This is, or course, a take off on Rodney King’s famous lament, “Can’t we all just get along” after the cops accused of beating him were acquitted, triggering riots in LA. The reason I bring this up is that a thread I started few days ago, was quickly locked by the moderators, presumably because it had triggered some serious disagreements regarding a model railroading issue. Is that really a bad thing? Can’t we , as a community, have serious disagreements and discussions about issues regarding our hobby, without having those disagreements nipped in the bud. The thread I began, admittedly a rant about a certain manufacturer that had delivered a poor quality product to me, had triggered a number of responses in defense of that manufacturer and evolved into a discussion of what a customer’s responsibility should be in such a circumstance. Myself and those on the other side of the issue obviously had a serious disagreement about this issue. Having just reread this forum’s policies, I don’t see any of those policies that were violated. There had been no name calling. No discussion of religion or politics. As long as this forum’s reasonable guidelines are adhered to, I see no reason why we can’t have lively and serious disagreements from time to time about issues which are related to our hobby. Those who don’t care to participate in those debates are free to refrain from reading them. That shouldn’t prevent the rest of us from having serious disagreements from time to time. Do we really have to have keep all our conversations so antiseptic?
The reality is: civility is gone or on a serious decline Do a search for civility is gone
There are an increasing amount of people with hidden anger and the anger usually comes out of them in a Rant. Much of the time the subject is not the issue.
I belong to quite a few forums on different subjects and see this issue quite a lot.
The Trains.com forums are probably the worst.
Rich
If the moderators see a thread that looks like a ticking time bomb they usually lock it. It’s probably best. There are a lot of people that visit the forums and as a company i’m sure they don’t want it to be a hostile looking atmosphere. I don’t blame them.
I don’t equate disagreements with being uncivil. People can have sharp disagreements about issues far more serious than model railroading without resorting to personal rancor. This website has posted strict guidelines and having just reread them, I find them to be extremely reasonable. None of those guidelines preclude having lively disagreements about model railroading issues. It seems that such a defacto standard has been established.
If I remember your original post correctly, you had a complaint and pretty much felt that it was not your responsibility to go back to the manufacturer and have a discussion about the problem. Instead you chose to do your complaining in a forum with around 50,000+ members, none of whom could do anything to rectify the situation.
Now we have a locked thread that you’re unhappy about. Did you send a message to the moderators asking them why your thread was locked? And pointing out to them that you felt that none of the forum policies were violated? I believe that generally when a thread is locked the moderators send out an e-mail message to the posting parties explaining why said action was taken. If that did not happen here, then I think you should be asking them your question.
Please let us know what they say.
There are a lot of people with pent up anger. Well look at it… with all the jobs lost and the economy still in the dumps. .Heck I see it just taking a drive down the street. I don’t blame them, there’s not a lot to be happy about right now.
It’s the moderators job to look at threads and see how the posts are going and determine if it’s turning into a flame war.
All I know is a couple of months ago I started a thread about some graffiti on a new concrete wall I just completed, and it was immediately deleted. I had no idea this subject is like setting off a block of black cats. Oooops! [:$]
It is a reality on each forum that those who post regularly are often on opposite sides on an issue. Clearly, John, your thread was no exception. It is also a reality that some of those responding are going to post words in a construction that make some reading feel that there is little of value except to bluntly reject the explanations or reasoning offered by those on the other side. The other reality is that some of those whose posts/thoughts are rejected don’t like it much. They don’t take it gracefully, and they continue to press their point with no additional substance or information that might be of use to the person rejecting their views. The upshot is a descent into hostile posturing that continues to offer nobody much good except to add to the demand on our host’s bandwidth.
Secondly, the heavy majority of those of us who post here at least once a week comprise fairly resourceful and accomplished modellers. We are problem-solvers, including going so far as to seek help and guidance out in the open on this forum. It seems that several of our membership are somewhat intolerant of complaints when they have encountered most or all of the same problems at one time or another, and have long since dealt with them constructively. We did receive one complaint that it was turning sour…the camps were solidly on two sides of the issue, and there seemed to be no progress toward a middle ground or understanding. Once a thread runs to 12-15 posts and there is nothing new, and the subject is contentious, it is prudent for the mods to just ask folks to move on.
I am not sure who locked it at this point, but we mods have made it a practice to post something in the way of explanation or closure. So, my strong expectation is that one of the editorial staff has done this.
We are actually quite tolerant of disagreement, except when the argumentation starts and it turns personal. I can’t speak for the editorial st
[quote user=“Motley”]
There are a lot of people with pent up anger. Well look at it… with all the jobs lost and the economy still in the dumps. .Heck I see it just taking a drive down the street. I don’t blame them, there’s not a lot to be happy about right now.
It’s the moderators job to look at threads and see how the posts are going and determine if it’s turning into a flame war.
All I know is a couple of months ago I started a thread about some graffiti on a new concrete wall I just completed, and it was immediately deleted. I had no idea this subject is like setting off a block of black cats. Oooops!