Thornir Alekeg
Albatross!
I was joking and forgot the smiley to convey that. Thanks for pointing it out, I've fixed it now.Samuel Leming said:I don't know if you're joking about Rel,
I had one time where I thought a moderator had reacted a little rashly in a thread that was starting to show signs of veering into trouble for a bit, but had put itself back on track by the time it was closed. I e-mailed the moderator and explained how I saw it. They agreed they overreacted to a reported post and reopended the thread when they had time to look at it a little more. I personally think this shows that while it is a dictatorship the community at large can have some amount of influence.roguerouge said:I think the reason why I suggested this idea is that, in my 7 years of teaching media studies, no student of mine has ever belonged to an internet community where they had even minimal or indirect say in the governance of their community.
I don't see EN World as being much different than the companies I have been employed by. Those companies have certain expectations as to how their employees will conduct themselves. I can choose to follow the rules or ignore them, but there will be serious consequences if I choose the latter. As an employee, I have no direct say in the policies put forth by senior management. I can make suggestions, but management is under no obligation to proceed with them, even if the majority of the employees agree. The risk they take is that the employees will leave if they feel they are not being treated with respect, which is the same risk EN World has.They all spend an awful lot of time in virtual communities that might best be described as benign dictatorships or oligarchies. (No offense intended.)
And that really, really worries me, given how much time we spend online.
What are we accustoming ourselves to in these societies we are not born into, but actively choose to join?
Personally if I were teaching media studies, I might use EN World as an example that even on the internet there can be expectations upon a community that, when enforced fairly, can lead to a community that for the most part is pleasant and constructive and polices itself.