Forum feedback

smacl

Accusing another poster of trolling is most definitely back seat moderation and also constitutes a personal attack. If you think someone is trolling, report their post. The same applies to telling someone that they're off topic or that they are being inflammatory.

With respect to getting new moderators or replacing existing ones, I would suggest you contact a CMod or Admin.

theological

smacl wrote: »

Accusing another poster of trolling is most definitely back seat moderation and also constitutes a personal attack. If you think someone is trolling, report their post. The same applies to telling someone that they're off topic or that they are being inflammatory.

With respect to getting new moderators or replacing existing ones, I would suggest you contact a CMod or Admin.

I think in a personal capacity I'm entitled to state that I feel that a user is trolling when they make inflammatory remarks that have no relevance to the thread. I'm not the only one that observed this on the thread.

I think you should engage with the criticism.

CountNjord

I got carded myself and I am aware that a lot of people get carded while discussing anything with her, she seems to be able to say what she likes and able to turn it back to make it look like she's done nothing wrong.

She wasn't following the forum charter, and it's easy to see that smacl is between a rock and a hard place.

But it's plain to see that when said member responsible for a lot of people getting infractions and bans on board's hasn't exactly been kind about her views on religion.

I don't think there should be the same moderator on two opposing forums.

It isn't right.

smacl

theological wrote: »

I think in a personal capacity I'm entitled to state that I feel that a user is trolling when they make inflammatory remarks that have no relevance to the thread. I'm not the only one that observed this on the thread.

I think you should engage with the criticism.

You're not the only one who has been carded for back seat moderation either. I would also point out that while complaining about posts being off topic you are also making off topic posts yourself.

theological wrote: »

The point is that I can happily criticise the Inquisition, or anything else, precisely because they are not Christian in any meaningful sense.

All of these things are wholly irrelevant to the topic raised in the OP however which is an interesting one that deserves real discussion.

My point stands that I consider accusing anyone of being a troll constitutes back seat modding and will be dealt with on that basis. The same goes for posts which attempt to state what any other poster is or is not allowed to post. All of these thing should be dealt with using the report post function and not by starting a spat on-thread which basically attracts retaliation and derails the conversation for other posters. I have consciously being moderating this forum rather strictly specifically to eliminate this kind of behaviour which has been noted as a problem by the regulars here.

theological

smacl wrote: »

You're not the only one who has been carded for back seat moderation either. I would also point out that while complaining about posts being off topic you are also making off topic posts yourself.



My point stands that I consider accusing anyone of being a troll constitutes back seat modding and will be dealt with on that basis. The same goes for posts which attempt to state what any other poster is or is not allowed to post. All of these thing should be dealt with using the report post function and not by starting a spat on-thread which basically attracts retaliation and derails the conversation for other posters. I have consciously being moderating this forum rather strictly specifically to eliminate this kind of behaviour which has been noted as a problem by the regulars here.

The forum is a mess smacl. I personally don't mind if you choose not to call out Bannasidhe for off-topic trolling (which her post was), but choosing to basically gag people who point it out is precisely the reason why I think I'll be spending more time discussing with people who are much more informed on Reddit instead.

Edit: It is also noticeable that Bannasidhe is also a moderator on the A&A forum, like you yourself are. Are you suggesting that there was no element of bias in this decision?

CountNjord

theological wrote: »

The forum is a mess smacl. I personally don't mind if you choose not to call out Bannasidhe for off-topic trolling (which her post was), but choosing to basically gag people who point it out is precisely the reason why I think I'll be spending more time discussing with people who are much more informed on Reddit instead.

Edit: It is also noticeable that Bannasidhe is also a moderator on the A&A forum, like you yourself are. Are you suggesting that there was no element of bias in this decision?

The A+A forum was always a total mess, now the Christianity forum is getting that way too.

It's not hard to see that Smacl is bias in all this.
But dealing with a moderator who's on both forums and running with the fox and running with the hound's isn't fair moderation.

Christians should be running the show here, it's a Christian forum.

smacl

theological wrote: »

The forum is a mess smacl. I personally don't mind if you choose not to call out Bannasidhe for off-topic trolling (which her post was), but choosing to basically gag people who point it out is precisely the reason why I think I'll be spending more time discussing with people who are much more informed on Reddit instead.

