Eliminate the stupid rating feature for top posts.

That's it. That's pretty much all it would take to make me a happy poster at this point. It was a STUPID idea in the first place allowing posters to uprate or down rate top posts, because it only and immediately led, for the most part, to PREJUDICED people rating the personality of the poster rather than the contents of the post.

On political boards in particular the poster is automatically down or uprated according to his personality or politics rather than the contents of that particular top post. On boards dominated by liberal posters a conservative or -- a non-liberal poster -- is consistently and almost always maliciously downrated by what amounts to cabals of like minded liberal posters.

Not to be outdone, where there are conservatives clumping together on a board [are there any such boards in the frayverse?] they do the same thing to targeted liberal posters.

What this ultimately does is cause posters to engage in flame wars.

So this rating feature is stupid and counter productive. It is of benefit only to the posters that have gained a following of like minded sycophants. Eliminate it and automatically eliminate one point of needless contention of these fray boards.

=================

Well that's my editorial wish list. What's yours?

I agree but also want the ignore feature back!!!!

I can't for the life of me figure out what Geoff Anderson [a former fray editor] was thinking when he eliminated that handy feature.

What could be better than to simply eliminate all traces on your monitor of the poster that sends your blood pressure soaring and that appears to have no redeeming qualities as a poster? Just put him or her on the ignore list and -- WHAMMO! -- there goes a major point of flame war contention.

Geoff was a total idiot to sanction the removal of that feature AND, conversely, promote the introduction of the rating feature. Slate could have done better if the management had simply randomly selected some drunken street bum to have become the fray editor than settle for Geoff.

But then I never DID like or respect him, not even when he was just a fellow poster.

Now I can't recall its exact name but there used to be a series of boards established by predecessor Kevin Arnovitz dedicated to use only by star posters [don't ask] or people on Arnovitz's list of approved posters.

Suffice it to say that it was the reserved posting grounds for what were supposedly the best of the best posters of that time. Oh yeah, now I remember. It was the Club Fray concept.

While I am not advocating you establish another reserved area for elite posters I would like for you to find those old posts and make them available again for reading purposes. You see, a handful of years ago the Fray technicians deleted or stored the old archives of about a decade or so of daily postings. They claim that they removed and stored them but we have come to suspect that the idiots deleted them. Anyway it was during that time that they ALSO stored or deleted the Club Fray boards.

So do whatever you will with the information. I don't know what sort of notes your predecessors left for you but since most of them were fools I would be surprised if what notes they did leave behind were of much value to you.

You silly narcissistic flame baiter.

You top post blanket flame baits and then come here and whine when people down rate your content-less posts.

Then you come over here and ask that you somehow feel you should be returned to a status above other posters who never left. Perhaps you could tell the editor the other names you post under so he can see what a flaming troll you really are. Even now you have multiple tops posts on a page that consist of nothing but baited traps and you even brag of it.

You only needed one thing to make you happy, and before you could finish your thread you had to add something else. Its all about you, you, you you. It simply doesn't get any sillier. But do continue as it is an amazingly entertaining display of narcissism. I need to get some more popcorn

is out to turn the new Fray editor against you or otherwise steal any of your toys. Here child . . . have a cookie . . . @

:-)

Your cookies are laced with arsenic. Good to know you admit to being a sockpuppet.

No other poster rails as much as him about past Fray Editors,checkmarks,stars etc. He could do it all in one paragraph too but chooses to do it with transcontinental posts. Whatever.

the terms he uses such as cookies and ankle biters gives him away also.

I guess the star must have really been the one success story he has ever had in his life, losing it seems to have really un-nerved him and sent him over the edge. It would be sad if he were not such an arrogant arse.

on BOTF already knew that Gatewood was a nic of mine. I explained last time I was on these boards that it was my preferred nic but that Slate/Fray would not let me use it then. Just the other day, when I came back, the system relented. Thus the nic switch. Didn't either one of you simpletons realize that everybody on BOTF knew who was posting without me having to tell them? You mean that didn't sort of . . . your know . . . CLUE you in?

