Coming of Age
After reading the blogs slamming DeafRead, I think I can say DeafRead has come of age. I do find it interesting that there are two factions who disagree with each other over everything except for one thing: there’s censorship, DeafRead is not neutral and the guidelines are not clear.
To me as a moderate, it shows me that for the most part, DeafRead is doing its job. Aside from some bugs and human errors, DeafRead is posting blogs and vlogs that neither factions are happy with. There’s talk about setting up another aggregator to suit the desires of those factions, which is fine with me. If people can pull that off, then great! I’ll register my blog with that aggregator too if my blog fits their criteria.
But in all honesty, I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to code one from scratch. Look at DeafPulse for instance. It’s buggy and spams v/blogs with pingbacks and I ended up blacklisting DeafPulse pingbacks from my blog.
Coding is very difficult. During my teenage years, I played a free online game that was all text. People who knew C and C++ would create those games and people from all over would play it. At its inception, like DeafRead, the users were small in numbers. It also was volunteer run. But as it grew, the more complaints there were.
There were conflicts amongst the players themselves and with the administration. So when those conflicts played out, there were quite a few who stood up and left, shouting that they would set up their own game and attract the rest of the players to their game.
Invariably, those games would fail because they didn’t know how to code well enough and often also were tyrannical toward their own players. So those complainers would come back to the game they originally left. They never stopped griping though and the administration was stupid to ignore all of the criticism leveled against them which came back to haunt them. Some of the criticism happened to be valid.
I for one though, don’t see the DeafRead team ignoring all of the criticism that’s aimed towards them. One criticism to me that I think is valid is the conflict of interest situation with the DeafRead Awards.
If DeafRead wants to present a professional and impartial image, the editors should be exempt from receiving the v/blog awards. The DeafRead team deserves its own special recognition, separate from the awards ceremony and hopefully that will happen sometime from us v/bloggers. There will always be a perceived bias if they are eligible for the awards, whether true or not. It’s a human nature thing.
So, if there is a v/blog award ceremony next year, I hope the DeafRead team does recuse themselves from being eligible for the awards. I don’t think it’s fair for the editors to recuse themselves right now for this year’s awards, because that would throw off everything. For things to be fair for this year’s, we would have to re-nominate and re-vote then be ready for this Saturday.
It’s impossible to please everyone and I definitely see DeafRead going through a growth spurt. Some things may not have caught up with this growth spurt and I hope DeafRead takes action to remedy those things in a timely manner. This is truly on an unprecedented level – so many v/blogs sharing their thoughts and ideas and there are more on the way. It is my sincere opinion that the Deaf Community is not used to the freedom of speech aspect. We’ve been ignored and oppressed for so long that this whole thing is so new to us.
Here’s to hoping that we come to age without too much pain. The world deserves to see our voices – all of them and thanks to DeafRead, more and more of us are being seen and heard.
24 Comments
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Paotie said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:20 pm
*coughsasskissingcoughs*
Nice!
Paotie
A Deaf Pundit said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:22 pm
*laughs* that’s a first for me.
Karen Mayes said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:23 pm
At least a few people are asking about human editors and guidelines and all… which make them scramble around and explain the rules and making them questioning the meaning of neutrality and all.
A good way of growing up… like spanking period of toddlers after ohhing and ahhing over infants. God help us when DeafRead goes into preteen/teen years ;o)
I say it with tongue in my mouth, so I am just kidding.
WAD said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I respectfully disagree. I rather DR to appoint independent screening committee for the award than the DR editors to recuse themselves from being eligible for the award. The independent screening committee composed of deaf and hard of hearing people who did not post v/blog during that year to review the nominations and select the finalists for each award based on votes.
Charles said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:40 pm
a big signed Touche’ from here. Excellent.
I agree with you, deaf pundit, that the DR team just keep the list of original nominations and strive to do better the next time around. To DR team, it ll be hard to replicate an original DeafRead aggregation engine! Like deafpundit typed here, I encourage anyone to replicate another wonderful aggregation engine. Seesee.
Do I see coughing in text somewhere – why is there need to cough that way? Everyone cover their mouths when coughing.
J.J. Puorro said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I am in complete disagreement about having the human editors rescue themselves from the awards ceremony.
In fact, one human editor already offered to be rescued and I told him/her that they DESERVED to be nominated.
I ask you, can you find a volunteer interested in being an editor with the understanding that they shouldn’t be invloved in the deaf blogsphere? Only v/bloggers are interested in DR and it’d be hard to find someone who doesn’t v/blog to be an editor…DR does not pay us enough…
Otherwise, nice entry Pundit.
