Posting to multiple sites simultaneously

[FutureProof]

You would never, ever find me disparaging other Forums or sites in such a public manner as has happened here in this thread. No one should be offended by our position on this. Not only is ridiculing other forums poor taste but this thread smacks of groupthink.

Symptoms of Groupthink

Group members often have strong feelings towards the group, and are highly motivated to remain part of that group. They have a strong sense of solidarity, and strive for consensus at any cost. Groupthink results in a 'them versus us' attitude and fosters poor decision making and problem solving.

Group members share an illusion of invulnerability, excessive optimism and an unquestioned belief in the group's morality. There develops a collective effort to rationalise warning: the group will not even entertain the idea that something is wrong. Any member whose commitment wavers, or who may express doubt, experiences direct pressure to conform. This acts as a self-censorship mechanism, which is confirmed by an illusion of unanimity as silence is assumed to be consent.

Members hold stereotyped views of opponents or rivals as stupid, weak or evil.

The above conditions often provide the climate for the emergence of self appointed 'mind guards' to protect the group from adverse information, from disconcerting news. Thus a buffer is set up to prevent the infiltration of any other points of view. This is often encouraged by the well developed use of the' ad hominem' fallacy. "What would he know about this, he's only a ...". Any disparaging title will do.

There are methods available to counter groupthink. In general, they are based on brainstorming and other forms of lateral thinking. Members should always be encouraged to express doubts, to play 'the devil's advocate' role, and group procedures should be regularly reassessed.

I am very disappointed particularly after cfitz and I corresponded on this matter and I thought that the issue had been resolved. What Inertia fails to mention is the high regard that he is sill held in, by many of the Mods and Admins at CDFreaks, especially me.

This issue could have been entreated in a far more effective manner than what has occurred here. You can mitigate against unsocial behaviour, such as rudeness and crossposting within a site but you simply can't treat a site like an island. News groups are closeknit and organisational boundaries are fuzzy; they also have a highly developed social structure which is self-regulating in a very efficient way - they also evolve very, very quickly. The organisational and social topology of forums on the other hand, given current norms and mores, does not allow for gross behavioural modification across the web. To discourage posting the same query across several sites is akin to discouraging "shopping around for the best price". This is behaviour that will not change, whether you like it or not, until there is much further information convergence on the web.

I do see this crossposting but I resort by posting a link to, generally my answer, on the other site..."@bloggs: if you check out my answer [here], you can get on with solving this much faster!" I contribute to about a dozen sites, because the answers aren't all in one place, and I find it an infrequent occurrence.

Regards,
Stu Calvin aka FutureProof
CDFreaks Senior Administrator

[cfitz]

You would never, ever find me disparaging other Forums or sites in such a public manner as has happened here in this thread. No one should be offended by our position on this. Not only is ridiculing other forums poor taste but this thread smacks of groupthink.

Symptoms of Groupthink

Group members often have strong feelings towards the group, and are highly motivated to remain part of that group. They have a strong sense of solidarity, and strive for consensus at any cost. Groupthink results in a 'them versus us' attitude and fosters poor decision making and problem solving.

Group members share an illusion of invulnerability, excessive optimism and an unquestioned belief in the group's morality. There develops a collective effort to rationalise warning: the group will not even entertain the idea that something is wrong. Any member whose commitment wavers, or who may express doubt, experiences direct pressure to conform. This acts as a self-censorship mechanism, which is confirmed by an illusion of unanimity as silence is assumed to be consent.

Members hold stereotyped views of opponents or rivals as stupid, weak or evil.

The above conditions often provide the climate for the emergence of self appointed 'mind guards' to protect the group from adverse information, from disconcerting news. Thus a buffer is set up to prevent the infiltration of any other points of view. This is often encouraged by the well developed use of the' ad hominem' fallacy. "What would he know about this, he's only a ...". Any disparaging title will do.

There are methods available to counter groupthink. In general, they are based on brainstorming and other forms of lateral thinking. Members should always be encouraged to express doubts, to play 'the devil's advocate' role, and group procedures should be regularly reassessed.

I am very disappointed particularly after cfitz and I corresponded on this matter and I thought that the issue had been resolved. What Inertia fails to mention is the high regard that he is sill held in, by many of the Mods and Admins at CDFreaks, especially me.

