Civility in GT

[August]

Originally Posted by Armistead

All you have to do is scan your eyes to the left, if you see their name beside a post, don't read it.

You can't and shouldn't ignore moderator posts.

Seriously, it's an online forum with a bunch of fake names of people you will never meet.

Actually I have met a few people from this forum in person having them as welcome guests in my home.

Let the mods have their fun here debating as we do and understand they have a job to do, sure they may cross the line once in awhile because of that, is it really that big of a deal?

I'm not trying to take their fun away. I just want them to play in "civvies" like everyone else.

I've seen your numerous claims that you're being personally attacked, then reading, I see no attack at all. You ever think it may just be you?

That's usually my first thought but it rarely bears out that way.

[Armistead]

Originally Posted by August

You can't and shouldn't ignore moderator posts.



Actually I have met a few people from this forum in person having them as welcome guests in my home.

I'm not trying to take their fun away. I just want them to play in "civvies" like everyone else.

That's usually my first thought but it rarely bears out that way.

I can see it now, you get into a heated debate, a mod of the forum joins in the fun in his civvies, but the thread gets out of control, so the mod changes into his uniform, comes back and says tone it down. You will now scream he's being unfair changing clothes or that he's two faced and causing you to argue, then punishing you wearing his badge.

I honestly think what you want is for the mods here to have one roll only, enforce rules only, otherwise stay out? Maybe you just don't like someone having opinions that don't match yours and he just happens to be a mod.

Anyway, I'm done......

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Oberon

The biggest tool I use, is self moderating. Many, many, many times I will write entire paragraphs, and then I will sit back and think "Naah" and hit the 'back' button on my browser. Often these are emotional posts, and by the time I get to the end of them and I've finished writing, I've looked over it and wondered if it was really worth the upset that such a post would cause, and I've decided that it's not and it's consigned to the ether.

I lost count of the number of times I have written long and impassioned posts, only to hit the back key. Sometimes it helps writing my feelings but that does not mean that I need to post them.

I always ask myself, what is the intended response to my post and is that response adding any value. If the answer is no, then I delete it.

Originally Posted by August

You can't and shouldn't ignore moderator posts.

That's a good point. We all need to read the moderator's posts. However, we don't have to respond to them.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

That's a good point. We all need to read the moderator's posts. However, we don't have to respond to them.

Precisely

[Reece]

Yeh well you know what you can do with that #*!#$& and also %#*!&.
There. . . I feel much better now!!

[Jimbuna]

I'm beginning to feel hungry.........curry

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I'm beginning to feel hungry.........curry

If you were Indian, you'd want steak and kidney pie.

[Skybird]

I fail to see that GT has changed for the hotter, especially when remembering the long ago years let'S say 2002-2005 or so - then some debates really became nasty. Maybe it is that people grew older and their perception of GT is all that hands changed?

Me, relations to some people over the years have improved, to other people they have worsened. All in all I would say the GT has grown calmer over the past 2 years, compared to the years before.

On mods, some are good, some are mediocre, some are bad. What mods never should do is moral preaching and abusing their title for immunity, or undermining the forum mod's authority by playing the moderator card in a forum to which they are not assigned and where their reaction thus is toothless posing. Neal should consider that mods are allowed two accounts - one for their private debator role, and one for their moderator role. Its the only really clean solution. I think Neon all in all does a good job in GT, because you rarely notice him being around, but when something became really nasty, most of the time he used to show up.

[Buddahaid]

I disagree and think they should maintain just one account. They are entitled to their opinion and I have yet to see one end a thread with an I'm right and this thread is closed. What usually happens is someone who disagrees with a mods opinion gets mad and forces their hand. Really, if you can't tell the difference between an opinion and doing the moderators job, your going to butt heads.

[geetrue]

One mod = one account or you would have mods fighting mods

How would you like to have a supreme court with no personality
at least they explain their decisions, well most of them, one of them hasn't in a long time?

The mods have personalities ... knock it off is not always enough.

What if"avon lady" (God rest her old post) had of been a mod?

Would she have had two accounts?

I don't think so ...

