Discussion Posts: Blocking vs. Ignore

^And your position on name calling and other shenanigans that are my only peeve I am not interested in defending myself from unjustified accusations and slander. Haw do you propose that be solved with turning the other cheek just getting you slapped on the other side. I have never gotten upset with differences of opinion it’s the unwarranted and unjustified attacks that have me annoyed

Use the ignore feature

(This will be my answer to 99.9999% of the posts in this discussion)

@founder I completely agree. Thanks for the update and also I want to say thanks for the VIP, Verified, and Politics rooms. The VIP and Verified rooms don't have nearly as much trolling which is welcome and escape from it in the Front Room. It all makes my TUSCL experience much more enjoyable.

My only small request now would be to periodically move the political posts to the proper room if and when you happen upon them. It seems there are still those that would rather troll this site for politics rather than truly discuss the topic, even when you've provided a nice exclusive place for it.

^ and yes I use the ignore thread button already...thanks for that too?

^ I have made some good friends here but if I am going to need to ignore repeated Slanderous attacks than I might just rethink whether my participation here has any value I thought that by being a standup guy and not just following the herd had earned me some respect but see see it hasn’t Ok then

^ ugh...thanks for that too! 👍

While I agree that the two way block probably caused more harm than good, it was quite effective in cutting down on the ridiculous troll traffic. In the absence of the block, we are left with the same problem that led to the experiment in the first place.

The ignore feature is largely ineffective for curtailing troll activity as it does not prevent someone from blowing up a thread. Also, using your own "public square" analogy, if someone is publicly calling 25 or another member a pedophile, he is almost compelled to respond lest others assume that the accusation is true. After all, others don't know that 25 has the troll on ignore and may mistake silence for a tacit admission of guilt.

I'm as big a fan of the wild west as anyone. But even in the wild west, if you mouthed off about someone in public, you could be held to account and maybe even shot. Here anonymity and too much time to kill turns raging pussies into lions since trolling threads has no consequences and costs nothing but time.

@ twentyfive: You really shouldn't let anonymous trolls bother you.

I appreciate your contributions here, but it earns you no special priveleges with regards to blocking v ignore

@rickdugan: I suggest you use the VIP and verified rooms more.

^ my opinion is founder is well aware of the bullshit that goes on and is subtly encouraging the worst of this behavior!

@twentyfive I just wanna throw in my two cents and say that I've considered you to be a "friendly face" here during my toe-dipping stage, and would hate to see you go...especially because of those who don't deserve even a fraction of the attention they get in this forum.

Also, even a blind person can spot the nonsense that gets spouted...I don't think anyone's in danger of having their reputation sullied by the ridiculous accusations or mud slinging that occurs. Just sayin...🌞

It's a Discussion board - a discussion involves differing POVs and one either chooses to engage or not, but not silence the other party.

See how well letting the inmates run the asylum (moderation & blocking opinions) has worked for StripperWeb.

I agree that political posts should be moved to the correct forum. And repeat offenders who create new political threads in the wrong silo should be given a timeout of some length.

A problem that I have with ignore is that people replying to users on ignore makes a thread difficult to follow. When a user (or users) really takes a thread off the rails it's like everyone is yelling at a ghost that only you can't see. IceyLoco and Nicole1994 being the most recent prime examples.

I still prefer the two-way block, but it's not my sandbox.

^ explain to me how calling people vile slanderous names repeatedly from the anonymity of a keyboard constitutes an opinion?
It’s not an opinion I don’t care how you try to present it.

The verified room is making more sense for strip club related posts, or VIP if desired for it's non-public nature.

Front room for widest possible disbursal of opinion, but knowing that most shit throwers work there and like to throw.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that the two-way block should be available to verified dancers.

If one wants to hear a single POV then they should go over to MSNBC.com - or move to California

Well hell, Founder makes a good point.

Clearly he's agonized over this.

Notice he needs 2 beers now 😁

@founder, if you are sincere tell me why is it necessary To list the name of the last poster, I know if I see a certain poster just after my post exactly what he has misspelled, that is why I believe you’re BSing this imaginary censorship thing.

Listing the name of the last poster was a request from many years ago.

I'm not even sure why that is pertinent to this discussion.

Well if you wanted the ignore to work why is it necessary to show who the last post is from why not just show (last post 2 min) and leave it at that I don’t really give two fucks or a dimple what my troll has to say about anything. I think that showing who made the last post gives them a target that they seem to go after over and again I still want to know how ad hominem attacks made up entirely from a fabricated story constitute an opinion

My opinion is you let anonymous trolls get to you.

