Note to ET and Moderators...
- Thread starter kgharris
- Start date
Good idea...
I agree, good idea. There is way too much spam and garbage on here sometimes. The only problem would be in "chit chat" type topics where a political zealot would censor all other viewpoints or anyone who disagrees with him, but "chit chat" is worthless enough that it should be unmoderated and ignored anyway - so it's important for the mods to immediately move obvious chit chat or political topics to the appropriate sections.
HOPEFULLY, most thread starters are mature enough to moderate wisely.
HOPEFULLY, most thread starters are mature enough to moderate wisely.
Baron
ET Founder
It sounds good in theory but I can guarantee that will create more problems than it solves. I know other operators of boards like this who tried that at one point and it turned into a disaster.
The problem is that it gives a thread starter too much control, in that he can silence just about anyone who has an opposing opinion (if he wanted to), or he can edit another person's post, which may mean adding words, phrases, or even sentences that were never there to begin with. And not only that, but judging from some of the mudslinging recently, many thread starters are not even able to keep their own posts within the boundaries of our rules here. I can't imagine what would happen if they were able to censor the posts of others. Sorry, but a policy like that will just be a classic case of too many chiefs and not enough indians. I appreciate the suggestion though.
Every Yahoo Group owner has the option of moderating whatever posts come his way, and there have been no "disasters". Anyone who doesn't like a moderated group doesn't have to contribute to it; he simply moves on to another group. I've had several moderated Yahoo groups which ran their course with no complaints. If anyone were to be found guilty of editing posts before allowing them through, the thread could be deleted and the moderator banned.
None of this, however, addresses the issue of disruptive posts and continuing efforts by certain members to pull threads off track. Every idea we come up with is rejected (I'm speaking of months, not just this thread). So are you saying that nothing will be done and we should just suck it up?
Baron
ET Founder
You and I both know that Yahoo groups are consistently referred to by people all the time as an example of what a message board should NOT be. I don't understand how you can possibly see their boards as successful from a "clean discussion" standpoint. Add in the "1 message per page" format with a pop-up or similar advertisement on every page, and things get even worse.
I'm not talking about Yahoo message boards; I'm talking about Yahoo Groups. Yahoo Groups are created to explore specific topics and are often of limited duration simply because of the subject matter. They are created by an individual, rules are established by that individual, and the individual has the option of moderating posts. The individual owner also has the option of banning specific individuals from the group.
None of this has anything to do with Yahoo message boards.
As for the advertising, I doubt that many people would turn down the option of an occasional ad in order to avoid what has become a continuing struggle to make posts with content and to have substantive discussions. In any case, I'm not clear as to what advertising has to do with ET enabling members to create threads and moderate those threads. Either they're adults or they're not. If all members are children, then what's the point of the site?
You're being asked to come up with some sort of solution to a problem that's been going on for quite some time. If no solution is found, the situation will not get better on its own. Left alone, it will only get worse.
I have no problem with the way the board is now. There are a few posters that are REALLY bad and add nothing, and anyone who frequents the site for more than a month knows who they are. In addition, I have yet to see ONE poster that has not take a thread away from the intented thread starter's statement - we are all "guilty."
The free flow of ideas in any thread, no matter where it is taken, suits me fine. If this forum gets changed to any of the suggestions being suggested, I would be ok with it too.
nitro
The free flow of ideas in any thread, no matter where it is taken, suits me fine. If this forum gets changed to any of the suggestions being suggested, I would be ok with it too.
nitro