Are you serious Inks?

[Gustaf]

Another option, a more "moderate" one , might have been just to cull those posts deemed beyond the pale, rather than freeze the thread sinking it into oblivion. But that can get labor intensive. But in the end, part of the job of being a mod is being a good politician.  One just cannot wholly escape that.

The whole idea of the thread was one of ultimately insulting other people, something that opebo and others really brought to my attention and convinced me of over recent months on The Atlas board.

Plus, that thread had too many problems, and when you have to delete over a page of crap - it's time for the thread to just be put to rest.

How are we better off with a forum that respects stupidity?

Stupidity is subjective. And the forum is supposed to encourage a civil atmosphere, not bullying.

[Gustaf]

Another option, a more "moderate" one , might have been just to cull those posts deemed beyond the pale, rather than freeze the thread sinking it into oblivion. But that can get labor intensive. But in the end, part of the job of being a mod is being a good politician.  One just cannot wholly escape that.

The whole idea of the thread was one of ultimately insulting other people, something that opebo and others really brought to my attention and convinced me of over recent months on The Atlas board.

Plus, that thread had too many problems, and when you have to delete over a page of crap - it's time for the thread to just be put to rest.

How are we better off with a forum that respects stupidity?

Stupidity is subjective. And the forum is supposed to encourage a civil atmosphere, not bullying.

And quoting a post in that thread was merely an expression that you believe what a person said is absurd- not bullying, in any way.

That's not how it was used. In fact, people used to sometimes put up posts in the comedy goldmines that didn't actually belong there. The Deluge was made for those posts. I never considered it to be a good thing.

It was a way of pointing at someone and going "haha, look at this moron"

And it tended to be used by people to score points against their personal or political enemies instead of actually engaging in discussion.

And based on the few interventions Dave has made historically, his standards for tone and conduct are way, way beyond what anyone here can imagine.

There is also a difference between good-natured fun and mean-spirited bullying. There has been way too much of the latter on here.

[Gustaf]

There's one question still waiting for an answer:

Since deluge thread was appearently fine for months, why to lock is now without an appearent reason?

Have you even bothered to read what has been said?

I guess I will have to repeat it:

1. It hasn't been fine for months - it's been discussed for some time and been considered a problem.

2. Inks explicitly said he had to delete a lot of stuff in it because it got completely out of hand and that's what tipped the scale, the straw that broke the camel's back and what have you.

I'm not saying either of those necessarily concludes the argument or anything, but still.

[Gustaf]

I don't think I claimed that every post there was. But it very often was. It's bullying because of the pile-on effect. And because you're not allowed to defend yourself in threads like that. (If you do you will be met by comments such as "good thing you're posting directly into this thread now, haha")

You don't think telling a poster that he should post directly into a thread devoted to bad and stupid posts constitutes bullying or a personal attack? Because I do.

It's basically a thread devoted to public shaming. Look at this guy and his idiocy. It's not mature and it encourages a poor attitude to other posters.

[Gustaf]

Given Gustaf's habitual extreme condescension, it's rather odd that he's complaining.

You, of all people, are accusing me of extreme condescension? And people used to think you had no sense of humour.

1. I never claimed to be perfect. I'm sure I made mistakes in my posting.

2. I do know that I generally avoid posting "haha" posts making fun of other posters or starting threads devoted to attacking them. To me there has always been a big difference between things said in the heat of an argument within a thread on some topic and going out of one's way to attack someone.

3. People who are rude, mean and offensive lose my respect. I won't tip-toe around posters who are complete jerks. Most of my "condescension" comes out against people who are being condescending themselves while at the same time having no idea what they're talking about. I have not acted condescendingly towards people who are merely a bit daft (which is something a lot of posters on here engage in and is what is problematic).

4. I think personal attacks should generally be backed up by evidence (I try to do that myself). So, Xahar give me some examples of this habitual, extreme condescension.