I read GD all the time. Well, at least I scan the topics. Probably moreso because I’m a mod and tend to read all thread titles every day.
For the past few weeks, I too have noticed BG. He regulary(almosts seems like they’re timed) starts a fuckload of GDs, on a daily basis. Now–full disclosure–I’m a lefty. So, I love to read what latest dirt on the Bushistas he has copy/pasted. I don’t have time to search for this myself. BUT, Jesus Christ, give it a rest! He’s taking over the forum.
And, if I notice it, and I’m not a good debater who will ever get involved in the forum, how much more frustrating must it be for people who pay money/come here for pleasure.
Notice how many regulars have posted “I no longer open his threads.” Telling, to me.
N.B. The above was posted as a poster to the Boards, not as a mod.
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian]
Given your posts in this thread, I wish that they were as rare as they’ve been over the past month or two. Perhaps I could help?
[/QUOTE]
Well, we have in the past limited certain posters to “no more than X threads on the front page” before, though those tended to be more of one-issue posters. And we have chastised posters for “link: discuss!” sorts of OPs. Self-moderation would be preferable to heavy-handed methods if possible, though, and us mods would have to discuss before making such a move.
[QUOTE=samclem]
Now–full disclosure–I’m a lefty. So, I love to read what latest dirt on the Bushistas he has copy/pasted. I don’t have time to search for this myself. BUT, Jesus Christ, give it a rest! He’s taking over the forum.
[/QUOTE]
There’s plenty of liberal websites/blogs that collect and post the same stories, though. If you choose just one and check it occasionally, you’ll no doubt see 90% of the stories that BG posts.
[QUOTE=John Mace]
GD = Democratic Underground + FreeRepublic. I can hardly wait…
[/QUOTE]
I believe the technical term for this is “fair and balanced.”
[QUOTE=Sage Rat]
I suspect that the age old law of “Post Less. Read More.” will be productive in other avenues.
[/QUOTE]
I would amend that to “Post Less On the Internet. Read More Off The Internet.”
The gatekeepers of the paper-and-ink press may be an effete and insular lot, but they still have some function as a filter for quality and relevancy.
Besides, it’s kinda refreshing to hear the soft flthp…flthp…flthp of turning pages as you sit in a quiet place, like a civilized adult, and inhale the aroma of a hot cuppa.
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal]
Except that filing it up with more crap is hardly the solution to the problem. And that’s what he does. Adding a cogent OP doesn’t remove, or counteract his. His crap is still there.
[/QUOTE]
That’s true, and it’s really annoying. I’m (generally) in favor of limiting him to like, 2 a day. Actually, 3 or so a week would be more in line with what I think, but I don’t want to seem all censor-y.
I’m just saying, BG posts too much crap, but saying GD has a lack of good topics is hardly his fault. The OP seemed upset about both, and I’m saying only one can be fairly attributed to him.
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug]
IBesides, it’s kinda refreshing to hear the soft flthp…flthp…flthp of turning pages as you sit in a quiet place, like a civilized adult, and inhale the aroma of a hot cuppa.
[/QUOTE]
Are you sure the flthp…flthp…flthp is actually the sound of pages turning?
I mean, caffeine has that certain effect on some people…
Gee, I hope I don’t get accused of homosexuality, but count me among those who don’t have much of a problem with BrainGlutton’s prolific nature.
The charges that all he puts into his posts are a link and “Discuss” are bullshit. I just perused the threads on the first page, and most of them include four or more lines of discussion, including relevant comments and questions.
The threads include a wide range of topics, such as the Iraq police force, the Patriot Act, a perpetual motion machine, and arctic ice.
I don’t read the SDMB out to follow particular personalities, but to read about and contribute to interesting topics, so I don’t really give a shit who starts threads on these or any topics.
Would it be any different if BobLibDem started the thread on the Iraq police force and jshore started the thread on the perpetual motion machine? Why?
I noticed the preponderance of BrainGlutton threads in GD many months ago and generally don’t participate. I can’t really see what he thinks his objective is, other than perhaps allowing himself to feel like some sort of arbiter of what’s worthy of discussion among current events. Like some others here, I don’t find many of his threads very compelling, but then I don’t see that many actual Great debates there anyway, what with all the political advertising, continual attempts to bait posters on the wrong side of some arbitrary line, and people endlessly talking past each other. I sometimes think the forum name would be more appropriate as Tedious Monologues.
