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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE VERY UGLY IIDec 31 '07 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line As 2007 draws to a close I look at epinions life in the past 12 months. On the last day of 2006 I wrote a recap of my brief epinions experience calling things as I saw them. Although my piece did get me in some trouble, most readers’ response was decidedly positive and I was surprised to see my Trustees list balloon. Clearly freedom of speech is alive and well in our community. And appreciated. A year later I thought it might be interesting to some to read my newer take on things. For anyone with the time to spare, here’s the epinions Good, Bad and Very Ugly part II. THE GOOD -Friends: Really, I never expected to make so many good friends over cyberspace. dianapinions once asked if our epinions friends are as true as our real life ones and I think the way shmoo1 answered captures the essence: “One’s writings betray one better than one’s spoken words”. Fact is, you can really get to know one through her/his posts and connect with her/him strongly. Distance is irrespective. After all, there are pictures and videos that today you can send over the web to compensate for the lack of visual contact. I have connected resiliently with a number of fellow epinioners with whom we correspond regularly and I look forward to meeting two of then when they visit Europe in the summer. Thanks epinions! -Comments: Terrific feature of the site. I said this before, but the comments section of a review can be even more rewarding than reading the review itself. I’m certainly guilty of overindulging in writing comments, with the result that I’m the unofficial record holder of comments posted vs. reviews written :o) -Write-offs: Great fun! I never cease to be amazed at the creativity of members who think up topics to write for. Now if only I could participate in more of them… -Writers: What essentially unites us here is love for writing. But some of us do a truly exceptional job. Here’s some members I have singled out in topics I habitually read about: The Thorough: These guys are like nature: they abhor a vacuum! Their every review is utterly comprehensive, no holes whatsoever: Don_Krider: Be warned: if you read a Don music review you might never attempt one of your own. His every submission is a labour of love. Gr8ful: William is a published IT author who manages the impossible: deliver his knowledge in terms even a layman can understand – even yours truly! henry_thoreau: Well, it’s Mike actually, and he writes on many topics, but he has a knack for unearthing helpful products you never knew were there! Howard_Creech: It’s amazing how much work Howard puts into every single one of his cameras reviews. And behind it. smorg: A living Opera thesaurus. His deep music erudition is transmitted via a novice-friendly style that makes his every piece a delightful voyage of discovery. The witty: Last year I thought the funniest guy around was voxpoptart, a Canuck. Sadly, this year he’s gone in hiatus -no doubt due to his having had a baby arrive. No problem, another Canadian has stepped forth to take his place. He is complemented by a Brit. shmoo1: Mike is gifted with a genuinely hilarious speech –and he writes just like it! It might take some getting used to, but once you’ve learned to accept his presentation he will make you laugh your proverbial off with his utterly unexpected puns and punchlines. brian_lettsin: It’s Mark, actually, and he resides in dreary old Scotland. There’s nothing dreary about his wit though, which is a prime example of the inimitable dry British kind. If you like it as I do, read and keep on smiling. Mark is a master wordsmith too, a future novelist I’m sure. The “Spaders”: The what? Well, those who call a spade a spade. If you like pussyfooting steer clear of them, they don’t mince words. But if you can take candour and honest criticism do read their reviews, comments and Message Boards posts. George_Chabot: The Doyen of epinions Film Noir and History. George will unfailingly post several pieces every week dissecting offerings from his pet categories with enviable even-handedness and exemplary economy. millinocket: Sue simply shows how a movie review ought to be written. In a vastly popular category where almost everyone thinks s/he can contribute, the insights of her pieces make them stand out time and again. Penguinlady: Margaret is a most cultured lady who will bring you captivating records of her travels to captivating places. The next day, she will write about a utility household product. The captivation is still there. The good Guys and Dolls: Now this is really unfair to the rest of my picks; all are good persons –you don’t make it to my book elseway. But these citizens of the community simply exude a marked inner goodness, and it reflects in their writings. Pen portraits in alphabetical order, as always: dianapinions: Very original very helpful reviews on a variety of helpful products. Oh, also founder of SHLEPS, and if you don’t know what this is Diana doesn’t understand you too :o) garym: Mr. “Yup”. An American living abroad, Gary is a multi-faceted, multi-talented human being. Can really a cop be so emotionally rich? Oh, an ex-cop. kedsand1: Writes on many subjects, but really ought to write more. A serious, thinking young man and an honest debater. popsrocks: Phil, or “Pops”, is the embodiment of jolly information on places, food, books, music, tools… you name it! Who was it said New Yorkers are introverts?... Lastly, in a category of one, there sits vicfar.Quite a guy. His pen is potent, words flow effortlessly into phrases, paragraphs… into powerful arguments. They spring from an admirable erudition and he opines on an array of burning subjects, invariably with a directness which can shock. Only for the open minded, but they’ll be rewarded richly. Enough goodies then, time to turn to... THE BAD -Rubber Stamping: Yep, things seem not to have changed in the last 365 days. Maybe the phenomenon is not as organized as in years past, i.e. there may be no “Rating Circles” per se anymore, but to the impassionate observer rubber stamping is still widespread. What’s the way out? I voiced a proposal that hats be obliged to post a minimum of comments instead of a minimum of rates, oops, reads, but sleeper54 thwarted me saying you can con a comment almost as easily as a rubber stamp. Uh, he should know best, he’s been around. So what’s anyone doing about this malpractice? -Hats: OK, I got your attention :o) Now let me amend this to some hats. Forgetting official rules, a hat is one who’s supposed to lead. And that means lead in all manners: reviews quality, comments essence, Message Boards helpfulness, conflict resolution, behaviour in general. There’s no substitute to leading by example. And yet some hats’ life and times appear singularly unimpressive –not to say downright suspect. Heck, I’ve seen lowly members carrying themselves more upright and contributing more to the advancement of the community. And if you have to ask if I’m referring to you the answer is probably yes. On the other hand, I want to take this opportunity to extend my deep appreciation to the worthy hats who stood up to be counted whenever it mattered. Well done guys and gals, hopefully there will be more and more of you. Again, you know who you are, and my question is why do you put up with the rest? -Message Boards: The General one, that is. Knowingly or not, some regulars there are treating non-regs with superiority. The expected result is that many members who could contribute positively to the community’s progress are shying away after the first couple of hurtful encounters. Not a good thing. George Chabot and Don Krider attempted to find a solution raising the issue at the Boards themselves, but the threads were locked up before enough suggestions had fallen on the table. I think the issue ought to be re-opened and members at large actively encouraged (read: prizes…) to contribute their ideas on better Boards management. The move in itself would show those feeling that Boards are the turf of a self-selected few that they are wrong. -“Lightening” of content: It could be me, but I sense a certain lowering of the intellectual level at the site. There simply seem not to be enough thinkers around anymore whose reviews/essays are thought-stimulators and their comments sections a celebration of invigorating debate. bettega, cabowabo, epops, gaviidae, macresarf1, voxpoptart , 29th_Candidate and other noteworthy writers have ceased posting or have largely diminished their contributions -and their place is not being taken up by newer inquisitive pens. I mean, I’m all for fun and good times, but critical thinking has a place too and I miss it. -My still not managing to use epilinks :o( mobiprof, I gotta write you for private tutorage… THE VERY UGLY -epinions: Or rather, epinions and trolls. I think it was Winston Churchill who said “The wise man knows when to break the rules”. The men at Brisbane don’t. Our community is quite federal, and we are expected to largely police ourselves. Nothing wrong with that –so long as it works. Come the times when a situation simply blows out of members’ control. Extraordinary conditions call for extraordinary measures and that’s when epinions officials must step in. It didn’t happen with William Pinn. A troll, if there ever was one. But a savvy one; he made friends before he threw off the mask. Then he embarked on a harassment campaign with his circus in chorus. The community proved unable to stop him (hats off to the one hat who took him on). That’s when Brisbane should have stepped in. It didn’t. Pinn & Co felt stronger and went on a rampage over the site, insulting people, revenge rating and going as far as to publicly proclaim on this site that AC is a better community and urging people to go there. Still Brisbane did nothing, expecting us to contain psycho Pinn. Emboldened by the officials’ onlooker attitude he went totally riot. What followed was inevitable: something VERY UGLY. Pinn & Co descended on a member going through a testing personal time to inflict mindless pain. What cruelty. That’s when Brisbane stepped in. TOO late. The pain the member went through didn’t have to happen. The member had troubles of its own. It didn’t need Pinn and his entourage to add to its trials and tribulations with their baseless cruelty. But it was inescapable something as ugly as this would happen with a troll on the loose. I sincerely hope the lesson has been learned and that when the next Pinn arrives Brisbane will act wisely. That just about sums it all up. Thanks for reading, apologies to those worthy members I’m sure I must have forgotten and I wish you all a joyous New Year. -Vasilis  |
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