Let em mod ... let em mod ... to the tune of "let the little girl dance"

[NeonSamurai]

Well as for other mods acting in threads they are not specifically assigned to, that is actually permitted. As far as GT goes, it is too big for me to police entirely on my own, particularly as currently my time is very limited due to my doing a very intensive master's degree. So some of the other moderators like Takeda, Steve, and Jim have been filling in some of the slack. These other mods are also by no means toothless when issuing infractions. I also think generally speaking they have been trying their best. This forum is tricky to moderate as the emotional pitch here is higher, making it very easy to get worked up about something, even as a moderator.

Perhaps we as moderators need to be more explicit when we are acting publicly as moderators. Personally I tend to do my real warnings and infractions to individuals via PM, and leave my public posts as being strong encouragement if I feel several members are acting up.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Skybird

I fail to see that GT has changed for the hotter, especially when remembering the long ago years let'S say 2002-2005 or so - then some debates really became nasty. Maybe it is that people grew older and their perception of GT is all that hands changed?

Me, relations to some people over the years have improved, to other people they have worsened. All in all I would say the GT has grown calmer over the past 2 years, compared to the years before.

On mods, some are good, some are mediocre, some are bad. What mods never should do is moral preaching and abusing their title for immunity, or undermining the forum mod's authority by playing the moderator card in a forum to which they are not assigned and where their reaction thus is toothless posing. Neal should consider that mods are allowed two accounts - one for their private debator role, and one for their moderator role. Its the only really clean solution. I think Neon all in all does a good job in GT, because you rarely notice him being around, but when something became really nasty, most of the time he used to show up.

I agree, I think the biggest drawback we have these days is the tendency for a few members to repeat the same topics, over and over. Not being one to want to casually infringe on other's right to speech, I generally tolerate this and look the other way. Plus: it's too time consuming to accurately count how many anti-Obama or gun control threads Member A starts. I will say, when the kettle starts whistling, I and the moderators are more likely to crack down on topic spamming.

But mainly, as I have been preaching for years: if Member A keeps posting the same baloney--do not reply! Wow, what a powerful tool, Member A making 1 post thread that sink off page 1 in a day. That would be more effective than complaining about it.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

But mainly, as I have been preaching for years: if Member A keeps posting the same baloney--do not reply! Wow, what a powerful tool, Member A making 1 post thread that sink off page 1 in a day. That would be more effective than complaining about it.

OFT

Ducimas mentioned it already but I'll talk about it again.Sometimes the ignore button is very useful if you really cant help your self control with a particular person put them on your ignore list for a while.

I sometimes see where someone will post saying that they are going to add a person to their ignore list..... why tell them if your plan is to ignore them?

I think a lot of threads that get out of hand if the ignore button/list where used more often there would be very few infractions being handed out at lest for one form of violation.

I think on the internet people are much more likely to get riled up and rude and post things that they would have restraint in a face to face interpersonal situation.You also are unable to read body language and tone of voice which cue you into an individuals temperament and intent when speaking or their temperament towards interaction.In other words in personal face to face situation you can tell "Bob is in a bad mood today I wont talk about certain things with him".You can usually pick up on the body language of a total stranger not so over the web in typing and text until they say it.

That does not give a person the right to post a truck load of crap because they are in a bad mood that day.

[Subnuts]

GT is civil because it is well armed. An armed society is a polite society.

Unless, you know, it starts debating how well armed it is. Then all hell breaks loose.

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by Skybird

I fail to see that GT has changed for the hotter, especially when remembering the long ago years let'S say 2002-2005 or so - then some debates really became nasty. Maybe it is that people grew older and their perception of GT is all that hands changed?

Me, relations to some people over the years have improved, to other people they have worsened. All in all I would say the GT has grown calmer over the past 2 years, compared to the years before.

On mods, some are good, some are mediocre, some are bad. What mods never should do is moral preaching and abusing their title for immunity, or undermining the forum mod's authority by playing the moderator card in a forum to which they are not assigned and where their reaction thus is toothless posing. Neal should consider that mods are allowed two accounts - one for their private debator role, and one for their moderator role. Its the only really clean solution. I think Neon all in all does a good job in GT, because you rarely notice him being around, but when something became really nasty, most of the time he used to show up.

I agree with the 'bird on this, and I alluded to this earlier, except I don't go back as far. In any case, I even come down an a bit of a different side - I think spirited discussion stimulates a community.

Besides, Neal is exactly right - if you don't want in, don't like it, stay out. If you join a conversation that predictably becomes contentious, I think you forfeit the right to bitch about it. Just sayin'.