Just in case, I wasn't criticising Trollheart quite the contrary i really like his post ^_^

Mainly i was trying to express what the MB vibe feels like to me i used Trollheart as an exmpl of what it takes to be a popular member here..

In fact, i think Trollheart is a good exmpl of a balanced member here
Though he knows alot about music and he is very charming he also acknowledges ppl and has a sense of humility imo

Damn, this is why i don't like saying sh*t here ppl always misunderstand and make an issue about it

plz look at the context of what i said i was never attacking him why would i? he's been nothing but nice to me like i said i was expressing my personal opinion of what i feel the vibe of this place is..

Wrong or right its just my opinion but i assure you im not blaming anybody in particular about it much less Trollheart

Not to mention dat hawt azz

^ I like this idea, which you also described in the previous thread:

"When things are about to turn hostile, I would like more often to see a friendly reminder to not let things escalate. On other forums, I've sometimes seen moderators edit users threads and leave notices in the bottom of the posts saying something like "Offensive remarks removed. Please refrain from name-calling and the like in the future" along with a reference or link to the rules. On that forum, when you see that colour in a post, you know it's probably put there by a mod."
Read more: http://www.musicbanter.com/announcem...#ixzz2cS3k0IWP

I feel tore's suggestion would be worth trying (again?) more consistently, since moderating posts by deleting only the offensive parts and explaining the reason in red should prevent escalation of conflicts to the level at which closing threads seems to be the only viable option.

The mods and community would need to decide which sort of remarks, pictures, or patterns of following a poster around to criticize her or him are considered offensive enough to require moderation.

I feel Urban's #1 rule for this thread..."1. Only post or comment on ideas, not people"...is a good general rule to follow and might prevent escalation of many conflicts.

For example, saying someone's idea has flaws is very different than saying the *person* is stupid. Saying you dislike a thread idea is very different than saying you think the creator is an uninspired idiot.

Similarly, I feel that calling someone on the boards a "troll" is a type of name-calling because it dismisses what the person is saying and assumes the worst about that person's intentions. Whenever I see people starting to throw around the "troll" epithet, I cringe because I can see the escalation of tension about to happen.

I recommend that mods refrain from openly calling members "trolls" (what you say in the mod cave to each other is your business) and step in when you see one member accusing another of being a troll, delete the comment from the post, and ask that the poster please refrain from name-calling in the future.

When you see someone who you feel is trolling (which I view as intentionally trying to irritate or inflame others), I recommend you keep in mind that people's irritation level with the person is not what determines whether or not that person is trolling.

* * *

As others have recommended, I encourage posters who find themselves livid after reading the opinions of particular members to use the ignore button (however it works) to prevent themselves from igniting and going ballistic.

Just a small point on the blogs: there's no real reason why you can't make a blog out of a journal. You don't have to write about music in the journals (see my Couch Potato, Mondo Bungle's Entering Infinity and of course the Batcave for examples) --- you can write about anything you want. So really your journal can be your blog. It's all just down to semantics.

Here is an idea for an event (Not sure if it has been done here already)

How bout a Music buddy thread when you match up a member with another member and exchange a music album and then when you are done listening to the album the person recommended you review it on the thread..

its sorta like 'the review the song above you' thread cause it forces you to actually hear the song (in this case album) before you completely dismiss them if you don't like it

This is a very good idea I feel.
Also, to be clear, I never took any sarcasm from Francis's comment on me, in fact I took it as a compliment. Which from his replies is how it seems it was to have been taken. I'd recommend, no offence BD, that people stop jumping to conclusions so quickly. If Francis were a less level-headed member, or one more prone to react hotly, this might have flared into serious drama when all that was posted was, in the end, a rather nice compliment in my direction.

Kind of makes you think we should all count to ten and re-read posts before replying to what we consider a negative remark...

We actually have a thread for that that's been up and down in terms of participation for years. The problem, unfortunately, is that people get lazy about reviewing the album they were given, but it's a good idea that's really fun when it's going strong. I'd love to see it get up and running again.

I feel like getting in trouble for using the word Troll is going too far. They enforce that type of rule at another forum I post at and they will ban people for using the word troll in reference to someone else.

No no no no no, I was not talking about the compliment in the first part of the post but rather the second half where he implied that "certain key members don't make members feel acknowledged" or whatever it was.

I agree. The word is used in the rules of this site, it seems pretty over the top to punish people for referring to something that's in the rules. Should we also forbid the use of words like "spam" or "advertising" as well?