Recent threads etc etc

[Neeyik]

Let's get the obvious out of the way first. Yes, this is a "general discussion" forum. Yes, that means the topics don't have to be about 3D graphics, chips or indeed anything PC or technology related.

Now let's get the next obvious thing out of the way. There has become an increasing trend of late for threads in said forum to be of the following nature:

"I believe this and I'm going to try and get you to believe it too...

I don't believe what you believe, so I will try to convince you otherwise...

Well, I still believe what I originally believe, so I'm going to continue with plan A...

Fool, you're an....

etc
etc
etc

I'm not against free speech or bizarre discussions of any sort, but the threads that I'm sure you know what I'm on about are simply not discussions; not even remotely. I don't what's more odd - the sheer pig-headed behaviour of some users who insist and force feeding their views onto the forums or the users who bite and carry on with the punch-up.

By all means let's have discussions of a religious/political/serious nature but when people aren't buying what you believe (and especially when you've been particularly verbal about it), can folks not repeatedly post threads of the same nature?

Now...about a general discussion....oooh, it's all snowy here!

 

[StefanS]

Fair call. But you know sometimes topics just derail badly, it just happens nobody intends to do it. Plus there're things that seem to move / motivate people strongly to agitate and voice their opinion.
I'll try harder in the mean time...

EDIT: for clarification

 

[Legion]

i must say this is the first time in a long time i have seen threads locked in this forum.

In all honesty need they be? What was the intent of the admin (i am assuming it was you Neeyik) to lock down these threads? What was the intent of the author of the thread? Does locking these threads fit within the admin's code of conduct? Does the admin have a code of conduct?

These are just some questions on my mind i wish to have answered.

 

[Legion]

Fair call. But you know sometimes topics just derail badly, it just happens nobody intends to do it. Plus there're things that seem to move / motivate strongly to agitate and voice their opinion.
I'll try harder in the mean time...

I think there is a lot of comments made in this forum particularly that are with a rather hateful intent.

Seeing that the console thread was closed for sometime i have often wondered why this forum wasn't likewised closed. I can see that similiar forms of behavior have been exhibited here as in the console forum yet this forum has escaped similiar scrutiny.

 

[Neeyik]

Okay, to answer your questions Legion.

What was the intent of the admin (i am assuming it was you Neeyik) to lock down these threads?
To stop the "ping-pong" threads where nothing is discussed, no progression is made, nobody is enlightened.

What was the intent of the author of the thread?
Which thread - this or the ones being locked? One only has to look at the ones that have been locked to have some idea what the author of those threads was after.

Does locking these threads fit within the admin's code of conduct? Does the admin have a code of conduct?
My conduct goes as follows - a discussion board should be precisely that, a place to discuss. What is a discussion? Fundamentally it is a discourse of a topic; in the locked threads, a discourse has taken place but this comes back to the first question. When, after 7 pages of "discourse", the same "ping-pong" arguments are still going on, then the thread has served its course. Since it refuses to "die" naturally (as most threads do when the topic is dead) then it needs a helping hand. When an obvious pattern to initiate such threads again appears on the forum, an admin should take whatever steps are needed to maintain some order on the boards.

 

[StefanS]

I think there is a lot of comments made in this forum particularly that are with a rather hateful intent.

Seeing that the console thread was closed for sometime i have often wondered why this forum wasn't likewised closed. I can see that similiar forms of behavior have been exhibited here as in the console forum yet this forum has escaped similiar scrutiny.

In my opinion the General discussion forum is a place which offers more tolerance towards going off topic etc.

Dave, if I do remember correctly, complained back then that people were
A) going-off topic
B) did post things of no relevance to consoles
C) creating topics for the sole intent to flame
D) creating a high noise level

The General discussion is not bound towards a single topic / issue and I guess is indeed intended for a more animated and heated discussion.

 

[ByteMe]

Okay, to answer your questions Legion.

What was the intent of the admin (i am assuming it was you Neeyik) to lock down these threads?
To stop the "ping-pong" threads where nothing is discussed, no progression is made, nobody is enlightened.

What was the intent of the author of the thread?
Which thread - this or the ones being locked? One only has to look at the ones that have been locked to have some idea what the author of those threads was after.

Does locking these threads fit within the admin's code of conduct? Does the admin have a code of conduct?
My conduct goes as follows - a discussion board should be precisely that, a place to discuss. What is a discussion? Fundamentally it is a discourse of a topic; in the locked threads, a discourse has taken place but this comes back to the first question. When, after 7 pages of "discourse", the same "ping-pong" arguments are still going on, then the thread has served its course. Since it refuses to "die" naturally (as most threads do when the topic is dead) then it needs a helping hand. When an obvious pattern to initiate such threads again appears on the forum, an admin should take whatever steps are needed to maintain some order on the boards.

Woot! This thread just got better. Stop being such a cry baby and let it rip. I must defend against the pinko, limp-wristed, spineless, left-wing, anti-american bastards. And I wonder why the mods love me.

 

[Legion]

In my opinion the General discussion forum is a place which offers more tolerance towards going off topic etc.

