21:13:20 SDM: I don't think it should be kept as "Re:[thread name]" because if it was split, it'd be out-of-context already. "Split from [thread name]" might work. But I never had a problem with sarcastic titles and didn't consider it to be a reason for continuing flames.
If a topic is split, either someone trolled, in which case they might as well be made aware of it, or it just veered off topic without any one person at fault, in which case no one should be offended by it.
I am also sure the split titles have contributed to the inactivity of some newbies who were still adjusting to the social rules on the site, lets face it would you hang around a forum where by posts you have made have been split and given a heated title along with possibly a lock on said split?
end of the day mods and admins are supposed to lead by example if they are not doing that then it makes their actions questionable
I am also sure the split titles have contributed to the inactivity of some newbies who were still adjusting to the social rules on the siteEmphasis mine. How exactly are you "sure"? Other than that one troll who didn't do much else, has anyone specifically mentioned the post titles being offensive?
lets face it would you hang around a forum where by posts you have made have been split and given a heated title along with possibly a lock on said split?Assuming the decision to split in the first place was correct, which is almost always the case here, I wouldn't think twice about it.
Ok the career trolls and flamers can take a flying leap, but how many youngsters are we putting off from contributing who's only experience of the net is teen chatrooms and/or forums and/or multiplayer gaming where the rules tend to be a lot looser?This community is much more stable and open because it's not a chatroom or multi session where everyone can flame each other, and from what I've seen, newbies are given plenty of chances to adjust to HLP's system. If they don't, it's almost always a case of refusing not to be a dick.
end of the day mods and admins are supposed to lead by example if they are not doing that then it makes their actions questionableIf you think they aren't, there are moderator/admin decisions which are much more questionable than some light humor in split thread titles.
no, the question here is how does it do any harm? It's a bit of harmless fun on the part of the mods/admins. Maybe it pokes fun at trolls, but if they trolled they sort of had it coming anyway.
Also, Mobius, why are you backseat moderating?
No, Mobius. It is in fact you who has to provide proof that this is actually in any way damaging, or even really offensive to many people.
blah blah. blah blah blah. blah. blah blah.
I greatly dislike your poll options. No, moderators should not make offensive thread titles, whether split or unsplit; however, it is also up to the moderators to judge what is considered "offensive."
I don't know what recent action prompted this, but "Marcov does not want to debate" is not offensive. "Bad posts" is true but painful, and I wish GB hadn't been so blunt, but it isn't offensive or sarcastic.
Finally, "Re: <thread title>" is bad because it's the same naming scheme as actual replies to the original thread. Even "Re: Re: <thread title>" is too similar. "<optional new topid> (split from <thread title>)" is much better IMHO.
Finally, "Re: <thread title>" is bad because it's the same naming scheme as actual replies to the original thread. Even "Re: Re: <thread title>" is too similar. "<optional new topid> (split from <thread title>)" is much better IMHO.
I voted no, being an admin does not give you the right to have the last or absolute word about any kind of discussion on the forums.
Makes the moderators look as immature as the ones who caused the thread split. I voted no, they shouldn't be used.
I never knew this place was so full of Prima-Donnas who feel they have the right to act any way they want and then complain if it's pointed out that they can't in a manner which might bruise their feelings. Apparently no-one else but them counts.
Well, if someone has an issue with what the thread has been renamed then they can feel free to PM the Mod involved or even speak to Admin if it hurts their feelings that deeply, but the whole idea that Moderators are some kind of robot who are merely here to service the collective is an incorrect one. I've had to chase arguments not only through threads, but through several forums in the past, and whilst I don't mind moderating because I enjoy HLP, I am still one of the Forum Members.
The truth is, compare this site with most 'official' game forums and we are extremely tolerant in a lot of ways, and that's because it is staffed by fans of Freespace, not employees of the company that produced it, we don't ban people unless we have to, and we almost never delete a thread, and 99% of official sites don't ask people to calm down or even bother to split the thread out for discussion, silly name or not, the posts would just vanish, and people would consider themselves lucky not to have been banned. Our technique is a little softer than that, we poke fun at people, but unless the discussion is disruptive, we tolerate it.
You're implying that moderators and moderating are the same all throughout the internet, and this is not true. There are forums where moderators can ban and admins hardly read threads because they're too busy managing the site and doing other things.
On HLP, we all know what the role of a moderator is, and the thread naming convention we have recently seen nearly goes beyond that limit. It's extremely disturbing to see a moderator lock a thread and post the last comment, criticizing you without giving a chance to reply. Sure, there are PMs to handle problems like these (in the case that involved me, in fact, I relied on PMs to get an objectively thread deleted), but why wouldn't the moderators simply prevent that and put a real end to debates by just locking a thread?
Nope, they really don't. This is not a democracy. It never will be. If we take the current standing, we have 35 votes, a third of which are "we don't care", another third being "Keep it as it is", and the last third being "It's stupid, stop it".That would be implying that I thought the polls would be of some use to the Admins/Moderators. As I said before, I think this is more something to have a laugh about over in the admin-cave rather than anything else.
I hardly call that a representative sample of HLP's population, most of which have never and never will run into trouble with the issues under debate here.
Plus, the preliminary results of this poll (though it'd be better to wait until we get 50 or so votes before coming to any conclusion) indicate that many community members find those titles dangerous, in the sense that they may result in additional flame wars later on.No. This poll is not as useful as it could have been because you loaded it against the the renaming of threads. You could have gone the other way by calling it "the humorous renaming of split threads." What you have done is akin to asking "Should mods make bad posts? Welp, let the poll results speak for themselves. :)"
That would be implying that I thought the polls would be of some use to the Admins/Moderators. As I said before, I think this is more something to have a laugh about over in the admin-cave rather than anything else.