Cetacea
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:01 PM
Original message |
"Please be civil, people" or, how to survive forum polarity. |
|
I am a member of a health-related forum where hurt feelings and personal insults are rare. Though by no means not nearly as large as DU, the site does have a large membership and has been churning along for a decade. The owner of the site always had a simple policy when dealing with threads that grew hostile. He would simply post the sentence "Please be civil, people" and that would be the end of it. Over time the members started doing it themselves, and it really seems to work. As far as I know, there are no moderators aside from the owner, and I have yet to see him delete a post.
I realize that one cannot compare many forums to DU, and that Internets Forum Polarity seems to be a given, but I do believe that the method I have described may be highly effective, even here.
|
John Q. Citizen
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:04 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Yes, but how civil would it remain if people started questioning germ theory? |
idgiehkt
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:08 PM
Response to Original message |
2. there are many folks here |
|
specifically for the purpose of disrupting this place. Any political forum will have to deal with that. There are probably better ways to deal with it, but I don't see it happening; there is risk involved that you will get rid of the wrong people. I don't know how 'large' this site is...you can't go by the registration number because some people have been banned and many others register and then leave and don't post. Other sites that I am on post an 'active members' number alongside the 'registered members' number.
|
ayeshahaqqiqa
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:17 PM
Response to Reply #2 |
6. I've seen those disruptors |
|
Edited on Wed May-30-07 09:17 PM by ayeshahaqqiqa
I try not to answer their posts; however, sometimes it is difficult to tell if they are posting to disrupt or not. If a poster has said something about Islam that I know to be incorrect, I try very politely to correct them; you can tell by their answers if they are truly interested in discussion or are only in it to stir things up.
|
bryant69
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:12 PM
Response to Original message |
3. People have differnt standards on what civil is |
|
and of course those standards can shift depending on the subject and/or the people involved.
Bryant
|
ayeshahaqqiqa
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:14 PM
Response to Reply #3 |
5. I think this is particularly true of a political board |
|
If the main focus of a board is something not political, it is easier to simmer things down if politics is broached, because everyone goes back to the main topic.
|
ayeshahaqqiqa
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:13 PM
Response to Original message |
4. We do something similar on a discussion board I moderate |
|
It has to do with an actor, and there are people of all political stripes there. We agreed that if someone posted something political that another person found hurtful, we stopped posting on that thread. Since the focus is NOT political, I felt this was fine-and, surprisingly enough, we still indulge in political discussions. One other interesting note: NONE of the people, conservative or liberal, at my board, which involves one of the other actors on Law & Order, seem to like Fred Thompson for President.
|
Cetacea
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed May-30-07 09:43 PM
Response to Original message |
7. I have to run..Thank you for the responses! eom. |
DU
AdBot (1000+ posts) |
Sun May 05th 2024, 04:19 PM
Response to Original message |