RobertB-DC's Journal: Not Exactly News: Signatures Affect Moderation

I think it's fair to say that I have proof that Slashdot moderators read with .sigs turned on. Is this a "duh!" moment, or what?

After the US election, I was very depressed. Not just by the results, but by the fact that the country I love seems to have embraced the values I hold repugnant. Thus, my .sig:

* 52% for 4 More Wars
* Fundies 11-for-11
* Halliburton 'n co
The United States of Fear, Hate, and Greed.

Alas, the moderators did not reward me for my petulance. Since I changed my .sig, my comments have received almost no moderation -- either up OR down. I suspect that my signature, which was intended to be provocative, succeeded a little too well. As a result, my amazingly insightful comments (heh) have languished in the +2/+3 range.

Hence my new .sig:

The Moderators told me to change my .sig, so I did.

Update: The first comment I posted after changing my .sig got modded up to Score:5, Interesting within 10 minutes, and I really don't think it was that much more Interesting, Insightful, or Funny than the previous week's efforts.

Didn't hurt me (I think)

[Anthony Boyd]

I changed my sig from an advertisement for my open source blog software to an advertisement for some stickers about the election that read: "Don't blame me! I'm from a blue state."

I've only posted 3 times (I think) since the election, but my most recent one is at +5, even though I have that "don't blame me" quote in my sig. So I guess the Slashdot mods don't mind dissenting opinion, but it has to be careful to avoid sounding too much like a slam or attack. Maybe?

Re:Didn't hurt me (I think)

[RobertB-DC]

I think you're entirely right. I think the strong note of despair and cynicism in my .sig was just a little too much. After a week to get used to the situation, it looked like a little too much to me, even.

BTW, I'm from Texas, and my home county went 70% for Dubya. Of course, I didn't vote for either bozo, myself: http://www.votecobb.org/ [votecobb.org]

happy dude

[slothman32]

I've had my "happy dude against bush" sig for a while. I do get a few mod ups and not much downs. I am actually hoping that I get modded down enough to get back to "good" karma. I think you get more mod points with good than excellent. I like yours though. It concisely tells about the state of America.

Re:happy dude

[networkBoy]

"I think you get more mod points with good than excellent."

True, hence if I am posting something where I get the "feeling" that a base of 1 would do better than 2, I post without the Karma bonus. Works like a champ.
-nB

Re:happy dude

[RobertB-DC]

There's an interesting idea! Since I'm a subscriber, I get a lot of opportunities to FP with an on-topic message that gets modded up quickly. Many of those situations would get me modded up just as quick if I posted at 1 instead of 2. I think you're on to something... thanks!