Admin, please remove forum from front page

quote:

Originally posted by imho:
I request that the Times Daily admin remove the forum topics from the front page of TimesDaily.com.
People are using this to "publish" their own agenda. It is not newsworthy and doesn't deserve to be "front page headlines."
At the least it should be dropped to the bottom of the page.
I also concur with others that this site is allowed to be overrun with copy/paste posters who have no intentions of discussion and are just trying to publicize their rhetoric. If you are going to make a forum available it should have some rules that are enforced.

IMHO... that is ONE idea... but not the total answer... go down a few stories and read the one by bluesman .... they are coming one by one... there IS an Agenda...

Read UBER's post about leaving the forum's because of these "AGENDAs"....

Yep, it is now out of hand... I think I will spend MY time on USM for a while... at least there they DO kick idiots off.... and they DO monitor the posts for content, and they delete the nonesense ones, the ones that FLAME people on purpose, and all this garbage does NOT happen there.. and they have a VERY nice debete section for those who LIKE heated discussions.. but they too are monitored for people who "over-do" it...

I also think having an "off topic" part of the forum would be useful. It would prevent people's rhetoric to be plastered all over the "news" section, which it clearly is not. Heavy enforcement of people posting lame topics having nothing to do with the news would help keep things more reasonable.

quote:

Originally posted by imho:
I request that the Times Daily admin remove the forum topics from the front page of TimesDaily.com.
People are using this to "publish" their own agenda. It is not newsworthy and doesn't deserve to be "front page headlines."
At the least it should be dropped to the bottom of the page.
I also concur with others that this site is allowed to be overrun with copy/paste posters who have no intentions of discussion and are just trying to publicize their rhetoric. If you are going to make a forum available it should have some rules that are enforced.

It's not anti American to expose the lies, corruption and war profiteering that is going on.

You don't want anyone to see the otherside,
Typical of the close mindedness of the right wing.

Funny. If 'it' comes from the left-wingers, it's 'News'. If it comes from the right-wingers, it's 'Propaganda'....

Kindred, what is USM?

This forum has great potential in it, but I agree with Llama, that there should be an off topic or just a chat/discussion category for those of us that do not like to debate.

Some here feel that this is strictly a debate forum, which it is not, it's also a discussion forum. People shouldn't have to debate all the time to be "respected" at any place, especially one that isn't outlined/defined as a debate forum. If it was strictly debate, I probably wouldn't come here.

Reason for that, is this place is not monitored that well, and if people are going to debate all the time, there are going to be those that take the heat too far. I've seen it, you've seen it, we all have seen it happen here already several times. It's just simple human nature that when it's a topic that is very passionate, people get offended by others' positions sometimes. This is one reason I do not like debating religion or politic. Both of those topics bring out insults, insinuations, and name calling most the time.

If the forum was monitored more strictly this would not happen as much.

I don't think removing the forum topics from front page is going to be the solution to this problem. The solution to the problem is, over look what you don't like, because right now the News category is used more, therefore there are going to be topics that might not be newsworthy.

~Manda~

Amanda, you are correct... There needs to be a stringent set of rules, not just blanket ones, that are STRICTLY adhered to like you and your 32 Cohorts (ADMINS) do on USM...

If this were this site that Manda was Admin of, there would be so many deletions it is unreal... it is G-rated, and it is DIVERSE!!!

Taking it off the front page means 'gagging' it from new members, and a forum can only survive with the new members... just takes a while to get to know the new ones... but it is so very doable!!!

That is one thing I agree with.. On USM, every new person is welcomed with at least one or two posts.. It's not a rule, it's just something that some of the regular users like to do to make others feel welcomed.

I think that's what I dislike about this place the most, is that a good portion of new members are almost shunned for joining a discussion when they don't have many/any posts under their belt. I know I've been overlooked a lot while leaving my opinion, and that is okay, that's not what I mean, but I've also been insulted for wanting to get to know others better.

Some people like to hide behind their anonymity, and think that treating others rudely or being crude, is making them look all big and bad. When to people like me, that don't have any facades, and just really are a projection of our true, offline self, it makes them look silly.

It is the internet though, and through that you meet all types. This forum in comparison to larger forums/sites, is still relatively new, and the admins may not be accustomed to actually being enforcers/mediators yet. That does take time to really get to know, so I don't want to put them down for what they are trying to do here.

It's just like everyone on here, most of you have had a new job where you didn't know the ropes from day one. Your boss didn't expect you to know everything the first day, but did expect you to catch on fast. Learning to be a forum/website administrator/moderator, and doing it well, takes about 10x as long to do in comparison to the above scenario. Especially if there isn't someone already on staff that has worked as an administrator or moderator.

