Karma

[Midnite]

I really don't think most people use that curse button much - maybe here and there if they disagree strongly with something someone says.  I think the curse button serves as a tool for a few people who are rather frustrated and don't know how else to express themselves. They've usually decided they don't like you, or you annoy them in some way.  Once in awhile you'll get someone who thinks you've stepped on their toes, or you don't fit in to their agenda or what have you, and they decide they want you out of their territory so to speak.  These people will embark on a dedicated campaign to get rid of you.  Problem is, they can't hit your curse button more than once in a 24-hour period so they enlist a couple of their followers to help them get the count up faster.  These are the type of people who can't think for themselves but they DO like the idea that they're serving a righteous cause, so they're quite serious about they're involvement.  They also serve to bolster the person in question's sense of validation.

The feature is intentionally anonymous and certainly was never intended to be a tool to chase anyone off the forum.   Since visitors wouldn't have any way of knowing who's using the feature, they also couldn't possibly be privy to the user's intent unless s/he chose to reveal it, nor could it be known if members using it similarly are even aware of each other, and I surely don't have any knowlege of members using the feature to carry out a personal agenda or employing minions in the process.  And the heart of the matter is that everyone is welcome to post here.

If a visitor is being or has been harassed on the forum through IMs or posts, then I certainly want to be contacted about it, and to that I'll add the use of information, opinions, or images posted here to harass a member off the board, and if a member is undeniably linked to those behaviors I wouldn't hesitate to kick them off.

Do you realize these people actually went to the trouble of digging up an old post of mine so they could hit that button?  Kind of pitiful how much time some people have on their hands.

As MB pointed out, we've made older posts available on the board so that others could read them at their leisure, and I frequently receive questions about them.

[Patti Feinberg]

I went for about 2 weeks without posting a single thing, and each day my curse count rose by 2 or 3 anyway!  Now THAT'S dedication.  ROFL
Do you realize these people actually went to the trouble of digging up an old post of mine so they could hit that button?  Kind of pitiful how much time some people have on their hands.

Anyway, just continue being the nice person you are and ignore those numbers.  Take care.

love
CLC

Connie...when I COULDN'T get on....my curse # rose also...thanks for saying this honey

Patti

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Funny, I don't recall anyone mentioning the cure totals they might acrue while they're away. And believe me, there've been plenty of those. Just ask the people I referred to in my previous post.

[Raineypark]

Once a cousin has received 127 Curses AND 127 Cures, does "Karma"  just go away?  Or do the numbers just roll back to zero and start over again? (Shades of Prometheus  )

And a round of applause to anyone who can tell us what connection "Prometheus" has to Dark Shadows......?   

[ProfStokes]

And a round of applause to anyone who can tell us what connection "Prometheus" has to Dark Shadows......?   

Didn't John Karlen have a part in that play when he was away from DS?

ProfStokes

[Patti Feinberg]

I went for about 2 weeks without posting a single thing, and each day my curse count rose by 2 or 3 anyway!  Now THAT'S dedication.  ROFL
Do you realize these people actually went to the trouble of digging up an old post of mine so they could hit that button?  Kind of pitiful how much time some people have on their hands.

Anyway, just continue being the nice person you are and ignore those numbers.  Take care.

love
CLC

Connie...when I COULDN'T get on....my curse # rose also...thanks for saying this honey

Patti

LMAO...Connie...since I posted this (about 5 hours ago)...my BAD karma went up!!!

Patti :oquakin' in her shoes

[jennifer]

I guess i have to believe that after reading all of these posts
that people are just using this for fun. after 127 i'm starting to hope it stays this way because seems like some people do feel hurt by it.
take care everyone[sun]
jennifer

[Eleanor_Rigby]

I've never been too sure how the karma works.  The numbers just magically appear and change.     I did go back to earlier posts and read about how karma works and I think the reason I don't see pluses or minuses is because I have not posted enough.     Most of the time, I find other posters have either said it already or said it better so I browse 98% of the time.  Fading back to the shelves fo now ...

[Raineypark]

Didn't John Karlen have a part in that play when he was away from DS?ProfStokes

 

Excellent ProfStokes!!!  Exactly right!  John Karlen played the title role in "Prometheus Bound" at Yale during one of his 'sabbaticals' from DS. 

[Cassandra]

I wonder though just how accurate these karma numbers are because there have been times when I hit the "cure" button for a post that I like only to have the karma numbers go up two points instead of one like it's suppose to.  This has happened quite a few times with me so Im wondering now if the same thing could possibly be happening whenever someone hits the "curse" button also and maybe this could be the reason why the numbers keep going up so fast. 


Cassandra

[Debra]

I try not to let the karma thing bother me too much.  I agree with alot of what Midnite and Mb said and also if you have confidence in yourself and what you write then the negative points shouldn't mean anything anyway.   I tend to see the glass as "half full" so I look at the plus numbers more than the minus ones.   I enjoy reading everyones posts here so I look at the karma thing as just fun and nothing more.

Deb

[Midnite]

I wonder though just how accurate these karma numbers are because there have been times when I hit the "cure" button for a post that I like only to have the karma numbers go up two points instead of one like it's suppose to.  This has happened quite a few times with me so Im wondering now if the same thing could possibly be happening whenever someone hits the "curse" button also and maybe this could be the reason why the numbers keep going up so fast.

I just checked the karma settings and there's still a 24 hour wait time for members.  All I can think of, Cassandra, is that someone else has also used the feature between the times you loaded the page and clicked cure.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just checked the karma settings and there's still a 24 hour wait time for members.  All I can think of, Cassandra, is that someone else has also used the feature between the times you loaded the page and clicked cure.

I also wanted to mention that on the copy of the forum I have setup in Linux on my computer I've just tried to duplicate what you've said has happened, Cassandra, but no matter what I tried to sneek past the system, the 24 hour warning came up. The only explanation I can come up with for what you've seen is the same one Midnite has given.

[Cassandra]

I just checked the karma settings and there's still a 24 hour wait time for members.  All I can think of, Cassandra, is that someone else has also used the feature between the times you loaded the page and clicked cure

Thanks Midnite.  I had thought the same thing too that it could just be that there are two us clicking on the same post at the same time.  Only usually no one else is on when Im on here late at night.

I also wanted to mention that on the copy of the forum I have setup in Linux on my computer I've just tried to duplicate what you've said has happened, Cassandra, but no matter what I tried to sneek past the system, the 24 hour warning came up. The only explanation I can come up with for what you've seen is the same one Midnite has given.

Yes, I understand what you mean MB but I think you're misunderstanding what I mean.   Im not clicking on the "cure" button twice,  Im only clicking once.  For example, say someone has a karma plus number of "50"  well after I click on "cure" one time, the number comes up as "52" instead of 51, which it should be.  This happens alot with me.   So what Im saying is that just one click the karma number jumps up to two points alot with me.
  I don't know,  maybe my system of IE just takes longer to recognize the current number.
Either that or like I said once before, maybe my computer is really possessed!!! 

Cassandra

[Mysterious Benefactor]

For example, say someone has a karma plus number of "50"  well after I click on "cure" one time, the number comes up as "52" instead of 51, which it should be.

No, I understood that. I probably just didn't adequately explain what I'd done, which was create a whole bunch of dummy users, log in as each of them simultaneously, and then go to town having them curse and cure each other. No matter what I tried, either the count went up one point per click or I received the 24 hour warning.

maybe my computer is really possessed!!! 

Maybe.