Look for owner moderated threads. Coming soon to a discussion board near you.

Let’s see if you can be so aloof and above all that when you got a jackass calling you a pedophile several times a day and I’m protecting him from you founder.

Founder...it's your forum. Do as you wish. Anyone that doesn't like it can bugger off and go start there own review site and deal with the issues. If they're so smart, they'll take all the members and put you out of "business".

You guys know I'm all about free markets.

As for blocking or ignoring....grow a thicker skin. You're an anonymous name on a web page. What do you really have to worry about. Accuse me of being a pedophile, murderer, Christian...I don't care. The only thing I don't like is getting bored....and trolls with nothing to say but who post endlessly are the most boring of all.

Much Respect to Founder!

Primo

My support of two way blocking actually has nothing to do with stifling dissenting opinions. Its about keeping the topic on track. There are too many trolls and fools that hijack threads, make it all about themselves or their personal vendettas, and ruin what had been an interesting and enjoyable conversation.

founder said "Look for owner moderated threads. Coming soon to a discussion board near you."

So... really? Or was that purely in jest?

I could see some intentional troll threads created by owner moderated threads, though. Where the troll is the owner. Be careful what you wish for...

I interpreted owner-moderated as being founder alone, as he's the site owner. I did not see it as moderation by the OP (original poster).

But perhaps I have it wrong.

haha not a bad idea.

How about if a user wants the ability to block or moderate a thread, but users have to pay like $5 a month or a one time fee of $50 or something? Or whatever $ you think is fair for compromising your anti-censorship principles?

And not just a thread, but also reviews. Some individuals tend to leave mean spirited comments in reviews too that have nothing to do with correcting the facts.

Turning the ability to moderate your own thread into a premium service and additional revenue stream. NiceSpice, you're fucking brilliant. Founder owes you a cut of the revenue for the first 12 months he does that.

===> See how well letting the inmates run the asylum (moderation & blocking opinions) has worked for StripperWeb.

Papi, I think you're trying to portray an extreme example as the norm. Yes, if you give a group of angry, hypersensitive and burnt out females the power to decide who can say what on a board, the board will soon be dead. But I don't see that as a realistic risk here.

I think the real problem is a commercial one, which is dedicating a lot more time and resources to a piece of the site that is really just a cost center. Sure it's a place to keep some active users engaged, which doesn't hurt, but not really a core direct part of the site's revenue streams.

If what I suspect is true then so be it - we're not the ones paying the bills here after all. But from a purely functional standpoint there are a number of sites that have implemented light moderation quite effectively.

"... Look for owner moderated threads. Coming soon ..."

On the surface that sounds like a fancy description of blocking 😊

All these permutations being implemented (multiple discussion rooms, etc) for me feels like subtraction by addition - e.g. the new rooms added don't seem to get that much traffic

Founder has obviously done right in letting this forum stay open, no blocking, only the lightest of moderation.

I don't know if he is really suggesting though that there would be owner moderated threads. In my opinion that is just another form of blocking. Most of it would be because someone does not agree with the POV of the OP. They will come up with some other reason, but that is what it would come down to. Also, owner moderated threads would just result in people starting their own rebuttal threads.

I feel that this forum works best when people start their own topical threads and continue them and welcome others to continue them. You get more topical diversity and more depth of discussion, when threads are being continued, and when people can find them.

This forum has now, for those who only want like POV's, a VIP Room. And for those who still want this like POV environment, but are too lazy to post regular reviews or articles, or to pay a fee, there is this new Verified Room.

So with those and thread ignore and member ignore, what more do they want?

It seems that many of those who want blocking are the very people who make the most attack posts, going after a member rather than engaging in rational discussion. They just want to run people who don't think like them off of this board.

This board has flourished because such types have not been able to take over.

It's a good board, Founder has done a good job.

SJG

@SJG I make attack posts , really that’s not only incorrect it’s downright ridiculous

This is founders site and he can run it as he sees fit. But for those who want something different I have started and alternate forum:

reddit.com

I've used ignore extensively and have no problems. It doesn't take more than a couple of asinine statements, questions, whatever to get my ignore button. I TUSCL in peace!

twentyfive, I did not say that you make attack posts. For the most part, I know that you do not. But there are others on this forum who do nothing except post negative meta-narratives about other members.

I know that you do not do this.

SJG

Thank you Founder.

This is a great forum. Even though SJG posts here, he can't distract enough to make this place unenjoyable for me.

