"News threads" defeat the purpose of a website like CFC

Lexicus

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Title says it all really, if one wants a series of news updates on a given topic there are many other websites that do that better than CFC:OT can. The draw of a forum is getting original takes from the unique community of posters here. Forbidding actual discussion and making threads that are ostensibly just dumping-grounds for links to articles and maybe brief summaries of same undermines the very purpose of having a discussion forum.
 
That is true, but given that CFC has a diverse and worldwide membership, having news posted here enables access to sources many will not see on their own. Everyday I see links to news sites I do not frequent or even know existed.

As far as discussion goes, we made news threads because members refuse to have meaningful discussions that don't end up as endless bickering, hateful, name calling and general disregard for civility. As someone who reads most of the OT threads and has for many years, I can attest to how quickly discussions of "hot" topics degrade into a mess that is not a discussion at all. Too many people seem to want to make sure that those who disagree with them get blasted and will soon shut up or leave. Perhaps there are folks who think civility is overrated and unnecessary. Much of social media disregards civility and encourages incivility, perhaps as a way to build traffic. idk.
 
As far as discussion goes, we made news threads because members refuse to have meaningful discussions that don't end up as endless bickering, hateful, name calling and general disregard for civility.
That's understandable but I hardly think like 15-20 posts going back and forth qualifies as derailing a thread, so long as it is about that current news item.
From such warnings I've seen, I'm led to infer that any one talk lasting over a day is considered "done" and over with. Just in my observation.

So if the staff thinks they can get this down to a science, lol forget it...
 
That's understandable but I hardly think like 15-20 posts going back and forth qualifies as derailing a thread, so long as it is about that current news item.
From such warnings I've seen, I'm led to infer that any one talk lasting over a day is considered "done" and over with. Just in my observation.

So if the staff thinks they can get this down to a science, lol forget it...
The problem is not 15 to 20 posts going back and forth. It is the bickering, name calling, meanness and general incivility that can be relentless. I have seen and been a part of it here for 24 years. Many threads and topics are long lasting. We have over 40,000 posts across 8 threads on Russia's invasion alone. Even if you ignore the thousand post serial threads there are many topics that have multiple threads over many months or even years. There are many places on the internet where one can shout or scream at others for their beliefs, politics, or cultural holdings. We do not want CFC to be one of those.

What are the benefits of aggressive, uncensored posting? How would that enhance the CFC experience?
 
What are the benefits of aggressive, uncensored posting? How would that enhance the CFC experience?

There is plenty of space between essentially forbidding any real discussion and completely "uncensored" posting.
 
There is plenty of space between essentially forbidding any real discussion and completely "uncensored" posting.
Yes, there is. Experience tells me and the rest of the staff that when topics are emotionally laden, many participants move very quickly to incivility, name calling, and general meanness. We often allow civil back and forth in news threads but find that it is not long before folks take that bit of latitude and move into Nazis, orcs, and all the rest. In addition, we see a surge in unfounded speculation and digressions into arguing about previous history to lay blame and drag out unsettled events from years before.

We have always encouraged folks to start new threads on other key aspects of hot news, but that rarely happens. The idea of "owning one's opponents" with "snappy" remarks is powerful. I'm sure there are places on X, FB, Discord and Reddit where one can express one's dissatisfaction with others explicitly without consequences. CFC may well be out of step with the times when incivility rules. You can certainly start a discussion thread on just about any topic or a subtopic of a larger issue and it will run freely as along as posters can keep it from degenerating into a mess. Go ahead and start one. What topic would you like to discuss that is currently too restricted for your taste? :)
 
We have always encouraged folks to start new threads on other key aspects of hot news, but that rarely happens. The idea of "owning one's opponents" with "snappy" remarks is powerful. I'm sure there are places on X, FB, Discord and Reddit where one can express one's dissatisfaction with others explicitly without consequences. CFC may well be out of step with the times when incivility rules. You can certainly start a discussion thread on just about any topic or a subtopic of a larger issue and it will run freely as along as posters can keep it from degenerating into a mess. Go ahead and start one. What topic would you like to discuss that is currently too restricted for your taste? :)

I started a thread about Gaza months ago that was locked immediately so that you could start a "news thread." More broadly, I often see pretty normal disagreement being responded to with modtext that says (in essence) "stop bickering and just post news".

You keep bringing up "incivility", but this:

In addition, we see a surge in unfounded speculation and digressions into arguing about previous history to lay blame and drag out unsettled events from years before.

...is just describing discussion! This has nothing to do with "incivility" or members disrespecting each other. The ultimate logic of what you're saying is that OT should just be deleted altogether because the staff just sees discussion of the subjects that generally come up in OT as a liability, which, fine I guess? But then make that decision and own it!
 
I'm sure there are places on X, FB, Discord and Reddit where one can express one's dissatisfaction with others explicitly without consequences.
The MSN message boards are also a great place for expressing very candid and frank opinions of the sort that should, really, be avoided here. Microsoft's brilliant idea of auto-moderators, rather than human ones, has turned it into a Wild West once you know the ropes of AI predictability.
 
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The problem is not 15 to 20 posts going back and forth. It is the bickering, name calling, meanness and general incivility that can be relentless. I have seen and been a part of it here for 24 years. Many threads and topics are long lasting. We have over 40,000 posts across 8 threads on Russia's invasion alone. Even if you ignore the thousand post serial threads there are many topics that have multiple threads over many months or even years. There are many places on the internet where one can shout or scream at others for their beliefs, politics, or cultural holdings. We do not want CFC to be one of those.

What are the benefits of aggressive, uncensored posting? How would that enhance the CFC experience?
The problem is I don't know what level of a message board experience you're trying to achieve. I would think as long as topicality is enforced and obvious profanity is censored, this is not going to be much different than most other places.

And if worse comes to worse, I can ignore certain users, and have.
 
Over the past decade or two, incivility has been normalized all across the internet and even into RL interactions. In many ways it is now an expectation and often a preferred communication style. I think this is a generational change that will continue into the future. Perhaps CFC is just out of touch with the new reality. I suspect that I am.
 
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