Trollish Behavior

I've been going through the topics and reading most of the comments and I'm noticing that trollish behavior is emerging. Some of the comments are borderline and I'd like to ask that it stops.
I have left the comments up for now but if things get out of hand I'll remove all the troll like comments.
Shawn took the time to give us a forum to discuss and analyze without many restrictions, so let's show some respect to Shawn and our fellow members here.
If someone comes across trollish comments, please send me a PM with a link to the comment or topic. There are other moderators you can PM as well.

Basic Forum Etiquette:

1.) Avoid typing in all caps or all bold, as this is the equivalent to yelling on an internet forum.

2.) Avoid posting extremely long forum posts on a regular basis.

3.) Read all of the posts in the thread before posting on the internet forum. This will help forum participants avoid repeating points that have already been discussed in depth.

4.) Do not "hijack" forum threads. Stay on topic and avoid directing the thread away from the current line of conversation, particularly if the original poster is seeking an answer to a question. If you'd like to discuss a different issue or problem, it's best to start a new thread on the forum.

5.) Avoid derogatory remarks about fellow forum participants; if a forum participant has a problem that they'd like to address with another individual, it's best to discuss the issue off-forum rather than in a more public forum setting.

6.) When posting on a professional forum, like a forum for writers of a website, it's best to avoid derogatory remarks about the website, website staff, etc. Remember, there's a fine line between constructive and non-constructive criticism in many cases, and those lines can be blurred on the web due to the absence of indicators like tone of voice, facial expressions, etc.

7.) Remember your audience. Who's reading the web forum? It's important to keep this in mind when making forum posts, as some forum discussions may be inappropriate depending on the forum audience.

8.) Use emoticons and other symbols to indicate tone. When posting on an internet forum, there is an absence of indicators that help one to decipher tone and the forum poster's intention. In the absence of valuable voice tone, body language, facial expressions and other social cues, emoticons and symbols (smiley face, or "*smile*") can help make tone and intention clear to other forum participants.

The above list are not "rules" here, but it is a set of basic guidelines that are standard on most forums today.

Sounds fair enough to me.

Is there any way to disable the ability to post anonymously as a guest? The kind of individual who can't be bothered to register with the site won't give a damn for etiquette guidelines. They will just flame and bait registered users in the same way they do over in the blog comments section.

Woodwose wrote:Sounds fair enough to me.

Is their any way to disable the ability to post anonymously as a guest? The kind of individual who can't be bothered to register with the site won't give a damn for etiquette guidelines. They will just flame and bait registered users in the same way they do over in the blog comments section.

As far as I know, Shawn is the only one who can do that. As a moderator I'm limited to what I can do here.
I personally agree that registration should be required to comment on this forum.

Part of the appeal of this blog and forum is it's the only place BF related that you can freely speak your mind, just like the real world. When you start moderating it will turn into another BFF,where only the accepted point of view is allowed to be represented. I think everyone needs to grow a sac and deal with it or this sites popularity will diminish greatly. I actually think Shawn realizes this, at least I hope he does.

Bigwill wrote:Part of the appeal of this blog and forum is it's the only place BF related that you can freely speak your mind, just like the real world. When you start moderating it will turn into another BFF,where only the accepted point of view is allowed to be represented. I think everyone needs to grow a sac and deal with it or this sites popularity will diminish greatly. I actually think Shawn realizes this, at least I hope he does.

Differing points of view are encouraged and welcome here. Moderating is a necessary function of any forum and this forum is no different.
As you can see, if you read the forum there are differing points of view and for the most part everyone is showing each other respect.
If people avoid personal attacks, trolling and swearing, things should run smoothly.

SasquaiNation wrote:If people avoid personal attacks, trolling and swearing, things should run smoothly.

Exactly.

Otherwise I don't see anything to suggest that you aren't free to speak your mind. Although the forum is just getting going I can already see quite a diverse range of opinions and most people still seem to get along just fine.

dont post if you dont think bigfoot is real, that makes you a troll (apparently)

BurdenOfProof wrote:dont post if you dont think bigfoot is real, that makes you a troll (apparently)

That's far from the truth Burden, and that's something I never said. Actually, I was mainly referring to the anon posts with the taterhole comments. It adds nothing to the discussion, which I'm sure you can agree on.
I wasn't pointing a finger at anyone. My main concern is that we continue to discuss topics like adults and have respect for each other. That's not much to ask for.

I know, I wasnt talking about you, but I have been called a troll by others on here

BurdenOfProof wrote:I know, I wasnt talking about you, but I have been called a troll by others on here

If this place had nothing but one sided discussions, I would not be here. I enjoy the debate and differing points of view.
I just wanted to be clear on my position, that's all.

If it looks like a troll and sounds like a troll.......

Haven't you got a frat party you should be going to?