This is also not how it went down ON YOUR OWN SITE
In thread specifically about technical or very in depth information posts were to stay pertinent to the information at hand. If someone thinks they have something else to talk about they are more than welcome to make another thread about the unrelated topic. Again the example I use is one from W&C like my thread comparing the AK 47 and M16 and the differences in operation the content of that thread should be about that topic, SINCE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE CLICKED ON THE THREAD IN THE FIRST PLACE TO READ, not the values of disarmament or anyone's personal politics that should be taken to their own but also allowed threads about those topics in the section.
Well said Spectre and how people can't understand the "damage" that is created by ALLOWING off-topic tripe to remain just baffles me. SO MANY SECTIONS on Totse were utterly destroyed by allowing trolls to exercise their "free speech"(?) with complete impunity...and it will chase away potential users. Most of the sections that discussed religion, the paranormal, conspiracies became so IRRELEVANT and worthless....because you had an army of kidiots that would troll the threads because they didn't like or agree with the subject matter.
I don't give a fuck if people want to flame me later in B&M or somewhere else for next 10 years fowhatever beliefs in any thread...but ruining a topic with nonsensical flames..."Herp. Derp, you believe in ghosts, watch out for Casper"....only taints the productive discussions. Flame wars then ensue, and next you have is pages and reams of nonsense and insults being thrown back and forth, all the while the original discussion gets lost in the MESS (that should have been cleaned up). Someone new to the boards interested in such discussion clicks on said thread and finds nothing more than dimestore insults and 4-chan memes as "contribution"....they'll go on their merry way and look elsewhere. You haven't attracted or retained a potential new "quality" contributor. instead just chased them off to find another corner of the internet.
That should be common sense and easily understandable for ANYONE that has spent just a couple of hours on message forums. And hiding under the guise/EMPTY RHETORIC of "free speech" is what got us here today. Totse finally closing down because of the army of trolls that nobody took the time or care to remove, and let their mindless graffiti remain. And Zoklet taking it even further with lesser quality forums, and the irrelevance of the information was even worse.
Why repeat history a third time, and allow off-topic childish and just outright STUPID responses remain on a thread if you SINCERELY want a quality forum for discussion?
