Melissa Jablonski
I'm a female and I'm not offended.
But, again, it is not my responsibility to talk in Disney.com mode on various discussion forums because a kid might happen to log on. Do you censor yourself this way on discussion forums? I sure don't.Josh, unfortunately although the target is for those who chase (well mostly), the simple fact is this is a very public site. With the exception of Bar and Grill, everything else is visible and read by many minors. Children are especially fascinated with storm chasers and this site I'm sure get's it's share or the youngsters. Now if this was a totally private site, and one that isn't visited by business people, NWS personnel and other people looking for good resources than it would matter, but this site is a resource for those folks and more, and the content published is a reflection of the users, posters, and owners.
But, again, it is not my responsibility to talk in Disney.com mode on various discussion forums because a kid might happen to log on. Do you censor yourself this way on discussion forums? I sure don't.
And, as has already been established, this silly talk that got a few people upset happened in the Bar & Grill forum anyway-- which is exactly the area where it should happen and which isn't open to random surfers.
Like I said, it doesn't really matter to me personally-- if you look at my history of posting here, my posts are 100% family friendly. But I really, strongly disagree in principle with this idea that we all need to talk in a child-friendly way on a forum that isn't intended for children. Again, parents need to supervise their children's Internet activity-- that is the issue.
Also, as I pointed out before.... Any kid surfing Internet discussion forums unsupervised is coming across content much, much scarier than that silly "boobies" thread.
It is only your responsibility to follow the forum rules, just as you are when in someone's house, business, etc. There is a level of conduct that is expected by the owner, on a forum it's usually the admin and moderators that set that tone. Of course what the expectations are and if they are realistic is what is in part what is being argued about.But, again, it is not my responsibility to talk in Disney.com mode on various discussion forums because a kid might happen to log on. Do you censor yourself this way on discussion forums? I sure don't.
But I really, strongly disagree in principle with this idea that we all need to talk in a child-friendly way on a forum that isn't intended for children. Again, parents need to supervise their children's Internet activity-- that is the issue.
LOL...yeah...just look at Eastern.Also, as I pointed out before.... Any kid surfing Internet discussion forums unsupervised is coming across content much, much scarier than that silly "boobies" thread.
The whole 'don't read it if you don't like it' mantra is flawed. That's like opening a strip club in a residential neighborhood and barking at the residents who complain to 'not look at it if you don't like it'.
Yep-- if you read my previous posts on this topic, you'll see that I've repeatedly emphasized that this is a private board and the owners are therefore free to set whatever rules of engagement they like.It is only your responsibility to follow the forum rules, just as you are when in someone's house, business, etc. There is a level of conduct that is expected by the owner, on a forum it's usually the admin and moderators that set that tone. Of course what the expectations are and if they are realistic is what is in part what is being argued about.
You can chuckle at it, but Eastern works because the main, regular participants there are all cool with the tone and vibe of the place.LOL...yeah...just look at Eastern.
I'll pipe in with an alternate suggestion.
Instead of simply removing members or restricting admission to the forums based on the label of "chaser", "non-chaser", or whatever you can think of, how about creating a merit system where people earn/lose points based off of the quality of the posts they add to this forum? For example you could give 10 points to someone who makes a truly quality post to this thread, 0 points for someone who makes a post that does not contribute to the quality of this thread, but a post that also is not detrimental or demeaning to the forum, and take away 10 points when someone posts something that is off-topic, rude, or in some other way in violation of the rules or objectives of this forum.
You would have to restrict the point giving to non B&G areas for this to even be considered. However, you could do a trial period, say 3 or 6 months, see how many points people accumulate, then set some sort of standard (like you must accumulate 100 points over 6 months to stay in the club).
It's kind of like the infractions policy, only you get points for adding to the quality of the forum instead of only being punished for breaking the rules.
I know this would be difficult for the mods to enforce given their number relative to that of the regular members, but it's a way to weed out members that are not contributing to the quality of Stormtrack.
One thing that I dont understand is moderation is here to enforce the same rules we are supposed to abide by, yet they engage in the same name calling in the chat room: