Do We Need ChitChat?

[Bigmallly]

Firstly I would like to say that the Mods deserve a medal in handling some of the contentious topics that have arose on the vine recently, so:

Do we need ChitChat? - Definitely.

Does it need Re-Formatting? - Probably.

What I would like to propose is that the "General Chat" section has specifically selected topics. i.e Rant Thread, What makes you happy, Good Morning, Just for fun, You know when you are getting old. Basically keep the most popular topics running as stickys but I would like to see the "New Thread" facility disabled. If someone wants to start a contentious topic then either use the pm function or better still use another media forum that caters for such topics. My concern is that people world wide goggle GYO related topics and are inevitably directed to the vine where they are subjected to these contentious topics. I find that quite disturbing.
Obviously this is just my take on things & would like to know what other members think.
Thanks for reading.

[scarey55]

Thank you for your kind remarks
Very interesting point BM and one that I'm sure will be discussed behind the scenes. It would be good to hear what others think too.

[Bigmallly]

Whatever the outcome, it needs policing.

[AllInContainers]

Hmmmm ....

Certainly, big nod to the mods :insert applause smiley here: who clean up any inappropriate content from spammers, trollers, members with their militant banner waving head on, or members that might have just had "one too many" in the sun

But, does the chat area need reformatting? I don't think so to be honest.

I am a member of another (non-gardening) forum which has a very expansive general chat area, and on the whole the members are very well behaved. There is of course the occasional thread that gets a little wayward and is locked or removed, but most of them are in very good humour, and are a great way to realy get to know others on the forum.

I suppose allowing individual topics on here too makes it easier for members to have a conversation about stuff that would clutter up other threads (lets say pets, or what kids say, or other hobbies be they culinary, craft related or otherwise). Plus, if a thread is started which is bang out of order, it would make life easier for the mods to snip the whole thread rather than trying to snip individual posts in a big thread and still retain continuity of that thread after the event. It also makes it easier for the likes of me to identify the militants and add them to my ignore list (why is there no "evil" smiley when you need one) .... though I fear if BM was prompted to start this thread I might have unfortunately missed a couple of these, and will have to wait till those members make themselves known again. Nice to know who's not worth listening to

I understand the desire to not invite bothersome threads, but preventing the ability for non-bothersome threads all in good fun kind of stifles the community spirit in my opinion. It also means that "fun stuff" will clutter up other threads as there'll be nowhere else for it to go. Remember, it's not the new thread facility that's the problem, it's the organic matter on the other end of a keyboard somewhere that's making the troublesome post that's the issue, and I have full confidence in our moderating team to make the appropriate judgment on those members at the time

[Glutton4...]

Valid point BM, I just had a look, and there's a heck of a lot in there!

For some reason the 'Rant' thread gets 'unstickied' as soon as it's been 'stickied.' Ruddy annoying when you're cross enough to want to have a quick whinge, but can't find the ruddy thread. But hey, someone gets a kick out of it.

Those of us who visit regularly, can usually find their way around, but I agree, that to a newcomer, it must be mind-bogglingly complicated - especially if you are new to growing, and haven't got a clue where to start. It could be very off-putting.

My only suggestion to keep things 'contained' is perhaps there could be a 'Birthday' thread, and just have the current day's birthday celebration added on, instead of new ones every day? Just a thought.

[Raybon]

Contentious is good. Contentious makes us think.
What is NOT good are rude, derogatory, any-is -tic responses designed to belittle perfectly admissible offerings. Polite remarks required, even those of opposing views.
'General chit-chat' allows all kinds of topics, we need a soap-box sometimes.

[Bigmallly]

Contentious is good. Contentious makes us think.
What is NOT good are rude, derogatory, any-is -tic responses designed to belittle perfectly admissible offerings. Polite remarks required, even those of opposing views.
'General chit-chat' allows all kinds of topics, we need a soap-box sometimes.

I agree but is a GYO forum the right place, there are plenty of soapbox forums out there. I'm just concerned for the integrity of the vine.

