Future of General Discussion forum

Shiney i dont think you appreciate how hard it is to actually stop from being Mr Important in my posts .He only comes out on special occasions for a giggle or when the BS detector goes off.

 

ESP'er

someone with extra sensory perception

 

"An individual capable of telepathy and other similar paranormal abilities"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esper

 

This looks to be a temporary stop in place though judging by feedback from GP elsewhere.

No new topics, but you can still update existing.

It really has become a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for GP though and I think we all have to appreciate that.

He has to guage now whether keeping the gates open on General discussion with moderation will bring about more benefit (and patronage) to SS than to close it down and assume the current member base will stay active with just the metal sub forums alone.

I don't envy this choice one iota.



For my 2 cents GP, I would opt for the former option.

A moderation team (carefully selected) with an open general discussion has merit and maintains SS as a 'one stop shop' for stackers to chit chat and promote the community aspect beyond metals alone.

It would need to be carefully monitored, but with some leniency and give or take considering where we are in the current cycle economically, politically and socially in the world today.

I'm not saying the General forum should be purely rainbows and butterflies of lightness 24x7 - there's always a place that benefits from people sharing experiences and news both positive and negative - but their certainly should be clearly defined boundaries which are actively administered and shared across an active moderation team.

Best of luck with your decision either way. I came to SS as a stacker and intend to stay here whatever your decision. I'm here first and foremost for metal discussion.

Cheers

 

GP - I recommend an immediate enlisting of a well respected SS to moderate just the General Discussion (and deal with complaints pertaining to it) - ask for volunteers maybe?

I like the general discussion - some very interesting and useful information there at times!

 

Please keep "J O T D"

 

I go away for a couple of days and silver drops and forums get closed, I have more power than I think.

Sorry GP, I don't think I ever read the sticky, I just assumed it said something like "Don't be a dick".

When I first came here the most contentious issue was the makers of the .999999999 Andean Cats that gave either great or terrible service depending on who was posting.

I have noticed that when silver doesn't do much of any interest the thread become more off topic and more heated, now silver is doing something interesting we have something else to talk about.

I like the idea of having unlockable levels of the forum, the longer you are on the forum/ the more trades/ the more posts you have/ the more involved you are in the forums the closer you get to unlocking the hidden levels such as general discussion. If people can only post in the Precious Metals threads and don't even know about the General Discussion they won't be posting "me too" to boost their post count just to gain access.

Other than that I won't miss it that much, I only come for the precious metals and when I read all those posts I move onto the rest.

 

Yeah get some old timers that you trust to moderate General discussion, problem solved.

Or am I making things too simple?

 

I'm truly shocked that long-time SS members would give up on this forum and the relationships they've established. This is the greatest PM community I have been a part of, and while my time here is short in comparison to many, I would not disband from this forum because of the rough patch it is experiencing.

In a forum/community like this, there is bound to be heated debate and name-calling and all that other silliness. We are all human and prone to over-reaction and defensiveness. The members who continually bad mouth others, or create conflict, or offer little contribution to the greater forum will not last. Their presence and opinions will be overlooked, and I would image they would give up and move on.

To return the forum to its prior state of communal feel and useful resource, high-quality SS members cannot be chased off by the ignorant.

Just my opinion.

Regarding the General Discussion section, there is definitely a place for it on every forum. It would be a shame to limit member ability to share more of their insight, personality and lives with each other.

Regarding how to monitor abusive members...implement a module that allows users to report bad behavior, along the lines of the trade feedback. If you're rating dips to low, a suspension of some sort is put in place, if it gets extremely low, a ban is put in place.

 

Reporting of bad behaviour with something like the trades feedback would free GP up but would the thing have to be anonymous though to prevent bad feeling? - when complaints reach a certain number that member is banned - final.

GP - you have to be firmer - 3 strikes and banned for ever, end of problem - I don't mind a bit more Gestapo to keep us all under control ! :|

But honestly - I have been to other forums where the behaviour has been MUCH worse and very abusive - this forum is the most well behaved I have used!

 

If members are NOT asked to nominate any moderators should they be offended?

 

I think we just need to be careful about who is finally nominated as moderators and what their banning powers are etc..
I know of a couple (literally) of long standing members on this forum who - if given 1/10th of a chance would ban me for life - for little or no reason - and would therefore be unfit to be moderators due to their vindictive/subjective views in this regard.

just sayin' ...

 

Dont worry yippee we'll go together :lol:

 

dont worry yippee its not about real estate forum

 

Yeah that's why it cannot be rushed, it's very easy to promote people based on how long they've been around or whether they suck up to you. Is there anything more annoying than seeing someone brown nosing?

I trust those in discussions are good representatives of the entire forum, we'll have to wait and see. Truth be told I don't give a stuff provided we get a GD forum.
If the mods are nazis i'll have no problem being upfront about it, titles do not change how I see or talk to someone.

 

In the top banner it says:

Silver Stackers: Discussion forum for those who love to stack precious metals

It doesn't say:

Silver Stackers: Discussion forum for those who love to debate the holocaust
or
Silver Stackers: Discussion forum for those who love to swap alien probe encounter stories

All things need to flow from this IMHO