Using Palmtalk as your personal Instagram or blog

[iko.]

Hi,

I'm a casual user of Palmtalk so I'm not hoping to offend any of the more experienced members with my post.

Is it only me who believes certain etiquette should be followed in forums? With this I mean the use of basic punctuation, proper spelling,... but also not using Palmtalk as your personal blog. Some user(s) fill the forum with new threads every few minutes, some even closely related to the previous one posted. I find some of that content interesting, some other not so much. At the end, the forum ends up looking like the feed of a social media platform or a personal blog. I enjoy using Palmtalk because of everything I can learn through the valuable experiences of us, the users. But I think certain things can be summarised in a weekly post, articulated with more than a couple of pictures and one sentence, or directly posted in Instagram for example. In the long run, the search option is plagued by these micro-posts that almost no one care to engage making it harder to get the result or answer someone would have expected to find. 

 

[PALM MOD]

Thanks for your input.

Forums, by their nature, are a free-for-all. Everyone is invited to share in whatever manner they feel like. It is supposed to be “like the feed of a social media platform.” And like a smorgasbord, not everything that is offered is pleasing to everyone’s tastes.

But hopefully there is enough variety to fill your plate and satisfy your appetite. Pass by what you aren’t interested in. And come back for seconds of what you enjoyed. Or you may see and try something new or different.

There are many ways to customize your browsing experience and make it more to your liking. For example: Follow people who you think post worthwhile topics/replies. Block those you find a waste of your time. Browse only new material, or that which is getting the most views. Or use the Advanced Search feature to narrow down your specific interests further.

As to spelling and punctuation, etc. - we are only a reflection of the entire internet. And we are an international society, with English being a second or third language for many. 

[iko.]

20 minutes ago, PALM MOD said:

As to spelling and punctuation, etc. - we are only a reflection of the entire internet. And we are an international society, with English being a second or third language for many. 

That's quite disappointing. Internet is also full of conflict and some users, sometimes organisations, and the websites themselves find ways to mitigate or eradicate this. Something could be done to keep a certain level in formatting or spelling. More than 50 lines with not a single punctuation sign from a native English speaker is tiring, not very different as those using only capital letters. 

Thank you for taking the time to answer though.

PS: How do I block someone? I can't seem to find the option.

[PALM MOD]

Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate proper spelling, punctuation, and syntax.

But I never assume someone is a native English speaker, and I appreciate that typing on a small screen with your thumbs in weird locations and situations, isn’t conducive to proper keystrokes or editing. 

Also, if we hired a team to proof read and correct all the content added here every day, PalmTalk would no longer be free.

[PALM MOD]

27 minutes ago, iko. said:

PS: How do I block someone? I can't seem to find the option.

Go to your Profile dropdown menu - Ignored Users

[UK_Palms]

On 7/4/2024 at 8:53 PM, iko. said:

That's quite disappointing. Internet is also full of conflict and some users, sometimes organisations, and the websites themselves find ways to mitigate or eradicate this. Something could be done to keep a certain level in formatting or spelling. More than 50 lines with not a single punctuation sign from a native English speaker is tiring, not very different as those using only capital letters. 

Thank you for taking the time to answer though.

PS: How do I block someone? I can't seem to find the option.

I'm not trying to split hairs, but I think you need to be accommodating of those who suffer from dyslexia or other learning conditions. Many people struggle their entire life with reading and spelling, whether due to having a learning disability, or their environmental conditions and education chances. I personally know people in the gardening field who struggle immensely with spelling and grammar.

Not everyone is as fortunate as me or you, or many others in that regard. So for those people who struggle to then know that they are also being judged for it on a palm / exotic gardening sphere, of all places, must be quite demoralising. The same goes for people who speak English as a second or third language. Again, I think you just need to be more accommodating and empathetic towards that in general.

Also, unless someone is harassing you or giving you problems directly, I don't see the need for blocking them. But each to their own obviously. I'm all for free speech, so you are within your right to put across your point, or feel a certain way. Just as I am allowed to give you my two cents on it. I hope you can interpret that constructively. 

[iko.]

On 7/9/2024 at 10:01 PM, UK_Palms said:

Also, unless someone is harassing you or giving you problems directly, I don't see the need for blocking them. 

Thankfully, I’ve never experienced this in Palmtalk and is something to be grateful. 

Fair point about what you say about dislexia or any other learning disability. I have been trying to think more on this when I think of that type of posts. I’m not a fan of blocking either but it helped a bit though.

English is not my first language but I still spend quite some time checking the grammar is understandable. That’s why most of my posts have been edited afterwards. I also spend time reducing the size of the photos before posting. Given the user was an English speaker I used to think laziness, or casualness, was behind some of those posts. Photos and no punctuation were being published in new threads with very few minutes difference so the look-at-me social media syndrome we all have experienced to some extend could also be a reason.

[NorCalWill]

Here's a suggestion. If PalmTalk stopped keeping track of the weekly, monthly, yearly, all time "popular contributors", that may cut down on the over-posting by some. I think it's possible that some people see these posting updates as a race to be the most popular contributor, which unfortunately has a negative effect on the forum by filling it with a lot of random petty subjects.