Edit: It is also noticeable that Bannasidhe is also a moderator on the A&A forum, like you yourself are. Are you suggesting that there was no element of bias in this decision?

Firstly, let me just say that I find your repeated references to superior nature of conversations that you're having on reddit both blatently disrespectful of posters and mods here and highly condescending. You might want to rethink that line of conversation.

With respect to Bannasidhe's post, I felt that while it was critical of atrocities carried out in the name of Christianity, it did not constitute an attack on the Christian faith per se. Your own subsequent posts underpinned this position with statements such as 'It is obvious that people have manipulated Christianity to suit political ends in the past' and 'I can happily criticise the Inquisition, or anything else, precisely because they are not Christian in any meaningful sense'. If you are allowed such criticism then so is any other poster. Bannasidhe's post was also in response to the OP stating that they considered the issue to be 'an anthropological problem', which could also be claimed of many atrocities committed in the name Christianity throughout history.

theological

smacl wrote: »

Firstly, let me just say that I find your repeated references to superior nature of conversations that you're having on reddit both blatently disrespectful of posters and mods here and highly condescending. You might want to rethink that line of conversation.

With respect to Bannasidhe's post, I felt that while it was critical of atrocities carried out in the name of Christianity, it did not constitute an attack on the Christian faith per se. Your own subsequent posts underpinned this position with statements such as 'It is obvious that people have manipulated Christianity to suit political ends in the past' and 'I can happily criticise the Inquisition, or anything else, precisely because they are not Christian in any meaningful sense'. If you are allowed such criticism then so is any other poster. Bannasidhe's post was also in response to the OP stating that they considered the issue to be 'an anthropological problem', which could also be claimed of many atrocities committed in the name Christianity throughout history.

The truth is never disrespectful.


I personally would have been OK with Bannasidhe's remarks provided that we were entitled to criticise and point them out for what they were. Very obvious trolling.



Atrocities carried out for political ends in the name of Christianity were obviously irrelevant to the topic of the thread. She pointed them out as if we were OK with them.



We need proper moderation. It looks like your judgement was biased on that thread, and it looks like we need to raise this further because you're obviously unwilling to accept you made the wrong call.

Bannasidhe

theological wrote: »

The truth is never disrespectful.


I personally would have been OK with Bannasidhe's remarks provided that we were entitled to criticise and point them out for what they were. Very obvious trolling.



Atrocities carried out for political ends in the name of Christianity were obviously irrelevant to the topic of the thread. She pointed them out as if we were OK with them.



We need proper moderation. It looks like your judgement was biased on that thread, and it looks like we need to raise this further because you're obviously unwilling to accept you made the wrong call.

I did no such thing.

I clearly said I, personally, found the life is a precious gift from God argument against the vaccine to be ironic given how many lives have been taken by religious people in the name of God.

And no juncture did I claim anyone commenting in the thread or in the Christianity forum was in favour of such atrocities. I merely said they happened.

I also clearly said all religions (with the caveat that sects such as the Quakers are blameless) have at times indulges in 'cleansing heresies' - all religions, not just Christianity.

I did give an example relevant to when Christians killed fellow Christians as I felt Muslims killing Muslims wouldn't be pertinent.

I am entitled to voice my opinion without being called a troll simply because you do not like what I have to say.

That thread was not marked as for Christians only, so it is open to non-Christians to voice their opinion.

You have ignored the opening, and main point, I made which is that I can understand how someone genuinely anti-abortion would have serious moral concerns with taking a vaccine that apparently used cells gained during an abortion - and I respect those concerns.
Furthermore, I also stated that I could see vegans having ethical issues with a vaccine tested on animals.

The thread was dragged off topic when you and a few others attempted a pile on to shut up the person commenting on a historical irony.
And now the pile on has moved here where I am being accused of all sort of things.
And used as a weapon against the forum mod.

I did not breach the charter.
I did not insult any religion.
I did not accuse anyone of anything.
I stated that I , personally, found something ironic and explained why.

May I ask? Did even one of you hit the report button if I was 'obviously trolling' or would that have not suited the obvious agenda at play here?

Bannasidhe

CountNjord wrote: »

I got carded myself and I am aware that a lot of people get carded while discussing anything with her, she seems to be able to say what she likes and able to turn it back to make it look like she's done nothing wrong.

She wasn't following the forum charter, and it's easy to see that smacl is between a rock and a hard place.

