stand or fall on the basis of arguments or viewpoints, nothing else.

[cry baby]

86. I never unrec. Someone else's opinion is just as valid as my own.

I rec rarely. I wish these features would go away.

[Fire Walk With Me]

93. I believe the feature only enables peoples negative side.

It's time to "accentuate the positive" as the song says.

[Demonaut]

95. usually just unrecc jokes in poor taste

so I unrecc'd this

[bigwillq]

96. No reason to take a silly function on a website that seriously.

So a thread gets rec'ed: big deal. So a thread gets unrec'ed: big deal.

Views, and even responses, are important, imo.

[TacticalPeek]

97. I agree with your analysis and conclusions.

And your critics here, by their self-immolating excuses and brattish actions, have validated your point that it is a suppressive tool put to undemocratic use.

Putting that goddam Unrec feature in was the worst thing I've seen DU do.

It reminds me of when Congress befouled a perfectly good Pledge of Allegiance by adding that "under God", for purely political purposes, just because they could.

It stinks.

[nobodyspecial]

100. Childish behavior

is expecting other adults to act in accordance to your wishes and adults.

[Iggo]

132. I think I love you.

[Name removed]

101. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zorra]

103. Unrecs should be accompanied by the posters forum name.

Transparency is a clearly a beautiful thing.

[slackmaster]

104. Please consider that "reasonably intelligent" and "well thought out" are matters of opinion

HTH

BTW, Auto-Unrec for an anti-Unrec post.

[Ohio Joe]

107. un-rec for STILL crying about un-rec

A feature that will be gone shortly and it still gets cried about. Perhaps if people posted better quality posts, they would get rec'd more.

[MilesColtrane]

109. I get to use this one last(?) time.

(Thanks to whoever created it.)

[saras]

112. In a saner world, we'd use unrec for nonsense, NOT stuff we disagree with

But the truth is that we're not that sane. People often use unrec to suppress legitimate arguments or points they disagree with. Others use it to indicate the debate, not the OP, has turned to crap. Others never use it.

I think unrec, like post removal, ought to REQUIRE, not only the person's handle, but a reason for unreccing. And not taking the "reason" answer seriously should be cause for banning.

That unrec I wouldn't really have a problem with.

[slackmaster]

113. Most stuff that I disagree with IS nonsense

:nuke:

[ThomWV]

114. I unrecommend 'nonsense' many times a day

Many posts get lots of responses even though they are among the most inane dribble to hit the pages that day - I am pleased to unrecommend them. I also unrecommend every single post I see that hypes the hell out of a truly trivial event.

[distantearlywarning]

117. Me too.

[SoCalDem]

115. In DU3, the whole juvenile rec vs unrec thing goes away

or so we were told:)

I have never understood the unrec thing either

Perhaps it's just another rung on the incivility-ladder of our times..


No comment, no matter how minor, can be just left alone by some people.. Some feel a burning desire to pass judgement on everything and anything.

Once upon a time, people discussed differences here, and did not just do a sneaky drive-by.

I bypass many subjects, but I guess some cannot resist poking that sharp stick

[CJCRANE]

116. It's just a type of vote.

My vote on this thread is...unrec.

[LynneSin]

118. Who really cares?

Clearly the lack of recommendations show that most of us don't give a ratsazz.

[ScreamingMeemie]

119. For me, I believe unrec's happen for personal reasons, over political

ones. Most of the time. If people don't like who I am, as a person, they are going to unrec my post...even if it is about kittens. It's the way of the world, especially DU. It's like a giant internet high school. :hi:

[distantearlywarning]

120. I automatically unrec every post that is devoted to whining about unrec

So some stranger on the internet doesn't like you? So what? People need to grow up and get over this petty shit.

[nadinbrzezinski]

121. Some of it is the person posting

And cliques.

[ScreamingMeemie]

122. +1 I believe most of it is. I have seen completely innocuous posts

get unrec'd time and again.

[MedleyMisty]

124. I've noticed

that USUALLY, not always, the threads with a lot of replies and no recs are troll threads.

Not always though. I remember battling the unreccers on the Libya threads. That was conspiracy nuts who couldn't handle facts.

[Blecht]

130. Can you provide an example?

Is there a thread out there that you think suffered from the unrec function?

How exactly does the unrec function affect anything? I know things get to the Greatest Page with recs, but how important is that? Replies are what bring a thread up to the top of the forum, not recs/unrecs.

The anger this thing causes really is a mystery to me.

[Name removed]

131. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Iggo]

135. There's about two weeks left (give or take) in the Great Rec/Unrec War.

Get your last shots in while you can.

[MADem]

136. Well, I just REC'd your post to see what would happen. Sorry to say it is still at Zero.

REC/UNREC don't mean much, save that people with a strong opinion on the topic happened to see a post on a fast-moving board and wanted to weigh in with or without bothering to write something about the subject.

You can't control people's behavior either. You can't insist that they ignore the post anymore than you can insist that they like something they don't like. Or not like something that they do like.

People will do what people will do. They've got to own their own behavior, attitudes and beliefs.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

139. I agree.

I don't unrec, period. I can abhor the content, but I just don't do it because I feel it deprives someone else from viewing it who may be interested in it. It's sort of like, "Who gives me the right to influence what someone else reads?"

I just don't do it as a matter of principle.

Edit: and by "influence" .. I don't mean in a guiding sort of way, but I've deprived someone of actually arriving at their own conclusion of whether they want to view it or not. Just clarifying.

[saras]

140. Curious how many responses are "I don't care what anyone else thinks - I do what I want"

Many people seem to be saying that they actively disrespect and sabotage the only system DU has for separating out genuine nonsense (i.e. everyone who views it concludes immediately that it's crap and unrecs it) from stuff that people grant is legitimate but disagree on the relative importance of, or stuff that people believe others should not have the right to read themselves, or stuff that one merely disagrees with for partisan reasons.

It's kind of like having some people use fire alarms to warn of smokers too close to buildings, and some who use fire alarms when they read about a fire on the internet, and some who use fire alarms when they're bored and things seem too calm and orderly.