Take Two
This thread has drifted quite a bit so I'd like to take a moment to re-center it. Mostly I'm disappointed in how this thread has been misrepresented as a call for a dedicated moderator or that the Games fora requires some seemingly huge investment of time and energy to "correct."
That is not the case.
My original -- and current intent -- is to simply ask that the Games fora receive more pro-active moderation, preferably through the actions of a moderator who is familiar with that area and its posters. Someone who knows "who the troublemakers are," knows what the hot topics are, and reads/contributes to that area on a regular basis and is familiar with that micro-community.
This could either be an existing moderator -- I've no idea if any on the current staff frequent the Games fora; my gut reaction is "no" -- or a new moderator. Or perhaps a new moderator at a later date due to attrition. At that time, prior to refilling the position, consider a moderator who has the experience I've just outlined.
There are a number of persons that I can easily think of, off the top of my head, who would do an admirable job in this position. Regardless of what you may think of the Games fora, there are a number of intelligent and mature posters in that area that could help with oversight.
Talk of closing the Games fora is not constructive, in my opinion. It simply bespeaks of "giving up" on the fora or having an axe to grind. Certainly there are more important uses of resources on MR rather than discussing games? Things like politics, the latest movies, digital photography, or the evils of the Zune for example?
To bring this back around full-circle I think all that the Games fora needs is some visibility with a moderator and some handholding. I believe that the common, unspoken impression in that fora is one of "the mods aren't watching." Thus, it engenders a style of duplication, threadcrapping, and general disruptive behavior knowing that a) a mod likely won't see it and b) hardly anyone bothers to report a thread. Just this morning I reported a threadcrapping from one of our most notorious posters in the Games fora.
Having a moderator step into a thread and say "XXX, we don't value inappropriate posts like this here on MR. Your post was nothing more than trying to incite an argument and had no content. Please refrain from doing so again" would do wonders in the fora. As soon as people know they are being watched behaviors will change and they'll start becoming part of the solution, reporting threads, rather than the problem.
Habitual offenders don't need a ban, a simple suspension of the fora would suffice. "XXX, clearly this is a hot topic for you. I'm going to ask you to refrain from posting in these types of threads for the next week to cool off." If they're unwilling to change then revoke their posting privileges to the Games fora for a temporary or permanent basis.
I don't believe that banning or any heavy-handed moderation is required, nor is the Games fora some "hive of scum and villainy" that would take an inordinate amount of time to moderate.
Just some personal attention.
Thank you,
