Count me as another long-term poster who hasn’t complained about the administration. Until now.
Frankly, I’d probably just cheerfully accept most any rule change that came down the pike. I don’t care too much what the rules are. Just tell me what they are, and I’ll follow them. But you’re not even telling me what the rules are. So how can I follow them?
This is a massive clusterfuck in the making.
Sweetheart, we know exactly what this “rule” means in practice. That’s what we’re trying to tell you.
Well, it’s a bit sophomoric, but it is your first attempt. Kudos for getting outside your comfort zone. I’m glad I could facilitate your transformation.
I’m surprised that it took so long for the “prudish Mormon child” theme post to emerge. If you wish to offer up the notion that refraining from using juvenile, witless profanity is tantamount to having a delicate constitution, have at it.
This reminds me a lot of college parties. Everything is going swimmingly, all us underage underclassmen are getting drunk, having fun, hooking up with hot slutty coeds, etc. It’s getting late and who happens to be walking home from studying at the library because he couldn’t get a date on a Friday night? The ugly, pimple-faced nerd with no social skills that no one invited to the party. After seeing the party and all the fun people are having, and getting mad because no one invited him, what does he do? He calls the cops and reports the party, because if he can’t have any fun, no one can, and that will show all those popular kids who’s boss.
Who’s the kids at party? All of the posters, posting in the Pit until now, doing just fine, having fun and letting lose, but still keeping it in the basement so it doesn’t get too loud to disturb the neighbors, until Ed Zotti, the dateless wonder, appears in the Pit a few months ago, coming from the library on a Friday night, and decides he’s going to call the cops and ruin it for everyone.
No disrespect intended, but when these types of changes have come up before I’ve seen other people ask about buying the board. Why? Start your own board with similar software (but find someone who actually knows how to update it) and then come here and let everyone know they can sign up with their straight dope names. Why purchase this limping, dying board?
Why don’t you believe Ed when he says no one will be banned for inadvertantly crossing an invisible line? He says people will see what he’s trying to accomplish in time and that they’ll get warnings and clear directives from the mods before a banning. Stupid rule or not, I see no reason to think he’s lying.
I see nothing in the rules that requires you to be civil.
The “fuck you” would be out, but I take it that you could call this bigot an ignorant douche. You could say you haven’t heard such an ignorant, stupid statement since Michael Vick spoke at the PETA convention. You could say that only a moron would make that kind of offensive generalization and if this person has an ounce of self-respect, or even two working brain cells, he would apologize.
The line between insulting and abusive is incredibly fuzzy. I think Ed has opened quite the can of worms for the moderators. But I don’t think it hampers members as much as people think it does.
Nah, I’m offering up the notion that refraining from using “juvenile, witless profanity” makes you a huge fucking bore and a supercilious jackass. But maybe if I’d ever seen an example of your alleged Wildean wit I’d change my mind.
And yes, I was trying to say that you were vastly overstating the case. For the record, the only cherry picking I did was by default - those were all of the threads I read past the first post this week.
I do, however, believe that there are absolutely good reasons to call someone a cunt. (Or now, I guess, give them any sort of direct criticism at all. :dubious: )
Frankly, I was thinking earlier today that Rick’s thread was a near-perfect example of a pitting of someone who really didn’t require or deserve inventive invective. He explains his case fully, and calls Bijou a series of perfectly well deserved names. Some people agree with him, some offer some alternative explanations for Bijou’s previous statements. Then Bijou himself shows up to make an ass of himself, gets dogpiled, and then we all go out for drinks and compliment Rick for all the great things he does for people on these boards.
That’s what the Pit is for. What would be the new way this is supposed to go? Would he have had to title his thread “People who insult people who are trying to help them are not bright”? That’s just ridiculous, and Bijou doesn’t actually learn that he’s not allowed to be a jerk around here.
Alas, it’s not that much of a coincidence. I was exposed to it from the same source as you. But it filled me with such giddy glee that I had to share it as soon as opportunities arose…
I suppose the fact that I saw fit to start the “Let’s play nice in the Pit” thread a few days ago should give an indication of my general attitude toward this change (with the exception of putting comments about administration in the ATMB forum; I think that’s a fine decision).
In terms of operational cost, I wonder how much additional investment in moderation these new rules will result in. (And that’s completely aside from the more general issue of customer goodwill.)
I’d be curious about whether it would be worthwhile to have the Pit actually go in the other direction–reduce the moderation and let it be more of a free-for-all. This might require there to be an end-user agreement in order to access the Pit–kind of like those “Yes, I’m over 18” agreements you find at porn sites, only this would be along the lines of “Yes, I am aware that my panties may be aggressively bunched.”