That is something that has been mentioned before, but I don’t know if this particular hosting platform provides the feature. — Wayfarer

Yes, I figured that. The idea is more that there are simple things that could probably help, even if Plush Forums doesn't currently possess them.

When I sketched my own forum I envisioned a lot of things like this that would annoy the hell out of lots of people. :grin: The 10-minute rule was one. Another was a Medieval-style system, where reporting a post was effectively a wager, such that if someone reported a post that is not problematic then that someone takes the penalty that would have been applied to the poster they reported. It seems that this was a way to limit litigation in locales where judicial resources were scarce. I'm not sure if it would work, but I like the idea. It would certainly lighten moderation if it could be implemented.

It’s not there, but has been mentioned in discussion of alternative platforms.

The predecessor forum to this one had a lot of bells and whistles that had been added over the years by Paul Kneirem, the owner/admin. It was quite good but the interface had become somewhat crowded. When Jamal started this one on Plush the simplicity of the interface was a positive, but there are some features lacking.

When Jamal started this one on Plush the simplicity of the interface was a positive, but there are some features lacking. — Wayfarer

Ah, that makes sense. I do like the simplicity of Plush from the user's perspective.

Another was a Medieval-style system, where reporting a post was effectively a wager, such that if someone reported a post that is not problematic then that someone takes the penalty that would have been applied to the poster they reported. It seems that this was a way to limit litigation in locales where judicial resources were scarce. I'm not sure if it would work, but I like the idea. It would certainly lighten moderation if it could be implemented. — Leontiskos

I envisioned a hockey style penalty box where for the two minutes you were in lock down, your opponent was in a power play and could comment without allowing you a response. The difficulty I saw in it was in the expense of the box and finding personnel to monitor the person in the box so he wouldn't jump free.

I also don't have ice skates.

- Yes, good. Two minutes for minor penalties and five minutes for major penalties. But if the two posters are real aggressive, and it looks like it might make for a good fight, then we let them fight for a few minutes before giving them both five-minute majors (fighting posts are non-editable). This will require an extra box, but I think it will be worth it. Maybe run it by Plush?

Maybe run it by Plush? — Leontiskos

As discussed, they won't be adding new functionality and we'll have to move to another platform.

Did I just dream it?

As discussed, they won't be adding new functionality and we'll have to move to another platform. — Jamal

Oh yes, I remember, although I wasn't sure if it was public. I was just joking with @Hanover and his penalty box musings. :smile:

As discussed, they won't be adding new functionality and we'll have to move to another platform. — Jamal

Are there some other platforms that would consider adding a penalty box as described? I'd like to get that started, at least to have the foundation poured by the end of the month.

I still don't have ice skates though.

Penalty box, you say? Sure, why not? Consider it done.

How about a grading system for posts. I imagine it working this way. A small crew of highly-regarded participants volunteer to be on call. When called upon, they enter perhaps a letter grade at the top of the post. And it might be S(atisfactory) or U(nsatisfactory) and within these two an added letter grade A,B,C,D, or F.

That is, I see a post and think it awful and call on the "team." He, she, or they decide whether to read and grade the post and if yes then post the grade. And I and the rest of us can see at a glance if the post is worth reading, or is instead just a stupid and abusive piece of slime best avoided. This post, for example, I would rate S-B or S-C. And I might reserve S-A and S-B for life changing and mighty good respectively.

That would require all the members of the team to be on welfare.
I second the proposal.

Lots of work.

Most posts aren't standalone, too. This post would be nonsensical, except as a reply. F for me.

C if the grading mod read your post too.

Why not let things as they are? The forum works well, and most of the threads are active.

It is true that there are often some bugs (for example, when the drafts keep appearing even after posting them. This bug used to appear more often, but not so much anymore. Ergo, I understand that it has been fixed.), but it is not a serious problem.

If one day we all have to move to another platform, I will have a huge emotional feeling of melancholia about this forum. :broken:

Why not let things as they are? The forum works well, and most of the threads are active. — javi2541997

:100:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I can no longer see the "Climate Change (General Discussion)" discussion on the main page.

The most recent post is 8 hours ago but the discussion is not visible at that time on the main page.

I can get to the "Climate Change (General Discussion)" discussion by finding one of my posts to this discussion and clicking on the title, so the discussion is available. It just doesn't show on the main page.

My dear friend, I believe I can explain. As it so happens, the site owner, Jamal, being the humble and selfless (if not at times inconsiderate) person he is enjoys making use of the Shoutbox to announce site-wide changes as opposed to hogging up valuable discussion real estate space as would occur if done so in the form of a new announcement thread or "sticky", as it were.

I believe you will find the answers to all your questions in this Shoutbox post, here.

Or to be quaint, check the Lounge! :razz:

It was moved to the Lounge. I gave the reasons here:

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/880144

Maybe consider making an announcement in General or something, not everyone will go to the Shout Box and see that specific post. Which will save you repetition 25 times over.

I did actually create a draft announcement but didn't follow through. Now that things seem to have calmed down, I'm not going to bother with the announcement—a decision I may regret when I have to repeat the response another 25 times.

It is kind of annoying that you cannot italicize on mobile. There is room for a tweet icon, but not italics?

Yep, it’s annoying. The devs won’t change it.

It is kind of annoying that you cannot italicize on mobile. There is room for a tweet icon, but not italics? — hypericin

You can if you turn your mobile to landscape.

I wonder about the limits of direct personal insults. I recognize that I have not expressed the ideal of eschewing such behavior. In fact, I am part of the problem.

Some kind of consistent rule regarding the matter would be good.

That would be tough, to set the rule as to what qualifies as a punishable offence. What it I told you your mother wears army boots? Or what if I told you your interpretation of Aristotle is pure shit? Would one or both of these be subject to the rule?

I was thinking more about Vashane denigrating people as a component of the argument.
I get a lot of the other kind of denigration at work.

If you are referring to our previous disagreements about Aristotle, I did not end up with judgement but a lack of understanding. I don't get it.

It can be done manually on mobile by entering the tags

:up:

Another thing to bug the devs about is that it's very slow and difficult to edit a post on mobile. Is anyone else getting that?

I have an iPhone 13 - it’s not slow but it’s always a bit fiddly due to the limitations of the iOS interface. Latency issues might be due to the network you’re on.

On my (high end) android at least, it's like, tap the ellipses... nothing happens, tap it again... maybe in 5-10 seconds, the edit pencil will show up. Tap that... nothing happens, tap it again... if you are lucky, in another 5-10 seconds, you can edit.

This is consistent, independent of connection speed.