This issue could have been entreated in a far more effective manner than what has occurred here. You can mitigate against unsocial behaviour, such as rudeness and crossposting within a site but you simply can't treat a site like an island. News groups are closeknit and organisational boundaries are fuzzy; they also have a highly developed social structure which is self-regulating in a very efficient way - they also evolve very, very quickly. The organisational and social topology of forums on the other hand, given current norms and mores, does not allow for gross behavioural modification across the web. To discourage posting the same query across several sites is akin to discouraging "shopping around for the best price". This is behaviour that will not change, whether you like it or not, until there is much further information convergence on the web.

I do see this crossposting but I resort by posting a link to, generally my answer, on the other site..."@bloggs: if you check out my answer [here], you can get on with solving this much faster!" I contribute to about a dozen sites, because the answers aren't all in one place, and I find it an infrequent occurrence.

Regards,
Stu Calvin aka FutureProof
CDFreaks Senior Administrator

Stu, what has happened here? I'm afraid I don't understand what you are upset about. No one attacked CDFreaks in this thread. Where did someone ridicule CDFreaks? Where did someone disparage CDFreaks? CDFreaks was mentioned only twice in this thread, once when I asked that people respect your forum's customs and not chastise people at your site, and once when Inertia stated that he disagrees with many aspects of CDFreaks so that he quit his position as moderator and stopped posting there.

I'm sorry, but I don't see any reason to be upset over those statements, nor do I find them to be disparaging nor ridiculing. My statement was an attempt to encourage people to respect CDFreaks and abide by its norms when posting there, and Inertia's was a very mild statement saying only that he disagreed with CDFreaks. Surely you don’t object to either of those statements, do you? I certainly don't see anything in this thread that justifies you accusing the readers and posters of this forum of poor taste, lecturing us about groupthink, lecturing us about our poor ability to raise and address issues, and, if I read the implication correctly, accusing me of being a "self appointed 'mind guard'". From my viewpoint, the closest thing to public disparagement of forums or sites that I can see in this thread is your post.

What brought on this outburst? Is there something I have missed here? Did something happen over at CDFreaks? Have you mistakenly assumed that my comments about the intellectual capacity of 9-year olds had something to do with either you personally or CDFreaks members in general? If it is the latter, then allow me to dispel that notion. My comments were in reference to a misguided soul here at CDRLabs who believes that post-count is the measure of a contributor's value and expertise:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 1920#61920

The above link puts you into the middle of a thread where a CDRLab's member made a statement claiming that his answers are more accurate and authoritative than Inertia's because he has a higher post count. That statement is the one to which I was referring when I spoke about the intellect of 9-year olds. To get the full effect, you may wish to read more of thread, both prior to and after the linked post. It also explains Inertia's comment about showing mercy on the undercocked. That thread might not be CDRLab's finest hour, but it has absolutely nothing to do with either you or CDFreaks.

Please don't be so sensitive. I think that most members of CDRLabs respect and enjoy CDFreaks, and many are members of both forums.

cfitz

[Inertia]

FutureProof:

Stu, I can only assume as cfitz has that you have misinterpreted the gist of this thread. Obviously, different policies on different boards is no big deal. There wasn't even any criticism about this, in my case I simply stated that I agreed with cfitz and not with the CDFreaks policy.

I think my comments speak for themselves and I don't see how you could interpret them as ridicule. All I said was:

As a matter of fact, there are many things about that site that I don't agree with, which is why I first resigned as a moderator and finally left altogether.

.

There is no ridicule in that statement. The other following comments as cfitz has pointed out were alluding to a particulary annoying member of CDRLabs, and it was basically an inside joke. I hope you didn't take these comments to be about CDFreaks, but by your reaction it seems that you did. I'm sorry if this caused you any distress.

What I didn't mention in public, but privately to cfitz in a PM, is the high esteem which I also hold for many members of CDFreaks. I mentioned you specifically as one of those people. I send people to CDFreaks all the time by posting CDFreaks links relevant to their questions or concerns. I have never said or implied that anyone should not go there, and have never criticized them in public, which I also feel to be in bad taste. I also didn't post my reason for my absence from CDFreaks, which was personal and doesn't apply to anyone else. CDFreaks remains one of the best sources of information on the Web, and I still browse there myself for answers and information. I don't know of anyone on this board that thinks of CDFreaks as an "opponent", as many people are members of both boards, including myself. Your "Groupthink" idea is way off the mark.

