Dedicated thread in AO about Bush and/or Iraq

buonrotto

We currently have 5 threads dealing with the Iraq situation directly, and 2 really silly threads dealing with George Bush on the first page of AppleOutsider. The Iraq threads initially seem well differentiated, which is what I generally prefer to see, except of course the debate always returns to the same initial points of contention which defeats the purpose of having them be separate. In AO, and there's a steady pace of these things coming, the same players speak up, and at the end of the day, they say the same things but quote new sources and give new links to support the same arguments. The threads that member start about these subjects are pretty much all the same with regard to pretense if, however, the events change.



I'm starting to think we should dump all of this stuff into perpetual threads on the broader topics. At least I'm wiling to entertain the idea. Who would like to see dedicated threads on these two topics, or maybe others you might suggest here?



I should warn people, if I see too many silly threads that people can't at least be light-hearted about like the two Bush threads that are active right now, I will consider them spam and flamebait and as such starting locking. This is only if people really abuse their thread creating privileges and only if people are going to fight like cats and dogs in these threads.



In the meantime, please vote, add come comments below, and try to relax a bit in AO, eh?

fellowship

My 2 cents is not too complicated...



again it is just my 2 cents,, nothing deep or profound,,



I would just leave AO how it is.. a spontanious place where people can be trusted to post as they see an angle on something without the "need" for us to moderate anything. Being the teacher telling the students what to do and how to do it just restricts creative inspired posting in my humble opinion. Let's allow the members to have our trust and let them go wild.



HOWEVER in giving such free reign and mutual respect to the members we simply ask for no redundant threads or copy-cat threads.



I think for the most part the members know how to post.



For those who do not I will kindly show them the proper way to post



Peace

shawnj

Fellowship's got it right. AO is a "a spontaneous place where people can be trusted to post as they see an angle on something." I think moderators should always nudge threads back on topic if they start to closely resemble other threads. That way we could have well-differentiated topics that stay that way.



Still-- Bush and Iraq are two popular subjects here. They attract a variety of people from around the world--both posters and thread starters. We have some rivalries here that tend to debate the same points with each other-- but a quick look at all the Bush threads created undermines your observation that it's just the same people.



However, it will almost certainly be the same people posting-- if you create a perpetual thread with no incentive for less frequent posters to wade through pages and pages of seemingly topic-less arguments. Relegating all threads about those topics to perpetual threads just wouldn't be a good idea. I certainly wouldn't welcome it because long threads are difficult to navigate when dealing with only one topic-- nevermind all the developments that will certainly happen over the next few months-- all of which many members here are interested in. It wouldn't work well.



Now maybe nested forums would somewhat accomplish what you're trying to do.