Help help: Dear helpers,

MittensInSummertime

Dear helpers,

In response to all of the posts complaining and/or petitioning lately about the site’s issues, I would like to make a point.

Look at this site. Look around. Look at some of the great posts we have had and still are making. Look at the friendships and look at the love that has formed from one domain name. And look not only at the emotional side, but look at the quality of the design: we have some amazing and high-tech features that you simply don’t see everywhere. We don’t need to refresh to see just about anything. We don’t need to go through troubles to send a private message or find people to get to a post. Shouts are EASY. Invites are EASY. And we are da.mn lucky to have all of this at our fingertips.

Now that the good things are pointed out, let’s go to some of the bad things.

We have trolling. We have no admins. We have HTML issues. We have “problems” in some features. We have drama, and we have users complaining.

Throughout all of the complaints, all of the problems, all of the emotions that run through here, there is hardly any room to appreciate what IS here, right now. Resources. Community. Friendships. And the ability to help anyone that posts.

We have been judging posts and complaining about the problems rather than looking through to what actually matters. No matter the number of signatures you get on petitions, or no matter the number of complaint posts that litter the pages, it’s clear that we are not about to be helped. This is HELP.COM. It doesn’t specify who needs to do the helping. And in this case, we need to shut up about our petty problems and make logging on here worthwhile. A troll? We deal with it. Drama? Resolve it. Complaints? Make them level-headed and serious. It’s simple:

To make help.com into a helping site again, we need to help ourselves. Help the website. Take action. We don’t need a new design, or better mods. We need to appreciate what we have instead of trying to fix what we don’t. So “be quiet” about the mod problem, “be quiet” about the design flaws, and “be quiet” about the HTML. We help the mods out, we make the best of what we have, and we live without features that were. Start helping, and stop complaining.

This open post was written 1 year, 3 months ago | V/U/S: 446, 31, 11 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

Reciprocity (0)

Since writing this post MittensInSummertime may have helped people, but has not within the last 4 days. MittensInSummertime is a verified member, has been around for 2 years, 5 months and has 43 posts and 1,953 replies to their name.

Post Tags (9)

Design, matter, Complaint, Help, Problem, MOD, post, Feature, site (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

Replies (31)

Where were you?

Click and drag to move the map around. FAQ: How we place people on this map »
You can also watch events on Help.com as they happen

Mouse over the map for 2 seconds to see an expanded, interactive view

MittensInSummertime edited this post 1 year, 3 months ago. Read the previous text »

Dear helpers,
In response to all of the posts complaining and/or petitioning lately about the site’s issues, I would like to make a point.

Look at this site. Look around. Look at some of the great posts we have had and still are making. Look at the friendships and look at the love that has formed from one domain name. And look not only at the emotional side, but look at the quality of the design: we have some amazing and high-tech features that you simply don’t see everywhere. We don’t need to refresh to see just about anything. We don’t need to go through troubles to send a private message or find people to get to a post. Shouts are EASY. Invites are EASY. And we are da.mn lucky to have all of this at our fingertips.

Now that the good things are pointed out, let’s go to some of the bad things.

We have trolling. We have no admins. We have HTML issues. We have “problems” in some features. We have drama, and we have users complaining.

Throughout all of the complaints, all of the problems, all of the emotions that run through here, there is hardly any room to appreciate what IS here, right now. Resources. Community. Friendships. And the ability to help anyone that posts.

We have been judging posts and complaining about the problems rather than looking through to what actually matters. No matter the number of signatures you get on petitions, or no matter the number of complaint posts that litter the pages, it’s clear that we are not about to be helped. This is HELP.COM. It doesn’t specify who needs to do the helping. And in this case, we need to shut up about our petty problems and make logging on here worthwhile. A troll? We deal with it. Drama? Resolve it. Complaints? Make them level-headed and serious. It’s simple:

To make help.com into a helping site again, we need to i>help ourselves /i>. Help the website. Take action. We don’t need a new design, or better mods. We need to appreciate what we have instead of trying to fix what we don’t. So shut up about the mod problem, shut up about the design flaws, and shut up about the HTML. We help the mods out, we make the best of what we have, and we live without features that were. Start helping, and stop complaining.

MittensInSummertime invited 57 users to read this post 1 year, 3 months ago.

Nightowl 2 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (1 minute after post)

cool. ypur right,

Help me with: I have no one else to talk to, so I thought I’d try this.

