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Can you make a special thread where people can only reply one time?
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Definition of forum
A public meeting place for open discussion.A medium for open discussion or voicing of ideas
I find it much better to treat other members with the same respect and consideration I would like to receive.
And if this is
I trust in the infinite wisdom of the moderators to move it.
I have no idea why I would want this but let's suppose you wanted to make some clean threads where you have one chance to "tell your story" and that's it.
I'm not punching the 1st amendment in the face, I'm just saying I think there are certain threads that are built for "one reply only situation"
Sometimes I just want to read like 20 stories in a row instead of 20 stories nestled inside 150-200 replies...
Know what I'm sayin?
It could be like athread icon or something where you get 2 cents. Not 4 or 6 or 8, 2. with editing allowed of course.
Hi Dub. Some time ago, there was a thread started here and right in the title it said "No banter please". In other words, the OP intended it as a serious conversation and did not want the 'idle chit chat' derailment. I have also seen OPs that say something like "And please stay on topic".
I think something like this could work (to a point) depending on the OP (both the original post AND the original poster). IE, I recall a religion thread that was started and the OP wanted a serious conversation so he wanted it kept on topic. I believe he said that in the OP and when someone did come in to derail it, he would give a simple warning of 'please stay on topic'. If they refused (as in, they were just there to be disruptive), he made a report to the mods then if appropriate, the mods intervened. Obviously, we would depend on reports because there is just no way we could monitor such threads.
So basically, you could start such a thread but it would then be up to the OP to try to keep it on track and if that doesn't work, it would be his responsibility to report it to the mods.
Personally, before I was a mod, derailing serious threads was a pet peeve of mine (still is, if I am aware of it). Yes, there was a time where we had cliques here that would just start chit chatting in the middle of any thread they felt like, or posting page after page of those dang lol cats, or fights would break out, etc, with absolutely no respect for the OP or the members who were trying to have a meaningul conversation. You better believe I did my best to clean that up once I became a mod...hehe
Yes, it does, providing you are dealing with people who have respect enough to do that. I think it is possible, especially here. The only problem I see with the single response is....most people like to comment on other people's posts....even if it's totally innocent.
IE: Question: "How did you start vaping?" Response: "My mother is in stage 4 lung cancer so I wanted to quit smoking, etc." Comment from well-meaning member: "Awww, sorry to hear that, etc." And not meaning any malice...or disruption....people start breaking the one post rule and sometimes things go off on tangents.
So, even though the intent is there it's true that just due to the mere nature of any forum, it's not so easy to enforce.
Hmm....I would think more would have responded to this...
I 100% agree with the OP on most occasions, but some threads (like the Sat Thread, Ms Ts thread and some others) NEED the in between ramblings - but only because they are waiting for their mods to be made, their juices to be created, etc and it keeps people from going into toddler like "I want it now!" ragesI know it did for ME anyhow
Ive seen in some "other" forums that people take over others threads purposely bc they dont like the OP or is trying to derail for some other purpose....totally rude if you ask me.
I think there is DEFINITELY a time AND a place for derailment, but common courtesy is deserved by EVERY thread starter....
Thats all...just my .02
+1
Some threads are started purely for fun; some are started knowing that derailment will be a part of it. That's why, as I mentioned, so much of it depends on what the OP is looking for.
And I think it is about common courtesy but unfortunately, as we have seen on some other forums, that seems to be a common missing trait in the members themselves
I have seen threads started asking a question, and then answered within the first page....then some derailment starts. Honestly, I don't see a problem with that as long as the OP has been answered and the OP isn't complaining that he/she did not get a satisfactory answer before the derailment started.
Keep in mind that if a thread goes totally overboard, the OP always has the option of asking to close the thread and the mods will review it.
Thanks Zoi! We always like to hear when members are happy with the way things are being run around here
Shhh! You didn't mention my name did you?
(Crap....did I just out myself?)
Lu
I knew you and El were out to get me Lu.
Are you stalking me? Come to think of it you are, ignore that question.
Let me know when I can get my camera ready.
I think, what makes this forum such a good place is the it not heavy moderation from the mods.
