The Evolution of GHC
Published by LeadMare • Feb 28th, 2009 • Category: GHC NewsTHANK YOU Pony Princess for initiating Ask LeadMare. It was fun answering your questions and great that several not-so-young horse girls stopped by for a visit. Now I’ll step back from the spotlight and get back to work, starting with a quick publishing update then onto the biggie…
PUBLISHING STATUS. Submissions have backed up exponentially since launching the fiction and poetry category the same week I’m answering Ask LeadMare (what was I thinking?). Please be patient as I get through the submission queue.
NOTE: The publishing and events calendar has been updated with open submission dates for March. Submissions will close Sunday March 1st and re-open Saturday the 14th. There’s no lack of content for those first 2 weeks of March once I get through submissions.
NOW FOR THE BIGGIE. Continuing with the recent theme of change, Julia’s question (Ask LeadMare comment #37) got me thinking… Not so much about whether GHC is ‘worth it’ but it was a good reminder to keep focused on priorities and the things I enjoy. After all, if it’s not fun for me you’ll have a cranky LeadMare and (while crankiness is justified now and then) it’s no fun for anyone if I’m always nippy.
One of the things I don’t particularly enjoy about my ‘job’ is moderating comments. Our Ground Rules are intended to create a safe, meaningful community for horse girls of all ages. That’s not going to change, but it is going to evolve because moving forward I intend to spend less of my time moderating comments. Here’s what I’m thinking…
WHAT IF? Once commentors establish a reputation, their comments were no longer moderated? And what if YOU could help with moderation by flagging comments that don’t respect the ground rules?
For an example of how this might work, check out comments in the Gallery. Each has a link that says ‘Mark as Offensive’. I’ll make some changes to how this is implemented, but there will definitely be a link something like ‘Mark as Inappropriate’ so GHCers can help with moderation. It would be up to the authors to determine if they want to allow off-topic conversation on their blogs, but some ground rules are non-negotiable (more about that later).
Since GHCers will be required to make this change work, I want to know what you think. Please ask questions/discuss in the comments. Also take the poll on the sidebar. Only one vote per computer, so think about it first.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
LeadMare: I have to say I’m a little bit dissapointed in you. So my answer is a big NO! PLEASE, continue moderating or I might be forced to leave GHC. I like other topics like the American Civil War, Narnia, and other stuff. And it’s alright to like other things, but this is not the point. Being safe is the point. I’m sorry to say this, LeadMare. I truly am.
Sincerely,
Narnian Rose
This would certainly be much easier for your job as LeadMare and I’ll be happy to help you out. I think the idea that those who have established a reputation can have their comments no longer moderated, but are still able to be moderated by GHCers if they are inappropriate would make a big difference and save you lots of time, but letting the GHC community moderate ALL comments might pose a little too risky (for instance, in case a passers-by drops in and posts without thorough knowledge of the Ground Rules). Overall, this is a great idea, and if we are all supportive and willing to help, it can work very well. Nice thinking once again!
I think it would be great if we could help you monitor comments, but I have some problems. Please tell me if I am confused about what you meant. If girls monitor the comments, they might see very inappropriate comments, and once you see them the damage is done. I definitely agree with not monitoring commentors with a good reputation, this will make things easier for you, LeadMare. And about getting of subject on blogs, I think that it would be ok- but only if the blog author agrees. Sometimes, we horse girls just need to talk about horses, even if what we are talking about doesn’t quite go with the blog. I would allow off-topic conversations on my blogs!
LeadMare: I have said before that some change is not good. And if you do change our commenting system I will leave GHC. Please, LeadMare, do NOT change the system because probably not only I will leave, but others will too.
I understand Leadmare; you have a life other than this and you need personal time. I think this is a GREAT idea and I’d certainally like to help! I can’t imagen how many people and submissions you go through on top of moderating!
I think it would be cool because:
1. easier for Leadmare
2. comments wouldn’t be inappropriate because others are moderating too
3. A chance for us to get more involved
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Keep it coming. Some additional thoughts in response to questions/concerns:
1) If anyone thinks it would be easy to establish a reputation, think again. I’m not that sort of LeadMare (in case you haven’t figured that out already). Those of you who have been hanging out at GHC for years have already established a reputation. JBs have established a reputation. Everyone else would still have their comments moderated.