I was lucky enough that when I became an admin at the site that I help with, they already had set rules in place, and admin guidelines. Of course this is a different forum. There is a leniency here, and that makes enforcing rules a little harder to do. They want you to enjoy their forum, but as in all things you can't please everyone all the time, and most the time if you try, you still have a few people that are not satisfied.

The admins here are going to have to feel out that, and make some guidelines for themselves in order to make this work and last. Everything in life has at least some rules, and here should be no different. There should definitely be a rule about being obnoxiously rude or offensive to others, that's one rule I'd make at least.

I still think they are doing the best they can, and it's going to take time. If you really like this forum, stick with it, because it's still new. They are still getting the "feel" of the place, and until they really get things in full swing, we must be patient as possible.

~Manda~

quote:

Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
The solution to the problem is, over look what you don't like, because right now the News category is used more, therefore there are going to be topics that might not be newsworthy.

~Manda~

I think part of the problem is the label and description. The label is "News", yet the description says to "Talk about today's top stories, local politics, weather, and more in our news forum."

Having once operated a local online bulletin board (BBS) back in the day, I can see that censorship is a fine line. With the exception of the very obvious ones, I don't like many deletions for that reason. (Do I exclude all those posts where someone is called an "idiot"? Do I exclude those where it's insinuated? Am I just in a bad mood at the moment? etc.) However, I think more forum titles/areas would be of help. For example, half the offense taken so often here would be avoided with the following forums: National Politics, Local Politics, Discussion (or Friendly Chat or something like that). You get the idea. That way everyone would know what they were getting into, so to speak, and they could pick and choose what that was more easily.

Manda wrote: "I think that's what I dislike about this place the most, is that a good portion of new members are almost shunned for joining a discussion when they don't have many/any posts under their belt."

_____________________________________________

In all due respect, be careful of whom you implicate here. Even those we like, we respect, and we think the world of can have a bad day. Sometimes it comes out through our fingers!

It's the wording also of this category.. When I read.. "And more in our news forum".. That leads me to believe that I can within reasonability, post anything on here as long as I'm not bombarding the main page with it.

Censorship is definitely a fine line, that I agree with, hence me saying that the leniency here would make it harder to enforce rules upon it.

On our site, since it is family friendly (Our youngest member is 9 our oldest is 78) we do delete comments/posts that could be insulting. We don't allow our members, at least publicly to bash each other. We are not responsible if they take it to a messenger, but on our site, we don't allow it. We don't even really allow it in private messages either, although we do give a tad leniency when it comes to private messages. No one gets harrassed on our site.


This is one reason when I do talk about the site I help for, that I say, that some of the members here wouldn't like it. We allow a lot of free speech, just absolutely no harrassment. Now, we do have a few members that know how to creatively be facetious, and still stay within the rules. Those we leave alone, for the very reason is they are not being overtly offensive.

It's a very friendly place, and one of it's best qualities, is the adults truely treat each other with a mutual respect, most the time (even in debates). The teens and the kids sometimes not so much, but they learn by example, because we have very little problems out of even them.

I totally agree that there should be other topics of discussions. Especially agree there should be sub categories. I'd rather see local news here on this forum, instead of the larger political news posts that I could read on any of the major news carriers' sites

Basically, I just long windedly answered that I agree with you, E.. LOL!

~Manda~

That is very true. That's one reason I don't hold grudges online. Everyone can have an off time.

I just think that some of the newer members/lurkers don't join into discussions after seeing other new people being treated that way sometimes. I've had it both ways. I've been told that since I was a newer member that I didn't really know what I was talking about, and I've been told that I reply too much.. lol.. So that too is a fine line.

Most people that know me online (and my mother too) know that we talk/type a lot. On my site, that's what the majority of people do, and the discussions are pretty much effortless because of that. It's a habit that I know that I don't do on purpose. I see something, and I reply, sometimes a lot to it, especially if it interests me. That isn't so much a bad thing, but I've been told by a few people that it is.

I haven't changed it though, because it is really part of who I am, collectively, online and off. I'm a very outgoing, bubbly type of person. lol!

I'm sorry if it seemed I implicated you. I honestly, haven't read all your comments, and I'm not sure if you have done that, but I assure you, I didn't mean you. From what I have seen of your replies, you seem like a very intelligent person.

~Manda~

quote:

Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
That is very true. That's one reason I don't hold grudges online. Everyone can have an off time.

I just think that some of the newer members/lurkers don't join into discussions after seeing other new people being treated that way sometimes. I've had it both ways. I've been told that since I was a newer member that I didn't really know what I was talking about, and I've been told that I reply too much.. lol.. So that too is a fine line.

