I think that would be the best idea, and if things get to insults or something like that, then shut them down. I know I have participated in at least one of the more controversial threads, which I thought had died but got brought back up and wasn't discussed like it had been before.

However, banning all non-FIRST discussions, is most definitely a bad idea. If you have a forum specifically geared towards one topic only, and can't talk about anything else, it will die very quickly, cause people have opinions on lots of things and want to talk about them. Especially with something as seasonal as FIRST, it's like saying on a baseball forum you can't talk about anything else during off-season.

Taking them off of the portal page would be good, if you wanna get the notifications for chit-chat, then just subscribe to the forum.

You also seem to forget that we can help Brandon without being moderators, if you see a thread that is out of hand, you can send him a PM or e-mail or IM and let him know, it's not that hard and then he doesn't have to search through everything.

Thats exactly why the 'report this post to a moderator' link is there. I wish people would use it more....

[edit] Actually, I wish it didnt have to come to clicking that link at all; but in the event of problems, people should be hitting that link rather than replying & contributing to the nonsense.[/edit]

First, I should probably note that my choice of words was probably inappropriate. I agree with your definition of censorship in most regards. Rather, I feel that limiting the scope of discussion in most regards is a bad idea. Admittedly, though, that is because of my own interest in experiencing life and people as multi-dimensional entities.

Neal Probert wrote, "I think the chit-chat and non-FIRST topic areas should be shut down. This is not censorship, but the real-world reality in the office workplace where professionalism is demanded of you."

Indeed, this may be the case. However, on the job and in person, you're given a much better opportunity to know your coworkers. Again, this stems from my own desire to be involved with people just as much, if not more then, I desire to be involved in robotics.

I recognize that this is ChiefDelphi's site. They're free to do with it whatever they want. Ultimately, I decide at what level I shall participate here. My hope, though, is that someone values my input enough to consider my opinion. That's the best I can ask for. Whatever Brandon decides to do is, really, not something I have any right to complain about. I may regret it, I may curb or end my participation on these forums entirely, or I may just carry on like normal. But, each of those is my decision.

All in all, just like with many of the other disagreements that seem to pop up here from time to time, it's a matter of differing philosophy. My involvement in FIRST has been life-saving. It reaches far beyond a professional level in many respects. It is my family. For others, I understand that FIRST is a job like any other - and while you may have passion for what you're doing here, it's easy to view it as a job. I can't do that and I apologize for that. But, I also don't feel it's anyone's place to tell me how I should relate to this program.

Beyond that, I'm in no mood to get into a discourse on free speech on the Internet. It's too sticky.

ChrisH - the case you're thinking of, for what it's worth, is Schenck vs. United States.

I don't plan on shutting down the chit-chat forum any time soon. Its good to have a place to talk about stuff besides FIRST, and not just on the off-season. Just, when it gets out of control, and could get to the point of driving people away from the forums is when the moderators have to step in.

I have to agree with Chris when he said The Chit-Chat forum should be viewed as something comparable to a "break room" at a job. I think this place could survive on 100%-FIRST, non-stop; but I also think it can survive with normal civilized conversation & debate. I route for the latter.

The end result relies on the parties involved and what they contribute.

What do I do if I have a question about non-First related robotics?? Should I still post it in the First areas for the specific topic.

I thought I said that ;)

Yeah. Oops :)

reasons for why suggesting a time limit...
 

It all comes down to these two questions: Are things bad enough that they are affecting normal operation of Chief Delphi forum? Are the non-FIRST discussions setting a bad example for others because of bashing, trolling, and flaming?

The most important function of the CD forum is for FIRST participants to talk about different things in FIRST, and meet other FIRSTers, and share & learn with others. While that’s probably not the exact mission statement for this place, it should be pretty close.

Now, if the Chit Chat section got out of hand so much such that its interfering with any of the above, like flooding the forum so much that other conversations are washed away by them, or having too much heated discussions that they are driving people away and setting bad examples for other new members, than we will have good reasons to shut it down. But that hasn’t happened yet, and I hope it never will. The only reason for shutting down Chit Chat, or censoring certain posts, will be because they are ruining the spirit of the forum.

So far, everything is just contained inside chit chat that its not interfering with all the other main forums, with the exception of flooding the portal page. I really like the idea of taking out chit chat links from the portal page… After all, for the people who care about it enough, they will be inside the CC forum looking up the threads in no time.


