my post certainly wasn't intended as literal to the point of the absurd. The RD threads are indeed intendet to improve OT and I guess with more action you meant exactly that: action towards improving OT.
Just because I say I want "less talk and more action" doesn't mean that I support
any action you do. Don't try to pretend that my call for more action means that I shouldn't find this particular action a bad idea. (Or indeed that my dislike for one aspect of the idea means that I think the whole idea is stupid and wrong. It isn't. It needs work. But what needs even more work is moderators' attitudes to the users.)
why is it a missed opportunity? I fail to see how by testing this new system we're somehow missing the train...
You're missing an excellent opportunity to devolve some of the decision making from moderators to users. Some users want more moderation in threads: Great! Those users can now put a Red Diamond on their threads, giving them exactly what they want. Other users want less moderation in their threads: Why not have a "Green Diamond" or something, where users can opt-in to more leniently moderated threads?
Instead, you've gone the opposite direction. You've said, "all serious topics must be discussed in RD threads, with stricter, more severe moderation". It's a huge missed opportunity.
No matter what system we introduced there will be people who claim that this was exactly the thing "we've been arguing against for the past x years". OT is rather big and you find all kinds of opinions in it.
Exactly: there are lots of different opinions on whether RD is a good idea at all. So why are moderators suggesting that we be
forced to RD our own threads? Clearly, some people will
never want to RD their threads. So why is that part of the plan? It should be removed
now. Nobody likes it. (Apart from moderators, of course.)
What most here seem to be missing is that this is not all about the 'serious' threads, it's about the fun/light-hearted threads as well. If we can successfully distinguish the two, it will be be easier to ensure consistent moderating (and I expect you'd all be in favour of that) in that we could be more lenient in fun threads (regarding spammy one liners and the like). That would actually mean less moderating in those threads.
The OP clearly states that the end goal of this is to remove any kind of frivolity or passion from serious topics, by making them all Red Diamond threads. We won't be allowed to have "fun" discussions on economics or politics; they will all have to have Red Diamonds on them. It doesn't matter that other threads are more lenient, because those threads won't be allowed to have economics or politics in them. Saying that other threads will be more lenient isn't a mitigating factor to someone who wants to have fun whilst discussing economics or politics.
So far I've seen a few who outright reject the idea, some who think some details should be reworked and some who support the idea. I'm sure if it shows that some adjustments need to be made to the RD threads we'll be more than willing to do that. Once again I point out that this is a test, let's face it, what huge harm can it do?
If you're saying that this heralds a new era of "try it out and see what sticks", then that's great. I'm all for trials of new ideas to see if it works. I would love to see "like" buttons in OT. Can we trial that first please?
Since this is a trial, why not make changes to it now, instead of sticking steadfast to a plan that many users categorically reject? Afterall, it's just a trial, right? So what's the harm in dumping the "forced RD" aim now? Let us decide whether we want to use it.
