Forgive Me Asking...

I don't know... I like the points, too.

Karen, I don't know why some are sensitive about talking about points. I thinks it's mainly the "serious" writers who just want their material read and "say" they don't care about the points but people are on Gather for a lot of different reasons so just brush it off if some one says something rude.

Unfortunately, you will find other areas where folks will attack you too. Just ignore the comments you don't like because believe me you will get some.

Yes, I completely agree with Anna Nicole. We are all here for different reasons, but the points and the gift certificate are a great bonus. I know that I for one am looking forward to receiving my first gift certificate...in a couple of hundred more points or so :)

IGNORE those people here on Gather! We are ALL here for different reasons! Just be YOU and do what YOU like! Some people like the points and gift cards and some are here for other reasons! (or so they say) I'm sure those same people that are in a "FIT" about the points are using theirs as well!

Thanks everyone...especially since some of you are the regulars that I enjoy commenting to....I appreciate it !

First, there is nothing wrong with generating points for yourself. It is the manner in which it is done that has created some problems. Consider for a moment if you were to write only articles that were your stories, personal experiences, poetry, photoessays, writing exercises, personal journals etc. You try hard to contribute original and thoughtful articles to Gather. You get some response, maybe ten or fifteen responses to each of your articles. No problem right?

Well, what if you posted a chat thread in the morning and when if go too big, say 100 comments, you started another one? And then when it became afternoon you repeated this and did it again at night? Then, on top of all of that, you throw in another ten or fifteen "articles" that are nothing more than email jokes or freebies that people could easily find if they wanted to. How many points do you think that behavior generates and can you see any disparity there in fairness or self control?

Travis - of course, you are right. I think that there is a place for all of the content on Gather. But, the point system isn't very good at rewarding original work.

Wendy - That actually makes a lot of sense...:)

Yes, ignore the truth if you want. Some would like nothing more than to stifle such conversations. Call me all the names you want and while you're at it please report for mentioning that some abuse the priviledge they have been given here.

Travis - Names? I am not sure what you are talking about. I didn't even disagree with you...maybe I missed something...I am not sure !

Karen..it is merely an inevitable thing. people don't like it when adults try and talk like adults. The truth goes out of style when people refuse to acknowledge what is happeneing here. They would rather be coddled and treated like children or individuals that don't have to account for their own behavior.

Also, what do you think of the example I gave you?

Personally I haven't even looked at the rewards, may or may not. As for what people say, if they aren't close enough to shoot I ignore them. One thing I do find, when it comes to a serious question there is a cadre who seem to come forth and dole advice that's accurate and with feeling. Go your own way and enjoy.

Travis - I have to admit that I enjoy participating in some of the games and I enjoy reading the longer, obviously more original pieces. I guess I think you made a point and I think that Joe followed it with an appropriate comment. However, I do think Gather has room for everyone and everything they want to post. Don't you?

I haven't even gotten a gift card yet but will be happy to take it whenever I have enough points. I agree there is room on gather for lots of things, but I also understand what Travis is referring to. I hate to see all the e-mail jokes (which I already have to deal with in my personal e-mail) and I have no use for all the freebie offers. I wish those would just go away.

Hi Karen,
I get comments like that but I ignore them. I'm on Gather for the writing mainly, but I enjoy the points as well. Just keep writing, and ignore those comments.

yes Karen, I do, but it only works if those who choose to post those kinds of things have an ounce of respect for those who try and post original stuff, whether it is good or bad. You see there are about 400 new articles that get posted every day. What if someone posts 25 every day. It might not seem like a significant amount, but it certainly dilutes the total IMO. Also imagine what Gather would look like if everyone did the same thing based on the second part of the example.

Who said the points were supposed to be rewards for original writing? They're just an enticement to get people to stay and post and use the site.

Hmmm..I guess we can all have our opinions...this post certainly has taught me some things...

I also feel bad that some people feel they can't respond because of other people. That seems sad to me.

Everyone...have a great night.

