Since it's been deleted, I won't say. It wasn't bad so much as misplaced. I maintain that upbears can—and in most cases are—a positive but, in this particular instance, upbears could have been interpreted as hostile, and I won't support that.
Having been a selectively mute kid, I'm not oblivious to wanting to feel comfortable expressing yourself. I want that for you. I also want that for the folks who find friendliness and utility in upbears. I notice upthread that you've once again been rather dismissive of that, so I urge you now to give the level of reflection that you ask of others.
I am curious, too, of your opinion (and anyone else's) of the following hybrid that I haven't seen mentioned yet (apologies to anyone I've not spotted): capped upbears.
If the upbear counts are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7+, then the friendly smile-and-nod–type responses I mentioned before are still possible. One or two upbears can still signal a positive connection to someone, while more can indicate a broader resonance within the community. I consider these signals useful feedback, and the distinction is important, so the cap should not be too restrictive. However, with the maximum still quite low, extreme ratios are unable to develop, which I hope would ease those who see them as invalidating, and discourage those who wish to treat discussion as a competitive activity to be ‘won’.
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If anyone upbears this, I'm switching sides!
Edit: okay, upbears delenda est.
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Since it's been deleted, I won't say. It wasn't bad so much as misplaced. I maintain that upbears can—and in most cases are—a positive but, in this particular instance, upbears could have been interpreted as hostile, and I won't support that.
Having been a selectively mute kid, I'm not oblivious to wanting to feel comfortable expressing yourself. I want that for you. I also want that for the folks who find friendliness and utility in upbears. I notice upthread that you've once again been rather dismissive of that, so I urge you now to give the level of reflection that you ask of others.
I am curious, too, of your opinion (and anyone else's) of the following hybrid that I haven't seen mentioned yet (apologies to anyone I've not spotted): capped upbears.
If the upbear counts are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7+, then the friendly smile-and-nod–type responses I mentioned before are still possible. One or two upbears can still signal a positive connection to someone, while more can indicate a broader resonance within the community. I consider these signals useful feedback, and the distinction is important, so the cap should not be too restrictive. However, with the maximum still quite low, extreme ratios are unable to develop, which I hope would ease those who see them as invalidating, and discourage those who wish to treat discussion as a competitive activity to be ‘won’.
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