Making the forum a nicer place.

Quasar

DT and the Arms have a place in this forum in that they allow the sort of not money related banter which makes people get to know each other better. I have made some wonderful friends there.

I fully agree with Quincy that the post/thanks count etc should not apply to these sections. The likes of me would continue to post there and have our giggles because we are sociable chatterboxes, although I also agree with Quincy that those who are there just for the counts will perhaps just disappear.

As for pleasantness, I agree with OP, but I would add that in a forum with almost 100,000 we cannot realistically expect everybody to be civilised and courteous, and in fact there will even be a handful of decidely sinister characters who delight in sowing discord wherever they go. That is why each objectionable post should be reported immediately, and why we have Board Guides who will close a thread before the nastiness goes too far.

As for the uncivilised saddos, best ignored, that's my view.

pin

Are things really that bad on the other forums (i.e. Discussion time and the Arms?)

However in all fairness I hardly ever pay attention to them as it always seems the "in crowd" are having their little online chats.

Rikki

I don't post in MSA or DT for thanks or post counts the same as quasar said.
It is where we get together chat and have fun. Its a place to let your hair down and leave your problems behind for a while.
Ppersonally I do take part in other areas of the site when I feel I have something worth contributing.

southernscouser

Rikki wrote:

I don't post in MSA or DT for thanks or post counts the same as quasar said.
It is where we get together chat and have fun. Its a place to let your hair down and leave your problems behind for a while.
Ppersonally I do take part in other areas of the site when I feel I have something worth contributing.

Otherwise you just lurk!

Gareth1_2

It always makes me smile when the "regulars" come on and say about inciting threads and how starting them is wrong, yet they cannot help but contribute (but only to say how inciting it is of course):rotfl:

pin

Maybe this thread should now be moved to Discussion time or Arms.

Oh, the irony if it does!!

shopbot

pin wrote:

Are things really that bad on the other forums (i.e. Discussion time and the Arms?)

I think so. When people are creating second accounts with the sole intention of impersonating another user then I think things have gone way too far. Is some sort of cyber scrap really that important?? Secondly it then often seems to start to question the decisions of the MSE team. At the end of the day we are guests here....

Quasar

pin wrote:

Are things really that bad on the other forums (i.e. Discussion time and the Arms?)

However in all fairness I hardly ever pay attention to them as it always seems the "in crowd" are having their little online chats.

No things are not that bad. There are debates, sometimes lively, and the inevitable clashes of opinion just as you find in any gathering where people discuss all manner of things.

As for the "in crowd", those who post there are the "in crowd". Recently there have been newbies in the Arms, and the moment they posted they were also part of the "in crowd". However when you have more than say 10 people on the same thread, it is inevitable that some members get lost along the way and it looks like they are ignored. This sometimes happens to me as well, but I appreciate it is more daunting for a new participant.

As I said above, this is a 100,000 strong forum. Shall we not have certain boards/threads because they cannot possibly accommodate each and every one?

Quasar

shopbot wrote:

I think so. When people are creating second accounts with the sole intention of impersonating another user then I think things have gone way too far. Is some sort of cyber scrap really that important?? Secondly it then often seems to start to question the decisions of the MSE team. At the end of the day we are guests here - right?

Quite so. However impersonators and other unsavoury characters are part and parcel of a large forum like this. The answer is not to stay away because that is fulfilling their purpose, but to just ignore them, report them and carry on with our chats and debates.

There will always be weirdos on the buses, in shops, in the streets, and now in forums. Shall we let them dictate to us how we use the above places?

shopbot

Quasar wrote:

No things are not that bad. There are debates, sometimes lively, and the inevitable clashes of opinion just as you find in any gathering where people discuss all manner of things.

As for the "in crowd", those who post there are the "in crowd". Recently there have been newbies in the Arms, and the moment they posted they were also part of the "in crowd". However when you have more than say 10 people on the same thread, it is inevitable that some members get lost along the way and it looks like they are ignored. This sometimes happens to me as well, but I appreciate it is more daunting for a new participant.

As I said above, this is a 100,000 strong forum. Shall we not have certain boards/threads because they cannot possibly accommodate each and every one?

I'm not against differences of opinion but at the end of the day people seem to take things way too seriously and make things personal and after all this is moneysavingexpert.com and not Jerryspringer.com