Well, Karen, part of the problem is that some of us come here in order to participate in meaningful discourse with other thoughtful people, and we tend to resent the fact that we are forced to wade throught oceans of insipid, meaningless crap in order to find the pitifully miniscule number of articles worthy of our time and attention. Most of this dross is generated by simpletons who apparently have nothing better to do than spend half of their lives desperately seeking Gather Points--as though they were little gold nuggets--and the wonderful prizes they represent. It is pathetic, albeit relatively harmless, I will concede. Yet, still, it seems to be obnoxiously greed-driven.

No one has even touched on the fact that gathers TOS states posting meaningful articles that stir conversation is welcome. It also mentions that articles and comments strictly to pad point totals is forbidden, what part of that dont people see and understand?

Who is the judge of whether people post strictly for points ??? At Christmas time I didn't see anyone complaining when points were raised and donated to a children's hospital in was in New Orleans ? People certainly commented numerous times and often said very little of anything and no one complained. Get over yourselves and stop thinking your are better than those you look down upon. if you don't want to read what you call useless drivel etc ., join groups and get emails from the groups that you like , turn off emails from anything else . You can ignore a ton of people that way .

"Get over yourselves and stop thinking your are better than those you look down upon."

Why do you assume this is the cae? having a certain expectation of what is posted here is not looking down on anyone. Even asking for self-moderation is not looking down on anyone.

"you don't want to read what you call useless drivel etc ., join groups and get emails from the groups that you like"

LOL nothing like being railed on by the voice of inexperience..

Gather is like the world in general, we all have different opinions-and don't mind sharing them. I will be the first to admit, I love getting the gift cards...and that was part of the original appeal of gather. Now, an addict, I would stay if the gift cards went away...but, I would miss getting them. As for what Travis is saying, I understand his point entirely, but I have never gotten the impression that the person he speaks of in the example does it for the points. He seems to me to be a kind person who really enjoys the friendly chat on his articles. I think most of us that are here often have learned to sift through the things we don't have time for...to get to the things we are interested in. Does it make sense that "things that begin with C" gets a hundred comments, and an article I spend hours pouring my heart into gets 10 comments, or a short story that might take days or months gets 5...no. I think it has something to do with the attention span of the general public. Reading a lengthy article takes time, some people won't or don't spend the time. Coming up with the word "cat" or "good morning" takes no concentration. Welcome to the wild world of gather. Just find your niche and enjoy the ride.

You know, I've tried to be adult about this and talk to people like thay have sense, but when stupid fucking assholes that cant be anything but condescending with their comments continue to spit ignorant bullshit out of their pieholes it just irks the shit out of me. Where were you at Christmas? do you not remember anything that happened with the NOCH/FOCH fiasco, and the fact that all the people that were leaving one word comments 100 times in a row pissed off everyone here?The fund raiser was a good thing, no one denied that, and I even donated to it, but you are dead wrong about no one complaining, you need to get your facts straight before you jump in on somebody. I dont think I am better than anyone, and have never looked down my nose at anybody- read the terms of service, read Toms last message about changes, the one liners and the one word comments were addressed, and they violate TOS. Plain and simple.

"I think it has something to do with the attention span of the general public."

You mean the "adults" here at Gather don't you?

Well, I am getting into this discussion late, but am so fired up that I am not sure where to start.

I love gather for al of the articles. I have said it before and I will say it here, there are times when I want mindless games or a freebie and there are times that I want something more indepth and thought provoking.

I would like to say more, but then I would start on a rant and ya'll been doing just fine without me. If you consider me a mindless simpleton, Paul, so be it. I don't just post for points, but obviously your time is more valuable than mine, so if you want my points let me know.

Jody, keep staring, I'll do something silly H. so this is considered adult conversation ?? - " but when stupid fucking assholes that cant be anything but condescending with their comments continue to spit ignorant bullshit out of their pieholes it just irks the shit out of me. Where were you at Christmas? "
I used to hear this kind of language on the street by elementary school children trying to impress their friends .
I resent being insulted in such a manner . And I will refrain from posting comments where you guys are at , banging my head against the wall is more pleasant !