But it's plain to see that when said member responsible for a lot of people getting infractions and bans on board's hasn't exactly been kind about her views on religion.

I don't think there should be the same moderator on two opposing forums.

It isn't right.

CountNjord wrote: »

The A+A forum was always a total mess, now the Christianity forum is getting that way too.

It's not hard to see that Smacl is bias in all this.
But dealing with a moderator who's on both forums and running with the fox and running with the hound's isn't fair moderation.

Christians should be running the show here, it's a Christian forum.

For someone with 103 posts who has not posted in A&A and whom I encountered for the first time today you appear to be strangely experienced.

theological

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I did no such thing.

I clearly said I, personally, found the life is a precious gift from God argument against the vaccine to be ironic given how many lives have been taken by religious people in the name of God.

And no juncture did I claim anyone commenting in the thread or in the Christianity forum was in favour of such atrocities. I merely said they happened.

I also clearly said all religions (with the caveat that sects such as the Quakers are blameless) have at times indulges in 'cleansing heresies' - all religions, not just Christianity.

I did give an example relevant to when Christians killed fellow Christians as I felt Muslims killing Muslims wouldn't be pertinent.

I am entitled to voice my opinion without being called a troll simply because you do not like what I have to say.

That thread was not marked as for Christians only, so it is open to non-Christians to voice their opinion.

You have ignored the opening, and main point, I made which is that I can understand how someone genuinely anti-abortion would have serious moral concerns with taking a vaccine that apparently used cells gained during an abortion - and I respect those concerns.
Furthermore, I also stated that I could see vegans having ethical issues with a vaccine tested on animals.

The thread was dragged off topic when you and a few others attempted a pile on to shut up the person commenting on a historical irony.
And now the pile on has moved here where I am being accused of all sort of things.
And used as a weapon against the forum mod.

I did not breach the charter.
I did not insult any religion.
I did not accuse anyone of anything.
I stated that I , personally, found something ironic and explained why.

May I ask? Did even one of you hit the report button if I was 'obviously trolling' or would that have not suited the obvious agenda at play here?

I will raise a thread in the Feedback forum on this tomorrow. Your post was intended to inflame and we got carded for pointing it out. It was completely off the topic of vaccinations and what is used to produce them.

That's actually an interesting question from a Christian perspective, yet you chose to troll instead of engaging with it.

Dravokivich

CountNjord wrote: »

The A+A forum was always a total mess, now the Christianity forum is getting that way too.

It's not hard to see that Smacl is bias in all this.
But dealing with a moderator who's on both forums and running with the fox and running with the hound's isn't fair moderation.

Christians should be running the show here, it's a Christian forum.

If it's not hard see the bias, can you please present it? We are not in a position to work on perception here. Smacl's actions that I've seen are very much focused on the viewpoint of the forum they are moderating within.

theological wrote: »

I will raise a thread in the Feedback forum on this tomorrow. Your post was intended to inflame and we got carded for pointing it out. It was completely off the topic of vaccinations and what is used to produce them.

That's actually an interesting question from a Christian perspective, yet you chose to troll instead of engaging with it.

The feedback forum is for sitewide issues/improvements identified by members of boards. It is not to take up grievances one member has with another.

One does not have to respond to a post one does not like. The ignore feature allows one to skip posts from members one does not wish to read. The report feature is a means to notify moderators of contentious issues one sees within a thread.

You weren't carded for responding to them, you were carded because you assumed a position of authority within that thread. This is referred to as back seat moderation.

theological

Dravokivich wrote: »

If it's not hard see the bias, can you please present it? We are not in a position to work on perception here. Smacl's actions that I've seen are very much focused on the viewpoint of the forum they are moderating within.



The feedback forum is for sitewide issues/improvements identified by members of boards. It is not to take up grievances one member has with another.

One does not have to respond to a post one does not like. The ignore feature allows one to skip posts from members one does not wish to read. The report feature is a means to notify moderators of contentious issues one sees within a thread.

You weren't carded for responding to them, you were carded because you assumed a position of authority within that thread. This is referred to as back seat moderation.

Nonsense. The post was off topic and intended to provoke. The fact we were carded for pointing that out shows that this forum is quite frankly a mess. The fact that we can't discuss a simple topic without atheists primarily derailing threads by changing the topic or insinuating that Christians agree with the crusades or the inquisition just shows that amongst the other nonsense in that thread.

