Locked threads

[Graywalker]

I am curious as to how people feel, about threads being locked, due to arguments being started by the same 5 or 6 members.

 

[Buka]

I like to chalk it up to how passionate people are about certain subjects, Martial Arts being very high on that list. Personally, I don't enjoy the locking of threads, but the Mods do a really good job cooling things down.

You recently said this wasn't the site for you, hopefully you've reconsidered. If not...

C'mon, now, whatcha' doin?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Sometime people may care too much about the messenger instead of the post. I still miss "The hero of the east". I truly don't care about whether the "blind monk" is his teacher or not. I'm very interested in his theory that "teaching by text is better than teaching by video - talk has more value than action".

 

[lklawson]

I am curious as to how people feel, about threads being locked, due to arguments being started by the same 5 or 6 members.

Absolutely support it. Failing to do so turns forums into grinding hate with thread after thread puking out petty bile, driving people away. Think of twitter.

Being a mod on a forum has been compared to herding cats. That's almost accurate. It's akin to herding wildcats, many of whom are mangy, flea bitten, and irritable. Some of whom are actually rabid. And most of them willing to spray every corner of the room, and your ankles, to mark their territory and daring you do do something about it.

Frankly, as a Mod on more than one other site, I see these sort of thread starts as a (failed) attempt at complaining about the Mods and trying to undermine them.

feh.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I am curious as to how people feel, about threads being locked, due to arguments being started by the same 5 or 6 members.

Is the question about the threads being locked, or about the same couple members starting arguments that result in locked threads? I have feelings about both, but they are different feelings. And I am obviously a very biased person in this situation.

 

[Steve]

I think the mods do a pretty decent job around here. They're human beings who may be a little under compensated for their efforts. And they generally do a good job of cooling threads off before they get to the point where they are locked.

However, conflict is the heart of any forum. Doesn't have to be destructive, but it's only natural that it will heat up from time to time. That's the nature of conflict. But without any conflict, what would we talk about? I can't imagine life without conflict. Fiction and movies wouldn't exist. No debate. No progress. If there were no conflict on this forum, there would be very little to talk about. You know what happens to a forum where there's no conflict? Nothing, because those forums die (and I'm sure anyone who's been around for a while can point to several other forums they've seen come and go over the years just as a result of general apathy.)

"Hey, you guys ever do X?"
"Yeah."
"Cool."
"You like it?"
"Well enough."
"Cool."

For context, and I'm just spit balling here, I'd wager 95% of the posts on this forum are made by around 20 posters, and 80% of the posts by fewer than 10. Heck, between @jobo and @gpseymour, you're accounting for well over half of all the posts. They are amazingly prolific.

So, when you talk about 6 posters, you're really talking about 25% to 50% (or more) of the active posters.

Maybe an admin is able to share some more concrete posting statistics.

 

[Buka]

And Martial Artists having different opinions on Martial Arts? Nah.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I think the mods do a pretty decent job around here. They're human beings who may be a little under compensated for their efforts. And they generally do a good job of cooling threads off before they get to the point where they are locked.

However, conflict is the heart of any forum. Doesn't have to be destructive, but it's only natural that it will heat up from time to time. That's the nature of conflict. But without any conflict, what would we talk about? I can't imagine life without conflict. Fiction and movies wouldn't exist. No debate. No progress. If there were no conflict on this forum, there would be very little to talk about. You know what happens to a forum where there's no conflict? Nothing, because those forums die (and I'm sure anyone who's been around for a while can point to several other forums they've seen come and go over the years just as a result of general apathy.)

"Hey, you guys ever do X?"
"Yeah."
"Cool."
"You like it?"
"Well enough."
"Cool."

For context, and I'm just spit balling here, I'd wager 95% of the posts on this forum are made by around 20 posters, and 80% of the posts by fewer than 10. Heck, between @jobo and @gpseymour, you're accounting for well over half of all the posts. They are amazingly prolific.

So, when you talk about 6 posters, you're really talking about 25% to 50% (or more) of the active posters.

Maybe an admin is able to share some more concrete posting statistics.

If it wasn’t for disagreements, I’d learn little on this site.