Well yes but the very reason for that is do to the admin's lack of action wouldn't you say?

Dave, if I do remember correctly, complained back then that people were
A) going-off topic
B) did post things of no relevance to consoles
C) creating topics for the sole intent to flame
D) creating a high noise level

Aren't all of those actions likewise appearing here in this forum? Maybe not as often (something i'd say reflects the fact there are less forum goers here then in the console forum).

The General discussion is not bound towards a single topic / issue and I guess is indeed intended for a more animated and heated discussion.

Well neither is the console forum. Though it has a field i'd hardly say its limited to only a single topic within that field.

 

[StefanS]

I am trying hard not to do line by line... but I guess I can't

In my opinion the General discussion forum is a place which offers more tolerance towards going off topic etc.

Well yes but the very reason for that is do to the admin's lack of action wouldn't you say?

Well, it depends entirely on your point of view. You could say it is like that because of the moderators' tolerance. Or you could say the moderators are tolerant because it is intended this way.
Ok. this more or less semantics, I'll admit.

The General discussion is not bound towards a single topic / issue and I guess is indeed intended for a more animated and heated discussion.

Well neither is the console forum. Though it has a field i'd hardly say its limited to only a single topic within that field.

The console topic should at least bare some relevance to topic connected to consoles. General discussion topics are just issues that people like/ dislike. There's a lot more degrees of freedom about which you can talk about (1st page topics range from immigration to NZ, to Dilbert, to WTC conspiracies, to superbowl side effects).

 

[Legion]

Well, it depends entirely on your point of view. You could say it is like that because of the moderators' tolerance. Or you could say the moderators are tolerant because it is intended this way.
Ok. this more or less semantics, I'll admit.

I disagree. I feel it is a matter of inconsistancy.

The console topic should at least bare some relevance to topic connected to consoles.

General discussion topics are just issues that people like/ dislike. There's a lot more degrees of freedom about which you can talk about (1st page topics range from immigration to NZ, to Dilbert, to WTC conspiracies, to superbowl side effects).

I believe the threads do have relevancy, in the console forum to what the name of the forum implies. However I feel tehy are deliberately (in some cases) generated to cause flame wars. Likewise i feel many threads in this forum are generated to do the same. However, the openess of the forum merely allows for the topics to be more wide diverse to suit this purpose. The limitations of the forum itself i see as somewhat irrelevant to the behaviors of the admins. If feel the same scrutiny that is applied to the console forum should be applied to this forum as well.

 

[John Reynolds]

Woot! This thread just got better. Stop being such a cry baby and let it rip. I must defend against the pinko, limp-wristed, spineless, left-wing, anti-american bastards. And I wonder why the mods love me.

Pandering to stereotypes is never a sign of intelligence.

 

[Legion]

Woot! This thread just got better. Stop being such a cry baby and let it rip. I must defend against the pinko, limp-wristed, spineless, left-wing, anti-american bastards. And I wonder why the mods love me.

Pandering to stereotypes is never a sign of intelligence.

Perhaps then he should reduce his commentary by refusing to talk to our resident representative stereotypes?

 

[digitalwanderer]

Hey, don't look at me! I just start dumb threads in the OT forum here about puppies and kitties and things!

 

[Legion]

Hey, don't look at me! I just start dumb threads in the OT forum here about puppies and kitties and things!

you have indeed incouraged antifeline sentiments within this forum and should be watched closely.

 

[John Reynolds]

Perhaps then he should reduce his commentary by refusing to talk to our resident representative stereotypes?

Better yet, he could reduce his noise-signal ratio by learning how to have a civil discourse.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Well, I see I have caused quite a stir here, so Ill be saying goodby. I would rather leave than see a bunch of thread locking going on.

A closed mind, is a terrible wast.

Good luck to all, God Bless

All Seeing Eye

 

[digitalwanderer]

Perhaps then he should reduce his commentary by refusing to talk to our resident representative stereotypes?

Better yet, he could reduce his noise-signal ratio by learning how to have a civil discourse.

But wouldn't that take all of the fun out of it? :|

 

[digitalwanderer]

Well, I see I have caused quite a stir here, so Ill be saying goodby. I would rather leave than see a bunch of thread locking going on.

A closed mind, is a terrible wast.

Good luck to all, God Bless

All Seeing Eye

A closed mind IS a terrible thing, but opening up you mind so much that your brain falls out is pushing it in the other direction entirely too far!

Dude, I just checked out your four posts and all you did was to push some truly questionable material off as fact and got huffy when people called you on it....you can NOT use the Lone Gunman as a source reference and not expect to catch some flack about it!

(BTW-I did a search on "Operation Paper Clip" and all I keep finding is references to the TV show "X-files"....go figure. )

 

[John Reynolds]

But wouldn't that take all of the fun out of it? :|

LOL Yeah, probably.

 

[ByteMe]

Woot! This thread just got better. Stop being such a cry baby and let it rip. I must defend against the pinko, limp-wristed, spineless, left-wing, anti-american bastards. And I wonder why the mods love me.

Pandering to stereotypes is never a sign of intelligence.

*cough*

What did you say?