Do people dismiss new/low post members?

[Dr. Crawver]

I'm sure everyone's noticed the sudden influx in new members recently with the whole Zoe Quinn/gamergate debacle going on, and it's gotten me thinking about a bias I've always had, but never really discussed.

And that is that I don't trust/often dismiss new members/members with under about 200 posts outright. I know I shouldn't, and I at least try not to, but quite often I see an account with no avatar and only about 28 posts telling me how the entire industry is corrupt, or straw-man situations (don't try to say I'm straw-manning an argument here, my point is about those who do make the silly arguments. I know the gamergate movement has some valid points behind it, even if I disagree with it in general), and it just makes me turn off to far more intelligent points made by newer members.

At the same time I seem to have far more time for points made by some of the much older guard of the escapist (Fappy and Zachary Amaranth come to mind, though there are others).

I know we're all different people, with different opinions, and someone's length of time/frequency to post should not affect what I think about what they say. I just find it hard to actually follow through with this.

So I just want to know, do other people share this problem with me? Am I alone in this? And if I am, any recommendations as to how to try and put my bias's to one side?

I also know, in case anyone wants to point it out, yes I've been around for a silly length of time as well, and yet I post far less than my time spent here would suggest, which makes my view a little hypocritical to the long time lurkers on the site. Still can't help it.

 

[Darks63]

Your not the only one with that bias dude so don't worry. I personalty don't trust new users either unless they really show that they are not just sock puppet flame bearers or character players by being good contributors to the community.


Of all the new blood that's flowed in here the last 4 months or so only not the bees has been the only new users that has stood out as being someone who wont be perp walking herself into ban land in 2 months or less.

 

[Barbas]

Well, it's a little narrow-minded to do so, because they didn't just pop into existence on their join date. Most people probably realize that and don't want to do it, but like you said, it's an easy mentality to slide into, particularly around the time of a mass influx of new members for a popular thread (Zoe Quinn, GOTY awards...March Mayhem).

Just sort of...check yourself before you do it. If you know you're doing it, you can stop yourself. Give people a chance or, if the topic they're talking about is all noise and no agreement, wait until the fires die down and you'll probably be a lot more voluble with people who joined around that time once they're talking about something else.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Speaking as a fellow with a low post count, I must admit I do the same since this whole thing started. I'm not fond of the people coming to this site for the sake of that thread and it seems to be in general agreement that they would be on Reddit or 4chan instead if given the opportunity. They'll probably leave should the Quinnspiracy thing die down.

The Escapist is probably benefitting in terms of traffic at least. Bonus points for permitting the discussion in the first place.

 

[tippy2k2]

I don't care if you have 1 post or OVER 9000!!!! (sorry).

I suppose the only thing that I consider me doing that is people with one post and a weirdly worded first topic. I will always hit "Quote" to see if they are a secret spambot as the spammers are learning that sneaking in that way is an effective way to have your URL...show up? Frankly, I'm not certain what it does since people can't click on the invisible link but I'm sure there's a good reason for it.

Now that does not mean that I don't play favorites. There are certain users who have gained my trust (and certain users whom I realize I can safely ignore their delusional dribble) that I will be more likely to listen to but I will never hold it against a user for having a small post/recent join date.

 

[Aerosteam]

I kinda do that, but mainly for anyone who use their boring real name as their username and/or doesn't have an avatar. It looks like all they are here to do is discuss serious topics, most of which I avoid entirely or that they are too lazy to pick an avatar (which also kinda applies to anyone with one of the severely out-dated pre-made ones). Whenever I see someone like that I always go "Hello, person I will never interact with at all". I WANT TO SEE NEW FACES HERE, DAMN IT. NOT SOMEONE WHO'S HERE JUST BECAUSE OF WHATEVER CONTROVERSIAL THREAD POPPED UP.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Perhaps a little, but I tend to pick up on someone's grammar and spelling much more. Not so much that I'll think you're mentally challenged for a couple of errors, but if you write like an idiot I'll probably just assume you are one. Quite a few new members tend to post poorly because they're younger, so I sort of do. I mean, if I go back and look at my first few posts when I was fourteen it's fucking cringeworthy.

I might have a bit more time for people that have higher post counts though, because you can clearly see they've been around for a while and can abide by the rules. Members with low post counts are a bit more of an unknown, but that doesn't mean I won't read what they have to say.

 

[Spanglish Guy]

Well I have only just made this account but I have been coming to the escapist for several years now and have enjoyed reading the forums from time to time too. I only now decided to make this account so that I could share my opinion on something or maybe discuss with others.

