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Underground > Policy & Help >

Topics of Concern - Admissions

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ONLY NICE THINGS

15:21 / 31.01.07

´m thinking of a "mafia" style system here. You get the guy in, you get the guy out. A bit patronizing perhaps, effective nonetheless. A bit like the invite system, but with the added ability of the user in question to kick his guests out again if they turn out to be malignant.

Actually, it's sort of the other way around. If you invite someone in, and they turn out to be a malicious troll, then _you_ have to answer for their behaviour as well as them. The chances of banning powers being extended to random Charlies = miniscule.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

10:35 / 01.02.07

philantrophic bakhuninite There are some technical problems too, I gather. Is the code of Barbelith open for contributions?

No. I think it was most recently dealt with in this thread.

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:53 / 02.02.07

OK. I have changed the autoresponse to applications, in order to cut down the number of email cycles, hopefully... it now reads:

Hi,

Thanks for your email. This is an automatic response to let you know that your email has reached us and that we know you're waiting.

If you have applied from an institutional address - that is, an email domain representing an academic institution or listed company - then your application has almost certainly been acccepted, and you should receive your login details as soon as possible. You can request that your login be sent to another, non-institutional email, and once this is verified as belonging to you your login details can be sent there.

If you do not have an institutional email, don't despair: all we really need is proof that you exist. So, if you own a website registered to the email address you are applying from, or which forwards to the email address you are applying from, please contact this address with the URL. Alternatively, if you have a website which identifies the email address from which you are applying as a contact, this will also work.

If you do not have any such web presence, but have a myspace, livejournal, or other social site, please make a post using the words "Barbelith" or "satellite", and email this address with a link to that post.

If none of these options are available, you will be contacted and we can explore other options.

Joining Barbelith is an inordinately complex process, and we are working to try to fix our applications process, which is currently, as you can tell, not in great shape. Until then, we apologise for the inconvenience and hope that it will not be too onerous or annnoying to obtain a login.

Best regards,

Barbelith Applications

We could probably do with updating the wiki as well, which might further reduce frustration.

13:44 / 02.02.07

I've edited the wiki to this:

The Barbelith message board and this wiki-FAQ use two different registration systems.

New registrations to the '''message board''' are - at the moment - being handled by an [http://www.barbelith.com/topic/20369 informal process designed to weed out spammers and trolls]. We want to replace this system with some of our new ideas around moderation and user-management, but require more resources to undertake this work. Registrations to '''this wiki''' are still open, however - you can register at the top right of this page. Registering here will not give you access to the rest of the message board.

Note: there is no "''interview process''" for membership to the message board. All we need is proof that you exist.

If we can make a connection between the email address used and some kind of tangible, real-world presence (a business, institution, established web presence, etc.) you’re in – regardless of whether we think you’re obnoxious or brilliant. That sometimes requires a couple of emails, because not every application contains all the info we need.

'''We are receiving a lot of applications to the message board from free email addresses. Unless you have a blog or website, make a regular contribution to another message board, or appear in detail on a work/college/school site, please do not apply using a free email address such as hotmail, gmail or yahoo.'''

That said, we're willing to stop and talk to people who want to be part of this space and can't provide any of the criteria. They might have to exchange emails with 10 of us though. If someone really, really wants to be a barbelith member and is polite and nice then they're going to end up on barbelith, it just might take a bit longer.

To apply, please email '''barbelith.apply@gmail.com'''. Please put the name of the applicant in the subject heading of the email.
'''

(The quote marks make things bold or italic in wiki-ese, and the HTML is an actual link.)

What else should be changed?

ONLY NICE THINGS

13:50 / 02.02.07

Well..

'''We are receiving a lot of applications to the message board from free email addresses. Unless you have a blog or website, make a regular contribution to another message board, or appear in detail on a work/college/school site, please do not apply using a free email address such as hotmail, gmail or yahoo.'''

Isn't actually the case any more, if indeed it ever was: it just makes getting on board a lot more time-consuming. It might be best to reprint the content of the automatic letter, if nobody wants to take serious issue with that.

17:30 / 02.02.07

Now, I've stuck up an edited version of the letter -- does it work?

ONLY NICE THINGS

22:27 / 03.02.07

Well, I'm not sure about the "inordinately", on reflection -for some people it is simply a matter of emailing with a request (although there is then a timelag which might in itself constitute complexity). However, in general this might give people a better idea of the applications process as it currently stands.

14:20 / 05.02.07

Cool -- I changed the "is an inordinately complex process" to "can be an inordinately complex process."

17:42 / 05.02.07

You guys rock. This is all totally within the domain of things that can be done and might just work.

ONLY NICE THINGS

20:28 / 05.02.07

Which reminds me - I owe you a list of admittees, Tom. If I can find my laptop I'll email them over.

Regrettable Juvenilia

17:25 / 01.03.07

I don't care what it is - something has to be done to ensure we stop attracting people like metalayer.

18:16 / 01.03.07

Well, I tried to be nice, but it doesn't seem to have worked, and I find myself coming round to Egg's point of view on that one.

22:07 / 04.04.07

My freind Tom Cohen joined over a year ago, but has changed jobs and email addresses and,err, has forgotten his bloody username.

I can PM his former email and hopefully get him back on track with the site. Can anybody help out?

05:59 / 05.04.07

PM Tom about it and wait for a response. That's it, I'm afraid.

23:35 / 05.04.07

I have no idea what my second sentance means or how it went so awry.

What I mean was can I PM you his former email so you can track his username/password that way?

ONLY NICE THINGS

10:32 / 06.04.07

Don't bother. If your friend goes to the login screen and clicks on "forgot your password?", he can fill in his email address and get his user name and password emailed to him. No need to get Tom involved.

16:10 / 08.04.07

He changed jobs and his email is defunct, that's the problem.

ONLY NICE THINGS

18:48 / 08.04.07

Well, if he has access neither to his email address or his username, might I suggest that he simply emails barbelith.applications@gmail.com with his new email address, or you PM me with it, and he starts a new suit, rather than exhuming the old one? Is there something I am missing as to why that would not be possible?

05:39 / 09.04.07

No, that's fine! I'll PM you.

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:03 / 07.06.07

OK. From the banning thread:

I'd be happy to accept a revision to the admissions system where I can let people in or exclude them based entirely on whether or not I like their covering email. It will do as good a job in achieving the stated aims of the process - to prevent persistent trolls from registering multiple suits and attacking Barbelith - and it would be a lot quicker. However, I suspect that other people would _not_ be happy with that.

Lucid AI's comments in the Temple about how he likes to use psionic power to attract ladies, and how if his attentions upset them that is also amusing lol, have got me thinking about this. _Is_ there actually a point at which one can think that the clean-up that will be required dealing with somebody outweighs any possible advantages they may get from or contribute to the community?

I don't imagine that in practical terms this is a starter, but I wanted to point up, since it was asked in the thread, that no, there are no expectations currently placed on applicants on the quality of their application or their expected contribution, unless possibly they were so incoherent in their application that they were incapable of providing the necessary particulars for entry.

Regrettable Juvenilia

10:22 / 07.06.07

How about you try doing that with anyone who expresses an interest in either magic or comics, and see what happens?

11:41 / 07.06.07

'kinell, suits me. The posters I want are lucid by nature not by name. That reminds me, my friend cathrynsetz just got admitted, I must phone and tell her the wait is over and to get posting.

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