When the burden of staying on topic is shifted to complaints by the OP and warnings from the mods, a certain amount of free speach is lost.
When the mods or the OP starts to dictate what is on topic and what isn't, the life goes out of the threads. Also, the load on the mods skyrockets.
The mods get tired of hearing He's off topice of She said this and it's not right. Warnings get issued and threads get closed and all of a sudden, the forum starts to take on a "police state" feeling.
A little "Chit Chat" too me is a small price to pay to have an Open forum where the members police themselves and the mods role is to inforce flaygrent(sp?) rules violations.
I do like the concept of a "Serious" sections where Off Topic is not to be done. But how to enforce it? I think it has to be down by the posting members and not by the OP and the mods.
I think I may have to disagree in part, zoiDman. The OP should be in charge of his/her thread. It's up to the OP, to decide what is considered off topic and politely ask the members to stay on topic, if that's what he/she wants. In my opinion, silence from the OP means that off topic is ok, but if the OP asks members to stay on topic and they don't, then I believe that the OP has to right to ask the moderators to step in.
I don't fully disagree with you...
But one thing you might consider is that some OP's will not feel comfortable reprimanding a member who has a high post count or seem to carry some "Clout" on a forum.
An example of this is a thread I saw recently made by a new member with 9 for a post count. Being a newbie, the post was a somewhat ambiguous question about two type of e-Cigs. Most of the members replied with answers to the newbie's question as they saw it. But there was a post or two somewhat ridiculing the newbie for not being clear in their original question. The OP never replied. I saw today that the same newbie started a new thread asking if they had done something wrong.
This to me is a great example of some being timid about challanging a member with a high post count.
The point being is that some people are just not confrontational and do not want to assume the role of telling people that they should stay on topic. Also, many members do not perceive that the OP has the power to control the thread.
Silence from the OP to me does not mean that I have the right to engage in excessive side dialogs or to be constantly off topic. Silence is Not consent in My mind.
My perception of the OP when a thread goes way off topic or has the Continual "One Liners" and the OP does not reply with a complaint is that the OP has given up on the thread.
True to a point, but much of moderating is a judgment call. We get a lot of reports that we simply do not act on. It is obvious that one member does not like another and take any opportunity to report that member's posts as "offensive" when they clearly are not.
Now, I cannot tell anyone what should or should not offend them. If I say "The sky is blue" you can be sure some member of the "The sky is purple" society will say they find my post offensive...........We then look to see if a post clearly violates ECF rules. If not, then it probably stays. The person who is offended can choose to not go back in that thread, although I am continually surprised that people that are offended so deeply continue to read............
I like to listen to talk radio, but am continually surprised by the number of people who call in to the host just to tell them that they dislike them. If I disliked someone that much, I'd tune to a different station........
Much of people's pain is self inflicted and they just are not smart enough to figure out how to solve the problem(especially if the problem is THEM)....
*meh* I look at it as job security.........
I think, though, that there is a difference between being OT and being offensive (although they can be one and the same at times). It is true that sometimes, people just find opposing opinions offensive (I know, that can sound funny, but it's true....we get those complaints all the time). But I was actually only addressing OT posts.
Lu
Lu
Good points, zoid, El and Lu. I would say, that if it was me who was the OP, I would just abandon that thread and start a new one with the same question. If the same people who took over the first thread were to do the same thing in the new thread, then that could possibly be considered harassment and I would report it.
I guess there is a lot to consider, do the members dislike each other? Who is in the right and who is in the wrong? Does it really matter, no, I don't believe so. The whole point of moderating is not to settle arguments, disagreements etc. It's to keep peace and decorum on the forum. In other words, settle your differences somewhere else, or just stay away from each other, but keep it off the forum. Right?
I guess there is a lot to consider, do the members dislike each other? Who is in the right and who is in the wrong? Does it really matter, no, I don't believe so. The whole point of moderating is not to settle arguments, disagreements etc. It's to keep peace and decorum on the forum. In other words, settle your differences somewhere else, or just stay away from each other, but keep it off the forum. Right?
