Moods

[PouringRain]

i think the only ones that should be removed are the 'in love' and 'bashful' ones.

I like those. Someone could be feeling "in love" with their husband, or "bashful" about an upcoming job interview. Hmmmm, I guess "in love" can go. I'll vote for that with you. Can we keep bashful? LOL Bashful is like shy or could even be used for embarrassed. I'd be more concerned if it said "coy." ;D

 

[__follower]

ya its just a mood anyways , and it can mean in love with some posts aswell
so i think its ok
aha

 

[Muhammad]

Assalaamu Alaykum,

I personally don't like the whole 'Moods' thing. In addition to concerns about fitnah, it doesn't feel right - perhaps because it makes the place closer in resemblance to some kind of aimless social networking site/chat room rather than an Islamic site that serves to benefit. I feel it somehow takes away from what LI is supposed to be.

Just thought I'd add my voice to the minority.

 

[aadil77]

Assalaamu Alaykum,

I personally don't like the whole 'Moods' thing. In addition to concerns about fitnah, it doesn't feel right - perhaps because it makes the place closer in resemblance to some kind of aimless social networking site/chat room rather than an Islamic site that serves to benefit. I feel it somehow takes away from what LI is supposed to be.

Just thought I'd add my voice to the minority.

thats what I thought, it gives us a social discussion/chat room kind of look, too much personal touch for an islamic forum

 

[Snowflake]

I've never been on a social networking site, and have no idea what they look like. So my perspective of the moods is different. But an Islamic forum should be one place where everyone feels comfortable. I'm sure those who like the moods feature won't mind seeing it go. Speaking for myself, I was comfortable before and will still be. Over to the admins.

 

[PouringRain]

I do like the aspect of what it was intended for by Scents of Jannah when she suggested in the OP that it can help others be more sensitive to each other when posting to them. Maybe this is a female thing? I know that I look at moods and notice if someone is sad, or tired, or other. Our mood is not an excuse for our behavior, but it certainly can help others understand why we may post the things that we do.

But I do agree that if the admins choose to get rid of it, then it would not bother me. I think those of us who are sensitive to those things, are sensitive to others even when we do not know their mood. The visual "mood" just helps on a medium where conveyed emotion is often missed. (Which is also why smilies are nice.) If I wrote something while feeling "aggressive" versus feeling "playful" versus feeling "sick" then it could completely change the meaning behind what I wrote.

 

[glo]

I do like the aspect of what it was intended for by Scents of Jannah when she suggested in the OP that it can help others be more sensitive to each other when posting to them. Maybe this is a female thing? I know that I look at moods and notice if someone is sad, or tired, or other. Our mood is not an excuse for our behavior, but it certainly can help others understand why we may post the things that we do.

But I do agree that if the admins choose to get rid of it, then it would not bother me. I think those of us who are sensitive to those things, are sensitive to others even when we do not know their mood. The visual "mood" just helps on a medium where conveyed emotion is often missed. (Which is also why smilies are nice.) If I wrote something while feeling "aggressive" versus feeling "playful" versus feeling "sick" then it could completely change the meaning behind what I wrote.

In theory that sounds like a good idea, but I don't think it works in practice.

Even if I identify a 'general mood' it doesn't mean that all posts will be written in that mood. Putting 'relaxed' as my mood, doesn't mean I cannot feel tense or annoyed when replying to a particular posts.

Worse still, as we change our mood icon, it will change that icon on all posts previously written. So mood I was in when I wrote the post does not remain visible in the future (Only emoticons used within the text body do that).

I think for the general purpose of conveying how we meant a post to be understood by the reader, emoticons are by far more accurate.

 

[Snowflake]

I do like the aspect of what it was intended for by Scents of Jannah when she suggested in the OP that it can help others be more sensitive to each other when posting to them. Maybe this is a female thing? I know that I look at moods and notice if someone is sad, or tired, or other. Our mood is not an excuse for our behavior, but it certainly can help others understand why we may post the things that we do.

But I do agree that if the admins choose to get rid of it, then it would not bother me. I think those of us who are sensitive to those things, are sensitive to others even when we do not know their mood. The visual "mood" just helps on a medium where conveyed emotion is often missed. (Which is also why smilies are nice.) If I wrote something while feeling "aggressive" versus feeling "playful" versus feeling "sick" then it could completely change the meaning behind what I wrote.

Well said! I'd thought of suggesting the moods feature because I thought it would reduce the friction between members, and people may be more tolerant if they see the person behind the post is having a bad day etc. Maybe instead of smilies we can have reminders like 'patience is a virtue' and so on. It'd be more along Islamic lines and therefore more beneficial. Haha! Poor admins seem to have their work cut out here ;D

May Allah reward their efforts. Ameen

 

[Asiyah3]

Isn't the moods a bit childish and immature for an Islamic forum? :ermm: Just my opinion.

 

[PouringRain]

Glo, you made some good points, and that is especially true for people who may change their mood icon more frequently. Maybe we need a "post mood" rather than a "forum mood".

