Community appeal
There's is something that has bothered me for a long, long time about this Community. Unfortunately, it's inherent to LiveJournal and not something that can be fixed by a change in settings. It's a problem that only individual members can remedy. And it's much more serious than a few annoying tattoo requests.
The problem is that we create out meeting spaces as we go along. We're like a discussion group that has no community centre. Instead, we're forced to take turns meeting in people's homes. That is, a discussion space only comes into being when one of the Community members posts here, which creates a space where others can add comments.
The gaping flaw in this is that the OP can, at any time, decide to delete the post--and with it all of the comments. In three years or so, I've yet to see any OP ask for input before doing this; they simply make a command decision to pull the plug. What if the discussion is still going? Too bad: Out of my living room! What if someone comes late and wants to see what people have been talking about? Too bad, it's gone now!
I'm not saying that every comment I post here is so precious that it should never be deleted. But I do wish posters would keep in mind that this Community is not for their benefit alone. Okay, so you posted asking for help with an art project, and instead everyone turned it into a thread about bad anime translations. So what? What does it hurt to leave the tangent there?
In your Journal, you are absolute monarch; you can do whatever you want--ban people, delete off-topic responses, change the format--hey, go nuts. But in this Community, you are one member among thousands. Please have some respect for your fellow members and keep in mind that what's best for you at a particular moment may not be best for anyone else or the group dynamic over the longer term.
Thank you for your kind attention. [Y'all are free to talk openly--even about things which have nothing to do with the subject of this post. This entry will never be deleted by me.]
The problem is that we create out meeting spaces as we go along. We're like a discussion group that has no community centre. Instead, we're forced to take turns meeting in people's homes. That is, a discussion space only comes into being when one of the Community members posts here, which creates a space where others can add comments.
The gaping flaw in this is that the OP can, at any time, decide to delete the post--and with it all of the comments. In three years or so, I've yet to see any OP ask for input before doing this; they simply make a command decision to pull the plug. What if the discussion is still going? Too bad: Out of my living room! What if someone comes late and wants to see what people have been talking about? Too bad, it's gone now!
I'm not saying that every comment I post here is so precious that it should never be deleted. But I do wish posters would keep in mind that this Community is not for their benefit alone. Okay, so you posted asking for help with an art project, and instead everyone turned it into a thread about bad anime translations. So what? What does it hurt to leave the tangent there?
In your Journal, you are absolute monarch; you can do whatever you want--ban people, delete off-topic responses, change the format--hey, go nuts. But in this Community, you are one member among thousands. Please have some respect for your fellow members and keep in mind that what's best for you at a particular moment may not be best for anyone else or the group dynamic over the longer term.
Thank you for your kind attention. [Y'all are free to talk openly--even about things which have nothing to do with the subject of this post. This entry will never be deleted by me.]