For those wondering why my previous post was removed, here's the email from The Bump: You are being warned for a violation of the TOU, which states: There are rules of conduct that you are required to follow when you use the Site. You must not: restrict or inhibit another user or users from using and enjoying the Site. Please review the TOU and our guidelines to avoid further violations. Multiple warnings may result in a banning of your account. We respectfully ask that you refrain from this type of behavior.
I happen to think that The Bump is incapable of accepting criticism. Which is fine--their site, their servers, their rules. Luckily, I sold my Knot stock before it tanked almost ten years ago, but were I still a shareholder I might direct senior management to take a look at the broader trends in social media--which is really all these forums are. The venues that perform the best, get the most clicks, the most repeat visitors, which are monetized most highly by the market are those venues which allow for free discourse and don't treat users like children in desperate need of a hall monitor. Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, so on and so forth--the vanguard of Internet companies all share one thing and it's not a full-time staff devoted to mediating politeness. The Bump and its parent company have corrected in the wrong direction. It will be interesting to see how it fairs in the coming years.
Not a snowflake, not a fan of participation awards either. There was more criticism and nastiness than feedback. Have a great day ladies, thanks for the entertainment this morning
But here's the thing--you can think it was nasty and you can tell me that, right? We're all adults. I happen to think I was making cogent points, you happen to disagree. That's totally fine. You seem like someone who is more than capable of arguing your own opinion without needing an admin to come in and save the day. I'm not saying that what we need is a monolith of snarky moms and moms-to-be, I just don't want the site to be a monolith of polite platitudes. And to your own point about the entertainment value--you're 100% right. Disagreements are ENTERTAINING. I'm not going to get overly philosophical here, but any liberal arts freshman could tell you that conflict is necessary for engaging content. My point either way is that you (not you in particular, but a universal you) can either have a beige, boring, disengaging forum full of vigorous headpats OR you can have a forum with real conversation, real disagreement, real interaction. You can't have both. That's not how people work. In the end I think the latter type of forum is better for posters and better for The Bump. Engaging content created by posters drives Internet traffic. THAT'S HOW SOCIAL MEDIA WORKS. It's, like, its *entire* premise.
Re: 8wk5days ultrasound! Gender guess!
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