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Triond’s New Flag Button – Epic Fail – Here’s Why

Posted on July 17th, 2011 in Writing by AskSan
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Triond introduced a handy little tool recently – the flag button. Liken this to Triond owners going insane and giving the keys to the asylum to the inmates; read on…

You are here because you want to know why Triond’s handy little tool – the flag button – is an epic fail. 

Well good, settle in, because I’m going to tell you. 

The Background:

Triond is a freelance writing site where anyone and everyone (including your mother) can write an article, publish it, and reap the reward of having his or her say on the internet; plus get paid if enough people happen to read the darn thing. The trouble is, anyone and everyone (including your mother) can produce pretty much whatever content they desire and lots of it is pure crap. 

I’ve been writing for Triond now for almost a year and while I enjoy it, I learned pretty early on that Triond is not the best platform for sharing my voice with the world. With low quality sites by Triond itself, as well as many low quality writers having joined, even Google has trouble giving Triond (and its writers) credibility in the dog-eat world of online publishing. 

Read more in Writing
« Writers’ Lament in Triond
Triond is Sponsoring Comments? »

I don’t claim to be a wonderfully inspirationally, brilliant writer. I like to write and I’m not half bad. I’m also not going to tell you that getting paid for it is just a fairy-tale bonus – it’s not; it’s how I make my living. And so I continue to pen pieces for Triond and, adding to that many other online ventures, I am able to contribute to my household in a work-at-home capacity. 

Triond’s New Flag Button:

Recently Triond decided to implement a new tool for the site, one that can be used (and abused) by its many writers to try and reduce the amount of crap that gets published on Triond. 

The Flag Button. Readers (only members of Triond have this option) of a particular article can click it, read it through and at the bottom of the page can decide whether they deem the article:

Spam

Adult Content

Plagiarism

Insufficient Quality

Wrong Category

Well now, this just seems brilliant, doesn’t it? We, as Triond writers can now choose – in a very permanent way – whether our fellow writers work deserves to stay on the site. Triond has given us the holy grail, people. Let’s strive toward getting rid of crap and turning Triond into the fabulous writing site it should be. There are certainly enough great writers here to do so. 

Once an article has enough “complaints”, the online editor will then take the necessary steps for said article – removal, warning, or relocation to a better category. 

(I say online editor, because while Triond insists they are a hands-on company, I find little proof of this and believe much of it is run by a computer program…more on that in another article if enough people are curious to know THAT theory.)

But let’s get to all the reasons why Triond’s New Flag Button is one epic fail.

What Triond Didn’t Consider:

The new flag button will not be used by those who wish to better the site.

Those people have better things to do with their time – like continuing to produce quality content for one.

Triond’s new flag button will be used to flag seemingly good content (for removal) to make way for others crappy content.

Triond has become such a cess pool for poor quality that many of the good writers once here passionately creating have now gone on to bigger and better things.

The new flag button has no off-switch. You can flag an article as many times as you want. And while Triond states that your flag will only be counted once, I find this highly circumspect as Triond has proven time and again its inability to run the site without copious problems, including serious (income losing) glitches that affect the entire writing community – as well as Triond themselves. 

Triond’s new flag button is akin to giving the keys of the asylum to the inmates. Handing over editing control to people who need to concentrate their efforts on improving their writing, rather than working on removing articles that deserve a place at Triond. 

Why This Matters to You, the Writer:

Triond’s new flag button is a degree of censorship that is unlike any other I’ve heard (think forum moderation here). Triond is passing the buck on to us and expecting that we will miraculously turn the site into the best publishing platform around. 

Call it what you want: cleaning house, taking out the garbage, removing the riff-raff; Triond believes we (writers) can remedy the poor quality situation and everything will be just grand. 

Your ability to write is now controlled by people who wish to better themselves; and if removing your brilliant article to make room for their poorly written one is what must be done, so it may be. 

The Bottom Line:

Once again, Triond had an idea – Improve Triond. Brilliant. But they went about it all the wrong way. In a world where writers fight daily to have their voice heard, the one thing Triond never should have done was give any one of us the opportunity to remove our fellows. 

Where does it stop? Who draws the line? Who gets final say in whether an article stays or goes?

Triond, I Implore You:

Reconsider the flag button. Think about ALL the ways this tool will not benefit you – go ahead, think only of yourself in this instance – and then get to work removing it. 

You have once again cut off your nose to spite your face. 

Lucky for you in today’s world, we have the resources to sew it back on quick. Remove the flag button and go back to the drawing board. 

Because you’re right, the crappy content needs to go; you just can’t expect us (writers) to have anyone’s best interest at heart but our own in that regard. 

Triond’s new flag button is an epic fail and now you know.

Please note: While Triond’s new flag button has not personally affected me, I find it one of the dumbest ideas Triond has tried to date. Just one more way to remove themselves from an overwhelming situation in which they certainly had little control to begin with – now, no control it would seem.

And why didn’t I comment on the Triond New Flag Button Blog? Or write Get Sat?

Ha. 

The simple definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. After a time you just learn to deal with it. 

Cheers!

__________________

To read more from San, please visit my Triond Profile and enjoy!

Read Triond’s Blog Post – Flag Button

Read Other Triond Writers and The Flag Button Issue:

From Withheld: Trionds Flag Button is a Cop Out

From Minister Marlene: Mental Abuse on Triond: Flag It Buttons and Aiyanna

From Leo Tolstoy: Writing: How Do We Save This Site From Itself?

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