Dravokivich

theological wrote: »

Nonsense. The post was off topic and intended to provoke. The fact we were carded for pointing that out shows that this forum is quite frankly a mess. The fact that we can't discuss a simple topic without atheists primarily derailing threads by changing the topic or insinuating that Christians agree with the crusades or the inquisition just shows that amongst the other nonsense in that thread.

Theological,

If you feel a post is off topic, report it.

If you feel a post is contrary to the forum for the sake of it, report it.

If you find you are consistently in disagreement with a poster or a group of posters, ignore them.

Whatever you do, don't engage them and try to control the flow of the discussion. This is back seat moderation and frowned upon on the entire site.

You won't get anything different from the feedback forum.

Bannasidhe

theological wrote: »

I will raise a thread in the Feedback forum on this tomorrow. Your post was intended to inflame and we got carded for pointing it out. It was completely off the topic of vaccinations and what is used to produce them.

That's actually an interesting question from a Christian perspective, yet you chose to troll instead of engaging with it.

I absolutely engaged with it.
And then I gave a personal opinion, which you don't agree with.
That does not make me a troll.

Did you report me or did you decide to engage in back seat moderating?
Or perhaps you reported and when you didn't get the result you wished for decided to take matters into your own hands - despite this being against the forum charter.

Now, that raises an interesting question about your agenda.

You are complaining I breached the Charter while simultaneously breaching the Charter yourself. Do you believe it doesn't apply to you personally or does it only apply to non-Christians?

This is the Christianity Feedback thread, I am within my rights to defend myself against your baseless accusations. I will do likewise in any thread you open elsewhere.

The only one trying to inflame is you - stomping around calling people trolls.
I answered every enquiry put to me. I explained in polite terms, was in no way disrespectful, why I found the 'life is a gift of God' comment ironic. I am also not the only one to find it so.

If you don't like me pointing out ironies you are really going to hate it when I point out that the Christianity forum is not for Christians only - it is open to all to comment, as, for example A&A is open to all, including religious people such as yourself.
You don't get to decide what people can comment on, if you have an issue hit the report button. This is an across Boards.ie rule, not just here.

You might like to have a echo chamber, where dissenting voices are censored, but you won't get one here. I have as much right to comment as you. I have as much right to express my opinion as you, and as long as I abide by the charter you will have to accept that.

And if I do not abide by the forum charter it is up to the Mods to decide that and what sanctions I face. Not YOU.

theological

Dravokivich wrote: »

Theological,

If you feel a post is off topic, report it.

If you feel a post is contrary to the forum for the sake of it, report it.

If you find you are consistently in disagreement with a poster or a group of posters, ignore them.

Whatever you do, don't engage them and try to control the flow of the discussion. This is back seat moderation and frowned upon on the entire site.

You won't get anything different from the feedback forum.

Given the dead duck moderation on this forum it more than certainly wouldn't have been dealt with. I personally as I said already would have tolerated it provided that we weren't carded for pointing it out for what it was.

CountNjord

theological wrote: »

Nonsense. The post was off topic and intended to provoke. The fact we were carded for pointing that out shows that this forum is quite frankly a mess. The fact that we can't discuss a simple topic without atheists primarily derailing threads by changing the topic or insinuating that Christians agree with the crusades or the inquisition just shows that amongst the other nonsense in that thread.

You're not the only one who can see that, I've seen it on other forums and people on YouTube mentioning the Atheism and Agnoticism forum on board's being a mess it's well known.

You can go into their feedback and see the manipulative treatment and moderator's winding people up until they never post there again.

Ye don't need this kind of infiltration in the Christian forum, I think the reason Beannasidhe threw the spanner in the works is because she knew Smacl wouldn't infract her, because they're both moderators on the Atheism and Agnoticism forum.

If I went and threw a post or attempted to derail it in the A+A thread she wouldn't be long telling me I'm a new poster and stick to the charter.

She's a terror in there, I was on board's year's ago and I left because of that forum.
No longer a thiest because I struggled with my sexuality I'm a gay man.
But I wouldn't disrespect Christians either by trolling their post's.

It's quite easy to look at her post's giving out about the church and religion, they're all at it.
Posting skits about crucifixion and funny cartoons about Jesus suffering on the cross, and Smacl wouldn't think she's trolling the post about vaccinations...

