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Dec 2, 2021 at 2:27 comment added user8866053 @eis it's a misrepresentation of the content and the motivations for the content. The problem isn't unexpected behavior, the problem is that I, as a consumer in a capitalist economy, need to know when a corporation paid for me to hear about them.
Dec 1, 2021 at 7:35 comment added VLAZ @eis The presentation of the feature simply does not match what it does. It's supposed to help users (according to how it was presented) but I don't think it does. Remove that and what do you get? A feature that gets SO money. If I were to market it, then I'm supposed to explain why users would want it. If I were to just say "It's a fancy donation box for SO", I don't think that does the job. What do you think Collectives does for you and I as users of the site? The feature has been out for 5 months - how did the site experience change for the better in that time thanks to Collectives?
Dec 1, 2021 at 7:23 comment added eis @VLAZ if you don't see what collectives achieves, then the issue certainly isn't "one of presentation" like mentioned in this answer, then, is it?
Nov 30, 2021 at 21:51 comment added VLAZ @eis "I'd be interested to know how would you market it then." I don't even know what Collectives achieves. Other than making money for SO, that is "Sponsored tags" as Kevin said describes it well. Maybe call it "Sponsored Tags+". But again, I don't know what Collectives do for the site itself. It's like asking me how to market the colour yellow - I do not think that question makes sense by itself.
Nov 30, 2021 at 18:58 comment added Kevin B I don't think they're necessarily useless, just... they aren't what was described on the box. not even close.
Nov 30, 2021 at 18:56 comment added JonH To summarize: Collectives are useless.
Nov 30, 2021 at 17:13 comment added Kevin B Has community... trust, respect, etc for the company eroded to such a point that it's not worth making the community part of the solution? that the only way to... make ends meet is to mislead?
Nov 30, 2021 at 9:25 comment added NoDataDumpNoContribution @KevinB "...make a quick buck..." First you have to achieve that actually. It may be harder than anticipated.
Nov 30, 2021 at 8:52 comment added Kevin B My fear, or worry, is that it’s too late. That the investors that SO chose to sell/become beholden to aren’t interested in such a community. That they’d prefer it be sold and make a quick buck on our efforts.
Nov 30, 2021 at 8:30 comment added Kevin B I’d like to think I’d approach it from the perspective of… this is a thing we the community want businesses to come here for and sponsor to keep the lights on, and to know the funds are going not only to keeping the lights on, but improving the community we’ve built. Companies should want to be seen supporting this community and to be a part of its future. However… I have no insight on how to accomplish such a thing or if it is even possible.
Nov 30, 2021 at 8:17 comment added eis To some degree, marketing is meant to be misleading in the sense that it's supposed to present things in an appealing manner. I don't see anything blatantly dishonest here, and I'd be interested to know how would you market it then. But this is just my personal opinion and I'm not in any way affiliated.
Nov 30, 2021 at 7:03 comment added Kevin B In the most direct way I can think of to say it, I want honesty. We live in a world of marketing, where the best way to drive profits is often through full on misinformation. The community here is one that can recognize it, likely more than any other community out there. Respect it. Use it. Make the fact that the company is paying to provide the service a selling point rather than an unspoken side effect.
Nov 30, 2021 at 7:02 comment added VLAZ @eis The problem is that it's deliberately misleading. As Kevin points out, Collectives do almost none of the things they are presented as. The initial blog post speaks of companies having desire for "deeper interactions and provide a better experience to current and potential users of their products" but I've seen none of that. Right now Collectives is mostly a flashy icon, a leader board, the label "recognised user", and articles that apparently nobody actually knows the reason of.
Nov 30, 2021 at 7:00 comment added NoDataDumpNoContribution @eis Transparency is generally a good thing at least in the long run. If people realize at some point that something isn't what it promised to be, they tend to become grumpy and might just turn away.
Nov 30, 2021 at 6:23 comment added eis so... you have a big issue in that it doesn't say loud enough that it's sponsored. have you weighted the pros and cons about if it would, or are you just ranting that you feel it should but it does not behave in the way you would want? If your primary issue is presentation, what kind of presentation are you expecting?
Nov 30, 2021 at 2:38 history edited Robert Harvey CC BY-SA 4.0
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Nov 29, 2021 at 22:39 history answered Kevin B CC BY-SA 4.0