We keep going in circles over and over.
Some people applaud certain posts or posters, others hate it.
"There are lots of people who appreciate it" is neither here nor there, as we know that, but also get to deal with the other side of that argument "the people who complain to us about them".
Sure, there is an element of taste about then. But funnily, none of the people that defend their taste on the barricades, view the taste of others whose style they dislike as such. Those posters are trolling, derailing, adding nothing new to a discussion, and are just there to **** people off.
And it is always the same few people I find at the heart of all these tensions.
"It is not against the rules". Funny, nor are the vast majority of the posts that irritate you, but suddenly those posters should be spoken to (and we do, and we have).
Now it's your turn.
And here we go again, next public outcry, even if you admit that there are images that maybe, indeed are a bit much.
The moment someone is asked to "tone it down" by a moderator, to use a particular type of post in moderation we get another outcry.
OK, maybe there would have been a far better example by a mod to the point with. What you seem to miss in this, the post that you see as "slam dunk on topic" was flagged to us by someone who saw it as the total opposite. Bloated point scoring that didn't contribute to the thread. It seems that opinions differ on how useful they are in a discussion. It also illustrates that there are far more picture posts that are irritating people than you think. You are a prolific poster. Some people question how much value you actually add, on balance.
About the rules thing. They are guidelines, not a Geneva Convention. In the end moderators will still judge how posts effect the forum. We have let people post with quite a bit of freedom for a long time. Appealing to self-moderation.
What we get as a thank you are the same people always at the same sort of spats. And some of them, like yourself BotanyBay, have not been the most generous in letting other people have their bit of fun here, their way.
Several of you asked to clamp down on people or posts. We have been saying quite a while that some of you might be a bit surprised what the consequence of that would be. We look in more than one direction.
Well, now it is your turn. You were instructed to tone it down.
Everyone at the heart of these tensions is gonna have to get used to toning things down a notch.
Since you all have the good of the forum at heart, rather than your own private pleasure, U take we can accept people to understand why we are making the requests, and can take the pleasure of all a bit more into account.
The "problem" with images is that they are in the end one-liners that are far bigger tone-setters in threads that take up the same amount up space as a well-argued and substantial post, and are still bigger eye catchers.
The way yo use them, often, is either for giggles, or for the slam-dunk effect.
Sometimes it is to address the topic. But you are equally keen to use them when you want to target the poster, not the point. That might be your way of discussion. It gives us a lot of work, and it antagonises a lot of people. We have also noticed that people tend to add more pictures to those threads, to rub it in, to celebrate the "picture slam". We want to see more quality debate. The threshold for what contributes to that has gone up. "By popular demand."
I always think that if capitals are seen as shouting, images are even louder. So when we look at threads and you are becoming louder than everyone else, and your "points" or "slam dunk" could be summed up in a few lines only, then you are lining yourself up for "use, but use more sparingly".
Listen, it is midnight here, this is the 7th day this week that I am explaining to yet another poster to work with us a bit, even if you personally might feel it a bit harsh.
Maybe we could have flagged another image to make the same point better. Maybe it was a bit harsh. Maybe Susan is as sick as I am, as Martin is, as Barrus is, to be dragged into the same petty nonsense, day in day out. If everyone could let everyone have their way a bit more, be a bit less quick of the handle against opinions you think are wacko, be a bit less quick to jump on the "look a troll/ look a lance PR guy" ytrain, we'd have more sympathy for all of you.
No-one was saying you couldn't do it, but you've been given a stern warning we want to see far less of them. You've picked some good ones that made all of us laugh, just keep to the quality slam-dunks, as you so put it. and just post "I think he is a rat amongst rats" in text some times.
Picking on Susan, oh boy, not a good way to get sympathy at this end. You have no idea how hard a handful of folk work here, keeping this forum a place where everyone can get something. It is a thankless task, people are very quick to ask for us "to do something" and are equally quick to start yet another "I am outraged" thread the moment it affects them.
Listen, like all the mods who spend several hours each day here, I am getting tired. The last weeks have been busy. We try to give cool and clam feedback, but there is probably something in this post I could have phrased more accutarely, or more nuanced.
We are not calling you a troll, we do get you see sense yourself and are willing to tone it down, we do hear that. I even think you had already seen my hints that the pictures were a bit much, and you made it less of a signature style than it has been. But in the end we are the mods, and we will step in when we feel it is (more than) time to do so, for the good of the whole, even if it might be a tad unfair on one individual poster.
If you like this forum, please listen, don't go all "Geneva" on us.
You aren't the only one who has had a mail, or will be getting one soon. We hope that it will improve the quality of the discussions here, over time.
And we will certainly leave areas where people can let go a bit more. The tone of the OP will dictate to some extent how appropriate the responses are. That isn't in the "rules/guidelines". But it is. It is, in the end, about "think before you post".
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