Squish 1 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (2 minutes after post)

Amen!!!! =D no complaints here, i love this site

Help me with: Anyone got good Kitten names?

Chameleon 6 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (7 minutes after post)

mittensinsummertime wrote:
. We need to appreciate what we have instead of trying to fix what we don’t. So shut up about the mod problem, shut up about the design flaws, and shut up about the HTML.

I think we all do appreciate what we have - otherwise we wouldn’t be here. No one is saying they don’t love this site - we all do. But I see a problem with telling everyone to shut up. I think user suggestions are essential input in any forum. The Internet and technology change and grow with the times and so should any healthy site.

MittensInSummertime 1 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (11 minutes after post)

Chameleon wrote:
I think we all do appreciate what we have - otherwise we wouldn’t be here. No one is saying they don’t love this site - we all do. But I see a problem with telling everyone to shut up. I think user suggestions are essential input in any forum. The Internet and technology change and grow with the times and so should any healthy site.

Of course a site should grow and change, but my suggestion is simple: instead of complaining, let’s do something to help ourselves out. Complaining has proven to get us no where. Very little progress has been made. All I want is for us to see what’s right in front of us instead of lamenting on what’s wrong. User suggestions are all well and good, but they’ve gotten us no where so far. I don’t want to sit around and whine. I want to make this site into something amazing.

Chameleon 6 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (17 minutes after post)

MittensInSummertime wrote:

Chameleon wrote:
I think we all do appreciate what we have - otherwise we wouldn’t be here. No one is saying they don’t love this site - we all do. But I see a problem with telling everyone to shut up. I think user suggestions are essential input in any forum. The Internet and technology change and grow with the times and so should any healthy site.
Of course a site should grow and change, but my suggestion is simple: instead of complaining, let’s do something to help ourselves out. Complaining has proven to get us no where. Very little progress has been made. All I want is for us to see what’s right in front of us instead of lamenting on what’s wrong. User suggestions are all well and good, but they’ve gotten us no where so far. I don’t want to sit around and whine. I want to make this site into something amazing.

With all respect - aren’t you whining right now? I mean I agree that complaining gets us nowhere. But telling everyone to shut up and appreciate what they have isn’t exactly the answer either. I know Ken was involved in the conversations in some of the posts you’re referring to and a few really good suggestions were brought up that even he agreed might be possible and good to implement.
Unfortunately since our admin is pretty much MIA now, it may be a long time before any improvements could be brought upon this site, if ever. But I see no harm in people suggesting them. Talk is good. Communication is good.

MittensInSummertime 1 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (28 minutes after post)

I think the talk and communication is quickly moving on to desperation and uselessness. There have been repetitive requests and it’s starting to feel as if some of the magic is gone from what used to be a fantastic and beautiful place. The “shut up about the ___” wasn’t to be taken so literally, it was more in a joking manner. I’m not placing blame, or intending to hurt people. I’m trying to make the point that even if there are millions of things going wrong, we still have the power to work through them and come out better than before. I’m definitely not telling everyone to shut up and appreciate what they have, I’m asking everyone to help each other out. I think we can work together and create a place that was better than it was before all the problems came up. But to do that, I think we need to take a step back and look at what a great opportunity we have here. There is an entire site that can be molded by the users. We want a legacy and a feel of a site that can fix itself, rather than a feel of helplessness on a site that’s called help.com. Right now, if we want a change, we need to initiate it. There is no magical cure. There is no admin flying to the rescue, and there are no self-solving problems.

I hate feeling like this site is going downhill, so let’s start pushing.

Taringail 1 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (36 minutes after post)

SHUT UP AND BE NICE AND HELP PEOPLE

That may not have been your intentional message..but that’s just the thing. People are trying to help without considering their own messages, thusly hurting not just their point, but the feelings and perceptions of others, which leads to our current problems.

You want a solution, but this post isn’t it. I commend you for the effort, but hope you’ll be a little more thoughtful in the future. No one’s perfect, I know this especially well, but this could have been drastically better.

Help me with: Seeking someone experienced with custody law in the States.

Taringail 1 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (42 minutes after post)

Was that meant to be constructive? Heh.

Help me with: Seeking someone experienced with custody law in the States.

Taringail 1 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (44 minutes after post)

I’m all for fresh starts, but Internet sites aren’t really set up for the slash-and-burn-and-replant technique.

