Thoughts on a Thunderdome?

[Meg]

What are your thoughts on having a Thunderdome- a board set up that allows harsh commentary and rudeness in order to fight it out and ultimately hug it out? 

Pros:
-Confine the hatefest that seems to be creeping into other threads to one area.
-Let's people who need a bit more polite environment know that elsewhere is safe.
-Let's people actually work out issues instead of us coming in and telling them to "shut up and play nice"
-Let's people let off steam
-Defines when being "rude" is appropriate and when it's not.

Cons:
-Means the other areas need more moderation.  Which isn't something we're able to really provide right now.  Kai and Aftercrescent are amazing and I ask so much of them already.  I'd need to add a couple of other moderators on to feel like hatefest could be contained elsewhere and also be really clear as to our expectations for the boards-- which change so it's difficult to define.
-Could spiral out of control.  May make a mountain out of a molehill in terms of an issue.
-People may go in with nothing to bitch about and fight for the sake of fighting.

Thoughts?

[Dan2]

Eh... I... can barely see it working out.  If you could get more moderators, it would work out a lot better, but even then I see one major problem with the division.
Your podcast tends to discuss the topics that a lot of people want to be able to discuss openly, even flagrantly, and if the division is to separate podcast-based discussion from angry or abusive discussion, then the division isn't going to work well.

Also, it seems to me that knowing that this place is as open and free as it is, is something you guys thrive on.  You guys have a unique set of boards, and I think that dividing it in such a way that part of it required heavy moderation would end up making you feel like this is a job rather than something you enjoy (if you currently enjoy running it).
I can certainly understand the potential need for a division.  The boards were created for the podcast, so the question becomes: which is more important; the podcast, or the current board atmosphere?

[Tshern]

The basic concept is workable, but needs a little fine adjustment. Most importantly, moderators and admins would have to put clear boundaries so everyone knows what is suitable for other boards and what needs to be taken to the Thunderdome. Adding a few moderators would make this a lot easier and there are a lot of people who are reliable enough for the task.

Anyway, I think it could be get separated from other boards if everyone just knew the exact rules. Needs a bit tinkering, but I am for this idea as long as it doesn't entirely take away the acerbic nature of the forum in general.

[Blade2718]

Some people thrive on attention, some people get needy when you ignore them.  Many people feel that because there is no face-to-face communication with one another, they have the right to be as arrogant and douche-y as they want, claiming logic or passion as a motivating factor.*  The main challenge with forums, or Internet communication in general, is that you cannot stop it by any means short of a magic bullet.

If it were accepted that people could continue to act out their personal issues with one another over PM or something, then I think that the overall environment would feel lighter, though there is no guarantee that hostilities won't spill out into other areas.  And, from what few truly epically insane threads I've read, people just can't seem to agree to disagree, so there's no guarantee anyone would "hug it out" at the end.

People will be people and if you want to continue to have an open, loosely-regulated forum, then I feel that this type of chest-thumping, hoiler-than-thou behavior is the price to pay.





*In fact, there is no purely practical purpose behind that type of behavior except for self-aggrandization and I would be so bold as to extend the definition of douchebaggery to include it, warranting temporary and permanent banning.

[veekie]

I think for something like this, taking it to PMs is better than an area thats essentially a flamewar arena.

[Hallack]

I don't think it a good idea.  Folks around here seem to get worked up enough to spill over to other threads as is, not to mention hold what seems to be interweb grudges due to perceived or actual stupidity which seems to pop up in unrelated threads as snarky insults.

Something like this I think is likely to stir even more ire in those prone to be a part of such dramas.

[Tshern]

I consider it a decent idea if all flaming can be contained there. No-one has to enter and those are not willing to read pages of bitching don't have to suffer from it.

[SorO_Lost]

We already have a place to bitch and flame at each other. Adding another one won't help.

[Tshern]

We already have a place to bitch and flame at each other. Adding another one won't help.

We do? There is a specific board dedicated for arguments between board members?

[SorO_Lost]

We have a place, I didn't say board. I said place.

If you are talking about flat out flaming without any reason or even some minor limits that prevent pointless spam, then no we don't. People wanting one should probably just be banned now to save the headache later. Otherwise call a DoW on someone and bitch at them about their stupid posts in the bitch all about it sub-forum.

What good would creating a forum that pretty much just lets you post back to back compared to a DoW going to improve anything? Probably not, just check the list of cons for what it will probably end up doing.  Let's see what other ideas people come up with instead...

