When does OT become so far off that it doesn't belong?

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k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:05pm PT

Do blatantly political threads like "Why Republicans are wrong..." belong on SuperTopo?

On the surface, the question is a simple Yes or No question.

But if you delve into the ifs, whys, and buts, you get into a deeper question and it becomes:

"What would YOU do to make this more like the forum YOU want it to be???"...

Few answered with just Yes or No, and most delved deeper into the question.
From reading many of your posts, Locker, you certainly delved deeply.
Whether or not you were addressing the question, however, remains uncertain.

Inner City

Trad climber

East Bay

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:16pm PT

I say get rid of the divisive, off topic political stuff. This is not the place for those rants.

A lot of worthwhile people have left the taco because of the vitriol and off topic nonsense.

I think you should use your power for good C Mac!

Norton

Social climber

quitcherbellyachin

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:17pm PT

You could divide the forum page into two halves

top = climbing
bottom = OT

(user should be able to set climbing/OT ratio as input to php)

'

gets my vote for best suggestion

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:18pm PT

@Locker >>

Hahahahahahahaha ....
Thanks for the laugh!

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:28pm PT

The article linked by Ed is both interesting and apropos. The author's last paragraph is

In the meantime, the problem seems to grow only more urgent. There’s a ton of ugly vitriol being poured into social media. We need to keep the Internet free and open, but we also need it to be a civilized, hospitable place where all people can be comfortable and safe. Creative solutions are vital.

There you have it in a nutshell: it would be nice to have a civilized, hospitable place where all people can be comfortable...

More and more places are starting to try to do something to at least head in that direction, apparently swimming against a dark current of the worst instincts of humanity, brought out by either the anonymity, distance, or both that are part of the internet paradigm. Another aspect of this is the normalization of vitriol---acceptance in the form, "what did you expect, its the internet," and desensitization of everyone to abrasive interactions.

It has been pointed out that people come and leave all the time. But beyond this claim of equilibrium, which is certainly not always true---sites do become moribund---is the question of what types of people are leaving and what types are arriving.

I think a site increasing devoted to nasty contention will, over time, drive out those looking for "a civilized, hospitable place where all people can be comfortable" and draw in those who enjoy and are stimulated by the confrontations. And so the site survives but its nature evolves. As that process goes on, consulting "the community" about what it wants misses the fact that social effects are shaping who responds before the questions are even asked.

Which is why, as I have now said at least twice before, I think CMac has to decide what type of place HE wants this to be and then start taking steps to make it that way, if he in fact cares enough to do anything at all.

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:32pm PT

To those who believe we should scrub the forum of OT threads, I ask you perform this easy exercise:

Pretend you are the Forum Sheriff and it's you duty to scrub the forum of OT posts.

The Exercise: Scan the first two pages of the forum and mark the topics you would remove.

Question: Did you take off everything that is not directly related to climbing, or did you let some of the topics squeeze through?
If the latter, what is your metric for letting a non-climing topic remain?

Here's some topics on the front page right now that are not climbing related:

The Beautiful Decay Thread!!

California Natives

WHAT SONG are you listening to right now?

Appropriate Use of GoPro!

And so on ...

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Dec 14, 2014 - 01:53pm PT

I certainly do understand that eKat.

But my question is, who decides what topics are forum-worthy? A wonderful guitar thread doesn't attract many haters, but even the GoPro thread got its share of hate, and in just the first 20 posts!!

So, it might not be just the thread title, but the way the thread goes once the tribe takes hold of it.

When I started the Climate Change thread, little did I expect it to turn the way it did, and I did not start it to watch a frothy argument. But the thread has some amazing posts from some well-respected folks on the forum, and I would hate to see that type of interaction restricted on the forum.

I think it's a few bad apples, I tell ya! Yellow Cards, that's what I see as a good solution. But I'm just one voice here, and I'll visit this place no matter how it turns.

apogee

climber

Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy

Dec 14, 2014 - 02:23pm PT

OT topics are fine by me as long as they don't consistently push off the kind of content that is this site's raison d'etre. Unfortunately, that's exactly what they tend to do, too much of the time. Separating the page as mentioned above sounds like a reasonable solution.

Posting limits sound good, too. GawdFerbid that some of us might have to find something else to do all day...!

Dingus McGee

Social climber

Where Safety trumps Leaving No Trace

Dec 14, 2014 - 02:33pm PT

I suspect for Chris some of the responses from some of these posts to his opening/original concerns about current ST posts makes him feel much like a woman feels on a date with male that ignores or misses all the subtle and even obvious hints she drops to suggest she does not want to continue such a course action.

Glean some clues boys -- read the body language -- Chris wants some changes on this show. The Wild West Show is not what he wants.

I am wondering how long Chris will let this male entourage drag his a*s around? Is there a co-dependency here?

Rather than cling to the exact past, what is the smallest change to produce the[your?] desired affect?

WBraun

climber

Dec 14, 2014 - 04:03pm PT

Supertopo forum members all want a zoo to complete their sterile mindset.

No more wild animals.

Make them all sterile so they wont eat you anymore.

Supertopo cliche members can all visit each other in their nice safe sterile supertopo forum zoo from now on .....

jgill

Boulder climber

Colorado

Dec 14, 2014 - 04:21pm PT

I think it's a few bad apples, I tell ya! Yellow Cards, that's what I see as a good solution. But I'm just one voice here, and I'll visit this place no matter how it turns

I like these sentiments. Keep in mind the vitriol is not necessarily restricted to off-topic threads. And at what point heightened passions turn into vitriol may be a matter of personal tastes. Recall the thread about placing a single bolt on a spire in the SD Needles?

Watching the behavior of posters and warning, then removing them, may be the simplest effective strategy.

I find the mix of topics - like American culture in general - fascinating.