• Anything ‘published’ on the web is viewed as intellectual property and, regardless of whether it displays a copyright symbol or not, is therefore copyrighted by the originator. The only exception to this is if there is a “free and unrestricted reuse” statement associated with the work.

    In order to protect our members and TFL from possible litigation, all members must abide by the following new rules:

    1. Copying and pasting entire articles from another site to TFL is strictly prohibited. The same applies to articles from print or other media, and to posting photographs taken of copyrighted pages or other media.

    2. Copyright law provides for “fair use” of portions of a copyrighted work. You can copy no more than a SINGLE paragraph from the article to your post (3 or 4 sentences at most).

    3. You must provide a link to the article along with the name of website. For example: ww.xxx.yyy/zzz (The Lower Thumbsuck Daily News).

    4. You must provide, in your own words, a brief summary of the article AND your reasons for believing it will be of interest to TFL members. Failure to do so may result in the thread being closed or your post being deleted as a “cut and paste drive by.”

    5. Photographs and other images are also copyrighted. "Hotlinking" of images (so that it appears in your message) from other sites is also prohibited unless you own rights to the image. If you wish to share an image, provide a clickable link to it.

    Posts that do not follow these new guidelines will be altered or deleted by staff. Members who continue to violate this policy may lose their posting privileges at TFL.

    Thank you for your cooperation and your participation in TFL, the leading online forum for firearms enthusiasts.

Thread Killers

J

Jericho9mm

New member
ok this is getting to be really lame, this is the third or fourth thread ruined by stupid off topic comments in Legal and Political in the past day or two. this thread had potential to be an awsome thread but because someone made a random comment off topic, the thread will be closed and everyone will suffer. sure another thread could be opened up but it will lose credibility becasue of everyone who commented in the first wont bother to in the second.

why cant these "inflamitory posts" be deleted, a pm sent by a mod and the thread resumed? instead the dumb comments are left on for all to see thus giving the original inflamer the audience he wanted and leaving potentially great topic is dead.


here are just 3 examples, keep in mind i dont blame the mods, i know they are busy. but cant post be deleted and posters warned instead of shutting down a whole thread with good discussion?
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210009&page=2
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210224
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210354
 
T

TheBluesMan

Moderator Emeritus
why cant these "inflamitory posts" be deleted, a pm sent by a mod and the thread resumed?
Click to expand...
That's a great idea, Jericho9mm, but not an original one. The staff usually does exactly that when possible. As a matter of fact, the last thread you listed in your example had five deleted posts in it.

It gets very frustrating when I delete or edit inflammatory posts and return a few hours later to find that the same people who have had their posts deleted have come back and are at it again. In cases like that, I just close the thread.

Your solution is to open another thread and strive to keep the thread on topic and free from ad hominem.

You may get a different answer from a different staff member. That's just how I see it.

-Dave
 
J

Jericho9mm

New member
oh no i appreciate it totally, this board is great it just gets frustrating sometimes when promising topics are driven to the ground by those who couldnt care less about others. thanks for your reply
 
T

TheBluesMan

Moderator Emeritus
You're quite welcome, Jericho. :)

For the most part, the staff has a fairly limited tolerance for repeat offenders. Those who habitually derail threads usually find themselves on the outside looking in.
 
C

CyberSEAL

New member
The closing of threads here is ridiculous. Well-run forums have set rules regarding when a moderator can and cannot close a thread. Here it seems a moderator can close a thread on a whim for any reason.

Tonight I came here for the first time in a month at least, and went to post a reply to a perfectly normal thread, when I realized it was closed by a mod for "tripping his BS meter". I'm starting to remember why I don't come here so much anymore. The moderations here is completely unorganized. Sorry if it upsets anyone to here me say that. Ban me and close this thread.
 
R

rhgunguy

Moderator
You know where the door is and you agreed to the TOS.

I have not been here long, but I know the mods have. They have probly seen the same BS a hundred times so I trust their BS meters implicitly. And I thank them for keeping this strech of the information superhighway trash free. This is a great place, becasue of the staff.
 
M

Mike Irwin

Staff
"Well-run forums have set rules regarding when a moderator can and cannot close a thread."

Absolutely disagree.

This forum is, by and large, one of the best run I've ever encountered, and I've been doing this board posting crap since 1991. It's also the reason I've stayed here since April 2000 when I've abandoned dozens of other boards in the same time frame.

