Would You Pay to Use This Site?

I think you just have to accept the fact that some people are going to choose to behave badly. The troll that stirred things up over the past couple of days was not just behaving like a little child, it was more like a mean girl from high school. She (or he) was getting her jollies by insulting and mocking other people.

Don't get me wrong, that would have teed me off if it happened to me. But we have to remember that mean girls stop being mean when it stops working. If you ignore the trolls, they get bored and go away.

Trolls exist, just like mean girls exist. You can't control them. You can only control you. The only thing you can control is how you choose to respond to them. If you ignore them, they go away.

Honestly, when I see a troll question or comment, I just roll my eyes and move on. No reason to waste my time on it.

A few years back when the site was more robust with more questions and answers yes. But not as it stands now.

ETA: Per one of the latest responses... it's not to "pay" for friends. You missed the point. It's to pay to keep the trash out... trolls.

I suspect that we have a regular troll back already in disguise.

Ahhh yes we do!!

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Original;

Yes I would pay to keep the trash out.

That said, I realize some respected members may not have that option so I agree with Tadpole on having a validation process as well.

No, I would not pay. I agree that too many women feel possessive over this site. It would become an exclusive 'club' even more so than it already feels lately.

I think we just ALL need to act mature and ignore trolls no matter what they say or do.

No. Ignoring people is free.

No, I can't say I would pay to use Mamapedia, and I also can't imagine that many potential new users would pay to access the site. Also, given the amount of time and energy which the current troller has invested to post frequently and create new profiles as older ones are barred, I'm sure s/he would pay a $20 fee or whatever. The only cure is to report and totally not respond to the nasty/crazy posts. After 24 hours of not getting a rise out of anyone, any troll would give up.

I think paying defeats the purpose, which is to have a free resource for moms regardless of income. I think it also would have the potential to turn it more into an exclusive club. We already have too many expressions of possessiveness even if they come from a decent place, like "defending my friend" and so forth. I think we have to stay amateurs and go back to relying on the site administrators and moderators to handle the trolls. Just report and leave it alone. It just looks so bad to legit new members to see all the pushback.

I would love to see Mamapedia increase advertising rates and pay a 2nd moderator so that there's more coverage on weekends and during the wee hours when some of this stuff starts. I also think it's got to be very simple to upgrade the software so that people's first post (question or answer) goes through the moderator first. That would also allow the moderator to get the jump on the medical questions with the old "medical questions may be asked but you should contact a medical professional" disclaimer that used to be automatic. We get way too many snarky responses to some of those real questions that are just awkwardly asked. I'd like to see members go back to giving advice and sharing experiences, and leave the policing of the site to those with the authority to do so. I don't expect the current moderator to work 24/7 and I understand how frustrating it is to watch a troll post sit there for a day or longer. I do feel that there are far fewer questions than there were some years ago, and fewer members (at least members who participate actively). There's no way Mamapedia can compete with other sites if there is nastiness, pettiness, trolling and a fee.

while i do think that making us pay a fee would help cut down on the trolls, it is not something i would pay for. we are on a tight budget and paying for one site when there is others that are still free would not be something i could do.
i have been on other sites that require the first 5 questions to get approved before they are posted, and you have to earn the ability to do other things on the site by posting and reading and being helpful.

No because I worry a fee would keep a lot of moms from joining. I agree with B. This awful nightmare troll helps me appreciate just how at risk our kids are for cyber bullying and for toxic experiences on the Internet.

No.

I would like to see some of our suggestions implemented however. Moderating on weekends and reviewing new members more thoroughly before allowing them to post would be a good start.

ETA:
Had a nice (updated - personal message on here) from Valdis. She's taking suggestions.
I suggested they update the search feature - to have most recent questions displayed first. The allowance/chore question was asked recently and it would be handy to reference all the great answers given (I took away some great tips!) but I can't find it. It takes me to 2006.

Gidget, you summed it up very well!

nope.

khairete
S.

No, I wouldn't. Mostly because paying lends itself to exclusivity - which is the opposite of what this site is supposed to offer people. Plus, it would likely stop most new traffic to this site as there are too many free sites out there to choose from (face it, we are the coolest, but how are they to know unless they join?). That would cause things to get pretty stagnant around here. Especially since many of the questions are posted by new/first timers.

