Discordia || Communication in a Newsgroup

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[- Communication in a Newsgroup
By AlleVanMeeteren, Section whatever... Posted on Sat Sep 27th, 2003 at 10:33:20 AM EURODISCORDIA TIME
As a Dutch philosopher I'm a visitor of the Dutch newsgroup nl.filosofie. But from the beginning I'm concerned about the quality of the communication. The quality is bad, it isn't more than a chatroom, people meeting just for the sake of meeting.

[ --------------------------------------------- ]

But I have some ideas how to make the communication better. Some very practical, others to construct a strong community around at least one newsgroup, whose first object it is to make the discussion better.
Some people say that the experiment is doomed to fail, but why? People shall once realize that if you enter a newsgroup, you give up a part of your freedom for the sake of the goal of the group. They shall want to keep the subject of the discussion central, and they shall want to respect eachother.

And -being flat and easy and simple structured, it communicates better in a newsgroup, then in e.g. Discordia. Quicker, more free, more personal.

After a good philosophical cleansing it will be a fantastic medium for people to find and share thoughts and reflections.

After reading "My First Recession" of Geert Loving I do believe still more strongly in this project nl.filosofie.praktische.

[ --------------------------------------------- ]

Communication in a Newsgroup | 5 comments

[new] lots of models, varies depending on the community (Avg. Score: 3.00 / Raters: 1) (#1)
by amy on Sat Sep 27th, 2003 at 07:42:58 AM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info) http://plagiarist.org

I've found that the optimum structure and ideal degree of autonomy vs. control of online communities vary widely by the community.

For example, some communities do very well with the wiki format, such as the one in the original wiki, WikiWikiWeb. The WikiWiki structure is extremely open, and content is generated entirely by the users. Anyone may add, edit, or delete content, without so much as a login. If someone does something malicious or content is deemed inappropriate, it is repaired by other users. This works, overall, because there are more "constructive" members of the community than "destructive" ones.

Why won't an autonomous/anarchist system like that work everywhere? It requires two things: 1) a user base with a strong commitment to actively maintaining the site - which means first, learning about the structure and culture, and then, actively taking individual responsibility for maintaining the communal grounds. 2) A tolerance for flexibility and imperfection. WikiWiki is full of strange and surrendipitous tangents created by others' streams of consciousness. For many, these relationships enhance and extend the content. But if you're used to a very structured, predictable, information flow, this can be daunting.

So it really depends on the community. The WikiWikiWeb site mentioned above is largely a community of programmers - although no significant technical skill is required to participate, programmers have a culture of spending time to learn the ropes - both operational and cultural - of both technology and online communities (since programmers were the first folks using newsgroups, etc., and many bemoan the poor etiquette that "ruined" them when the masses got Internet access.) So programmers culturally - rather than technically - tend to work well in online communities where more active participation is expected of members.

The question is, how do we characterize other groups with whom we work, and what sorts of structures can work best for groups who desire less active participation in maintenance of the community itself? E-mail lists with moderation have been one solution for the past several years, but lately we have heard rumblings that many list members now feel too much control is extered over content in these situations. Will these users then agree to become more active in maintaining an online community in exchange for greater autonomy? Or will other models be found?

-amy
# begin amy's sig
-- Discordia is nice.
# end amy's sig

[new] Make 8,000.00 in two weeks (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#5)
by Anonymous Stranger on Thu Jun 17th, 2004 at 04:03:06 AM EURODISCORDIA TIME

Discussion

[ Contents | Search | Post | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]

