Out of all the fora on this board, this one is undoubtedly the worst. It’s full of bickering, potshots and sniping when it’s not simple test posts. A new poster who reads this forum would get the impression that the boards in general are nothing more than a few regulars attacking each other, with a severe lack of tact towards anyone who isn’t ridiculously overpassionate about the subject, and that bannings and warnings are easier to get than a gold star in kindergarten. And yet it is at the top?! It is, in fact, encouraged for new people to read this one first, yet it is the least likely one to get people to stay, and the most likely one to get people to leave. Please move it to the bottom if you can’t make it a sub-forum or something.
Sticky?
Maybe a subforum of the Pit?
I agree that ATMB has become a sinkhole. Move it or create a separate “bitch about the mods” forum. And if you ever want the Dope to succeed get someone who knows anything at all about marketing to come in and slap people until they understand what marketing means. This is disgraceful.
Note: and by marketing, no-one means “and close the thread after getting the last word in.”
Squelching discussion just makes more of it pop up elsewhere…like playing whack-a-mole with a hydra.
And where would this theoretical new person be wrong, exactly?
You have to go up to at least second or third grade before it becomes harder to get a star than a banning.
Hello? Can I get an official mod statement on this?
“No.”
Hi pedescribe. I’m the new mod in ATMB, so I’m going to respond to questions in this thread.
I agree with your sentiment. It is not the most welcoming forum for a new member. However, this is a culmination of rule changes that were made not long ago. As I’ve just taken up this new role today, I haven’t had time yet to discuss this, or anything really, with the people who have the authority to make a decision on any overall rule changes. And I’m not even aware of whether they would be open to any changes at this point.
-xash
Administrator
To answer your specific question regarding the placement of ATMB in the list of forums, I think there is still enough relevant information in terms of stickies, rules, and help offered by other members to new members regarding queries that have to do with the board, to make it still useful for new members. I don’t think moving the forum any lower in the list will solve the underlying concern with acrimony in some threads in ATMB.
-xash
Administrator
What a lot of other boards do is to have the first forum as the place for stickies, FAQs and other important information, and an additional forum for discussing policies and and opinions of the board.
Other boards? This is Straight Dope. It’s not like other boards. It’s a different board. Don’t you see? We’re not like other boards. We’re a different board. See? Different.
Tell him, Nurse Ratched.
And come to think of it, I want my cigarettes. Not yours. Not his. Not his. Mine. I want MY cigarettes.
Or perhaps more appropriately: Rules? PISS ON YOUR FUCKING RULES!
(I should hastily add that Cheswick said that, not me.)
Didn’t you see the big sign? “No Smoking allowed within 20 feet of any thread”. Can I interest you in a piece of Juicy Fruit gum instead?
Yes, you need to take the criticism of mod actions out of the intro to the board foum by whatever name it’s called. That’s the important point.
We discussed this in the mod loop, and we are not all in agreement that this is necessary at this time. So, at least for now, there won’t be any change.
My personal preference would be to revert to the old ways of mod criticisms in the Pit, but that’s not happening either.
-xash
Administrator