CapnZapp
Legend
Sometimes threads evolve naturally. They start discussing one thing, and end up discussing something only tangentially related. A charitable term for this could be that threads drift.
But sometimes a bunch of posters clearly disagree with the OP, doesn't like the topic and direction of a thread. If not moderated, they can easily take over the thread, even have it discuss the exact opposite of what the OP intended for the thread to discuss. In this case, the thread doesn't drift, it derails.
Is this just a call for thread ownership? No. I know threads aren't owned. But some subject areas become effectively impossible to discuss in a constructive manner on ENWorld, if you can't have a thread free from dozens of posts that mostly argue against the OP and the title topic. You can feel effectively booted from your own thread when you see it discuss the polar opposite of the topic you started it for. It's often enough for as few as two or three posters to fill a thread with ten pages of unrelated chatter to effectively shut down discussion, all with zero risk of getting moderated.
And so I ask that the ENWorld mod team reconsider their current "do nothing" approach. Just asking these posters to take their discussion to a thread of their own would be a huge step in the right direction.
It's possible I'm not even asking this for myself, so I wanted to take this opportunity to make this request for other, future, posters.
Best Regards,
CapnZapp
But sometimes a bunch of posters clearly disagree with the OP, doesn't like the topic and direction of a thread. If not moderated, they can easily take over the thread, even have it discuss the exact opposite of what the OP intended for the thread to discuss. In this case, the thread doesn't drift, it derails.
Is this just a call for thread ownership? No. I know threads aren't owned. But some subject areas become effectively impossible to discuss in a constructive manner on ENWorld, if you can't have a thread free from dozens of posts that mostly argue against the OP and the title topic. You can feel effectively booted from your own thread when you see it discuss the polar opposite of the topic you started it for. It's often enough for as few as two or three posters to fill a thread with ten pages of unrelated chatter to effectively shut down discussion, all with zero risk of getting moderated.
And so I ask that the ENWorld mod team reconsider their current "do nothing" approach. Just asking these posters to take their discussion to a thread of their own would be a huge step in the right direction.
It's possible I'm not even asking this for myself, so I wanted to take this opportunity to make this request for other, future, posters.
Best Regards,
CapnZapp