Not that I’m any shining example of wit and substance in GD myself, you understand.
Anyway, with all that said, he actually discusses his OPs, and near as I can tell he’s not breaking any hard forum rules. I wish he’d cut his output back a bit, but in the end it’s for the Mods to decide whether he’s seriously disrupting the Board.
I lurk more in GD than participate, but I have to agree that his style sucks. The “cut & paste, here are three questions, discuss!” model is lazy. Rather than start 5 of these a day, would it hurt to actually think about them first?
It’s actually getting worse. Now he’s even to lazy to cut and paste.
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer]
I lurk more in GD than participate, but I have to agree that his style sucks.
[/QUOTE]
If you lurk and don’t contribute, what the fuck does it matter? I’d rather have someone raising a variety of current topics than an endless stream of witnessing and touchy defenses of Christianity, a redux of the same abortion debate, and pages and pages of back and forth involving lekatt and NDEs.
Your mileage may vary, but since your mileage involves lurking, what the fuck is your value to GD anyways? I can’t read and give thought to your lurking.
The charges that all he puts into his posts are a link and “Discuss” are bullshit. I just perused the threads on the first page, and most of them include four or more lines of discussion, including relevant comments and questions.
[/QUOTE]
Where? I just looked at the last 20 and the pattern is: link, quote, and one to four lines of text asking questions. I noticed 2 in the 20 that might be considered stating a position, but overall there is not a lot of thought put into the OPs and there isn’t much great to debate about.
I will say that I see BG contributing meaningfully in other people’s threads. I just get irritated by the carpet-bombing of current affairs drive-bys. I can appreciate it if you’re fine with his posting; personally I find it annoying.
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian]
If you lurk and don’t contribute, what the fuck does it matter? I’d rather have someone raising a variety of current topics than an endless stream of witnessing and touchy defenses of Christianity, a redux of the same abortion debate, and pages and pages of back and forth involving lekatt and NDEs.
[/QUOTE]
Most people here lurk more than they post. Which is more valuable: occassional posts from hundreds of posters or a hundred posts from a the same eight people? Personally, I value the varied contributions more. The single best thing I have gotten out of this message board is exposure to people and opinions completely foreign to me; ideas I won’t normally cross among my friends and coworkers. Some people post so frequently, I know where they stand on every issue and I could write their posts for them. What’s the value of those posts?
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF]
yet there’s our boy elucidator acting the lapdog and pretending that this trend of dissatisfaction doesn’t exist, challenging us to pistols at dawn to defend the honor of a thread spammer.
It’s simply surreal.
[/QUOTE]
Um, how long have you been here again? That’s 'lucy’s schtick. I won’t say he’s never posted differently, but I can’t think of a single post of his that wasn’t a driveby designed to convince us of his wit, his awesome command of the English language or to demonstrate just how complete a sycophant he is towards anyone with a leftist agenda. Why would you expect posts of substance from him now?
[QUOTE=CaveMike]
GD has become too much a current affair forum and BG’s carpet-bombing of threads there is the worst offender. I like BG well enough and certainly agree with him on many positions, but what’s the point if too much of it is set up like Coffee Talk? “The war in Iraq, discuss amongst yourselves.”
I come to the Straight Dope for the insight and discussion from its posters, not to keep informed about current events. Frankly, if all I want is a link to a news story, there are a lot of better sites on the web. And the postings aren’t timely either. By the time BG posts, the story has crossed reddit.com 8-24 hours earlier. I’ve already read the story, read a discussion, and moved on.
I’d really like to see more hardy debates in GD about topics other than current events. I like the OPs where some time is put into formulating the question and laying out a postion. Obviously then, it is partly my responsibility to start such threads.
And yeah I know, if I don’t like it then don’t read it. So I don’t, but GD was a big reason I came to this site and now I find myself hanging out there (and in general here) less and less.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, this is exactly my feeling. I read the newspaper every day, and so I don’t need someone to spoon feed it to me with a “discuss” add on. In fact, sometimes as I’m reading the morning paper, I would play a little game and try and guess which story is going to provoke a Pavlovian response by BG. Not surprisingly, I could usually get it 90% of the time. I don’t do it anymore-- it’s not sporting.
So, if this is what the mods around here want, then so be it. But it’s obviously turning a lot of people off. And like I said earlier, what if we had a right wing alter ego battling it out with BG is Great Debates. How fun would that be? Better to nip it in the bud.
