jfmezei
Premium
join:2007-01-03
Beaconsfield, QC
 ·ELECTRONICBOX
| DSLR neutrality and ISP specific forums
DSLR has had a reputation of being neutral with respect to ISP popularity/rankings.
However, one small canadian ISP (Teksavvy) has managed a disproportionate representation on DSLR and this is starting to look bad with regards to DSLR's neutrality. I say this factually without any allegations of foul play or wrongdoing.
There is the "Canadian Broadband" forum which should contain non-ISP-specific discussions. Yet, despite some topics having been started on "Canadian Broadband" (such as discussing an upcoming CRTC decision affecting all ISPs), they start their own topic in their forum and make it grow to a point where it appears in the "most people are now reading" list this then has a snowball effect by bringing users from any/all forums to the ISP specific forum.
The original topic in Canadian Broadband has no chance, and the ISP gets free publicity by bringing people from other ISPs to discuss an ISP-neutral topic in their own forum instead of an ISP-neutral forum.
Most of the topics in the Teksavvy forum which make it to the "most people are now reading" list are not related to Teksavvy itself.
I would suggest that moderators of ISP specific forums be a bit more proactive in directing non-ISP-specific discussions to the appropriate forums. This would help ensure no specific ISP monopolise industry-wide discussions and get a disproportionate place in rankings at the expense of other forums/ISPs. |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T Midwest
| You say:
However, one small canadian ISP (Teksavvy) has managed a disproportionate representation on DSLR and this is starting to look bad with regards to DSLR's neutrality. and:
Most of the topics in the Teksavvy forum which make it to the "most people are now reading" list are not related to Teksavvy itself. These seem to contradict one another. If most of the threads are not related to Teksavvy, then most of the threads would seem to have no implications for neutrality.
What you are describing, is some sort of social networking between people with a common interest. This seems to happen more with smaller groups than with larger groups. The AT&T Midwest forum, previously known as the Ameritech forum, used to have a lot more social threads. But now that Ameritech has been absorbed into the AT&T/SBC, there are few social threads.
I think you are just seeing how people behave and interact when they are part of what they perceive as a small group with common interests. And I don't see any harm in that.
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drew
Reformation
Premium
join:2002-07-10
Port Orchard, WA
clubs:
 ·wavebroadband
| reply to jfmezei
Re: DSLR neutrality and ISP specific forums
I would, after seeing this very thing for months, I have to agree with you.
There is a disproportionate amount of non-TekSaavy talk under the guise of TekSaavy that would be better suited to the Canadian Broadband forum. However, whether something like that is disparate to other Canadian ISPs or the site is debateable.
As I am neither Canadian nor a TekSaavy customer, I can only offer my outsider's opinion.
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Bell_Abused
join:2006-10-07
·Bell Sympatico
1 edit | said by drew  :I would, after seeing this very thing for months, I have to agree with you. There is a disproportionate amount of non-TekSaavy talk under the guise of TekSaavy that would be better suited to the Canadian Broadband forum. However, whether something like that is disparate to other Canadian ISPs or the site is debateable. As I am neither Canadian nor a TekSaavy customer, I can only offer my outsider's opinion. Yes, you mean like this:
»Leonid Meteor Shower 2009 - tonight!
»ASUS WL-520GU Wireless Router $28.99
»Netgear DGN2000-100NAS Wireless N Router with built in DSL m
»Need More Porn
as only a very small example.
Yes, you can post about anything in that forum, unlike the other forums, and not get it locked or moved. It helps keeps their stats up there. You are not imagining things as an outsider. Even insiders see this. |
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fatness
subtle
Janitor
join:2000-11-17
fishing
·EarthLink
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TekSavvy
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| reply to jfmezei
said by jfmezei :However, one small canadian ISP (Teksavvy) has managed a disproportionate representation on DSLR and this is starting to look bad with regards to DSLR's neutrality. I say this factually without any allegations of foul play or wrongdoing. Your request is made after a very public fallout with the provider:
»Re: What? TSI getting bandwdith cap change on 11/19/09?
»Re: What? TSI getting bandwdith cap change on 11/19/09?
»Re: What? TSI getting bandwdith cap change on 11/19/09?
»Re: What? TSI getting bandwdith cap change on 11/19/09?
said by jfmezei : You should know by now that I don't take insults lying down and if you don't like the little stings that follow, don't walk on the bees nest in the first place. The request is for moderator intervention to reduce the use and popularity of a forum, and its visibility on the list of active forum threads, by removing topics that you did not object to before your falling out with the provider. Reduction of the visibility of this provider is part of your request:
This would help ensure no specific ISP monopolise industry-wide discussions and get a disproportionate place in rankings at the expense of other forums/ISPs. You have stated that you no longer post in the forum, and a look at your postlist appears to confirm this, and you want the topics to accompany you to the Canadian Broadband forum.
The Teksavvy forum grew rapidly in use during the time Bell first started throttling. People who'd never seen this site before began posting there. Since then some of them have apparently stuck around, and it makes no sense to Balkanize the community that grew up in order to satisfy what's basically a personal gripe.
If topics were being arbitrarily moved to the forum which did not belong there, that would be quite different. But they're not, people are posting where they choose, and your request is to have that interfered with to direct the traffic elsewhere. Honoring such a request would be moderating in order to tilt popularity and visibility, which is a terrible idea.
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"I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants." |
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