My mood has been "tired" or "sleepy" since we started this mood thing, and I must confess that I am generally always tired or sleepy, but really it doesn't tell a whole lot else about my mood. I could be tired and irritable, or tired and silly, or tired and vulnerable, or tired and tired. :statisfie This morning I woke up tired and a bit ..... hmmm, difficult to describe my secondary as it is a complex one that generally is upbeat and feeling good, with a slight daring capacity, and eager anticipation to get going on all my cleaning that needs done as soon as I finish my morning tea.

 

[Muhammad]

I do like the aspect of what it was intended for by Scents of Jannah when she suggested in the OP that it can help others be more sensitive to each other when posting to them. Maybe this is a female thing? I know that I look at moods and notice if someone is sad, or tired, or other. Our mood is not an excuse for our behavior, but it certainly can help others understand why we may post the things that we do.

I guess from this perspective it has a good intention behind it. But I also think that one of the good things about forums is that our posts need not be affected by the mood we are in. There is time to go away and simmer down, get some sleep or refresh one's mind before replying to someone else's post. In fact, this often helps to increase the quality of posts as opposed to those written in haste and in the heat of a moment. It is true that we all get influenced by our emotions to some degree when writing posts, but we need to learn to control our emotions rather than have them dictate our posts. As you said, they should not be an excuse for our behaviour, which is a potential problem that may arise.

Also, sometimes it is possible to pick up someone's mood from their way of writing a post - especially if they are angry. Other emotions may not be as important to know, like whether someone is feeling "relaxed", "angelic" and so on. And as glo said, there are practical problems with using the facility to understand someone's posts. So I'm not sure how effective the moods facility will be in reducing friction between members.

Isn't the moods a bit childish and immature for an Islamic forum?

It does seem to take away some of that maturity or seriousness...

Anyway, I'm sorry sister Scents of Jannah to be critical of your idea - I can see there are good intentions behind it. If it's votes that the decision will be based on, then I'm not sure whether any changes will be made.

 

[جوري]

I have to disagree with most of what is written here.. it is just an emoticon with no underlying dimensions.
in fact studies do show that what is said has very little to contribute to how others perceive what we are saying, rather the tone of voice and body language neither which is conveyed through a forum. I can't tell if someone is gassy or hurting, or angry, or emotionally labile, or homicidal, we take things at written value, I think much fuss about nothing.. what it does is simply add color or dimension to the forum.. to me it is no different than decorating with enlighten skin or different color handwriting.. it is merely there to take away from the monochromatic monotony of what otherwise would be bulk writing..

 

[glo]

^

According to A. Barbour, author of Louder Than Words: Nonverbal Communication, the total impact of a message breaks down like this:

7 percent verbal (words)
38 percent vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, etc)
55 percent body movements (mostly facial expressions)

http://www.minoritycareernet.com/newsltrs/95q3nonver.html

Nothing can replace proper face-to-face conversations, which includes facial expressions, tone of voice, body language etc - but the nearest we have to conveying our emotions in this forum environments are the emoticons.
Even then, they are open to different interpretations and usage, which may at times create confusion.

Only this morning I asked a brother why he kept using this emoticon . To me it conveys being cheeky or not overly serious. But he explained that to him is was just a friendly smiley face.
Same symbol, but different ways of reading it ...

 

[glo]

LOL

I'm just trying the chatty one. Manic, or what!!

 

[~Raindrop~]

It's giving me a headache between the eyes. And an irresistable urge to give it a good thump :X

lol

 

[glo]

^

I notice that my chatty mood is making you angry!

Let me go and change it to something a little less stressy ...

 

[~Raindrop~]

lol no, I was messing. It's just rather irksome. Reminds me of chatty students who never shut up lol
And who wants to be reminded of that on the first day of the Summer hols?

 

[glo]

You're a teacher? At the start of the summer holidays?
You must be the happiest person alive!! (You and millions of students, of course)

 

[Snowflake]

Anyway, I'm sorry sister Scents of Jannah to be critical of your idea - I can see there are good intentions behind it. If it's votes that the decision will be based on, then I'm not sure whether any changes will be made.

No worries akhi. I'm not offended at all. But it's a very uncomfortable feeling knowing that something you've initiated is uncomfortable for others. I doubt the votes will change now. But since it was my suggestion, I'll ask bro zAk if he would remove it.

But I also think that one of the good things about forums is that our posts need not be affected by the mood we are in. There is time to go away and simmer down, get some sleep or refresh one's mind before replying to someone else's post. In fact, this often helps to increase the quality of posts as opposed to those written in haste and in the heat of a moment. It is true that we all get influenced by our emotions to some degree when writing posts, but we need to learn to control our emotions rather than have them dictate our posts. As you said, they should not be an excuse for our behaviour, which is a potential problem that may arise.

Agreed. That made me think. JazakAllah khayr.

 

[Danah]

Isn't the moods a bit childish and immature for an Islamic forum? :ermm: Just my opinion.

yeah I think so.

No offense to those who are supporting the idea, but it really takes away some maturity of the forum.

And I don't think that this is helping people to know my mood when I posted a specific post, simply because anyone else might read the same post few days after I posted it and I might change the mood I am in. Its rarely happened that a person have the same mood for weeks, isn't it? :hmm:


So my vote is: No, remove it!