I am sorry to read Mr. Schmidt’s post on top. It seemed to me Angie and Steve were doing very nicely with their lighter touch. I, for one, have noticed no important flame wars of late. Is this a solution looking for a problem?
No, it is a troll who picks a fight, and when he gets his butt haned back to him, he whines to the mods about being picked on, even though he starts the fight in the first place.
Typical troll action.
The best thing to do with trolls is ignore them. I was insulted once for a response to a Forum topic but just blew it off.
With a gentle admonition to the insulter that not everyone’s as tolerant as I am.
Firelock’s Rule: You can question someone’s opinion, but NEVER his intelligence or integrity.
I would opine that Mr Schmidt’s rationale is slightly flawed. Topics and subjects do not start flame wars. Intolerant narcissistic crybabies start flamewars with their incessant praddle about defending their turf. “Wah, you made my head hurt by discussing a topic which my personal insecurities see as controversial, RIGHT HERE IN MY E-LIVING ROOM”…etc.
There are a handful of regulars here who appear to believe their insults are warranted whenever they target someone they see as a “nere-do-well”, And if that targeted individual dare swipe back, then THEY are branded as the “one who started the trouble” go figure.
We as a society have this tendency to attribute to a single cause, problems that in actuality are a product of many. It is from this that a majority of our controversies originate. You can quote me on this. [I]
Gee, a “bad order” card for egos. I guess that’s the “railroad” context for this thread.
LOL, which begs the question: do “real men” report threads to moderators?
I do, but only when things get out of hand to the point that it is obstructing other, perhaps more productive discussions. The only 2 posts/threads I have ever reported were the Made In America and Conrail/Amtrak/Socialism threads over the past week, and I would note that new and productive discussions on some of the better content in those threads has since started, and in a polite manner, so people took the hint. Perhaps there is still antimosity between the warring parties and they have shifted to PM’ing each other, but at least I don’t have to look at their ugly posts while reading Dave Klepper’s responses about Israel’s railways.
So in my limited experience here I think the reporting/moderating system works pretty well.
Alas, some folks seem to feel that if you question their opinion, you are questioning, nay - demeaning, their intelligence and/or integrity.
I think most of you above are missing the point.
Shouldn’t we be able to expect the host of this forum to be a little more Olympian, to realize that boys will be boys and to be above the occasional cheap shots and especially the crybabies who go crying to Mama when they get an owie?
Let’s take a step back and remember office politics. Mr. Schmidt sounds to me like someone who is watered because a new unwelcome duty has been dumped in his lap.
For his unhappiness not to be taken out on forum members – and Trains subscribers! – is my fondest, not unreasonable, wish.
In case nobody else has noticed, this forum has gotten slow and dull enough, all on its own, in recent months.
It’s a shame that it has been dumped in anyone’s lap. And we generally do get along just fine for long periods of time - most everyone has figured out everyone else and takes them for what they are worth to them.
Add one “new” person to the mix and suddenly all you-know-what breaks loose.
A bit of “wisdom” I once heard - if it seems like everyone around you is a problem, maybe they aren’t the problem at all…
Perhaps he has better things to do than babysit a lot of bitchy old men.
No, not really. I’d guess that if it gets to be too much trouble, then we can most likely expect the host to pull the plug on the whole damned thing. It’s pretty obvious that the forums are not a main focus of Kalmbach, and I doubt they want to devote much (any) time to it. It’s not 2000 anymore - forums are pretty much dinosaurs. How many news-type sites even have them anymore?
I took it as a (not-so-gentle) reminder myself.
And yes, some topics seem to always cause issues. (Coming from a mod on another site, with much less traffic than this one.) Sometimes you need to have some ground rules that these topics will not be tolerated, even before they slip into being a problem.
(The site I am a mod on has the rule that any discussing of politics, religion, or nationality/race will be locked and deleted as soon as noticed by mods, regardless of if it has digressed into an issue or not. Warning is also issued to all on post. 3 warnings result in reviewed postings, two further warnings within 6 months result in temporary suspension of posting privileges. If the poster is the one who caused the issue, by making it one, via a post that attacks another post, or containing profanity, two warnings result in reviewed postings, one further warning results in temporary suspension.
Once reinstated, for any reason, all postings must be approved for the next 6 months. Any further infractions during this probation period results in deactivation of account privileges. Two suspensions also results in deactivation of privileges. And any of the common “don’t let this person in because they dislike _____” results in immediate deactivation of account. YouTube has a huge problem with this right now, and it is not permitted at all on the site I am mod on. That issue is zero tolerance. As is personal attacks.)
So, while I do get the reminder, as a mod on another site, I also see why there is a slight issue with the way it was delivered.
So, as one mod elsewhere to the whole group, if he was not asked, and is seeing issues soon after being “volunteered” for the job, please try to be understanding.
And, as he reminded, so long as everyone minds their P’s and Q’s, no one will have issues.
That, is a true
Exactly. The forums are strictly a sideshow for Kalmbach; they are not about to have someone spending much time moderating. The stuff that occurred recently on the forum that precipitated Brian’s actions should be obvious. Additionally I understand there were apparently numerous PMs to members that were “less than civil.” Hopefully things will calm down, especially if the attempt at more blatant political messaging stops.
That should be GRUMPY old men!
I may be old, but I ain’t bitchy.
And concerning dakotafred’s comment about the Forum getting dull and slow, I’m not so sure that’s the case. I DO miss a lot of the folks who were frequent posters but who seem to have dropped out of sight, people like Henry 6, Overmod, Broadway Lion, Sir Madog, John WR, and Juniatha.
We really could have used Ms. J’s input on that recent German train wreck.
Oh well, maybe they’ll be back. Maybe they just got bored with it all.
Actually, considering how many more “Views” compared to “Replys” I see on the heading of the various topics I’m surprised there isn’t more action here.
And politics? I know I’ve said it before, but I HATE politics. I pay attention to it because as a citizen it’s my duty to do so and because a lot of good guys died from 1775 to the present so I’d have the chance to do so. Quite honestly concerning things like Amtrak and public transportation that have to be subsidized by government I don’t see how you can keep the political angle out of it. Just be respectful about it. Remember Firelock’s Rule.
+1. We may be on thinner ice than we want to think.
(Firelock, Broadway Lion and Sir Madog are alive and well on the MR forum. You can see what they are doing over there.)