Goose Egg, Malc, and I have decided to make some changes in the politics forums. It’s an experiment really, but we’d like to see if it works. We will be changing the IP and TP forums to unmoderated forums. This is in no small part because moderating the politics forums is stressful and fdifficult and it has not been easing replacing the mods we have had in those forums when they move on to other things. Realizing this, Gus, Malc and I just want to say a huge “thank you” to the current IP and TP mods, as well as all the mods before them. You guys did a great job, and if there were more like you maybe we wouldn’t have to take this step.
What does this mean for the forums? First of all, the rules still apply. The only difference is, that they will be applied only if someone “squeals” on a post. Goose Egg, Malc, and I all get these squeal reports, and when we get a report, we will make a snap judgment. If we feel the post is breaking the rules, we wil delete it. No flounder, no warning, no PM. It will just be zapped. If this works, it’ll be for the same reasons that Russia and the US didn’t blow each other to smithereens during the cold war - Mutually Assured Destruction. If you flame someone, they alert us to the post in question, and your post dies an instant death. Anybody that wants their post to stay and be read, will have to be careful to stay within the parameters of the rules.
At any rate, it’ll be an interesting experiment. Feel free to post your feedback in the feedback forum, natch.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]Sounds like the way CCP monitors their threads in PRC.[/quote]I think this is fair. The rules are posted and if someone breaks the rules, they should expect this. The difference between the CCP/PRC is that the PRC also has unwritten rules, such as never criticize the governement, preach democracy or any religion the government doesn’t like, but there are also loads of written rules that are also some of the most subversive in the world. Forumosa allows posters to publish anti-Taiwan, pro-Chinese Communist Party statements the opposite is not true.
Not to mention it allows people to post anti-ROC messages.
But how can one ensure abuse doesn’t occur.
Posters like myself, with a great many friends on the TP could find itself the target of gaggle of squealers.
It leaves the possibility of squealers and counter-squealers and counter-counter-squealers as a new dimension in playing in the game.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]But how can one ensure abuse doesn’t occur.
Posters like myself, with a great many friends on the TP could find itself the target of gaggle of squealers.[/quote]
I’m sure admins will evaluate whether the squeal was justified on a case by case basis, so if you’re being nice and playing by the rules, you won’t have anything to worry about.
It seems to me people are being more polite to each other than they used to be. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but maybe people previously used the well-known and often-mentioned presence of moderators as a excuse to mouth off.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]Not to mention it allows people to post anti-ROC messages.
But how can one ensure abuse doesn’t occur.
Posters like myself, with a great many friends on the TP could find itself the target of gaggle of squealers.
It leaves the possibility of squealers and counter-squealers and counter-counter-squealers as a new dimension in playing in the game.[/quote]
certainly AC will be the acid test in TP…but i think most of us are used to his “style” so its just a case of taking it with a pinch of salt…ie i wont squeal if you dont squeal…
[quote=“ac_dropout”]Not to mention it allows people to post anti-ROC messages.
But how can one ensure abuse doesn’t occur.
Posters like myself, with a great many friends on the TP could find itself the target of gaggle of squealers.
It leaves the possibility of squealers and counter-squealers and counter-counter-squealers as a new dimension in playing in the game.[/quote]
Thats the way you think of it but the rest of us don’t have a little squad of people who will post and chain post the same rhetoric and coordinating tasks like we see being done in about a dozen other Taiwan forums. The rest of us here are individuals with our own opinions, and its not really your opinions many people have a hard time digesting…
The key is to play nice instead of delving into people’s personal life, being insulting, stuffing words into people’s mouth, or being a bit too outrageous etc.
I am the first to admit, I’m not always on my best behavior, but over the months/years I’ve improved a lot. So I have question, AC, how many times have you been suspended here? I think thats an indication of not the ‘unfairness’ of Forumosa but of perhaps the need to self reflect…
This forum sucks now. Nobody talks about anything anymore. Maybe people need the moderators for some reason. I always feel, this should be one of the best places on the net to discuss Taiwan politics, which I feel to be some of the world’s most interesting and significant politics (tail end of the Cold War and all), but this forum is barely registering a pulse lately.
Have the ChiCom plants fulfilled their mission? What’s up?
I think the moderator scared them away with my last ban.
It sort of sent the message that if you’re not green, you’re judged by a double standard on the forum.
You have to admit those posters were anything but dense, unlike myself, and got the message pretty quickly.
Now no one wants to talk about anything of substance or too controversial.
Or it could be that the other posters are involved in a cyclical market and the holiday season got them swamped with work and now they are preparing for the Chinese New Year.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]I think the moderator scared them away with my last ban.
It sort of sent the message that if you’re not green, you’re judged by a double standard on the forum.
You have to admit those posters were anything but dense, unlike myself, and got the message pretty quickly.
Now no one wants to talk about anything of substance or too controversial.[/quote]
Nonsense. The problem with the Taiwan Politics forum is that moderates get scared off by the blinkered partisans on both sides. It’s difficult to have a reasonable debate when every thread degenerates into pathetic blue-red-green bickering. Those with the time and inclination to post relentlessly (aforementioned partisans) have the effect of stifling debate.
A further problem is that those partisans cannot acknowledge even the smallest flaw in their chosen side - when I debate politics with my friends, it’s done with rationality uppermost. We have differing political views, but will always concede points of reason - it’s not just about the dogma. Something which a few hyperactive TP posters don’t seem to understand.
That’s because the TP debates mirror the real life debates but in English. Since are participants in the TP forum we can only have as much substance as various ideological leaders provide.
The lack of substance in the debate is not because the participants are less than desirable; it is because there is really not much substance to had in the topic of the debates.
Not to mention there isn’t much going on in the development of the Strait Issue in recent months…or anything significant politically in Taiwan.
[quote=“Taffy”][quote=“ac_dropout”]I think the moderator scared them away with my last ban.
It sort of sent the message that if you’re not green, you’re judged by a double standard on the forum.
You have to admit those posters were anything but dense, unlike myself, and got the message pretty quickly.
Now no one wants to talk about anything of substance or too controversial.[/quote]
Nonsense. The problem with the Taiwan Politics forum is that moderates get scared off by the blinkered partisans on both sides. It’s difficult to have a reasonable debate when every thread degenerates into pathetic blue-red-green bickering. Those with the time and inclination to post relentlessly (aforementioned partisans) have the effect of stifling debate.
A further problem is that those partisans cannot acknowledge even the smallest flaw in their chosen side - when I debate politics with my friends, it’s done with rationality uppermost. We have differing political views, but will always concede points of reason - it’s not just about the dogma. Something which a few hyperactive TP posters don’t seem to understand.[/quote]
A fine point about the moderates. But what about the moderating? Surely the change in stance amongst the Administration was due more to events stemming from several missing factors in the IP forum, rather than with any direct events in the TP forum, which ebbed and flowed according to the various fluctuations in the Taiwanese political culture.
I hope your change is not directed at disenting politcal opinion. I love this country for many reasons but one flaw that I see is the inability, for the most part to dissent. I was raised to always question why. If this site wants to restrict dissenting public opinion, then I am firmly against the move. I hardly believe that to be the case. I think it is appropriate to allow dissenting opinion on any topic.
My query? Why did the populace of Forumosa (my preferred word because Taiwan is NOT a republic of China) choose to elect a representative of a repressive, authoritative and vicious government from the past? Was it because everybody believed Abien was currupt? Or was it because Ma was “cute”. Other reasons ae appreciated.