Give me a break, she was down right trolling and is all for slagging off religion and getting outraged with the church.

She's definitely not here to engage in a genuine discussion

She came in to point out the hypocrisy of organized religion and that's against the charter.

theological

It's also convenient there's nowhere to appeal to on moderation. I think I'm done on Boards in respect to discussing Christianity. This forum is just A&A 2.0.

Dravokivich

theological wrote: »

It's also convenient there's nowhere to appeal to on moderation. I think I'm done on Boards in respect to discussing Christianity. This forum is just A&A 2.0.

While I acknowledge you closed your account. I was reviewing every thread posted on here within the last few weeks. There's only really 2 topics that had issues that were dismissive towards Christianity. It doesn't feel to me like it's as prevalent as suggested, but we wouldn't want it to be either.

We need members to be confident and comfortable with reporting such issues.

CountNjord

theological wrote: »

It's also convenient there's nowhere to appeal to on moderation. I think I'm done on Boards in respect to discussing Christianity. This forum is just A&A 2.0.

I wish you luck, part of the reason I left before was the way I was being treated in the Atheism and Agnoticism.
forum, never had any problems in the Christianity forum.

But I don't feel comfortable discussing in the feedback of the Atheism and Agnoticism forum they're not the most friendly and approachable people

All one has to do is check out how antisceptic was being treated, the mods and all were winding him or her up.

I find they're either share holders in there, members of the board of boards.ie or just downright strident and awkward.

I'm aware that I'm posting about another forum here, but something has to be done about them.

A total clean out and start from scratch.

There should be an Agnoticism forum seperate from the Atheism forum, because agnostics are not Atheists.

They tend to be less argumentive and more curious and interested in theology and religion.

John Hutton

I don't think smacl is biased. In fact he went out of his way to be nice to me and to encourage my engagement and tried to make the forum a better place for Christians to post. Of course, one may make an error or a misjudgment without being biased. If there is an error in this case I cant judge as I have only read what is in this thread, but tbe thought occured to me, wouldn't using the Christian tag when making the thread have avoided this?

CountNjord

John Hutton wrote: »

I don't think smacl is biased. In fact he went out of his way to be nice to me and to encourage my engagement and tried to make the forum a better place for Christians to post. Of course, one may make an error or a misjudgment without being biased. If there is an error in this case I cant judge as I have only read what is in this thread, but tbe thought occured to me, wouldn't using the Christian tag when making the thread have avoided this?

Well I think Smacl was caught between a rock and a hard place when Beannasidhe posted about the wrong doings of Christianity.
That was no place to go pointing out to Christians what a lot of them get told frequently and is spouted out on forums and social media all over the world.
She's a moderator and should know better, she's been dishing out bans, warnings and infractions for far less herself.
She's quite the detective too, and is openly no fan of organised religion especially Christianity.

I wouldn't post in that forum she's moderating ever again, because it's just a few regulars putting sticky plaster on the foundations trying to keep it going...
It's like a run down town falling apart from lack of maintenance and good will.

Smacl in general seems fair, but he shouldn't be allowing people in to troll and have free reign to dish out what they like.

I remember a time when there was a moderator there and frequently he'd tell people including A+A moderator's that maybe they should stick to their own forum if they want to post whatever...

Zero tolerance.

I think the only reason myself and the other guy got carded is because Beannasidhe didn't like our feedback, felt she wasn't getting her own way.
Reported us and Smacl had no other choice but to please her.

She's always involved in people getting warnings, infractions and bans.
Especially men for some odd reason.

smacl

CountNjord wrote: »

Well I think Smacl was caught between a rock and a hard place when Beannasidhe posted about the wrong doings of Christianity.
That was no place to go pointing out to Christians what a lot of them get told frequently and is spouted out on forums and social media all over the world.
She's a moderator and should know better, she's been dishing out bans, warnings and infractions for far less herself.
She's quite the detective too, and is openly no fan of organised religion especially Christianity.

I wouldn't post in that forum she's moderating ever again, because it's just a few regulars putting sticky plaster on the foundations trying to keep it going...
It's like a run down town falling apart from lack of maintenance and good will.

Smacl in general seems fair, but he shouldn't be allowing people in to troll and have free reign to dish out what they like.

