Getting the forum back on track

by Simon 147 Replies latest forum announcements

• 

  juni

  Thanks for the laughs tonight; made me feel sooo much better after such a wickedly depressing day.
• 

  BurnTheShips

  BTS,

  No need to note that the sound of wit and wisdom going over peoples heads is deafening. I have been on this Board long enough to know that UK and US humor are never going to be friends. Sometimes I find that noting <---joke, and <----- serious next to a statement helps.

  HS <------- serious joke.

  But I love UK "humour"!

  BTS <------Monty Python fan. ;-)
• 

  BizzyBee

  NEVER MIND!
• 

  caliber
• 

  AllTimeJeff

  Hi there. My two cents.

  A few weeks ago, Lady Lee and I had a discussion on the subject of sexuality on this board and how to monitor those conversations properly. I argued for a more liberal approach, although defintely not for obscenity or frivolity. I appreciated Lady Lee's point of view and still respect it. The topic was then locked, which I understood. I had my say. I wasn't looking to be a jerk, and I also understood that as a moderated board, not everything goes. Thats cool.

  Since then, I have had a chance to read many posts here. I would like to comment on some of them, but it seems that on many threads it just gets silly. The "Friends" section in particular does get a little "weird".

  This is the internet today. "Flamers" everywhere, and frankly, it isn't going to stop. Thats why this or any board has moderators. Good ones let opinions fly and free speech, which I am all for. Good judgement is required because I for one don't want to worry about "crossing any lines." Of course, I am not looking to flame anyone either. Flamers need to be tracked and banned. There are actually internet forums that are totally dedicated to insulting others and pissing off complete strangers. Why not go there?

  Imagine this for a moment: One poster gets mad at another. Evidentally, being without employment or a life, they devote several hours of their day, several days a week to insulting this person and letting them know from the privacy of their studio apt, (dressed only in 10 year old BVD's that are very well airated) that they are jerks. Thats right, wholesale value judgements simply because someone posted something disagreeable or perhaps disagreed with them. They continue to flame, making sure that they somehow pay the $10/mth for their dial up so they can continue to flame ON A JW FORUM!

  This is exactly what the phrase "Get a life" was designed for.

  I don't really have a dog in this fight, other then to say that I totally agree with Simon and the moderators in this. I don't think singularity of thought should be the point of this forum. But there are a lot of people looking to leave the borg, and if they come here and see Ringling brothers, that isn't going to help. Insulting people should be banned. Flamers should be banned. Disagreements should absolutely be allowed, even with the moderators on occasion, but at least bring a reason. Don't just disagree then insult and not have any proof, evidence, reasoning or an arguement. Sure every now and then someone will cross a line. But it should be the exception, not the rule.

  If you can only argue at a 4 year olds level, go to the Fraggle Rock Flamers Board. This board has helped many and should continue to do so without bone heads chasing out those who need help. Even if arguements have been rehashed several times over a period of several years, do you know what that means? You have been on this board way too long and need to get a hobby. If its old to you, believe me, it is very new to someone else. You could stick around and offer whatever support you can. This may mean that you admit to yourself that this board isn't about you. If you can do that, you might actually help someone. Cool thought huh?
• 

  5go

  You are wrong Coffee!

  I left the Dubbies because someone called me a jackass on a x-JW board. Previously, I had started questioning WT orthodoxy when someone compared me to a lower life form. I find that getting flamed convinces me more of the correctness of the other's argument than any logical argumentation. No one ever called me an idiot in the Watchtower so I left. Now I am free to be recieve the kind of offense that can only lead to personal growth.

  Burn

  ---

  Burn:

  I find that getting flamed convinces me more of the correctness of the other's argument than any logical argumentation. No one ever called me an idiot in the Watchtower so I left. Now I am free to be recieve the kind of offense that can only lead to personal growth.

  That's fine for you, and I will never be able to teach you anything (not that you want to be my student!). You may have noticed that you appear to be in a minority, however. I, for one, find it difficult to hear anything you have to say because I have to also contend with what I find abusive and threatening ("Screw you", name calling, inferences that you'd be happy to shoot people that disagree with you). Maybe this is sarcasm on your part, but from what little I know of you from your posts, it's scary that the sarcasm is lost and that this is exactly the persona being generated. I offer this as feedback on your impact, not as an indictment of who you are - I don't know you. The more I read your posts, the less I want to read more.

  ---

  Apparently sarcasm is wasted here.

  Sarcasm [A] is stating the opposite of an intended meaning especially in order to sneeringly, slyly, jest or mock a person, situation or thing. It is strongly associated with irony, with some definitions classifying it as a type of verbal irony intended to insult or wound. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] An example of sarcasm is using "that's fantastic" to mean "that's awful".

  For it to be perceived as sarcasm it has to be perceived like you meant the opposite of what is said, and from the content of many of your post it's seems like a sincere statement not a sarcastic one. Which does bring up an irony. That is, what you said in your original post seems plausible in your case not sarcastic.
• 

  seeitallclearlynow

  Recently we seem to have had a few different dramas and subsequent fallout on the fourm which I feel has detracted from its purpose. With this in mind we have decided that we need to bring the forum back on track and as such we will be clamping down on a lot of the aggressive / insulting posts which have begun to become the norm for a few people.
  
  We will also be clamping down on the paranoid assusation type of comments against newbies, if someone joins the fourm and you do not believe everything they post - so what, why do we need to hound them away with shouts of troll and fake etc, just ignore them if you dont beleive them. Just because someone may not express themselves well doesn't automatically mean they are fake.
  
  If people post stories online and there are major inconsistencies then people have the right to challenge them and to know if they are for real. If the person chooses not to respond then that is a response in itself and people can draw their own conclusions from it.

  On the other hand, many of the supposed falsehoods are trivial, unimportant or could be misunderstandings and I fail to see why people get soo emotional about them. Has someone told a lie on the internet and you found them out? Wowee ...

  Frankly, it's pathetic how some people behave though from both sides. Some people are getting far too worked up and involved over what is just an anonymous (to them) screen name on another computer somewhere in the world. We do not need the whole constant drama and it encourages people who just seek attention.

  If you cannot cope with an anonymous person on the internet possibly not being everything they describe then you should NOT get so emotionally involved with them in the first place. By all means make acquaintences online but don't imagine you are really best pals with someone you don't know and have never met.
  
  On another subject, we will no longer be allowing ANY solicitations for donations or funds from the forum without prior consent, no matter how well intentioned or well deserving the cause may appear to be as time and again it appears to cause trouble. There have been several incidents lately where we've had to put up with the fallout of people getting bent out of shape over things like (often from other places) this so it just saves us having to get involved. There is nothing to stop anyone contacting people privately but we will no longer be allowing the open fourm to be used for this purpose.

  Thanks, Simon

  Sounds great - I couldn't agree more!
• 

  toreador

  imposed by the one to whom Adam sold himself and his "innocent" children to: Death.

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