Most people that know me online (and my mother too) know that we talk/type a lot. On my site, that's what the majority of people do, and the discussions are pretty much effortless because of that. It's a habit that I know that I don't do on purpose. I see something, and I reply, sometimes a lot to it, especially if it interests me. That isn't so much a bad thing, but I've been told by a few people that it is.

I haven't changed it though, because it is really part of who I am, collectively, online and off. I'm a very outgoing, bubbly type of person. lol!

I'm sorry if it seemed I implicated you. I honestly, haven't read all your comments, and I'm not sure if you have done that, but I assure you, I didn't mean you. From what I have seen of your replies, you seem like a very intelligent person.

~Manda~

Manda, I agree with all of your points on this thread. But with that particular comment, I wasn't talking about me. Without going too far, I just meant that even those who are nearest and dearest to us can make the same mistakes on a bad day. A BAD day, mind you, and when provoked, but nevertheless they might have done it... Sometimes there are those new folks who might walk into the arena in the middle of a heated argument when someone says something that might lead them to think THEY were unwelcome. In actuality, it was simply one commenter who was both familiar with and fed up with another and throwing the stones right back without knowing he or she was being watched by the newbie. I hope that makes some sense. I'm not at the top of my game today.

quote:

Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
I'd rather see local news here on this forum, instead of the larger political news posts that I could read on any of the major news carriers' sites
~Manda~

I couldn't agree with you more. I do my own news watching, internet surfing, and selective blog reading to find out the national news. In those cases, I form my own opinion, and I'm done. Sure, I talk about national news with family & friends, but I have my own opinion based on what is out there.

Local news is an ENTIRELY different story. With only one paper and no centralized news station, the local news for the Shoals is carried just as much (MORE!) by word of mouth. Here's where I want to hear what others know that I don't. In any diverse group, I often find that we all have puzzle pieces that fit together to form a fairly decent picture. We might argue about whether it's a pretty picture or an ugly one, but the discussion helped us see the bigger picture.

That makes total sense to me.

And in those cases, I do understand what you are saying. In those cases, I hope the newbie is like me, and just blows it off as no big deal. I would also hope that the newer member doesn't base their entire opinion of this forum on the comments that they might get from a few. I know I don't.

I try not to ever belittle and definitely am not a smart donkey unless it is done to me first. Well in most cases.

I think there are a lot of people that need to see that we are all human. We all screw up, and with that, and that we all are probably really decent people when taken away from the computer (even those that like to pot stir)... I try to remember that, and try to give the benefit of the doubt to everyone, that they might just have a bad day. Not always successfully, though. And then, when I see someone continuously acting silly, I usually just ignore them (by way of just not replying to the nonsense).

I definitely understand though what you mean..

I do know something that I'd suggest to the admins, is for there to be a gender area on the profile. There have been so many times when I have read a post and thought the poster was male or female.. just read a couple days later that I was so wrong.. LOL.. It still confuses me sometimes.. xD That's one thing we do have at our site, that I've been accustomed to having.

~Manda~

Exactly, E.. That's what I would like to see too, for the exact reasons

I really do like the local news posts, because then I might could be informed of otherwise not posted news/area issues that could concern us all. I know TimesDaily does the best job that they probably can, but there are just some things that they don't report on, that makes for interesting topics/subject material here.

That's one good thing this forum does have going for it, for sure. I may not reply to all local news posts, but I definitely read them. Even the political ones that are about Florence officials, which are not in my jurisdiction.

~Manda~

Td, I of course would support it. We do that on USM, 2 posts per hour.. I don't think that would affect some of the ones here that love to post though, they'd wait the hour out and post two more, and in the end would have the same result.

I think 2-4 posts a day would be good for this forum. That way that someone can post 4 of their best posts for the day, in which they would have to effectively choose which would be the best, and that would all together make for better subject matter on the forum.

As for commenting, that would be really much harder to enforce. I think everyone should be allowed to share their opinion, even if it is over the top or said too much.. LOL.. But that's what the ignore button is for. That way that those that are tired of hearing the person, can ignore them. I choose to not ignore anyone by way of the button, but I have tuned some people out.

I think as long as they are not trying to be trouble makers (or completely ruin a post) that it should be allowed to stand, officially.

If that makes any sense.. My toddler keeps coming over to me and talking to me, so my responses might be a bit jumbled sounding. lol

~Manda~

this is a public newspaper forum,once restrictions start we gonna see TONS of alter IDs begin to show up.
I really do not see the major issue. Sure we have a couple that post alot, some i read every single thing they post, some I see the name of the poster and never even glance at it.It REALLY IS all that simple,,just ignore,there is that option already available if one wants to use it.

