...or, Bringing the 'Shipper Threads back under the board rules. In a misguided but good-intentioned attempt to help ease tensions between the 'shippers, the Enterprise moderators have done everything we could think of to try to discourage and elimate trolling in those threads. We've done so much that we inadvertantly brought about the conception that these threads were immune to the board rules. They're not. And it's time we brought an end to that misconception once and for all. The 'shipper and rage threads are not being banned, but they are going to operate under the board rules. That means people who have a dissenting opinion can and will come into those threads and offer it. If you are a 'shipper and cannot handle that, there are other sites that are 'ship specific that will welcome you. This might not be the best BBS for you if you can't handle negative commentary about your favorite character/'ship. This is of course not a free invitation for anyone to troll these threads. But a negative opinion offered in a 'shipper thread is not necessarily an attempt to troll, and such comments made in the interest of carrying out a discussion are welcomed and encouraged. Your Enterprise moderators, Top41, jkladis, Timofnine and Kalen Archer
Also, three recommendations that might prove helpful: 1) Use the ignore button 2) Discuss constructively, or if you don't want to debate, ignore counter arguments and just focus on what you want to talk about 3) Ship at a board that is specifically for whatever ship you're into
Actually, I think that this is the best approach to the situation at hand and I have no problem with this at all. I believe this will help to weed out the people that begin a lot of the problems on the board and the ones that just want to discuss the topic in a positive manner. There is nothing wrong with healthy and spirited debate as long as there is not personal insult. To all Shipper's I have to give this advice... If you are beginning to feel angry when you read a post take a breath, look for something positive elsewhere in the thread to help you focus on what the real topic is and calm down before deciding to make a comment. It doesn't offend me if someone says that they don't like TnT'. It is only an opinion about fictional characters... Something that we must all keep in mind. We will not change each other's preferences about their 'ship so let's not try to "preach our message" and hope they will see "The Shipper Light". But there is nothing wrong with bringing up points and references to certain scenes or talking about personal opinion about the characters intentions. I enjoy debating with others and I think that this may prove to be interesting in the long run.
Everyone has their favorite pair-ups (including me!). But when you find yourself angry over someone preferring some other match-up, you might well be identifying too closely with it or one of the characters. Please remember, this is a fictional TV show with fictional people. If you (for example) don't like Trip/T'Pol say, and you go into a thread where others like Trip/T'Pol and are enthusing over some positive aspect of that, say a moment on a recent show, use your brains. DON'T come in saying "Trip/T'Pol SUX!" That is trolling and may well be warned. Come in instead and say "Well, I don't care for the pairing because of (insert your reason)." or say "You know, I prefer T'Pol with Archer because of (insert your reasoning.)." People find it easier to deal with criticism/opposition if you present your side rationally and calmly, and without insulting. It can be done. To use an example from another forum, I can't stand Chakotay/Seven. Instead of going into discussion there and saying hateful and slamming things, when I do discuss it, I will give out the several reasons why I thought it was a bad match-up, as in "I feel that she was still operating on a teenage level emotionally with her new humanity and he was just too old for her" and "Part of my always hoped for C/J" or "Romance on Star Trek usually isn't done to my satisfaction and I don't want to see a character I like doing something that I think is wrong for that character." Much better than "C/S SUCKS! Only idiots like it! C/J is much better and anyone who disagrees is wrong." Opposition is in how you say something. Enjoy your 'ships. Sometimes it's fun to imagine your favorites paired up, or see the chemistry between them. But just remember, everyone has their own ideas of what (if any!) matchups would work best and they might not match yours. So don't be so thin-skinned. And don't be rude if you disagree with a certain 'ship. Have respect for your fellow posters. Oh, where do I stand? (Besides on my feet? ) I prefer T'Pol with the Vulcan guy she married. **dodges flying bricks.** No, truly! He's "hot". But I have a feeling he won't survive the Vulcan arc and T'Pol will be free to hook up with Trip again.
Inviting opposing views into the shipper threads is really playing with fire. Why should fans of Trip and T'Pol, for example, have to defend their favorite ship in a rage thread designed to praise that particular pairing? I'm having a difficult time understanding how this policy is going to help ease shipper tensions.
I'm happy we get to keep our threads. My only concern are those that love to troll and bait. I know it's been suggested we use the ignore button, but some of these people aren't readily known to us. So can we still hit the notify mod button? Again, thanks for keeping the threads open. Let's hope everyone behaves like adults.
