Suggestion
Hi.
I have a suggestion I'd like the board to consider.
It seems to me that people who can politely and respectfully discuss a topic in a non-partisan way are frustrated when topics get closed due to a few posters' misbehavior and rule violations.
It also seems to me that moderators might get tired of having to shut down threads down. It also might be extra work to moderate such threads repeatedly in an effort to keep them open. This seems it could be especially bothersome when new threads on the same topic get opened repeatedly and get shut down repeatedly. The recent multiple threads on the tax bill are an example of this. There may have been other episodes in the board's history - maybe the early discussions of the ACA?
Here is my suggestion:
Change the board software to enable the moderators to ban specific posters from specific threads. As an enhancement, if a banned poster attempts to post to a thread from which they have been banned, the contents of the post they made to the thread which got them banned as well as the moderator explanation for the thread ban could be displayed to them at that time as an educational reminder. As a second enhancement, the board software could automatically edit the rest of the thread to remove any additional posts that were made by the banned poster to the thread before the moderator takes action.
Posters would still be able to post freely to threads from which they had not been banned. Posters who had not been banned from a thread would be able to continue the conversation longer. Moderators might be able to reduce their workload by having a "one-and-done" feature. Posters who had been banned from a thread would have a learning opportunity to change their ways.
I'm fine with the board the way it works now, but I think my suggestion may make it even better (well, I think it would make the board work better for me, anyway) and might be worth considering.
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"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.
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