 

[isshinryuronin]

"Karate begins and ends with 'rei'" (Rei = bow/courtesy)

 

[Deleted member 39746]

The thing i love is, its "pending staff review" and they never opened them again. This is the same with most forums and it usually cracks me up.

If it wasn’t for disagreements, I’d learn little on this site.

Well i disagree my good man.

 

[dvcochran]

I am guilty of being part of a few threads getting lock but you have to remember, with the exception of trolling it takes more than one person. Not including a split personality it takes more than one person to express a disagreement. Some people on here choose to go on ad nauseum about nothing just to ruffle feathers and keep a well established solution in flux. Some people prefer to cut to the chase. Usually these two dynamics do not gel very well together.
I very much admire some of the people here. Particularly @JR137. You can tell he is a very busy working man with his feet on the ground and his head out of the clouds who is able to see things as they are. I appreciate that. @Buka is about as chilled out as anyone I have (n)ever met. Has a remarkable way of removing the tension from a thread. @gpseymour is a journeyman who is almost always neutral and always adds perspective.
Then there are the guys @Kung Fu Wang and @lklawson and many others who use this forum true to its name and are always adding content specific to the martial arts.
To be fair, and I have mentioned this before, I think the way this forum (and others) is laid out to invite controversy. It has categories for just about everything so inevitably viewpoints and ideas will get sideways. Overall, the moderation is good, especially with the newer more active mods. I have no knowledge of how these people operate (for free, for pay) but I thank them for what they do. By in large things stay on point whereas without them it would be like Reddit or some of the other 'forums' out there.

 

[Steve]

The thing i love is, its "pending staff review" and they never opened them again. This is the same with most forums and it usually cracks me up.

Occasionally they are reopened but I don't think I've ever seen that succeed. Used to happen more often when there was a political subforum.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

The thing i love is, its "pending staff review" and they never opened them again. This is the same with most forums and it usually cracks me up.




Well i disagree my good man.

We do open them up sometimes. Normally when we decide to leave it locked, none of us really think to update to get rid of the 'pending staff review'..but they are, in fact, reviewed.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Twice in this thread people have mentioned compensation/pay. We're all volunteer, but maybe I should starting asking for a salary. 1.5mil/month sound reasonable?

 

[Steve]

We do open them up sometimes. Normally when we decide to leave it locked, none of us really think to update to get rid of the 'pending staff review'..but they are, in fact, reviewed.

Have you ever reopened a thread and not closed it again shortly after? Sincere question, because I've seen them reopened, but it seems like an exercise in futility at that point.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Have you ever reopened a thread and not closed it again shortly after? Sincere question, because I've seen them reopened, but it seems like an exercise in futility at that point.

Yup. Probably more often that it gets reclosed, but sometimes it works out. Not sure percentages and I'm too lazy to look through all the reports/threads to figure that out.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Have you ever reopened a thread and not closed it again shortly after? Sincere question, because I've seen them reopened, but it seems like an exercise in futility at that point.

In most cases, if the thread is reopened, it remains dead. Because people have moved on. And in most cases, by the time a thread is locked, anything useful has already been said.
And of course, "staff review" also means considering warnings that might need to be issued.

 

[dvcochran]

I have always wondered if there is a hierarchy/org chart to MatrialTalk and the moderators. Does such information exist within the MT section of Forum Foundry?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Twice in this thread people have mentioned compensation/pay. We're all volunteer, but maybe I should starting asking for a salary. 1.5mil/month sound reasonable?

I figure I’m overpaid as it is.

 

[jks9199]

Have you ever reopened a thread and not closed it again shortly after? Sincere question, because I've seen them reopened, but it seems like an exercise in futility at that point.

Occasionally. I can't pull any up from memory right now, but we have. Generally, in a successful case like that, we've gone through and either culled a problematic split into a new thread, or pulled posts to remove a serious problem. We really, really try to avoid removing content from the site unless it's a major violation of the rules, a copyright violation, or something that's literally illegal.

Disagreement is great! Just be nice about it... Disagree with courtesy rather than name calling. Recognize that there are often more than 2 ways to view something, and they can all be valid. Of course there are limits -- and extraordinary claims may require extraordinary proof, but that doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it, either.