Um, is this is discussion board or a cheerleading forum? We're here to DISCUSS the show and characters. No group should be "protected". If you're too sensitive to accept criticism of your favorite pair-up, you need to log-off and go back to real life for a while. It's JUST A TV SHOW. As for trollers and such? Don't get all excited if you're thinking about doing that. The ENT mods will be watching for that too. Use your mod notify button. But don't use it because someone disagrees with your 'ship. And again, it's just a TV show with fictional characters. If you're getting angry over posts about a show, you're too wrapped up emotionally in it and need to regain some perspective. Honestly. I love the show, but if someone doesn't like my 'ships, well....it would be a dull world if we all agreed on the same things.
Could you just clarify the notify mod button issue, please. Timofnine mentioned in the MA thread that there were too many notifications and that some people were going to lose their priveledges. Has that happened? Will that happen? When exactly should the button be hit. I know T'Bonz said if you thought trolling is occurring. But trolling can be subjective from the posters point of view. I would hate for some people here to not hit the mod button when it should for fear of losing the priveldge and hitting it too often.
I just want one point clarifing - trolling Previously Keven was warned for going into the Twilight thread and 3 times stating negative posts about the episode. He was warned for derailing the thread, which I gather was later recinded. Does this version of 'trolling' still apply? Personally I think this is going to be like a 'carrot on a stick' for some people, which will lead to more bad feeling. Saying that I am willing to give it a go.
The point with Mod Notifications was that we were getting multiple per day from the same group of people, and they were all for trivial reasons. "Such and such called T'Pol/Trip a bad couple" "So and so says that the Enterprise writers have ruined T'Pol's character!!!111" "?????? is in our thread and it is for A/Ters only!" We really do not need these types of notifications. It takes us time to check through our emails and the last thing that we need is an inbox full of this type of meaningless spam. People should only use the Mod Notication if: You are being (or are seeing somebody) personaly insulted/flamed You (or someone else) are being trolled - this does not mean somebody saying negative comments about your favourite character You see illegal/above PG13/Copyrighted content
This has been addressed today. Timofnine, I'm glad you mentioned why some of the reasons you called notify mod responses had been spammy. From what was left from the MA thread, I thought there was going to be a huge crackdown on this issue.
^^ No crackdown, though people who abuse the Mod Notification have been known to have the facility revoked in the past......
I feel your pain, should have seen the stuff that people complained about on class boards at my university. Class boards! I quit that job after a month. I feel your pain.
I think this is a good idea. There's plenty of room for discussion and that includes 'ships, too. I'm not a 'shipper by any stretch - not really my thing - but if people are into pairings, good for them. The same should be applied to different 'ships. If one's not to your liking, discuss it. Ignore it. It's a tv show and we ought to have fun with it. It's nothing worth getting really angry about. I like plenty of shows or aspects of shows others don't. Such is life. Sometimes you just have to let stuff roll off your back. Now, it would be nice if trolls didn't do any provoking, but that's what the mods are for...to take care of that sort of thing.
I don't understand what's so wrong about having ONE thread on an entire message board be a "cheerleading" thread as you put it. We do discuss the characters..but some people prefer not to have to defend the things they like. Being forced to defend what you like gets tiresome real quick. It also makes people snappy and defensive..which creates problems. To my knowledge both the A/Ters and T/Ters like the fact that they can discuss their couple in peace. It's not about being sensitive. It's human nature. When you like something and someone else comes along and says Well that totally sucks..you're gonna have a bit of a negative reaction at least. That being said we obviously have no choice so ..bring on the free reign I guess
I'm quoting Tim from the Enterprise forum decorum thread here because this need clarification. If an episode, like Home, has a heavy shippy quota, aren't we allowed to discuss that in other threads . I mean the specifics of that episode (or episodes). Like for example, the "Romeo and Juliet" thread is not the ordinary T/T shipper thread but deals with what happened in The Augments. And what about the grading threads where people discuss and review (sometime lengthy ) most aspects of a certain episode. Unless I'm corrected I'll reasonably assume that those kinds of discussions are allowed provided the don't degenerate into another pointless debate about A/T versus T/T. You know, most shipper discussions aren't about that but about a specific couple. So it is unfair if you assume that "shipper stuff" = "shipper war". It's not. A final word - if a shipper from one camp doesn't like a post from a shipper from the other camp - IGNORE it and/or the poster (either technically or practically). I do that and it's not hard.
Blah, I'm with you. What exactly is the problem with having a rage thread that contains only positive comments about a certain aspect of the show.