Trolling in political threads: please read

[Ric]

This is a liberally moderated forum and, subject to the Forum Rules, we encourage discussion on all sorts of topics and the expressing of all shades of opinion. However we are receiving an increasing number of complaints about a small number of users who seem determined to troll the forum. Trolling can be defined as gratuitously or deliberately starting arguments or posting inflammatory comments designed to elicit an emotional response. This derails threads and often leads to abuse being thrown around, which is extremely annoying for the majority of users who want to have a constructive debate.

This is starting to impact on the way the forum operates and the enjoyment that responsible users get from it and we have decided to take a much firmer line. An increasing number of warnings have been handed out and users have been banned from specific threads or from the forum itself (both short term and permanently). If you wish to express your opinion then you're free to do so but that must be done constructively, without derailing threads or winding others up and with respect for the opinions of others.

From now, if we consider you are trolling, you are likely to receive a warning, thread ban or 24 hour forum ban without notice. If you are seen to be a persistent offender then you could well face a permanent ban, again without notice. Please ensure, therefore, that you post your opinions with appropriate regard for these guidelines.

Cheers,
Ric

 

[Ric]

Bump.

 

[oakiecokie]

Bump.

Not guilty M`Lud.
He says hopefully. ;)

 

[Ric]

Not guilty M`Lud.
He says hopefully. ;)

Ha, no it was more a reference to the political threads that keep getting pulled because some people seem unable to debate in a civil manner, without resorting to goading and insults. It’s getting a bit tedious and tiresome to deal with.

 

[inchy14]

Apologies for my part in the Russian thread.

I'm not sure what i said would come under trolling, was meant in that way, but it's extremely frustrating when certain posters have a viewpoint that no matter what counter point is put towards them they refuse to accept or see it from the opposite point and just bury their collective heads in the sand. It's why i stay out of the main political threads.

Anyway, apologies to whomever i may have offended.

Cunts.

 

[oakiecokie]

Ha, no it was more a reference to the political threads that keep getting pulled because some people seem unable to debate in a civil manner, without resorting to goading and insults. It’s getting a bit tedious and tiresome to deal with.

Religion and politics ... a recipe for a disaster on any forum Ric. ;)

 

[sir baconface]

Religion and politics ... a recipe for a disaster on any forum Ric. ;)

And don’t mention football.... ;)

 

[remember arthur mann]

And don’t mention football.... ;)

No problem on the rag thread !

 

[Ric]

Apologies for my part in the Russian thread.

I'm not sure what i said would come under trolling, was meant in that way, but it's extremely frustrating when certain posters have a viewpoint that no matter what counter point is put towards them they refuse to accept or see it from the opposite point and just bury their collective heads in the sand. It's why i stay out of the main political threads.

Anyway, apologies to whomever i may have offended.

Cunts.

It wasn't aimed at you or any specific poster really mate, and the "trolling" thread title is a bit misleading (it's just an old thread I bumped as the message seemed pertinent again). It's a more general issue about the political threads on here. As mentioned before there's far too much goading, point scoring etc, often between the same posters, meaning that those who want to have a sensible discussion are drowned out. When warnings or thread bans are handed out, we get accused of censorship and excessive moderating, but if we take a laissez faire approach then the threads just turn to shit.

I think the "General Politics" thread was no longer working, because it was too broad a topic and besides I'm not really keen on "mega threads". For instance, the other day someone mentioned the commons vote about limiting free school meals, a pretty significant issue which merited more scrutiny, but the next three pages were people calling Corbyn and his supporters terrorist sympathisers and communists, and the point was lost.

I think we should trial having separate threads for specific political issues, and seeing how that goes. No guarantee it will improve things - the onus really has to be on users being a bit more polite and respectful to those with different political opinions - but it's worth at least trying. No one likes to see threads continually pulled. Ultimately it's a City forum, yet 90% of our time is spent moderating political threads rather than football ones.

 

[SWP's back]

Totally understand and accept and you’re right Ric.

I do avoid the political threads as a rule and have done for about 9 months as the same arguments happen between the same half dozen on a daily basis.

What angered me last night was that the Russia thread shouldn’t have been remotely political. I’ll stop there before this thread gets derailed by the same things as last nights.