2) With this change, I would lift the ban on off-topic comments (as long as they conform to the rest of the ground rules) and leave it to YOU to decide if that’s how we want our community to evolve.
3) If we move forward with this, it will happen slowly and will be considered an ‘experiment’ initially. Like I said, some of the ground rules are non-negotiable — like maintaining a safe, meaningful place for girls who love horses. If at any point this experiment fails to meet those criteria, all it takes is the flip of a switch to reverse.
4) In the 7+ years I’ve been running GHC, I’ve never had to ban anyone. Even if someone has an established reputation, I would not hesitate to ban them for even one offensive comment. Zero tolerance.
5) We’ve had this commenting system in the gallery for a month now. Granted, the gallery doesn’t get as much traffic as the rest of the blog, but so far, so good.
OK, just making sure I understand. So, the only people who won’t have their comments moderated are the people with a good reputation, right? That makes sense. I think it’s a GREAT idea! I’m all for it! Narnian Rose, please don’t leave. We enjoy reading your blogs and your comments!
I like the idea. If you become a well-known blooger here at GHC, maybe your blogs shouldn’t be monderated. Maybe every now and then, you guys and gals at GHC coukd run a random check of comments and blogs, if thats possible. You might even ask a few Junior Bloggers to help you out. So, I quess my answer is Yes!
P.S. PPPPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE Don’t leave GHC Narnian Rose. Your blogs are wonderful and cheerful!
Don’t forget to vote about this everyone!
I don’t see anything wrong with the idea. Besides, with my amazing moderating abilities, I could help destroy all the evil spam and icky comments.
There might be an issue with blogs that are on controversial topics though…I have a feeling there would be some people who would flag WAY too many comments for trivial reasons though.
My vote is we give it a go and see where it gets us! (That’s an alliteration…almost :D)
I think it’s a good idea. It’ll make Lead Mare’s job much easier.
I think it is a great idea! It would be fun to help out. I also like your idea Cowgirl, plus I am a JB and I would like to help out.
When do you plan to start?
Narnian Rose- Don’t leave GHC over this one little thing. Just think, it will be fun to help Lead Mare. It must be so hard to moderate each comment, your not the one doing it!
LeadMare,
I’m for it! My vote is yes.
Peanut, Cowgirl, and Allison: If someone sends a bad comment in, the damage is done as soon as it comes out. You can delete the message, but not the damage it has already done.
Right, now, I’m listening to old, American Civil War songs. Though they are all Confederate songs. For instance: If someone says something bad about the Confederacy it will still hurt, even if you delete the message.
I’m stickin’ to my guns, girls. If the commenting thing goes, so shall I. Hopefully, this won’t be my last comment, but if it is I want to wish you all “best wishes”. LeadMare: I’m sorry it all had to end this way. And for future reference the general I am related to is : General Robert E. Lee, I’M NOT KIDDING! Once again I’m sorry I couldn’t leave with honor, if it is to be the day I leave GHC. Best Wishes everyone!
Sincerely,
Narnian Rose
Narnian Rose, I agree with you! But… the only people who would not have their comments moderated are people LeadMare knows she can trust. I know that no JBs would comment badly and new visitors will still have their comment monitored.
that’s why YOU are the LEADMARE! Cause you know how to fix problems!
Allison: The other problem is if one of the JBs (no offense to you guys) or other people who have “great” reputations do use a bad word, or inappropriate stuff on their comment, story, or blog. People may have “great” reputations now, while everything’s being moderated, but when they hear it’s not they might think it’s their “chance” to use inappropriate stuff on their comment, story, or blog.
Narnian Rose, The majority of members here are willing to give it a try at least. It would be nice if you would too. There have never been any issues with offensive comments being made, but I think we understand where you’re coming from.
Don’t let us stop you though, if you really don’t want to have any part in GHC because of the moderation changes, do what you feel is best.
We’ll miss ya if ya leave. :)
Thanks for the feedback. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and disagreement is part of life. Freedom of choice is a beautiful thing.
That said, I’ve implemented a *baby step* toward more community involvement with the ‘flag for moderation’ link on each comment. ALL COMMENTS ARE STILL MODERATED, but I’m going to step back from ‘off topic’ moderation and let you decide on that one. You’re also welcome to flag something you find offensive. One flag won’t necessarily remove the comment, but it will give me a sense of how GHCers feel about what is or isn’t appropriate behavior around our virtual barn.
