Forum Definition

[MikePA]

Perhaps it's the logic courses I had in college moving from the subconscious part of my brain to the conscious part, but with all the new members in TBN I thought it might be good to note this forum is called 'Off Topic & Just For Fun'. So, any postings must be both 'Off Topic' and 'Just For Fun' and religion and politics, while certainly 'Off Topic' on a tractor board are not typically 'Just For Fun'. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Just a glance at the headlines reveals there's no lack of 'Off Topic' items to dicuss, but there are very few headlines that are 'Just For Fun'. Tractor related topics are enough to 'enflame the passions' /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif on occassion so please make sure your posts fulfill both requirements of this forum.

 

[rf33]

Mike,

I noticed that a thread has been removed from this forum, and although I understand we must be cautious as to not get into flame wars, it seems to me that this was perhaps a little too preemptive a move. I agree that the primary purpose of this board is not to discuss political issues, but perhaps a light hearted jab at a public figure is not so extreme as to warrant thread deletion? I hope my comments are not out of line here, but I think that we must strive to make this an open place to discuss various issues. I know that I have a bad habit of speaking and or posting before I have fully thought things through, and for that I appreciate both the moderators and the "edit your post" function, but I just wonder how and where we draw the line?

 

[GarageSmoker]

I moderate a forum on another subject and I can tell you from experience that sometimes you can tell when thread has the potential for heading south on you. At that point you have a decision to make... let everyone get pissed at each other, or just at you.

Quite frankly it depends on how I feel on a given day what approach I take. I do know that it doesn't do any forum good to have it's frequent posters ticked at each other, though.

Just my 2 cents, and worth no more than that;

GS

 

[Muhammad]

I have never been a fan of political discussions taking part even here in the off topic forum, but quite a few have been left to be played out... unfortunately, some have gotten more heated than others, and that is exactly what we want to avoid.

 

[rf33]

I guess that does make alot of sense. I think that I had the feeling that the thread started off on the wrong foot too, but knowing this group, I expected it to be a lighthearted discussion of some really off topic material. Oh well, no harm done, just wondering where we draw the line.

 

[Boondox]

I think past experience has given those who have been here a while (like the moderators) a pretty good feel for what spells trouble and what is generally safe. I come here to learn about tractors and implements, and to share the social benefits of hanging out with others who have similar interests.

Just like at my home, I know some of my friends hold views different than my own, and so take pains to ensure when I invite them to my home I do not broach topics that might be sensitive to them. It's an "In the name of friendship, let's not go there!" sort of thing.

Pete

 

[rf33]

Well put Pete. I generally come here to discuss tractors, implements and to share thoughts and feelings with the rest of the group. I have just noticed alot of caution taken lately due to a couple of threads gone bad, and have seen a couple of other boards go too far (in my opinion) in the past to become so worried about offending anyone as to remove useful posts which had any opinion to them at all. (Not that the thread removed from here had any useful info though/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) I think that you are right on the money though with your caution with your friends too, I have a few friends who I know better than to broach certain topics with also.

 

[rf33]

Muhammad, I certainly respect your decisions to remove certain threads which have gone bad, and am thankful that the members here have generally been respectful of the feelings of others. I guess I have missed some of the threads which have gone bad in this forum, and so perhaps I am not fully aware of the dangers in letting these threads continue.

BTW thanks for keeping this site going, it really is a great resource for those of us who like to talk about tractors, especially the green ones/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

 

[MikePA]

Ron, your comments are not out of line. I read the original post (when it was the only post) early this morning. I stared at it for a while, debated removing it, then decided to see where it headed. By the time I checked at lunch time, it had been removed. And while I wasn't the one that removed the thread, I agree with the action. It had headed down hill fast, probably because it started out with the kind of inflammatory words and ideas that political threads typically conclude with.

While I am concerned with off topic threads turning into flame wars, I'm just as concerned (perhaps more concerned) with the energy and time of the TBN members such threads can consume. All of us have a fixed amount of time and energy we can devote to TBN, and I think assisting our fellow TBNers to buy, fix, improve, etc. our tractors is a much more productive use of our time and energies.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Hi Glenn...

I agree that choice is good and healthy...

