war topic

[Samcro]

any chance of a covid style war topic for all the "are we going to war " threads please.

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.

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

@merrymouse

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.

But that's a personal choice for people with regard to how they navigate the site, isn't it?

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?

@RoseAndRose

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

Yes, but on any topic matter as it stands at present. If that is to be restricted, we need to know what those restrictions are and how they can be added to etc.

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

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?

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.

@Sparklingbrook

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?

Its entirely sensible.

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

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.

We need a Ukraine topic, not a war topic

I agree.

so how many threads so we need that are just people posting "i'm terrified" ?
maybe just one support thread where the terrified posters can terrify each other.

@merrymouse

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.

We definitely do.

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

@Sparklingbrook

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?

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.

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!)

@RoseAndRose

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

So you want other people to abide by some "unspoken rules" that you're unwilling and/or unable to articulate, and you feel that you have the right to police how other people are using the boards when they post things that don't interest you?

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.

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.

@Sparklingbrook

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.

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. As they did for covid, Brexit etc. It was incredibly tiresome.

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.

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.

@User7497521

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 the 'I'm terrified' helps nobody.

@Sparklingbrook

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.

But that isn't what happened with the covid board. Discussions were repeatedly disrupted by irate posters complaining about people posting on the "wrong" boards. Despite the lack of any official rules about what can be posted on the general boards.

If people quietly report without complaint, and MN just moves the threads behind the scenes, then I don't really have any objection to a separate topic, but I do object to the self appointed thread police taking it upon themselves to enforce "rules" that haven't actually been articulated anywhere.

The covid board has been fab.
I could miss 95% of the threads, but I knew it was there when I wanted the data thread or something else.

I really don't understand why people are so against having specific boards.

And - other than Talk Guidelines - obviously there aren't rules about how to use MN, but given that all the specific boards have been created (usually because posters ask for them), why wouldn't you use them?

Is it just laziness?

@BIWI

I really don't understand why people are so against having specific boards.

And - other than Talk Guidelines - obviously there aren't rules about how to use MN, but given that all the specific boards have been created (usually because posters ask for them), why wouldn't you use them?

Is it just laziness?

But you could say that about most of the threads on AIBU or Chat etc. Why aren't they posted in relationships or in health or in education or whatever. That's just the nature of the miscellaneous boards, they have a collection of topics that could all be posted elsewhere if people used them. Unless you're arguing to do away with the miscellaneous boards altogether, then you surely just accept that people will post whatever they like on those boards. And in the absence of any explicit rules about topics that are specifically excluded from those boards, it isn't really for other people to decide that they can't.

I feel for certain topics that are ongoing and emotive and generate many threads about and asking the same thing (such as Covid and Ukraine) then their own topic is useful. Those topics where the threads are relentless, possibly posted by people with an agenda or trying to scaremonger for a reaction.