OK, I've had it. You know, I understand point whoring and I don't mind gamers, we can all use those gift cards and it can be entertaining for a minute to see how many words one can create from jello shots....:)
However, today for about the 'nth' time I came across a posting of something that sounded interesting and informative, only to discover for the 'nth' time that it was an e-mail hoax listed on Snopes.
This was the last straw for me, since it has happened untold times before and probably about three times with this particular poster.
I have to ask myself what the hell am I doing wasting my time reading this crock? I am incensed that someone would post, without checking or caring about the accuracy on a topic presented.
Anything from the e-mails about a cell phone feature to call for help to the infamous mass e-mails about our dollar bills soon to be printed without "In God we trust" or the mass inflammatory e-mails about Obama not being born in the US or whatever this weeks hoax is.
Gullible and ignorant - is all I have to say. You know what's really deplorable? Even after three people made reference that this is false information - here are plenty comments stating how wonderful and informative this article is. Clearly, they did not read the comments and accepted the content of the article as gospel - excuse me, while I .....
People without an original thought in their head - do you really have to copy recipes from the Internet? You don't think for a minute that I would trust that information? Never mind that you cannot be bothered to produce a picture or it is stolen or so fuzzy it makes one dizzy to look at it.
One liners - is that an article? Well, after the upcoming gather update it will be called a post (no longer an article) and that will put it all into the proper perspective......:)
My gather friends know me as a foodie and a passionate gardener who likes to share photos of her garden. I write an occasional opinion piece or a travel article or whatever pops into my head, but I haven't delved much into the writer and poets active here on gather.
I read many of the writer's stories without commenting and will eventually participate more as I start feeling more comfortable - in fact, I posted my first fictional short story - ever anywhere, yesterday - right here on gather. Just a post, not an article. It was fun, it doesn't make me a writer, just someone who dabbles.
I have no desire to write the next Great American Novel nor should that be a requirement to hang out on gather. I'm a reader and as such have an opinion. Then again, I do like writing and could see myself writing a short story. I keep trying to get my courage up to enter some of the fun writing competitions here on gather.
To satisfy my culinary interests, thank goodness there are gatherites like Katrina Hall and Jonathan (the Scottish one:) or Shannon of Shannon's cook book group, Madame Donna O. and the many others who shine with their delicious, creative recipes from basic fare to fine foods. Katrina's culinary images alone are a triumph, inspired photography.
I'd rather be connected to a gamer any day than to someone who posts not just false but inflammatory information - the pox on you. I do not want to be connected to you.
The problem with the gamers is that they clog up the feeds which renders them useless, since your friends article's who may have just spent 2 to 4 hours putting a great essay together, never reaches you. An issue gather simply refuses to address - I don't know why and frankly I don't care. It is annoying and the reason I only have about five gamer friends.
Maybe it's just a case of me not getting it, but I do not want 1000 connections. I'd rather just browse on gather on occasion - just cruising for whatever catches my eye.
There is such amazing talent on gather - buried - as we all know. It is becoming a task to find groups and people with wit and intelligence who truly have something to share and thereby enrich the lives of others. I know there are still plenty out there that I have not yet found or haven't had the time to read, because I was reading fabricated spam e-mails presented as a gather article.
No more. I'm seriously re-arranging how I gather. No more connections who post spam e-mails or sub par anything. I'm over it, I'm cleaning house and I am looking forward to my own version of a new improved gather.
I have many interests and gather is a great place to pursue them all. I was happy to discover book reviews and that I could even request to do a review on books of interest to me. I'm slowly discovering talented writers and poets, my photography is improving and I'm ecstatic that I found a photo group that does real critiques and gives real life camera tips-yay......I could go on, but you get my drift:)
In the end it is up to us how we gather to receive the most enjoyment from it. I acknowledge that everyone has the right to gather as they like, but so do I and I for one have decided that I will no longer put up with spam e-mails spreading false or inflammatory information presented as articles!
P.S. Gather you always want to know how we gather and why - well here it is - and in case I didn't mention it, don't try so hard to emulate my space and face book, it's not the only game in town. Be proud of gather and keep developing your own unique brand of website one which face book or my space wish they had. I like my friends and I like my points and I don't mind change, just keep it easy, simple and quick to navigate around gather - for all of us.
Just my opinion!
Frangipani in my garden.
Image taken by Rose H.
with an Olympus D-540 digital camera.
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Comments: 64
I, like you, are fairly open-minded about the gamers. It's good we can opt out of connecting with people. What puzzles me is the 13 friend requests I currently have. None have ever commented on my stuff. I have never commented on theirs. I am not connecting until I check them out. And I don't have time right now.
Don - exactly, I've even seen some where they made reference to snopes and when I looked - surprise - snopes said the information was false.
Ellie - thank you - great comment!
This is odd since, just yesterday, I pinged the SAME PERSON TWO DIFFERENT TIMES to tell them that I had checked out 2 separate "reprints" they posted of incredibly OLD, COMPLETELY FALSE "forwards" on Snopes and I thought they'd like to know... Did I get a reply? No. Were they appreciative that I gave them the opportunity to take the postings down that were obvious HOAXes? Evidently NOT because they're STILL UP and POSTED...
People!!! PLEASE!!! How can you BE so guillible!?!?! I'm, like, the "QUEEN of guillible people" and even I don't believe that Andy Rooney said some syrupy thing about "holding a newborn baby in your arms"... CHEESH! REALLY!!
You're talking about the same posting (where they referenced "Snopes") as I am! I pinged the poster with the "real deal" and STILL it's up there... Go figure...
