An urgent request to the Moderators

i don't think any changes are needed. I haven't seen anyone get banned here in 2+ years. All other boards I've been on (frankly not many and we're talking politics, soccer and ny knicks) always end up having a series of banned people and that always erupts and kills the board. The moderators here do a great job. The stuff that happened yesterday happens very rarely here and the caliber of the participants is such that they can usually navigate through those waters and figure out how to diffuse situations. Let's face it, you're mostly a bunch of old geezers with a focus on your health and longevity, nobody is here to start trouble. I say that nothing needs to be changed.

IMO, nothing has occurred here that warrants anyone being formally warned and certainly not banned. Listen, whoever called it a "dust-up" is completely correct in that characterization. Calling this bullying, again, imo, is ludicrous. Needling maybe. But who really cares.

What I would like to see, rather than members reporting members to Moderators, is a file pinned to the top where the threads that devolve into these "dust ups" can be moved by the Moderators. Call it the "Cage Match", who cares. The "Flame File," whatever, and let the same people who engage in it do it there until their heart's content. The rule would be that if the beefs are brought back to the main board in other threads that the member would receive a formal warning and directed to take care of it in the allotted thread in its new location. They'll be like out of shape, punched out, exhausted boxers at some point... at which point it can be locked.

I think what you would find then is the argument running it's full course and the perceived "heavy handedness" of deleting or editing member's words would be eliminated. I mean, everyone eventually gets tired of arguing. It happens here after one of these flare ups.

Personally, I just don't believe in striking threads from the record. If you have the courage to be so emboldened as to post something insulting to another member, it should remain as a reminder to you, mainly, as your Scarlet Letter, with the hope that you'll endeavor to improve your behavior in the future, but for others to see and remember, as well.

Mel, you make a very convincing argument. I don't want to see us come down to this ("hall monitor") and I certainly don't want to be the one deciding who gets their hand slapped. It's a real catch 22 and perhaps, at this point in time, it's best that we leave things as they are. I'm torn between my personal feelings for some members and my sense of fairness...not an easy place to be in right now. But, we'll all get through this and get back to the business of kicking the crap out of prostate cancer!

Peter, would I report Mel for what he just wrote...absolutely not. I'm no expert in anything here and am not trying to turn HW into some type of **** state. Your "gentle" rebuke of what our dear Compiler wrote is something I probably wouldn't be able to do...I would have just told him to put a sock in it (or something perhaps a bit more colorful). And I don't doubt for one minute that moderating this or any forum is easy, and agree with both you and Mel that the devil is (always) in the details. Guess the bottom line here is that there is no easy answer to any of this, and that my "suggestions" really wouldn't solve the problem.

Good grief. Peter, reread my post.

Well, I guess I DARED to refer to a locked thread.

But my point was that the offending post was Monday and now it is Thursday.. The intensity is down 90%.

Leave it be.



Sephie, I blush at the Dear Mel moniker. Does this mean we are going steady?

Please excuse the typos. My iPad is giving me problems with editing.

Mel

Darn it all, Mel, did you have to spill the beans (us going steady)...was hoping to keep it a secret a little bit longer!

And I just realized that the word I typed was replaced with asterisks! Yikes...the word I used referred to a certain German state that started in the late 1930's...didn't think that would be a "no no" word. Oh well, live and learn.

Davidg: oh my...I had no idea. Thanks for telling me.

Stephie:

Regarding Tud's post:

Shall you demand an apology...or should I?

Mel

I think it has been made plain and clear that there are to be no more references, joking or otherwise, to the posts that caused so much chaos. Please heed that.