“Absolute refusal” seems a little strong – I decided against it, I didn’t make a huge case out of it. At least I didn’t intend to.
Here’s my thinking: Ambivalid indicated a preference that it not be moved. If I had moved it, I would have effectively been forcing him to participate in a Pit thread. I think participation in Pit threads should be optional.
I left open the possibility of someone else starting a Pit thread, if there was a discussion unresolved that would be appropriate there. That person could link back to the MPSIMS thread, as is common. This would leave it up to Ambivalid to decide for himself whether or not he wanted to participate, without curtailing anyone else’s rights.
There has been a history of threads involving Ambivalid turning into train wrecks. I took that history into account in my efforts to keep that particular thread on track.
Again, if there are other topics people want to discuss, there’s nothing to stop them from starting new threads in GD or the Pit as appropriate.
He didn’t get “the say,” he expressed an opinion. I made the decision, taking that opinion into account. Under other circumstances, I might or might not have moved a different thread with a different trajectory involving a different OP to the Pit.
I didn’t say it was a “bad” diversion, I was merely trying to keep all tangents under control in an effort to prevent a train wreck.
If the OP misplaced it in the wrong forum, that’s a reason to move it. But Ambivalid started an appropriate thread in the correct forum, and lots of other people drug into the ditch despite moderation to attempt to keep it on track. If the OP had okayed to be moved, thus changing the original intent of the thread, then they may have moved it. I don’t see anything wrong with its closing.
Many people wanting a thread moved to the pit isn’t grounds to move one. It’s just as easy for someone to start a Pit thread about a post, posts, or poster that they want to call out. Most of the time it’s done that way, with the pitter linking back to the post/topic of their ire.
Since I have not been around much I guess I missed previous threads with Ambivalid. I have no problem pointing fingers at mods when needed. This seemed like a good piece of moderation and well explained by Twicks.
I appreciate the moderation here and also the decision not to move the thread into the Pit. I have had the misfortune of having that occur before; to have my thread and my discussion de-railed into nothing but snark, sarcasm and hate. I have absolutely no interest in seeing my thread devolve any further in that direction.
I’d appreciate the moderation more if the people who kept hijacking all your threads would get warned for repeated violations of the rules rather than just the thread getting locked. Effectively the mods are letting other people decide what you are allowed to talk about, or, in some cases, that you aren’t allowed to talk at all.
It also sucks that the guy who got suspended did so because he was fighting letting those people control the thread. But of course, that’s more his fault than anyone else’s. There’s a reason I just posted a little snark and ran away.
EDIT: Because I knew I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I got into an argument. The way Ambivalid is treated, even if I allow for people possibly believing he is a horrible person, really, really upsets me.
The guy who got suspended was NOT fighting against those “trying to control the thread”, he was making nonsense arguments about people not believing in parking lots. Do you honestly think he was being helpful?
Someone has opened a thread to vent about a hassle they got into but someone else is complaining that they could not have that thread moved to a different forum for the purpose of attacking and criticizing the thread starter?
That’s very true. It’s also the reason I stayed out of that thread. But, to drag a thread to the pit just because posters can’t control themselves and just to rag on the OP because they don’t like him is wrong . If you have a problem with the OP or the thread, man-up and start the pit thread yourself.
I think this board has too much superfluous moderation but in this case the moderation was spot on.
Because nobody has ever questioned the validity of an OPs story in MPSIMS before. If that forum is only for hugs and people telling the OP what a courageous person they are, let’s add that to the forum description and rules so we don’t have this as a problem in the future.
It wasn’t as if it was a Pit-worthy thread started in the wrong forum to begin with; all things being equal, it was started by the OP in the appropriate forum. Moving it to the Pit pretty much forces the OP’s hand to go there, which presumably wasn’t his original intent (although this has happened with at least one of Ambivalid’s prior threads.) I agree with twickster’s mod action.
Since his threads of this type seem to devolve into squabbling and nitpicking pretty quickly, staying out of them seems to be the most prudent strategy if you have strong feelings one way or another.
Well I imagine that someone who starts an “innocent” MPSIMS thread doesn’t expect or want to start defending themselves against Pit-type attacks. So moving the thread there would force the OP’s hand.
I have no love or sympathy for the OP, to be crystal clear. And perhaps starting a blog instead of posting here with predictable results would be a smarter move. Although maybe it’s quite calculated and the OP wants antagonistic responses. I’m not a reader though. He certainly should expect antagonistic responses, given his history. Every such thread he has started has ended up locked, in the Pit, or contentious.
But…he is a member in good standing, so he should certainly be allowed to start potentially contentious threads. And, since this is a privately-run message board, the overlords have every right to control the content.
As one of the thread participants, I have no problem at all with the moderation of it.
That being said…
is extremely naive, especially given the OP’s experience, posting history and, by the end of the whole mess, having done exactly what he was being criticized for. I don’t see any of the forums here being strictly for kittie huggles and bro-hooves with no room for opposite opinion or criticsm. as a matter of fact skepticism was expressly permitted
I don’t have a problem with some well-founded skepticism directed my way; and I do my best to address that criticism in coherent, clear, non-inflammatory ways. However, putting a thread into the Pit changes things entirely. There is no “good faith” discussions or fair arguing going on; it is primarily a slugfest consisting of nothing but disrespectful slams and dishonest mischaracterizations. It is nothing but negative energy that I want no part of. For those who get some degree of satisfaction from those type of threads; have at it. But for threads that I start in other forums, I’d like those threads to remain in their respective forums.
The same reason you asked that silly, snarky-assed question in this thread instead of opening up a new thread in the Pit to ask it. It’s all part of the same discussion.