I noticed a lot of newbie bashing and post-whore dick measuring contests lately, so I was wondering...

Who do you respect at DLP?
And who do you shun?

And I don't mean specific people here. This is not meant to be a bashing fest. I'm just wondering what characteristics do you find most appealing or unappealing when forming an opinion about someone.

Is it merely a post count that matters?

Or is it the quality of someone's posts? Humor or good arguments? Or is good spelling/grammar more important then the quality?

Does the poster's personal characteristics, like age, gender, geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities etc... influence you at all?

Do you measure out the poster's contributions to the community, either the entire fandom or just DLP? Do you respect authors more then reviewers and them more then lurkers? Does C2 groups, yahoo groups and similar engagements matter? Or is IRC chat a better indicator then any of this?

Do you like to hang out with people who share your views, or can you take someone having different ones (example - slash/rape/Marry Sue lovers)? How far are you willing to take someone propagating un-DLP-like opinions here? Or merely different RL views then you (example - defending terrorism)?

How about return feedback? If some poster is known to like/dislike you, or had flamed you/your story, would that affect your opinion.

Whom do you welcome in his/hers intro thread, whom do you ignore and whom do you flame?

================

As for me, the most important thing that I look is whether the person is an author or not. I’ll usually post a greeting to a new author and ignore the others.

Closely following are contributions to the community - C2 groups, reviews and such.

Then comes the quality of posts and their length. I appreciate when people don’t post meaningless ‘me too’ posts, but rather write something worth reading. Good grammar/spelling is appreciated, although not mandatory. On the other hand, if someone is asking for my opinion or help, they might as well invest some effort into their request and show that they appreciate the time I’ll spend responding.

Post count is somewhat important until a certain level (say 50 posts) when you stop being a newbie. After that, it’s all the same to me. Although, I don’t tend to bash people just because they’d joined after me.

From personal characteristics, the most important one IMO is the gender. It doesn’t have positive or negative influence, but determines in what light should I view that person’s opinions. Age is also important - I tend to give kids some slack when posting stupid posts, but then again, I also don’t take their opinions very seriously. Disability could also influence me on subconscious level, but I usually try to resist that.

As for return feedback, I don’t hold a grudge against honest critics, although people who attack me personally I tend to ignore in the future.

Ok, so much from me. Your turn.

EDIT:

Oh, and BTW, don't select more then 3 items in the poll.

 

Oops, didn't see the "don't select more than three" 'til after I had voted...

Oh well, you can discount the vote for the "IRC chat" option and the "General wit/humour..." one.

I would have gone for this one:

But it is not so much opinions that are the same/compatible to mine as opinions that are well thought out and reasoned that I respect.

But overall, I respect an certain level of intelligence and...neatness (that was the best word for it, e.g. correct grammar, or at least a post that is legible) that displays that the writer of the post has actually thought about what they have written, and that they have respect for the forums.

And yes, I understand the irony of this statement, right after I have voted wrongly in a poll...

 

I think respect wise, Im more likely to pay attention to someone who has been here around the same amount of time as me or longer. Like, anyone who joined in 05 automatically rates higher than folk who have joined this year, just because in my mind with the New Year the quality of a lot of the new members went downhill.

I also respect the though put into posts. I don't care if they write an epic length post or a short paragraph, if its well thought out and meaningful then I like it.

I especially dislike newbies who have "attitude". I don't care if older members put on some attitude in posts, but I hate it when anyone who hasn't been here for more than maybe 3 or so months, which is when I would class you as stopping being a newbie.

I don't respect post count, and i don't count it for anything. Just as an example, Link went up by nearly a thousand posts in about 2 or 3 months when he joined, simply because he spent his entire time (seemingly) in the games section, where posts were still counted at that time. Others post hardly at all, but I still respect them.

What really gets my respect is when i start to recognise a name, and put an ethos or character to the name. My ideas for you all are probably nothing like what you are like in person, but its simply that I have read enough of your posts to get an idea about you. When that happens I respect you.

 

Oh, 'post count' option in the poll was meant for the date of joining too; if some admin could edit the poll, it'd be great (and fix the spelling error near the end too...).

 

Overall quality of any posts matter the most in my opinion, if you can't type for shit and/or argue for shit than it is highly likely that you are shit. The reverse is true as well.

I also think post count and join date matter but only give a vague indicator. For example, if you have been here a long time and have a large post count than it is highly likely that you are not a complete moron because someone would have banned you by now. But, that is about as much as you can get from that.

Compatible opinions don't mean much, because just as many idiots share my opinions as not. I find it more important how they arrived at that opinion.