The Verified Room is a great solution. For some reason SJG and his personal firewall (or some other stupid reason) prevent him from posting there, and that allows me to move away from the Front Room (or Thunderdome - as I call it).

@Clubber I am right there with you, my dear! Even though I realize there was a post after yours, the ignore button allows me blissful ignorance while conversing only with those I choose...

If someone replies to someone I don't see, so be it. I can still respond to the title of the post or the last post I care to acknowledge without caring where the derailment has gone... We are all masters of our own destiny, no?

Life is too short, guys! I'm offering free therapeutic lap dances to anyone who needs one after engaging in this thread...😋

Oops, sorry... Now there's been another post since then... But, you get what I'm sayin'!

@founder > It was a pox on this website’s history. I am apologetic that I ever let it happen.<

And this shit posted above is good for your websites history that poster is your proudest protectee. Shame on you for allowing this, I don't blame that POS for doing what barnyard animals do, I blame you for allowing the animals to think they actually have some standing.

TwentyFive, moderation is very time consumptive. And most of the time moderators really can't take the time to really disentangle conflicts. So in my experience, moderators usually make things worse, as people post to try and gain the approval of the moderator.

If you are talking about Txtittyfag, I have had him on ignore for a long time. He is kind of an extreme case. But Ignore does the job.

The trolls I more object to are the ones who post false or speculative stuff about people, and then get some people to believe that it is has some basis in fact. These types of trolls do a great deal of harm, because some do believe them.

SJG

I just ignored txtitty. Problem solved

How do you deal with people derailing your threads though?

Liwet... I 100% agree that's a problem

I am brewing a solution.

Side note, I'm in Vegas all next week if anyone wants to get drunk and look at titties.

This is an open forum, people are going to see things differently than the OP. And some may take a broader view of the issues raised by the OP.

Sometimes if you just let it run its course, you can eventually bring it back to more what you wanted.

I mean, if you want total control you could make a blogspot on a gmail account.

SJG

If you let OP's moderate their own threads, then that is just another version of blocking.

And it will mean people making rebuttal threads, dueling threads.

I have never seen any message board where replies are narrowly constrained to be in agreement with the OP.

TUSCL has done well because it is open. So it has encouraged differing POV's.

And also in the VIP and Verified Rooms there is a smaller pool of people. But here in the Front Room is where you are most likely to find alternative POV's.

The OP gets to set the title, nothing else changes that, and most people will read the OP.

SJG

@TwentyFive

As far as I'm aware, you are mainly talking about txtittyfag right?

Nobody takes him seriously. I mean how can anybody take somebody with a name like txtittyfag seriously lol? I don't think I've seen anyone else taking his accusations seriously.

But I can understand why it frustrates you. I just thought I'd mention that.

founder said "Liwet... I 100% agree that's a problem. I am brewing a solution."

If you can implement a solution to derailing of threads as well as post / topic flooding, that would be fantastic.

😁

-->"I think the real problem is a commercial one, which is dedicating a lot more time and resources to a piece of the site that is really just a cost center."

Rick, it's this "forum as a cost center" that I always have trouble with. Taking a look at the bigger picture for a moment -- in smaller specialty markets, the site with big active forums, are also the biggest sites. Pick some obscure thing -- car detailing, say -- and you'll find the biggest sites, autotopia and autogeek, also have big, active forums. I could go through example after example of how these types of sites use high quality forums to draw eyeballs to their site, and reap the commercial benefits from it. Closer to home, when sfredbook.com so dominated the SF sex industry that backpage, TER, etc. basically had little to no presence, it was on the back of two things: a fantastic review site, and active high quality forums.

In short, there's no such thing as high quality forums being a cost center in this type of niche. A lower signal-to-noise ratio forum, that is not a draw in itself, due to trolls, more off-topic than on-topic conversations, a disgruntled core of quality contributors and a small group of active trolls who can easily take any conversation off base? Well yes, cost center. I'm not surprised that, given when a newbie sees when he comes onto the front page, that our rate of active new contributors is low.

The thing is -- and again, this is proven a zillion times over -- all it takes is some light active moderation. This site absolutely could be the US-wide SC forum, easily. I don't push the big active cadre of SF PLs (who are currently on yahoo groups -- YAHOO GROUPS!) to here, because I know they wouldn't stay in this environment. Tuscl could easily be sucking them in.

I'll do the usual disclaimer here -- I appreciate what founder does, recognize his absolute right to run this site as he sees fit. But the forum as a cost center is small minded thinking; it just doesn't work that way anywhere else, when a forum can sustain enough quality to hit critical mass.

Rant over. Phew!

