How karma at MobileRead works

[GypsyWoman]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

you are welcome.

i forgot to mention, you can also see who gave you karma : click on your "user cp" (top left, in the blue menu bar) and scroll down to where it says "Latest Reputation Received". there's a link to the post that got karma-ed, the karma giver's name, and a message (if they left one). fun stuff. personally, the messages and the fortunes are my favorite parts.

Wow!! I had no idea !!

Thank you everyone!! This is so cool!!



Okay, remind me how to give karma. Is there a give karma button I'm not seeing?

I'm pretty excited now.

[zelda_pinwheel]

yeah. it's that button marked "karma". at the bottom of each post (on the left).

[GypsyWoman]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

yeah. it's that button marked "karma". at the bottom of each post (on the left).

DUH!! I see it ......now!!

You deserve some karma for answering all of my questions..and very quickly I might add.

[zelda_pinwheel]

hee ! no worries. we all have questions before we figure out how everything works. i *still* have questions about stuff.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

hee ! no worries. we all have questions before we figure out how everything works. i *still* have questions about stuff.

Like, "How are little socks made?" No wait, that was Lefty.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Like, "How are little socks made?" No wait, that was Lefty.

i'd like to know that too, actually, if you're planning to explain.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i'd like to know that too, actually, if you're planning to explain.

Not only how they are made, but also what do you mean by "little socks" and who is "Lefty"?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RWood

Not only how they are made, but also what do you mean by "little socks" and who is "Lefty"?

"who is Lefty ?" who is Lefty ??? you know, Lefty ! Hugo's, um, twin. everybody knows Hugo and Lefty ! they're my socks.

[FizzyWater]

I'm starting to think there needs to be an "anti-Karma" button...or, can you enter a negative number?

I realize that after years of being asked the same questions from a constant stream of newbies who really don't know better, sooner or later someone's patience might run out. But sometimes the "answers" people post for new questions are downright unhelpful and deliberately obtuse!

I suppose the danger would be that it could turn into a kind of "popularity contest", but - boy! - there are times I'd like to slap someone with some anti-karma!

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I'm starting to think there needs to be an "anti-Karma" button...or, can you enter a negative number?

There was once a time when moderators could reduce a member's karma.
But we decided that it wasn't very helpful, so we disabled that feature. Now, nobody can reduce karma.

It's occasionally a mild irritation to see the same question asked repeatedly, But new members may not realise that they can search the forum for answers. I think that we can afford to be patient.

As for the very occasional person who intends to be rude: well we can ignore them, I suppose - unless we feel like replying.

[zelda_pinwheel]

actually i get the impression that fizzy water is annoyed by the replies that some experienced members sometimes give. but i agree that the best way to avoid being annoyed is to simply not answer.

[FizzyWater]

Zelda's right - it was the unhelpful "answers" I wanted to punish, not the questions. I want to say "ignorant questions", but that has such a negative connotation! I just means those questions that make it very obvious the person is new, new, new to ebooks - and in some cases - computers!

It is quite obvious that members here have all levels of computer skills - from those who've bought their first ebooks and aren't very technical to those writing the programs and the hacks so we can make those ebook gadgets work more like the way we want them to.

I am personally so grateful for the people (like nrapallo, for example) who graciously answer the same questions over and over, point them to wiki posts, share information about programs/tools, etc. I've been hanging out here for a little over a year, and searching for posts I know I've read, but can't remember the title for, can be challenging. How much more so for the newbie who doesn't even know the right questions to ask, the right words to use?

This forum has been an incredible resource for me - and I've sent friends here as I've talked them into buying ebook readers of their own. So when I see someone new post a less-than-knowledgeable question, and they get "slapped" for it, it makes me cringe.

If it's something I know something about, I just try to give a more newbie-friendly answer, rather than completing ignoring the thread. But sometimes I want to shoot back something an old roommate used to say all the time: "Who p*ssed in your Cheerios?!"

[zelda_pinwheel]

i know what you mean. i think it's good that you've brought it up, because it's a good way to remind everybody that a really important element of this community is the respectful, friendly tone that we try to maintain, and that depends on EVERYBODY, in every circumstance.

of course, someone who is just finding out about ebooks won't know a lot of the things that might seem obvious to a more experienced member, that's to be expected. and maybe some people get exasperated answering the same questions over and over. but as patricia pointed out, the best way to deal with that is simply not to answer in that case, and let someone else handle that question. that way everyone continues to have a good experience here.

a new member who gets a friendly, helpful answer is much more likely to stick around and give friendly, helpful answers in turn, than someone who gets "slapped". and that is good for everybody.

[RWood]

I have seen a few answers, such as the ones FizzyWater references, where the answer is so obtuse that for even a topic where I know the answer, I cannot understand the response. It is often hard when you have responded to the same question many times beforew to remember when you asked the same type of questions and were so happy to get a response that opened your eyes rather than a flip retort or a reply that was more confusing than the original situation that caused you to post the question.

This is why some questions seem to be just lingering there unanswered for a while. Many of the moderators try to hold back a bit to let other members answer the questions rather than jump on every question they see. This gives others a chance and allows dialogue to develop. Sometimes when a mod posts an answer, all discussion stops. As many forum readers have already observed, all moderators do not agree all of the time. Discussion is sometimes required to fully identify the true problem or to fine-tune a response. There are often several correct responses to questions and discussion allows the original poster (and readers) a chance to see multiple approaches to the problem. Sometimes though, questions have only one correct answer.

So if a response seems unclear, flip, or cryptic; ask for more details. Even the best of us sometimes have an off day, a blind spot, or post what we think is a complete answer only to have the browser clip a line or two.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by RWood

I have seen a few answers, such as the ones FizzyWater references, where the answer is so obtuse that for even a topic where I know the answer, I cannot understand the response. It is often hard when you have responded to the same question many times beforew to remember when you asked the same type of questions and were so happy to get a response that opened your eyes rather than a flip retort or a reply that was more confusing than the original situation that caused you to post the question.

This is why some questions seem to be just lingering there unanswered for a while. Many of the moderators try to hold back a bit to let other members answer the questions rather than jump on every question they see. This gives others a chance and allows dialogue to develop. Sometimes when a mod posts an answer, all discussion stops. As many forum readers have already observed, all moderators do not agree all of the time. Discussion is sometimes required to fully identify the true problem or to fine-tune a response. There are often several correct responses to questions and discussion allows the original poster (and readers) a chance to see multiple approaches to the problem. Sometimes though, questions have only one correct answer.

So if a response seems unclear, flip, or cryptic; ask for more details. Even the best of us sometimes have an off day, a blind spot, or post what we think is a complete answer only to have the browser clip a line or two.

Edit: Sorry, I typed it before dinner and forgot to press "Send" before I left. Pressed it after I returned and the prior two postes then showed up.