What do you hate most about SC?

I think anonymous comments should be abolished. If they don't want to be recognized, then don't say it

other -- specifically, annoying surveys.

wicksy -- right on!

I really enjoy SC when people are thought-provoking and respectful to one another (even when they are criticizing), and when they are whimsical, clever and humorous. I hate SC when it gets boring, people have axes to grind, interpersonal annoyance is visited on the whole community, or has too many bad surveys.

anonymous : that's very amusing, well done

Nothing really jumps out. As a whole I enjoy the site very much. I personally do not like essay questions but would not want them abolished either.

I get annoyed by users who perpetually make flawed surveys (despite the comments of other users calling out their mistakes). It's especially annoying when the survey had a good idea in it, but it was constructed poorly enough that it was ruined.
To some degree I recognize that my annoyance is my own problem though, so I'm trying to just get over it.

Too many surveys. I find it's hard to keep up.

I said "anonymous comments" because that's a policy thing that could be fixed (yes, Bill, I know why you think they are important and I agree with those reasons, but I don't see them being used that way and I do see them being used in ways I consider destructive to the spirit of community and debate).

Essay questions I usually mark "bad" because they are sheer laziness on the part of the creator (not always, but usually), but it doesn't really annoy me.

As I said in that survey, I find the criticism significantly less annoying than the complaints about it.

milktree - I worry about that. I worry that SC will end up weeding out all but those who can keep up with it. I don't think it has to be that way. I'd like SC to grow, get more users and more surveys; and I'd like that growth not to infringe upon casual users.
I've been considering adding hints like "Hey, are you overwhelmed by all these surveys? Are you looking for a way to scale down the number of surveys you process?" - then offer them sets of SurveySelectors (those links at the top like "What's New") that limit the quantity. For example, you can view only this week's or this month's surveys. You can view only highly rated surveys. You can view only surveys that you created yourself. etc. I suspect that the process of going into Customize and picking new SurveySelectors is too cumbersome and confusing for most users.

hunter - I actually kind of like the anonymous digs and insults. I often find them humorous. I don't really understand why anonymous comments upset certain people. What's so important about knowing who said what? If a person doesn't want to expose who they are, I think they should have that right. Are you annoyed by the digs and insults, or are you annoyed by simply not knowing who's saying something? Can you give me a specific example of anonymous comments that bothered you?

Well, if I have to pick something - the occasional escalated flamage. Though often it's interesting to read, usually when that happens at full bore the volume is daunting.
[After reading comments] Well, also repeated poorly constructed surveys are very annoying, especially from people who are writing a whole truckload of 'em with little pause for reflection or learning. But I haven't seen any of this lately, really. The vicious criticism seems to keep them down

Has anyone else noticed that questions about SC seem to travel in clusters?

I don't hate anything about Survey Central, though I do dislike questions that use an overlarge amount of exaggeration to make a point.

Bill, I'm confused by your attitude about this. You've asked us to be less critical and more supportive and yet you support anonymous digs & slams?

I've thought about this a fair bit, because, as someone else pointed out, user names are anonymous in some ways. I think that what bothers me is that in the continuing interaction we build impressions of each other and hiding behind anonymous commenting means you don't want that to be part of the picture of you. In which case, in my opinion, you have no business saying it. Own your words!

There were several digs at lisa that bothered me. It bothers me that there is at least one person who always comments anonymously (I don't understand why that user doesn't merely create a new user name if they feel their own has been so contaminated), because I find it confusing and feel that they want to participate in the community without being part of it. One cannot say "OK, it's that one person and I see what their beef is," since it could be any number of people. It is another level of facelessness that I find sinister and unfriendly.

I agree with Hunter's comments concerning "anonymous" a great deal.

SC user attitudes. Yes, I am under an anonymous name.
HA HA

The anonymous bit is what bugs me most.

My strong desire for the elimination of all anonymous commenting and survey creation is already a matter of public record.

hunter, I think the digs and slams are funny (or at worst harmless). I think that's a different thing from critical comments. I think there was (and probably still is) a problem with people being overly critical of surveys. For a time it seemed that people were more interested in criticizing survey then answering them. They would ignore the spirit of the survey, and instead pick on the flaws. I think that has nothing to do with people joking around under the guise of anonymous.

I think the desire to know who said what is suspicious to some degree. Why is it important? Can't the comment stand by itself? "Own your words" seems a bit strong. Can't we "try on" words, have a little fun with this forum? It's not like we're in a court of law. This site is just for fun right?

I don't know if I like the implications of the strong desire of people here to associate a comment with a personality. Does that mean the comment would have a different meaning if it comes from a different person? Like, "she's anti abortion, but she's only 14, so what does she know?" or "he believes in the death penalty (and I think that's wrong), but he's such a stud that maybe he's got a valid point of view".

I think Survey Central should be more about surveys than about personalities.

I think it would be interesting to do only anonymous comments.

Obviously, what bothers you is different from what bothers me. I have never found the critiquing of survey form to be a problem, you do. I find anonymous sniping destructive of community and hurtful, you don't, despite at least one person having left specifically because of this practice. I think that if you are going to have comments, rather than depending solely on the survey results, then it becomes a discussion and I like to have a feeling for who I am talking to. I am more impressed with Pandora than I might be with someone else, because I know how young she is. On the other hand, I take Mimi's comments somewhat differently because of her experience. When she or kadai say something about libraries or working with children, that has greater weight than when you or steve say something on those topics, because Mimi and kadai have experience in those areas. So yes, I think that linking comments with personalities is an important thing and what makes a sense of community possible here. I think eliminating user names on comments would make actual discussion impossible (and seems like an odd thing for you to suggest, given how much work you put into the new interface allowing more coherent exchange).

bill: I basically agree with you, but just to expand hunter's point -- the digs and slams themselves are often directed at a particular user's persona, and if they are funny that's often because they are on target. It's hard to direct a good dig or slam back toward "anonymous", you don't usually have much to work with.

