Journal RobertB-DC's Journal: Bipolar Moderation: I've struck a chord! 3
For quite a while, my comments were either good or bad, in the eyes of the moderators. Mostly good -- reaching Karma: Excellent in 8 days was fun (though it's not like I can put it on my resume). But I've always been jealous of the posters who really get the moderators riled up, and get both +1 and -1 moderations.
Looks like I'm getting my wish!
First, I posted to the discussion about the scientists attempting to create a new life form based on the genetic code of an organism that causes jock itch. The parent post had quoted a couple of verses from the Bible -- assumably as an argument against the scientists playing God. But the verses selected struck me as odd. In my reply, I pointed out how they sounded more like God's lending support to the scientists' efforts. Despite some good points being brought up in replies, the message got modded down to 1, Troll. Ouch! As a reply noted, "Posting discussion-provoking quotes is not the same as 'Trolling'." It's just too bad the discussion was already too far along for more mods.
A more appropriate use of moderation came when I did the ultimate act of Karma Whoredom: I mirrored a page that might have been Slashdotted. It got up to 4, Informative before someone modded it with a -1, Overrated. You could argue that it was a fair assessment, but what a waste of mod points... another moderator bumped it back up to 4!
A more interesting discussion came after my post. An AC flamed me for Karma Whoring, and a poster replied in my defense. Strangely enough, the AC got modded up just about the time I got modded down... could a moderator have used his mod points to mod up his own AC post? Well, that might be a stretch... I posted a reply asking if maybe the same moderator gave the AC +1 and me -1, and also noted that I enjoy the heat from the flames anyway. That message got modded down to 0, Troll! Oh, well, I didn't use my +1 bonus, anyway.
Finally, the story is still unfolding on my latest post. I'm no expert on Windows politics -- I just code in VB, I'm not an OS theologan! But I have wondered why the "Shared Source" secrecy is working, when there is such an incentive to sneak it out into Usenet one piece at a time. So far, this comment has made it up to 5, Informative before being hit with a -1, Overrated. Stay tuned!
Please (Score:1, Insightful)
Next time you feel like karma whoring by just reposting material, please post AC. Believe me, moderators are browsing at 0 or even -1.
Re:Please (Score:2)
Karma whore by posting mirrors as AC, please. Or have a separate karma whore account that does one thing only (such as mirror). The idea is that we don't want people whose sole contribution to the site is mirroring to suddenly use the +1 bonus to fill our screens with useless comments that aren't mirrors.
Er, that sounded harsh--not saying that's what you're doing at all, just pointing out the reason behind the dynamic.
Jouster
Well, I had to do it once... (Score:2)
But I had to try it... just this once!
Learning more every day, so that I can be the fairest moderator possible when the Karma-granting Slash-Cosmos sees fit to give me the opportunity.