"I resent being insulted in such a manner"

You were not here for any of it and jody's point is valid. Speaking of things you do not know is insulting to those who DO KNOW. What part of that do you not comprehend?

I think the points ascept of Gather makes it addicting. People like to see numbers rise. I used to be on Yahoo-Answers before I found Gather, just because I liked getting points -- and as far as I know, they weren't really worth anything at all. I have never redeemed my points because I don't have enough yet, but I think when I get my first gift card to Home Depot I'm going to be really proud of myself.

Travis...I do mean the adults here at gather, and also the ones all over the place that never read a book because a movie is easier, or never write a letter...email is faster. I don't think it is a great trend...and I know I'm generalizing but it is a "whatever is fast and easy" world. I rarely post on a gather game, but on the flip side...I tried to read the Chapter 1 entries, and just couldn't find time to keep up with the requests. I'm not on either "side" of the issue, I just sort through until I find what I want to read...and if Joe Blow gets tons of points-it doesn't bother me. I do notice, as we all do, what kind of articles get all the points-and generally they aren't my articles! But, my Home Depot cards are slowly coming in!

Very interesting reading all the comments! I just don't know why it should bother any of us what someone else is doing! Just do what you do for you and I will do what I do for me. Let it be!

Sue- the point is, your points should be coming in faster- with your original writings than the inane drivel of the word games, etal, that drown them out.

Louise- it bothers many of us because there is one group who thinks about no one but themselves. If they thought of others and had some self control EVERYONE would be able to enjoy the place much better. As it stands, their articles of nothing original-alphabet game, email forwards and freebies PUSH THE OTHER MEMBERS MATERIAL OUT OF SIGHT. It's just plain selfishness!

Has it dawned on anyone that the powers that be might just LIKE IT when everyone fights?
Why would they, you ask?
MONEY...more specifically- the amount it generates for THEM.
The more you all tear each other up over this crap, the better their numbers look at the end of the quarter...
If you address something, it will only please ONE side. what happens to the numbers when the other (non accomodated) side is unhappy with the outcome?
They leave...taking your numbers with them.

Someone made the comment up there, I think it was Jennifer (and hon, this is not an attack just what you said made me think) about "when my home depot gift card comes in I'll be proud to spend it. The ones that are on this site getting easy points for nothing are they proud of doing nothing to earn those cards. I have said in another comment box that sometimes I do contribute to a game just because it's there and the other night i was involved in another "chat" that generated over 200 comments and that was fun. It does seem to me that if gather staff or whomever wanted to change it that bad they would. I do like my points because it is fun to watch them getting higher. But I also am constantly thinking about what I want to publish in the future here and they are my original works. I think Wendy is right, gather is making money with this site and no matter what we do they will change it when they are ready to. They may also get sick of all the bitchin and just get rid of points altogether. I don't know. I take things away from my kids when they bitch incesstantly. :D

If it weren't for the points/cash I know I wouldn't be here.

The key word is "BONUS". The points are NOT meant to be the only reason one posts articles on Gather as some do. They contribute nothing intellectually asking simple questions requiring no thought to come up with a one word answer. I'm not saying all do this, as some also present articles of value along with the questions they ask. However, there are some who are on here simply for the points and whatever they can get for free and nothing else whatsoever. Those people have no value on this site at all. Granted, they may offer a diversion to those who want a break away from reading articles that a bit of intelligence and imagination took to create, but their contribution is anything but intelligent, especially when all they want are the points and freebies. The way some post 10-15-20 questions a day; you'd almost think they were writing a book being "nosey" wanting to know everything. Here's an idea! Maybe they SHOULD write a book seeing how they now have all the answers...and contribute some intelligence for those points they're accumulating. Back to my initial point, the points are a bonus as a reward for those who are creative in posting articles. They are NOT meant to be the sole purpose for a person to be on Gather. I have no problem with others collecting points and trading them in for cash or gift cards. Just do something worthwile to earn them. Be creative and use your mind with a little thought process put behind your efforts rather than asking stupid questions that have all been asked before and are nothing more than an effort to bury the writings of others to line your own pockets at our expense. I liken them to a leech. The writers have made Gather what it is. The blatant point whores have contributed very little to nothing, yet are here to take a free ride off the coattails of others and take away from the ones who Gather is intended for. This site was not created for the purpose of playing one word answer games...otherwise, you'd see no intelligent writings here...it would be nothing but games.