 

I haven't been here to long, but I try to look for decent opinions about certain stories. People who bash a story with one point or quote within the whole story, and then back it up with little to no proof, irritate me. I have a few people in mind, I am guessing that people who read this do as well.

When I first started, I respected anyone who seemed to know the majority of the people here. people like the Admins, Moderators, IP, Mord, Surrarin, and many others. From there, I just read their posts, some I have stopped respecting, or liking, and others I still hold them up there with the others who have impressed me. There is only one Mod that I don't particularly like, and I am pretty sure that he doesn't give a damn. I don't really pay much attention to the newer members, unless I start to see that they are posting a lot. Then I take notice in who is posting what, and begin to form my own opinion.

So, for me, it has nothing to do with IRC, if your an authors, or age. It only has to do with what you put in a post, if you post. Bad grammer usually means a bad post, in my experiance however.

Someone can post very rarely, and I will have respect for them more than someone who posts in every story, only to pick out the bad parts, and not mention the good.

 

It's post content that matters to me. If someone has only 30 posts, but each post is full of interesting, useful views and opinions, then their opinion is worth a lot more to me than someone who's been here for more than a year, has a 1000 posts and is writing a fic, but can't spell, think or be contributive in any general way.

Respect is earned,not given, as the adage goes, and it's damned true. Rep power, post count, age...none of it matters if a member doesn't act maturely, treat others in a mature fashion, and tries to make intelligent posts.

After post content, I usually look at the personality they've made for themselves. If their only purpose on these forums is to be an ascerbic bastard who just rags on newbs and shits on stories, then I have no respect for them at all. Unless they can contribute a valid opinion, backed up by supporting evidence in case they're being ascerbic, then they're classified as a waste of my time.

I guess age and location come in after that...I mean if a 14 year old came on here and made a slightly ignorant post, I wouldn't take any offense, and I woldn't go out of my way to be an asshole to them. If a 16-17 year old was being an asshat on the forums then I'd be more than happy to inform them of such.

Essentially, and I know I'm going to sound like an asshole here to all you older-member-worshippers, I don't give special respect for people who've been here longer than me, or are admins/mods. Sure, they've got more power on the forums, but that does not make them smarter than everyone else. Period. Just because they can ban you or delete your post doesn't make them more intelligent than someone else. They might be, of course, but it isn't a rule at all, so having newbs come in here and immediately drop to their knees around older members, admins and mods makes me feel sick.

And just because someone has been here since the site started means nothing. That person could be you, if you had stumbled across the site a year ago. Just because some person joined before me doesn't mean his/her opinion, or his her intelligence should be taken as being greater than mine. Again, it's possible that the person is more intelligent than me, but that's an opinion that should be made based on their posts. I won't point fingers here, but there are members who joined in early '05, but are entirely incapable of spelling even 5-letter words correctly. Just because someone is new doesn't mean they should be awed, or afraid of people who've been here longer. All you have to do is stay neutral, and once your posts have cemented your personality on DLP, then you're at a higher level than them, since you can spell.

/me actually gets really irritated by the older-member-worshipping.

Edit: Personally, if I was respected purely on the basis that I was an 'older member', I'd feel pissed off. And I'd feel like an ass because my 'reputation' wouldn't be based on the intelligence of my posts, but on the fact that I've been here longer.

 

zOMG teh Yarrgh, u joind lyk 2 days b4 me, lyk i worship u

/sarcasm

I voted for grammer, spelling and thoughtful conduct. Why?

Well the first two are obvious and while the last one has been torn to shreds and shat on by Yarrgh, general respect to other members, older or not, is a must lest the forum be thrown into a flame war.

 

Flame-baiters get banned, we've already seen that before. And I'm not saying that older members shouldn't get respect, I'm saying that if they're respected, it should be because of what they do, not because of how long they've been here.

 

Yeah, boot-licking older members is going on my nerves too.

But stupid silly n00bs aren't solely to blame for this, IMO. From the day they join up, we are training them to act this way.

It seems that some 'mid-age' and 'older' members are these days visiting DLP for the sole reason of venting their frustrations on newbies and stories that aren't 100% perfect. Thus, from the moment the new members sign in, they are bombed by people screaming at them to follow the rules and don't be idiots. Their every mistake is corrected by yelling, bashing and general rudeness. Thus, people who expected intelligent and mature conversations run away, leaving only kids who are desperately trying to pump up their post-count and rep, so that they could turn from those who are being bullied into those who are doing the bullying.

And then we're whining how all the new members are boot-licking aggressive idiots. It's our own fault, people; we filtered out the good guys.