Thanks for being open to change, and for your willingness to step up and help!
I’m for it, LeadMare. You’re in the lead, and we’ll follow. :)
Narnian Rose- You have been a great contributer to GHC, and you have really influenced me. You’re so kind, and it would be very sad for me (and others too!) if you left. You’ve given me “hello-s” and “good-byes”. I don’t want this one to be our last.
Just once, PLEASE, trust me, LeadMare, and other GHC girls, and TRY the new change.
-mustangmane
Narnian Rose: Please don’t leave GHC because of this change, you’re valued as a fantastic writer and contributor, it would really be a shame if you left. All the JBs are greatly respected and very sensible girls, LeadMare knows who to trust and who not to yet. After all the hard work she’s done for us, and for the sake of making her job easier, would you like to give it just a little try? I really hope you’ll still stay, your writing is very beautiful!
Overall, I think the fact that moderation is open to all commentors makes people more aware of what they post and how offensive they might be. Before, JB comments would be removed, if any, if they accidentally wrote something inappropriate. Now that everybody’s opinions count, and not just LeadMare’s, we all have to be more aware of what we post and how it might affect different kinds of people.
Less work for you sounds good Leadmare, and I would be happy to help! But please, no off topic comments! Really, we are Girls HORSE Club, not a chat room. I wouldn’t want comments on my blogs of people having conversations among themselves! The purpose of commenting is for what you have to say about the BLOG, right?
Leadmare, I feel as if we Junior Bloggers can be trusted. However, if one of our comments is flagged by someone like another JB, and the comment is indeed found not to fit the ground rules, then that blogger should also have her comments moderated. I think it would be right for people who have not been around GHC to have their comments moderated, because they may be unfamiliar with the ground rules, or not understand GHC very much.
Also, I think that not everyone should decide if the comments are good or bad. This is because comments are to be positive and negative about blogs, as long as they are not rude or hurtful, and people might flag comments because they are not all positive. For example, if someone commented; “Good job on this blog, though you could have added a little more detail in some parts to help support your idea.” someone might flag this just because it is not agreeing with their opinion of the blog, even though the commenter was only offering constructive criticism. To prevent this from happening, any flagged comments would still have to be reviewed by you. This would still mean less work, though maybe not as much off.
I think its a good idea, but you would still have to keep an eye on things around GHC for a while to make sure the site is still safe.
I agree with Madelaina.
Narnian Rose~ I understand completely how you feel! I hope that you will not have to leave.
My view is that an occasional over-view by LeadMare(say,once a week or so?) would be great when “mixed” with the JB’s moderation. Then perhaps other girls like Narnian Rose would agree to stay……?
In all events I’ll keep coming :)
I think that helping out with moderating the comments is a great idea. The more we can help out LeadMare (especially since she does sooo much for us) is awesome. I am up for this! I will be glad to help out. LeadMare I think that your plan is good. =)
Narnian Rose: I am so glad that you are going to stick around. When I was going to comment earlier I was going to try to convience you to stick around with us! You, like every other GHCer, are very special. =)
Later, Blaze’ncowgirl
Stargazer, I’m with you on the ‘off topic’ thing. One of my pet peeves is people who use someone’s heartfelt blog as their personal chat forum and/or to get attention for themselves. But others may feel differently, so now each author can decide how they want to host discussion on their blogs.
We have every reason to trust GHCers unless they do something to show they’re not ready for our trust. The same standards apply to everyone, especially JBers who are viewed as role models in the herd. No pressure girls… ;)
Anyone will be able to flag a comment, but that won’t necessarily remove it. In your example, if someone offers constructive criticism (key word being constructive), that’s very acceptable. If a writer can’t take it, they should probably think twice about being a writer. I can guarantee the next blog about horse slaughter will ignite some heated discussion, and will attract stoppers-by with strong opinions in favor of slaughter. That will be an interesting test for our experiment!
Of course I’ll continue keeping an eye on things, but having help will free me up to keep publishing more great content and adding new features.
If you think about herds of horses, it’s not just the lead mare who cares for the younger horses and disciplines the unruly ones. That’s the goal here!
I personaly agree that this is a great advancement. Moderating the comment areas will make it safe for users and acceptable to read. The comments arn’t published until you have viewed them Leadmare right? I think parents will appreciate this more if the comments are moderated. However we can’t have people just clicking the flag button because they disagree with an opinion. Thanks LeadMare!
