Having one of my articles rejected from a group is demoralizing, and for this reason I've made every attempt to send an email explanation to anyone I rejected from my groups.
I'm going to stop doing so however, and the reasons are:
1) because I state pretty clearly what is and is not allowed; or
2) because I find the subject matter so blindingly (your adjective here) that giving it aid and comfort would most likely cause harm to all that is intelligent and decent in the world.
Perhaps too, I'm lazy. I'm open to that possibility. The charge that I may have a life outside of Gather, albeit a wee life, may have some merit. For these and other reasons, I don't puzzle long over whether or not to reject something. I err on the side of leaving it in, and if there's no doubt about it being inappropriate, then from here on out no apology will be forthcoming.
A good many of the posts I reject from the No Fighting, Whining or Putting Things Down group might be perfectly appropriate somewhere else, and I have in fact featured some of the same articles in the Humiliated Conservative or Nonconformists. So when you're rejected from a particular group, try not to take it personally. It may just not fit the group's purpose.
For example (and to get around to the purpose of this post):
Anyone who posts to No Fighting, Whining or Putting Things Down group ought to know from the group's name that titles with any of those characteristics will likely get ejected. (I'm a bit lax on the whiners, who I only mean to discourage. I don't want to be the one to add rejection to their long list of woes.) Fortunately, the very name of the group has had the effect of keeping the spew and mew at bay. I do not open every post, so I'm sure some things slip by, but I'm very happy with the overall cooperation and compliance of the group members.
I'm not going to make any apology for inviting to this group anyone who wants to avoid the nastiness. All the time we see articles bemoaning the lack of civility on Gather, and here, in this group I manage, is a place where it can be avoided. Yes, I get points for group activity. Yes, I put in some time weeding out the (your subject or adjective here). My best guess is the effort I put into managing the group pays about 40 cents an hour. I'm not in it for the money, rather I value Gather and think providing safe havens for reading and writing is a good thing.
So, in conclusion I'll just repeat the group description:
"Join the protest. This group is for actual writing: fiction, journals, poetry - anything creative, enlightening, informative. The moderator will reject attacks, responses to attacks, ripping on the Gather staff or community, or effortless putdowns."
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Comments: 52
I still write to try and say why usually, but my groups aren't that big. I do however have six groups now I try to stay on top of anyway, and I sometimes don't have time.
It's your group, do what you feel best.
Take care.
Thanks for clarifying things.
John, smaller groups make it easier alright. I've been here some 18 months, so some of my groups, like Nonconformists, have activity where I can't even hope to keep track. Without the cooperation shown by the NFWPTD group members, it would be a mess. I thank them all, in case I missed that in the original post.
Webduck, I'll bet they've been thinking about categories for groups. If such a thing would be workable, I'd sure welcome it. Keeping the group categories straight may require a full-time position though. It sounds like quite a job.
Julian, some pop music has gone the same way as TV commercials. If we're not in the target market, they don't care if we get it or not : )
When submitting an article to a group, I tend to err on the part of caution: if unsure, don't post.
No nasty articles about me allowed! yippeee!!!!
Humm..if there were nasty articles about me on gather..ya'll would tell me..right? right?
*grin*
One thing that gets me, is how many people feel they have the constitutional or god-given right to post any D--- thing they want anywhere they want! ...wonder what their response would be if I came to their house and defecated in the middle of their livingroom???
Joanne, being rejected from one or two groups hardly dooms an article. If there's something there, people will find it despite it's status in one place.
Synchronicity, I'm hoping people find multiple havens. I'll guess for example if all a person wants to read about is food, they don't even know the negativity goes on.
June, if there's anything in my article that pertains to a group, I'll include it there. I've written about groups and Gather technique quite a bit and posted it to groups where that is specifically the topic, and yet it gets rejected. It's arbitrary and can't be taken personally.
Kerry, there may be lurid jokes, but I haven't seen anything rude about anyone that lasted in the group.
MrBill, contacting everyone who joins your groups is a nice touch. Good job.
very good article... I know personally myself.. I have screwed up numerous times, posting a wrong article in the wrong place... Or in a hurry just posted an article to every group... I know it can get annoying for moderators to reject articles... but also... Here is a double sided look at that... since I moderate all my groups... Why have a group modertated if you hate having to reject things... But also... I know people make mistakes... So when someone rejects something... I know I posted not on accident to a group... Well actually either way... I take no offense to it... But very good article again... Stick your grounds...
Mary, it's true that sometimes even an explanation of a rejection is not viewed as a courtesy. It seems most people just give it a shrug, but I had to learn to look at it that way.
I just featured Jeff Kozlowski's article on change. It could have been acrimonious and yet everyone is being civil. That's what the group is all about.
Faith, Carolyn and I spend a lot of time keeping the Chat & Connections Garden Cafe hassle free and giving everyone an equal chance of being read. It takes time but we think it is worth the effort. Unlike you, I don't get paid for 'owning' the group - in Australia, the Gather points have absolutely no value whatsoever. We cannot cash them in or exchange them for vouchers. Thus I get zero cents per hour I put into the Cafe and zero cents per hour for all my other activity on Gather. However, I get paid highly in friendship - which is the only real thing of value to me on Gather.
Magi, I like that you're hosting a have also.
Visionaerie, I have been known to feature some pretty controversial things in my Nonconformists group that I ejected from the No Fighting, Whining and Putting Things Down group, so rejections from that group are no attempt to muzzle. In fact I have a doosie featured there right now.
Hey, Jessie. Been out on the lake lately? I miss your photos, but don't freeze. Wait a couple of months.
I think group moderators like you are what keep people coming back. I think it's critical that moderators mange their groups like a brand. A brand is something you are offering and has both recognition and well defined qualities.
As a group moderator, you are offering organization around a theme. You have to stay true to what you have branded your group as or the primary content get's diluted with irrelevant content. Note, that I didn't say "bad" content, I said "irrelevant". Just because content is not in line with the group theme doesn't make it bad. I think most writers can understand that. You don't see articles about politics in the sports section of your paper.
I beleive strongly that Gather needs to offer more enhanced tools for moderation in order to make this process much easier. I hope we can focus our resources on features inline with that soon.
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John Mihalik is the Gather CTO
Darcey D.
John, a little recognition goes a long way. I appreciate it. Thank you for bringing up the subject of branding. Yes, a group name is a brand.
Darcy, I find myself joining and quitting groups. When I post something, I've already put quite a bit of work into it - hopefully - and wading through which of 80 groups to post it to gets just too hard. I always keep about three memberships in high-traffic, post-anything-here groups, just so I can always have a place to put the oddball stuff, but it's also nice to have access to clearly defined groups. The clearer the brand, the more likely some nutcase will think it's boring and not go in.