[Tshern]

DoW lacks the spontaneity and I consider it a major flaw in the concept. Thunderdome, on the other hand, would give easier access to the whine house and no-one would actually have to tell who's the winner and who's the loser. It would be smart to make sure posts at Thunderdome do not increase one's postcount to avoid spamming...

[AfterCrescent]

DoW lacks the spontaneity and I consider it a major flaw in the concept.

How so? Granted this is from the perspective of someone who has to read through loads of bitching, but it looks like the following...

Person A: Says point 1.
Person B: Counters with point 2 and insults A.
Person A: Returns the shit.

Mod: Take it to the Thunderdome (DoW).

From the perspective of bystanders and mods, it seems the same. I get the feeling people are anti-DoW based on some semantics, because Thunderdome=DoW.

[Blade2718]

DoW lacks the spontaneity and I consider it a major flaw in the concept.

How so? Granted this is from the perspective of someone who has to read through loads of bitching, but it looks like the following...

Person A: Says point 1.
Person B: Counters with point 2 and insults A.
Person A: Returns the shit.

Mod: Take it to the Thunderdome (DoW).

From the perspective of bystanders and mods, it seems the same. I get the feeling people are anti-DoW based on some semantics, because Thunderdome=DoW.

Granted I don't slog through the wasteland that is DoW, my understanding is that one is limited to a single post to make one's point and your opponent is likewise limited in DoW, while the proposed Thunderdome allows two people to slug it out until one poster has not conceded and is declared victorious.

[AfterCrescent]

Not really. The DoW mechanic was just that, from my understanding, during a DoW 'debate' the people involved need to take turns. No posting, and then an hour later posting more, and then an hour later posting that since your opponent hasn't responded, they're an idiot and must forfeit. When duking it out, give your opponent a chance to counter your point.

[Elennsar]

This is as a result of talking with Ubernoob (on MSN) about a DoW (the concepts behind it, not details).

In my opinion, it would be an excellent idea to have a "To the lulz!" thread for arguements that aren't intended to have anyone actually resolve anything and shake hands afterward, but are basically one side (or both) feeling bored/frustrated and wanting to get lulz at the "expense" of the other person.

So like a DoW, but without the intent for logic, facts, or even respect.

Just not-serious bashing (based on actual events OR not, depending) between the two parties as a way to relieve frustration and get out all the nasty (but funny) things you wanted to say.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not. But I'd like to know whether or not anyone else thinks it is, because if used, it would allow for keeping actual DoW threads seperate from threads that are meant just to become insultfests.

Thoughts?

[AfterCrescent]

El, I moved this here because what you're talking about, from my understanding of the purpose of a Thunderdome.

[Elennsar]

More light hearted (or at least light headed), less serious (as in, its not meant to hurt, its purely to mutually vent), otherwise yes.

Thanks! If you think it fits here, I'm not going to argue just because the "tone" is different.

I interpeted the Thunderome as more the vicious nasty and less the must-release-frustration-about, but that's me.

Could go either way.

[AfterCrescent]

Ah, I see. Well that could be an interesting discussion. If there turns out to be a use/need for a Thunderdome, would it be better to have a more lighthearted one or a darker one? 

[Elennsar]

I would vote for having the option to do either, but making it clear that no one is forced to take part in it if they don't want to.

If someone is insisting on forming a thread for mutual nastiness but the other person doesn't want to deal with the issue like that, then its just the first person being selfish.

But if both parties are okay with shouting things at each other that make the eyes of the readers BLEED, then no reason to prohibit it.

This has to be mutual thing. It takes two to tango, it should take two to get a Fight It Out thread. If the two can't come to an agreement on how to handle it, a mod (or mods) needs to find a way to keep both from spreading slime (of whatever sort) on any and every other thread until they can reach an agreement.

[InnaBinder]

If we have a DoW or Thunderdome or Smackdown Fest or Measuring Contest or whatever we're calling it, making participation optional makes the mechanic pointless.  The idea is to get two people to talk it out/duke it out get it out of their system, and stop cluttering up one, two, or 37 threads with vitriol aimed at one another.  I fully support the notion that once the gauntlet for a DoW/Thunderdome or what have you has been thrown, the two people involved need to put up or shut up, rather than ignoring it and continuing on in the fashion that resulted in the gauntlet being thrown to begin with.