Wendy- you have part of it right, I think. The other part is the venture $$ Gather received to get it all going. They are beholding to the Board of Directors to show that the masses they promised would come. It appears that they received over $9 million for funding 1 1/2 years ago.

The masses have come. And the content they put out doesn't really matter at this point and I guess it doesn't matter that the content isn't as it was originally intended. What counts is the numbers. In the long run, the advertisers have to see some ROI or they won't be here. They can't see that return on people who are here for no more than amassing points to take from the system what it will give. See below for what Starbuck's representative had to say about what THEY are looking for. I wonder if they'll find it with the alphabet games and email forwards.

Here are a couple of articles about Gather.com. Sorry, I don't know how to put in a clickable link. You can cut and paste these.

From the Boston Globe article:

"Gerace said Gather this year will more than double its 23-person workforce, which operates from an office near the Old State House in Boston. He sees Gather less as a mere host for bloggers than as a social networking site, like teenage blogger favorite MySpace.com, but for an older and more sophisticated audience."

read the rest here:

Boston Globe article

"Still, Gerace and Kling are sticking to their guns, betting advertisers will pay up for substance. "Name for me one other social-networking site that's having an intelligent debate about health care or Iraq or about the environment," Gerace says.

Indeed, Starbucks picked Gather as its first foray into social-networking marketing. "The site is a medium to connect people and ideas," says Stephanie Bittner, director of marketing for Starbucks. "Starbucks is a place where people go to connect so the concept is very similar." She'd rather pay for a few real conversations than myriad "shout-outs" to friends. "

Read more of that BusinessWeek article here:

BusinessWeek article

It is clear from reading about Gather from October of 2006, that what they wanted was not what it has become. But, they need the numbers.

YAY! I figured the hyperlinking out!

To me the points are a bonus. I am on here for the sense of community and the great articles. I work and home and have very little contact with people day to day. When some of you say that some articles have no value whatsoever, I disagree. They have no value to you, but to me every article is a connection with others whether some heartfelt creative work by you or a simple way to tell the world that I am here.

I don't understand what the problem is.....I have no problem seperating the wheat from the chafe as they say. I don't find it hard to just bypass articles and people that don't interest me. If they get points, so be it. If I get points, great, that is not why I am here. If you are here as a creative outlet like you say, you shouldn't care either. If you want to be rewarded more for your work, there are plenty of other options.

I just wanted to let you all know that I have changed the way I do things here on Gather after realizing that the way I was doing things was not necessarily in the best interest of everyone on Gather. I used to post Daily Point Tally's and had a really fun time doing it, and even though I was asking questions within my article and receiving answers and generating conversations, I decided to stop doing it. I am no longer posting those daily articles and that is what I have done to lessen the "frivolous fluff" content on Gather. I know it's not much, but it takes one person at a time, right???

getting Points is like icing on cake..for writers like me who are looking for audience Gather does more than the points..but i know people have different opinions..

I enjoy the people and the articles here. The points are just a plus for me.

Karen, you asked your question in a commendable and polite post.

Although, I signed into gather.com several months ago, I am virtually new and learning about this forum, too.

Just one remark to posters who gave negative comments comparing bad attitudes to children's behaviour. I really don't think you meant to compare our beautiful children with adult dolts. Children learn from their caregivers who are adults.

"I know it's not much, but it takes one person at a time, right???"

The lady wins a cigar!

you know what i wouldnt worry to much what anyone else says ok, some people just take it more serios than others i like the points to, but i also do paid emails to and i love it. so