I have observed that a lot of reviews / opinions have been written on trusted circles but very little discussion on the “distrust” aspect. As my title suggest, the idea is to focus

on the messenger rather than the message. The current vehicle of using the comment section for dealing with the message is adequate, in my opinion.

Even though this is a negative topic, I have made an honest attempt to express my thoughts.

I have monitored this site for the last sixty days and have observed that a lot of writers are getting away with posting articles copied from other sources or just a few meaningless lines – and nothing seems to be done about such offenders. A standard reaction from an Msian is to ignore them or at best, leave a comment. Left unchecked this will grow like cancer. In a self-sustaining site like Mouth Shut – I believe that we can make an attempt at cleansing the site of such defaulters, by declaring these individuals in the Distrust List (DL).

Currently a majority of the MSians, have a blank DL (yours truly included), more out of being politically correct and trying not to offend anybody. The process of DL does exist but I guess it is not being implemented, the way it should be.

I strongly believe in the freedom of expression – thought, word and deed. To continue a dialogue on a review or express a contrary point of view, the comments section is appropriate. This takes care of the message.

The following are some thoughts for evaluating whether the messenger qualifies for my DL:

# If an article, is copied by a new member then he/she receives the benefit of doubt and I would leave an appropriate comment to that effect. If this behavior still persists – then I would put him/her on the DL ( shoot the messenger. )

# If an existing member posts a copied article, there is no excuse – he/she immediately goes onto the DL. This is akin to cheating in an examination – you break the rules, you pay the price.

# If a member consistently posts reviews which are of poor quality in terms of content, language etc - here is a member who knows what he/she is doing and since this behavior is going unchecked, he/she will continue to do so. Such members are then put on the DL. Note: This criteria must be judiciously applied, since MS is also used by members to improve their writing skills.

# Members who consistently rate reviews as NR – not having written a single review themselves. This kind of behavior automatically qualifies for a DL. (I know, many MSians do not care about ratings).

By viewing the DL of a member whom I respect (note: I have not used the word trust because there are varied opinions on the current method of implementing the trust list), I can effectively utilize my time reading quality reviews.

I believe that as a good MS citizen, we could all benefit from trying to weed the offenders – so that the overall quality can improve. Ignoring offenders and keeping quiet is an alternative, albeit a costly one, in the long run.

I would also solicit the opinions of seniors on this site, whether this has been tried in the past and the resulting success, if any.

Load those keyboards and be prepared to shoot the messenger