If you two relentlessly determined ankle-biters would ever read my posts instead of just automatically down rate them out of pettiness while launching uncalled personal attacks against me you would be aware of what is common knowledge. But then if either of you were really all that bright you wouldn't be so dedicated to following me around on these fray boards. Ah well . . . at least I manage to keep you off the streets.

There is something else for you two to be aware of, if perchance the Fray editor has reason to crack open this top post and threads he is going to be very much aware of who's been taking uncalled pot shots at whom. Ahem! You two characters should probably wise up, cease your cute little posting games, and strive to be good Fray citizens. Just a word of friendly caution to the wise; i.e., start wising up.

As you have no doubt noticed simply by reading this thread Fray editor JTM, I am followed around by BFD, NickD and a handful of other posters who sometimes take turns launching uncalled for personal attacks against me or simply pile on all at one time and have a veritable field day at the expense of our fray services.

Far from desiring that you issue them a warning in your capacity as Fray editor I ask that you do nothing at all. They are essentially intellectual children incapable of coping with the fact that I do not share their political or ideological philosophies. No doubt by now you have noted that this is a fairly common occurrence across these fray boards, that some people make it their mission in life to follow others around and snipe at them for whatever reason moves them. As you have noted in this thread, the reasons are usually based on a combination of pettiness and paranoia. Some people simply cannot let go.

If you wonder how people like me deal with the annoyances that I have christened Ankle-Biters, I usually simply reply to them in as humorous a manner as possible. I try to laugh at them. Yes, that laughter enrages them, but it has been my experience that it usually -- albeit gradually -- teaches them that easier prey can be found elsewhere.

As I stated, usually they are minor nuisances and I can tolerate them. So therefore while encouraging you to note the phenomenon -- since you will frequently encounter it on these Fray boards -- I ask you not to interfere with this process. Eventually, these two minor posters, and the others like them that are currently following me around from board to board, WILL get tired of having me bust their chops with humor.

Oh . . . and in case you are wondering about the nic issue raised by BFD and NickD, I use one nic only while posting. For the past year I used a different nic. I then took two months off and when I returned I used the nic Gatewood. That is the only nic I will be posting under for however long I post this time around. Usually I post for six to ten months at a spell. What bothers BFD and NickD is that . . . well, they are bothered by my very existence. It's really as simple as that.

Anyway, it's been fun to leave you this little message, and if nothing else I can imagine how BFD's and NickD's eyes are going to bug out of their heads when they scamper back to this thread to read it. When you hear the screams of outrage you will know that they have opened this thread reply. ;-)

)))

that it was probably a bad idea to target certain posters simply because you personally dislike them or their politics and then follow them from board to board sniping at them and making outrageous accusations that they and any interested editor could prove false.

Really NickD, whatever obscure personal hatred motivates you to follow me around and launch these attacks, just let it go man . . . or at least develop a new posting hobby. There will be no hard feelings on my part.

into your mbtu. Betcha you like to hear yourself talk too.

Good Fray citizens stand for something. You don't. How many different Fray nicknames/personalities does this make you? Ican think of at least 6. Bet there's more than that.

fray boards does NOT make one a page pusher despite your assertion otherwise. Do you WANT to take that accusation to the fray editor and get a ruling? Be careful. You just may get a shock. Most of my replies are inside threads, which IS NOT page pushing. My top posts are reasonably spaced AND I have a fan base. Ahem! Do you? Do you think my fans consider me a page pusher?

As for nics, I use one nic and one nic only during my posting time. If I post for a month or for six months straight I use only that nic, and that has been my long established history. Your assertions or intimations to the contrary are lies that CAN be checked out. I don't pose and I don't post under multiple nics. I never have and I never will.

Again your and NickD's assertions to the contrary CAN BE PROVEN FALSE ACCUSATIONS. All that is required is for someone with the codes to do a bit of research.

I really don't know why you and NickD have decided to follow me around on these fray boards and start sniping at me. Anyone can look at this thread and see that you two deliberately sought ME out and launched your personal attacks. That's the beauty of these posts. They are here forever unless some fray technician gets creative. I have proof for everything I've said here and you DO NOT.

You might consider cutting your losses in this thread BFD. You are not carrying your case, but you are managing to make mine. While I do thank you for that, I also suggest that you [and your pal] grow up a little bit and learn to go about your own business.