Community Chat

[Kachina624]

@eadu4    I find that it often takes a great deal of will power to just state your viewpoint on a subject, then back off avoiding arguing.  Often, posters keep hammering their point until the thread becomes insulting and the mods have to remove it. Nobody changes anyone else's mind, so what's the point in arguing? 

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

@Kachina624  I was not really busy today but any thing that sparks interest is poofed or closed for commenting, it gets old.

and my day was uneventful....cool and overcast, so outside work is on hold until it warms up a tad.    Maybe Sunday will be a more interesting day.  I can't wait to go back to work on Monday!!

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@Mom2Dogs   @Kachina624 

I've also noticed that there seems to be more and more threads "poofed" for vague reasons.   

I recall starting a thread a few weeks ago ... pretty innocuous IMO, and hours later it was gone .... no idea why.  

Personally, I MUCH prefer Closed for Commenting than threads that just suddenly disappear and you never know why .... not very helpful.

[Kachina624]

@Tinkrbl44    I think the mods have become so busy with their CS duties, they don't have time to monitor threads that might take a turn so they just zap them "just in case". 

I know I'm tired of crafting a thoughtful reply to a new post that's not in violation of the rules only to discover that it's gone because it "might" become argumentative or whatever....

I also often wonder at what point a host gets pinged for being "unkind" to us?  That is the most likely scenario for unkindness. 

[magicmoodz]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Tinkrbl44    I think the mods have become so busy with their CS duties, they don't have time to monitor threads that might take a turn so they just zap them "just in case". 

I know I'm tired of crafting a thoughtful reply to a new post that's not in violation of the rules only to discover that it's gone because it "might" become argumentative or whatever....

I also often wonder at what point a host gets pinged for being "unkind" to us?  That is the most likely scenario for unkindness. 

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@Kafchina624 

Great thread! I admit I spend very little time on the forums anymore. What once was a robust, informative and fun place to share has been replaced by heavy-handed moderation.

I doubt that any of us knows just exactly how busy the moderators are. I see every once in a while they will assist a poster, but don't most purchasers contact customer service with a problem?

I believe threads poofed or closed for comments are the result of a handful of posters who if they don't like a comment they will run to "tattle". Those same posters can oftentimes push the envelope with their own comments (i.e., political innuendo) but won't tolerate an opposing pov. When this happens rather than sorting the issue at hand deleting the egregious posts, mods take the easy way out and either delete the entire thread or close it for additional comments.

It's unfortunate because I do not believe in punishing the masses for the sins of a few. The mods certainly don't have to justify their actions, but it would be nice to hear from them concerning this matter.

[Kachina624]

@magicmoodz    Unless a post is a blatant violation of the rules, I'm of the opinion that poster reports have little influence on the mods.  They understand that some people will report something just because they don't like the subject.  We'd have nothing to read if they listened to every whiner. 

[Porcelain]

People abuse the fact that threads get deleted when the content gets argumentative.

I saw it on Covid threads constantly. The people who wanted to cancel all the Covid threads, and admitted they wanted the topic completely banned, would go in there and start insulting people and name calling and bringing up unrelated controversial issues.

Most of it was low key enough that there was no point in reporting it. Freedom of speech. There's no rule saying you can't insult people or belittle them or use ad hominem arguments or slander demographic groups (as long as you avoid certain words) or post things that defy conventional logic or science.

But since it was all allowed according to the rules, some of it still needed to be responded to. Particularly dangerous medical misinformation and racially charged tropes. Leaving those types of things unanswered with an alternate view is to support them.

So the gropus who wanted no more Covid threads would regularly go into them and start picking fights. They succeeded quite often in getting the threads deleted. They were rewarded for their behavior. It worked out very well for them. They had countless threads removed throughout last year.

The Solution?

I think that deleting the arguments, starting with the instigating post is the best solution. And if they keep cropping up then close the thread for commenting but don't delete it. That disincentivizes people from starting fights in order to ruin threads they don't like.

[Annabellethecat66]

@Fresher I agree with your post.  People have posted that they’d post more but don’t want to be criticized.

Like I’ve always said “There are two ways of saying something”.

Sometimes people are downright mean.

I’ve posted here and people ( usually the same one’s) will say I’m ‘over sharing’.

But they don’t have to read my posts, yet they still feel it is necessary to jump in with the negativity.

I wish more people would post little quick stories about their husbands or someone in their lives.

Just a little something.  I say ‘Everyone has a story’.  I’d love to read them.

[eadu4]

@Kachina624  You won't find me arguing that logic!  lol  And yeah I've had to walk away sometimes to keep from posting on some forums.  But  there are times I'll risk it, like others to throw my 2 cents worth into the pot but I do try to avoid actual stirring, since that pot can go from simmer to boiling in a flash.  I do try hard not to be the ghost pepper in the pot. 

[SunValley]

@Porcelain I agree with your suggested solution. We want participants and the mods want civility or at least a cease fire. I much prefer they close a message for commenting than removing the whole enchilada. Win win. 

[SunValley]

@Annabellethecat66 I was happy to see your post. I have missed your input. Perhaps we are not posting on the same forums so I have not seen your posts? It was nice seeing your post on this message.