I can understand your viewpoint, I have had the same view on new people before and I think it could just be inherent of most people to have such a view.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

Perhaps a little, but I tend to pick up on someone's grammar and spelling much more. Not so much that I'll think you're mentally challenged for a couple of errors, but if you write like an idiot I'll probably just assume you are one.

Seconded! And honestly, if you hadn't have said it, I'm not sure I would have noticed that tendency in myself.

But there's also something to be said for continuity of thought - there are plenty of people who would score a 60% or less on grammar and spelling, but reading their posts is still easy because the flow of ideas is perfectly structured and they display an expert command of vocabulary (even if the words aren't spelled correctly). Basically, if they were SPEAKING the words in their posts, you'd never know they had problems with grammar or spelling.

Those factors mean a whole lot more to me than someone's post count or join date. The posts I DO pay more attention to, though, are ones written by the peeps on my friends list.

 

[Foolery]

I try not to. There are a few reasons why a new user might be dismissed. Infrequent posts, brief posts, ditto posts, no avatar, and regulars taking up the main chunk of a discussion due to established rapport. I've been here a year, but I doubt very many users find me memorable.

 

[Fappy]

I am guilty of this. The only defense I can make for myself is that, well... I've been here a long time. I can't count how many times I have seen new members flood in the moment a big controversy hits only to wash away with it as soon as it's over. Many of these people don't really understand the forum environment and tend to spread a lot of unpleasantness. Obviously this is not the case for everyone and is the very same elitist mentality that gets us mocked on other sites consistently. Ironically, this site seems to have become a bastion more than once for the very people that mocked it (especially now).

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but do admit that I have a much shorter attention span/tolerance for newer posters. I don't think older posters are inherently more valuable than they are... it's just that I know a lot of people around whose opinions (which often differ from my own) I value.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

For the most part, no. However, I do tend to be suspicious of people who have only been here for a day or two, yet already have over 100 or so posts. Seems like their interest just lies in massive debates and shitstorms, and that is someone I really don't care to associate with or really pay much heed to. But I guess that's an opposite to what is being asked here.

So no, not really. A low post count doesn't dismiss anyone as far as I'm concerned. I mean hell, we all had low post counts at one time!

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I find people are a little more judicious regarding join dates rather than post counts. In a way it makes sense I guess - it's proof they've made it that long without getting banned, and are awesome people to have around. Whereas you can get a high post count by spamming the forum games thread.

 

[EternallyBored]

Usually I find dismissal fades quickly once a poster has proven they aren't just a one note poster, or are only here to push a flimsy agenda, but there definately seems to be a wariness that other posters exhibit around anyone with less than a couple dozen posts.

There is also certainly bias towards high count posters, a poster with several hundred posts will often find they get less responses and quotes than those with several thousand or more posts, people are generally more likely to respond to known posters, especially

 

[AkaDad]

I was considering starting a thread on this topic.

I guess I'm not the only who's noticed all the new members and it's probably just pure coincidence that most of them are pushing the same views.

 

[Fappy]

I was considering starting a thread on this topic.

I guess I'm not the only who's noticed all the new members and it's probably just pure coincidence that most of them are pushing the same views.

It's not coincidence. A lot of them have been exiled from various sites in which they were making the same argument and congregated here. It's not the first time it's happened.

 

[Drephon]

Personally I believe people should pay more attention to those with low post counts, but I might not be completely unbiased on this stance.

 

[Story]

I'm sure certain people do, but from I see on this forum it mostly happens to people who join just to be in a hated debate.
The Escapist has gotten a lot of new members lately.

I don't disregard people with low posts, but I do tend to "listen" or pay more attention to people with higher post counts...

Personally I believe people should pay more attention to those with low post counts, but I might not be completely unbiased on this stance.

...or those that make funny comments like this dude. x3

 

[shrekfan246]

Nah, I don't.

I dismiss people based purely on the content of their posts.



Some of my recent favorite posters have relatively low post counts (@Baffle comes to mind) so I think it would be counterproductive for me to overlook any particular post just because someone has a one-to-three digit post count.

I'm weird, though. I read most of the posts in a thread before actually typing up my own.

 

[AkaDad]

I was considering starting a thread on this topic.

I guess I'm not the only who's noticed all the new members and it's probably just pure coincidence that most of them are pushing the same views.

It's not coincidence. A lot of them have been exiled from various sites in which they were making the same argument and congregated here. It's not the first time it's happened.

I was totally being sarcastic. Sometimes my sarcasm doesn't translate well.