 

Veterans get some automatic respect, to me, but not a lot. Intelligence displayed by someone's post is the kicker. That includes grammar and, to a lesser degree, spelling. Wit is nice, but more for bonus points. Same for being an author. Age-wise, I probably reflect IP. Obvious idiocy loses all previous gotten respect.

 

I personally don't care if you're an author or not. There are plenty of H/G shippers who's posts would mean less than dirt to me. Having said that, if I like your story and read it regularly (there are less than 7 I do this with and 2 of them I beta, so....)

Anyway, if I read your story and like it, you get more weight in my head.
Most important trait is to offer something unique and daring in your posts. Not "Safe." I personally don't think about my posts too much. For example, I have no idea what the next sentence will be. It could be anything at all....

Anyway (nice transition, huh?) interesting thoughtful posts (whether you agree or disagree) and authorship. Also time here. Last one's kinda lame especially when you consider that I joined in May of '05 (I think). Its been a while for me certainly (with large breaks in between).

Anyway, I defer to Midknight Dark Syaoran etc more naturally. Some of the more recent I frankly have less respect for. Its not a personal thing, its just being a mod/admin doesn't inherently make anyone more worthy of respect in my opinion. That's it. I'm done.


EDIT: I gotta say this also. No one should give a FUCK about virtual respect. Not a goddamn bit of energy. I probably won't see any of you, and the people who I MIGHT see, I've gotten to know. This is virtual respect. If you're sitting at your fucking computer and judging people who post in fandom forums, then you have gotta take a LONG HARD look in the mirror. The rest of the world thinks we're nuts. ANd Geeks. I'm not saying they're right, but for us to come down on anyone and say, "oh, he's boring," or "Oh, she's a bitch." this is all virtual bullshit ultimately, and won't really affect our lives positively or adversely.

Guarantee, right here. If ANY of you died tomorrow, I WOULD NOT KNOW. AND I WOULD CARE VERY LITTLE. That's a fact. I don't "know" any of you (some I do, but they know who they are.) The things we post here are ultimately for own amusement (at least to me) and I personally don't spend so much time thinking about "who do I respect here?" Generally have interesting ideas, and I'll read what you have to say. That's really it.

 

I respect a person based on their posts, opinions don't really have much to do with it as long as they are well artriculated. For instance, politically speaking I do not have very much in common with a few Conservative posters here, but the ones I respectfully disagree with are the ones who can artriculately argue their position without linking to a paper that is owned and operated at a loss for the advancement of BS talking points by Rev. Moon.

Generally speaking, I like people who have intelligence and a personality. If your new and you have an attitude (especially an ignorant or uninformed one) I will take a large segment of my time to construct an amazingly long post that could be construed as a troll (for instance my response to Lady Lana's Jerk Off thread).

And here are some things that will probably make me sound like a dick, but just about everyone here has a similar variant of them.

Odds are if you're ignorant, know it, and do nothing: I won't like you.

If you're hypocritical, know it, and do nothing: I won't like you.

If you have the grammar and spelling skills of an elementary school SPED student, odds are I won't like you.

If you post in a thread in politics and you claim to know "nothing about this" odds are I will be very annoyed and make a series of derogatory posts about you. Here's a hint, that tends to linger a while.

If you have a posting style similar to a previously banned member, odds are, I won't like you.

And Finally:

If you bitch about a thread I started while admitting to know nothing about the American Political System or Politics in general I won't like you, no matter how long you've been around.

All of this can be summarized as "Don't be an asshat and you'll be my friend".

I will like you if:

#1. You have a personality

#2. You have a brain

#3. You have hair as bad as Bioplagues and aren't afraid to show it off.


So it's simple. Don't be an asshat, and I will like you.

 

I have to say I have more respect for people who a) can use the english language (this doesn't apply to non-native speakers, I'll cut them some slack) b) make some contribution to the community and c) respect to other members.

Well thought out reviews are what drew me here, and the author community is nice too. I think the feedback and suggestions from DLP members really helped my writing style develop. I can definitely tell the difference looking back. And that's just from people giving good reviews, and I mean thought out reviews and critiques not people saying they liked the story.

The authors here are great too, there's always new content and it is usually a few steps above the common fare. Cliches and over used plot devices will always exist but the fandom is actually pretty limited in that way. There's only so many ways to start a Dark!Harry or Indy!Harry story so it's alright to see some repeats.

Respect for other users is another thing that influences my opinions. There are some people who love to tear into anyone at the first opportunity. Not everyone will agree on things (especially in the politics forum), but that's not an excuse to be an asshat. Have different opinions, express them, but be respectful to others. I'm often extremist, militant. and very non-pc but I won't bash or abuse everyone who disagrees. I don't even bash those who hit my rep in retaliation. It's just an opinion, relax.