[Alison]

To be honest I find majority of the posts on the chat thread to be pointless discussions about not much so I choose not to read them. Other people find them interesting / entertaining so participate to various degrees. In general this works well. There are some people who don't really join in the gardening chat which I find very strange on a gardening forum but if that's what they want to do then it doesn't exactly effect me so I don't lose any sleep. I do find it annoying when a perfectly sensible GYO discussion gets high jacked by in jokes and drivel, especially as some of it can be borderline offensive but thankfully it doesn't often get that bad. Anyway, what I think I'm saying is it's not the thread title that causes the problem it's us individual members and we all gave a responsibility to be respectful to each other on each and every thread whichever section it is in. We can disagree, that's good, but quoting offensive stereotypes or personal remarks (especially under the veil of humour) is never going to end well.

[Raybon]

I am always up for a joke, even on a serious thread! It helps to oil the wheels, I love reading other people's funnies. The main thrust of the thread generally resumes anyway - and the jolly ones are SO much better than the bitter responses you sometimes read!
Room for all sorts........

[AllInContainers]

I agree but is a GYO forum the right place, there are plenty of soapbox forums out there. I'm just concerned for the integrity of the vine.

It's a tricky one for sure, but for me it comes down to trust:

1) We need to trust that members will air their views with respect and without social prejudice/discrimination or ideology

2) We need to trust the mods in their decision making and judgement calls over what falls inside/outside acceptable parameters and their subsequent actions (lock/delete/caution/ban/tolerate with strict parameters ... whatever)

To pre-censor the chat board eliminates that trust, and prohibiting someone starting a "anyone else do oil painting?" thread in case someone else starts a "anyone else want to join my sociopolitical ideology rant?" thread does more harm than good in my opinion

[veggiechicken]

Most newcomers to the Grapevine are here because they want to know about gardening - they've read the magazine or Goggled and found the answer is here. Great - that's why the Forum exists. We also have a reputation of being friendly, helpful and welcoming and I'm sure we live up to that!
Many of the threads that are started in Chat would fit well into one of the other boards like Vegging out, Pests, etc. I think sometimes posters look on posting in Chat as the easy option - maybe they can't decide where to post their question. Its better in my mind, to take a stab at getting your thread in the right gardening section, than putting it in Chat where it may be overlooked because there are so many other general threads in there. The Mods will always move it if you're unsure but we can't keep our beady eyes on every post in every section. There aren't enough hours in the day - not mine anyway!
We're all here because of our shared interest in gardening - and gardening advice and support is what we do best. We're not here as doctors, vets, psychiatrists, lawyers etc - we're here to help others with their gardens and I'd be very happy if all the posts I have to read were gardening related.

[RaptorUK]

Firstly I would like to say that the Mods deserve a medal in handling some of the contentious topics that have arose on the vine recently, so:

Do we need ChitChat? - Definitely.

No, there are other venues for topics that are off topic for this forum . . . if "ChitChat" is allowed then virtually anything has to be allowed, it's a PITA to create rules for.

[veggiechicken]

Contentious is good. Contentious makes us think.
What is NOT good are rude, derogatory, any-is -tic responses designed to belittle perfectly admissible offerings. Polite remarks required, even those of opposing views.
'General chit-chat' allows all kinds of topics, we need a soap-box sometimes.

Actually "Contentious" isn't good - not here!!

Extract from http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...-cs_28310.html

Please remember to:
Keep it courteous
Try not to stray into contentious or 'near the knuckle' territory
Spats will simply be locked or deleted - we do not have time to monitor each and every post
Remember that this is not a 'free speech' forum, but a lively gardening forum.

[bearded bloke]

2) We need to trust the mods in their decision making and judgement calls over what falls inside/outside acceptable parameters and their subsequent actions (lock/delete/caution/ban/tolerate with strict parameters ... whatever)

If only that were so,recently the was a "request" from a member to open a thread that was closed & under Admin scrutiny at the time so that they could add a response

[RaptorUK]

Actually "Contentious" isn't good - not here!!

Extract from http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...-cs_28310.html

Please remember to:
Keep it courteous
Try not to stray into contentious or 'near the knuckle' territory
Spats will simply be locked or deleted - we do not have time to monitor each and every post
Remember that this is not a 'free speech' forum, but a lively gardening forum.

meaningless guidance . . . what is the definition of 'near the knuckle' or "contentious" ? one persons contentious is anothers normal . . .