Still complaining about THR?

[Perd Hapley]

A while ago, we had some threads about how THR was nothing but a wasteland of rude/inflammatory rhetoric and teenage wannabes.  A lot of people responded that it was a seasonal cycle and that it would settle down after the summer.  I've been hanging out there, recently, and it seems pretty calm.  Interesting, but calm.

What do you think?

[Twycross]

Well, it does seem rather placid (comparatively). But I usually avoid L&P, so I may not be catching the brunt of it.

[280plus]

I haven't had many problems anywhere. Seems ok to me...

[wingnutx]

Seems fine to me.

THR on a bad day is still usually a lot better than the average forum.

[Ex-MA Hole]

meh.


Maybe I have so much crap in my life right now, that I don't care anymore, or maybe it did mello out...

[Tallpine]

What do you think?

I think it's been pretty boring over there lately

[Mannlicher]

my major complaint on THR as well as on TFL, is the over regulation by moderators.  Given the  level of posters, I suppose thats inevitable, but there are other venues that handle controversy with almost no moderation.  Way too many locked threads on these two.  Way too many trigger happy mods.

[Phyphor]

my major complaint on THR as well as on TFL, is the over regulation by moderators.  Given the  level of posters, I suppose thats inevitable, but there are other venues that handle controversy with almost no moderation.  Way too many locked threads on these two.  Way too many trigger happy mods.

It's either trigger-happy mods or we get something resembling AR-15.com....

[Harold Tuttle]

if you think arf.com is a mindfull

try :
http://www.pbnation.com/forumdisplay.php?f=307

[Perd Hapley]

my major complaint on THR as well as on TFL, is the over regulation by moderators.

Funny you should say that.  I looked at THR's L&P a few hours ago, and Art had just gone crazy locking down those threads.  Hilarious.  If that keeps the site worthwhile, I've no problem with it, although I've seen some threads that didn't deserve it.

[Perd Hapley]

You're right, Harold.  Below is the first post I looked at.  Real historical scholar, there. 

We can't reconcile our ideals with our history. Time and time again, we say one thing and do another. We canonize our founding fathers. We neglect to notice that masters used to be able to cast 3/5 of a vote per slave they owned.

Edit: It's worse than I thought.  We don't have anyone merely regurtitating NPR here, do we?   

I'm not trying to make any big point here, I just think it's something we should think about. And I'm not trying to preach here, nor am I claiming this is my idea. I heard it on NPR first.

Loser.  Pb stands for lead, and I wonder how much they've been eating over there.


There seem to be a lot more lefties there than in years past.  Lefties should be welcome, but some of them behave as if they were going to correct the rest of us with a couple of posts.  This causes ridiculous arguments.

[CAnnoneer]

The problem with THR, if there is any, is the occasional troll and a few posters who just love to press people's buttons. The first category is an inevitable source of background radiation. Sometimes the troll does not even know he is a troll, kind of like some Bladerunner replicants or Galactica anthropomorphic toasters.

The second group are self-aware provocateurs but somehow manage to dodge identification by the mods, even when pointed out. On occasion that is because the mod himself/herself agrees too much with the provocateur's stance to see through the mask and get at the real motivations.

Many threads get closed because people have trouble understanding the concept of "out-of-topic". Art tends to remind them. Sometimes he falls short, sometimes he goes too far. Fluctuations.

[Art Eatman]

There is a problem with closing off-topic threads?  Oleg set up this site for whatever subject is of interest to anybody, right?

L&Poo is, theoretically, supposed to be limited to legal/political/civil-rights issues that affect gun-owners, not any old legal problem that comes down the pike.  The politics of a candidate for dog-catcher or livestock-inspector aren't exactly germane to gun-owners.

The THR (and TFL) rules say no personal attacks on members.  The rules call for proper language and the idea of courtesy and politeness is built into the whole deal.  I don't see why this is a problem, but I note I and other mods have edited and deleted a lot of garbage--and that seems to be why so many emails and PMs come to all the mods, saying, "Thanks."

