Posted by violette on July 23, 2010, at 9:43:43
Dr. Bob,
Can't you just say that rules and features of this forum are set up to be amenable to past, present, or future research goals?
Alot of threads on the Admin. forum reveal an underlying group frustration; as we tell you features are NOT helpful to us, you continually say how those same undesirable features will "bring more support." There is no logic in that. And when continually faced with irrational answers, one can only make assumptions...
I feel you implement features such as Twitter and Facebook, and this new point system to see the effect it has on members here from a research standpoint--as opposed to merely bringing more support. I can't read your mind, but obviously this reasoning is not rational-you introduce things that people who use the forum say are NOT helpful, then tell us they will be helpful. That very 'logic' has undertones of craziness-like gaslighting.
I saw just one person who thought the point system would be helpful, and 2 (that I know of) who supported your choice of Facebook/Twitter. And many who don't opt out don't seem to care either way, but hardly anyone has supported these features.
Can't you just be transparent as to what your motivations are??? That is what I personally find frustrating-every poster argument against your decision to initiate features ends up with your saying it will benefit the very people who say it will bring less benefit or even harm. (hence, Kool-Aid, trickle-down economic policies, etc.)
Saying that support is the primary purpose of this forum sounds misleading. In an above post, you even said you'd rather have posts of information as opposed to posts of peoples' experiences. Well maybe many find that posts regarding others' experiences are most helpful and supportive to them, rather than a post of information, such as links to research articles? Again, things you want are not things the members have stated.
Not only does it feel like being deceived, it feels like being manipulated, and there is a fakeness about it. I think others sense this too. If you were more direct and open about this, others might be more understanding. Well I know I would. The group frustration with the lack of logic in your statements is obvious-and in part, explains why there are so many posts on the Admin. forum.
Personally, I'd be much more understanding of your very unpopular decisions if you simply came out and stated this in a direct manner.
poster:violette
thread:955588
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20100714/msgs/955588.html