Is this forum supposed to be about intellegent discussion/debate?

I think this would be the right section, if not feel free to move it where it ought to be posted.

I am wondering though, if this place is about intelligent discussion and debate, why are threads closed because of people that can't hold a civil, thought out conversation? There are others in the thread able to state their opinions without attacking and such, why not just ban people that are derailing a thread from posting instead of killing the whole thread? Is that not possible? It just seems unfair that threads get closed because of people acting like a troll, while there are people posting like adults.

We'll a lot of people try to keep it that way. If you look at any of my threads you will see that when I make a thread I try to avoid sensationalist headlines and baiting people by opposing the logical and common standpoint. This site has changed a lot since i signed up. Last few months have had a lot of annoying trolls sign up. Also a lot of trolls on the TSA scanner topic, since everyone is pretty much universally and rightfully opposed.

reply to post by GogoVicMorrow


I try not to throw around the term troll that often, because it is overused. It is hard to understand some people's logic sometimes though. People can sometimes just be hard headed, I know I have been guilty of that in the past lol. I am pretty open minded these days, and when I research something, I try not to do it looking for a certain answer, but to try to find many answers, and see where it leads me. If that makes any sense.

reply to post by TKDRL


That's a reasonable approach. As for troll, I never used the term until the october "balloonatic" ufo incidences, when ATS lost their minds completely. I honestly don't think things have been the same. We gained what I would call a lot of lower quality users that day. A troll is a troll. It's not a pretty word, but serves it's purpose with a perfect summation. There are a lot of good users though, just not enough of them. Like the world, the minority using it's mind.

It is unfortunate that there are many members that either have no knowledge of what they are talking about, have only youtube as a source, or have never read a book...at least it seems as such. Therefore, they are reduced to insults, sensationalism, and verbal chaos.

Further, it appears that too many of these people are also immature...in developement, stature, and intellect. Tis a shame really, since so much good information can be gleaned from the threads, and good debate can take place... if given a chance.

As noted before...sometimes coming here is like trying to read Shakespeare in a Chucky Cheese.

reply to post by TKDRL


For the most part, threads are left open and those who choose to break the T&C are dealt with appropriately.

Occasionally though things get a little silly and discussions get a little too heated. In those cases staff may intervene and close a thread temporarily to let tempers cool and hopefully allow posters to get a better sense of perspective on the issues they are discussing.

Very rarely, a thread will go haywire, ego's will go out of control and pages of arguments ensure. At those times the thread may very well be locked permanently if the likely number of staff actions will result in nothing but pages of warnings.On those occasions it is simply better to let sleeping dogs lie and hope that those who wish to discuss the issue sensibly will do so in a new thread where decorum is maintained.

Originally posted by neformore
reply to post by TKDRL

 

For the most part, threads are left open and those who choose to break the T&C are dealt with appropriately.

Occasionally though things get a little silly and discussions get a little too heated. In those cases staff may intervene and close a thread temporarily to let tempers cool and hopefully allow posters to get a better sense of perspective on the issues they are discussing.

Very rarely, a thread will go haywire, ego's will go out of control and pages of arguments ensure. At those times the thread may very well be locked permanently if the likely number of staff actions will result in nothing but pages of warnings.On those occasions it is simply better to let sleeping dogs lie and hope that those who wish to discuss the issue sensibly will do so in a new thread where decorum is maintained.

I am not a moderator, but have been around long enough to know how stuff usually runs. This would have been my response.

I like the way this site is moderated, on the whole. Been dinged for a few "off topic posts" that were 100% on topic, but outside of that exceedingly minor issue, I have nothing but good stuff to say about the way this place is moderated. So much so that i throw it up in the face of other forum moderators as a model they should use.

The Fabric Of The Forums

Regarding trollery: Trolling, And What To Do About It

As for why threads are sometimes closed, it depends. Unless there's some obvious reason they should be closed (like duplicate threads and the like), we prefer to leave them open, and generally do.

Sometimes, as Nef pointed out, a thread can get to a point where a mercy killing makes the most sense. A typical problem is that someone will say something untoward, then someone will respond in kind, then a bunch of other people will start getting all chimpy and the next thing you know, you have pages full of nasty posts, sort of like a thread riot.

While we will warn and/or ban members who make a habit of derailing threads in such ways, we usually prefer not to wade into situations like that and hand out the dozens of warnings that would technically apply. We're only human (well, most of us, anyway), so sometimes things happen, and it's best to let it go.

Mods may also have other reasons for closing threads. In my case, for example, if a person who starts a thread starts trolling the same thread (i.e., thread baiting) and driving thread they started off topic, I'll usually close it.

In any case, though we can't be everywhere at once, we do appreciate it when members ALERT us to trouble, and do our best to keep things on track.

But ultimately, the people who do that best are ATSers as a whole. The nature of our community is such that it tends to encourage what we're all looking for in a thread: civil, topical discussion.

And for everyone who contributes to that, thanks.

It's very much appreciated.

Ok good to see some of the moderators chime in. I guess I understand it better now.

reply to post by TKDRL


I had a problem on one of my threads last year.
A couple of members were attacking each other.
They had started on one thread then continued
onto mine.I asked for a mod to close my thread.
I think that it is still open,I don't know.

I had another thread that was closed because
the members were taking the thread down a
path I hadn't considered.

I've seen a few threads on child-abuse closed when they've been taken over by members pushing NAMBLA points of view and arguing that paedophilia does not hurt children.

And I've seen Sceptic Overlord instaban a couple of very obvious pedos online who were openly advocating such things.

This is one of the things I like about ATS, that such a firm line is taken to prevent paedophilia advocates having a voice here.

There are too many idiots and trolls, but if they all got banned ATS might find it had lost 3/4s of its posters.
At least the worst perverts get kicked. Trolls I can (reluctantly) live with.