The board owner (Rich Lucibella) expects his moderators to use judgement and common sense when addressing problematic posts/posters, and hopes that the posters actually read, and comprehend, the terms of service (fat chance!).

While I'm going out on a limb here, I feel relatively confident in saying that Rich probably has about as much tolerance for establishing form micromanagement procedures as he does for governmental micromanagement. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure how his tolerance level.

I count two moderators here among my personal friends (and yes, there are a couple of others whom I can't really stomach), but as a group they exercise great restraint in their forum management.

I've yet to see a moderator become mad with power here, but I've seen it many other places.

I call it the overinflated computer penis syndrom -- where a moderator closes threads randomly without reason, bans posters whom he doesn't like, or worse, posters who disagree with him, plays favorites, etc., -- essentially a case of MY PENIS IS HUGE BECAUSE I HAVE THE POWER TO KEEP YOU FROM POSTING attitude.

Most of those boards fail in short order as people get sick of the petty ****. I think the lack of that here goes a long way towards explaining why this board has been so successful.

Don't like that, though?

I'm sure there are other boards out there that would suit you better, ones where moderator micromanagent and penis power dominate.

Go forth, armchair seel, and find yourself such a board.
 
W

Wildalaska

Moderator
+1 Mike

I have abandoned (or been booted from :))virtually every Board except this one, and Im no angel here.... yet I feel that this is the best run place out there. There is no power trip crap here whatsoever.

WildandimnotabuttkisseithernyahAlaska
 
C

CyberSEAL

New member
This forum is, by and large, one of the best run I've ever encountered, and I've been doing this board posting crap since 1991. It's also the reason I've stayed here since April 2000 when I've abandoned dozens of other boards in the same time frame.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point. As the original thread started stated, perfectly good discussions are destroyed here through poor moderation. There's no way to get around the fact, it's rampant across this board. I'm not looking for micromanagement, but if you think this is good moderation, you don't have much experience with forum development.
 
H

Harley Quinn

Moderator
It appears the owner is trying to control it

I beleive he is stepping in trying to assert his thoughts and desire. He is not putting his Moderator's in a spot, he will do it also.
Which is good IMHO.

The fact is try not to get to heated. I am sure we all make a mistake or two, but the thing is to try and remember, it is you who will fall.

If you don't care well then break the rules, or take a breather and go away for awhile, or get fired and then you won't have to concern yourself any longer.
The fact that they are closed and you are still here is a good sign for you.;)

Many will return under a different handle and start the same thing or maybe, just maybe, learn from it.

I think to return under a different name and be civil might be the way they want:confused: or not.

HQ:)
 
G

Greg Bell

New member
I have been here since 1999 and I have to say that I have noticed that TFL is losing some of the spirit that made it a fun place. Recently, a very important member of the TFL family was booted for "pushing the limits" one time too many. This guy was no troll, he was probably one of the most knowledgeable members (if not the most) here. I won't mention his name because the last time I did the post was deleted.

I have also noticed the way threads that would have made it in the past have started getting locked quickly. Further, moderators are interjecting more often, IMHO, to the detriment of useful discussion.

Obviously, this is not my forum, and the owners can do whatever they want. I just don't feel the changes here have been for the better.
 
D

Double Naught Spy

New member
I think you're missing the point. As the original thread started stated, perfectly good discussions are destroyed here through poor moderation.
Click to expand...

Yes, but I have seen good forums ruined by what many members felt was essentially gestapo moderation. Whether or not the moderators are doing a good job seems to depend on how well they let things develop on their own and how well they don't. The problem is, what one member sees as inattention and/or lack of polices is what another sees as freedom. What one sees as good moderation is what another sees as too many restrictions and gestapo tactics.

Well-run forums have set rules regarding when a moderator can and cannot close a thread.
Click to expand...
Since you think this forum is so terribly challenged in its moderation and that it needs better policies, maybe you can do something more constructive than complain here and in other threads of this forum about how much you don't like it and maybe instead suggest specifically what policies you think need to be inacted, provide examples of forums you think are being so well run and then maybe you can make a better point to the moderators. Otherwise, your comments just sound like complaining but have no substance. You can complain about the weather, but your complaints alone aren't going to do much to change it. Try seeding the clouds instead.
 
O

orionengnr

New member
this forum, and THR

are the best out there. Perfect? Maybe not, but what is?

Show me a better forum and I will join. I have not found it yet.
 
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