 | | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by swl - Genetically Modified
| | Posting
1
 | | Ok, I'm probably posting this in the wrong place but the whole site is upside down and back to front so sue me.
Can I suggest people who have volunteer roles (other than ACEs) ditch the titles from their screen names? There is a developing problem with people being unsure if Poster A is saying something that is opinion or policy. Equally, this must be frustrating for the volunteers who must be starting to feel constricted in what they can say and where. There is no need for the riff-raff (ie the likes of me) to know who is a comm ed, a paid employee or a mod. Wearing badges is a bit show-offy really and the negatives outweigh the positives imo. It's also contributing to a real "us & them" mentality.
|
| | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by aka Bel
This is a reply to this Posting
| | Posting
2
 | | We don't have badges to show we're CEs, for example. And although this may be superfluous for you to know, it may be important for a newbie to see who the Community Editors are.
I've discussed the title in my tag line with lots of people, and the consensus was that it is useful and should remain there.
We don't have paid employees, and the moderators have specific accounts, so they don't need it in the tagline of their 'private' accounts. 
|
|  |
| | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by  Vip
This is a reply to this Posting
| | Posting
6
| | It's a tricky argument; several people have asked that we become permanently italicised so that we can be more visible, some have asked that we prefix every post with whether we're posting as ourselves or officially, plus your request here.
It's definitely something to sort out as at the moment we've fallen into this rather than making a definite decision; it was discussed a lot but never came to a conclusion.
We have official accounts which we use when we're being official and we hope to start making that more commonplace when we have more of a site presense and are spending less time round the back fighting fires and tiptoeing around broken piles of code.  
OK, short answer: good question, no answer yet but we will.
|
| |
| | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by BMT~(ST)~Ace~Mod
This is a reply to this Posting
| | Posting
11
| | I don't think it matters about having the job title in name tags.
I think any staff, volunteers or otherwise, in editorial positions, should be italicised when dealing with site business so there can be no mistake as to who they are or what they do. (that is the titles italicised,not their names) It might mean them operating 2 a/c's but thats not hard surely?
At least that way we know when they're official and when they're researchers.
Just my   for what its worth.
|
| | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by Icy North
This is a reply to this Posting
| | Posting
15
| | For as long I can remember, people have been appending their volunteer roles to their names, e.g. "Captain Lightbulb (ACE, Scout)"
I was asked to identify myself as a volunteer Guide Editor, so that's what I've done. I would hope that people might see it and ask me about the Edited Guide (but nobody has yet).
|
| | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by Vip
This is a reply to this Posting
| | Posting
16
| | Yeah, that's another good option, Mina. I guess it partly depends on how we want the CEs to be viewed.
At the moment there is a clear distinction between the 'official' account and our personal accounts.
On the one hand, that's good because it's easy to tell what's a personal and what's an official post.
On the other hand, a CEs account looks official, but that could be seen as a negative (hand slapping from on high, which really isn't the look I'm going for).
With a Vip account and a _Vip - Community Editor_ account in italics, we might be able to get the best of both worlds. And we can also have the official CEs account for when it really is a joint decision, although that could get messy as well.
|
| | | Subject: Ditch the Titles
Posted Oct 31, 2011 by swl - Genetically Modified
This is a reply to this Posting
| | Posting
17
| | I think part of the problem *right now* is we're in a state of flux where things are broken, changing & evolving. People are looking for answers and the volunteers - with the best intentions - are posting their thoughts. But what might be an off the cuff remark from a volunteer can be taken as official policy by some. This of course could lead to recriminations later.
I just worry that the volunteers will attract so much flak for their genuine attempts to help that they'll give up. Already we've seen Ben say the pressure is making her want to interact less and she's having the fun drained out. I've seen other volunteers getting themselves into a right fankle too.
The other thing is Aces, Comm Eds etc are positive things and when things settle down yes, they should be highly visible and proud of their role. But Mods are a necessary evil. Having one taking part in a thread where modding later takes place is going to lead people to think *that* mod took offence/umbrage, whatever. This could lead to misunderstandings, bad feeling, vendettas etc. It will also mean the highly visible presence of a Mod will become an inhibiting factor.
I really don't think people should advertise the fact that they're Mods. Sorry.
|
|
