Forums protocol

[Patrick Taylor]

There's a thread in the Google News forum - "The Google Gap" - which is now locked, seemingly at a point where a new member was strongly disapproving of Google. It's not a particularly long thread either. In another instance, in the Alltheweb forum a junior member is being told to shut up by a senior member for advocating that search engine in preference to Google.

As a very junior member here, I'm just curious... what are the forum protocols in operation in instances such as these? BTW I find these forums generally excellent, as a comparative novice in several areas.

[deejay]

Hi SlowMove... graduation is according to the number of posts... the longer you hang around and contribute, the 'higher' up the ladder you go.

Patrick_Taylor, I haven't read the threads in question.. but I can honestly say that I haven't seen censorship here to date.

<add>*damned itchy mouse finger* meant to say, it does pay to check the forum charters for each forum.. the mods work hard to keep each forum on topic, and that may be a factor. </add>

[Nick_W]

Yes, I think you might be reading a litle too much into it ;)

Nick

[Patrick Taylor]

Thanks. I'm not suggesting there's any censorship as such. And the two instances are different. Basically I'm hoping to learn why things happen here as they do, because it's an important place, it seems.

[Nick_W]

Well, we're getting dangerously close to 'discussion of moderation issues' which is against TOS but in general terms I'll say this:

Almost all members here, whether senior, junior or whatever are polite and respectful to other members. This doesn't mean that an annoying post wont provoke a reaction on occasion though. (not refering to any particular post/member).

Threads get locked for a variety of reasons, usually to everyones benefit.

Nick

[deejay]

*lol* ok.. I just skim-read the last page of the gap thread. Yeah, I think that was descending into territory that just doesn't add much. I think the thing is that we're big on constructive debate and serious education/analysis. When you get into really over the top speculation and as in that case some pretty borderline comparisons/'name calling' against a business/organisation, then you've got to step back and think 'ok, ultimately is this adding anything worthwhile to our knowledge base here, or is it turning into a bit of an emotional vent?'

Ultimately, aim for a focus on (verifiable) fact, not emotion, and you can't go far wrong.

[deejay]

:) Fair point, Nick.. I tend to forget about that TOS clause.

[albert]

2 of last 3 words in msg #102 are 'stop words', at least in that context.

Not only by TOS, but also in terms of general politeness.

IMHO

[Brett_Tabke]

When subjects are done - they are done. There always seems to be one-two that come along and open a thread back up just to throw in their rant or 3.

> I'm not suggesting there's any censorship as such.

Oh, it absolutely was - of the best kind. Per the tos, we don't do adult language, flaming, or personal attacks.

The thread mentioned above went into flamming of the worst personal kind. The messages were removed, the posters posting rights turned off and their IP's blocked. To finalize matters I locked the thread - time to move on.

Lastly, we don't get into discussions about moderation in public. Those just turn into debates and we either embarass someone because they misspoke, misstepped, or flat didn't understand. It's a lose-lose situation in public and don't need to embarass the poster, the moderator, or the forum - so we do that in private.

[mil2k]

This is a tight rope walk. I have seen some (not so good) comments about BT or WW not being Censored or Edited. But you indulge in flaming and the Post rightly gets scissored. It takes time to get familiar with individual members. Some are Helpful beyond any expectations. I remember I started an Algo discussion when I was new and within a few minutes a senior member not only responded to me but also stickied me information resources along with other research material.

Give yourself 30 days and then you will be addicted ;)

[Patrick Taylor]

I must have missed some of the posts that were removed from the Google Gap thread. And I see the point about the knowledge base, but would like to think opinions and disagreements on ethical issues can be brought out too sometimes, leading to lively debate. Thanks for your answers and keep up the good work.

[Brett_Tabke]

Oh yeah Patrick - surf those back threads - we have had some net impacting mega threads before and will again.