# Clarification of the purpose of ATMB and closing threads **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 18, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222 "2015-01-18T22:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/61 "2015-01-22T15:06:12Z")
> [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](#): > > I worry about the kind of precedent that this sets for the management of the board. My, my, you have been away a long time, haven’t you. This isn’t precedent-setting; this is SOP. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/62 "2015-01-22T15:08:02Z")
Is the official line here really that there’s not enough _time_ to process this change? What needs to be done other than go into the admin settings, create a new forum, and move the current Game threads? I’ve used vbulletin enough to know how simple that all is. Surely it’s not because a new mod needs to be hired; the total number of threads isn’t changing, so **Idle Thoughts** continuing to monitor said threads isn’t an added burden at all. What else needs to be done? That’s a serious question, not a snarky one. There’s got to be something that we’re all missing here that justifies the weeks it’s been between the decision being finalized and now. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/63 "2015-01-22T16:08:12Z")
Johnny, see [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17780904&postcount=31) from October by **TubaDiva**. It explains why there is almost no admin level support for this message board. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/64 "2015-01-22T17:13:24Z")
> [@Krav\_Manga](#): > > That’s not really true, though, is it? I don’t think that any posters were really against the idea of creating a new forum. Well, I dont have a dog in that hunt, but it seems to me that a very small number of posters care about the issue at all. So, yeah, the vote would be 9% Yes!, 1% No, and 90% “Meh”. I vote Meh. But what I dont like is the rudeness that has been displayed by constant badgering by a few posters on what is such a petty matter. Do we need to go thru the bother and constant argle-bargle for something only a few loud posters care about? And, should they be rewarded for their rudeness by the Administration giving in to their strident demands? Is that how we will decide changes in the future? If you are loud enough and rude enough, you get your way? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/65 "2015-01-22T18:54:59Z")
Kudoes on using “argle-bargle” in a sentence. 🙂 To the mods: how about just leaving one thread open so people can kvetch about the sub-forum and just not respond? God knows most of the long-term posters have learned the knack of not bothering to repeat an answer unless you have something new to say. Speaking as someone who doesn’t give a fart in a mitten if there is a Game Room subforum or not. Gving worthless advice, on the other hand, is what I _live_ for. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/66 "2015-01-22T18:57:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Kudoes on using “argle-bargle” in a sentence. 🙂 > > To the mods: how about just leaving one thread open so people can kvetch about the sub-forum and just not respond? God knows most of the long-term posters have learned the knack of not bothering to repeat an answer unless you have something new to say. > > Speaking as someone who doesn’t give a fart in a mitten if there is a Game Room subforum or not. > > Gving worthless advice, on the other hand, is what I _live_ for. Thank you- and right back at you for _“a fart in a mitten”_. And, you do it _so well._😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/67 "2015-01-22T19:00:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > -If people become incivil, it’d be much better to mod-note or warn those folks than to shut down discussion. I agree with your entire post, however until 2 or 3 mods (at most) can be reeducated and taught that, no, their mod-rights will not expire without a certain number of random thread-closings a month\*, it’s not gonna happen. \*Or your equally plausible theory that they see it as “Any criticism of anything”=“personal attack on the mods” ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/68 "2015-01-22T19:01:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And, should they be rewarded for their rudeness by the Administration giving in to their strident demands? Oh, please. Yes, we’re terrorists and you can’t give in to terrorists. You do “have a dog in that hunt”, you’re consistently antagonistic towards anyone who wants any sort of administrative or moderator action. [This post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17941169&postcount=1) has links to the original discussion threads. Most of the discussion from the pro-split side is civil and well-stated. Any rudeness only comes from frustration after being ignored and even being treated rudely. As far as “only a few posters care about”, you have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t post or read the game room. Game room regulars have been leaving for a long time on a regular basis. There’s been almost no new traffic to the forum at all in a year. I run both fantasy football recruitment and various gaming groups and meetups. I used to have a steady recruitment of new people for both. That’s almost completely dried up. I read the discussions - those are going away as I see regular posters disappear in frustration. Most people don’t come to ATMB to complain - they don’t come to ATMB at all. They just get disgusted with the current state of the forum and decide not to come back that way. A significant fraction of the former user base of that forum has already done so, and more continue for as long as we leave this issue hanging. Given that the fix for all this is probably somewhere between 5 minutes and an hour, and given that it’s been acknowledged (grudgingly) to be a problem, and that it will be solved one day, we’re just asking that perhaps this hour be taken now, rather than months from now, when even more damage is done. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/69 "2015-01-22T19:15:24Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Dear Mr. Ed > > Delegate, Boss Man, delegate. > > You don’t need a computer science degree to do something as trivial as making a new forum. I’m sure one of the volunteer mods can handle it. Give them a super complicated password and leave dealing with the unwashed masses to your underlings. The technical part of setting up a new forum is easy. But we’ve got forums and mods coming and going, the mod training materials need updating, the rules and procedures need revision, etc. I can delegate or postpone some of this stuff, but part of it unavoidably has to be done by me, and I’ve been busy with the non-SDMB aspects of TSD. Please be patient. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/70 "2015-01-22T19:19:51Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > … the mod training materials need updating… Yes, the translations of Torquemáda’s materials from the Latin must be a pain… :p:p:p:p:p ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/71 "2015-01-22T19:22:17Z")
You’re trading a mild hypothetical problem (that a new mod may somehow not be trained properly on the new procedures) for a significant existing problem (the forum dies a little more every day in its current state, probably never to be recovered). Let Idle Hands moderate the new forum until whatever administrative developments need to happen. He’s already moderating that content anyway, it would just be in two different places. Use that as an interim solution until whatever new procedures are in place. But we’ve already seen 4 months worth of game room contraction/loss of users/non-recruitment of new people already. And who knows, “be patient” could mean another 4 months more of it (if this whole thing ever happens, which I think is less than 50/50 at this point). That’s a long time. A lot of lost users. A lot of missed recruits. A lot of missed discussion. That’s a real cost. In comparison, the potential that a new mod (which isn’t strictly necesary) not being trained properly or what have you is minor. Split the forums. Move the threads. Ask if the current mods of the game room can still look after the same threads they’ve been looking after already, just in two places. Refine whatever mod procedures and recruit someone after that, if it’s necesary. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222/72 "2015-01-22T21:32:45Z")
Cheezit, will you quit complaining? This is a fricking message board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-the-purpose-of-atmb-and-closing-threads/710222.md?page=3)