A call for mod action and user restraint

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I responded to the nonsense post but I didn’t start it.

In fact the posters injection felt like a drunks invective in a bar

My response was appropriate to being hassled by such a drunkard

So you did contribute to the furtherance of a political discussion instead of just ignoring it.

Not saying you are right or wrong, simply saying you stepped into a political debate that can never be won. Political discussions on the net never have a true ending until people simply give up and ignore..

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

The beautiful thing about forums is, no one is forced to participate in any conversation they find distasteful. If you don't like the thread, don't read it. If it really bothers you, put it on your ignore list.

I fully agree there is way too much American politics. But again, no one is forcing you to read it, and certainly not to participate in it. If a thread devolves into silliness, just move on. That's what I do. No big deal.

I don't get this drive to control what others say.

What bothers me more are those who substitute insults for discussion or debate. That I have no time for, and nor do the mods. But politics DO matter for cruisers.

I speak against the motion .

^^^^ This ^^^^

PS: With US Elections over hopefully some of the garbage talk will simmer down..

[SVSOLITAIRE]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I second the OP. Excessive thread drift and politics kill too many threads. People click on a thread to read that topic, if you want to drift start new one. And unless the title had something about politics in it, any political post is excessive drift (go post that on FB for your friends to enjoy).

I agree with this, as well as OP. As a relatively new user and long time lurker I come to CF more for information than opinion. When threads devolve or deviate from topic then what’s the point? If I press ignore on a topic that’s gone off the rails, I may miss valuable input from a sailor that stayed on topic. It’s easy enough to DM or start a new thread.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

So you did contribute to the furtherance of a political discussion instead of just ignoring it.



Not saying you are right or wrong, simply saying you stepped into a political debate that can never be won. Political discussions on the net never have a true ending until people simply give up and ignore..

I responded , ( heat and kitchen etc ) maybe a better man might just ignore it. But it was a specific personal attack on a previous post of mine.

The fact is that unrelated political posts should be moderated and I include my own response in that comment. Such posts should simply be removed and posters sanctioned

[denverd0n]

Mixed feelings here. I absolutely DO NOT come to this forum to read a bunch of political crap, and it infects far too many threads. On the other hand, so long as it is in the proper sub-forum, and not too over-the-top, I wouldn't want to over-burden the moderators with more work.


I also think that threads get closed sometimes even when there is more good discussion that could be had. Perhaps just deleting posts that are blatantly political, without closing the threads. But then again, as I said, I certainly do not want to create more work for the moderators.


So, like I said at the begging, mixed feelings.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

No that was my response to that post. Untill then the thread was a pragmatic discussion about registration

I responded to the nonsense post but I didn’t start it.

In fact the posters injection felt like a drunks invective in a bar

My response was appropriate to being hassled by such a drunkard

Now there we viewed it differently..
I saw it as a humorous mickey take of Donald Trump and his 'Business Genius'.. far from a serious post.. regardless of that I guess it was inevitable for another drunk to respond.

[250224]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Threads about political style topics are fine , but threads that start on a pragmatic topic which are then infested by political rants they need serious moderation , I had one recently where a topic on VAT and registration was infested by comments about “ commie Europe “ and Brexit style nonsense

I completely agree!

But look at your very own recent post where a dock etiquette question went towards 'president bashing'. As this president certainly also had done some nice things and as covid has multiple aspects the name-calling is almost guaranteed.

A working solution would probably be a change of forum software to e.g. Discourse where users themself can give hearts for nice posts and flag if something is really bad.

This, imho, would encourage friendlier posts (because everybody likes hearts, don't they) and if one is 'deeply concerned' there is an immediate way of action (flagging) without falling to shoot out another not so nice reply.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SVSOLITAIRE

I agree with this, as well as OP. As a relatively new user and long time lurker I come to CF more for information than opinion. When threads devolve or deviate from topic then what’s the point? If I press ignore on a topic that’s gone off the rails, I may miss valuable input from a sailor that stayed on topic. It’s easy enough to DM or start a new thread.

Much of what is discussed on CF is opinion.. be it heaving to in bad weather or running before, fin VS long keels, furlers vs hank on, watermakers vs large tankage, types of anchor.. the subjects as many and varied as opinions.
It is up to the reader to sift what He regards as the wheat from the chaff.
Be your own Moderator and use the features provided and let the Mod's carry on with their already sterling work.
I vote against member laziness.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by blu3534

... A working solution would probably be a change of forum software to e.g. Discourse where users themself can give hearts for nice posts and flag if something is really bad.
This, imho, would encourage friendlier posts (because everybody likes hearts, don't they) and if one is 'deeply concerned' there is an immediate way of action (flagging) without falling to shoot out another not so nice reply.

