Mod Post: Go Public or Stay Private?
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From what I remember the issue was to do with people in this group posting negative comments about the main forum and it's users, and not so much about people trolling the group...0
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bluefish86 wrote: »From what I remember the issue was to do with people in this group posting negative comments about the main forum and it's users, and not so much about people trolling the group...
Those were part of the accusations. But, nothing about being private prevents that from happening. Nothing about being private prevents us from being discovered, if we let it happen again, because anyone could be lurking in here and could report stuff like that. Just like being private doesn't prevent anyone from posting links to the main forums or telling other people to go out and join them in causing problems out there. Those things all would cause us serious issues, if we didn't move to stop them, but being private doesn't help.
We did have some people trolling around in here. It was minor. The main thing was them lurking in here and then reposting/reporting comments made here, out of context, in the main forum slug-fests. While there is a new barrier to casual spying, it isn't a high barrier.0 -
I like private. I have not been here long and was actually directed here by some group members after posting in the main forum. So, I think when a person is spotted in the main forum as being LC and having questions, being confused, etc., the members here are really good about directing them to this group.
My main fear about going public is that there are some people that are seriously critical and mean about this WOE and if we can avoid having that, I think it is better for those of us who are new, impressionable and still learning. Also, for someone struggling they can post here and get support as opposed to people telling them to quit because of whatever bro science is cool at the moment. There are many a troll on MFP and also people that vehemently disagree about LC, so if we can be more careful about keeping those opinions out of the discussion, I would like that. We are all here because we feel this WOE is what works for us, the possibility of having critics being involved in the discussions is concerning.0 -
I say keep it private. I joined when it was private. I searched for low carb groups & joined. At least this way, the joiners are identified. If they earnestly want to explore this WOE - they can join. Privacy doesn't mean people are unwelcome to explore, or that they can't find us. (I did!). To me, it means keeping potential trolls out. I treasure the lack of drama here!
I joined after it became private too. I searched Low Carb and your group came up.
I can go either way, but I prefer the private aspect of this group. MFP is full of "Would you date the poster above you?" and "Rate poster's sexiness"...I just can't take that nonsense seriously. Here, I think people are real and open about their victories and struggles.
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sorry for late response, I'm in China and its hard to get on the internet here.
I guess I'm a contrarian, I see most want private. I vote public.
Dan the Man from Michigan0 -
Here's the link to the poll so that everyone can vote anonymously.
http://goo.gl/W2bYGo
I'll post a thread as well for it on its own. I think there might be those who might be intimidated. I pretty sure I know how the vote will go, but it would be remiss of me to not gather the opinion of those who would prefer to not let their position be known in this thread.
I would like to see us go public. Why?
I would like us to be more like a sub-section of MFP. Open to all. Users didn't have to bother with joining a group to get accurate information without hostility before. They could just come to this group and peruse and find what they wanted. There is always a lot of noise in the way out there. And low-carbers coming in threads and spouting misinformation. In here, you can strip away the quarrelling and the circus, and get what you need. We don't need to be private to do that.
I do absolutely get why some want it private though. There's a reason why I don't go in the main forums.
We'll go with whatever the majority says. And if it is to stay Private, we hope to figure out a work-around, perhaps a mirror site, for all the information we have gathered here that we can link to so that anyone can access it. That's going to take time though. I volunteered to help mod in the first place so that I could "pay it forward," and I can't pay the knowledge, advice, and information forward if some people can't see it. It's a job half-done in that case.
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Though I'm new to the group, I prefer the private format. I do believe that people have individual traits and shed weight differently. I know, for a fact, that I don't do well on the MFP dietary guidelines. I am a "Special snowflake", as they say & I imagine a lot of us in the group are. I was able to find y'all with no trouble, made my request to join & was accepted very quickly. The stress of having to be on guard, in defense of your WOE, just becomes too much, at times. I feel understood and protected here. I'm very appreciative of this group of folks. :-)
In fact we ARE all special snowflakes. I despise that "insult" being used on main boards. grrrrr.
Glad you found us.0 -
baconslave wrote: »Here's the link to the poll so that everyone can vote anonymously.
http://goo.gl/W2bYGo
Apparently one can vote as often as one likes.
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Lucille4444 wrote: »baconslave wrote: »Here's the link to the poll so that everyone can vote anonymously.
http://goo.gl/W2bYGo
Apparently one can vote as often as one likes.
Well I hope whoever voted already was honest and voted once.
That's been fixed. Thanks for letting me know.
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I was not dishonest. I wasn't sure it was working right, I did vote more than once and let you know when I saw what happened by posting here immediately. I will PM you to discuss how to fix this.0
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Lucille4444 wrote: »I was not dishonest. I wasn't sure it was working right, I did vote more than once and let you know when I saw what happened by posting here immediately. I will PM you to discuss how to fix this.
I was talking about everyone else. I had no idea the idiotic thing was doing that. Thanks.
Sent you a PM.
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inspirationstation wrote: »I say keep it private. I joined when it was private. I searched for low carb groups & joined. At least this way, the joiners are identified. If they earnestly want to explore this WOE - they can join. Privacy doesn't mean people are unwelcome to explore, or that they can't find us. (I did!). To me, it means keeping potential trolls out. I treasure the lack of drama here!