J.J. Puorro said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Anyway, does anyone have a suggestion as to an independent person/committee to collect nominations and count the votes???
Just wondering who we would ask to do that??
WAD said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I want to add one more thing. Kudos to DR team for another great year of keeping the community informed of countless v/blogs!
Karen Mayes said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Hmmm… my understanding is that the MAJORITY of deaf population does not follow Deafread. Most people here in Indiana does not follow DeafRead. So I am sure you’d find plenty of “independent pepple”….
J.J. Puorro said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:52 pm
But I believe that the majority of people who don’t follow DR are the kind that aren’t aware about it??
I mean if you start reading here..you just get suckered in…DR has that effect on me…
WAD said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:56 pm
J.J. Puorro,
To create a committee, there are many wonderful people to consider. How about…
* an Information Technology staff working at deaf school?
* a recent RIT computer science graduate?
* a person in the computer graphic arts field?
* a person in the journalism field?
* and etc.
If you need names for next year, then let me know through Deaf Pundit.
Karen Mayes said,
January 27, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Oh yea, I have DeafRead addiction, all right… ;o)
A Deaf Pundit said,
January 27, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I think that an independent committee would have to be composed of people who are familiar with the v/blogosphere. And that’s tough, because those who are familiar, are usually v/bloggers themselves.
But WAD listed some good suggestions. So I’m not sure. But I do know that something has to change. Otherwise people are just going to get madder and stir the pot more. We don’t need that *much* pot-stirring.
Jean Boutcer said,
January 27, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Good discussion, Jeannette. Myself, I do not see HOW a human being can do both the blogging job and editing job. Not an easy
job, not to mention the chores at home. They
are not robusts.
For 2007, I feel that human editors should be honourably recognised with awards even if some of them win awards as best bloggers.
White Ghost said,
January 27, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Hello DP!
Yeah, it’s only toddler-age. DR will have a long,long way to go until they get there.
They will have to roll their sleeves to modify on the guidelines and the voting/nominating system.
There is only way for the editors to get together and have a meeting to discuss the modification on the guidelines and voting/nominating system *BEFORE* the DR conference comes up.
Bob Rourke said,
January 27, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Oh, it will be a growing experience. I would move on to higher road whereever it can please most people while it is impossible to please all people. Yet, it still will come down to an individual voice ringing a freedowm of its own across the Deaf/HH/CI/ASL/English/Oral/Cue/CODA/Deaf Wannabe/Hearing Wannabe and on….
Bill said,
January 28, 2008 at 12:28 am
I think that it’s important to remember that no one is censoring freedom of speech, just because they are not promoting whatever we publish.
And since the ed’s are all bloggers in their own right, I don’t see how if matters whether someone else nominates them. It’s not as if winning would be worth fixing the vote for.
Vote for who you like, appreciate, enjoy, or admire. Let others follow their opinions on who to vote for – and feel free to try to influence them – This is the USA!
Me, I am not voting, since I feel as if I am outside looking in. Priviledged to be allow to see all your blogs, vlogs, and learning about the Deaf World. Thank you all for your participation, for sharing your thoughts, feelings and opinions.
J said,
January 28, 2008 at 1:22 am
I feel bad for the editors, because this is a thankless job. Tayler and Jared have worked so hard to get DeafRead up and running… and it takes time to maintain. They don’t deserve all this flak.
I do think they aren’t following their own guidelines in that some fluff gets on the front page and some Deaf-centered posts are relegated to Extra. Their guidelines need serious revision or their editors need training.
But this abuse hurled at their head is really uncalled for. Honey catches more flies than vinegar and all that… constructive feedback would be far better. They listened to readers’ requests for color coding, and I appreciate that so much.
ocean1025 said,
January 28, 2008 at 9:54 am
First of all, kudos to Deaf Pundit – I think you’ve written a good post here.
I have nothing but the greatest respect for DeafRead and its editors… I think J is right in saying that it’s a thankless job. Tayler and Jared and everyone else deserve our thanks, for where would we be without DeafRead?
Sure, it ain’t perfect. Sure, it could use improvement. But I do think these are folks who are willing to listen to constructive feedback, give it their serious consideration, and try to come up with solutions that meet the needs and the desires of the readership.
We also have to remember that DeafRead isn’t the editorial board’s paycheck. They are really doing this on the side, and to give it as much time and attention as they do deserves our support.
Now as to the whole idea of DeafRead editors being eligible to be nominated to the contest, I have mixed feelings about that. I have to admit that when I first saw that nominee list and saw that there were a couple of DeafRead editors nominated, I had some concerns. It’s nothing personal about DeafRead itself or about these individuals… it’s about maintaining the integrity of the contest itself.
