In a particular thread a person repeatedly posts incorrect statements. A bunch of other people have attempted to correct him. He refuses to even consider the possibility that he may be mistaken. He continues to post stuff that is plainly contradicted by clear evidence. Other people are getting angrier and angrier.
I’m on the point of suggesting to various people that they are wasting their time, making themselves angry for no reason, and that they shouldn’t bother to respond to him any further for the rest of the thread.
In general (no bright lines), and especially in P&E/GD, we want to avoid making it personal.
I’ve seen other posters state “I’m done responding to you, and any further comments will be posted in the Pit.” and while I haven’t moderated them so far, it does make me wince, and second guess myself, because that’s on the border of an indirect insult itself. Note though, in this example, it’s being directed at the poster (“You”) not the argument, which is a big part of the wince.
I would say that if you have to say anything in the parent thread before going to the Pit, you should make it as direct and dispassionate as you can, while attacking the POSTS not the poster.
Asking other posters to do the same is really getting into Jr. Modding, though again, each instance is going to be evaluated in context.
Again, strictly IMHO, the sort of parting shot you’re considering is really getting more into trying to get in the last word, which probably does no one any good. Better go to the Pit and say what you’re feeling rather than advertise it in thread.
This is my view, but I have the least experience as a Mod with handling tricky situations. And even then we consult.
It is a tough one, if it is the thread and poster I think it is, I’m pretty frustrated with them also. What you suggest would likely get you dinged for “attacking” the poster or Jr. Modding.
But I don’t see a reason to moderate them. The other day we had a trollish new poster and I PM’d a regular that rose to the bait and told them to ignore the bait. That worked well.
Also, if you see a thread that you think is going off of the rails, for whatever reason, it’s never a bad idea to flag a post (either the most problematic one, or the one where it started) to let the mods know. We might or might not be able to get it back on track, but at the very least, it’ll put it on our radar.
I’ve bowed out of a discussion saying that I don’t think it’s worth participating anymore. If people want to think it’s throwing shade on someone I’m arguing with they can, but I make pains not to make it personal.
Unless I’m already in the Pit, then I hold back nothing.
And that’s fine @Atamasama, and you almost always manage it with a great deal of class.
I just wanted to point out some of the common pitfalls in these situations: making it personal, trying to convince others to do the same (outside the pit), and parting shots that don’t serve the thread any good.
The first and last generally are more “attacking the poster” and the middle coming closer to the “junior modding” the OP asked about.
I have said “I see. I think our discussion will no longer be productive. Thank you for the conversation,” or something to that effect. But, I think the OP is asking how to deal with other posters responding, seemingly futilely.
To be on the safe side, I would just flag one of the posts for moderation, saying that it doesn’t seem like any further discussion could be had with this poster who keeps repeating falsehoods, and hope a moderator showed up to say something.
I would think (not a mod) that even an on-topic discussion, if it becomes monotonous, and a poster is just repeating the same argument over and over, that could be considered a hijack. While it’s not exactly straying off-topic, if some minor point ends up monopolizing the discussion, it seems just as disruptive as a tangent causing thread drift. Either way you have stalled the thread.