Please accept this explanation at face value and don't read something into this thread that wasn't there. I know that you are a good guy, and I appreciate you and your work at CDFreaks.

Regards,

Inertia

[KCK]

I also find the first paragraph of FutureProof's post to be completely incomprehensible, and hence unwarranted. I agree with cfitz's remarks entirely, but let me add that CDFreaks was mentioned more than twice in this thread, since I also remarked that cfitz has been recently active at CDFreaks; how can any CDFreaks member feel disappointed about that?

[FutureProof]

I accept what has been further said and apologise to anyone who feels offended. I missed this bit:

>So please don't chastise people there.

Stupid me

[majbach]

I didn’t bother to read the ‘essays’ posted above here. My only reason for becoming involved in this B/S is because my post was used as an example of an ‘offender’. I am inclined to think that the only reason why many of you pounce on so-called ‘offenders’ is because it offers you the only chance to flex your muscles, as you probably don’t have any real ones (excluding in your wrists). Frankly, I don’t see what the big deal is. I would assume the entire argument behind being against cross posting is to avoid redundancy. Yet, you create it when you respond by demanding not to cross-post. Are you to freakin’ lazy to move your mouse one inch onto the next post so as avoid the one you have already seen? In the past, I have posted a single post and been told that this was off-topic and should be moved to another forum. I for one placed my post in more than one forum topic because it fit into it, and I needed a reply.. I didn’t however post in every forum topic or in forum topics that didn’t apply specifically to my issue. I certainly DID post into forums of the same topic at different sites. How arrogant to believe that your opinion is law in that one post in one forum at one site is adequate. Stop focusing on your penis envy problem and get a life!

[banzibaby]

I agree totally with majbach on this.

I have noticed in my short time here that certain members seem 2 have a very snob like attitute 2 others & other forums.

Some have even said that this is the only forum they visit.I find that a bit sad.

Im am member of at least 4 other forums, but i got 2 say that i have never encountered the same amount of moaning that occurs here in my main forum(CdrBase)

Some people here seem 2 take offence at the slightest thing

Insread of acting like Parents, U should treat all members fairly & equally

Im not getting at any 1 in particular, but we are all here 2 help other people, not 2 bitch at them 4 silly things like cross posting on multiple forums.If people want 2 that, they are well within their right 2 do so

Let's get back 2 helping folk

Cheers

BaNzI

[cfitz]

I didn’t bother to read the ‘essays’ posted above
<snip>
I would assume the entire argument behind being against cross posting is to avoid redundancy.

Had you bothered to read rather than assumed, you would know that is not the entire argument, or in fact any of it. My argument is that it is rude and selfish to assume that one's own time is more valuable than the time of the people from whom one is requesting help, which is what one does by posting the same question in many different places simultaneously. The people taking the time to answer a question may not realize that it has been asked in several other places and already answered in one or more of those places, so that they are just wasting their time by repeating those answers. It isn't an issue of skipping a topic one has already seen elsewhere, it is an issue of wasting time answering a question that one doesn't realize has already been asked and answered elsewhere.

I certainly don't mind having the same information on multiple sites. That makes it easier to find, which is part of FutureProofs argument in favor of cross-site posting. But I do mind taking the time to answer a question that has already been asked and answered.

You are welcome to have a differing opinion, but please address the actual arguments, and do so in a civil manner without resorting to insults.

cfitz

[cfitz]

I have noticed in my short time here that certain members seem 2 have a very snob like attitute 2 others & other forums.

Some have even said that this is the only forum they visit.I find that a bit sad.

There may be some members who prefer CDRLabs to other forums and may even only read CDRLabs. That is within their rights. But on the whole I think most members are not against any other forums, nor are they snobbish about other forums. And many members are, like you, members of other forums as well. I am one such person. I read several different forums and post on a couple.

Insread of acting like Parents, U should treat all members fairly & equally

This is not directed specifically to you, but in general I would comment that when people behave like adults rather than children then there is no need for anyone to act like a parent. As for treating everyone fairly, that is exactly the point of my original post that started this thread. Is it fair to expect people who answer questions to waste their time answering questions that have already been answered? And is it fair to other questioners to divert resources and attention from their questions by repeating a question that has already been asked and answered?