As a general rule, contest sponsors are generally considered ineligible to participate in the contest itself. Of course, this varies from contest to contest and depends on the various factors involved, but I always feel a little better when a contest sponsor indicates that its employees, etc. are ineligible – it shows me that they maintain a certain level of ethics under which they conduct business.
No, I am not saying that DeafRead is being unethical… and I can see where perhaps in a way such a requirement could be waivered for this type of contest – the editorial board is all volunteer, and they are bloggers and vloggers in their own right and should have the right to be recognized as such.
And yet, the fact that they ARE the editorial board for the organization that is sponsoring this contest does leave me a little uncomfortable.
I would like to suggest an approach sorta along the lines of the Academy Awards or whatever, where basically anyone can be nominated and everyone has the chance to vote, but the votes themselves are tabulated by an outside neutral party with no vested interest in the results – along the lines of how the Oscars use that outside group to determine the winners. That way everyone has a chance but the contest is run fair and square and nobody can cry “foul!” Such an approach could preserve the integrity of the contest, and protect DeafRead itself from any criticism it might receive from the nay-sayers.
Yes, DeafRead is going through growing pains. I doubt anyone really anticipated such a growth spurt in such a short amount of time. But as the saying goes… “it takes a village to raise a child.” DeafRead is the Deaf Community’s child – it’s up to all of us to raise it to be the adult we’d like to see it become.
A Deaf Pundit said,
January 28, 2008 at 11:49 am
The more I think about it, I think it’s better off that we have an independent entity tally the nominations and votes.
Hopefully DR will do that next year. I think with an independent entity tallying those, the pot-stirrers won’t have anything good to complain about.
IamMine said,
January 28, 2008 at 12:12 pm
That’s funny, DP.
Because a friend of mine emailed me this morning – exactly what you just said (#20).
I agree and there is always room for improvement on DR.
I feel really bad for the DR Editors. They did a big thing for the Deaf Community.
Also the DR Editors – I don’t know if any of you noticed this, but they were nominated or won an award before they joined the DR team last year.
They were already well known and liked for their v/blogs prior to joining.
They have their own v/blogs outside of DR and get this… they do not get paid for being on the DR team.
But I understand some concerns, though.
Phew… this really blew up, didn’t it?
If it hadn’t been for DR, I wouldn’t have made more friends or learned a great deal about different views and issues!
Good post, DP, as usual…
White Ghost said,
January 28, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Aye, aye, aye….
That’s what I have said in Paotie and Chris Loen’s blogs.
Need to hire a neutral representative just like the accounting firm that takes care of the vote counts.
If it had not been for DR, I would not make into the red carpet with Casper.
Curious Eyes said,
January 28, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Hi DP! As someone who has taken 18 credits of computer science recently, I can strongly relate to your comments about coding. C and C++ were designed by masochists!!! DR deserves our respect and thanks for doing this tremendous service for us for FREE, from the goodness of their hearts and their dedication to the deaf community. I have personally benefited a great deal from having access to such a variety of deaf people.
I too have reservations about the voting system they’ve using, about the “screening” that was done (attributed to computer glitches), and about the conflict of interest. But your analogy about infancy and toddlerhood (”growing pains”) was a perfect one. I have faith that DeafRead will continue to get better and better. I’m in favor of the DR editors having a separate category for themselves in the DeafRead awards. I also don’t think that one of them should be responsible for tallying the votes. No reflection on your integrity, JJ Puorro … it’s simply impossible to maintain the appearance of neutrality when you’re one of them.
Raining in the Northwest said,
January 28, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Progress, not perfection. Give credit to the DR team. They are *still* building an awesome entity and they *still* have bugs to work out. Give credit to progress, for one cannot be perfect. There’s always a lesson under every leaf and rock.
I say that let the DR editors remove themselves fromt he task of nominations and let the general public make the nominations and the votes. If the public happens to nominate/vote for a DR Editor for an award, then by all means, great! As someone up there said, even the Editors are great bloggers in their own right.
At this point DR is more of a Mom n Pop shop where rules are a bit more relaxed and homegrown, if you will. Make it any bigger and throw in more rules, it will become more of a corporate-like structure and will lose much of it’s original charm and essence that made DR successful in the first place.
The thing is, you CANT please everyone. There will ALWAYS be naysayers, grumps, pessimists and trolls. But then again, life is about balance, no? Bad comes with the good, we can’t appreciate the good without the bad, now can we?
BF