splitting topics

[Joe Sperling]

I just want to give my opinion that I think it is wrong to continually "split off" any
argument that happens to take place on the BB. The Bulletin board has always
been like that. I think it makes it very confusing for those who enter the thread
and have not been involved and takes away from the flow of the discussion--even
if it has gotten off base. These things have always had a way of working themselves
out without removing, or sweeping matters under the rug.  Just my opinion of course.

--Joe

[brian]

perhaps i got carried away this time, and i apologize. i'll try not to be so reckless with splitting topics off in the future. i did tidy up that sondra thread because i thought i had locked it, and somehow it got unlocked. the deeper life scriptural interpretation discussion is back in the bible area on the headcoverings thread, and this discussion i moved here.

i agree with you that fights have almost always been allowed to take over whatever potentionally interesting discussion is going on and completely bury it, but that is what i would like to see change. it doesn't have to be that way. i am less comfortable with deleting or editing posts than tom is, but i hate to see one or two people's aggresive and judgemental personalities run the board, setting an unpleasent and unreasonable tone. if i get carried away, feel free to say something, as you did here. i welcome feedback. but just letting fights take their course in the middle of what were potentionally reasonable and interesting discussions has had pretty dismal results to date. i'm not going to let the emotional issues of a few posters set the whole tone of the board and ruin it for the rest of us anymore.

the vast majority of bbs on the internet are much harsher than we are here. even posting off-topic can get you banned for a few days, and the kind of insults and flaming that i see here sometimes would get you banned for life, without hesitation or apology. i have been way too lenient in the past, and while i still want to be fair, i am hoping to see the whole experience of posting here become more pleasent by trying to maintain some minimal standards of civility. and i am hoping to see people start thinking in terms of different threads for different discussions, which would really help discussions go somewhere meaningful before they change direction.

brian

[Joe Sperling]

Brian---

Thanks for your cordiality. You're right that we do get away with an awful lot on
the board, and would most certainly be banned for certain statements on other
boards. You have the difficult task of being the moderator, so I apologize for my
quick words of negativity about splitting off the subject. There does need to be
control here of some kind. Thanks again for your response.

--Joe