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JosephM

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During a moderator discussion, it was brought to my attention that many members at times write extremely long posts that perhaps are more verbose in nature than they need be. In fact it was requested of me to possibly limit the length of posts to a fewer number of words. I am very hesitant to do such a thing which in effect limits all members for what may be the excessive habits of a few.

 

I think we or most of us at times are all found occasionally making such a long post that perhaps with some additional thought and editing could be shortened and more to the point without boring or causing readers to ignore our posts. As a result of some thought i thought it best not to make changes but rather to post this issue for all to read and ask that those who by habit or otherwise are inclined to long posts would reconsider their etiquette in this matter. For i myself have even noticed a tendency to ignore posts written by such individuals and believe that by doing such i may possibly be cheating myself out of a valuable perspective of another that may speak to me or be of value to me or others.

 

JosephM (as Admin)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Concerning this issue, rather than initaiting more rules or restrictions, it would be good if members communicated by PM to each other (peer to peer) as friends speaking honestly and respectfully concerning any related issues as this. This is especially valid where there are no official behavior or rule violations that would concern a moderator.

 

If things or personal issues, as this which always seems to creep up on discussion forums, cannot be worked out between members, it is sometimes best to go to your profile settings, select ignore preferences, add that member, and check ignore (hide) posts. This will condense all that persons posts on your screen into a faint one line note that reads....

 

This post is hidden because you have chosen to ignore posts by XXXXXX View it anyway?

 

XXXXXX of course being the name of the poster you have on your ignore list. You can also ignore long signatures if you think they take up too much of your screen while reading threads. This gives you the option to either temporarily view a post by clicking on view it anyway if you have interest in that thread of what that person is saying or you can undo it more permanently in your ignore preference setting profile by removing the name.

 

I think it is healthy to try and deal with each other (communicate) in private conversation (PM) first before using the ignore function. This allows the possibility of an understanding so the other person is aware of how you feel and has the option to consider the circumstances that may be coming between you and have the freedom to make changes or explain themselves to reach common ground. if not the ignore function should suffice as a last resort. We want all members to feel welcome and free to express themselves without additional restrictions on posting.

 

BTW. Sorry but the only one whose posts that cannot be ignored is the Admin :D and it is best also not to ignore any moderators. For any issues in the area of moderators you can contact me directly by PM. For issues with the Admin you are allowed to complain publicly under " Technical issues and Complaints" forum for all to see and gang up on me or be nicer if its me as a member and warn me first so i can make adjustments before it comes to such a measure.. :) As always no public complaints of named individuals except for to complain about the Admin are allowed in that section or any other public place in the forum.

 

Thanks for your cooperation,

JosephM (as Admin)

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I don't quite understand why you'd want to limit posts. If somebody has something to say and it takes more than 250 words...so what. As you said if you get bored reading a post pass it by. I don't need big brother censoring me.

 

Ritch81

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Hi Ritch,

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

As you can see from our comments above we certainly don't want to limit posts to a certain number of words. That's why we ask members to please regulate themselves and take their posts here more seriously and to remember that readers often ignore posts that are often verbose. A little more thought put into them and they can be written more to the point and keep the readers interest. As far as the number of posts limited to 12 in a 24 hour period, we feel that is a reasonable request for new members without stifling free expression but at the same time preventing monopolization of conversations and the possibility of new member unlimited spamming. After a member has been with us for some time, that limit is changed.

 

It might also be noted that this forum's mission isn't to promote idle 'chit chat' although we have a cafe area for such as that, where it is allowable. This forum is building a useful database of Progressive opinions/views and stories/journies that is uncensored and useful not only to members but to our presently 159 affiliated churches and 395 private affiliated individuals not to mention the thousands of guests and researchers that are not members that visit our site . Therefore it is only fitting, in my view, to ask members here to take what they write here seriously in threads and avoid wandering too far by keeping posts related to the topic at hand or starting a new topic if they want to change direction. It would be a common courtesy here to do so. Also, i ask not to fill threads with idle personal conversations unrelated to threads or the forum category guidelines. There are social forums elsewhere for just such a thing. Our mission statement from an organization stand point of view can be found HERE of which we as a discussion forum for Progressive Christianity.org fulfil a part.

 

Joseph

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