This thread has gone on long enough! It's going nowhere!

[DontAskJusTckle]

Every now and then a controversial topic will spawn a thread that will grind on, page after page, as differing points of view clash with one another. It's understandable that some will grow weary of whatever topic is being discussed. There are a few topics of which I'm weary, for certain. When I reach that point, I simply lose interest in the thread, and move on to one of the dozens of other topics being discussed on the forum.

But there's a phenomenon I've observed in many such threads, and it goes like this. Somebody will tire of the topic, but instead of simply moving on, they'll click on the reply button, and announce their decision that the thread has sufficiently run it's course, and the topic should no longer be discussed.

Now I'm not talking about moderators. It's their job to decide such things, or determine if a decision is even warranted. No, I'm talking about regular posters - as in we who have no authority or say in how long a thread should be permitted to continue. And yet, some still insist on doing it anyway.

This thread is going nowhere!

End of discussion!

This has gone on long enough!​

And as if that alone wasn't bizarre enough, it gets even crazier. Some actually call for a thread to be closed. They'll beseech the moderators to close the thread, locking off any further discussion.

Moderators, please close this thread!

People shouldn't be allowed to discuss this topic!

We can't have people speaking freely here! Where are the moderators?!​

Effectively, they are complaining to the authorities that people are engaging in free speech and petitioning said authorities to put a stop to it. That's how desperate they are to exert some level of control over others.

Does anybody else find this bizarre? I'll never understand why people enter a thread that they are tired of and try to get people to quit discussing the topic. Is somebody pointing a gun to your head, forcing you to read all the arguments?

Seriously, what harm does it do to let an argument dissipate to lack of interest? Let's say an argument goes back and forth for months. How does that in any way impact you? Does your browser not permit you to skip this thread and select others you find more palatable? Are you so weak-willed, that it's just not in you to let it go?

I'm seriously curious about this.

 

[primetime]

I have wondered the same thing... The same people that complain about a thread "going nowhere", it makes you want to say, "Then why are you still reading it???".

 

[chicago]

Makes you wanna say, "Then why are you making threads about goin-nowhere-threads."

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

I have wondered the same thing... The same people that complain about a thread "going nowhere", it makes you want to say, "Then why are you still reading it???".

This, exactly! It's as if they can't control themselves. They have to look at the thread and their only hope for release is for the thread to die.

Makes you wanna say, "Then why are you making threads about goin-nowhere-threads."

To which I would respond, "I'm not. The threads I mentioned were never described by me as 'going nowhere.' After all, just where is a thread SUPPOSED to go? Don't all threads end up in the vast obscurity of the TMF archives?"

 

[C.A.B.]

Define: "Interactive Forum"

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

Define: "Interactive Forum"

To the best of my knowledge, no such definition exists. I searched in both Google and Wikipedia.

Were I to come up with my best effort definition I would define it as

1. A forum designed for interaction

2. A forum in which people interact

 

[C.A.B.]

To the best of my knowledge, no such definition exists. I searched in both Google and Wikipedia.

Were I to come up with my best effort definition I would define it as

1. A forum designed for interaction

2. A forum in which people interact

Precisely. I don't mind when folks express their displeasure with a topic, as a negative opinion is still opinion (read here as 'interaction') I don't even mind if that opinion is that the topic isn't worth the pixels its composed of. I have never been a fan of the kabuki theater: 'lets all sit in a drum circle and demand everyone is 'positive'. That will leave some folks out in the cold that think differently, which, ironically, is counter-intuitive to that same kabuki that the whole world must be inclusive and tolerant.

That said, I do not like frenzied calls for moderators to shut down discussions because the reader finds it offensive (as some people have as many offense triggers as hairs on their bodies). That is the moderator's call, and, unfortunately to the delight of trolls that define their mouth-breather jollies by the conflict they can whip up. After all, what is a troll to do between jerking the Vaseline and kowtowing to their mommy.

 

[TMF Jeff]

I sort of feel the same way. I sometimes find myself asking the same question; "If it bothers you, why are you reading it?"

More than a few people have reported that tipping thread, asking for it to be closed. But as far as I know, none of those people have a gun to their head forcing them to open it. To me the path of least resistance is not closing the thread, it's just not reading it if you don't want to participate. Which is what I do, unless a specific post gets reported.