~HF
Stargazer: I don’t visualize GHC as a chat room. Like Allison said, sometimes horse lovers just need to talk about horses even if it isn’t related to a GHCer’s blog!
Uh oh………….. March 14th is the day submissions open again? That night I think I’m staying with my Uncle and Aunt. Bummer.
Don’t worry, Narnian Rose- the submissions will be open through March 29! You have that whole time to write and submit blogs!
I can’t wait until the submission forms open again! My mind is full of ideas. And I’m sure that everybody else at GHC has some great ideas, too. By the way, I support the idea of having well established JB’s not montetered. (Don’t think I spelled that right)
:0)
~Eastern Cowgirl
Thanks to everyone for your support of the moderation ‘experiment’. The new system is not in place yet, but hopefully soon.
Frankly I’m still on the fence about the off-topic conversations that are not related to the blog/story/gallery content or horses. Now that this has been in place for a week, I’m curious what others think?
Hey LeadMare, I have a question. I commented on HorseFeathers “Nosey” pic but it says that my comment is still waiting moderator approval. Just to check if mine was the only one that waited moderator approval I went in on a different browser and my comment wasn’t posted. I know that you are busy but I was wondering how come mine hasn’t gotten approval yet and the comments posted after it have?
I was thinking maybe it didn’t go through? If you just haven’t had the time or something I understand I was just curious. =)
~ Blaze’ncowgirl
Blaze’ncowgirl, I see you commented on the Foal and Flowers artwork but there’s nothing in the moderation queue for Nosey. I haven’t heard of any issues with comments not going through, but it’s always possible since the gallery comment system is new. Please resubmit and use the email link below to let us know if you have problems in the future.
Dear Leadmare,
I was wondering if a guest blogger could setup an interactive view?
Also, are all of the JB’s spots taken now?
G’day Leadmare,
I was wondering y’all think we might be able to get another compeition started sometime in the near future…i looked at the past ones and they seemed pretty fun. Gotta go
~HF
I think off-topic talking (about horses only!) on blogs is a good thing. Just an idea, but, what if bloggers added a note to their blog if they would allow off-topic conversation on their blog. Anyone who didn’t want people talking off-topic on their blogs just wouldn’t add that note. Another idea would be to start a blog that was just for people who wanted to talk about horses. But I know that’s kind of like a chat room, and I think you said you don’t want those on GHC.
One more question LeadMare… How come there are hardly any blogs posted by some of the JBers? Since I have been here for a few months I haven’t seen any recent blogs from poneygalmaddy, poney princess, Syd, and so on. Are they still publishing and writing works? Just wondering =0)
~HF
Happy Monday horse girls. Here are answers to your questions in the order they arrived…
Eastern Cowgirl, if you have a proposal for an Interactive View, please use the email link below. Typically events are hosted by GHC staff or JBs. Ideas are welcome from anyone.
HorseFeathers, the next GHC event has not been planned, but your interest in a competition is noted. I’ll add it to the ‘wish list’ of ideas/requests from GHCers…
Allison, great idea. We can add a check box to the submission form that allows authors to denote whether or not off-topic (but still horse-related) discussion is OK. Will you commit to flagging comments that are not horse-related? A general chat forum is not part of future plans for GHC. I’m happy to provide a long list of horse sites that have general chat forums (for example, YoungRider.com) for those who prefer that format.
HorseFeathers, that’s not an accurate statement — all the JBs you list have contributed in the last few months. I can’t speak to their writing schedule, but GHC is about quality over quantity (and school/real life over GHC) and nearly everyone is fulfilling their commitment. JBs know the expectations for staying on the roster. See the frequently asked questions on the blog submission guide for details.
For JBs who have not contributed in the last few months, I’ve allowed a ‘grace period’ since the GHC site was down for a few weeks. That grace period will end this weekend so anyone who hasn’t been published since the beginning of December will be ‘retired’.
In other news, as of today THE ROSTER IS FULL. We’ll see what happens after this weekend…
Have a great week!
Righto.. Thanks for the answers. I enjoy reading everyones work
~HF
Just a note to anyone going to check out YoungRider.com; it is for those who subscribe to the magazine only.
I was bored so I took a peek, it didn’t look half as interesting as GHC anyway!
Thanks for all your hard work and creativity LeadMare! We all really appreciate it!