I think it's pretty sad that some people don't have better things to do with their time than to post on here all day. If they don't work, couldn't they donate their time to working with a local charity? Trust me, it is VERY rewarding.

quote:

Originally posted by smurph:
this is a public newspaper forum,once restrictions start we gonna see TONS of alter IDs begin to show up.
I really do not see the major issue. Sure we have a couple that post alot, some i read every single thing they post, some I see the name of the poster and never even glance at it.It REALLY IS all that simple,,just ignore,there is that option already available if one wants to use it.

smurph, WE may see alter ego's, we already do, they just THINK we don't know it, but people have a way of speaking, of typing, and it is their "SIGNATURE"... they cannot keep up a facade forever, their TRUE self will come out.. ... There is no way I can tell just HOW many people have been exposed on the site you joined the other day... they only make it so long before someone picks up on it and investigates it... THEN their ISP is exposed and banned... TimesDAily has that information available to them also... they CAN, if they WOULD weed out the bad ones...

quote:

Originally posted by FatNoMo:
I think it's pretty sad that some people don't have better things to do with their time than to post on here all day. If they don't work, couldn't they donate their time to working with a local charity? Trust me, it is VERY rewarding.

I think it's sad that you wrote this rather than volunteering the time it took you to do so to a local charity.

FNM, it might be sad to you, but I'm a stay at home mom. The only interaction during work hours for my husband, during the week that I get, is online.

I also have bad eyes, thus I don't drive, so that coupled with me watching my son all day, I don't have time to take on a charity too. Although, I'd love to if I did have the time.

~Manda~

quote:

Originally posted by pba:

quote:

Originally posted by imho:
I request that the Times Daily admin remove the forum topics from the front page of TimesDaily.com.
People are using this to "publish" their own agenda. It is not newsworthy and doesn't deserve to be "front page headlines."
At the least it should be dropped to the bottom of the page.
I also concur with others that this site is allowed to be overrun with copy/paste posters who have no intentions of discussion and are just trying to publicize their rhetoric. If you are going to make a forum available it should have some rules that are enforced.

It's not anti American to expose the lies, corruption and war profiteering that is going on.

You don't want anyone to see the otherside,
Typical of the close mindedness of the right wing.

Did you reply the the right post?
My post has nothing to do with accusing anyone of being "anti-American".
Now why would YOU bring that up?

I don't want "the other side" stuck down the throats of Americans. Why not try to solve some issues instead of create new ones out of nothing?

Still no reply from Admin - hello ?? Is this forum being monitored?

quote:

I think it's pretty sad that some people don't have better things to do with their time than to post on here all day. If they don't work, couldn't they donate their time to working with a local charity?

well first off WHAT BUSINESS is it of yours or anyones how much ANYONE posts on here? I am serious, I would like to have an answer to this.It seems to be a MAJOR problem for some.
Now for your future information some of us sit in front of the computer for a number of hours everyday at work. It is nice that Bill Gates designed these babies to open more than one window at a time. It helps the frustration level while waiting on something with work, to be able to cruise around in another window.

I think it's sad that you wrote this rather than volunteering the time it took you to do so to a local charity.

Whoa, E, I thought you were my friend.

There are plenty of posts I don’t agree with. That’s the beauty of living in the U.S. – we’re supposed to be free to write what we want and to not read what we don’t want to read.

But, ATTENTION TIMES DAILY: T.D. needs to consider that many, many people log on the site to read the newspaper that NEVER darken the doors of the forums – many don’t even know what they are or how to “use” them. However, they see the TOPIC line and read whatever the TOPIC STARTER has written and some may go away thinking what they read is real news. “Well, I read it on the Times Daily web site, so it must be true …” That’s why I think Times Daily needs to move the Forums listing to the bottom of the page.

(Sorry that was so wordy)

Well said, READER! My sentiments, exactly.

And, Smurph, you are correct. It is none of my business how much time anyone spends on here. But, I was sincere when I said it is SAD that people spend so much of their time here.

quote:

Originally posted by FatNoMo:
I think it's sad that you wrote this rather than volunteering the time it took you to do so to a local charity.

Whoa, E, I thought you were my friend.

Well, I'm at least usually friendly. I apologize if I snapped for a moment. Let me give you an example. I know of one person who is an "elderly sitter" on the board. Her work involves keeping an eye on an elderly lady. She does a little cleaning, cooking, and talking. The older woman likes to visit with her friends and quilt. She doesn't intrude on that. She has a lot of free time, which is fine with her "boss." Why not come here?

