Arguments Yard: making a new hole for WW2Talk.

Discussion in 'Network Information, Suggestions and Feedback' started by von Poop, Nov 13, 2010.

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  1. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Evening chaps.
    In view of the number of complaints we get when a thread turns toxic and saps the forum's real focus on WW2, and also considering the bleating complaints of 'censorship' when a thread is closed after turning pointless; Inspired by a snicket in Whitby, I've built a new forum section:

    [​IMG]

    It will function as an entirely normal and usable forum, except:
    It doesn't show on any forum list. Except 'Who's Online'Posts are not listed on the portal, or in 'new posts'.Posts will not be indexed in the search Engine.
    It is a place to dump nasty & pointless threads so people can witter on in circular arguments to their heart's content, without annoying anyone actually interested in WW2, or crayoning over the forum's public face.

    It will only be accessible by this URL: WW2Talk - Arguments Yard, or by redirects left behind when a thread is thrown there.
    It will be monitored by Mods & Admin for spam or anything truly grim, but other than that will function as a Bottle Dungeon for the threads that spoil the friendly vibe of the forum but apparently refuse to die.
    If people want to continue a row, they can do it there without frightening the horses.

    It is purely a place for existing threads to be sent.
    Any new threads started there will be thrown out to an appropriate forum section.

    Cheers,
    Adam.
     
    von Poop, Nov 13, 2010
    #1
    Heimbrent likes this.
  2. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Adam

    Before I waste any of my or the forum's time by making comment, could you please answer a simple question.

    Are you being serious ?

    If your answer is Yes, you can expect comment.

    If your answer is No, forgive me for being so naive

    Ron
     
    Ron Goldstein, Nov 13, 2010
    #2
  3. Oldman

    Oldman Very Senior Member

    Adam
    Why choose Whitby? Good old Dracula will have something to say on this.
    I always thought the forum regulated well and sometimes a rant or argument adds to the posts.
     
    Oldman, Nov 13, 2010
    #3
  4. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Adam -
    I would agree with Oldman - that arguement stirs the blood and lasts only so long without using your term - turning toxic - now just to settle my own mind of this arguements alley - was this decision taken on a majority basis or as is so prevalent to-day - to protect the minority ?

    I have just spent a few minutes in reading all the comments of the "toxic" thread and find that overall 56 comment are positive on Sappers statements while just over half at 29 are negative with 9 only being - in my view "fence sitters" - those nine comments are in the main from your fellow moderators - which is understandable as they wish to protect the Forum from Toxicity at all costs -

    At the same time I read all of the thread wherein Dave A.k.A King Arthur intervened in a blatent Assualt and Battery by some goat herders against innocent British senior Poppy sellers and was advised to move on in case he was charged with a Breach of the Peace - it is not known what charges were laid against the less than innocent members of the minority faction - or if this was just overlooked as they might be upset and forget to pick up their welfare cheques.

    Now applying the same criteria as above - I find that 27 comments were positive of Dave's action while no one was against it - and only one fence sitter - your good self who in the finish apologised to Dave !

    The lesson appears to be that when a positive action is taken against these bombers - poppy burners - and other miscreants - most people will support this and even become involved for the fact that what this minority is doing and being allowed to do - is very wrong and should NOT be tolerated - no matter who shouts from the roof tops that he is bored- or the other one who disrespects a man more than twice his stature., who most likely will argue that I do not know him therefore my
    judgement of him is invalid ....Tough beans !

    I should point out before someone shouts at me that this was NOT a scientific survey.....
    Cheers
     
    Tom Canning, Nov 13, 2010
    #4
  5. Trux

    Trux 21 AG Patron

    The symbolism of Arguments Yard is not lost on me. My father and grandfather lived their lives within a hundred yards of it, but I left Whitby fifty years ago. Arguments Yard was always a thoroughfare giving access to the water side and boats. In more recent years the residents wished to restrict access which gave rise to many arguments, and even violence, before gates were erected.

    Arguments of course were, and still are, a local family.
     
