Mephisto

[primitive]

Seems like nobody gets my point here (maybe I need to work a bit on my communication skills ).

If Shrapnel wants an off-topic free forum, thats their prerogative. It will be boring, and maybe a bit suicidal as many of the regular contributors (like me) won't bother to check in very often. But it's their choice.

A censored forum however, is different. Even if posting something political on a game forum is not a big issue, it has become an integral part of the freedoms I value.

So, Please.
Could any Shrapnel personel or one of the Moderators answer this simple question: Is the moving of the election thread a glitch, or is this a policy decission ?

And if its a glitch, please move it back.

[geoschmo]

primitive said:
So, Please.
Could any Shrapnel personel or one of the Moderators answer this simple question: Is the moving of the election thread a glitch, or is this a policy decission ?

And if its a glitch, please move it back.

It's neither a glitch or a firm policy decision. There's not a science to it. We don't have a codified policy stating this kind of thread is ok, and that kind of thread is not. As all of you know there has been much discussion back and forth on the topic. No general agreement has been reached, even among the Moderators. So basically we are just handling things on a thread by thread basis. The same thread might not get moved at another time, even by the same moderator.

[Fyron]

That is a rather poor way to run a forum... leads people to suspect favoritism and other such nasty things.

[Kamog]

Well, I prefer that the OT threads stay in the SEIV area because I rarely read the General forum.

[Captain Kwok]

I don't think Shrapnel wants an OT-free forum or is attempting to implement any sort of censure - I think OTs in re: to space, aliens, or along other general themes of the game are completely fine for this forum.

Perhaps OT threads like those to do with politics, computer items not connected to se4 etc, would be the kind of topics better suited to the general forum.

But of course, we've become so used to this forum being our one-stop shop - can we ever change?

[Gandalf Parker]

Why is this coming up again?
And why is it that everytime someone tries to turn it into a "no OT's allowed" when that was never said? As if it has to be an "all or none" decision.

The shrapnel general forums were created for a purpose. Any forum where there are too many OT threads or threads which seem to shift the mood of the forum off of its purpose, the Moderators have the capability to delete the thread (rarely ever happened), delete some Posts (still very few in any of the forums), lock it, or move it to the general subject area. SEIV has had very little ever done in this area and what was done was the least of these.

BTW comments that "I rarely ever visit the other forums" or the shrapnel front page doesnt really help your case any.

[Fyron]

Why is this coming up again?

Because the first ever OT thread was forcibly moved out of this forum Category.

The shrapnel general forums were created for a purpose.

And they were never used for that purpose, and Shrapnel has _always_ been of the position that OT threads don't need to be moved anywhere.

There are not many OT threads in this forum right now, so the suggestion that the thread was moved due to too many OT threads is not applicable.

BTW comments that "I rarely ever visit the other forums" or the shrapnel front page doesnt really help your case any.

That is a perfectly valid case. There is no reason to visit the rest of the forums if you only play one game published by Shrapnel.

[Renegade 13]

Religion and politics...it seems we must always talk about both at periodic intervals. I'm not saying this is a bad thing; the opposite actually. It helps us all re-evaluate our positions every once in a while, and prevents us from becoming set in our ways, and open to new thoughts and ideas.

What's the point of this? Well, I know the people who frequently visit the SEIV forum fairly well, and for the vast majority, I value their opinions. I do not know the entire Shrapnel Forum community in the same way. Therefore, if I start an OT thread in the SEIV forum, I am intending that thread to be read, and commented on by the patrons of the SEIV forum. I do not need or desire the opinions of the rest of the community.

Basically, if I wanted to know the opinion of all the forumers in the entire Forum, I would start a thread in the General forum. But really, we don't go overboard on the OT, therefore, what's the harm? It may not be SEIV related, and it definitely is Shrapnel's perogative to move, delete, etc threads, but in the end it would lead to a decline in forum traffic, and an overall blow to the SEIV community.

My opinion only, take it as you will.

[Gandalf Parker]

Imperator Fyron said:

Because the first ever OT thread was forcibly moved out of this forum Category.

But the subject was covered.

And they were never used for that purpose, and Shrapnel has _always_ been of the position that OT threads don't need to be moved anywhere.

Interesting viewpoint. But thats kindof based on lack of action rather than "position" isnt it? Are you feeling that it should be a "position" of Shrapnel that a thread cannot be moved from a game forum to the general forum?

BTW comments that "I rarely ever visit the other forums" or the shrapnel front page doesnt really help your case any.

That is a perfectly valid case. There is no reason to visit the rest of the forums if you only play one game published by Shrapnel.

[/quote]

Not from your point of view. But on many sites that does tend to lead to popup ads, banners, losing forum territory to side wings for links to other things on the site, or killing the ability to go directory to a forum without going to the main page first.

[Fyron]

Gandalf Parker said:
But the subject was covered.

Yes, with Richard stating that there would be _no_ change regarding policy towards OT threads.

Interesting viewpoint. But thats kindof based on lack of action rather than "position" isnt it?

The fact that on many occasions in the past Richard has stated as much helps out... But, lack of a certain action for a 3+ year period is a good indicator of position on that action... Especially when the ability to take that action comes up frequently.

Are you feeling that it should be a "position" of Shrapnel that a thread cannot be moved from a game forum to the general forum?

Yes. See earlier post about specific communities, as well as Renegade13's post prior to yours.

Not from your point of view. But on many sites that does tend to lead to popup ads, banners, losing forum territory to side wings for links to other things on the site, or killing the ability to go directory to a forum without going to the main page first.

This is not many sites. This is Shrapnel. It is not like many other sites, and it should never be like such sites. What is your point?

Forcing Users to view the main forum page is pointless, and only harms the Users. There is no possible benefit that can not be emulated by critical announcements appearing at the top of every page or posted in all forums as is done now.