Question for Toby

[CaptainCore]

This forum has existed pretty much in its present form for 14 years to my certain knowledge and that's just since I've been coming here, it has been through periods of much more aggression (most of which emanateded from the States), but it has survived and Toby's none partisan and light touch attitude, for which I hate to think how much personal grief he must have suffered over the years, has enabled that, whilst lots of forums have been badly hit by Facebook.

This latter day era we seem to be in, where everyone seems to have confected outrage, or is unable to debate without descending into insult, dictatorial attitude etc. If everyone actually read and understood what was written in the posts before flying off the handle, that might help.

Some of you newbies (and by newbies I mean in the last three years) don't seem to 'get' the flavour of what's available here, there are all sorts, serious types with good advice, wind up artists, industry tools, astroturfers, everything and the trick is to spot what's what and that takes a while, even for some of us that have been here and perhaps not visited for a while.

Either way I'd counsel leaving things as they are, too much moderation reduces the flavour, if you don't like what's going on just click away, there's plenty more to read.

[DWX]

Everything I know I learned from watching movies. That's how I got so smart.

If you are truly smart you’d be selective! Some movies contain outbreaks of mental disease, the good ones, but most are dumb & tasteless & spread mental diseases. So watch out, boys and girls, or Freddy might just get you!

[Matteo V]

Welcome to the forum! I hope your experience here is better and feel free to contribute no matter what your skill level. Many of us wish more kiters with less experience would post questions and comments so that we have a broader representation of perspectives that exist on the beach.

Please take the follow advice as being sincerer, and I hope you do not take it as negative.

.... but I'm not going to learn anything from people who get confrontational because their attitude turns my mind against them and their arguments.

These two things are separate. Linking the two is irrational. An evil person can make a kind argument. A good person can make an incorrect argument. The argument and the person is separate.

I think it's a real problem with internet forums: people who are trollish or confrontational drive away people who are there for a more measured conversation. It's why I left seabreeze, for one thing, and a number of other forums where the bad attitude outweighed the benefits......

The benefit of a forum, where free debate is allowed, is priceless. It allows for views opposing to yours, a historical catalog of those views, and a continually evolving conversation on those views.

.....if you don't encourage rational discussion, you let trolls chase away quality discussion and make forums into cesspools.

Rational discussion is never afraid of trolls, nor would a troll discourage someone rational enough to see through a troll.

[iriejohn]

Light touch moderation is preferable to heavy touch moderation, among other reasons, because

1. The moderator is not seen to be taking sides whereas with heavy touch moderation this charge can be made of the moderator.

2. Trolls, those with hidden agendas, those with dysfunctional personalties, and so on are in the end outed by other forum posters.

The price that has to be paid for the benefits of light touch moderation is that at times there will be high levels of visible conflict, but in most cases these conflicts are in the end resolved (if only because the antagonists become exhausted and walk away! )

IMO of course.

edit: sp

[PullStrings]

Everything I know I learned from watching movies. That's how I got so smart.

If you are truly smart you’d be selective! but most are dumb

I've learned to laugh a lot with this one

[edt]

"So you're saying there's a chance!"

[PullStrings]