The idea for having a time limit, is to get people to understand that they shouldn’t keep filling into a thread once the main points have been discussed thoroughly, which at that point, are just adding on non-sense discussions onto the thread. If you are having a constructive, intellectual discussion, by all means continue until you are fully satisfy with all the argument. At the end, it will probably be a case-by-case time limit because there are different kinds of discussions going on…

I really suggest you to be smart about this when you post a controversial topic. Have someone act as an organizer of the thread, figure out what kind of things you want to talk about in the thread, and have an organized discussion rather than just blindly stating opinions. It would do no good if everyone just shout out at the same time. This will be good for managing the forum, and for your learning experience as well.

The only reason for having a set time limit is that if there’s sooo much discussions that all of the moderators can’t keep up with them and have to rely on a set number to make sure things don’t get out of hand. Besides, having a time limit might push people who care about the topic enough to post replies fasters, and ending the discussion faster…

Keep in mind, (I’ve said this in another post before @ http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...435#post101435 ), that you are setting an example once you start posting in the forum, whether its good or bad. You got a responsibility to think about what you post before you actually press the “post thread” and “submit reply” buttons. Understand that other new members will be looking up to you to see how postings are supposed to be done. The idea I had above, to have an organizer of the thread, is one good way of showing a good example to others beside just making good posts. Also, I like the idea of treating this place as a “break room”. If most of you like these idea too, then support it by spreading the idea around in your posts/replies in the CC forum. Teach by example and not by lecturing.



Mean while, when I read the above posts about talk of censorship and shutting down Chit Chat, people are acting as if they are completely shut out by CD if that happen… Remember that the forum is started by people too, not the government. If you don’t think the forums in here satisfy your need to discuss non-FIRST things, it is ok for you to create another forum else where, and then put a link in main page for people who are interested to go in and have discussions. I am not saying that you guys should take your conversation else where, rather I am suggesting that if you care about this enough, then you should be willing to do something to create a forum suitable to your need of freedom of expression.

Also, while it is true that Chief Delphi own this forum and can do whatever they want, I still believe that they are reasonable people and will listen to other’s suggestions. I’ve seen it happen many times, and I know it will happen again regarding this matter. Please be reasonable, considerate, and thoughtful too.


So, let’s all think about this a little bit, and see what happens to the poll.

Brandon

I agree with everyone here. This is your website u should not have to continually worry about whos doing what on your website. Close the Chit Chat forum or limit the amount of posts that one user can make along with a Thread time limit. either way when the thread closes u should not have to say why it was closed. Threads closed Times up want to have the last word fine theres PM/EMAIL/PHONE Calls/IM'ing etc. simple as that



my $20.02 - i get paid this week thats why my opinion rate is high. hehe
;)

Isn't this becomeing one of those nit-picky topics?

But other than that...

No, we should have the chit-chat area. It's a place to blow off steam and to discuss intrests with people who you know are smart and mature.

As for locking, if it gets to slaming and flaming, yes, but locking all threads that makes one person quesy, that's just wrong. There should be a general concensus with all the people on CD if there is a closing of a thread.

I just dont want anymore emails from that damnable Word Association thread.:(

Also, might the karma system in vB3 be helpful?


Wetzel
~~~~~~~
I never goto the portal, I have index.html as my homepage

You can turn off e-mail replies. You can do it in your profile options and you can manually select it every time you reply to a thread.

I think that it would be a good idea to seperate the portal page into two sections during Robot Season. This way, anything important in the technical discussion or in the competition forums aren't jumbled among the rumor mill and chit-chat sections.

Just an idea....
 

Is there a way to make it so the chit-chat forum is an option to users? Basically what i'm saying is you could make a check box under profile-->options (or whatever it is) to show or not show the chit-chat forum. This could include removing the forum from your main forum page all together or just making it so new threads dont appear. Or maybe it's possible to also make it so new chit-chat stuff doesnt show on the portal page when this option is turned off (chit-chat off).

W/O any knowledge of how this site is made it still seems like a lot of work. :)

Re: Just an idea....
 

Yep. The best I can do is subscribe you to everything BUT the chit-chat, and you can just view 'new subscribed threads' instead of 'new threads'. And then you'd just have to ignore the Chit-Chat forum when browsing.

The Chit-Chat threads have been removed from the portal page. This site is about robotics... not word associations. :)