About Forum Rules...

[Agent327]

What? A thread about Forum Rules? Well, yes: Forum Rules do not forbid it. (But just to make sure, I asked about it first.)

So, after much deliberation here's a thread proposing to discuss Forum Rules. Are they good? Are they bad? And, if so, how might they be improved?

I'm hoping this thread will involve members and moderators alike in a fruitful discussion and, perhaps, an improvement of the Forum Rules - if that's at all possible.

So, feel free to contribute - respecting Forum Rules, ofcourse - suggestions, complaints and ideas in general.

I suggest posters keep a few simple suggestions in mind in their contributions:

* this is not meant as a discussion thread about Moderator Actions (check the Forum Rules for that)
* use common courtesy in your posts
* respect others.

To start off I have a relative simple question: if a thread gets merged, where does it go? (For instance, on the Site Feedback forum, a thread got merged, but there was no mention of with what thread it is merged. And before anyone starts complaining how this doesn't relate to Forum Rules, I'd like to say that indirectly it does and I wanted to start with a 'neutral' issue.)

Take it away!

 

[Abaddon]

If it actually WAS merged, the posts will slot into the other thread in order to date posted.. it tends to make the merged thread VERY hard to read unless it was only small.

The thread that got moved, a linking post should remain, but everything moves into the now larger thread.

Sounds more like the thread you are asking about got deleted, since a merge leaves pretty obvious marks behind.

 

[Agent327]

Should be easy to check, since the last post reads: "... thread merged". (There's no mention of "merged into..." or something.) Anyway, I was kind of hoping a moderator might explain what happens if a thread gets merged.

 

[Abaddon]

Which thread?

 

[Ginger_Ale]

Should be easy to check, since the last post reads: "... thread merged". (There's no mention of "merged into..." or something.) Anyway, I was kind of hoping a moderator might explain what happens if a thread gets merged.

At the very least, when two threads are merged (that is, one is merged into another; usually the smaller or newer thread is the one merged into the existing one), the posts from each are combined and displayed in chronological order (thus, no preference is given to the existing thread’s posts, etc.).

We have the option of leaving a redirect, so that you will see something like “Moved: <thread name>”, and when you click it, it will take you to the existing thread. We don’t always use redirects, though.

We also can post in the thread, saying “Threads merged,” just to alert people that there are two threads’ posts now in place.

Usually, we do one or the other: a redirect or a post notification. If we do both, perhaps it’s just to make people doubly aware. In the rare event we do neither, it’s probably because we expect people to be aware that the threads were merged.

If you think a post/thread was merged into another one, but you can’t find it, it may have also been deleted…

 

[Agent327]

Thx, that's all I wanted to know really.

@Abaddon: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=297033 (And there's no mention of which the other thread is.)

Anyway, it looks I gotta come up with a more controversial issue...

 

[Turner]

That was an expiring redirect. Redirects usually 'live' for a day and then are gone. We could leave them longer, but a day is reasonable.

 

[Agent327]

So there was a link to the merged thread but now it's gone. I see...

 

[Abaddon]

An you can tell my post was where the merge was as the post has a "title"

 

[Agent327]

OK, OK, time for a new question: How does one become a Moderator (cooptation, ballot, seniority?) and how do moderators relate to the Administrator exactly? (For instance, if you have a disagreement with a Moderator, what can/should the Administrator do?)

 

[Padma]

Moderators are hand-picked by Thunderfall, with input/discussion with the current moderator team.

For those with military knowledge, I liken the relationship to a military unit, where TF is the Commanding Officer and the moderators are the NCOs.

We all serve at the discretion of TF, and he can un-appoint us (dis-appoint? ) at his whim. Our primary function is to (try to) manage the site as he would if he were here 24/7. We may not always all agree on his decisions, but we do all agree that it's "his site, his rules". And those are the rules we try to enforce.

In case of a dispute between a poster and a moderator, if the poster feels the mod is being unresponsive, or simply 'not fair', the poster can elevate the matter to Thunderfall. He will then look into the matter. This can include PMs with both the poster and the moderator, and occasionally 'public' discussion within the Staff Forum. The most likely outcome is that TF will agree with the mod in question, but it could be that he will decide on a compromise, or even overrule the mod. (Both do happen.)

We do discuss the Forum Rules in the Staff Forum - changes and additions, just how some should be worded, etc. We also discuss potentially controversial actions, partly to have a unified, agreed-upon response to the inevitable screams, but also to decide if the action was truly justified. (Porn/ad-spam posters don't get discussion; we just ban 'em and press on. ) A 'tough-call' thread might get some discussion, like "<This thread> looks like it's getting out of hand. What do you guys think? I'll lock it tomorrow if I don't get any response." OTOH, most of us know what is acceptable behavior in our primary forums, and will close/delete as necessary and only discuss it if there is a serious complaint about the action.

 

[Agent327]

That's as explanatory as one might hope for.

It only leaves me with two questions: why is there no message when a thread is deleted (like 'thread deleted because of...') and... why do we need bigger penises (I don't mean to deny certain members bigger penises, but isn't the babe thread sufficient for this?)?

 

[Agent327]

Actually, I was being serious there, but as I get the faint impression that CFC member don't really care about Forum Rules one way or the other I'm unsubscribing myself from this thread.

 

[Abaddon]

Well the rules have very few problems with them, so why would anyone care?

 

[Agent327]

Got a new question (so that makes three):what's a spam thread?

 

[Abaddon]

Why are you doing this?

You have over 3000 posts, and years of membership, you must know.

 

[Agent327]

Hey, you got over 20,000 posts, why don't you provide an answer?

 

[Ginger_Ale]

If you are going to discuss the forum rules, you might actually want to read them first:

Spam is not tolerated.
Spam is considered posting topics or messages on our forums that contain no point, relevance, or contain subject matter that doesn't directly allow other member participation. Topics directed to a particular user, posting several times consecutively as an appendage to ONE post, and posts in threads that have NOTHING to do with the subject matter are all considered spam and will be deleted on sight. Contributing to/or intentionally posting spam will not be tolerated.

 

[Agent327]

That still doesn't answer my third question: what's a spam thread? (Since by definition a thread is something it's possible to answer to. As you can see, I've read the rules, and very thoroughly at that. I also note that CFC defines a very specific kind of spam; hence my question.)

EDIT: Perhaps I should be more specific. Recently a thread was closed on account of being a spam thread, which constituted of a single post. (Also, if the spam definition below is to be taken literally, I see quite a lot of candidates for closure.) If I didn't think my question was a valid one, I wouldn't have posted it in the first place.

 

[IglooDame]

I think I remember what you're referring to - spam threads (in that case) were copycat threads, with no real discussion points but only created to mock or play up the point of the original thread, and generally they only get spam posted in them anyway. "What's your favorite ___" may certainly be a legitimate post, but probably the second and definitely the third through nth "What's your favorite ___" threads generated in a short timeframe will get locked.