A Modest Proposal

Has any thought ever been given to deleting posts in Great Debates which do not contribute to the debate?

I mean posts that are PURELY insulting, or joking, or whatever. It gets so old. There are appropriate forums for that.

I can’t finish reading very many Great Debates anymore, because I go away shaking my head, crying a little, at the need some of these posters have to just HATE each other. The Debate is only the excuse to fling hate. And so often the hate is irrelevant to any facet of the Debate - it’s based on a chance remark, what-have-you - it’s just gratuitous.

Offenders are too numerous to mention, but if anyone actually wants cites, just let me know. It lowers the level of the entire Board if there is not one single place where the discussion can be kept civil.

Any ideas on improving civility just in that single forum (GD)??? I understand management’s unwillingness to delete a lot of posts. How about a few more slaps on the wrist for infractions?

I can’t be the only person who wants to learn from GD, but finds the content too hate-filled to deal with. Please, stamp out my ignorance, but can you do it without spewing vomit in every direction?

The intelligence level of this Board, especially GD posters, is just beyond belief. I think many posters on this board are WAY more informed, more intelligent, and have better analytical skills, than the writers for any American news outfit.

When I’m reading Great Debates, I consider I’m reading some information that’s as good as what I might get in the New York Times, say. (Not all posts, of course, but a lot.)

But there’s a difference. I never have to put down the NYT because the writer got nasty with another writer, and decided to hash it out in the middle of a front-page article.

Do y’all see the incredible value of what’s being fouled here?

You’re not likely to have much success campaigning against humor in GD, but when you see attacks, you should e-mail the moderators. Personal attacks aren’t allowed in GD (or, in fact, in any forum other than the Pit), but sometimes, they’ll go unnoticed. What action the moderator takes (possibly including deletion) will depend on the severity of the attack, the past history of the person delivering it, etc., but there will almost always be some action taken.