I remember a time when there was a moderator there and frequently he'd tell people including A+A moderator's that maybe they should stick to their own forum if they want to post whatever...

Zero tolerance.

I think the only reason myself and the other guy got carded is because Beannasidhe didn't like our feedback, felt she wasn't getting her own way.
Reported us and Smacl had no other choice but to please her.

She's always involved in people getting warnings, infractions and bans.
Especially men for some odd reason.

Mod warning: As has been posted previously, this is not the place to discuss your grievances with the A&A forum nor with other individual posters outside of content that they have posted here.

Given your account is only a couple of months old you might do us all the courtesy of where you came by the above notion?

Faith

CMod note: I'm going to step in at this point as users are attempting to drag the moderation of others forums into this thread, along with attacking other posters. CountNjord was infracted for post #111 due to discussing the moderation of another forum in here, and has been given a 1 day forum ban for post #113 for personal attacks against another user.

Feedback is welcome, attacking other users and dragging in grievances from other forums is not.

antiskeptic

@smacl.

Carded for a post in vaccine thread. Presumably for using the term 'vax-suckers'

Clearly a perjorative term. But so is anti-vaxxer to describe anyone who doesn't slobber over the 'vaccination has been the most wonderful advancement ever so that answers all questions'.

Tinfoil hat wearers, conspiracy theorists and all the rest.

I take it your pro vaccine, but ought not a moderator be neutral and balanced?

smacl

antiskeptic wrote: »

@smacl.

Carded for a post in vaccine thread. Presumably for using the term 'vax-suckers'

Clearly a perjorative term. But so is anti-vaxxer to describe anyone who doesn't slobber over the 'vaccination has been the most wonderful advancement ever so that answers all questions'.

Tinfoil hat wearers, conspiracy theorists and all the rest.

I take it your pro vaccine, but ought not a moderator be neutral and balanced?

You've received two cards in the vaccine thread, neither for using the term 'vax suckers' or pejorative terms. First was for foul language, specifically

"Upstairs, her boss is having a new arsehole ripped in him by his boss."

which is in serious breach of the charter here;

"10. No swearing or facsimile thereof (includes textspeak such as "wtf"). Such words will be edited and warnings issued. Banning will occur if it continues."

Second was for ignoring explicit mod instruction where you received a card and your post was deleted.

"11. Do not discuss moderation decisions in a thread. If you have an issue with the actions of a mod, please contact them via PM. If the dispute has not been resolved after this correspondence, the correct procedure is to then PM the C-mods. If the issue remains unresolved, a thread should be started on the Dispute Resolution Forum."

With respect to your first offending post, you also made negative references to another poster who is not even part of the discussion. Whatever about personal attacks on someone who is part of the discussion, attacking someone in their absense, however obliquely, will not be tolerated.

If you have issues with any other posters or moderators, your have an array of tools including feedback threads, reporting posts and dispute resolution at your disposal. I would suggest that you re-read and understand the charter if you intend to continue posting on this forum.

growleaves

I think you should make the entire forum Christian-only.

As it stands, every second thread is filled with atheist yobs throwing around stupid digs.

How can there be any decent discussion in such an atmosphere?

Even when not in breach of charter, there is lots of deniable trolling like insisting Christians aren't allowed to eat shellfish by people who don't understand the relation of the Mosaic Law to Christianity.

Very little of worth would be lost and much would be gained by doing this. Please seriously consider it.

smacl

growleaves wrote: »

I think you should make the entire forum Christian-only.

As it stands, every second thread is filled with atheist yobs throwing around stupid digs.

How can there be any decent discussion in such an atmosphere?

Even when not in breach of charter, there is lots of deniable trolling like insisting Christians aren't allowed to eat shellfish by people who don't understand the relation of the Mosaic Law to Christianity.

Very little of worth would be lost and much would be gained by doing this. Please seriously consider it.

I don't agree. The option to limit threads to Christians only is already there but has very rarely been used. This suggests to me that the Christians on this forum aren't largely concerned about non-Christians posting. Moderation on this forum is already quite a bit stricter than most other forums on boards and I reckon any further restrictions would have the effect of killing the forum off altogether.

More importantly perhaps, the implication is that Christians and non-Christians cannot have a civil conversation on a bulletin board such as this, which in my experience is not the case. Personally I am of the opinion that social media already encourages far too much polarization forcing people to take one side or another of any argument. This can make forums such as this unpleasant spaces to hold conversations which is the exact opposite of what the community is hoping to achieve.

