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Daniel Kershaw | 09/09/2008 - 22:16

A very short word from Daniel Kershaw.

The objective of some of my blogs is to highlight a very important issue regarding this otherwise fantastic website – Walters who sling. Many of us here at theatre.asn feel that nefarious libel is infecting the very heart of what makes this website special. Every day we are confronted with unfounded accusations of plagiarism, of petty name calling and the horrendous belittlement of productions without a logical explanation. Now, I am not saying that all anonymous postings are invalid – far from it. However, it pains me and many of the registered members to see our friends being degraded by faceless culprits. It is getting to a point where our every comment is attack and rebuttal criticised. And the only reason this occurs so frequently is because the people are allowed to hide behind their patron saint of sling, Walter Plinge. Therefore, I encourage everyone who uses this site without a membership to take five members and sign up. It’s very easy to do and you’ll become apart of the theatre.asn family, filled with the most lovely people you will ever meet. So, join us and let’s end this era of hate and spitefulness. Let’s all share the wonderful warmth that encompasses us when we share in the creative magic of theatre.

Let’s heal with love.

Daniel Kershaw's blog | email this blog | 809 reads

Although I agree: signing

Author: Na
Date: 09/09/2008 - 22:58

Although I agree: signing up doesn't require much more than a valid email address. You don't need to prove who you are on any level; I could sign up with the nickname...

"Mud-slinging Kershaw" for instance, and there wouldn't be much to stop me.

Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at
Puppets in Melbourne

A valid email address is

Author: Daniel Kershaw
Date: 10/09/2008 - 06:26

A valid email address is still a better way to track someone who has made a defamatory comment, has breached copyright or infringes on intellectual property, or is illegal in content, than an anonymous posting. I feel that there would be far greater respect for each other if we all could be accountable for what we write. I am not, however, suggesting to abolish the Walter Plinge system. A great deal of this site's traffic is by non-registered users and in the past, Walters have had some fantastic comments/critiques to contribute to discussions. By registering, you are helping this community grow and, I think, that is the best defence against the stupidity that often plagues it.

If that were true, hundreds

Author: Na
Date: 10/09/2008 - 07:14

If that were true, hundreds of cops around the world would find it easy to prosecute Nigerian scammers and the like.

There will always be a percentage of people who like to take advantage of things and make noise. Making them register won't do much.

Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at
Puppets in Melbourne

Lets heal with love LOL...I

Author: Skybe
Date: 12/09/2008 - 08:41

Lets heal with love LOL...I think thats all I needed to hear.

- Skybe

Hope to see some of you this weekend in Bunbury!

I agree - too often on this

Author: AndrewG
Date: 10/09/2008 - 09:41

I agree - too often on this website people hide behind the Walters name, being to cowardice to say something off their own back!

Has it ever been discussed making registration compulsory to post comments?

Yes

Author: Labrug
Date: 10/09/2008 - 10:43

Has it ever been discussed making registration compulsory to post comments?

Yes and extensively. Ultimately, one of the features that makes this site so popular is that you do not need to be a registered member to post comments or make suggestions. You do need to be a member to start discussions, post blogs, moderate/vote, add to the FAQ Pages and so forth.

While I find some of the anon comments simply slanderous, closing off the site to that small group would be of a detriment to the site. I know that I have previously supported the idea in the past and that was from an ill-informed position. I have since done my research and feel that the amount of constructive comments and contributions made by non-registered members out-weighs the negative. The negative only stand out more due to their controversial nature.

Then again, I support Daniel's idea of encouraging membership/registration. There are additional features that are quite useful and improve the interactive experience of the site. While Na does point out that registration does not remove anonymity, it does minimise it and at the end of the day, you are never going to completely shut down the Plinges of the world. You either manage them, or ignore them. A bit like spam really...

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins

Home Page
Yahoo Blog Page

Finding an Agent - ITA

Yes... Many many times. On

Author: Na
Date: 10/09/2008 - 11:14

Yes... Many many times. On many other threads.

Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at
Puppets in Melbourne

HMMM

Author: Logos
Date: 10/09/2008 - 15:57

Just an observation but registered members of this site appear to have been randomly moderating posts down on the two All Shook Up threads.
I think a moderation war may have started because both sides of the arguments appear to be being moderated.
This is mindless censorship of the worst kind.
So registering for the site doesn't stop people behaving like Joe McCarthy (sp?).

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

Did you notice Tony?

Author: jmuzz
Date: 10/09/2008 - 16:10

My comment in one of those threads you mention in which I queried the moderating down of comments was itself moderated down!
Laugh? I almost did

Setting Filters

Author: Labrug
Date: 10/09/2008 - 16:28

In this case I can honestly claim not me!

