sandpat

I think it is pitifully sad that it comes to THIS! :roll:

gaigai

I agree wholeheartedly! I mean really folks! Talk about going from bad to worse! Just my NTBHO!

Admin

I think you are missing the point. It this case, moderation is not about policing, but about helping or fixing.

There are some threads floating out there with subject lines like "please help" or "I have a question". And until you open the thread, you won't have an idea if that's something you know/interested in knowing or something completely irrelevant to you.

So changing such subjects to something more descriptive might be a good thing.

CajunQuilter2

Thats a shame that you would need to do that Admin. As referred to many times here we are all adults here so what seems to be some peoples problem--do they not understand English??? I really appreciate the time and concern you give to this board & it is a shame that some people on here just Refuse to follow the guidelines. To me it is the same as going to someones house. For example if you are asked not to smoke in their home then they should respect your wishes as it is your home. And just like this forum those are the guidelines to visit here. It is like you have opened your home to us and only ask some simple guidelines and some people just can't seem to follow that.
I am like many and was unaware of such turmoil. I would hate to loose this forum, and thank you for caring enough to ask us all for a solution but there are so many different opinions on solutions that it may be imposible to come to a solution everyone will agree with. Unless it is a fairly large amount of problem members, those who either can't or won't follow the guidelines should be asked to find another forum that might better fit them. As for me I really like it here and have no problems following the guidelines. Also if in doubt just do like I did on a subject I wanted to post, I asked a moderator for direction on where to post it.
Thanks for listening to my 2cents worth.

Admin

Hmm, talk about escalation.

Checked GCC and saw a thread: "A little star dust” a tribute to Norman Borlaug".

A bit later a new one popped up: "I'm Not Sure, So: Do You Want To Talk Happy About Patrick Swayze...click here!"

They've been created 8 hours apart!

Let's say we don't do anything now. How much time do you think it would take for 5 or 10 similar threads to appear in GCC about various public figures?

And then, how much time before it turns to friends, co-workers and loved ones, not just public figures?

When would be the appropriate time to put a stop to it?

And more importantly, when things do get out of hand and the 5th or 10th or 20th one of such threads gets locked/deleted, what would be the appropriate response to the person when she asks "why was my thread deleted while the other similar threads are still remaining in GCC?"

Lock it "now" and people think the moderation is too strict.
Lock it "never" and GCC turns into a place that plenty of people don't want to visit.
Lock it "later" and some people will start spreading the rumors that the moderators are picking on them specifically.

Hmm. Any thoughts? Anybody? :)

bearisgray

Good golly, Miss Molly.

hooda thunk that there was that big a tempest in this teapot?

I would like for us to try to "clean up our own act" for a while before having more overt supervision/intervention.

Having an explanation of why something is considered inappropriate in a given section might be helpful to the rest of us, but probably embarrassing to the original poster. That's how I felt when a thread I posted was locked. (I had written that someone sent me a birthday gift in GCC and that was used as an example of something that should have been in PDA)

For me, GCC (and the PDA) is the main reason for coming to this board. There are many many other quilting blogs, etc. out there. I like the interactions of the members. Most of the time it's encouraging and civil.

gaigai

Well, you asked for it! :D

Sorry, Your Hairiness, but my thought is that you seem to be the only one that is bothered by what IS being posted in GCC. After all, the title is General Chit Chat. The rest of us were more bothered about the posts that were seemingly (and you'll never convince me otherwise) arbitrarily deleted. For instance, you could post that you got a new puppy/kitten/bird/fish, but couldn't post that you were expecting a baby!

Admin

Actually, no. It might appear so because the most "shy" people are also the least vocal here. So you might not be seeing them getting into an argument with you and posting what they don't like.

But I do get feedback (mostly through the newsletter feedback box), and when we used to have GCC filled with negative stuff, a lot of people weren't happy with it. They just didn't post on the board about it. But that doesn't mean I should disregard what they think.

Admin

Hmm, so if we quietly delete a post -- that's bad.
If we let it remain with a notice of why it was locked -- that's bad too.

I think people are taking it way too personally.

So your post got locked. Why is it such a big deal? Why would you be embarrassed about it?

It's not like a teacher made you stand in the corner in front of the whole class :) Or maybe it is. LOL.

k3n

Is the problem with the two posts that you refer to that they're 'negative' because someone has died? I have to say (I'm sorry - I'm British!) that I do not know who Norman Borlaug is :oops: so haven't ooked at that thread because I can't possibly have anything to contribute; as for the Patrick Swayze one - it DOES say in the title 'talk happy'. So NOT negative. Is the discussion of the death of a celebrity - or anyone for that matter - always negative, EVEN if it's intended as a celebration of their life? :?