Let's get back 2 helping folk

Great idea. And the fewer repeated questions there are, the easier it is to ensure everyone gets the help they need. By the way, I think if you look at the posting history of many of the people "moaning" about cross-site posting you will find that they have been very busy helping people indeed, and one can hardly point an accusatory finger at them for "moaning" and "bitching" rather than helping.

cfitz

[dodecahedron]

By the way, I think if you look at the posting history of many of the people "moaning" about cross-site posting you will find that they have been very busy helping people indeed, and one can hardly point an accusatory finger at them for "moaning" and "bitching" rather than helping.

yes, this is quite true.

[Matt]

I didn’t bother to read the ‘essays’ posted above here. My only reason for becoming involved in this B/S is because my post was used as an example of an ‘offender’. I am inclined to think that the only reason why many of you pounce on so-called ‘offenders’ is because it offers you the only chance to flex your muscles, as you probably don’t have any real ones (excluding in your wrists). Frankly, I don’t see what the big deal is.

Yeah stupid internet geeks, go work out in a gym. If you can't bench 400lbs you aren't worth the air that you breathe.

I would assume the entire argument behind being against cross posting is to avoid redundancy. Yet, you create it when you respond by demanding not to cross-post. Are you to freakin’ lazy to move your mouse one inch onto the next post so as avoid the one you have already seen?

MrLoveThySelf finds it easier to post to multiple forums and get answers that he "needs" than searching the forums, reading the rules, or reading the "essays" in response to thread. (*cough* lazy) It's fairly ironic that he spams away at the small penis, musclar atrophied geeks who are going to provide the help.

Stop focusing on your penis envy problem and get a life!

<paraphrase>I don't know how to retort your intellectual superiority, so I will attempt to lambast you with attacks on your penis size and physical apearance!</paraphrase>

[ChrisX]

What is wrong with that: "Posting to multiple sites simultaneously"?

I've just done one a minute ago posting a reply of the same question or topic in different web sites. No harm in this.

I am a member of at least three different forums. Who is going to stop me posting a new topic on each web site.

I really don't understand what is the fuss and upset is about on this topic

[CDRecorder]

CJGS, I think the objection is that many of us (myself included) post at several forums, and we don't want to answer the same question asked by the same person more than one time. For example, if someone asked the same question here and at CD Freaks at the same time, it would seem like a waste of time for someone to post replies to both forums. However, posting the same question to multiple forums is perfectly acceptable if you don't get any good answers within a few days.

[CDRecorder]

But on the whole I think most members are not against any other forums, nor are they snobbish about other forums. And many members are, like you, members of other forums as well. I am one such person. I read several different forums and post on a couple.

I am another such person. I have nothing against other forums, and I read and post in others as well.

[ChrisX]

CJGS, I think the objection is that many of us (myself included) post at several forums, and we don't want to answer the same question asked by the same person more than one time. For example, if someone asked the same question here and at CD Freaks at the same time, it would seem like a waste of time for someone to post replies to both forums. However, posting the same question to multiple forums is perfectly acceptable if you don't get any good answers within a few days.

So, I understand now and I know what you mean. Answering to the same question twice or more to the same person is too much. You are right, waste of time.

How would someone know the same person? The same user name, is this right?

[CDRecorder]

Yes, the username is probably the same. Also, the question will probably be identical in both forums.

[Ian]

Matt, why did you have to drag this topic up again? I thought it was dead and buried.

[cfitz]

Feel free to delete this thread entirely, Ian. I only started it to let off a little steam (a rant, if you will - hence its inclusion in this sub-forum). It doesn't have any practical effect.

Considerate people who appreciate the efforts of others from whom they request help won't cross-post duplicate questions and don't need to read this thread. Conversely, the rude and inconsiderate people who value themselves above all else won't bother to read this thread. Even if they do read it, they evidently can't or won't understand it and certainly won't change their behavior based on it. Instead, they will continue cross-posting duplicate questions to as many forums as they can find, with the attitude of "Me me me me me!! It's all about me!!! Everyone drop everything you are doing, help me now, right now, and all other considerations be damned!!!!"

So, in the end, this thread is entirely pointless. Besides, I've found that the best way to avoid wasting my time answering questions that the selfish have duplicated in multiple locations is to not answer any questions at all.

cfitz

[dodecahedron]

Besides, I've found that the best way to avoid wasting my time answering questions that the selfish have duplicated in multiple locations is to not answer any questions at all.

yeah this is the surest way not to waste your time!
i hope you don't go that way though, mate. who would answer MY questions then?