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This I Complety agree with. And that is what makes this forum good. The mods don't have a heavy hand are are very transperent.
Perhapse the OP of this thread had the best idea. Have a section for serious discussions only without jokes and off topic remarks? It seems like it could be something that could work if it was in it's own section.
Maybe some other members can chime in on this.
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Oh, we get accused of heavy moderation all the time (on some other forums)...lol
But we will do what it takes to keep the forum running smoothly and to cater to the majority of members. Believe it or not but when some members freely insulted others and constantly used vulgarity, the majority of members did not like it. Many would PM me but not openly post as they were actually afraid of being 'blasted' on the forum. So when we actually started enforcing the no insulting/vulgarity rules, of course those members rebelled and some left. C'est la vie!
I can tell you one thing....there will always be those who need to push the limits and if they keep trying to test the rules, they will find themselves outta here. In an ideal world, people would be civil while expressing opposition, and exhibit some self restraint.....but this is the webz and there are a bunch of people out there with no self control who feel the only way to communicate is through swearing and name calling....and that will never be allowed here.
Let's put it this way....some people's idea of freedom of speech is being able to come on here and call you an ...... if they feel like it. So if that is someone's idea of freedom of speech then no, there will not be such freedom of speech here.
But you see, this is my point. First and foremost, SJ (founder and owner of ECF) has always made it clear that he wants the newbs to feel welcome here. There was a time when we had some complaints about certain members that seemed to 'pick on' newbs....talking down to them....or basically just making them feel like idiots. SJ made it a point to put a stop to that.
But let's be realistic. Do you see how many posts are made here per minute? There is no possible way we can read every single one of them....and that is why we depend on member input. If someone sees a newb being openly insulted or harrassed...or anything negative like that....someone has to report it. If we catch it first, we will certainly act on it but otherwise, we depend on you (collectively speaking) to inform us that that is going on.
And true, silence does not necessarily indicate consent but then again, someone has to let us know what is going on so we can review it.
Lu
Exactly. Just 3 nights ago I was the only Mod on for a period of time. There were 4 different threads going on that were on the verge of spinning out of control. For about 45 minutes all of my attention was focused there.......There was no way I was seeing anything else that was a problem unless a member reported it.
I would say 80-90% of the infractions issued are a result of our members bringing items to our attention..........Yes, we have those members that are known to push the limit that we keep a closer eye on, but the vast majority never have a second problem after being reminded of the rules. In fact, most actually apologize and go on to be very active and helpful here.
Whenever I see something that I think is a serious rule violation, I push the report button, this has only happened one time. Usually I make a polite comment, suggesting that it might be a good idea to tone it down a bit. I'm not looking for troublemakers, I just stumble upon them.
The ones that I don't hesitate to report are unregistered suppliers, pretending to be new members and trying to entice other new members into ordering their products. That irritates me to no end and I must confess that I rather enjoy turning them in. I don't feel that I am a rat or a snitch when I do that, I feel that I am helping the forum out, like a "neighborhood watch group".
After all people, this is our forum and it's a great forum. Just because we are not Admin or Moderators, doesn't mean that we should do nothing.
The ones that I don't hesitate to report are unregistered suppliers, pretending to be new members and trying to entice other new members into ordering their products. That irritates me to no end and I must confess that I rather enjoy turning them in. I don't feel that I am a rat or a snitch when I do that, I feel that I am helping the forum out, like a "neighborhood watch group".
After all people, this is our forum and it's a great forum. Just because we are not Admin or Moderators, doesn't mean that we should do nothing.
I can understand some of the frustration when a thread veers wildly off course. However I have always been appreciative of the fact that when you post a question you will usually get several wellthought answers. I'm grateful for the time and effort spent answering the questions/problems of another member who they may barely know. If the thread veers offtopic I consider that a small price to pay for good information and the courtesy shown replying to the question.
Very well said, zelda, we are social creatures. After the question has been answered, we have a tendency to say hello to friends, make comments on comments and yes, we go off topic. I have seen this on almost every thread that I have read. I think that if it were a violation of forum rules, most of the members (including me) would be banned.
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