I guess I don't really see the "harm" in the trolls that seem to be popping up as I think we can all discern who is "real" and who is here to stir the pot. Ignore the pot-stirrers and they will get bored pretty quickly. It is only going to get worse as spring break approaches :)

I say bring on the trolls, keep MMP free, be ready to use your report button if necessary, and hopefully MMP themselves will find some new and inventive ways to keep some of the riff-raff out.

Good question!

As much as I enjoy this site, no.

No.

Admittedly, I do more lurking these days than anything else - although I've been very busy reporting "questions" and answers over the last couple of days!

Having the first few posts moderated sounds like a reasonable way to slow this down, and blocking IP addresses of known trolls has been brought up as a solution many times. Not sure what the hangup is with either of those.

I am concerned about the lack of moderation on weekends, especially now!

No. I ignore anything that seems troll-like. They feed off attention so I don't give them any.

No.
Because then my hopes of DandyLion ever coming back will be dashed.
Pretty sure they don’t sell Mamapedia gift cards at Walmart or Aldi.....

I don't think I would. I don't come on as much lately. My job has gotten seriously busy and I'm traveling.

I was disgusted with what I read this past weekend. TF is an amazing W. and I'm beyond pissed at what was said to her.

W. W., you rock. I enjoy your honest answers to questions. I don't want to have thing sugar coated to me and I appreciate everyone's honesty.

This site needs to be overhauled and more guidelines enacted. The trolls can be eliminated or lessened but the site has to take that seriously.

No, I wouldn't pay. I'm curious, what did I miss? I've been on this site for years, but it seems I come a lot less lately. Unfortunately this site doesn't generate the number of questions/answers that it used to get. Is it solely because of trolls? I don't think so.

Nope. I wouldn't pay, and I am one of the ones that has been around for a while!

If it would cut down on the "riff raff" yes. I'd pay to use the site.

I think a $20 yearly fee would be acceptable. I see others are on a tight budget and this is a place for them to come and share their experiences, however, this mess has got to stop. If paying a fee means that it will keep the "riff raff" out? I would certainly pay it.

I actually don't come on daily, so no.

I think if it was here daily, then yes. Especially after what I've seen today. Wow. Talk about someone being ill-behaved.

Nope. I wouldn't spend a dime. I'd stick to facebook.

I am not aware of the weekend activity. I don't know what happened, but the past 2-3 weeks, I no longer get the summary emails with the new posts and blog entries in my inbox, so I kind of forgot to log on to the site until today, and I see mention of severe trolling so yes, I missed the emails that would have contained the troll's questions. I wouldn't mind paying an affordable yearly fee like Savannah mentioned.

Maybe there can be a process where if more than 2 or 3 moms report a post, it automatically gets deleted and the poster banned until a moderator can review their post and see if they were legitimately banned or not. If they weren't the post can be put back up, and the poster allowed to remain. I assume that all this and a lot of the filter questions you all mentioned take a lot of monitoring and skilled IT work and for a free website, I suppose we can't expect much of that to happen...

I'm not entirely sure "who knows who" around here, but as some people might know, back in late 2013 one MMP person (who I have not seen on MMP since then) started her own site. Life took me away from MMP and her site for a year or two, and then the next time I checked that site had been taken down. I would not be surprised if that happens again someday, a "regular" creating an alternative site as another way to communicate. (Maybe that has already happened and I was not informed!) That obviously would not solve any concerns about "exclusivity" but might help with the issue of communicating away from trolls.

I wouldn't pay for this site. It is a wonderful site that has helped so many mothers, and even some fathers and kids, over the years, but my kids are nearly grown now so I would not pay to continue to use the forum. I truly hope a couple of petty bored trolls don't ruin this wonderful resource for all of those who could really use it in the future, I have seen it help so many.

I used to be on here all the time, but in the past couple of years, since my son was diagnosed with a serious life-long illness, I find I don't have a lot of time to be on here, so I'm on only every couple of months anymore. Good to see nothing changes! The trolls still get antsy, the regulars get irritated, and this question comes up again. I wouldn't pay for it. The trolls and the responses to them are half of what makes this site interesting...