Just too bad

Karen Politte

Karen Politte

EF5
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
890
Location
Palaven
I know it's "the rules" - but I think it's just too bad that Mike Peregrine's "3/12 storm structure" thread in W&C got locked. That was the first thread this chase season that I had actually felt inclined to contribute to in a semi-intelligent way as it related to something I experienced and witnessed myself AND it was an interesting topic to post about and consider - and I was enthused to see actual debate, observations and example photographs being posted there. To lock a thread like that and prevent any further discussion stifles contributions that should be ENCOURAGED here on this forum in ANY section.

I haven't had time to read all the new rules that have been made up for the new chase season about posting here. I'm sure I'll break one too sooner or later if I continue to contribute. But - if we were supposed to wait 48 hours out after the 3/12 event passed before discussing it in W&C - well I think it has been 48 hours, right? Considering KC was getting hit by tor-warned supercells at like 8am in the morning on 3/12.

Too many rules. Too anal. I still really respect the job that ST's mods and admin do - but I'd have to disagree with this particular instance of the rules being enforced - IF Mike broke any rules.

K.
 
I was under the impression this sort of thread is still allowed under DISC in the reports forum. I wouldn't get too upset. It's better we figure out the rules and what needs work and what doesn't well before chase season gets under way.
 
Karen, I would much rather NOT be in a position where I have to enforce the rules, and then hear complaints about how I shouldn't enforce them.

Here it is, all spelled out:
Special Rules:
(1) Purpose of Chase Forecasts and Chase Reports forums. These forums are intended to diffuse real-time information on storm chasing events that are about to happen, are in progress, or have happened within the last 48 hours. If an event has occurred less than 48 hours ago, you can discuss it only in the Chase Forecasts or Chase Reports forum. Once 48 hours has passed, this restriction is waived, but we encourage using the available threads. [/i]

We had a big ole' sticky about this in Weather & Chasing over the past 5 days to alert members that reports were NOT allowed in Weather & Chasing. Go look at http://www.stormtrack.org/forumold/viewforum.php?f=13 -- what do you see as the second post? At this time the Chase Forecast / Chase Reports Rules were revised.

The 48-hour rule is nothing new -- it was in place except during the January-March period where we were allowing reports in Weather & Chasing. If you want to discuss the merits of the 48-hour rule or how we can make the rules better, we're all ears.

Tim
 
But this event was ongoing more than 48 hours ago as of the time I write this, right?

In any event - I personally don't see the need for the "48-hour" rule and I haven't had any reason to test it out over the January-March timeframe. Obviously all the new rules will only just start coming into enforcement now seeing as the board will be getting frequented/posted to more often now that the chase season is here.

In my opinion, any thread that is not ENTIRELY someone's chase account OR related to forecasting/nowcasting/current ongoing events should be allowed in W&C, because in that case it is a discussion about storms/supercells in general - eventhough it has been instigated by recent events - and open discussion should be encouraged. As far as I can see - this post was NOT a REPORT thread.

I'm sorry if I got anybody's hackles up - but I just don't see the need for certain rules if they seem to serve no purpose but to prevent open, intelligent discussion or make it difficult for the potential posters of said discussion to know where (and when) to post. Too much red tape. I'd like to be able to see a thread that I'm interested in replying to WHEREVER it is, type a reply to it and post and discuss the subject in question without worrying that the baby's going to get thrown out with the administrative bathwater.

K.
 
For a few hours - as he said it can be continued in the correct forum. It probably should have been just moved.
 
I think that--given this is a reformatting of the site which has in the past contributed to some initial confusion before settling into a more efficient format--we shouldn't get upset or take it personally when we absentmindedly post in the wrong forum. It's to be expected initially, and Tim and the moderator crew do not mean anything personal by enforcing rules.

As I understand it, the REPORTS area, which includes the DISC format, is for the reporting of an event and discussion up to 48 hours after the conclusion of the event. So, since Sunday's event conclusion was less than 48 hours ago, it would fall into the DISC category until WED a.m. This may feel too "lawyerly" for some but it's easy to understand. DISC is now the first place to talk about a recent event, and now Weather & Chasing is the second place, once the event is no longer considered "recent" but instead "historical". Yes, 48 hours is arbitrary; so is any measure of time.

I think the DISC format is a great idea, but we'll have to get used to using it properly, and be less touchy about moderator action for a bit until then. It just takes a moment of consideration before initiating a topic.

Now, that said, I do think that moving Mike's thread to DISC would have been the best solution. It is a good topic especially for those who could not even puterchase Sunday.
 
As others have noted, this is really the entire purpose of the DISC thread. The mod crew decided that it was best to give REPORTS it's own forum, and add a DISC thread as a 'catchall' for any post-event questions, analyses, and general discussion of a specific event. In this case, Mike's comments really were pretty specific (at lease in origin) to the 3/12 event. If DISC-type material can be put in W&C, then what's the purpose of the DISC thread? In the end, if the discussion is specific to3/12, it should go in the DISC thread, particularly if it occurs in the first 48 hours. These are new rules, so I expect a little confusion.
 
It seems to me that there are so many changes going on in the forums that not too many people know what's going on anymore.
 
I know you mean well and are just trying to implement the functionality that everyone was hoping for. And I sincerely hope the board is reaching those goals. At the same time I can't help but feel a little disappointed in the way this was handled. It's really not a problem, though. For what it's worth, I thought the 48 hour limitation had passed and was eager to discuss some event particulars that I felt would become lost in the discussion thread. Hopefully we'll all just see how this works and then learn the right way to go about things. In any event, I won't waste anyone's time arguing the point. I did want to thank Karen for being willing to say something, though.
 
Happy birthday Mike (thought I saw that come up on the calendar)... sorry that tainted it a bit. I think things will be running a lot smoother here in a couple of weeks.

Tim
 
Happy birthday Mike (thought I saw that come up on the calendar)... sorry that tainted it a bit. I think things will be running a lot smoother here in a couple of weeks.

Tim
[/b]
Click to expand...

LOL, Mike, you're turned 5 today? Don't want to threadjack, but happy birthday!
 
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