I take on board the comments about low level trolling and am actively working to discourage it. To get more decent discussion you need to start creating your own threads and by all means mark them as [Christians only] if those are the only other posters you'd like involved. Similarly, if you see a post that is essentially trolling, report it rather than replying to it. Trolling only works if people respond to the trolls.

John Hutton

smacl wrote: »

I don't agree. The option to limit threads to Christians only is already there but has very rarely been used. This suggests to me that the Christians on this forum aren't largely concerned about non-Christians posting. Moderation on this forum is already quite a bit stricter than most other forums on boards and I reckon any further restrictions would have the effect of killing the forum off altogether.

More importantly perhaps, the implication is that Christians and non-Christians cannot have a civil conversation on a bulletin board such as this, which in my experience is not the case. Personally I am of the opinion that social media already encourages far too much polarization forcing people to take one side or another of any argument. This can make forums such as this unpleasant spaces to hold conversations which is the exact opposite of what the community is hoping to achieve.

I take on board the comments about low level trolling and am actively working to discourage it. To get more decent discussion you need to start creating your own threads and by all means mark them as [Christians only] if those are the only other posters you'd like involved. Similarly, if you see a post that is essentially trolling, report it rather than replying to it. Trolling only works if people respond to the trolls.

A great deal of the "non christians" are not interested passersby, but rather militant atheists.

I do not like the idea of banning non christians. But I think that it is fair to have threads, and indeed a forum, where the christian perspective is the dominant one, and posts that go directly counter to it should be expunged, or confined to specific threads. Take my latest thread, the first response calls the bible absurd, blatantly misrepresents it (Mary was not impregnated against her will). Other posts include people saying that they love satan, if satan was in control things would be more fun, God is not all powerful, others basically calling God a pedophile, another calling him a rapist, a fundamental Biblical and christian teaching called "the most bizarre thing ever on boards", the 'problem of evil' raised again, the usual "priests are pedos" stuff, "you're only angry cause you're not in charge". All the same rubbish that clogs up all the threads, some of the posters are the usual offenders. The examples I gave here are all ones which were not carded. Others were and fair enough.

Rule 1 from the charter: 1. The purpose of this forum is to discuss Christian belief in general, and specific elements of it, between Christians and non-Christians alike. This forum has the additional purpose of being a point on Boards.ie where Christians may ask other Christians questions about their shared faith. In this regard, Christians should not have to defend their faith from overt or subtle attack.

If I rocked up into the farming forum and just attacked and belittled farming as a concept at every turn I would not last long, and nor should I. If I rocked up into the soccer forum and just slagged off soccer as a sport etc. I wouldn't last long. If I etc. etc. You get the idea.

The superthreads need to be used:

1. Creationism and Evolution - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056402682

2. Protestant -v- Catholic Debates - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2057593813

3. Atheist -v- Theist / Existence of God Debates - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...php?p=93795311

4. Clerical Child Abuse - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2055855692

5. Homosexuality - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056713191

6. Announcements and events - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/show...p?t=2057083946

7. Want to find a Church near you? - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=93462

If anyone raises these issues on other threads their post should be deleted and they should be pointed in the direction of the relevant thread or, where applicable, a more relevant forum. If they persist they should be carded and banned. The forum should be for a "christian perspective" on things - you don't have to be a christian. Posters need to have a fundamental respect for christian beliefs. You are not having "respect" if you constantly contradict, deny, denigrate and challenge the fundamental beliefs of someone all the time in almost every context. There is space for these discussions sure, the super threads.

If you don't want the forum as a whole to be like this, then change the prefix to "Christian Perspective", although I think it should be applied to the whole forum. I don't like the idea of excluding non christians, rather there should be a "respect" (In the manner I previously discussed) expected from everyone who posts here, with superthreads to tackle the fundamental issues if they really want.


I'm not having a go at the moderator I think he has a tough job, particularly when he is not a christian but rather an atheist/agnostic himself.

Dravokivich

I don't expect Smacl to proof read every post John. I don't recall seeing examples of what you referenced being reported.

If you feel a post doesn't meet the standards, nor is contributory to the focus of this forum, please use the report function. Otherwise you are just going to see the same posts again and again when you read those threads.