    Trux, Nov 13, 2010
    #5
  6. Chant

    Chant Junior Member

    Adam -
    I would agree with Oldman - that arguement stirs the blood and lasts only so long without using your term - turning toxic - now just to settle my own mind of this arguements alley - was this decision taken on a majority basis or as is so prevalent to-day - to protect the minority ?

    I have just spent a few minutes in reading all the comments of the "toxic" thread and find that overall 56 comment are positive on Sappers statements while just over half at 29 are negative with 9 only being - in my view "fence sitters" - those nine comments are in the main from your fellow moderators - which is understandable as they wish to protect the Forum from Toxicity at all costs -

    At the same time I read all of the thread wherein Dave A.k.A King Arthur intervened in a blatent Assualt and Battery by some goat herders against innocent British senior Poppy sellers and was advised to move on in case he was charged with a Breach of the Peace - it is not known what charges were laid against the less than innocent members of the minority faction - or if this was just overlooked as they might be upset and forget to pick up their welfare cheques.

    Now applying the same criteria as above - I find that 27 comments were positive of Dave's action while no one was against it - and only one fence sitter - your good self who in the finish apologised to Dave !

    The lesson appears to be that when a positive action is taken against these bombers - poppy burners - and other miscreants - most people will support this and even become involved for the fact that what this minority is doing and being allowed to do - is very wrong and should NOT be tolerated - no matter who shouts from the roof tops that he is bored- or the other one who disrespects a man more than twice his stature., who most likely will argue that I do not know him therefore my
    judgement of him is invalid ....Tough beans !

    I should point out before someone shouts at me that this was NOT a scientific survey.....
    Cheers

    I really think you should get out more, Tom. ;)
     
    Chant, Nov 13, 2010
    #6
  7. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    My thoughts.


    When a web trawler or potential new member logs onto our Forum ,
    If their first view is of a thread which without investigation shows a possible
    rant/toxic topic that individual could either be drawn into the heavy discussion points or frightened off by the discussion points.



    We then possibly loose fresh thoughts/new information / historians who might not have the inclination to then trawl deeper into the forum to find out exactly what a live fresh living history is included and what we are really about.
    As von Poop states "frightening the horses"
    Either way this forum and current members are losers.

    I do not want our forum to gain a bad reputation or the many varied fellow forum members to fall out over possible flash in the pan topics.
     
    CL1, Nov 13, 2010
    #7
    Drew5233 and dbf like this.
  8. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    This decision was taken by the moderators to add another option to those already available to them. I believe Adam explained it as succinctly as is possible what the purpose of this new area is and how it might be utilised.

    --

    Although feedback is appreciated, both on forum and by PM, I hope that I don't have to remind anyone here that admin/mods willingly spend a lot of their spare time on here endeavouring to make this forum as good as it can be.

    As I stated on another thread, I for one would like to get back to the business of WW2 discussion.

    If the above sounds more terse than it ought to be, it's because I am tired and really can't be bothered dressing it up a little more prettily. :)
     
    dbf, Nov 13, 2010
    #8
  9. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I'll put my pretty frock on then D.

    Clive has it in a nutshell.
    We lose serious members, and focus, on the rare occasions the circularity kicks in.
    I lose patience with the entire forum as the messages of complaint & boredom pile up in my Inbox.
    The effort involved in running the shop increases to a point where I begin to completely lose interest. (Any belief that people aren't put off by dominant pointless threads is incorrect, the majority just roll their eyes and think 'here we go again' before buggering off to do something more interesting, that's why they don't appear on circular arguments).
    Does anyone else watch the forum's web analytics when a poisonous thread is dominating all? I can answer that - they don't, I do. The effect is noticable; people spend less time on the site, the genuine subjects helping people out receive less and less hits; and new visitors, a lifeblood of forums, stay for seconds rather than minutes & hours.

    This is a fully functioning section I have built.
    It is 100% usable.
    Any member who wants to carry on one of these threads will be perfectly able to find the argument in a few clicks of their mouse if they want to be bothered.
    The great majority of people who don't want to have the things sucking the life out of WW2Talk can carry on using the forum without it's functioning being effected by a dominant row.
    It will not be used willy-nilly.
    It is a small thing that will solve an annoying problem without restricting anyone's ability to converse in a more heated manner if they see fit.

