Threads Closure

First off I would like to state that there is no doubt in my mind that running a forum is sometimes an ungratifying task and that I have great respect for the moderators.
But I really don't get it why some threads on the "parlour" section are shut down for what seems to me no apparent reason. I understand that threads get closed if people really start bashing each other. But on a few threads that were closed recently, that was not the case.
If there is an agreed policy among the mods about when a thread is closed, it is completely unclear to me what it is. Sometimes it almost seems as if threads that lack a proper republican tone are aimed at, but I find that hard to believe to be true.

Either way, this whole thing frustrates me dearly, because I strongly believe speech should be free, as long as no one is personally threatened. Because of this I have decided for now, to not longer engage in the parts of the forum that are not strictly shaving and razor related.

Bart.

I have noticed this occasionally in the past too, but I am also aware of the tough and thankless job that mods do.

Perhaps a simple and effective solution to the problem would be to have whichever mod that closes the thread to make a final post explaining why the thread is closed. This has usually been the case with threads that i've seen closed by the likes of Bruno and Doc (cheers guys) but its not always the way it happens. Just an idea....

For the most part gents we post at least a warning before a thread is closed. Also pm's are always sent to the parties involved explaining why the thread was closed as I am sure many of you are aware of. Just because a public statement is not always made does not mean that we are working from an agenda or closing thread haphazardly with out discussing it with the people involved. The conversation is a very hard forum to moderate because emotions can become heated very quickly and people who are normally the very best friends can say things with out considering the impact of their words. So we do our very best to be fair to everyone but ultimately this is a private forum and we have to follow the rules as we understand them. its an impossible task to try to please every one.

I try always to leave a final message in place.

Take for example the last 2 thread that I closed: they were long political manifestos that were posted without any stated purpose. The only thing they would achieve is that people start fighting with each other over the contents. There is no written down list of reasons for closing a thread. 'Causing severe problems or trying to cause problems' is the rule we use.

I would also like to clarify something that is often a misconception: There is NO free speech here. This is a private place, legally owned by Lynn, and you are allowed in if you agree with the site rules.

If free speech is what you want, then there are other forums that exist for that specific purpose. Several members here have started their own discussion forum specifically for that purpose. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to PM you the url.

But the purpose of SRP is to be a shaving community.
We will tolerate anything in the conversation as long as it doesn't cause problems. if something or someone does cause problems they will be dealt with without regard for free speech, because that doesn't exist.

The conversation is allowed only because
a) otherwise, you'd get offtopic stuff creeping in elsewhere. that's just human nature
b) many members like talking about non shaving stuff as well with fellow enthusiasts. this is a positive thing.

But do not ever think that anything goes in the conversation. Just because the discussion is not in person, does not mean that common courtesy no longer applies.

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Originally Posted by sidneykidney

Perhaps a simple and effective solution to the problem would be to have whichever mod that closes the thread to make a final post explaining why the thread is closed. This has usually been the case with threads that i've seen closed by the likes of Bruno and Doc (cheers guys) but its not always the way it happens. Just an idea....

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Perhaps I wasnt quite clear in my post.... :thinking:

I know some of you do and for that I personally am grateful. :bow However resolving it between offending parties and closing the thread without leaving explanation leaves the rest of us wondering what we did wrong.

But once again, in case it was unclear. I know you post explanations Bruno. Thank you :)

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Originally Posted by sidneykidney

Perhaps I wasnt quite clear in my post.... :thinking:

I know some of you do and for that I personally am grateful. :bow However resolving it between offending parties and closing the thread without leaving explanation leaves the rest of us wondering what we did wrong.

But once again, in case it was unclear. I know you post explanations Bruno. Thank you :)

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That is something that we are working on. I hope it is obvious that threads are at least no longer zipping out of existence without warning or explanation.
The conversation is a difficultl forum to manage.

Perhaps I should explain a bit more.
Kyle and I are nominally in charge of the Conversation. Since I am a super mod, I am responsible for the way it is moderated.

So Kyle and I take care of things ourselves as much as possible in order to strive for a consistent way of doing things.
But if there are direct problems, then the first mod on the scene can deal with it. And since there are a dozen mods, there are sometimes different approaches of how to do things.
I know this is not ideal, but we are working on it. The transition from member to mod is not always easy, and it takes a while to find the good balance.

Anyway, the idea is that the thread remains with an explanation of why it was closed.
that way we prevent a lot of false assumptions.
the same goes for when I ban someone. I leave an explanation in place so that people can see that what I did was justified.

But there are and have been a couple of scenarios where I had to do something without explanation.
If that happens, it is not because I don't want to. I am all for openness. But sometimes there are cases where we cannot explain ourselves without divulging personal information of without opening up ourselves for legal issues.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

But sometimes there are cases where we cannot explain ourselves without divulging personal information of without opening up ourselves for legal issues.

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I volunteer as a moderator on an animal related forum and can appreciate the effort that admin's and mod's of well run forums need to do to balance lively forum conversation while maintaining the desired level of forum decorum.

A couple of years ago our forum owners received a lovely letter from a law firm accompanied by a lawsuit against the forum owners for allowing libellous / slanderous posts directed toward a business owned by a forum member (this is the very short version). After spending time and money consulting with lawyers, the admins discovered that 'free speech' on the internet is a myth and that the lawsuit had some merit. As a result of this, we've taken the 'when in doubt, edit, close or delete' approach.

Just my two cents.

Cheers,

rick

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Originally Posted by Bruno

I try always to leave a final message in place.

Take for example the last 2 thread that I closed: they were long political manifestos that were posted without any stated purpose. The only thing they would achieve is that people start fighting with each other over the contents. There is no written down list of reasons for closing a thread. 'Causing severe problems or trying to cause problems' is the rule we use.

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I was under the assumption that "for the sake of conversation" or even "for the sake of civilized discussion" were good enough reasons to start a thread in the conversation forums. It seems obvious to me that more than half the treads started there are because of those reasons.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

I would also like to clarify something that is often a misconception: There is NO free speech here. This is a private place, legally owned by Lynn, and you are allowed in if you agree with the site rules..

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Thanks for pointing that out. That explains a lot. On a personal note: I find it incredibly frustrating to engage in conversations that get shut down in the middle. (I find it equally frustrating to engage in conversations that are made impossible because people start bullying each other). I rather choose to exchange thoughts elsewhere in that case, and confine myself to the shave related parts of the forum.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

But do not ever think that anything goes in the conversation. Just because the discussion is not in person, does not mean that common courtesy no longer applies.

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I thought that was the only valid reason for closing threads. That and obvious holocaust denial and hate-instigating talk. I see that I got the wrong idea. Maybe I've should have read the rules better.

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Originally Posted by Bart

I have decided for now, to not longer engage in the parts of the forum that are not strictly shaving and razor related.Bart.

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That has been my policy up until the last couple of days with the election here in the USA. I find I am better off ignoring threads on controversial topics especially political. I am at fault in that if I participate in that sort of discussion I tend to develop ill feeling towards people of a different political philosophy. Not good, so I am better off avoiding those threads and sticking to shave related stuff. I was glad Bruno closed those threads and I think the mods have been doing an excellent job.