(archive)
I just remembered this old article which I used to share a lot in my earlier online incarnations. The current situation, re influx of curious newbies, made me think of it.
The title sounds needlessly controversial, but the article really isn’t.
It addresses things we surely have noticed happening around here, recently.
An excerpt:
Signs of Help Vampire Infestation
The chief indicator of a Help Vampire problem is the lack of helpfulness—the community may still appear to be bustling and lively, but if on closer inspection the conversation is all towards the shallow end of the pool, with moderately difficult questions going unanswered, then a Help Vampire infestation is likely.
Help Vampires are transitory. They move into a community—as soon as they sense its vibrancy and intelligence. Often they leave (“give up,” in their eyes) when they have exhausted all the resources, leaving the community itself drained and adrift.
I don’t think it’s too bad here; just something to keep in mind: this is a well-known pattern and it’s not specific to this forum.
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Note that I use ‘he’ here in the general sense even though Help Vampires are almost exclusively male.
Didn’t read after this, not a fan of sexism.
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I agree, that part reads weird after 20 years. Today, the age of the male-dominated internet is largely over.
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The sexist parts are clearly marked by a light blue colored background. 
My approach to most of the people I personally identity as far worse than epiphytes is a vast growing ignore list. People might be new to the forum but most of them are not new to human interaction at all.
So if you joined six minutes ago and tell us Jolla will go bust if they don’t add a milk frother to the second half and start to emulate iOS, our communication won’t last for ages.
This wave will end some day and those who manage to find their way might become happy SFOS users for decades. My first decade with SFOS as my daily driver will end October, 14. next year.
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Trying to add anyone who says something silly on this forum to the ignore list would drive me mad, especially after the Eternal September following The J2 Launch
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It does….
We need that one click plonk solution.
Great, now I want a milk frother TOH.
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Genuinely wonder how easy it would be to put a Quick Plonk button under comments with a userscript. I’ll probably go see if I can try making one
I don’t get you guys - SFOS Forum viewer has the Quick Plonk - at least for (the poster of) topics.
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I don’t get it using apps for things a simple browser tab can do. But maybe desperate times need desperate measures.
In general I’d agree.
In the specific case of discourse in the browser (tons of javascript for little content) vs a QML app presenting some JSON data I find the app much more elegant.
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You guys really do lay on the welcome…
I quite like the milk frother idea, it sounds unique!
…. and if you could just direct me to the new product page, I’ll stop asking questions.
PLONK!
I will install it. Thank you.
Is that what “Filter User” is for? I use a desktop browser more often than Forum Viewer, but I have used Forum Viewer for quite a while now when away from my desk and I’m ashamed to admit I never figured that out. 
OK, it’s my turn to be the help vamp: does the Forum Viewer filter-plonk work on a user with a hidden profile? Because now that I’m curious, I can’t find one to FAFO on . . . I was a little surprised last week when I tried to ignore an annoying new user on desktop Firefox and found he/she had a hidden profile and I had to block them the hard way. I was more than a little surprised when I came across a second hidden profile block-worthy noob . . .
That’s a callback to simpler times . . . has it really been more than 30 years? No, don’t google that for me, it has 
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Lets continue forum viewer discussion in SFOS Forum Viewer - feedback thread
But AFAIK the plonk filter happens client-side and is based on user name. No idea about hidden profiles.
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