My best advice to you (besides what you're planning of course) is make a favorite friends group within your connections. Add the people who's stuff you don't want to miss. I did that and have about 39 people in it. I make sure to go and visit the profiles of those people at least once a week to be sure I saw everything they published. It's not that hard to manage 40-50 people that way.
among other things.... Hawthorne made Gather more work less fun... I am not willing to increase my time to keep up ...so I've taken to disconnecting people for a variety of reasons to keep things manageable ... or, sometimes, to not even bothering to try
Jean - I think it is a different one. You're right though - these posters neither acknowledge the falsity nor do they take down the articles.
Marianne - that is a fantastic idea - thanks.
However, after sending along a couple of links to the Snopes site and the info, I've given up. I am torn between checking the emails (where 1 out of 100 has some truth) or deleting them.
I share your frustration. Even worse, I have trouble getting to valid posts on Gather because of all the Spam. I always like reading your articles and I can't recall when I've gotten a chance to wade through my mails and see them.
One of the articles I pinged the poster about I'm SURE was the same one you're referencing that talked about how all the people you send an email "To:" are keyed in somehow to some non-existent "spammer" that then logs them for future reference... (The "Andy Rooney" one was a different article... but STILL one that I pinged the poster of to tell them it was false...)
I think I will have to use Marianne's tip as well, as I really feel like I'm missing out on some things because it vanishes from the feed so fast.
Thanks for sharing!
http://friendsofdanh.gather.com.
Our goal is to help you further your exposure and to support other gather members.
I don't mind the games and gamers, but that is not what makes this site worth visiting. If only Gather would listen, and put these is a separate content group, we all would be a lot happier, I think.
As for posting blatantly false information and then refusing to allow comments from anyone who disagrees, frankly, I think this person/people should be banned. To post FALSE information and fail to take it down when it is pointed out to be false to me warrants the boot.
My biggest question is why doesn't Gather listen to these complaints?
Also why is Gather trying to become something else? If only it would focus on what makes it great (original thoughtful material on a variety of topics), everyone would be so happy.
hope you feel better... hehe
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As for the hoax and cut-and-paste from email stuff... A lot of these people don't care that it's false, they post it to push their own agendas. When you call them on it, many of them will actually call Snopes.com names like "traitor" and "terrorist" and such. If it's what they want to believe, then nothing you can tell them, not even the facts, is going to make them admit the hoax. They believe it, so that makes it true. There's really no use in staying connected to such a brain-dead idiot.
Partly my own fault for adding back just about anyone who asks, but I'm just a sucker, I guess...
I haven't seen an exact date - but the coming changes do look significant.
Senorita fish - well, I was letting a lot of things slide too - but no more. They are ruining my gather experience and raining on my parade and I will have no more of it - I'm taking Marianne's advice.
Looks like a lot of us have come to the same conclusion and are doing what we can to have a great gather experience.
I really hope the "powers that be" get a chance to read this.
I personally prefer not to sweat the small stuff or the stuff I have no control over. The aggravation just isn't worth it to me!
April - I like that, it is another good idea. I think that will help with managing gather - period.
Chris, if I knew how I'd help you hunt down those perps:)
Rick - that is exactly it - there is so much good stuff, but you literally have to shovel ... Anyway, I think the way Marianne and April are handling things sounds great. I am glad we have options and I will be happy to exercise my options. Thanks for the 100 points too:)
I think if people are going to post things such as you mentioned from there email, they should at least take the time to go to snopes and find out if it is "real" or not.
And as time has gone by (I've been here almost two years!), I play less and less of the games. I don't mind games, but I prefer those that really require me to think. I like trivia and brainteasers, but get bored with the baby names or "any words that start with" type games.
I didn't "invent" the majority of recipes I post, but once they are prepared my way in my kitchen, they become mine. And ALL of mine are for sharing.
i share similar interests with you - I used to publish my family recipes (not stolen from the internet, but genuine family ones, some from the early 1800s!). I also published articles on Scotland, my home - it's culture, food, history etc. But since the last Hawthhorne upgrade here, I feel... why bother? My articles attracted very little interest (probably too specific, I suspect) and as a foreigner, I am awarded points, but cannot redeem them, so my circle of connections is (deliberate move on my part, honestly!) very small.
The SNOPES thing? Well, I wish I had a pound for every time I have pointed out that the emailed article a member has posted has been disproved on Snopes. I now avoid clicking on ANYTHING when I spot certain avatars. I am NOT adding to their points tally, particularly as a number of those members are bigoted, small minded, type in capitals-types!
I have gotten to the point that I have blocked people who spam me with every joke they copy and paste and email forward.
I used to be more tolerant of the non sense and gamers on here but I am tired of looking through 500 thread with people begging to get to the cash option and Name A Letter With A Vowel.
As far as the recipes I love those especially the ones with pictures. I have tried many of them and my family loves gather for that reason alone.
While I would like to reach the cash option, everything I post is my own work-- not rubbish or email hoaxes. If I am going to be prolific, I am going to be prolific with my own work-- not some garbage I copied and pasted from somewhere.
There is room for all, that is the beauty of gather.
Connie - yup - I'm working on it and I was happy to see Marianne's suggestion, which will help me gather the way I like best - subject to change:)
Thanks for the lovely compliment above too. That was very nice of you. I appreciate it.
I agree, except that I don't appreciate the totally mindless games. Ever.
Gosh darn it Rose, after reading this now I want to be your friend. I'm sending you a connection request.