I joined after it became private too. I searched Low Carb and your group came up.
I can go either way, but I prefer the private aspect of this group. MFP is full of "Would you date the poster above you?" and "Rate poster's sexiness"...I just can't take that nonsense seriously. Here, I think people are real and open about their victories and struggles.
Those types of posts were never a thing here. Most of the members don't like that, either, at least not in a group designated for a specific purpose.
I'd like to reiterate that being public still means that people have to join in order to post. You can't post in groups without first joining. However, it does allow anyone to read what has been posted, and joining is no longer moderated (though, as Fit_Goat mentioned, we don't do extensive background checks on applicants or anything like that, so the join moderation only weeds out the glaringly obvious).0 -
I suppose I fall somewhere between newbie & old timer. I think I joined around the first of the year & I'm pretty sure I lurked for a week or so before joining. I've been a lot less active posting this fall, life has been happening in a big way. I still scan through the new threads each day but often have not have time to make any comments. The danger of a private group is that new people with new ideas or new people needing answers to old questions stop joining. My suggestion would be to maintain status quo but review the decision at 3-6 month intervals.0
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Private for me please, have had 'issues' with some of the comments / attitudes on the main forums. Feel much safer here.
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Please remember if you haven't yet voted through the Poll Link, please do.0
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Private to help avoid trolls and strife.0
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I'm too new to have experienced the former drama, but I can imagine how it went down, based on my experience on other weight-loss community boards. From former experience, I generally have no impulse to go to community general boards because that's where the trolls tend to be.
As far as this board is concerned, I agree that it would be nice to have the search function available. There are a number of questions I've had lately that I didn't want to pester the community about if it's already been discussed to death, but it's way too much time to manually search the topics out. If the board mod is willing to stay on top of any flagged posts or harassing behavior, I'd be willing for it to go back to public. And especially if the board will maintain the consistency of the topic discussion the way it does now, focusing on low-carb issues, rather than meandering off into a lot of general topics. That's what I like about this board.
On the other hand, if the majority would rather keep it private, I can't argue with that, especially if it will help maintain the board quality.
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@marlamp10, thank you for your "newbie" opinion! We need more of you to do that. As one who was here during the "drama" I appreciate the privacy of not being public. I encourage you to ask any questions in the forum. Even if it's been discussed before someone out there may need to see the answers too. So please, ask away!0
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baconslave wrote: »Oct 1st marked the passing of the 3-month enforced group closing (as in the group being made Private.)
It's time for us to decide whether or not we are going to reopen the group and make it Public or keep it Private.
Public status pros:
Public groups are viewable by all MFP members and all MFP members can join without approval. People can read threads without joining, or they can join the group to participate in discussions. The pro to this would be providing a no-commitment source for those just wanting to investigate this WOE. It might edify non-low-carbers or might help people on-the-fence about the WOE make a decision without pressure.
Cons would be that jokers and trolls from the main forums can join and snoop on us. Which is what happened the last time. They could join and cause trouble or bring things said here into the forums. However, since we have nothing to hide and don't employ or endorse any shenanigans, that's not really an issue.
Remaining private Pros:
It's a safe haven here. Only those approved by moderators can join and read threads or post. We have no worries of experiencing haters unless someone masquerading as a low-carber flies in under the radar. We currently have a couple members who are not low-carb and occasionally post who have never caused a bit of trouble.
Cons would be that only members can read our posts and get the information we provide. If we have MFP friends who aren't part of the group, they can't read the posts if we try to share them. And also, if we're Public, I'm going to be even more of a harda$$ about the Community and Group Guidelines than I already am. We want this Group to remain available as a safe harbor and gateway to information, which isn't going to happen if people act like turds, and we get "disbanded."
If you are a new member, please take a moment to click the Group Expectations sticky at the top of the Group home page and read up on the guidelines. If you have any questions after that on specifics of what went down, feel free to PM me. Would prefer to not discuss it in the Group. It's not like we have anything to hide, we just think that encouraging discussion about it might open the door to violating the Group and Community Guidelines as they have been handed down to us by the Site Admins.
I'd like for everyone to take the opportunity to discuss your thoughts here, refraining from violating the Group Expectations in the doing. Any pros or cons I neglected? Concerns? After a week, I'll post a poll link for you guys to vote on whether or not the status quo remains, or we go public once again.
Thank you for reading.
Annnnnnd....Discuss.
EDIT:
Poll Link
http://goo.gl/W2bYGo
Open the group. This info can save lives. Literally. Just have strict rules about it. Ppl who wanna start trouble can be banned and go have their fun elsewhere. I'm betting it's a select few who have the time and inclination to do that anyway.0 -
ms_smartypants wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »I thought a private group doesn't come up on a group search? ?
It came up for me when I looked for a lowcarb group and then I filled out the little form and was approved to join ....I am loving this group
But, I agree with this, too. It came up for me when I searched. As long as it's easily findable, I'm good with private, too.0
This discussion has been closed.