OK, so the reason the anonymous feature is bad is that it diminishes the community? If anonymous comment were being made (and they are) that were not digs and slams but reasonable comments, would they still be annoying?
I find this topic pretty interesting because I think we've uncovered some basic differences in ourselves, that may go pretty deep.

Yes, I think perhaps that's why it bothers me *so* much. If only reasonable comments were being made anonymously, then I think I would not like it, but I would not have turned from supporting it to despising it (check out the survey specifically about anonymous commenting and you'll see this transformation). Basically when I see something from anonymous, I try very hard to ignore it, because I feel that by being anonymous the user has said "I don't want you to know who I am, I don't want to deal with the reactions my words create, I'm not interested in interacting, just in imposing my words on you," and that I'm pretty much not interested in.

I should add that in cases where the anonymous feature is used to protect the user and allow them to share something they do not feel they could otherwise share, that is germane and constructive to the surveys, I think it's a fine feature, but I don't see it being used that way at all anymore.

If there were not an option for anonymous... you probably wouldn't see the same degree of honesty that you see now... I don't use it much, but I think people would start creating second users to make up for the absence of the anonymous option.

It is an open forum-you can't expect to please everyone all the time. Of course there are going to be criticisms. and people are free not to answer surveys they don't like.

there are two kinds of essay questions... one kind has such a broad spectrum of answers that I think it's appropriate to just have a "fill in the blank" answer. The other kind is "Situation X - discuss", which tends to annoy me a lot.

On the other hand, I think that the ability to post comments or surveys anonymously are of great value when dealing with certain edgy subjects where people may be afraid to let their identities be known. I think that does win out over the infantile use of anonymous to slam people.

When I look around I see anonymous comments being used reasonably in many/most cases if it's used at all. For example, the "What drugs have you used?" and the legalizing pot surveys. It's perfectly reasonable for someone not to want to reveal their illegal activities in a public forum!
From my scans, I find that it's seldom used (most surveys have zero anonymous comments). I'm having trouble finding examples of bad anonymous comments.

I am having a very hard time with this question & have thought it over for a few days before answering. What I hate the most is the obscenity for obscenity's sake we have gotten in some surveys. I do not consider myself an old prude by any means & I guarantee you that my children do not, but I finally had to take bill's advice & turn off the offensive surveys. I did write a survey I classified as offensive once, but I did it only because I anticipated some answers that might be offensive to others & I was correct. I have learned so much from this forum that I am very grateful to bill for keeping me in touch. At work we are always being told that we have to keep up with pop culture & this certainly helps.

ooo.. tough choice.. I'd say the sniping from anonymous comments, followed by the non-constructive criticism followed by questions with no options..

Poorly constructed surveys.

the way it is organized

anonymous - please elaborate. I can change/fix things if I understand what the problem is....

I have a partner, and some friends on SC who do not know certain pertainent aspects of my life. I enjoy having the opportunity to discuss my opinions on certain social/political/sexual topics without "outing myself" before I am ready. I have sometimes even debated some of these very topics with people I know this way. I believe that having these discussions anonymously with eventually enable me to come-out and not destroy the rest of our relationship in the meantime.

My problem with anonymous comments is that you can't tell one anonymous from another. But couldn't this be fixed?

My understanding is that accounts are pretty anonymous anyhow, since only you and bill and people you tell know who you are. I mean, I chose an obvious account name, so people can *assume* I am who they think I am... but they might be wrong. I might be some guy who took this userid to piss off the real drdt (I'm not).

bill, what if you let people have a second userid that goes up when they select 'anonymous', so that they can basically have two identities that are not associated with one another? Then people could be anonymous, while still allowing for some conversational continuity?

I think that it's hillarious that people actually think that there's any difference between someone who posts as "anonymous" and someone who posts as "DiggityDog420". Unless a participant deliberately "outs" themself (which many of us - being friends/acquaintances in the 'real' world - already have), aren't we all anonymous anyway? What possible difference should it make to 'DiggityDog420' to know that it was 'LilPuss' that dissed him about his survey, rather than 'anonymous'?

I see far more comments that are deeply critical from attributed users than from 'anon's. Saying "You're stupid" as an anon hardly qualifies as a deeply hurtful comment.

And I know just the fact that I *could* post an anonymous comment makes me more willing to partake in surveys about potentially dangerous topics, such as those regarding drug use, et al.

****

What is the largest impediment to me in enjoying SC is the number of surveys - When I visit the site, I find that so many new surveys have been created - even if it's only been a few days - that I either get discouraged after answering a couple and leave, or I spend all afternoon at it and feel disgusted with myself - and don't go back for a couple weeks. I have to admit that although I talk the site up quite a bit to people, I always warn them that it's a huge timesink and may not be worth getting hooked on. I suspect many folks pass rather than take the chance.

I do not mind people who comment anonymously on the survey questions although I don't really respect a person
who doesn't have the courage to back up their words with a handle....but I believe they have every right to post
anonymously....I HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE WHO HECKLE OTHER POSTERS IN ANONYMOUS
POSTS...THEY ARE COWARDS!!!!!

Anonymous comments & some of the really childish anonymous surveys I've come across.