…I don’t think they are, anyway. Maybe it’s a new XML thing? :P

Help me with: Seeking someone experienced with custody law in the States.

MittensInSummertime 1 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (47 minutes after post)

Taringail wrote:
SHUT UP AND BE NICE AND HELP PEOPLEThat may not have been your intentional message..but that’s just the thing. People are trying to help without considering their own messages, thusly hurting not just their point, but the feelings and perceptions of others, which leads to our current problems.You want a solution, but this post isn’t it. I commend you for the effort, but hope you’ll be a little more thoughtful in the future. No one’s perfect, I know this especially well, but this could have been drastically better.

Of course this post isn’t the solution. It was never to start a revolution. All I wanted was it to be out there. Whatever everyone else does with it is up to them. And thankfully, all you’ve done is reinforced my point.

Nightowl 2 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (47 minutes after post)

Help has its ups and downs….like…….A…..ROLLERCOASER!!!!!

Original on YouTube.com

Help me with: I have no one else to talk to, so I thought I’d try this.

This reply has been removed.

Taringail 1 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (1 hour, 9 minutes after post)

Err. In fact, Mittens, Jebus here has struck the proverbial nail on the head, where I was attempting to be a little more subtle. Yelling at people is counter-productive, insofar as your desired effect goes. All you can do is be the shining light of helpness that you desire all of us to be.

Help me with: Seeking someone experienced with custody law in the States.

MittensInSummertime 1 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (1 hour, 16 minutes after post)

I stand by my point, and I agree with yours all the same.
Goodnight.
Goodbye.

molotok 18 #
G�vle, 03, SE | 1 year, 3 months ago (1 hour, 37 minutes after post)

I was reluctant to follow the invitation, because I am so tired of all the posts about the site itself.

But this is good!

Help me with: Obama, Old Farmer’s Almanac and taxes

This reply has been removed.

TulipsDream 1 #
Akron, OH, US | 1 year, 3 months ago (3 hours, 9 minutes after post)

I think it was just a rant and a dang good one too. I think it wasn’t meant to make anyone stop complaining and that Mittens is just expressing that we don’t appreciate Help enough. We are always wanting more, more, more…
I totally agree with Mittens 100% I don’t find anything wrong with this post. We really do take everything Help has to offer for granted. No we aren’t a Red Cross, but we still should be concerned with our beloved site that we all love so much.

Help me with: Can anyone tell me what kind of dog this is?

TulipsDream invited 1 user to read this post 1 year, 3 months ago.

Help me with: Can anyone tell me what kind of dog this is?

This reply has been removed.

MittensInSummertime 1 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (3 hours, 32 minutes after post)

It appears everyone is missing the point.

It was:
If we want to get help for help.com, then we need to do the helping. The problems aren’t going to magically fix themselves. So instead of complaining, let’s try to make the site the best we can possibly make it. By helping mods out, completely ignoring trolls, and helping anyone who needs help that comes here.

We shouldn’t have to wait around for the site to change. It’s only up to us at this point, and I think we should stop whining about it and instead do something about it.

I’m leaving now. I won’t be back for a while. Life’s getting busy and this site is too much of a distraction. Feel free to discuss anything here. But up there is my opinion. Take it or leave it.

(1)

Sans 57 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (3 hours, 33 minutes after post)

Mittens, thank you! Even though I have at times been one of the complainers, or ranters about the lack of administration, your post reflects exactly how I feel, except for using the phrase “shut up”, which I don’t think you intended to sound rude.

I was away for a couple of weeks on vacation, missed the hell out of everyone, and came back with a renewed sense that we are a community of friends and fools that is extremely rare and not to be taken for granted. I’m not speaking as one who has figured everything out; like everybody else, I stumbled upon this place because I needed help. But if the depressed anons of the world could find what many of us have here, they would have a decent shot at turning their lives around.

Despair is contagious, like yawns, but so is optimism if paired with action.

It’s up to us. Not enough mods? We help ‘em. Too many trolls? We report ‘em and ignore ‘em. Too many trivial posts? Too much chatting? We edit our tags, try to stay on the lookout for people in real need, and invite our friends to the urgent ones. Will some people fall through the cracks? Sure. We aren’t God. Yet.

Thanks also to Jeb for Let it Be.

