How did my PCE remember this

[spenoza]

Macross is pretty cool. I haven't given 7 a chance, yet. Plus is my favorite, though the original definitely gets high marks all around as well. I've been trying to get into Gundam lately, too. Some of it's good but some of it is very contrived and silly.

[Odonadon]

So again, veer off-topic all you want, but if your instinctive response to a perceived sleight is to start flinging poo like our more primitive distant cousins perhaps a mod needs to let you know you need to look BEFORE you leap. I think communities can be spontaneous and honest and still have some ground rules for how you treat other people. Society needs such rules to function, and forums are, after a fashion, little, contained societies. Eye for an Eye is not a good forum policy, ever.

Exactly - let's moderates ourselves.  I guess that's what I'm asking for.  As a loyal visitor and reader of this forum, I think it's a simple request to treat people with respect.  Rasterfarian posted a question regarding Splatterhouse and his cheat code, and random conversation between a few board regulars started up.  This is surely insulting - if you've ever been to a new board and posted a question hoping for an answer, only to have the board talk among themselves in your thread like you weren't there, you'd be pissed off too.

Some people seem very comfortable in their niche they've carved out for themselves here - I guess all I can hope for is for just a few people to hopefully keep my points in mind with the next newb.  It's a selfish request, because I (and many others) like coming to this forum and reading the topics.  Unrelated personal discussions/questions in a public thread does not a good forum make.

OD

[sunteam_paul]

I don't think mods are necessary to keep threads on topic. I think there needs to be a natural conversation flow. Enforcing rigid discussion can be really restricting and is no fun. Threads should not be locked for going off-topic, they should be locked because the thread has boiled down to trading insults and there is nothing fun or productive coming out of it.

I do think mods need to be active on insults and flaming and be willing to hand out warnings and lock threads where necessary. Sure, it seems likely rastafarian and validus would not have made good forum goers in the long-run, but we can't know for sure. If we'd had more patience and just ignored his insults instead of throwing them back maybe one of them would have got the point and actually mellowed a bit. Remember, on-line first impressions aren't always right, and people do change to fit their environment if there's something in it for them, like community or whatever.

So again, veer off-topic all you want, but if your instinctive response to a perceived sleight is to start flinging poo like our more primitive distant cousins perhaps a mod needs to let you know you need to look BEFORE you leap. I think communities can be spontaneous and honest and still have some ground rules for how you treat other people. Society needs such rules to function, and forums are, after a fashion, little, contained societies. Eye for an Eye is not a good forum policy, ever.

I agree with this 100%.

[Kitsunexus]

Quick question. If going off-topic is such a bad thing, why aren't we talking about Splatterhouse's cheat issue right now? 

[nodtveidt]

Quick question. If going off-topic is such a bad thing, why aren't we talking about Splatterhouse's cheat issue right now? 

Hey, I'd like to know that myself.

[GUTS]

Only freedom haters like mods.

[spenoza]

Mark me up as a freedom hater, then.

[spenoza]

Odonadon, I don't completely agree with your assessment. If someone runs off with the topic the OP, or a mod, should simply reiterate the question or ask if anyone has any new ideas. The mod shouldn't necessarily admonish anyone for going off topic. That sort of thing is natural. But mods can take positive steps to try and steer some attention back to the original topic if it hasn't been properly addressed.

In the case of this thread, the OP's query was covered. Just because the OP didn't like the answer and refused to believe it doesn't mean the query wasn't addressed. My only problem with this thread was the insults and the flaming. That said, in regards to helping newbies acclimate, I do very much agree, if to a lesser degree. The forum is still here, ostensibly, for us, those who are already here. Should we be more welcoming, patient, and tolerant? To a point, yes. Should we stop having some of the insane conversations and topical u-turns? Not at all! Compromise is key.

[Michael Helgeson]

The only thing I see the need for mod wise is to keep newbs from spamming the threads randomly,esp sales ones,and from sending spam/harassing pms. Usually anything else we seem to manage to handle here on our own.

[spenoza]

I don't know that I'd call it "handling... on our own" so much as "flaming the bejezus out of the bastards if they get too uppity". There are better, less emotional ways of fixing problems like that.

[Odonadon]

Odonadon, I don't completely agree with your assessment. If someone runs off with the topic the OP, or a mod, should simply reiterate the question or ask if anyone has any new ideas. The mod shouldn't necessarily admonish anyone for going off topic. That sort of thing is natural. But mods can take positive steps to try and steer some attention back to the original topic if it hasn't been properly addressed.

I didn't mean to specifically say that the assigned moderators of this forum need to do a better job, but rather everyone who participates in the thread (including me - I could've brought this up in a better way ), and try to keep the extraneous chatter to a minimum.  In this case, rasterfarian had further questions relating to his issue, but by then like 10 unrelated posts had gone by.  Often mods don't see a thread until way after the fact anyway.  I agree with you that the way he reacted in turn wasn't helpful either.

OD