Forum Decorum | Feedback Please

[Jud]

7 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

 

what sets this site apart is that engineers and scientists post here

Having spent several years hanging out at evolutionary biology and climate science blogs, there seem to me to be two types of people who derail discussions and cause problems in those forums:

 

- Those who discount science entirely in favor of their own subjective “truth.”

 

- Scientists and engineers from other disciplines who feel exposure to science or engineering of any type qualifies them to comment authoritatively on any other type.

 

So yes, scientists and engineers are a great advantage for a forum - when they talk about what they know well. And of course when they exercise good forum citizenship.

 

Getting back to the original post: Most of the proposals seem reasonable. I don’t agree with downvoting or other permutations of it, anonymous or otherwise, because it’s too easily abused to chase away anyone a group of people dislikes for any reason, justified or unjustified. Anything that leads to a ban ought to require going through you from the outset, @The Computer Audiophile - even though I know that’s a burden on you, unfortunately.

 

Some of these proposals will tend to minimize some fruitful interchanges. Even so, I wonder if unfortunately they’ve become necessary.

[Jud]

7 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

welcome intellectual rigor

Sure. But these days I also look around the site and think "So many damn arguments!" I (and I'm sure everyone else) wonder how to have stimulating discussions without having a large percentage of them dissolve into mere bickering.

[Jud]

34 minutes ago, tmtomh said:

And certainly USB cables, ethernet switches, and the like play no role (except when malfunctionning) in the ability or inability of a system to create or not create the illusion you're after - would you agree with that?

 

I don't think I am able to answer on topic within the context of this thread other than to say my attitude as to such discussions is "live and let live." I've read posts in various threads to which my personal reaction is that I don't think they can be correct, but I don't see a crying need for me to point that out to adults making their own decisions. Not everyone feels that way.

 

Whether we ought to have a forum where my "live and let live" inclination is enforced by rule - whether we should let people require under forum rules that they not be confronted with contradictory opinions, except in certain specific areas of the forum - is the question, and I don't have a quick easy answer.

[Jud]

https://www.silvertipstea.com/pages/makaibari-tea-estate

 

They don't appear to have any of the eponymous Silver Tips tea at the moment. Usually they do at a relatively good price.

 

Here's someone who does seem to have it:

 

https://www.arborteas.com/organic-makaibari-estate-silver-tips-white-tea.html

[Jud]

2 hours ago, wgscott said:

Maybe have two general forums as an experiment? 

 

One could be as we have now -- minimal moderation.

The other, in parallel, could be as proposed, with more significant moderation, post limits, etc.

 

The O.P. can choose which one to post to, based upon what kind of discussions they value.

 

Everyone gets to see in real-time which one (or both) thrives.

 

Nice! Instead of guessing, let's do the experiment.

[Jud]

Hmm, time to unfollow this thread for a while.

 

I like Bill's idea to do the experiment, recognizing it would take time and energy to do the moderation on the more regulated forum(s). But that's part of the experiment, too - is such time, energy and wisdom available?

[Jud]

Just now, pkane2001 said:

 

I disagree. I view this proposal as a trial separation. Most likely this will result in a divorce, and that's not an outcome I'm looking forward to.

 

 

Thanks Paul. Me neither. But part of the reason I feel like unfollowing at the moment is that we're down to arguing about proposals for stopping the arguing. 🙂

 

When topics get into the chasing-their-tail phase like this, I don't often see much that's interesting to me coming from them thereafter.