It is beyond irritating when strings are closed. Those who do not want to read or post can stop at any time. Having someone else make that decision for everyone is completely inappropriate. An important lesson on the internet is deciding when something is not for you. That is done by withdrawing oneself rather than imposing personal views on others. I can understand wanting to avoid certain things, whether they are contentious or just offensive for one reason or another. However, one person's limits are not those of others.
Each should focus on controlling himself and not others.
Threads should be closed when after many times of being asked, a poster continues to be rude. The point has been transfered across. I don't see why Piper needs to be attacked even more, and I know other members here that agree.
SHE does not feel attacked. YOU feel she is being attacked. Posts that are on topic and not obscene should not be precluded. A forum is NOT about what one person or one group - or even an administrator - thinks is beneficial. It is about the breadth of views available on topic. Rudeness is extremely subjective. I believe your trying to impose your personal views of decorum are EXTREMELY rude to me and others who are adults capable of reading and posting as we wish on our own and without your help or the help of others.
I for one am glad that admin took the suggestion to close the thread, which I do not believe was done just because one person suggested it. I believe it was done because admin (whose site this is and has every right) read the thread and felt it was being non-productive at that point. While that may annoy you, it annoys me that new people might come to the forum, find the thread and begin reading it and think that this forum is not a nice place to be, that they will get slammed, and move on, possibly missing some valuable information that could be helpful to them. I am glad to see it slowly sliding down the list of posts. I do wish admin had made one last post on it to say it was locked. I didn't know it was until it was brought to my attention by another post.
Why do you think you (or admin) should control what I post? If it is felt I, or any other participant here, need a minder, then there are other sites - or reading. Your sensibilities do not trump the world - nor do the "owners" of these site's views of it trump us. I do not participate on any number of sites because this or that point of view or way of expression is not permitted. I left childhood behind long ago.
What valuable information will be left when posting is truncated? Who are you, or anyone else, to decide when additional information will not be added. In this case, amazingly, someone still posted (1) that a cat should be considered a Ragdoll unless the contrary can be proven and (2) what difference does it make. Those scream for response on a site where a major question is what a Ragdoll is and how one finds one.
Jan - no one controlled what you posted -- I think you posted quite frequently on that thread and no one removed or changed anything you wrote. I truly don't think anyone had a problem with what you wrote. If you will notice, the two threads on this forum that have been closed have basically been because of Curt's postings and his rudeness and unhelpful comments. While you may have left childhood behind long ago, it seems Curt may not have, and therefore a minder is apparently needed for him.
If there is valuable information to be shared, it need not be left behind with a truncated thread -- that information which "scream(s) for response on a site where a major question is what a Ragdoll is and how one finds one." of course would be more than welcome in a new thread (which I believe was started by Laura if you look back under discussion).
What is more controlling than preventing a post altogether? Closing does that by definition. If there is no desire to control (the next posts) then why close a string?
I do not care if the "problem" some had was with what I posted or not. Perhaps I wanted to know what OTHERS wanted to post as well. I do not need someone else deciding what I can read that others want to express. I can avoid reading a post if I am not interested. I do not need or want your editorship - nor does the person who would have otherwise posted.
I often disagree with Curt. That does not mean I want him muzzled. He is often wrong as far as I am concerned, including in his manner of expression, but he meets the only criteria that should apply. He is on topic and not obscene. To avoid offense, if that is your reaction, do not read the post. I do not read all posts and cannot imagine why anyone would.
JanH,
I agree with your comments...however we reserve the right to do what we feel is best for the forum. Honestly only a handful of threads have been either closed or moderated since this was started. When we get enough complaints about a specific user or thread we will look at it. In our judgement the thread that you are referring to was to that tipping point and was starting to turn into a big argument and not offering much value. There were multiple complaints on this, not just one. It's great to have civil debate about a subject but emotions often take over and things can get silly. And to clarify, the text of the thread was not changed or altered in anyway....just closed.
Compared to other forums I'd say our policy is very laid back. As more people join I'm sure there will be more issues to deal with. I just ask to please be respectful of others...even if you feel their opinion is wrong.
How about also recommending that folks not do the equivalent of telling others to "shut up"? Which those complaining have done, with success.
If you are unhappy with the manner in which the administrator runs this forum, as you mentioned you're more than welcome to not participate. I would hate to lose the information and advice that you bring to the forum, but there is a big difference between "educating" and "alienating" people. I know that Curt and yourself have an extensive knowledge base, but if you can't deliver the knowledge in a manner in which people can relate and respond, then you achieve the exact opposite. Many people will choose to ignore advice given by people who are belittling or patronizing, so if you truly want to educate people (which I firmly believe is your goal) there's a much better way to get the message across.