You mean you want a discussion board where people are positive, interested, helpful, and family friendly? A utopian dream for sure. Not sure if this is achievable without strong moderation...but it is certainly an honorable quest! FWIW, in some of the online education I have taken, they had a rule (enforced by instructors), that every comment that was critical of something had to be accompanied by a balancing comment that was affirming as well. Once everyone got used to doing that, it stayed a very nice, and productive, place!

And of course, the "something" you were commenting on critically or affirming, could not be an individual. So was off-base to make comments about people.

 

That is an interesting idea George! Off the top, I'm imagining a separate "Purchase Advice" forum. A person would start the thread with their 1) purchasing dilemma, there can then be 2) the normal banter of advice, then the person would 3) report their ultimate decision and why, and lastly they would 4) report how it worked out for them, so was it a good decision. The thread would be locked to all except the topic starter when they report their decision in step 3 so no more banter after that until they report back. Would be a cool set of threads to read as we would always see the issue, the banter, the decision, the results. The threads would be unstructured articles in and of themselves!

 

Have to agree with the sentiment. Flaming and being sarcastic/rude in an email might well put newbies off asking the questions...no matter how often they get asked.

My instructors in my days as a submariner had a good adage, 'there are no stupid questions'

I have been on SGL for 3 years now and it has maintained a patient approach and dealt with those who overstepped the basic code of conduct. For that reason it is extremely popular.....and no we are not group hugging (even virtually) on a daily basis..

I think the nature of any forum allows folk to agree and disagree, just the manner in which it is done is important. Astronomy can be an intensly personal thing so when someone says different to your opinion it can seem like a dressing down from the better half....

 

SGL is indeed a very nice and civil community, unlike typical boards in the U.S. It is always a breath of fresh air for me when I post there as everyone is just so nice. IMO though I have always attributed that difference to be due to cultures instead of moderation.

 

A little late for this party, but lemme say that I hope this forum - based on what I've read about SGL and experienced/seen in another forum - turns out to be more akin to SGL.

While the U.S.-based popular forum is awesome, I've seen threads getting hijacked by individuals with personal ax to grind against another. It's hard not to notice that there are factions there advocating for certain product while bashing another vendor. I know of a guy who would bad- mouth an individual any chance he get - he basically said it so himself. Then there's a couple of vendors pretending to be normal users who would bump threads just to keep their product relevant. Technically still within TOS (maybe), except they would also make insinuations about their competitions (definitely a no-no). Cases as such brings the moderator to intervene. However, before the mods cleaned things up, it was all there for everyone to see including most likely beginners. Very off-putting.

I would like for this forum to be respectful. Momma, always say, "If you can't say anything good, do keep quiet." Pops told me one time, "If you wanna tell someone something that either might help him or rile him off, don't announce it in front of the whole world. Tell it to him in private, you might actually make a friend." I'm just saying people can disagree without being disagreeable. If it can't be avoided, argue in a PM and spare the rest from non-astronomy, unhelpful vitriols - sarcastic or otherwise.

 

I am also a regular on SGL, as is my esteemed colleague Frank. Oh and Bill - hi. And the civility and willingness of the denizens there to make everyone feel at home is the stuff of legends. We all agree to respect the opinions of all other folks, especially when we may disagree. Unlike many US-based forums on many subjects, we have no "flame-wars" or attempting to win a prize for acting like an 8 year old. And this explains why I hang my hat "across the pond." This civility carries over into a majority of Euro-based fora I have been part of.

I noted this new venue quite recently. I did a bit of exploring, and noted it was just starting out. I found this promising and, with some reservation I do admit, I joined and introduced myself. My hopes were that, being fresh out-of-the-gate, AstronomyConnect could evolve into another outpost of civility and kindness - rather than what many of us have borne witness to in another bastion of astronomy here in the US. Then today I ran across this thread which I'm still reading through. I am heartened by what I am seeing. I might even have a suggestion of how we might enact this paradigm-shift from some other US-based forums.....

When someone first enters a forum like SGL, there to, like here, is an introductory forum where one may choose to say 'hello' to all. What then happens tends to set the tone for their impending experience within. We all say in our own ways a 'hello' back and welcome to. The person then is assured we are here to help them with any and all questions they (undoubtedly) have about this 'hobby' we share - astronomy in it's myriad forms. I always add that we love questions and helping to find answers is why we're all here. In other words help the person relax and realize we really are willing to share our toys! In this way and many others, we set the tone for friendly and honest discourse without arrogance or brinksmanship. I feel this is a truly vital function that has benefits well beyond the confines of our hobby and/or shared interest. As a forum open to people from many other nations - or parts of the same nation - we act as a sort of diplomatic liason that demonstrates we are all quite capable of being like your neighbors and family.

What we avoid are issues that are bound to start wars such as politics and religions. Common-sense. If you are friends with someone, you can always broach the subject in a private communication. But we don't set the stage in public for conflicting ideologies to rear their heads with three-eyeballs on posts.

One good way to accomplish this in a forum is to take your time in posting. Treat each post you wish to issue as a craft - something you actually work on with care and effort. This can seem like a shocking idea to people used to typing into Twitter or the like with their thumbs. I always remind myself that posting like your in a horse-race will make it a race: A race to the bottom! LOL! We all make some wonderous mistakes from time-to-time. When spotting them in other people - bite your tongue. That can save a lot of time later on down the lane. Let intelligence be your guide, and post things you actually feel some pride in having crafted. Don't worry - you'll have plenty of time for banging your own head on the table later!

That's my 2¢ for now. Off to catch some news - speaking of banging head...

Dave

 

Dave in Vermont: a big thumbs up!!

 

I have never been bothered by debate as long as it is done respectfully. None of us have total experience with every scope of every type ever made. So each of us is either voicing a personal opinion, our own limited experience or citing specs and statistics and our understanding of same.

To suggest that we not debate and express difference of opinion is to deny the nature of a community. The only way to stifle this is via absolute dictatorship and draconian methods of censorship.

So we debate things. What's wrong with that?

 

Often times, simply clearing your throat and saying: "Gentlemen..." is all that's required to settle the combative chatter down.

I was the sole super(vising)-moderator on an international political-forum out of the Netherlands, with over 2 million people. We had many ministers of governments from all over the globe. I think I've seen everything. But for some reason, it was the people from the US that were the most problematic.

"The government that governs the least, governs the best."

 

I am a moderator on several non-astronomy forums. My personal policy is to interfere as little as possible. When I do have to get involved because things are getting personal I try to be a surgical as possible and not shut down the discussion.