invitation only threads

[SameOldStory]

You win ardeegee. I should know better.

[thrawn_aj]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Are you aware of the facility to ignore any given member?

Some people are afraid to do that (not Beppe I think because he seems to always respond to everyone within practical limits ) because it's a double-edged sword.

Putting someone on ignore pays dividends only if the ignoree is truly a troll and has nothing much of value to say. However, if it is merely someone you disagree with or have trouble rebutting, you tend to come off looking ... ineffectual, shall we say? (a nice, safe word ) ... when that person posts sensible objections to your arguments and you don't respond (thereby losing the argument by default in the rest of the thread participants' minds for not having addressed valid concerns). If someone is really such a troll that other people are aware of it, "ignore" is a perfect solution and nothing more need be done. Quite a predicament .

[beppe]

Originally Posted by thrawn_aj

Some people are afraid to do that (not Beppe I think because he seems to always respond to everyone within practical limits ) because it's a double-edged sword.

Putting someone on ignore pays dividends only if the ignoree is truly a troll and has nothing much of value to say. However, if it is merely someone you disagree with or have trouble rebutting, you tend to come off looking ... ineffectual, shall we say? (a nice, safe word ) ... when that person posts sensible objections to your arguments and you don't respond (thereby losing the argument by default in the rest of the thread participants' minds for not having addressed valid concerns). If someone is really such a troll that other people are aware of it, "ignore" is a perfect solution and nothing more need be done. Quite a predicament .

Neat. But ... No buts really.
What stresses me is the non clean cut situations. When in the tempest of verbal aggression there might be hidden some point. Digging it out trough those vapors takes time and careful reading of ... insults. Not a fair situation or favorable to thought. I will make a sacrifice to Playitcool, the God of Detachment to obtain his favor and protection. A nice fat water snake. Or even better a hawk. Apparently Deities are not very popular here, so he will be more available. Anyhow, an open site is an open site. And that's it. And learning to deal with it is part of growing.

Thank you for the nice words by the way.

[nohmi2]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I've started threads where immature trolls have jumped in with both feet. Is that not even more divisive? One thread was closed down at my request due to a juvenile minded troll playing around the words teats and tits.

Yes, we can place them on our "Ignore list" but their actions will still have an effect on the posts, whether or not we can see their posting.

We could report their actions, but to what effect? By the time a troll has decided to pester you a certain amount of enmity has built up. Your reporting will be viewed as a personal antagonism and dismissed.

A troll who is careful about his wording can, and does, get by with no censures.

In short, there are people I strongly disagree with, but with whom I have respect for personally. I've even sent them prior notice of a posting that I intended to make, so that I could get some constructive criticism in the conversation.

There are others who will join in a thread with the intention of disrupting it.

If we can't get the mods to remove such people, Beppie’s way would make a lot of people happier. Don't think so? Look at how many have dropped out of MR.

You have said it so much better than I could.

I have become very circumpsect in starting a new thread in MR, purely because of certain 'trolls' who I know will throw down the gauntlet because they have very little to add to the subject, but feel compelled to appear knowledgeable.

It leaves a nasty taste in one's mouth, and further it's tacky.

Karma.

Cheers

[odiakkoh]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

I'll be 38 my next birthday-- I'm just not a humorless stuffed shirt, clutching at my pearls (yes, a mixed metaphor.) To conciser my post to be a "troll", and so bad that you whine to the moderators to shut down your own thread at it's very beginning because of it-- says more about you than it does about me. I don't need to be "discrete" about it because I have absolutely, positively nothing to hide (moderation edit of link and reference )

People, look at the thread linked in post #21 of mine above-- would anyone here, just seeing that thread, have thought that my first post there rose to "trolling" and necessitated a thread closing? If something that minor justifies closing a thread-- and banning a user from posting in a thread started by someone-- then everyone here would have to constantly walk on eggshells, worried that their least comment would set off someone with a hair-trigger temper.

Lol I loved your replies. It was a silly thread, not sure what was wrong with you being silly.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

"If we don't like you, you can't join our little group".

We do such things all the time. YOU do such things all the time. It's called good judgment.

