show the location of poster next to post?

[paul wheaton]

As you can see, posts reflect the user name, status (ranch hand, greenhorn, etc) registration date and number of posts.
I can also turn on where the poster is from. Any interest in this?
My only concern is that this would be abused somehow.
I suppose we could turn it on for a while and see what folks think.

[Hema Menon]

Paul,
Don't turn it off. Its great to see the number of posts for each user and the period of registration. Its great! I have no idea how someone would misuse this feature. Don't turn it off!

Hema

[paul wheaton]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave what you see now.
The question is, should I turn on another feature. Should I also show "from" (part of your profile)

[Hema Menon]

Paul,
I am not sure what the "from" part might display. Maybe should give it a test run to see the responses.
Later,
Hema

[Jessica Sant]

Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
I can also turn on where the poster is from. Any interest in this?
My only concern is that this would be abused somehow.
I suppose we could turn it on for a while and see what folks think.

My only thought is that you'll have to create a policy similar to the naming policy so that people put ligitimate locations or no locations at all (not something like "Mars" or "My house" etc.

[Mapraputa Is]

I do not think I will like locations exposed Now it feels good when I do not know where my interlocutor is located. Less preconceptions involved, less stress on which country we are from and more stress on what unifies us - we all are human beings first and foremost.

[Angela Poynton]

I agree with Map, particularly considering the current climate in some of the countries where many of our visitors are from.
what we are displaying now is enough.

[Thomas Paul]

I like the idea of having the location. It only shows information that is currently available by viewing your profile anyway. If you don't want people to know where you are from then you simply leave it out of your profile.

[Mapraputa Is]

Now I have a choice to click on profile or not. If it will be shown, I will not have a choice.
Also, as Jessica said, soon we may observe Martians invasion or something. Will we require and check "proper location"? Do we really need this onus?
[This message has been edited by Mapraputa Is (edited December 29, 2001).]

[shailesh sonavadekar]

Paul , does registration date & no. of posts is yardstick for greatness ? Previous features were good. If anybody is interested he / she can see other person's features.

[paul wheaton]

That's like asking if a person makes a million bucks a year, are they great? I suppose in some people's eyes, yes and others no. Still others: "it depends".

[ersin eser]

IMHO it is OK to post it.

[shailesh sonavadekar]

Paul , It is ok if somebody makes one million bucks. The most important thing is how she / he makes them. Must be knowing the old adage " All that glitters is not gold "
& " The Looks are always deceptive".
It is evident from discussion
About the location , I feel hardly anybody will be interested.

[Ashik Uzzaman]

Paul, i like the idea of having location because if i get some one that i can contact physically going to him, i would me more interested to discuss on some Java stuffs with him/her. If someone things he/she does not want to disclose his/her location., he/she can simply edit his/her profile to hide the location.
I have also seen in other UBB forums likw 2000tutor.com where location is also given. U can safely choose it to do....

------------------
Muhammad Ashikuzzaman (Fahim)
Sun Certified Programmer for the Java� 2 Platform
--When you learn something, learn it by heart!

[paul wheaton]

millions: exactly. Did they make their millions on the high road. As for posts, was it in MD or in a more substantial forum.
location: I agree. I like the idea of building community. If you see somebody in your town, you might say "hey! let's get together!" If somebody is not comfortable with their location showing, they can change that info in their profile.
Now I'm thinking I should turn it on.
Anybody else?

[Guy Allard]

I personally think it's OK.
I find arguments about the current political climate without merit.
Arguments about personal preferences indeed have merit.
You might consider making it optional: user clicks 'OK to show my location' in profile, then do/don't.
Regards, Guy

[Jim Yingst]

Guy - the location to be shown would be exactly the same as what's currently displayed in your profile. This in turn is determined by what you write in the "location" box when you edit your profile - anyone who doesn't want their location to appear can simply leave this blank.
I wouldn't mind displaying location, except that I suspect it will look kind of funny, as some people write just a city name, others a city and state, others a city and country, others a country only, others blank, others a variety of free-form fictitious locations. I don't really want to establish a "JavaRanch User Location Policy" and have to police it, so it seems better to me to leave location off the main page. It's easy enough to find if you want it.
As for number of posts and date of registration - eh, I don't really see the benefit, myself. I think it's a needless emphasis on things that don't really mean that much, and it adds to visual clutter. I would be interested in location info more than either of these, aside from the aforementioned format concerns. Not a big deal either way - just wanted to air my own views.

[Marilyn de Queiroz]

I think I prefer reading without seeing member number, number of posts, and when registered. If anything, I would be more interested in the location of the poster than in any of the above.

[Michael Ernest]

All I care about is whether the IP was logged. I don't even need to know who posted, or what they said.