I've put a question to the site admin about a thread devoted to the personal messages between posters.

I'd like to see a lot less of that stuff on the topic threads but also recognise that the personal interactions, clearing up misunderstandings etc are important in this community.

A designated place to take those discussions seems like a workable compromise. Hopefully that would give the editors more freedom to delete off topic posts in the main threads as well resulting in a larger proportion of relevant posts in the main threads.

How do others feel about this?

I think it needs to be a site decision but would like the views of others.

R0bert

I think thats kind of a good idea. Whether it would work or not depends on how it is implemented, ie how does a personal interaction get shifted to a different forum/thread?

In principle it would seem a good idea because so many threads turn into personal exchanges which become less and less related to the topic/article at hand.

Perhaps posters should be able to contact each other directly, and so could 'self censor.' This coupled with a way of blocking contact from specific users might also work.

Ok I agree as well but if you look back on the thread you will see that I was having an innocent dig at Greer which by the way she whole heartedly deserved. Then Tao stuck his/her nose in and whamo. But yes I too agree that too often than not forums turn into crap. Thanks RObert

I kind of like the personal exchanges, although sometimes they get a bit too personal. I'd suggest that if a third party suggests two posters take their dispute outside (say if they're clogging up a thread, or if the argument is getting too off topic) then it would be good manners to do so. I wouldn't like to see this as a way of censoring the more left of field comments, though: sometimes these are the most interesting part of the OLO experience.

snout, thanks for putting an alternate viewpoint.

Any suggestions on how we can keep it interesting for people who enjoy this stuff and make it more accessable for those who are sick of it.

I've wondered at times how many potential posters who are out there who don't post just because of the level of personal attack that goes on in the threads. Some clearly prefer that approach while others of us would love to see it disappear.

I agree with the point about not using it censor hence my preference for somewhere to take it outside. I've not spent enough time on how to differentiate between topic relevant comments and low level flaming, sometimes the difference will be hard to spot.

R0bert

Things do get a bit personal, though it does allow everyone to develop acceptance and fine tune their ability to communicate and debate. We all have to put up with each others various rantings and repetitiveness, yet restrain ourselves from allowing our ego's or I'm right to takeover, yet hard for those too blind to see.

From my observations of OLO, new posters tend to test the waters to see how far they can push the limits, until they either disappear when they realise they're looking foolish, or decide to become apart of the discussions, rationalising their responses while still getting their message across.

It's boring reading the same thing over and over, but that's the reality of life. I agree lots of people don't want to be confronted on their beliefs and viewpoints, so freak out when challenged. With humility which I believe most posting here have towards others particularity new people, is commendable unless they post complete crap, then they can expect top be short shafted.

I got involved in another forum (web diary) awhile ago but discovered it was basically for the academic elite and they only wanted to talk semantics and beat their brows to show their eloquent ignorance. Needless to say I saw many who posted reasonable questions, only to be belittled with empty semantic waffle, or ignored. So like me they no longer posted. At least here people actually go out of their way to explain to new posters their mistakes, if the poster is seeking understanding.

General discussions should be a bit more personal as they involve the thread input of those participating here, whilst article comments should be less personal as rarely does the author poke their head in. I believe on most occasions its because they cant support their suppositions, whilst threads started by posters, include the ongoing thoughts of the thread starter. Which leads to more robust debate, and we have to understand the predominance of some genders to waffle on. OOps