I am not accustomed to flaming, and from the style I have read this one is rather light.
However I have been very puzzled at the recent actions of moderator manhattan. Namely his closing of question threads in regards to the election. Usually he/she ends with a quick quip and a “This thread is closed”.
OK, I understand I committed some grievous sin of the SDMB world by posting questions in regards to the Presidential Election. Even though there is no indication in the announcements to stop posting election related material in the General Questions area.
Further I understand has moderator of a board, manhattan gets to look at scads of questions and make determinations to close inappropriate threads that aren’t even questions.
However, closing a thread is a very final end to someone’s comment. If someone was talking to manhattan and that person said “sorry, this conversation is off topic, I am closing off communication.” I would bet manhattan would think that was rather rude.
If a question is off topic for GQ and belongs in another area, I don’t understand why manhattan with his god-like moderator powers could not move the question to a more appropriate area.
You may not really want an answer, since this is the place to vent about what we do and how we do it, but here goes.
When we have a subject that inspires a lot of action, most moderators consolidate all effort towards ONE thread in that area and close all others that are similar in nature.
It’s pointless to have many threads on the subject when it can all be in one thread. Easier to read, easier to manage, makes more sense. Nothing personal.
I think it’s because GD is already full of threads discussing every possible aspect of the election. You can easily C & P your comments into a new post in a thread already devoted to the same subject. You’re bound to find one somewhere.
The moderators do an excellent job at public service. They are not paid, but they take an enormous amount of heat. This board is in place to combat ignorance and provide enlightenment, how about we all work toward that goal?
Sadly, my godlike powers do not extend to moving a thread to within an existing thread. If you drop by Great Debates, you will see that there are literally dozens of threads about every aspect of the election.
If I seem curt, it is only because I’m trying to keep up with the traffic that this election has generated on the site. I don’t have the luxury of coining a new witticism for each thread that I have to close.
RainbowDragon, you didn’t commit a “grievous sin” however I’ll echo the comments of TubaDiva and waterj2 below. Considering how the most innocuous question about the election process quickly degenerates into a partisan debate, it makes sense for the moderators to nip these type of things in the bud. And with so many debates about the election already in progress about the election, I think manhattan made the right call.
By the way, manhatten has designated this thread as the thread for all election questions. In it, he says,
So that’s why your thread was closed. If you ask your question again in that thread, you’ll probably get a good answer. On the other hand, you might want to ask it in GD.
Don’t sweat it, RainbowDragon, looks like no “grievous sin” , just simple “thread overload” on a hot-button issue.
Hell, tv, radio and print media are all swamped too. I think the mods are just trying to keep the entire board from being taken over with election-related threads. No wish or intent to censor, just squooshing related discussions together.
Feelings are running high on this, but fair is fair: it honestly looks more like a logistical/housekeeping move than anything else.
I think we have ALL had threads closed, or started inappropriate threads at one time or another.
I asked a question not too long ago-only to have Manny point out to me that there was already a thread on that topic (don’t remember what it was) that someone kindly bumped up for me. It wasn’t a big deal-Moderating is a tough job…you should see some of the crap the mods put up with. I mod at another board, and we’ve got trolls coming in, threads going off into nowhere, people sending us e-mail about stupid stuff (One former mod we’re dealing with who was a troll…sigh)
So kudos, to the SDMB mods!
(Are we allowed to ass kiss in the Pit?)