We do have a ‘Rate Thread’ tool (like/heart)
View First Unread View First Unread
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
And we do have a 'Report Post' tool (dislike/flag)

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Much of what is discussed on CF is opinion.. be it heaving to in bad weather or running before, fin VS long keels, furlers vs hank on, watermakers vs large tankage, types of anchor.. the subjects as many and varied as opinions.
It is up to the reader to sift what He regards as the wheat from the chaff.
Be your own Moderator and use the features provided and let the Mod's carry on with their already sterling work.
I vote against member laziness.

My opinion is that some participants don't really understand what a Discussion Forum is. It's a Discussion, not a database, not an encyclopedia, not a help desk, not a topical website, not a wiki.

CF is a water-cooler. It's a bunch of sailors having a good yarn at the end of the dock.

Like all actual human conversations, the topic may start of at A, but will always naturally meander off to B, C and X. It's the nature of real conversation. And just like in a real conversation, if you're no longer interested in what's being discussed, then try and move things your way, or just step away. It's really not that complicated.

Some topics do lend themselves to simple, factual answers: What oil should I use in my engine? What size battery bank do I need to power my fridge? But as Boatie says, MOST cruising answers come down to shades of grey. Opinion is mixed with experience is mixed with fact. It's the nature of most things in life.

Yes, there is too much politics, and some are here just to drag everything and everyone down into the mud. But if you spend any time on CF you quickly see who these folks are. Ignore them, and they scuttle away.

[sailorboy1]

I disagree to the extent of a topic being a discussion to just wander down a long tangent from the topic. If you are posting a tangent to the tangent of the tangent related to a topic you long should have started a new thread. Lots of people start a thread for help.

But hey people posting on a thread are maybe trying to help, some at least, and others are looking just to post on the internet (like this post)

[Don C L]

Well now, let's hope THIS thread doesn't devolve into a food fight!
If everyone would just read the rules, play by them and then report anyone who isn't, without engaging them in a discourteous manner, things will go well and mod life is much easier, and the discussions can remain stimulating, challenging and informative reading. Thanks.
Save the fisticuffs over politics for the dive bar at the end of the pier.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Well now, let's hope THIS thread doesn't devolve into a food fight!
If everyone would just read the rules, play by them and then report anyone who isn't, without engaging them in a discourteous manner, things will go well and mod life is much easier, and the discussions can remain stimulating, challenging and informative reading. Thanks.
Save the fisticuffs over politics for the dive bar at the end of the pier.

It's not so much the topic, it's how people engage with each other. It is possible to have hard, challenging conversation without devolving into name calling and insults. Civility is possible, even when discussing hot topics.

And yes, I sometimes slip over this line, but as in real life, people tend to let me know when that happens. And if that doesn't work, THEN we call in the mod-police -- and I get my knuckles wrapped (again ).

[Lake-Effect]

There is a hunger for political discussion. A partisan comment need only be injected once, and there goes the thread. I first jumped in when it seemed that CF was becoming an echo chamber for just one flavour of US political thought. I'm OK if mods declare politics verboten, but I know there's many who simply can't refrain from letting their politics infest all aspects of their life. Eg a MAGA flag on their boat. Or the lefty equivalent. So, I suspect a total ban is not possible.

It seems to me that the mods have struck a good balance. They will let some hot-button threads proceed as long as the discourse is relatively calm and rational. This usually ends up interesting, except for the fact that they usually attract trolls, especially this year with covid boredom.

So I'm a no on the OP's motion.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by Knot Safety

Board members

Like many of you, I have followed this forum for many years. In fact, I followed it for years before I officially signed up and took on a user name.

For me, this board was a wealth of information that was of great assistance. I could ask questions, get informed answers and generally enrich my mind with knowledge. It was great.

In the last year or so, I find myself becoming disappointed with the quality of the content. It seems many threads devolve into political mud slinging. Completely off topic of the thread at hand. Most of the politics is focused on US issues.

As a non US person, it is disgusting how much US politics invades the rest of the world - and these threads.

A request for the mods - generally you folks have been doing great work. The recent lock of one of the BVI threads was fantastic to see. Could you start to enact those powers more frequently please.

A request for other users. As a group, let’s generally try to stay on the thread topic. Yes, these are like conversations and they ebb and flow, but please try to add pertinent comment to what is at hand. This helps all readers., both now and in the future, to review the conversation and find answers.

This is not about threatening free speech. It’s about trying to keep the threads useable to all.

Please take your political bs somewhere else.

That is a noble idea: instead of adapting to the world, require the world to adapt to you. Good luck with your efforts!