Author Topic: On Fuck You Threads  (Read 10866 times)

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Offline Lithp

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On Fuck You Threads
« on: February 06, 2012, 03:11:18 pm »
Premise: F&B basically contains 2 types of threads~threads bitching about outside problems, & threads bitching about other users.

For the most part, the former category runs pretty smoothly. The latter...not so much. It's pretty much seen as an instant dramawhoring attempt, making people by & large try to avoid doing it until things absolutely explode, often choosing to keep going at it in the original thread. That runs counter to the point of allowing people to do that in the first place. At the same time, it would be stupid to start a thread over every little slight, especially because they ARE so prone to just becoming "Fuck you, you fucking dick."

It seems to me that adding some criteria to making a thread that attacks a user is the best way to avoid...that. And many of them are unspoken already.

1. The big one that occurs to me is, it should be an issue multiple people are having. If it's just you & Jack, & no one else has shown particilar interest in yours or Jack's problems, it's something that should really be settled via PM. If it's you against several other users, that still counts, because it's still a community issue. But it has to be a clear conflict.
2. There should be some level of logic to these. "You're an asshole" is something no one can argue effectively. Instead, the thread should be devoted to giving reasons for a position that is arguable. But that doesn't mean you need to forego insults entirely. A good example would be, "You back-pedaled here, here, & here; justified slavery here, & told me to go die here, which is a violation of Da Rules. You asshole."

I just think F&B is a good tool to manage issues with other users, because truth be told, flame wars seldom occur in a vaccuum. However, I think we've been using it very, very wrong.

So since the way the site is run is being re-examined, I felt it was a good idea to cast my hand in there, & see where it gets us. Feel free to point out flaws with the approach, add ideas, & comment as necessary.

Offline N. De Plume

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2012, 03:50:37 pm »
Don’t really have any comments on what you said at this point, Lithp, but I do want to register agreement with the general premise.
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Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2012, 06:25:54 pm »
I think that flaming other users in F&B should be outright banned. If a user has a problem with another user's behavior, they should take it up with a mod.
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Offline MaybeNever

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2012, 07:26:53 pm »
I kind of thought that flames were, you know, the point of the forum called "Flame and Burn".
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Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2012, 07:28:22 pm »
Yeah, but flaming other users in F&B never causes rational discussion. It causes drama and bitching. What starts out as a simply rant turns into a thread where, sooner or later, everyone will violate the "Don't be a dick rule."
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Offline Smurfette Principle

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2012, 07:39:45 pm »
This. Everyone ends up taking their drama to the F&B thread. Though I do still think one form of user-directed flaming is acceptable, and that's the "this thread is devolving, let's pick it up and move it somewhere else" thing. If you're having a private disagreement, by all means take it to the mods or a PM. But if we have, say, another incident like the one with Cestle, where the drama wasn't strictly private but getting out of hand, then I say the thread should get split at the start of the argument and dumped in F&B.

Offline SimSim

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2012, 07:41:09 pm »
Yeah, but flaming other users in F&B never causes rational discussion. It causes drama and bitching. What starts out as a simply rant turns into a thread where, sooner or later, everyone will violate the "Don't be a dick rule."
That's why the rules are heavily relaxed in F&B. Off the top of my head I can think of only one time when someone got banned for something they said in F&B. That was jokingly telling someone to commit suicide.

I think that F&B does serve a good purpose. Sometimes people are going to butt heads and when you're trying to have a civil discussion or debate a private spot for them to have it out is good, rather than in the middle of the debate or conversation.

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2012, 07:51:37 pm »
User-bashing threads lead to drama, drama leads to a lot of hurt feelings on both sides, and that's terrible. It can all simply be avoided if users took up their issues with mods.

User-bashing is not a spectator sport.
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Offline SimSim

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2012, 08:07:25 pm »
Most of the threads in F&B that involve other users are about issues the mods can't really deal with. The threads tend to be A is a poppyhead because of X,Y, and Z, and not due to rule breaking. What can a mod do if there's no rule breaking going on?

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2012, 08:08:48 pm »
The point is that the drama leads to rule-breaking that could have been avoided if user-bashing threads were banned in the first place.

Hell, if the LHM thread and the Vene thread were destroyed the second they popped up, the flame war would not have continued to this point. As for the original threads they spun off of, well, the mods can simply delete the derails and order everyone back on topic, no?
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Offline Old Viking

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2012, 08:12:21 pm »
Wait. Would this mean I can no longer say, "Let's you and him fight?"
I am an old man, and I've seen many problems, most of which never happened.

Offline Smurfette Principle

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2012, 08:13:30 pm »
As for the original threads they spun off of, well, the mods can simply delete the derails and order everyone back on topic, no?

But sometimes they aren't actual derails. The Cestle thread was on topic, he just kept going in circles and refused to answer honestly.

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2012, 08:15:46 pm »
That wasn't a "flame cestle" thread. It was asking a legitimate question and he refused to answer and behaved dickishly.
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Offline SimSim

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2012, 08:16:33 pm »
And this point has been previously addressed.

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: On Fuck You Threads
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2012, 08:17:47 pm »
I just think that if a dispute reaches a point where personal attacks are being made, the users should be warned until they are no longer acting like dicks. It does not justify a derail thread that is expressly for the purpose of being a dick.
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There are very few problems that cannot be solved with a good taint punching.