(Site is a graveyard - How can boards save itself?) Any update?

I thought you were arguing for people not to be called out on their statements and just reported ?

That would be a strange suggestion on a discussion forum

So what are you reporting.. hateful language , racist statements or what ? If its not worth discussing, eg you have tried and poster just repeats the statement , well yes . But I don't get your point here .

Edit . Just reread your first post there .

Are you saying the person who makes the statement calling out racist speech etc should be reported ? Because they don't back it up ?

What are you getting at here ?

They are as entitled to their opinion as anyone else and should if credible be able to back it up . Sometimes people do back statements up but their explanations or proof etc do not align with their statements .

But is that not what posting in a forum is about ...discussing these points ?

If they can't or won't explain , why report them ? Just scroll on by .

No I don't think its "gaslighting the whole thread " . Annoying though , yes .

Feedback of things that could be helpful (previously 20k posts between a few accounts, 2 yellows, so I'm not a total newbie);

More mods in CA.

Separate US Politics forum or at least one dedicated thread.

Update charters and ensure there actually ARE charters.

Make baiting an offence in more contentious fora.

Pay attention to context in issuing bans, at least at DRP level. This shite of banning a poster who's been goaded for days or hours til they snap is ridiculous - yes they broke a rule, but had the baiting been an offence, or had there been enough mods available to see the thread, the snapping wouldn't have happened.

Agree with others that some mods seem heavily skewed towards siding with posters aligning with their own political leanings (I'm left leaning so would be of similar beliefs to all the mods I see, for the record). But 99% of the time, it's someone on the "other side" of a debate just breaking a rule.

Get rid of vanilla, it's bloody appalling.

I understand appointing mods and making charters takes time, but i have to agree that it's natural people are asking what's going on when they were told three months ago there'd be updates and seemingly nothing has happened except poor BBOC trying to sort mod lists on fora.

Where are you getting that? The orc thing has always referred to the invading Russian army, a name well earned from their monstrous behaviour.

Ridiculous carry on trying to retrofit some meaning to do with the Russian people.

I got that from users of the term. In the Boards post I quoted, it’s also all over the internet.

Nor are you the arbiter. Something you forgot in your declaration there was hate speech, contradicting that claim in the process - self discrediting. If you can make such declarations then another poster can challenge them.

And thats not what you claimed at all. You said hundreds if not thousands of posts, you referenced calls for annihilation. The calls for annihilation are against Russian invaders, military and officials.

And the orcs in the post you cite were thugs who beat up an 87 year old and in your posts the only concern expressed is they were called orcs! It was not directed at all Russian nationals. It was based on their vile conduct.

You can only make your case with massive goalpost shifting and misrepresentation.

In the context of this thread...

The case of hate speech on the thread is highly dubious.

More dubious still that it has any connection to the supposed decline in boards engagement.

It doesnt refef to all Russians, well not unless all Russians are thugs like the below:

In the example post cited on this thread the Orcs were thugs who beat up an 87 year old survivor of WW2 who described Wagner mercenary scum as 'murderers'.

God forbid posters feelings are hurt by such thugs being called orcs. As if.

As if thats a factor in the concerns expressed on this thread about decline in engagement with the site.

I'm using the feedback thread to give feedback. My post was clearly related to the mentioning of censoring of certain views and I was arguing that for hot button topics what is considered beyond the pale or not can differ between posters. I specifically used immigration and trans issues as people have polarised views. The tag line of current affairs is

A place for frank exchanges of views on serious and at-times controversial topics.

You believe calling asylum seekers illegal immigrants is right wing rhetoric. I believe there are people abusing the IPO system and that will reduce resources available for genuine refugees. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. The Boards moderators and site managers are the people who will decide whether either, both or neither views can be aired.

Noun

edit

орк • (ork) m anim (genitive о́рка, nominative plural о́рки, genitive plural о́рков, relational adjective о́ркский or о́рочий)

1. (fantasy) orc (humanoid monster warrior)
2. (derogatory, Internet slang) a Russian person with little to no desirable qualities (unattractive, low intelligence, uncultured, etc.)
   

When being used in internet slang the meaning is clear

But go ahead. Use whatever terms you are happy to use.

Can IDF soldiers be referred to as rats or pigs now also? They fit the criteria for vile acts?

