Forum Improvement Thread

[Rationella]

Original post by Chris:
We need to find a way to keep the forum inclusive so that all may participate, but at the same time this is an atheist discussion forum and so there needs to be a little bit of exclusivity for atheists only. Without an element of exclusivity for atheists, this might as well be a general discussion board. Maybe the solution is moderation, or maybe it is an exclusive section for atheists only, but then again having to create one section for atheists only is self-defeating because the whole forum was created for atheist discussion. And that is where my dilemma is.

There is definitely a need for some exclusivity when it comes to certain topics. For instance, an atheist dealing with some issues around discrimination in the workplace or in the community will want to receive support, advice or perspective from other atheists. Further denouncements or harrassment by religionists will not be welcome in such cases. Atheists dealing with family tragedy, death of a loved one, etc. may want to get some support from like-minded individuals without any frustratingly inadequate advice to "turn to God" or fairy stories about a loved one existing beyond somewhere.

I'll relate a story. When my grandmother died my aunt, a born-again Christian, arranged the funeral service. The minister she asked to perform the service made an altar call for those present to "give their hearts to Jesus" and "come forward". It was the most inappropriate time and place for such a call. I had to restrain my brother, also an agnostic, from physical violence against the idiot. The reception afterwards was held at the church where my aunt attends. We did not go, opting to return to my mom's place for a beer in honor of my gramma who always enjoyed a good beer on a hot summer day.

Having some other atheists with whom to vent would have been very supportive around that time period. Having theists intervene with their messages of "eternal salvation" or angelic hereafter fantasies would have been VERY UNWELCOME.

Perhaps this forum is not the best place for such a supportive role. I don't know. There really are so few places for atheists to congregate and anyone living in a small town many hours from major cities has even fewer options than those who have atheistic/humanistic centers such as the one in Toronto.

Chris, I think you're doing a great job of trying to make this a good place for atheists to come and associate with one another. It's a difficult balancing act when we want to provide a forum for open discussion. Thanks!

[Chris]

I think it can be done very well through moderation. I was a member at DPChallenge.com, and through a cadre of moderators, they developed a culture whereby the many forum topics where kept largely in check without the need for censorship. It was such that the users expected moderators to act quickly if anything went awry. Additionally, their forum rules were front and centre, the second link in the "Community" menu on every page. Where are the rules here? Maybe I've missed them, and if so, apologies, but I think the rules should be easily available, and perhaps developed with help from the group. At DPChallenge, the rules drove the moderation, and offered the kind of stability that led to a general absence of forum abuse.

The rules can be found above thread listings when viewing a forum category. Soon I'll be installing a mod that will require users to reconfirm they've read them every time they are changed/updated and also making them easier to find.

There is definitely a need for some exclusivity when it comes to certain topics. For instance, an atheist dealing with some issues around discrimination in the workplace or in the community will want to receive support, advice or perspective from other atheists. Further denouncements or harrassment by religionists will not be welcome in such cases. Atheists dealing with family tragedy, death of a loved one, etc. may want to get some support from like-minded individuals without any frustratingly inadequate advice to "turn to God" or fairy stories about a loved one existing beyond somewhere.

I'll relate a story. When my grandmother died my aunt, a born-again Christian, arranged the funeral service. The minister she asked to perform the service made an altar call for those present to "give their hearts to Jesus" and "come forward". It was the most inappropriate time and place for such a call. I had to restrain my brother, also an agnostic, from physical violence against the idiot. The reception afterwards was held at the church where my aunt attends. We did not go, opting to return to my mom's place for a beer in honor of my gramma who always enjoyed a good beer on a hot summer day.

Having some other atheists with whom to vent would have been very supportive around that time period. Having theists intervene with their messages of "eternal salvation" or angelic hereafter fantasies would have been VERY UNWELCOME.

Perhaps this forum is not the best place for such a supportive role. I don't know. There really are so few places for atheists to congregate and anyone living in a small town many hours from major cities has even fewer options than those who have atheistic/humanistic centers such as the one in Toronto.

Chris, I think you're doing a great job of trying to make this a good place for atheists to come and associate with one another. It's a difficult balancing act when we want to provide a forum for open discussion. Thanks!

That's horrible! Did you tell this somewhere else, I remember reading a very similar story.

Anyways, I do want to create a place for atheists to be supportive of one another without theist interference. So I think we will go with what was mentioned, and that is clearer guidelines and rules, and faster moderation turn around time. If this approach does not work, we can always adjust or try something else, nothing has to be set in stone.

I'll be choosing another moderator over the next week.

Moderators are chosen based on forum activity (i.e. logging in and reading the forums more than a few times a week) and contribution to the community. Moderators do not need to have an extremely high post count, they will be chosen based on how they conduct themselves. Those that are: figuring out new ways to improve the forum, helping out other members, and those that also have the respect of many people in the community, will likely have a higher chance at becoming a mod.

If any of you are picked to be a moderator and accept the position, you will go through a 3 week trial to see if you are a good fit.

If anyone wants to recommend another forum member to become a mod, please PM me as to why you see this person as a strong contender for the position.

If you were hoping to become a moderator and are not picked, do not feel discouraged. As the forum grows, we will always be looking for more people to help maintain the community. If you continue to contribute and help us grow, you'll most likely be picked to become a mod eventually. However, if you are just power hungry and only want to be a mod for status, you will not be picked.

I'll make a new thread about this shortly to further explain.

[Blondin]

Chris, I'm glad you decided to just try to control things via moderation. I was kind of wondering how you would go about enforcing no-theist-allowed threads, anyway (make them pinky-swear to stay out?). I think it ultimately it just would have made another task for you to monitor anyway.

I also wanted to echo Rationella's remarks about the great job you're doing. I know what a thankless job it can be and I don't envy you one little bit.

[Chris]

Chris, I think you're doing a great job of trying to make this a good place for atheists to come and associate with one another. It's a difficult balancing act when we want to provide a forum for open discussion. Thanks!

I also wanted to echo Rationella's remarks about the great job you're doing. I know what a thankless job it can be and I don't envy you one little bit.

Thanks guys, I appreciate that.

[meezly]

I just logged for the first time in over a week.

Thanks for taking into account some of my suggestions, Chris, the guidelines are pretty much exactly what I had in mind!

[Christian Soldier]

Hey Chris,

I just remembered something about the forum when it was still hosted by atheistbus. The drafts. What happened to them? I don't know about the rest of the users, but I liked being able to save my work on here and come back and finish it later. Would it be possible for you to make it where we could have drafts on here again?

I also want to say that you are doing a great job with the forum. It is among the neater, yet still used forums that I have seen. So thanks for making it so good for the users.

[as_one_we_stand]

just throwing the idea out there but coming from a school that every other kid has a religious back ground and a public school which cant seem to leave god out of the curriculum iv always thought it would be nice to see what other teens thought of religion idk i think it would be nice to have a teen chill forum but idk thought i would just throw that idea out there