Ok, not ban them, suspend them for a week. And not the whole lot, just the top posters on ATMB at this moment (no matter what side they are on). And not all at the same time. Do it in batches (quarters should work).
After a week of following the latest issue from the sidelines, I am really surprised at the benefits of not being able to blurt out every single reaction to every single post. I have a position on this whole thing (Which is not relevant but people with a memory or a search option might remember in broad strokes even if that doesn’t cover all the nuances of it) but I am just having a hard time feeling the rage for either side.
So I think some people should take a time out. 95% of the arguments on either side are going unheard and are made without full consideration of the arguments of the other side.
People now is responding mostly to their own indignation of being heard by the other side. Concessions are being ignored and solid arguments are being poorly voiced by people worn down by the whole ruckus.
Declare a moratorium on discussions on this whole thing for a few days and then resume the argument once this whole thing simmers down. It might benefit all sides.
Once again, my unsolicited and probably unwelcome two cents.
No, I am not saying people should discuss it. I am saying that many posters are suffering from outrage fatigue and failing to hear each other. So actually, that they are no longer discussing it, just cussing it.
Maybe some people would benefit from flying a kite or making snow angels depending on latitude. Then come back in full form and try to get past “I can’t hear you but here is what I think”.
ETA: And of course I am not upset. Which is why I think this would work.
And if there’s anything that’s going to make people less outraged, it’s arbitrarily and capriciously suspending their posting priviledges regardless of the content or tone of their posts!
C’mon. Read between the lines. All I’m saying is that people need to take it easily. Your reply is the perfect example of exactly why this is needed. Too many people suffering tunnel vision, seeing red and wanting to find offense at anything and everything.
I’m not offended by your idea, I’m just pointing out that it’s a really, really bad idea, in so far as it will have precisely the opposite effect from that you intend. People are pissed off, rightly or wrongly, by the admins here restricting what they are or are not allowed to say. Suggesting that they will be less pissed if they are further resticted is just about the most counter-logical thing I’ve ever read on the boards.
Althought, we’ve recently been told that telling someone to “relax” or “take it easy” is a mortal insult.
Seems to me that one problem with Message Boards is that the Recreational Outrage gets way out of hand. I’ve been saying for some time that people need to relax and give the new system a try, and I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised.
So how come the few people who get all uptight about being called Bad Words can’t be told to relax? Why do the rest of us, the majority, have to relax?
Which is, no doubt, why it’ll become policy. That seems to be the modus operandi around here: If the posters like it, its a bad idea and we can’t do it.
Way of the world, my friend. At my workplace, if one guy makes a mistake, we all wind up taking classes and getting memos. Why not just deal with the one asshole who messed up, why punish all of us?
Telling an upset customer to calm down is a really bad thing. Years of retail taught me that.
And this is not recreational outrage. I think people are genuinely outraged by what they perceive as a fundamental change in policy that they cannot understand.
I am willing to believe that Ed is making a serious effort to respond the questions and that the ones he is ignoring he is doing because he thinks he already answered them. The confusion is understandable since each question is being made 400 times per hour. The fact remains, though that people is feeling they are going unanswered, no matter whether you think they are answered or not.
Maybe it is time for a reset. Go into the cave for a day of quiet and come back out with a FAQ and take it from there.
Again, go past the title and read between the lines. All I am saying is that distancing yourself from the problem for a little while and getting a breather might do you (collective you on either side of the argument) some benefit.
As someone who saw the fight for a week from the sidelines, I can see that both sides are talking past each other and only hearing a fraction of what the other side is saying.
People need to give themselves a time out (not one handed from above) to get a fresh perspective and then take a new look at what the other side is saying.
And I really mean this for both sides of the argument.
The thing that’s ironic about this whole deal is that “Fuck you, Ed, you cunt” is pretty much precisely the majority reaction engendered by his hamfisted proclamations banning such phrases.
Instead of pissing and moaning about him not caring about us, I think the thing to do is not care about him. It’s really easy to do. I’m mostly only coming back here for the meltdown schadenfreude, anyway.
