"Boiler room" area?

[Genie]

Is it possible to have a 'heated debates' section of the forum, for all those regulars who enjoy a good bash bash about a controversial topic, without it being 'taken outside'? That way new people won't get upset - a section that requires, say, a disclaimer Warning, you may get told your opinion is not well thought out or researched and that you have in fact just posted a lot of... and here is why"

[David Bailey]

Is it possible to have a 'heated debates' section of the forum, for all those regulars who enjoy a good bash bash about a controversial topic, without it being 'taken outside'?

Yes, I reckon that's a good idea too...

[Genie]

Yes! I think it "would" be a good idea. Some people on this forum enjoy those heated debates. It would be a shame if they were moderated into non-existance.

[ducasi]

Yes, I reckon that's a good idea too...

We could call it "The Boiler Room".

[Ghost]

Yes, I reckon that's a good idea too...

Yes! I think it "would" be a good idea. Some people on this forum enjoy those heated debates. It would be a shame if they were moderated into non-existance.

Me too

Chit chat used to have threads starting with "Heated Debate - xxxxx"
Could something similar to the "Private Lounge" be set up for this?

[Genie]

We could call it "The Boiler Room".

Yes. That!

[David Bailey]

I've created a new thread about this, as I think it's an interesting idea, and I wondered what people thought of it.

The way I'd imagine it working is that it'd be an area where we could create threads which may be contentious, or on which people have strong and differing opinions - or, moderators could move threads there if they get that way.

This would still (obviously) be a moderated area, and of course abuse and other naughty things wouldn't be tolerated. But it would allow a bit more lattitude for people to express their opinions. A half-way house to "Outside", in other words.

This sort of area would have been very useful recently for the "Ceroc Staffing Policy" thread to go to - an interesting, heated debate, but had to be moved Outside because of obscenity. The "Boiler Room" could accommodate such things.

What do people think?

[ducasi]

It's a shame if we do need it, but I'm beginning to think we do...

I wonder what percentage of threads it sees will start there, be moved there, or be moved outside from there... Hmm...

[Genie]

I wondered what had happened :blink: I was sure I hadn't set up a poll or anything. Anyway, it would be an idea, since there are quite a few people who have expressed concern over how heated some of the debates have become. Rather than moving them 'outside', a small section in the Private Lounge where you only enter if you read the disclaimer and don't mind having your opinions read, pulled appart, and given back to you on a platter by certain individuals - ie. you don't mind being disagreed with 'and' told why.

I think, as far as keeping people from getting upset (see thread entitled "Is it just me?") by some people's method of debating, which can get quite agressive for some people.

[David Bailey]

It's a shame if we do need it, but I'm beginning to think we do....

Probably my "halfway house" analogy was poorly-chosen.

Don't get me wrong - this isn't a failure, it's a new section for us to get passionate, without hopefully getting abusive.

A bit like the way "Upstairs" caters for the more, ahem, adult (!) themes, this "boiler room" could cater for things like politics, religion etc., or even dance discussions if they get heated. There's still no excuse for abuse, of course.

[MartinHarper]

This sort of area would have been very useful recently for the "Ceroc Staffing Policy" thread to go to - an interesting, heated debate, but had to be moved Outside because of obscenity.

It would be even more useful if people learned to debate things in an interesting way without having to use obscenity.

Anyways, if there is such an area, it needs to have a different background colour, so that people don't get into the habit of being heated and aggressive and start behaving that way outside the "boiler room".
Also, I don't feel that threads should be moved into the boiler room when they are started in the rest of the forum. Otherwise some people will just behave aggressively all the time and expect the moderators to clean up after them. If a thread is started in the normal area, people should respect that and debate the subject in a non-aggressive, civilised way. If they want to debate a subject in an aggressive and uncivilised way, they should start their own thread for that.

[ducasi]

It would be even more useful if people learned to debate things in an interesting way without having to use obscenity.

Anyways, if there is such an area, it needs to have a different background colour, so that people don't get into the habit of being heated and aggressive and start behaving that way outside the "boiler room".

Interesting idea. It's certainly possible in the forum software to impose a "theme" for a particular forum.

Also, I don't feel that threads should be moved into the boiler room when they are started in the rest of the forum. Otherwise some people will just behave aggressively all the time and expect the moderators to clean up after them. If a thread is started in the normal area, people should respect that and debate the subject in a non-aggressive, civilised way. If they want to debate a subject in an aggressive and uncivilised way, they should start their own thread for that.

Again, another interesting point. Perhaps threads and posts which require a move to the "boiler room" would be automatic candidates for giving an infraction to their posters.

I'm still not convinced, but it seems that there are two groups of people on the forum who either find robust debate "interesting", or disheartening. And if we are to avoid alienating one or other group, perhaps this might be a good compromise.

Let's be clear though, if a "boiler room" forum is created, it wouldn't be an "anything goes" forum. The exact same rules of conduct would apply inside it – no insults, no abuse. However, a more robust level of debate could be expected.

[Juju]

I voted no - it's just too much faffing about - and then anyone posting would have to think about exactly how rude they're allowed to be - 'are we outside, inside, in the doorway, or what?' Saft.

[Juju]

..it's a new section for us to get passionate...

Wehey... Perhaps I should've voted 'yes' after all.



You're going to go all heavy-handed moderator on me now for going off-topic with a cheap laugh, aren't you? I just know it.

Power-crazed, some of these moderators.

[David Bailey]

I voted no - it's just too much faffing about - and then anyone posting would have to think about exactly how rude they're allowed to be - 'are we outside, inside, in the doorway, or what?' Saft.

We'd definitely have to define "What's it about" clearly.

The trouble with "Outside" is that it has restrictions - no editing, polls vanish after a time and so on. So threads tend to die out there - in fact, that's kind of the point.

But there may be a perfectly good thread, which is causing "Heated Debate" to quote Mrs Merton, and which we may want to see going, but which is a bit too heavy for some people - they could put "Boiler room" on their ignore lists. The thread could then continue under normal circumstances.

Of course, you could argue that such threads should simply be moderated to remove the "heavy" aspect - but that's even more interference.

Or, you could argue that no-one should ever argue

Oh, and as for:

You're going to go all heavy-handed moderator on me now for going off-topic with a cheap laugh, aren't you? I just know it.

Mwa-ha-ha. It's working, I've got them scared now

Power-crazed, some of these moderators.

"Some"? Who else? I've got competition, clearly

[Juju]

"Some"? Who else? I've got competition, clearly

I was being diplomatic.

[Juju]

But there may be a perfectly good thread, which is causing "Heated Debate" to quote Mrs Merton, and which we may want to see going, but which is a bit too heavy for some people - they could put "Boiler room" on their ignore lists. The thread could then continue under normal circumstances.

Seriously, can't they just ignore it in the old-fashioned way, by not looking at it? They're all grown-ups, right? (N.B. I am not condoning people being obnoxious. It's not big and it's not clever.)

[David Bailey]

Seriously, can't they just ignore it in the old-fashioned way, by not looking at it? They're all grown-ups, right? (N.B. I am not condoning people being obnoxious. It's not big and it's not clever.)

Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way - you don't know until you click on some threads whether they'll be unpleasant and leave you thinking the Forum is full of nasty shouty people.

Whereas if all such shouty threads were in one area, they could all be ignored at will.

But the ignore thing is more of a "side benefit" than a "reason to do it in the first place", to my mind.

[WittyBird]

It's not big and it's not clever.

Neither are Dyslexic Dwarves

[Genie]

Mmm, coloured background... Pink with white flowers? Purple with bunnies?

Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way - you don't know until you click on some threads whether they'll be unpleasant and leave you thinking the Forum is full of nasty shouty people.
Whereas if all such shouty threads were in one area, they could all be ignored at will.

Yes. The seperate area would be more to allow those people who don't like that sort of debate to 'ignore' their existance altogether. It's not an excuse to promote or allow more agressive posting. That will moderated with a big stick... no David, not now... and things will continue pretty much as normal.