Although complaint is a bit of a harsh word, I'll put this thread here as it's a suggestion. Anyway, whilst in the GCT, this topic came up somehow: In a nutshell, me and a couple of other members agreed that the debate threads are quite fun, but they always get out of hand. That's when I came up with the idea of a debating area. If someone was to start getting angry, they could be removed temporarily. Obviously the idea needs alot more planning/staff/work but it could possibly become a reality. What does everyone else think? I've found many times that I join a fun discussion, go to sleep and wake up to find that it's been locked.
It seems a lot of members really want one, even after we tell them it won't work... hmmm... I'll talk to the staff about it.
This is the part where I say I am completely behind this and proactively apply for being the guy who has to read debates to make sure people are not butthurt. At least for long. This is also the part where I won't get it because of my... BOUNTIFUL... history. No bald pun intended.
I love debate! I would sure hope to see this come true, as I particularly enjoy discussing different topics :3
Why not? We will just have to make sure to extra-control ourselves in the three forbidden topics: Politics, Religion, and Best Pony.
I'm sure that the first two topics will be the ones that members might want to discuss. Why else would their be multiple religion threads on this site? (All of them are locked) The idea of this was that we could discuss more mature stuff in a civilised manner. But I can't argue with the best pony thing.
As I recall, the problem before was that while we could make the section open only to some people, but we could not think of a criteria. Why not make there no criteria, but revoke debating privelages at first offense until the staff (of that subforum) feels that the person has matured enough to be allowed back in the playpen.
I think the reason we had decided against a debate thread was because, plenty of times, it had been proven that most debates turned into arguments between the sides - and not the good spirited kind of argument. I'm willing to give it a shot, but keeping in mind that I'm all for revoking the debate privilege if one can't seem to handle the proper ways of a debate~
That reason there. That's not a reason if there's a solution. That's why I didn't post it. Debating, like trolling, is an art.
If you are recalling anything from me from GCT the other day, I was posting as a member, not a moderator, just thought I would point that out, there is a difference, I think people forget that sometimes.
As for debates. Sure sometimes they get a little heated. I say let them run there course. Example time: me and sparky in the religion thread. Sure we got into it, but after a bit we decided neither of us was right or wrong. I even left the thread after that. What happened after that all went down. The thread was locked. Ramza said he might open it later and foxy said if he got PMs he'd open it up again. Now why was I close. Ramza said because we started insulting people. Sparky compared trying to show me his said to that of teaching a dead at. I know how horrible right. I compared him trying to show me his side like shoving a square peg into a triangle hole. Once again, what a horrible thing to say. Now onto the PM part. Not sure how many sent PMs,but I sent one. I never got a response and the thread is still locked. A debate section can work, if the mods are willing to let some things slide. I'd like a debate section, but I doubt it will ever happen. I mean if me and sparky shut a thread down over "insults". This line must be easy to cross and every thread in the debate section would be closed. @berry, when I see a mod post, I see a mod. Sure you're a user/member, but you're staff. I only see a mod. -- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums
@ Pixul The point of the debate section is so that people who are mature enough to not turn a debate in to a flame war can do so. I, for one, would be completely fine with petty insults as long as a point is being made each post. @Berry You can't just choose to be not staff at random moments. That's not how life works. Choices. They have consequences. Joining the forum staff does too. That's all I have to say on the topic here.
Dan that's what I'm saying. Debates get hated,but there is no need to shut down a whole thread over something so small. -- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums
I know what you're trying to get at here, but I'd like to use something you said to me and some others in a skype call once, something that really stuck with me. As members of staff on the forums, everything we do effects how people see us, because we represent the site. We represent what it upholds and what it deems acceptable or not in what we do and how we act. Sure, we are all seperate people with our own minds, behaviours, likes and whatnot, but at the end of the day, what we do and say publically can and most likely will be held against our status as staff on the site, regardless of if it was posted in the GCT or on Skype. As for the 'debate subsection' idea, I think what would be a more accurate way of describing it is a 'serious discussion' area, or something similar. That idea has been brought up in the past too, and we've been hesitant to bring it forward, but since the demand seems to be rising as the site grows, we might set something up for beta to see if it is a good idea in practice or not. The admins will be discussing this thoroughly to ensure it's thought out adequately.
Why just the admins? Why not let everyone else have a say in what happens to them? The transparency of this whole thing needs to stop, seriously. If we want change, we have to stop looking to the staff, we have to go to the users for answers. Let THEM come up with ideas for it and deliberate it openly instead of keeping people in the dark about it and allowing a chance of miscommunication.
I'm just speaking the truth. I (and a lot of other people, too) am tired of all the secrecy and the unnecesary witholding of important information. It's gotta stop.
It's slightly irrevelevant to the topic of this thread, but I do feel that there is a distinct line between staff and members.
