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The most successful program on Liberty Mountain deserves its own forum. We give Coach Green and the Lady Flames their props while breaking down their run to the Big Dance once again.
I used to always look forward to coming on the message board... but the last two nights I have been frustrated and it shouldn't be that way.
I went to add my 2 cents to the UNC-Asheville game and found that it was locked... I don't mean anything personal, but the reason it had been locked looks as if it was because of a difference of opinion between two people. I happen to agree with TallyW on this point but that doesn't mean that I have any ill will for TheCritic... if a thread gets a little side tracked it's not that big of a deal... no reason to take it personally. There is nothing wrong with talking about attendance or facilities... it was an off shoot of the fact attendance was low at the Asheville game.
In my opinion, a thread should only be shut down if it gets 'dirty.' I don't believe that this would qualify. One person disagreed with another person's opinion and that person happened to have the power to lock the debate, so he did. Just because someone has the authority to do something does not justify using that authority. It is like the Dems in congress filibustering a judge just because they can.
I don't know how it was determined who moderates what... but we need to keep in mind that there going to be differences in opinion and one of the greatest qualities in a human being is the ability to coexist with those he may not agree with... not try to silence them.
People 'link' information. It's a fact. It's part of the memory process. Our brains don't store information that appears to be useless and all alone... we store information by linking it to previously known information...
When you start a forum and invite people to join you... You are inviting (as of this moment) 75 members and 75 different sets of 'linked' information. When members speak about a topic they are likely to mention something that seems to have nothing to do with the source (an old memory, an arena, even something they got to thinking while watching a game). This is normal and expected.
Up until this week the forum has been self policed by the phrase "Hijacked". It's a way for us to police ourselves and remind everyone else that the conversation has drifted. This has been pretty productive up to this past week.
I'm not exactly certain why we've gotten a bandwagon of people who feel it's their responsibility to tell everyone else when and where to talk but I must be honest in saying it's getting pretty rediculous.
There seems to be a couple of dozen people who post regularly and this forum is a part of a social network. No one comes to the forum to randomly spit out information (at least I hope not). People come to the forum to relate to others and swap stories... gain encouragement and give it... hear good argument and give it... it's an exchange of ideas... a free-market of ideas if you will.
I honestly think that locking boards is unnecessary. The board is successful because of the exchange of ideas and the many personalities that have come... not because of great regulation. Let's keep it that way and allow as many threads as the participants desire... this only breeds more conversation and more 'rooms' for such conversation. The problems reported are growing pains. If this board is to become a rallying point for all things LU, we're going to need a lot more threads to fit the hundreds of people who will want to participate. Silencing discussion is not the answer.
OK ... I have been out of pocket for most of the past couple days (I've managed to get online a few times when I could) due to a quick trip to Indy on business. Obviously this idea of locking threads has created a negative firestorm.
For the record, I liked the idea when it originally came up. I was getting tired of seeing game threads from over a week ago being bumped back up to the top of the forums with random posts that had little to nothing to do with the original topic. The hope was that locking these game threads it would encourage folks to bring these tangent discussions into new threads where they wouldn't be confusing to folks coming online. Obviously it had the opposite effect.
So here is the new edict which remains open for some discussion:
We will not lock threads unless there is a substantial reason to close them down.
I am unlocking the recent threads that had been shut down. In return, I ask that we try to do our best to take these tangent discussions into new threads whenever possible. I want this forum to be a positive experience for everyone involved. Frankly the idea that this locking thread controversy is even creating an uproar at all shows how tame this board is in general.
In the words of that great humanitarian Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"
- By TH Spangler
- By Chippy
- By aredd33