(1)

MittensInSummertime edited this post 1 year, 3 months ago. Read the previous text »

Dear helpers,
In response to all of the posts complaining and/or petitioning lately about the site’s issues, I would like to make a point.

Look at this site. Look around. Look at some of the great posts we have had and still are making. Look at the friendships and look at the love that has formed from one domain name. And look not only at the emotional side, but look at the quality of the design: we have some amazing and high-tech features that you simply don’t see everywhere. We don’t need to refresh to see just about anything. We don’t need to go through troubles to send a private message or find people to get to a post. Shouts are EASY. Invites are EASY. And we are da.mn lucky to have all of this at our fingertips.

Now that the good things are pointed out, let’s go to some of the bad things.

We have trolling. We have no admins. We have HTML issues. We have “problems” in some features. We have drama, and we have users complaining.

Throughout all of the complaints, all of the problems, all of the emotions that run through here, there is hardly any room to appreciate what IS here, right now. Resources. Community. Friendships. And the ability to help anyone that posts.

We have been judging posts and complaining about the problems rather than looking through to what actually matters. No matter the number of signatures you get on petitions, or no matter the number of complaint posts that litter the pages, it’s clear that we are not about to be helped. This is HELP.COM. It doesn’t specify who needs to do the helping. And in this case, we need to shut up about our petty problems and make logging on here worthwhile. A troll? We deal with it. Drama? Resolve it. Complaints? Make them level-headed and serious. It’s simple:

To make help.com into a helping site again, we need to help ourselves. Help the website. Take action. We don’t need a new design, or better mods. We need to appreciate what we have instead of trying to fix what we don’t. So shut up about the mod problem, shut up about the design flaws, and shut up about the HTML. We help the mods out, we make the best of what we have, and we live without features that were. Start helping, and stop complaining.

This reply has been removed.

Chameleon 6 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (3 hours, 42 minutes after post)

lol I like the changes you made to the post mittens ;) Makes it less harsh.

molotok 18 #
G�vle, 03, SE | 1 year, 3 months ago (5 hours after post)

business-development wrote:
It’s not easy to grasp — and information science (and in particular: information retrieval [aka “search”]) is a very dry (and vastly interdisciplinary) subject area. So this kind of stuff is not “light reading” (and requires a great deal of multifaceted expertise to even begin to understand it), so I realize that it remains “elusive” for most.

Sure BD, hehe…

Alif-Lam-Mim (These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’an and none but Allah alone knows their meaning…)

I have the same problem. My findings were so complicated, so I had to construct a new language to even express them. On the other hand… …as I am the only one knowing that language, I did not bother to post it…

Häpp!
:-)

Help me with: Obama, Old Farmer’s Almanac and taxes

This reply has been removed.

ĐaNi HaŦeS ŸoŪ 195 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (10 hours after post)

Instead of nitpicking her post for a petty argument try moving on to a post where you can help someone

Help me with: How do i verify my friendster?

Maximina 7 #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (11 hours, 37 minutes after post)

Mittens you are absolutely right. There have been way to many posts whining about the site lately. I also think many new users have no idea that things have not changed that much. The more things change the more they stay the same, which is certainly true of this site. As time goes on, I love this site more and more, because the more time I have to get to know the people I care about here, the more fulfilling the site becomes. You will find that no matter how good things are some people will find something to complain about and no matter how bad things are some people will see things to appreciate. I have had my own complaints about trolls, but it is clear that admins are not going to be on this site any time soon. For all we know when one does show up, things could take a turn for the worse. Mittens I think your words are brilliant, even before you edited them. I hope to see you back on when you are ready!

Help me with: Democrats are clearly better at handling the economy!

☆ 178 #
An Undisclosed Location | 1 year, 3 months ago (20 hours, 54 minutes after post)

Hello Mittens! :) how is it going?

Sorry i am very late for this. Well i have been invited to too many posts like this and i think this is the only one i have replied to.

I sometimes forget about people in this site. I just think that i can still find the beauty of this site and help people in my little ways when i have the time.

You have very nice ways in putting words. You are a good writer. :)

Help me with: Anyone?

Invite Others to Help

A logged in and verified Help.com member has the ability to setup a Friends List and invite others to help with posts.

Help help: Dear helpers, - Help.com

Dear helpers,

Reciprocity (0)

Post Tags (9)

Replies (31)

Invite Others to Help

Help.com Homepage