No of course not, nor should they be.
Hate speech, dehumanising language should not be tolerated never mind be defended.

And have you noticed the same argument being proposed by some here on this thread, that likewise topics concerning gender or racism etc should not be discussed on this site. That these should be off limits. An attempt at censorship as far as I can see.

You cited a post. In that post ORC was used to describe the attackers of an 87 year old man for the heinous act of calling Wagner mercenaries "murderers". These are the scum you are offended on behalf of. Both the attackers and Wagner mercenaries are orcs.

The victim was Russian. The victim was not call an orc. Theres another hole below the waterline in your line of argument.

Orc carries no implications of racial discrimination... Russia and Ukraine very similar ethnically.

This is what wikipedia says.

Orc

 (Russian and Ukrainian: орки), is a pejorative commonly used by many Ukrainians to refer to a Russian soldier participating in the Russian-Ukrainian War and Russian citizens who support the aggression of Russia against Ukraine. The pejorative serves to symbolize inhuman wickedness and brutality of the invaders.

I haven't seen any poster suggesting that those topics should not be discussed.

I'd like to say I think a separate US Politics forum could be fun. I was watching the latest round of Colbert/Seth/Daily Show, and I'd love a thread on their shows.

i mean, 'gammon' and 'ork' are kinda racist tbh, at least as racist as knacker id say….

tbh I don't participate in or read those threads, couldn't be bothered and don't have strong views either way, and I wouldn't read american politics threads but id nearly have the same opinion about people using 'weird' to describe anything conservative, when 'sleepy' was banned outright… (I know I'm probably falling into the trap of 'its pissing off all the right people' with that, but I only come across that attitude when it seeps into the feedback forum, so…)

The terminology is in reference to the soldiers or mercenaries. Would you have been objecting to the terms used during WW2? Jerries, Krauts, Doryphores etc. It's just what tends to happen with invading forces, shockingly. And in relation to war crimes, those posters are generally being called out on it.

Their have been a few good suggestions, it would be nice if a list was put together and if they were discussed, but I fear we will get the usual we are going to take this feedback away and nothing changes.

Suggestion

Put more Mods in Current Affairs, Beasty has stated he was away for awhile and he is absolutely entitled to be, that means one person has been looking after the busiest forum, what if that person goes away on a holiday, is current affairs mod free?

All we hear is how difficult it is to appoint Mods, their have been no new Mods in years, I find it difficult to believe not one person has been interested.

Suggestion

Dispute Resolution is mostly filled with complaints from Current Affairs.

The Cmod cannot be neutral whether they try or not, the poster is visibly very left leaning and is not suitable for the job.

Then you see threads where it takes a week or two to be resolved.

Why can't Mods from other forums be appointed who have no bias and it will speed up the process.

Suggestion

When a poster makes blanket statements about a whole thread to get a reaction then they should be warned and banned for continuing to do so.

Suggestion

If a poster has form for going around threads with Walter mitty type anecdotes then they should be actioned.

They have a friend or family member to push their agenda for all situations.

Suggestion

If someone has form for going into threads and making comments like boards is full of middle aged angry men they are on a wind up and should be actioned.

Suggestion

Anyone deliberately promoting hateful, antisemitic, racist or other deplorable behaviour should be site banned.

Suggestion

Make Current Affairs like the soccer forum where you need a certain amount of posts to post and need to request access.

Suggestion

Anyone using childish phrases like mary poo, mehole or grift for example should be dealt with.

Suggestion

Posters who spend their days playing victim and causing arguments should be dealt with.

Suggestion

Anyone accusing others of being a rereg should be actioned.

It is frustrating when it's deliberate, it's driving new users away where guidance on improving their posting will help retain new genuine users.

The DRP is perfectly functional as far as I can tell.

Thats just **** hilarious.

To illustrate, this is an example from a current thread in DRP.

• Opened by the OP on 8th July requesting a 48hr ban be overturned. Category mod asks forum mod to review.
• Radio silence for a month.
• 5th August an admin says they'll take a look, 6th August the OP sends the PM's to him.

And as of today the 14th August thats it, nothing else, no more response. How is a poster supposed to respect that process?

Not only has the DRP always been an infantilising load of nonsense, now it has fully become a waste of time, mods don't respond, admins don't respond, its a complete joke.