None-the-less, I have my filters set to see ALL THE RUBBISH so I will only ever miss those that get voted completely off the site. I still see all the posts regardless of moderation.

Absit invidia

Jeff Watkins

Home Page
Yahoo Blog Page

Finding an Agent - ITA

And without leaving a word

Author: Na
Date: 10/09/2008 - 17:59

And without leaving a word as to why... See, I'd much rather have openness on why people are doing these things, than try to force a registration system which clearly doesn't stop anyone from doing whatever they want.

(And I love it when my point is proven. Registering does nothing to discourage this stuff; it just legitimises it)

Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at
Puppets in Melbourne

Get rid of moderating comments?

Author: Daniel Kershaw
Date: 10/09/2008 - 19:38

Great discussion. Some really good points are being made. I f firmly believe that registering does help reduce libellous content on this website. I think you are being too pessimistic about the situation, Na. Instead of negatives. I would like you to think of some solutions. The solution I thought of is registering.

As for moderating comments, I have a suggestion. If we can't use it, we lose it. I am prepared to lose my ability to moderate comments if other people are misusing it. If the content is defamatory or illegal, perhaps we should leave Grant to sort it out. What does everyone else think?

Although I was attacked heavily on the All Shock Up thread, I did not moderate the comments.

I haven't left suggestions

Author: Na
Date: 10/09/2008 - 19:51

I haven't left suggestions on this thread. I've made my suggestions elsewhere and don't particularly feel like repeating myself. (I thought I did leave a suggestion actually, but perhaps it wasn't clear: to have a history tab - like on Wikipedia - to see who does what when they moderate and encourage people to explain themselves)

Not trying to be negative, I'm just tired of these types of conversations and have other things to do right now.

I will add this though: I think it's unfair of us to leave it in the hands of Grant. He has enough to do without having to tackle moderation of hundreds of posts a week.

Mermaid shadow puppet now on sale at
Puppets in Melbourne

You were the one who was

Author: Walter walter (not verified)
Date: 11/09/2008 - 10:29

You were the one who was attacking in the first instance!

That is not a very short word....

Author: Bass Guy
Date: 10/09/2008 - 19:51

... it's a lengthy paragraph.

I'm only being this pedantic as crgwllms seems busy... Sticking out tongue

"Proud and insolent youth; prepare to meet thy doom!"

Internet Obsession - ITA

Author: dead
Date: 11/09/2008 - 23:24

Wondering who has been moderated up or down on ITA? Keen to check if any new 'real' news is happening in Perth theatre? Itching to jump on the back of a walter plinge wonderland? Checking to see if anyone has e-mailed you in the past five minutes. Watching a website to see if it has been updated. Reading your friend’s blog. And your friend’s friend’s blog. And then the random blogs that are linked from them. Then back to checking your e-mail to see if anyone has responded to an e-mail that you just sent them. Oh wait! Here comes an instant message! Start chatting with that person. Finally, you stop to go and settle down to do some work. But first, you want to just check one more thing. And then the cycle continues. Does any of this sound familiar?

If it does, then you probably have an internet obsession. It can be a symptom of depression, because you are finding ways to avoid having to do any work. A penchant for obsessions is a sign of depression, and internet addiction is another problem. More and more people are losing sleep and jobs to the internet as they find it harder and harder to get offline. So how do you do it?

The problem becomes even worse if you need your computer to do work. If you do, then you should keep your computer at home off, or at least offline. If you are not using a computer at work and find that you are having problems with your home computer, but cannot simply turn it off, there are a few things that you can do. The first is to set up a new user on your system who doesn’t have access to instant messaging, and can only use a few web sites. That will put a damper on your extraneous surfing. If you do not have an always-on connection (ie if you use dial-up) then the problem is a little easier. Just don’t connect. That will make it easier for you to keep yourself from the distractions that the internet provides.

There is more out there people - 'shit the sun is shining and I CAN BREATH OUTSIDE!'

Smile, love and enjoy

DW x

Interesting information

Author: jeffhansen
Date: 12/09/2008 - 00:07

Interesting information David, though I'm not sure if it's relevant. I think most of the people here, (and I know quite a few of them), are quite active in theatre outside of this site. Though, dragging my butt into rehearsal on a Sunday afternoon when the sun is shining can be a bummer. We're here cos we love it, and this discussion is going on mostly between the old regulars, because they care.

www.meltheco.org.au

Evidently you don't work

Author: Na
Date: 12/09/2008 - 02:44

Evidently you don't work for websites.

I have and I can tell you, keeping your computer offline is near impossible. And on occasions, coming here has kept me from going completely and utterly crazy from boredom at work.

Having said that... I'm not obsessive Eye-wink