Now I see what Menard's talking about

[Patient7]

I noticed someone dropped me a karma point for some reason.  It's not the point that bugs me, it's the fact that I don't know who it is or why.  I still like the karma feature though, if only we could see what post karma was added or deleted from.

But now I sympathise with you, Menard, because I'd like to know who did this and why.

[Doc Daneeka]

Look through your recent posts and sig. I got mysteriously dropped a few weeks back and figured it was because of my Blade Runner suggestion XD

[Menard]

I noticed someone dropped me a karma point for some reason.  It's not the point that bugs me, it's the fact that I don't know who it is or why.  I still like the karma feature though, if only we could see what post karma was added or deleted from.

But now I sympathise with you, Menard, because I'd like to know who did this and why.

When you get knocked down 10 points in one day because a troll was more welcomed than you, then you can sympathize with me.

Want to know who did it?

Call the p***y out.

Kinda goes like this: here...p***y...p***y...p***y

Of course, you may get more than one to come running.

You can also just start up a thread to get karma for yourself. Extortion works well in this case. Of course, it is expected for you to give thank you speeches in return.

You can also do this:


Okay, now, who voted down Patient7 and didn't even bother to say anything about it?

Fess up; or else the next line of questioning is going to hurt.

[Raffine]

and . . .

KARMA! for Patient7!

[Patient7]

I noticed someone dropped me a karma point for some reason.  It's not the point that bugs me, it's the fact that I don't know who it is or why.  I still like the karma feature though, if only we could see what post karma was added or deleted from.

But now I sympathise with you, Menard, because I'd like to know who did this and why.

When you get knocked down 10 points in one day because a troll was more welcomed than you, then you can sympathize with me.

Want to know who did it?

Call the p***y out.

Kinda goes like this: here...p***y...p***y...p***y

Of course, you may get more than one to come running.

You can also just start up a thread to get karma for yourself. Extortion works well in this case. Of course, it is expected for you to give thank you speeches in return.

You can also do this:


Okay, now, who voted down Patient7 and didn't even bother to say anything about it?

Fess up; or else the next line of questioning is going to hurt.

One, excuse me for actually trying to be nice to a person.

Two, thanks for your suggestions, those are pretty funny.

and . . .

KARMA! for Patient7!

I hope this was karma for my hatred at karma droppers who don't say anything and not petty karma, petty karma just seems like a new low for me.


And now...

here...p***y...p***y...p***y

[Patient7]

Look through your recent posts and sig. I got mysteriously dropped a few weeks back and figured it was because of my Blade Runner suggestion XD

Okay, I took your advice and I found four possibilities, so there's some karma for you.

First someone may have misread a post on the worst gifts thread about me being THANKFUL for my terrible gifts.

Second there's a post I made on the R. Kelly trial thread in which I said it being good that it was postponed because now we have Trapped in the Closet, I meant to laugh at.

Third I made a Jarhead joke, a person in the military may be offended but I doubt it was Andrew because he made light of someone else's joke and I think he has some integrity.

Finally in a quoteable movies thread Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail came up so I mentioned how the French Guy called them kkkkkkkkkkkknigits (knights with the k being pronounce) I suppose someone might have thought I meant a racial slur, I don't know how.

Anyway, whoever it was fess up or the next line of questioning is going to hurt.

[Andrew]

Third I made a Jarhead joke, a person in the military may be offended but I doubt it was Andrew because he made light of someone else's joke and I think he has some integrity.

If someone actually offends me, I think you will know it.  I don't really give out negative karma.  Positive - yes, but if I disagree with something I am far more likely to state my case.

Anyway, whoever it was fess up or the next line of questioning is going to hurt.

I'd say that the best course of action is to consider the matter as over and move on.

[Menard]

Anyway, whoever it was fess up or the next line of questioning is going to hurt.

I'd say that the best course of action is to consider the matter as over and move on.

Nyah; it's no fun that way.

Notice how much Patient7 is becoming like me?

[RCMerchant]

If I get a bad karma...I take it as I got some kinda attention. The only person I ever gave bad karma to was Wyre Wizard...but he likes it...so I figured I was helping him anyway. WW is a masochist for punishment....and I don't mind obligiing his phoney a$$.

Anyway, whoever it was fess up or the next line of questioning is going to hurt.

I'd say that the best course of action is to consider the matter as over and move on.

Nyah; it's no fun that way.

Notice how much Patient7 is becoming like me?

He's but a child! You...you MONSTER!!! 

[AndyC]

We all get a negative karma point at least once in a while, and I think the normal reaction is to look back and see what it might have been for. It gets pretty confusing if there isn't anything obvious. I wouldn't sweat it.

What I find almost as confusing is a sudden surge of positive karma with no obvious cause. You must have said something clever, but you can't think what it was. That's when it bugs me.

As a journalist and columnist, I guess I don't see the karma as a big deal. I'm used to the idea of being liked and disliked by people I have never met and will likely never hear from. That's reality. I put something out there for all to see. Many read it, some have reactions, but few give feedback. And that can occasionally come in the form of a really nasty letter or phone call. What the silent majority are saying is a mystery. You just have to be sincere, understand your subject as best you can, and stand by what you write.

If the anonymous karma system has any value, it might be as a measure of that praise someone doesn't consider worth expressing or that disapproval someone is reluctant to voice out loud. Even a surge of bad karma can be valuable. Sometimes, just knowing you have offended a lot of people can lead you to reconsider, if not what you say, at least how you say it.

That doesn't make it a substitute for a real complaint, of course. Communication, to me, is always better, because in my experience, people are frequently offended by something they misunderstood. On the other hand, if we want open communication, we have to be prepared to accept that people are going to say things that might not be nice, offer equally open criticism if what they say crosses a line, and hold off on the bad karma until we're sure it's deserved. That applies particularly to posters who are critical of other posters. Don't automatically dock somebody a point for speaking up.

If you are determined to give bad karma, at least use it as an accompaniment to open criticism, just as positive karma usually accompanies a word of praise. "I don't like what you said, sorry, negative karma."

However, the anonymity, while not conducive to open dialog, does at least encourage honesty of a sort. Remember that hearing nothing does not mean someone wasn't offended. The sentiment is still there, even if you don't know about it. Better to know, I say. And if that's not enough, you can at least be satisfied that something you wrote got a reaction.

It would just be so much more helpful to know what the karma was for.

[trekgeezer]

I never give out negative karma, but I do give out good karma.  I really don't care about the karma thing other than when it goes up a few points and I don't know which post got it for me.

[Patient7]

I realize that my original post seems sort of as a bit of whining but I was actually calling out people who also have been knocked karma without being told.  I like the karma system and every time I do knock someone karma I at least say that I didn't like their post.

And RCMerchant, I have a long way to go if I even dare to consider thinking about changing my name to Menard 2.0 or Son of Menard.  But I would never do that anyway.  If I do change it at all it'll probably be The Artist Formerly Known as Patient7.

[Menard]

...I have a long way to go if I even dare to consider thinking about changing my name to Menard 2.0 or Son of Menard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwExDG7n7Zg

[Raffine]

If you want to experience the 'Phantom Negative Karma Phenomenon' firsthand - just post something negative about President George W. Bush!   

[Allhallowsday]

If you want to experience the 'Phantom Negative Karma Phenomenon' firsthand - just post something negative about President George W. Bush!   

Hey!  You went down!  I gave you karma and you went up to 181...!          I now restore you.