Overall, what influences me to value one member's posts as "worthy to be read" over another's is that combination of past actions, wit/style, and the amount of respect they show to others. I'll hit the "new posts" button and whoever started or was the most recent reply are the way I'll judge the whole topic. If I like either of those people, I'll give it a look even if the topic title may not seize my interest.

 

I'm going for IRC because I spend a lot of time there. In chat you get a better feel for members and their personalities. Some members her have very low post counts (Compared to other) but I respect their opinions far more than others. If a person has only made 60 posts over 3 months that are high quality thats great, but I am going to have a hard time remembering them.

Seniority as in when they joined means fuck all to me. Some of the members that piss me off the most are members who have been around since 05 or the start of this year.

The thing that annoys me to no end is the intro thread. A newbie says "Hi I hate slash and like..." Enter the 5 members who can with out fail post the same bull shit in every thread. One member needs to tell the to read the rules and stickes and say hi. If you have something to say about a point in there intro go ahead but we don't need 5 posts from 5 members saying "Welcome to DLP read the rules..."

I also respect people who can respect people who have opinions which differ from there own. I hate when people call people idiots for not agreeing with them,

 

I base my respect of members on the intelligence of their posts...period. If some guy joins tomorrow and gives stories some great critique, writes some great arguements and poses a great challenge, I'm going to respect him more than some member who has been on the site since the beginning and keeps coming up with stupid ideas, doesn't give helpful reviews and is just an all-around asshole.

Age, to me, matters very little, but that might have something to do with the fact that I'm one of the younger members on here. I don't judge based on gender, either. Hell, I don't even look at the little sidebar, except if somebody has a flashy new avatar.

Honestly, I respect a person who holds different views than me, but can argue intelligently and make me think, more than someone who agrees with everything I say, to an extent. This all comes back to the intelligence issue, though, because if some psycho slasher comes in here promoting Harry/Slughorn/Flitwick buttsecks, I'm not going to respect them, because they are either trolling or just stupid.

People who join should be knowledgeable enough about the site to know that we dislike slash and should steer clear because of it. An exception is the recent newcomer Shi_Koi. She kept a level-head, defended her views, and ultimately won, so I respect her, even though she had to redeem herself for the Dune Crossover thread, which completely came out of left field.

So, in conclusion. Idiots=Fail. Intelligence=Win.

 

I'm a bit more biased to giving my respect to more people that post intelligently, whether in the forums or IRC, then anything else.

Although that has to coincide with a good personality and a decent sense of humor.

While I tip my hat off to the guys that hold their own in the Political and some of the Mature Discussion threads, I can't come off and say I automatically give my respect to all of them. Politics/Etc. is a touchy subject for everyone but just because someone can boast on and on about their political affiliations or how the Rep' over there or the Dem' over there is wrong, doesn't immediately equate to immense intelligence. Just a deep understanding of the Legislature and it's inner workings. (I can see the screams for my lynching already... ^_^)

But those members (Even the ones who don't post in the Political threads) that offer insight and common sense outside of that spectrum usually get a chunk of my respect. It shows a really great aptitude of smarts when someone can flow from a thread that is dominated by iron clad beliefs to another thread where they can dig out aspects of RL or HP fandom, and still keep that creative intuition.

The HP fandom contribution is a big part for me as well. I mean, isn't that the major drive behind this site? All other convo's are perfectly fine (Politics, RL, Mature, etc.) because those give us a small glimpse into the minds of the members, but sometimes I can get a better feel about someone from behind their stories/reviews/criticisms. Authors that are friendly or humble, reviewers who are honest, and criticism that is meant to help a person's writing are all great ways to gauge a person's personality when dealing with others.

That's why I had to cast a vote for IRC as well. While the forums have their own brand of humor and camaraderie amongst members, IRC is a bit more personable and lets people act a bit more natural around each other.

IP had a good point about us branding new members to worship the Mods and Admins and never step out line and while I feel that shouldn't happen to such a great degree, they should still show some respect, because they wouldn't be Mods or Admins without a verifiable reason. Now as members become more familiar with DLP and more in tune with the Mods/Admins, then they can start making the transition from respect because of the 'Banstick' powers, to the respect of a fellow DLP member.

Granted I've still got a lot to learn about how everything goes down in this place and I'm at fault just as much as any for sometimes blasting people. But it's a continual learning process, and while I would like to be on everyone's good sides, there comes a time when you've got to realize that there will always be a few members you don't see eye to eye with, or don't really like.