I've closed threads that were full of willing participants too, though, if I thought I should for one reason or another. Because on the one hand "If it bothers you why are you reading it," but on the other hand "When I opened it, I didn't realize I was about to get trolled and passive-aggressively insulted."

It's a genuinely blurry line, and you have to always improvise. And sometimes winging it has nothing to do with the right thing for a particular thread, and more to do with the tone of the forum. Like if I find myself closing a lot of threads, that buys the next few more latitude so that the forum doesn't become something we don't want. Or the reverse, if things get out of control because of how loose things have been, we might end up being heavy-handed with something that didn't deserve it.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

I appreciate the insight. It sounds like quite the juggling act.. You guys are in a position that no matter what decision you make, it's going to piss somebody off. On the one extreme, a forum administration can be entirely passive, allowing violations to run rampant. On the other extreme, it can be extremely heavy handed, with a "zero tolerance" policy regarding even the mildest infractions.

For what it's worth, I think you guys have achieved a more than reasonable balance between the two.

 

[Dussicar]

I sort of feel the same way. I sometimes find myself asking the same question; "If it bothers you, why are you reading it?"

More than a few people have reported that tipping thread, asking for it to be closed. But as far as I know, none of those people have a gun to their head forcing them to open it. To me the path of least resistance is not closing the thread, it's just not reading it if you don't want to participate. Which is what I do, unless a specific post gets reported.

I've closed threads that were full of willing participants too, though, if I thought I should for one reason or another. Because on the one hand "If it bothers you why are you reading it," but on the other hand "When I opened it, I didn't realize I was about to get trolled and passive-aggressively insulted."

It's a genuinely blurry line, and you have to always improvise. And sometimes winging it has nothing to do with the right thing for a particular thread, and more to do with the tone of the forum. Like if I find myself closing a lot of threads, that buys the next few more latitude so that the forum doesn't become something we don't want. Or the reverse, if things get out of control because of how loose things have been, we might end up being heavy-handed with something that didn't deserve it.

I appreciate the insight. It sounds like quite the juggling act.. You guys are in a position that no matter what decision you make, it's going to piss somebody off. On the one extreme, a forum administration can be entirely passive, allowing violations to run rampant. On the other extreme, it can be extremely heavy handed, with a "zero tolerance" policy regarding even the mildest infractions.

For what it's worth, I think you guys have achieved a more than reasonable balance between the two.

Two men enter. One man leaves!

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

Two men enter. One man leaves!

What happens to the other man? Alien abduction?

 

[Dussicar]

What happens to the other man? Alien abduction?

SHHHH!

I'm trying to read a stupid thread right now. Stop distracting me. I'll answer when I'm finished. Show some patience.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

SHHHH!

I'm trying to read a stupid thread right now. Stop distracting me. I'll answer when I'm finished. Show some patience.

Hey, it's okay. I can wait. You're doing great. Remember, when you get stuck, just sound it out.

You can do this!

 

[Sodahead]

Okay this thread has gone on long enough....let's not discuss it anymore

lol okay I'm obviously kidding, I think this is a cool topic. I've seen plenty of threads I find annoying, so I make a point of not reading or commenting on them. As a result, I tend to forget about threads I find annoying, so it works really beautifully

 

[Captain Satan]

I'll never understand how people can enter into heated debate with people they can't actually see, but that's just me. Internet arguments just feel like shadow boxing.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

I'll never understand how people can enter into heated debate with people they can't actually see, but that's just me. Internet arguments just feel like shadow boxing.

Fascinating, Captain. How visuals can play such a crucial role in communication. The roll of the eyes, the set of the jaw, the wrinkling of the forehead, that ever-popular WTF-are-you-talking-about expression. Such tools are denied us in a forum based almost solely on text. To help compensate the TMF offers more than 300 smilies to help us visually communicate.

I recently worked with a blind guy named Jerome. He was a network engineer who worked on data center network configurations. Top of rack switches, end of row switches, Cisco Nexus, you name it. The guy is as sharp as they come. So how does a blind guy work on a computer? With screen reading software, that's how. He uses a program called JAWS which converts the text to audio English, like somebody reading a book to you. Over the years, he has gradually sped up the reading, so much so that the audio is completely incomprehensible to you and I, but Jerome understands every syllable.

