war topic

Whereas if we have a separate Ukraine board, we will have the thread police popping up every 5 minutes trying to tell people where they can post

They can just report the thread and MNHQ would move it, just like the Covid board.

Scrolling through a treacle of threads all saying I'm terrified is not really good use of time, I suppose a lot of people won't bother with MN much, it's not really the place to get good information about current affairs.

Yes. It isn't reasonable to try to control what other people post on the general boards, so you either accept that there will be some topics that don't interest you and scroll on, or just avoid the general boards altogether

Avoiding MN altogether is rapidly seeming a good option. If people are hiding more threads than they're reading. Just like back in 2020.

'You do know there's a pandemic on don't you?' will be replaced with 'You do know there's a war on don't you?' and 'Educate yourself!' every 5 minutes.

No. If we're going to have rules about what and where people can post, let them be open and transparent. Not just imposed by the self appointed thread police who assume that they speak for everyone.

Frankly I'd rather see people encouraged to use AS instead of this nonsense where its considered "not naice"

I agree. And I have no idea why people seem to think we shouldn't use AS - it's an incredibly valuable tool. (Although I suspect those who don't like it are those who don't want to be found out!)

I'm also and and that people think that this is going to die down in a few days.

We need a Ukraine topic, not a war topic

I agree.

If volume of traffic is sustained over time then I daresay we will get a War topic and then people will argue as to whether its all wars or only particular wars.

We need a Ukraine topic, not a war topic.

If there are topics you don't want to read about then select the topics you do want to read and avoid the two topics for miscellaneous subjects. That is the only way you can avoid a subject you don't like (unless AIBU and Chat are moderated for your individual preferences).

If volume of traffic is sustained over time then I daresay we will get a War topic and then people will argue as to whether its all wars or only particular wars.

Frankly I'd rather see people encouraged to use AS instead of this nonsense where its considered "not naice". An awful lot of the fearmongering type threads seem to be from new usernames. A general moratorium on new posters starting threads for 60 days might be more effective in reducing the kind of threads which are bothering people than a splinter topic. Trolls will not bother posting nicely in the correct topic if more traffic is in AIBU

So what you want is not a topic for relevant discussion but somewhere to hide stuff but in such a way that any useful or relevant discussion on the subject will be buried under a pile of wannabe trolls?

How exactly does that aid rational or serious discussion on the subject? Or don't you want that?

A topic performs both functions, because even if some posts are a bit , informed discussion and advice is still visible, even if it’s a few days or weeks old. It’s also easier to search for information if you can filter the search by topic.

If people just post on AIBU and chat the volume means that older posts are difficult to see.

I’m happy to wait a few days to see if volume of posts dies down, but I also think that ‘Am I being unreasonable’ is not a good way to frame a thread on Ukraine, ‘chat’ seems too lightweight for the subject, and ‘in the news’ and ‘politics’ aren’t adequate if somebody is posting something that is personal to them. However, at the moment there is no other choice.

What seems common sense to me is that people should hide the general boards like AIBU or Chat if there are certain topics that they don't want to see

That makes no sense at all. Hide two boards with stuff they might be interested in seeing threads in?

In AIBU you'll be told 'YABU for not using the topic'

And may well be reported to get it moved.

MN is only very lightly moderated, with what the users report dribpving most of it.

I think prescriptive lists would go down like a cup of cold sick.

People would learn the unspoken rules of the community just as they do with all other communities in RL and online, by observation

I am talking about the principle that the general boards which are not currently restricted to specific topics should remain general and open to posts on all subjects. If not, I am interested in knowing a definitive list of the topics that people would like to have excluded from those general boards, as well as a process for additional topics to be added to that list if a certain number of MNers are finding them annoying or triggering or whatever. Of course, in the longer term it might result in killing off AIBU or chat as the number and type of threads would gradually be reduced down to a very limited topic range - as let's face it, most topics will be irritating or triggering for someone - but maybe that's OK because a range of discussions will still be happening in all of the individual topic boards?

That's the point, isn't it merrymouse ?

AIBU isn't a general chat topic. It's where someone lays out a situation for judgement, and people say what they really think

People who are happy to see a more varied range of topics can continue to use the general boards as well as any specific ones that interest them.

Not really. People who want to see current posts and a varied range of topics would be better advised to click on ‘active’ and see everything being discussed now.

If people just post in AIBU and chat the posts soon drift to the back pages and get lost.

Also AIBU is a place where posters are invited to lightheartedly pass judgement, although it often descends into fight club. The character of the topic makes it a questionable place to post on serious issues because it’s set up for conflict.

It’s true that some long running well informed political threads have continued on AIBU, but they are difficult to see or find if they drift off the first pages, so only randomly inform people casually looking at current threads.

Also, if we are not going to continue with the principle that the general topics can contain threads on any subject, then we would need to compile a list of the specific topics that are not included on a sticky note at the top of the board, so that people don't post in the wrong place and then attract a pile-on from the thread police.

Can you provide a list of no-go topics that should be excluded from the general topic boards? Presumably I and other posters would also be able to add additional recurrent topics to that list if we find them irritating, boring or triggering in any way? How many MNers would need to object to a topic being mentioned on the general boards before it was officially deemed out of bounds?

People who are coming to MN to talk about other things can still access all of the support/information/chat that they want or need by going to the specific topics that interest them. People who are happy to see a more varied range of topics can continue to use the general boards as well as any specific ones that interest them.

I think new topics should be introduced for subjects which have enduring interest and plenty of traffic

I think it's right to wait a few days, and see how it goes. There has been an initial spate of threads which are very repetitive (and which I think tend to reinforce over-reaction, and that is not healthy) but this is MN, where starting yet another thread has always been OK. Another site I go to has the opposite norm - start a thread when there's an existing one is bad form and you'll get told off by other users, and thus encourages people to look and see what convos are going on before plunging in. It's a matter of different style.

I expect that the number of over-dramatic threads will drop - that's the time to see if there is enough to sustain a topic.

New topics only really work for important and enduring themes

I hope that there is trolling going on, the idea that all these mad threads are started by real people is scarey there really is. Advance search is your friend.

And I waste no time in welcoming them to mn before. Report. Them.

I'm one who generally uses topics rather than active, I'm not really interested in much of the general AIBU and chat threads and tend to head to a specific topic like telly addicts or the house threads, if I just used active I would mainly miss these as they don't get as much traffic. For me a topic would be much easier so I could visit it if the mood took me and means I wouldn't miss the more informative but less dramatic threads.

I'm really, truly not being the thread police but been I've pulled up short tonight realising that there are people who quite naturally and through no fault of their own have not experienced a crisis like this before and are genuinely scared about what might happen to their children.

I'm honestly not sure what MN can do but perhaps a thread where people can say what they are worried about without criticism might be an idea? I don't know, just don't like to think about people struggling and being mocked if they express their fears (and I'm about as anti #BeKind as possible)