moderation and lock down

[DXTR]

Hi I am well aware that the few moderators who are keeping this site open do it for free in their sparetime. However I was wondering whether we could change the way threads that went off-topic could be kept on topic without having it locked down. I have been monitoring a trhread on the Westerplatte murders, and I really appreciated the topic since it is of interest to me. As allways a topic that deals with warcrimes, german guilt, or morale tends to be the preferred fighting ground for other topics and personal grievances between members. The end resuklt was that it was locked down. Would it be possible instead of locking it down, to edit awy the off-topic posts or give a warning before the moderator moved to lock it, or maybe having a timeframe on the lock? I know that it would properbly lead to a heavy increase in the burden on the moderators, however it would keep a topic alive that otherwise was quite interesting.

kind regards

David

[sid guttridge]

Hi DXTR,

The Romanian Military Forum deals with this problem by splitting a thread at the point it goes off course and putting the deviant half in a new thread with a new title selected by the moderator as appropriate to its content.

Thus, for example, the Westerplatte thread would be split in two. The first, Westerplatte half, would then continue on topic and the second more generalised discussion on German-Polish antagonisms would continue under a new thread entitled something like "Volksdeutsch evacuation and expulsion from Poland 1939-48?". This preserves the merits of both without burying either.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Lorenz]

Excellent, practical points by both DXTR and Sid. But I wonder if Feldgrau really, really needs extended discussions on the Holocaust and War Crimes (capitalization intentional) when these subjects are so well-covered and energetically discussed over on Axis History Forum? It is hard for me to imagine what more can be said than what has already appeared over there, but if that need does arise then it's a simple matter of resurrecting an existing thread on the subject over there or starting a new one. The discussion there is much livelier because of the much larger active membership, the prominent place H&WC has on AHF, and the very capable hand of the forum's moderator, David Thompson, who runs a tight ship and keeps the roudy peanut gallery and mean-spirited provacateurs under control. Just my two cents, but I wanted to comment because this is an honest issue raised by a respected member of Feldgrau and, thusly, one that the moderators and Mr. Pipes may want to consider.

--Lorenz

[Robert Rojas]

Greetings to both brother Lorenz and the community as a whole. Howdy Lorenz! Well sir, in reference to your posting of Thursday - June 08, 2006 - 5:46am, you have knowingly OR unknowingly touched upon a much broader issue that undoubtedly has resonance with a healthy number of participants who retain a dual association with both the Feldgrau Forum organization and the Axis History Forum organization - COINCIDENTAL TOPICS OF INTEREST! There is such a degree of topical duplication between the forums that one must really wonder if both of these sites are merely adjuncts to one another. Speaking purely for myself, I have refrained from either creating OR responding to a variety of topics within the Feldgrau Forum organization since a great deal of my Second World War interests have been THOROUGHLY addressed within the Axis History Forum organization. After all, redundancy is a topic killer in its own right. I have often wondered why Chairman Wendel and Chairman Pipes have never gotten together to form some sort of mutually supportive condominium of topical interests. Just curious. Well, that's my initial two cents or pfennigs worth on this not so mundane topic of duality. As always, I would like to bid you a copacetic day from sea to shining sea.

[John W. Howard]

Hello Gents:
I was debating splitting the topic and may still do so. Deleting the troublesome parts is time consuming, but it is an option already under use by me. I have used it on occasion, but many times it entails deleting other responses by respected members; in a couple of instances, I have notified the member that their post was being deleted along with the offending post so as not to cause offense. Again this is time consuming and risks alienating other posters who respond to offensive posts. In addition, I do not want to start a precedent where people feel they can post all manner of nonsense, because the moderators will edit away the dross. I will revisit the thread in question and see what I am able to do with it. Best wishes to all.

[John W. Howard]

Hello DXTR and Others:
After an Homeric effort on my part, I have edited and split the thread in question. Both threads now reside in the General German Military Discussion section. The Westerplatte Murders thread has been reopened; the rest of the thread may be found under the Germans vs. Poles thread and is locked. I deleted many posts from several members, including one of my own, so do not be offended. Hopefully this will solve this issue. Best wishes.

[DXTR]

Thanks John. I hope that my initial post did not claim too much of your own free time. I hope that the issue at hand will encourage people to be a bit more on topic. Although I fear the opposite.

Anyway, thanks again for your effort.

regards
David

[John W. Howard]

Hello DXTR:
The fact that the request came from you played a big part in my reconsideration!! It was rather difficult to do, but you were correct to ask that it be done. There was much in both threads of interest, and hopefully my editing preserved what needed preserving!! Do not hesitate to ask in the future. Best wishes.