^^^ He's not wrong.

I don't want to be a babysitter

Founder: I respect that. It's the "forums are cost centers" thing I'm addressing; it's just not true. I just don't buy that tuscl is different than every other site in the universe where a high quality forum significantly drives site $. This forum is a cost center because you're okay with it and have chosen not to turn it into something more.

But, I'll also mention, on none of those other sites is the founder doing all the moderating. Whether big or small, there's a site admin that basically does what you do (look in now and then, address big topics and issues and otherwise stay above the fray) and a few handpicked mods who have volunteered to enforce the admin's rules. And that model, in turn, is why autotopia is one of the biggest auto detailing sites on the web. You as sole moderator is not a model that works anywhere.

Anyway, well run forums drive revenue, they are not cost centers, unless that's how the site owner chooses to to run the forum. That's all I'm saying.

Look for huge changes soon :)

It's gonna be fabulous 👌

Just the fact that you call it fabulous, is already fabulous! :) :)

@founder “Look for huge changes soon :) It's gonna be fabulous”

does that mean live-streaming latina strippers stomping and abducting the autistic shit for brains psycho pussy from San Jose and dragging his stupid ass across the border to TJ where he is publically beheaded and his naked rotting corpse is hung upside down from a freeway overpass while local school children play soccer with his empty head?

hell yeah, i’ll pay to watch that!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

@25: tittyfag was one of the first people I ever out on ignore, and good riddance. I suspect that a lot of us have done the same. If I happen to see a comment of his when I log on after timing out, I laugh, shake my head, and log in so he's back on ignore. Don't worry about that moron.

Fuck's sake DoctorPhil are you one of El Chapo's enforcer thugs?

Holy shit, doctor Phil?

Been like 2 years...and I wasn’t even here then

@founder, There is a huge difference between free speech and hate speech and you goddamn well know it, take that any way you like it's your website, and you have the right to set the bar as low as you like. Has nothing to do with babysitting, it has everything to do with if you roll in the slop with barnyard animals, you'll get filthy with their slop.

^Actually there isn't. You can't arrest somebody for hate speech unless they are actually threatening you.

What exactly are you asking him to do? Ban people if you can't settle your fights by yourselves? Isn't that babysitting?

Hate speech now? What are you, 24 years old and living in your mom's basement?

There is no such thing as"hate speech". There is, however, speech that you hate to hear.

Use the damn (Not godddamn, as I prefer not to use that word) ignore button.

I don't believe that you need to in your 20s and living in your mom's basement to believe that 'hate speech' is a real thing. Difficult to define?... sure. But that doesn't negate its existence.

But that's a whole other thing. And not on topic.

I'm okay with waiting for founder's upcoming mods to see if they address the problems with the discussion forums. If the mods turn out to be better than two-way block, then this debate is a moot point.

If you think I'm 24 years old and living in my mom's basement you are stupid as fuck, hate speech is very real, denying it is just a tool used by alt.right wingers to justify any bullshit that they feel like saying. Deny all you want it won't make me wrong, it just makes you look stupid.

And that is precisely why we have the ignore feature. I'm done with this ridiculous discussion.

Let's take this discussion to the Dr. Phil Show. It's clearly the only solution.

You created this ridiculous discussion, I'm done as well

I read this entire thread and came to 2 conclusions: 1) You all need real lives and maybe you'll stop doing this; and 2) I am a moron for reading the entire thread.

Don't quit now guys, I just got the popcorn made and everything!

All I have to say about this is ..... DAMN! I LOVE NIPPLES!

This thread is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in these rambling, incoherent responses were we even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

My comment was most definitely rational. And I stand by it completely. I love NIPPLES!

I love the feeling of a girl's tongue. But I can't decide if I would rather make out with a girl who has a larger tongue or a smaller tongue. On one hand, the girl with a larger tongue can feel around in your mouth more. On the other hand, however, small tongues are cute.

Such difficult decisions.

Long tongues, CC99. In my high school there was a blonde one year behind me. She was 5'11", natural 36DD-24-34, and she could touch her tongue to her nose with ease. Her parents were fucking loaded, to boot. God's would-you-rather punchline: a total but'erface.

1. Almost ready to ignore- a couple more
2. Plus 1, no make that plus 2 for Nidan111 comments , nipples rule
3. It's okay for the asshole (you know, the other guy) to be wrong, it already stinks. No need to keep inhaling.

It is better if this forum is as open and as egalitarian as possible.

SJG

I've never used the BLOCK function and rarely used IGNORE.

I like your decision, Founder.