How I Made $8,000 In Two Weeks off of $10.00

From: Melanie
Date: 22 Jan 2004
Time: 00:34:39
Remote Name: 24.119.228.232

Comments

GIFTING MADE EASY!!! I DIDN'T ORGINATE THIS, BUT READ IT VERY CAREFULLY, THEN READ IT AGAIN. THE FIRST TIME I TRIED THIS, I DIDN'T MAKE $14,000 LIKE IT ELUDES, BUT DID Make $8,000 FROM A $10 INVESTMENT AND A STAMP. THIS IS THE ONE THAT WORKS FAST WHILE YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE OTHERS TO WORK!! Guaranteed - you will have $14,000 in two weeks. Only $10.00,the price of a stamp and one hour of work are all that is needed to get this going. GIFTING MADE EASY PLEASE READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW If you want to make a few thousand dollars real quick, then please take a moment to read and understand the MLM program I'm sharing with you. IT'S NOT what you think! YOU DON'T have to send $10 to five or six people to buy a report, receipt or get on their mailing list. Nor will you need to invest more money later to get things going. THIS IS THE FASTEST, EASIEST PROGRAM EVER. You will be able to complete it in ONE HOUR and you will never forget the day you first viewed this online. If you are doing other programs, by all means stay with them. First of all, there are only TWO positions, not six like many other programs This program is more realistic and much,much faster. Because it is so easy, the response rate for this program is VERY HIGH and VERY FAST and you will receive your reward in about FOURTEEN DAYS! That's only TWO WEEKS - not three months. Just in time for next month's bills! TRUE STORY June Alscar tells how she ran this gifting summation four times last year. The first time, she received $6,000 in cash in two weeks and then $14,000 in cash the next three times. When this program is continued as it should be, EVERYONE PROFITS!! DON'T be afraid to make gifts to strangers. It will come back to you tenfold. Remember, a person can give you up to $10,000 per year and you don't have to report it to IRS. HERE ARE THE DETAILS Post this letter to 10 message boards, chat rooms, or newsgroup. You don't need to post 200 like others programs. Even if you are already in a program, continue, stay with it, but do yourself a favor, DO THIS ONE as well RIGHT NOW!!! It is simple and takes a very small investment, only $10.00 and a stamp. This program WILL PAY FASTER before the other programs you are working trickle in!! Just give one person $10.00. THAT'S IT!! Follow the simple instruction and in two weeks, you should have $14,000 because most PEOPLE WILL RESPOND due to the LOW ONE TIME INVESTMENT, SPEED AND HIGH PROFIT POTENTIAL. We are not figuring 50% response! So let's all keep it going and help each other in these tough times. Take a blank sheet of paper and write "HERE IS A $10.00 GIFT FOR YOU." then fold it around a $10 bill. Send your gift to the name in position #1, IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS BETWEEN JAN 1 THRU JUNE 30. Send your gift to the name in position #2,IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS BETWEEN JUL1 THRU DEC 31. YOUR NAME COULD CYCLE FOR A LONG TIME. (THIS MAKES IT THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING). Retype or copy this list REMOVING the name you are replacing (the one you send your gift of $10 to)then type your name in that position and post to ten message boards and you are done!!! THERE IS NO MORE TO DO!! When your name reaches the first person(in a matter of time, since it is online), it will be your turn to collect your gift, $10.00 will be sent to you in a matter of days, 200 and 1400 times to receive $14,000 in cash or much, much more. ACT FAST AND RECEIVE YOUR GIFT!!! HONESTY AND INTEGRITY MAKE THIS PLAN WORK!!! COPY THE NAMES CAREFULLY AND SEND $10.00 TO THE NAME THAT APPLIES TO YOUR BIRTHDAY TIME LINE. GOD BLESS YOU AND GOOD LUCK!!! POSITION#1: Troy Feltes 700 East Flamingo Road Apt F217 Las Vegas, NV 89119 POSITION #2:Melanie Olsen 10689 W Altair Dr Star, ID. 83669
Last changed: January 22, 2004

[new] Vereniging in gesprek (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#4)
by AlleVanMeeteren on Tue Sep 30th, 2003 at 07:55:07 PM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info)

I have an idea to organize communication in a newsgroup which will meet all (or most) of the questions asked by Amy, Anonymous stranger and Aileen. It is a solution that possibly involves the use of a Wiki. That will be convenient, but is not necessary. I won't say it is THE communication format, but it will be refreshing. It will deal with the content/noise ratio in everyone's personal idea of what is noise or what is content.

But...it will be a software solution, that has to be build.

I did registrate my idea today at the "Belastingdienst" in Amsterdam, so I'm the intellectual owner of this idea. I hope in respect to the universe and eternity, but at least for the Netherlands, and my coming out along this channel should make me owner in face of the world.

But I won't keep it for myself.

I give my idea to a "Vereniging". Builders and users shall be members of this "Vereniging" (workingname: Vereniging in gesprek). Builders earn their contribution by their work, so do the organizers, but users pay for their membership by the offer of an amount of money. In this way it will be Microsoft-proof. It wo n't be for sale, no way.

Every member gets a registered copy of the software. The software functions in a very communicative surrounding, it will single out when someone uses an unregistered copy, or if he/she did n't pay his/her contribution. One buys communication, not software, so it won't be lucrative to steal the software.

Think about the opportunity's of this project as a whole, and about what you can do to promote it yourself, but - please - let me be the center of it, for the time being.
Let there be "Concordia in Discordia".

My time till January, 2004 is consumed by the project "nl.filosofie.praktische" (as a matter of fact, the source of this software-idea) and some household-matters. So till that time I cannot communicate intensively about this project "Bril" (Dutch for glasses). If you have a reaction, e-mail to bril@eenvoud.demon.nl.

Alle

[new] structures (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#3)
by Anonymous Stranger on Sun Sep 28th, 2003 at 10:45:37 PM EURODISCORDIA TIME

WIKIs, blogs, lists, live chats, neewsgroups, instant messaging-- these modes of communication all allow different types of exchange, from the casual live sharing (like the teenage cell phone syndrome) or more academic type discussions about essays to something inbetween.
Can there really be THE communication format? One format and type of exchange may just better fit your needs. There are many advantages to this scoop format
but it's not the chatty back-and-forth, which you can find in chat rooms. I appreciate that.

[new] Structure or people? (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#2)
by Aileen on Sat Sep 27th, 2003 at 12:19:47 PM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info)

I'm curious as to what you see as being more important to the quality of communication - does it depend more on the structure (e.g. the flat, simple structure of a newsgroup) or more on the people involved and the extent to which they share a common goal?
Also, how much personal communication is needed for people to feel comfortable sharing thoughts and reflections, and when does personal communication affect the quality of the discussion by shifting the noise/content ratio?
Based only on my experience of observing and participating (to varying degrees) in different types of online communication structures over about ten years, I don't believe there is ever one ideal solution, but I am interested in what other people see as the most important criteria for determining which structures will best serve to reach an agreed goal and how much depends more on the people involved.

Communication in a Newsgroup | 5 comments

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