2fer, a couple of red flags for me about DU3

[UTUSN]

I think I remember kicking and screaming against changes to DU ever since the first round of those on the grounds that some things like DU can hardly be improved upon. But at some point I decided just to use the parts that suit me and skip past those that don't.

In one of the ATA threads, a couple of things stuck out (Issue 1): "No more deleted posts" and "Lock any thread you like." I'm, like, huh?!1 Maybe DU3 features have been explained in Preview threads that I missed or maybe it's too soon to kick and scream, but does this mean that personal attacks and other such infractions of the current "arbitrary rules" are going to be allowed to stand?

And the "Lock any thread" deal is a real stunner, raising my original bugaboo against the Rec/UnRec features, seeming to be a magnifying of the worst parts of Rec/UnRec.

This last links into Issue 2, "Rec/UnRec mischief nil... despite what some people think." I guess I'm one of the some people.

As I've typed (as opposed to "proclaimed" or "decreed") in DU many, many times, it is not the honest/intended use of Rec/UnRec that I object to, but what I have (anecdotally) seen: Perfectly innocuous topics of legitimate interest to DUers and suitable for discussion by DUers being UnRecced, with a suspicion that vendettas or wingnut malice are in play. And as for the Rec, ***again, when ABUSED*** popularity or clique-type motives are in play. Some of the darndest most absurdly frivolous things get Recced to the skies!

So the specter of "LOCK ANY THREAD" gives me chills. Does this mean that the current abusers of UnRec will be able to Lock threads the way they now anonymously wreak their mischief?! And as to the Admin conclusion that the mischief is nil, was a study done, do Admin have access to who does the Rec/UnReccing?

Very often, when I have Alerted/"Other" on examples of the abuse of UnRec I have done so as documentation of the mischief. But obviously this is an unscientific exercise on my part.

If these things have been addressed in Preview threads, might I be directed there, please, or if expanding on them is appropriate here, thanks. If it's just too soon to kick and scream, O.K.




*************QUOTE*************

Issue 1

Here's a taste of what you're gonna get on DU3:

- Every DU member will be empowered to participate in how the site is run (if they so desire).

- No more all-powerful elite moderators.

- No more deleted posts.

- Total transparency.

- Separation of powers.

- The people who are empowered to take action are also responsible for their actions.

- Members have power to run the groups you participate in, however you see fit. Block out whomever you like. Lock any thread you like. You enforce your own group's mission, not me.

- The emphasis is on stopping disruption, rather than enforcing a long list of arbitrary rules.

Issue 2

we aren't making any further changes to the rec/unrec system because it is going to be completely reevamped on DU3, which is just around the corner. While we're waiting for that though, perhaps it would put your mind at ease to know that the amount of "rec/unrec troll mischief" that goes on here is pretty much nil, despite what people think.

*************UNQUOTE*************

[Skinner]

1. I'm going to borrow a line from your post.

It's too soon to kick and scream.

The purpose of my post that you are referring to was simply to make clear that things are going to be run very differently on DU3. But my post was not intended to be a full explanation of how DU3 is going to be run.

Members will not be free to run wild. The new DU3 moderating system is designed to curb disruption, and to foster robust and respectful discussions. But it does so in a different way from DU2.

We have not posted a full explanation of how DU3 works, and I don't think we will. Our preference is to let everyone use it and see how it works, rather than to post a bunch of words and have everyone freak out.

Here's what you need to know: For members who like DU and make an effort to be positive contributors to the community, DU3 is unlikely to change your DU experience very much. If anything, it should make your experience better, because disruption will be handled faster and more decisively.

[UTUSN]

2. Thanks. I've never stopped trusting DU. n/t