Posted by
Harvey on
Feb 15, 2013; 6:42pm
URL: https://support.nabble.com/Avatar-Man-tp7580843p7583123.html
Hugo <Nabble> wrote
Is anyone really complaining about this? I wonder why they don't upload a picture or any image they identify themselves with. The generic avatar is just a placeholder. Users should upload images if they don't like the placeholder. What am I missing?
Nobody is complaining. This is something that I think would help me achieve my goals.
I was hoping to avoid explaining this because it's going to sound odd and full of generalizations about the sexes. But...
Like I said, ski forums are dominated by men. Boys really, but older boys. The environment can at times get contentious and for lack of a better phrase "testosterone fueled."
This builds on itself. When men dominate the discussion, women will lurk, but won't join, or sometimes they join and don't post. Generalization: The more women you have the more civilized things are.
I've got 400 members and maybe 50 are women and maybe 10 of those post regularly. This is a many compared to most ski forums which have NO women. I've worked hard to make it a safe fun place for women.
Today something happened that has happened 4 times before - over 2 years that's not a huge amount. One notoriously harsh poster criticized something a new member said. It was mean really. It turns out the criticized poster was a women - very young. She deleted all of her posts and quit.
I can't just ban every guy who is harsh. I've learned that the more you MODERATE the more trouble you get in. I sent this guy an email and asked him to back off. He said if he'd know she was a woman he never would have "kidded" her for her "stupid" comment. He is also a valuable contributor most of the time.
Her screenname was just initials and until she quit there was no way to tell she was a woman.
I realize that this isn't really a problem with the software but human nature. Still anytime software can make my life easier, I'm interested.
I realize to that giving people the option of two generic avatars may decrease the chance that they will upload an avatar. Maybe a radio button where you choose male or female?
One last point. I don't want to make our forum sound terrible. It is known as one of the most civilized ski forums out there. With many members conflict can arise.
If this is a real big job , then I won't bring it up until it happens again.
HTTPS Please!