I want to update my request to move the forum topics off the top of the main web page.

For some that admittedly post quite a bit from work maybe the best place for the forum topics would be in the classifieds between the "Help Wanted" section and the ads to help with addiction problems (that is addiction to forums.)

quote:

Originally posted by e:

quote:

Originally posted by *~*Manda*~*:
I'd rather see local news here on this forum, instead of the larger political news posts that I could read on any of the major news carriers' sites
~Manda~

I couldn't agree with you more. I do my own news watching, internet surfing, and selective blog reading to find out the national news. In those cases, I form my own opinion, and I'm done. Sure, I talk about national news with family & friends, but I have my own opinion based on what is out there.

Local news is an ENTIRELY different story. With only one paper and no centralized news station, the local news for the Shoals is carried just as much (MORE!) by word of mouth. Here's where I want to hear what others know that I don't. In any diverse group, I often find that we all have puzzle pieces that fit together to form a fairly decent picture. We might argue about whether it's a pretty picture or an ugly one, but the discussion helped us see the bigger picture.

News has got to be made first, why don't you go out and get us some loacl news? I'am for it!

quote:

Originally posted by imho:
I want to update my request to move the forum topics off the top of the main web page.

For some that admittedly post quite a bit from work maybe the best place for the forum topics would be in the classifieds between the "Help Wanted" section and the ads to help with addiction problems (that is addiction to forums.)

>>>I want to update my request to move the forum topics off the top of the main web page<<<

Why would you want to do this?So,they could see topics like,Where did you go to school,Why is my dog not barking,Who is hot who is not? Gee,thats the kind of bull you want on the main topics? Mayberry RFD for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by pba:

quote:

Originally posted by imho:
I want to update my request to move the forum topics off the top of the main web page.

For some that admittedly post quite a bit from work maybe the best place for the forum topics would be in the classifieds between the "Help Wanted" section and the ads to help with addiction problems (that is addiction to forums.)

>>>I want to update my request to move the forum topics off the top of the main web page<<<

Why would you want to do this?So,they could see topics like,Where did you go to school,Why is my dog not barking,Who is hot who is not? Gee,thats the kind of bull you want on the main topics? Mayberry RFD for sure.

Yes. Thank you very much.

quote:

Originally posted by e:
Manda wrote: "I think that's what I dislike about this place the most, is that a good portion of new members are almost shunned for joining a discussion when they don't have many/any posts under their belt."

_____________________________________________

In all due respect, be careful of whom you implicate here. Even those we like, we respect, and we think the world of can have a bad day. Sometimes it comes out through our fingers!

.e ... first off, she didn't mean YOU, she actually really respects you, (yes we talk, lol)

Secondly, you are more correct here than you probably even know... there is NO telling what sort of day anyone who logs in here has.

Maybe they logged on for reading, or just for a little interaction and WHAMMO, there it is, that ONE post-that ONE topic that send them over the edge, where they would NOT have gone otherwise... I can see exactly what you are saying here... and I know from experience, I have had MY share of taking things wrong on here, not intentionally, but it still happened.

I told a friend about this place, and she came on and read some... on particular day, after the funeral of her nephew, she called me and said she would never come back here again because people were just too mean to each other, and she couldn't HOLD HER TONGUE so she just logged off... never to log on again. Was it anyone here's fault? Probably not, ... Was it her fault??? Yep, because she came here with the WRONG mindset looking for something that just isn't here.... Sometimes people come on a forum just to be consoled so they know in their heart that their feelings are valid... I wish this place was more like that.

And the REASONS that any of us are here, or how long we are here should not ever be put to question, because no one here actually KNOWS what the other person is doing, or working, or playing, or whatever... this is obviously where a lot of us spend time, and there is nothing wrong with that

GREAT POINT!!!!

It looks like they may have taken our advice and moved the forums down.

I think the straw that might have broken the camel’s back was when the NEWS thread entitled "Corn Rows" and "eye ball and teeth"? got shortened to "Corn Rows" and "eye ball and teet….

I laughed for an hour when that popped up on the Times Daily web site front page! I know the spelling is “incorrect” but it was still hilarious!

quote:

Originally posted by FatNoMo:
It looks like they may have taken our advice and moved the forums down.

I think the straw that might have broken the camel’s back was when the NEWS thread entitled "Corn Rows" and "eye ball and teeth"? got shortened to "Corn Rows" and "eye ball and teet….

I laughed for an hour when that popped up on the Times Daily web site front page! I know the spelling is “incorrect” but it was still hilarious!

Never mind . . . IT'S BACK . . .