You don't ask uncle Bo to your party because he can't keep his hands off the girls. Or he drinks too much, and gets mean. Or he puts his finger in the cake frosting, or the guacamole dip, to decide if he likes it.

There are a hundred and one reasons why you would think that one person or another might be an unwanted guest at a particular event. Ban? No, Uncle Bo isn't really bad, he's just a pig when he drinks too much (which he will if he can get to the booze), and you don't want him at your daughters graduation party.

If the party is small enough, you might not invite him. But if the party is huge (as we have hear, a world-wide party even!), it would be rude not to invite him. But, once invited, you can say hi and then completely ignore him for the rest of the party. That often is a much better slap on the hands than not inviting him. Maybe I'm more of the reward kind of person, instead of punishment.


(and I must agree with odiakkoh, I rather liked ardeegee's response...)

[DaleDe]

I do not like the idea of invitation only threads but I should point out that mods can do a temporary ban instead of a permanent one to give time for people to cool off if necessary. And mods will use PM's to try and limit poor behaviors in a thread. Do not be afraid to ask for help.

Dale

[nohmi2]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I do not like the idea of invitation only threads but I should point out that mods can do a temporary ban instead of a permanent one to give time for people to cool off if necessary. And mods will use PM's to try and limit poor behaviors in a thread. Do not be afraid to ask when I for help.

Dale

beppe is correct in saying that *rules are rules*. However, I do know that

there have been times when I should have asked for help from the

Mods and didn't.

Cheers

[The Terminator]

Well you could just use the social groups for this purpose, And choose that you moderate the members of that group/thread. The idea is good but, maybe not very realistic, there would be a lot of complaints. But I like the idea beppe.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Are you aware of the facility to ignore any given member?

Unfortunately, it doesn't work well.
You still see the freaking user's signature and name. If the post could be ignored completely, so you would not be aware that this jerk posted something (unless somebody quotes them but it is far less intrusive and easier to ignore), then this feature would be a real gift.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by astra

Unfortunately, it doesn't work well.
You still see the freaking user's signature and name. If the post could be ignored completely, so you would not be aware that this jerk posted something (unless somebody quotes them but it is far less intrusive and easier to ignore), then this feature would be a real gift.

Funny you should say this, as for the first time I have just put someone on my ignore list, and was disappointed to see their avatar and blank post still showing. Provides some continuity to the posts, I suppose.

[astra]

Originally Posted by orlok

Funny you should say this, as for the first time I have just put someone on my ignore list, and was disappointed to see their avatar and blank post still showing. Provides some continuity to the posts, I suppose.

On some forums it almost completely removes it. You only get a small message in its place that says that there is a post by XXX that is on your ignore list. Would you like to see it anyway? Considering that it is one line message, you can easily skip/ignore it.
Yes, you are right. Their avatar is very much visible too, I didn't mention it because some smart guy would point out that you can block it, only some of them change their avatars all the time.
Unfortunately ignore is a pretty much useless feature on this forum.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by astra

Yes, you are right. Their avatar is very much visible too, I didn't mention it because some smart guy would point out that you can block it, only some of them change their avatars all the time.
Unfortunately ignore is a pretty much useless feature on this forum.

I use adblock to block the avatars, and yeah, have to add new ones when they get changed. (On three different computers.) It's still better than reading the posts.

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I don't think it's elitist or childish to think, "couldn't we have just one discussion about piracy or copyright without [that jerk] spewing irrelevant nonsense all over the thread?"

I just don't think we have enough agreement on who the "that jerks" are, to use restrictions to make it work.

Exactly. Ask Stonetools, Giggleton, and me who "that jerk" is, and you'll get three different answers. Do I want a thread without astroturfers and agents provocateur? Of course I do. But I don't want it so much that I think we should abandon the democratic nature of a forum like this one in order to obtain it.

There is, after all, always another option: Start a new forum and ban the people you don't like. If enough people think that mix of posters is superior to the one they have in MobileRead, they'll go there.

[GeoffC]

^^^
and miss what contributes to a 'rich tapestry of life'....