    Tom, your perception of a Toxic thread is entirely wrong. the one you refer to has barely blipped the radar.

    No need for any gnashing of teeth, this is a small thing dealing with an occasional problem, it even extends the ability of those wishing to rail as opposed to the closing and total binning of threads that lie on the portal like a turd.
    It's not for nothing that our completely inaccessible thread dump is called 'The Loo'.
    Who knows, when threads settle down they may even be brought back out - it's been done before with many flushed threads.

    (On Whitby... I took a photo in 2009, and thought 'reminds me of when the forum goes silly' ;))

    ~A
     
    von Poop, Nov 13, 2010
    #9
    dbf and Paul Reed like this.
  10. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Moved to PM.
     
    Za Rodinu, Nov 13, 2010
    #10
  11. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Just Brilliant. :mad:
    So this is going to be a pointless pile of bickery rubbish too is it?


    FFS.



    Edit: Good man Za, that's the spirit - take it to PM with your intended argumental target, we wouldn't want to flush a thread about the new area into the new area... hmm, but maybe.
     
    von Poop, Nov 13, 2010
    #11
  12. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    I am by nature a very patient man. I do find myself to be a natural 'fence-sitter' as I pride myself in my ability to believe that I can see most sides of any argument. I rarely give my opinion on any items in the news, and I don't care to read what other forum members think about them either. So I tend not to read any threads that are started in the barracks, that is not what I come here for. I am grumpy enough already. :rolleyes:

    I like the idea of the argument yard.

    Bod
     
    Bodston, Nov 13, 2010
    #12
    dbf likes this.
  13. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Gaze upon it, and 'Lo!' it is currently empty.
    It may stay that way.
    It may not.

    Just think, if it fills up, & you're one of the chaps that really enjoys the Pagga & Bash; you'll have a whole section to go straight to in order to satisfy that urge to watch a bit of handbag flailing. ;)
    There are other forums with similar systems - I sometimes pop in to see who's getting shouty.
     
    von Poop, Nov 13, 2010
    #13
    marcus69x likes this.
  14. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Adam -
    Thank you for your further explanation of why the Alley is to be used - I just wondered at the time.......

    Chant - little use you trying to insult me - after 40 years in the sales field - I have been insulted by experts - yours doesn't come close ...as it is delivered long distance !
    Cheers
     
    Tom Canning, Nov 13, 2010
    #14
  15. martin14

    martin14 Senior Member

    OK, I admit it. I had to google Arguments Yard to figure out what you all were on about.

    It's not a bad idea for long termers to have it out in a separate area,
    seeing as how other forums I post on usually just lock the threads,
    put them in the 'loo' and send warnings or temp bans to the posters.
     
    martin14, Nov 13, 2010
    #15
  16. Chant

    Chant Junior Member

    Adam -
    Thank you for your further explanation of why the Alley is to be used - I just wondered at the time.......

    Chant - little use you trying to insult me - after 40 years in the sales field - I have been insulted by experts - yours doesn't come close ...as it is delivered long distance !
    Cheers

    Tom, I wasn't trying to insult you at all. I was merely responding to yours.
    Look. Cut the shite, and start again, eh? I'm not all bad. Honest. And I do respect veterans, just not all of the time. ;)
     
    Chant, Nov 13, 2010
    #16
  17. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Rich Payne, Nov 13, 2010
    #17
  18. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Drew5233, Nov 13, 2010
    #18
  19. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    The other alternative is we have no moderation, you lot can say what the fuck you like & watch the forum descend into a cesspit of bile & hatred , spammers, links to porn sites, members who can't log on etc etc cos to be honest I'm fucking pissed off with it all.
     
    Owen, Nov 13, 2010
    #19
    von Poop likes this.
  20. Paul Reed

    Paul Reed Ubique

    Personally I'm with Rich P being of the opinion that the actual other alternative is to have no off topic chat whatsoever.
     
    Paul Reed, Nov 13, 2010
    #20
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