I bring up Jerome because he's an example of mankind's amazing capacity for adaptability. We homo sapiens are communicators, first and foremost. One way or another, we're going to get our point across. Whether it's using screen reading software or a text based forum, we're going to communicate - because that's what we do.

Heated discussions over a text based forum? Never been a problem for me. The only thing with which I occasionally struggle is to maintain civility while communicating heat.

 

[Dussicar]

Heated discussions over a text based forum? Never been a problem for me. The only thing with which I occasionally struggle is to maintain civility while communicating heat.

Then let it out, man!

It's a fucking tickling forum for god's sake! Nobody here knows you personally. Go for broke! It's just words on a fibre optic screen, as you claim.

Do it to impress Jerome.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

Then let it out, man!

It's a fucking tickling forum for god's sake! Nobody here knows you personally. Go for broke!

Haha. Yeah, I've seen how well that's worked out for both of us. Besides, any hotheaded douche nozzle can hurl names and invitations to go fuck oneself. That takes neither wit nor imagination. But men of wealth and taste such as you and I? We answer to a higher calling, Dussicar. We must resist that occasional urge to verbally sodomize our fellow TMF'ers, as tempting as that can be.

 

[CrystalLight]

Heh. Thanks for making this.

Takes me back.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

I get enraged at computer text constantly. Keeps the blood a'flowing.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

Heh. Thanks for making this.

Takes me back.

Glad you liked it.

 

[Bohemianne]

If a thread is long enough, it means it is a bestselling thread! People subconsciously love conflicts. IMHO, this forum will be VERY boring without them.

 

[Dussicar]

We can't have people speaking freely here! Where are the moderators?![/i][/size][/font][/indent]

Haha. Yeah, I've seen how well that's worked out for both of us. Besides, any hotheaded douche nozzle can hurl names and invitations to go fuck oneself. That takes neither wit nor imagination. But men of wealth and taste such as you and I? We answer to a higher calling, Dussicar. We must resist that occasional urge to verbally sodomize our fellow TMF'ers, as tempting as that can be.

Yet, you are still allowed to do it for some reason.

Heated discussions over a text based forum? Never been a problem for me. The only thing with which I occasionally struggle is to maintain civility while communicating heat.

Unless you are dealing with females on the forum. I've noticed how your verbal decorum changes whenever you're dealing with chicks.

I feel that this is as good as you are going to get in ANY debate. Whenever you have "ramped up" your argument style in the past, it didn't really look any different than your "diplomatic" posts. I have a feeling that your best is only involving your personal emotions while posting.

In other words: You come on here and post while flustered, and assume that everyone on this forum can feel the "I've had it! Let's rock!" heat of your words. Wrong.

This is as good as it gets for you without hacking people's accounts like some loser freak.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

Yet, you are still allowed to do it for some reason.

No, I've been smacked down plenty for "doing it."

Unless you are dealing with females on the forum. I've noticed how your verbal decorum changes whenever you're dealing with chicks.

*Shrug* So what? A lot of guys talk differently with females than they do with males. And that's as it should be.

I feel that this is as good as you are going to get in ANY debate. Whenever you have "ramped up" your argument style in the past, it didn't really look any different than your "diplomatic" posts. I have a feeling that your best is only involving your personal emotions while posting.

In other words: You come on here and post while flustered, and assume that everyone on this forum can feel the "I've had it! Let's rock!" heat of your words. Wrong.

Whoa. You totally lost me from like the second sentence.

This is as good as it gets for you without hacking people's accounts like some loser freak.

Well I've no experience whatsoever in "hacking people's accounts." But I'd say that between the hacker and the hackee, I know whom I would regard as the loser in that scenario.

 

[Dussicar]

*Shrug* So what? A lot of guys talk differently with females than they do with males. And that's as it should be.

Um. You mean with subtle contempt? I haven't seen the same things as you, then.

Whoa. You totally lost me from like the second sentence.

You mean all your little "barbarians at the gates" posts you've made to me and others on this forum was our own imagination? Shit! I was wrong! So very, VERY wrong!

Is everyone paying attention to this? When a person does things like that and they tell you they didn't, then you are wrong....and you're especially SUPER wrong if that person does it repeatedly and keeps denying it.

Well I've no experience whatsoever in "hacking people's accounts." But I'd say that between the hacker and the hackee, I know whom I would regard as the loser in that scenario.

How many times have I told you over the years? You absolutely suck at head games.