Over the last seven years of moderating, I've gotten a lot more thanks than complaints.  Hey, why should I oppose the views of such intelligent people?

Art

[Guest]

"There seem to be a lot more lefties there than in years past.  Lefties should be welcome, but some of them behave as if they were going to correct the rest of us with a couple of posts.  This causes ridiculous arguments."

Thanks, you saved me some typing.

John

[Sindawe]

Hey, why should I oppose the views of such intelligent people?

Hmmm.... Just to be obstinate and contrary?

I find THR to be one of the better run forums for the traffic it gets.  Mods have been pretty good at booting those who consistently cannot keep things civil, locking or deleting OT posts and guiding discussion back on track when it drifts.

[MechAg94]

I have seen people on both sides make rediculous arguments.  People don't think through what they type sometimes, and just throw fuel on the fire.

[Perd Hapley]

If you're responding to what I said about lefties on THR, I meant that there are arguments between members about things that are off-topic.  This happens when someone makes a side comment that seems obvious to them, but is a touchy subject for the majority, or for the left-wing member.

[Monkeyleg]

Before there was THR, there was TFL. Before that, there was a small gun discussion group on Prodigy. Some of the people posting there were pretty heavy-hitters in the gun community: Charles Petty and Tim Burke, for example.

A few years ago, it took me an hour or two to read every pithy thread on either TFL or THR.

Now, I can breeze through both in less than half an hour.

The questions, while no doubt well-intentioned by the newcomers to the shooting sports, have been asked time and again on THR and TFL.

If I have one complaint about THR--and I think I've been one of Oleg's strongest supporters of private property rights, meaning that it's his forum to do with what he wishes--is that political discussions could dwadle off into subjects not exactly gun-related.

It's not that I want to debate boxers vs. briefs in presidential campaigns, but rather the notion that there are some topics that may not, on their face, seem to affect gun politics but, in the end, have a definite effect on issues such as guns.

Maybe it's time I did less posting and more shooting.

[280plus]

I just went and read (or skimmed through) a bunch of closed threads on L&P. I can see why they were all closed. Maybe one I would have a question about where the mod has the last word in a discussion he or she was involved in and then the thread is closed. Without trying to make more work for you guys, instead of just closing an OT thread that may have some merit, why not copy and move it to to a new thread on APS with the same title and link it in the closing post at THR? I know it will lead more people over here, which is not necessarily a popular idea amongst the regulars, but I would assume the powers that be would like to see APS expand?

[Oleg Volk]

Eventually, I'll upgrade APS software.

Also, THR has some non-obvious features which make it work very well...for those who notice them. Eventually, if you have a reputation for reasonable and intelligent personality, you will become aware of those extra features. Like the rest of reality, THR is multi-faceted and presents a different view to different people. To a large extent, it is what you bring to it.

[Nightfall]

Secret squirrel stuff. Real hush-hush.

[Perd Hapley]

Nightfall, squirrels can't use the internet.  Duh!  Although that would explain a certain lack of intelligence and writing ability in some posters.

[Werewolf]

I postulate that one of the reasons so many here think THR has become boring is because after 6 or 7 months the thread topics start to repeat as new people join, ask questions that have been asked before and post topics very similar to those posted before.

Its all new to them.

Its a repeat for most that visit THR on a regular basis. After 3 years of membership and almost 3000 posts on THR it sometimes seems a bit stale to me and my post count per week has dropped from 10 or 12 to 2 or 3.

It's the same ole THR and that's the nature of the beast - there's only so much that can be said about guns and related topics before things start getting repeated.

[Declaration Day]

Very true, Werewolf.  But some things DO change.  Laws change.  New guns and gun-related products come to the market.  

Sometimes searches save time and cut down on repeated topics, sometimes they produce out-of-date answers to good questions.  

I suspect that's why many topics are repeated.

[Bogie]

The thing about THR is that it's BIG. So it gets a lot of trollers from DU.
 
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