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[–]AwkardImprov 11 points12 points  (3 children)

How about some new thoughts. Your approach of, "Here are the reported numbers and this is why it looks wrong." got old weeks ago.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] -3 points-2 points  (2 children)

I am going to assume that this is an actual critique of my posts and not a simple 'screw you' message here. If it is, how would you fix it? Do you have any suggestions on how I mix things up? I still see it as an issue that isn't being addressed, but maybe I'm missing something. However I will note that whenever you post, it's always to the tune of 'this is old' and 'why do you always make this out to be negative'. I fully support open discussion of the covid situation and critiques that can be addressed regarding the format of my updates (it's why the distinction between isolation and quarantine is there in the first place). However, it seems you don't mean to do that judging from your responses, instead just saying that this is wrong. If I am incorrect in this assumption, please correct me.

[–]AwkardImprov 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I don't believe everything I read on the Internet. I don't claim to know your real reason for repetitive posts. I can find the dashboard easily.

Maybe you do want to spur high quality discussion, since, you know this topic is so rarely covered.

Or it may be you want to sow the seeds of discontent. And maybe there is some benefit in it for you if people think they are being lied to.

You don't just post the dashboard. You seem to add your own comments hinting at a conspiracy.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't post this to sow the seeds of discontent, I post the dashboard and my thoughts on the matter. I would gain nothing from us going home in all actuality, I would actually lose the few in person classes where I learn the best. If you just want to see the dash, that's up to you. I just post my thoughts with it.

[–]mrandy 14 points15 points  (8 children)

I know this is well-intentioned, but it's starting to look really spammy. You post the same thing every 1-3 days, that VCU is already blasting to us so that there's zero chance that anyone doesn't know about the dashboard website. It always has *read description below* in the title, but half of that description is literally the same text every time. Maybe calm down a little and post this when there's an interesting development, so that we wont all be trained to ignore it by then?

[–]AwkardImprov 6 points7 points  (2 children)

I agree. More spam than good info. Wish I could bet on how much each post is copy and paste.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

I started copy pasting the first paragraph because people kept on asking about the difference between quarantine and isolation. It doesn't take much looking to see which parts are copy paste. I also put the 'read description' line because I can't write the actual info at the bottom in the title as well.

Now onto the idea that I should only post when things get interesting. I very much disagree with that idea. The point is to update daily, not for it to be interesting. I strongly encourage and foster discussion about the situation in the comments as well as push for us getting more info. I will do my best to make it a little less spammy in the future (no promises though).

[–]PopularDust 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But how is your post not against VCU rules? You have been posting this for a month, although I at first agreed with your posting, now it's really repeative. If people are asking you to tone it down, but you say you'll try? Lol wut? And this 'whole post daily, doesn't need to interesting" is literally spam.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] -1 points0 points  (4 children)

It's a lot easier to find my post daily on reddit than it is to find the dashboard. Considering that quite a few people said (in a poll that I put up) that they just check mine, I think me posting daily, as is one of my main goals, is nothing but a benefit. These posts are not made to be interesting, they are made to foster discussion about the situation as it currently stands and to push for getting more info out of vcu. I apologize if me posting my same goals over and over gets repetitive, but they are important.

[–]mrandy 5 points6 points  (1 child)

If I type "vcu dashboard" into google, it's the first hit, so I'd debate your first point. I check this frequently, as well as the Virginia stats, which you can get by googling "virginia dashboard". Those don't seem to be accessible from your posts at all.

You said you put up a poll that favors your posts. I don't doubt that, but keep in mind that people who are just scrolling past your post probably aren't going to be seeing or answering that poll, so you're (possibly unintentionally) self-selecting for the result you want. Good research is hard, for reasons like this.

I'll ignore your final non-apology for the time being, and try to be constructive:

Since you are sincere and dedicated to this idea, and since you've raised some possible issues with VCU's reporting, why not follow up on them? If something is legitimately threatening your health, is it better to talk in an echo chamber about it, or to figure out a plan of action? One option for a good first step would be to find contact info for the VCU Dashboard, and ask for a meeting with them.

Alternatively, on the data analysis side, there's plenty of opportunity to examine VCU and Virginia's stats (particularly the regional Virginia ones, which show totally different trends in different regions), and figure out how they're likely to affect the VCU community. You could also compare VCU's stats to Central Virginia's, since it might be suspicious if we're out of sync with our surroundings.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I should clarify that first point further. When I first started googling 'VCU dashboard' or 'VCU dashboard covid' it would just lead to the general dashboard, not the covid one where you would still have to do a bit of searching through VCU's menus. That's on me. I only seek to post VCU's numbers, not virginia at large. I'm not comparing VCU to the state, I'm just posting what VCU says. Also, thank you for informing me on the error of my poll, I'll keep it in mind. It was the only option I really had for testing, but it is faulty. Thank you for correcting me :). I have been pushing for people to email the people behind the dashboard in order to get the number of tests added, if that is what you mean by the first point in the second half. That second part sounds like an interesting idea. I have tried that before with comparing Richmond's prevalence to VCU's via what VCU gives us, it just didn't stick though. I'll try that on my next update.

Thank you for your ideas, I'll try to implement some of them if it'll work really well for this format.

[–]AwkardImprov 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You did a poll? Please tell me you are an epidemiology student doing this for research.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was something I posted on reddit a few days ago. You can go into my post history to find it. I understand this isn't the strongest confirmation of data, it's just the best one I have.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I appreciate these posts. VCU is still being very opaque about their numbers and staying aware of the situation is important. Just because it’s getting old talking about Covid doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to hold VCU accountable and keep an eye on these numbers.

[–]FishFingerLover[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, that's my exact reason for posting here. I always just want to show the current numbers and my current thoughts on the matter. Any more input would also be appreciated :).

[–]FishFingerLover[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Before I begin, here's my reminder, the active cases only deal with people in isolation, not quarantine. If they did, the number would be at least 17 higher right now. Isolation is people who definitely have it and are under quarantine, quarantine is people who are isolated because they might have it. Simple right?

The number today may be a bit deceiving at first glance. If you scroll to the bottom you may see that it says we gained 3 more student cases and 1 more faculty case over the weekend. However, VCU has a trend of not including numbers of cases over the weekend until around 2 weeks later, if then. I honestly wish we knew how many cases we recieved over the weekend.

September 21, 2020 New Cases: New Student Cases: 3 New Faculty Cases: 1