This started out with tractors and branched off "a little"... but it's still tractors and mainly compact tractors...

If someone is interested in green martians, poetry, and funky hairdos... and wishes to discuss life on the planet Jupiter with their religion and politics... I'm sure somewhere out there on this vast internet... they will have a site for just those people... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

But for now, TractorByNet is for just that... Tractors... /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Could there really be an RP&S forum on a family friendly site?

 

[Boondox]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Glenn -- Why don't you tell us how you really feel?!? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif You certainly have a way with words! I remember one of my profs used to go off about "godless communist secular humanist homosexuals" said so quickly that the entire phrase just sort of blurred into one fantastic word...it took me a few minutes to realize what he said.

I really hope you make it to Empire State Farm Days; if you talk like you write I'd buy you beers and happily listen to you for hours! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Take care, old pal

Pete

 

[rf33]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Yeah Glenn, don't sugar coat it on account of us, let your real feelings out. I think that I see alot of logic in JMIII's post (as usual) about just going to another board to discuss these issues, but I agree that it would be nice to see how many of the members here feel on some of these issues too.

 

[BobT]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Or, as another noted: "The veneer of civilization is very thin."

Just look at Sarajevo, or Bosnia. It really doesn't take much for people to decide, not to debate, but to lop each other's heads off.

There are literally MILLIONS of web sites where people can act out maniacal and absurd thought patterns. Let's keep TBN the happy and cordial place it is.

 

[glennmac]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

So, this is a tractor site and civilization will come to an end if TBN has an RPS forum. I feel like I have entered the twilight zone or Wonderland...... A few facts to interrupt these fantasies..... Re what this site is: (1) The OT&JFF forum compises more than 1/6 of all the total historical posts on this site, and the number of posts in OT&JFF far outnumbers the posts in any other forum except Kubota O&O. (2) Far, far, far and away, the longest thread on this site is in the FeedBack Forum--an endless discussion of how to create and post and shrink and enlarge and discolor and fuzz and sharpen and jpeg and tiff and activate and motivate and pixilate a bunch of completely useless (except for entertainment) digital signatures. It's a computer discussion that belongs in one of the beloved other internet sites. So, let's be factual as well as blunt here: much of the tractor stuff here is mundane and repetitive while much of the creativity and entertainment goes on in OT&JFF........ Now, re the suggestions that civililization will end if TBN has a (moderated or unmoderated, I don't care) RPS forum. Anyone who thinks that ought to question whether they have become so addicted and mind-snatched by the internet that they confuse it with reality. Discussions, arguments or even stark-raving lunacy posted on TBN is nothing more than a pixel pattern lighting up briefly on a few hundred computer screens around the globe. An evanescent triviality, not perceptible among the Brownian movement of air molecules in the real world. .... Anyway, this is all irrelevant to me. I don't post on RPS because I am completely omniscient and omnicompetent on all three subjects as a direct result of reading Charles Krauthammer, Ann Coulter, and TBN.

 

[Harv]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Glenn -

If I understand you correctly, I totally agree.

But then, I'm not sure I understand what you said, so maybe I totally disagree with you.

Fact is, I hardly ever understand you completely, but I love the way you say it.

It is unlikely that you personally will ever get moderated or censored here, 'cuz no moderator will ever be sure what it is they are censoring.

I like your approach.

 

[GarageSmoker]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Glenmac... I added a board called "Trash Talk" to my site. It was for the purpose you suggested. Only rule was the posts couldn't violate the terms of service posted by the provider of the site.

It has been used a couple of times and the guys have been good about not bringing it into the other forums but last i checked there weren't any posts for quite a while. I had and have mixed emotions about it. I don't like that we may have needed it but thankful it is there and can direct posters to it if needed.

Sometimes you just got to vent right?

GS

 

[RobS]

Re: Forum Definition--Yuck, and a Suggestion

Glenn, you articulate well enough to be a Power Trac owner! Oddly, I find myself agreeing with you though I will likely have little interest in the proposed RPS forum. Something about those discussions being formalized takes the fun/interest out of it for me. Just like in the real world, I may engage in a political discussion with some friends over a beer but wouldn't dream of entering a political convention hall to do the same.

Whatever happens of this, keep those brain cells hopping, we all need that /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif