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Hello :) A Request (General Banter on homepage)

Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
edited May 2011 in NewBuddhist.com
Please can we move General Banter back to the Discussions List as well?

Thankyou for your consideration.

Comments

  • thickpaperthickpaper Veteran
    Please can we move General Banter back to the Discussions List as well?

    Thankyou for your consideration.
    I agree. I dont get why it is considered second class, rather than the serine and sacred chats we have in the rest of the posts:p
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited May 2011
    No, I don't think we can.
    it detracts and distracts from discussions on a Buddhist theme, which (guess what?) is primarily what this forum is for.
    You want prominent general chat, I'm sure there are plenty of un-themed forums you could go and chat on.
    And as you all know where general banter is, and you can bookmark your discussions, I don't see the problem.

    Thanks.
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    I agree with @federica. We get a buncha of "just chat" or threads people throw out there that have nothing to do with Buddhism and they just are bored and want to debate some strange topic, and these things distract people from the real function of the forum which is to provide help on Buddhism. It's not difficult at all to click on the General Banter section after you've gone through the Buddhism discussions on the main page (I do).

    The change is actually a very good one for the forum, and I wonder why we didn't think of it earlier.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Unless anything else of value can be added, or commented on..I think that just about sums it up. :)
  • LincLinc Site owner Detroit Moderator
    I'll reopen because I don't mind having a conversation about this for a little.

    I removed it because it was really discouraging how some completely non-Buddhist discussions were dominating the board. I really didn't like the tone it set. Overall, I really like the effect its had. However, it's possible we should be slower to file things under General Banter as a result. I just bumped a couple discussions out of there because I didn't think they were truly far afield.
  • LincLinc Site owner Detroit Moderator
    edited May 2011
    It's also worth considering a guest's perspective. I want others to see an active, sensible Buddhist forum when looking at the home page. Omitting Banter topics lets us keep the tone focused without actually squelching discussion.
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    I like the way you're doing it now, Lincoln. I'm not well at this particular period of my life, so I stay home more than I would like. I tend to leave the forum on whenever my computer is on. Rather than hit "refresh", I just alternate between Banter and All. Same number of key strokes.

    BTW, you do a great job with this forum. It's a pretty welcoming place to be, and more open than some other forums...and because of the openness there's appears to be less dissension than I have seen in at least one other forum on Buddhism.

    Thanks for all you do!
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited May 2011

    Sorry to hear you're going through a rough health-patch, Vinlyn.... I hope there's good progress in that.

    I think it's worth noting that decisions regarding the forum are not taken lightly, on a whim, and Moderators do try to discuss matters as thoroughly as possible, before deciding on a course of action.
    "You can't please all the people all of the time...." but in general, I think the overall opinion is favourable.... :)
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    Is there a way to access banter from the mobile layout? I would like it back on the main listing for that reason.
  • compassionate_warriorcompassionate_warrior Veteran
    edited May 2011
    However, it's possible we should be slower to file things under General Banter as a result. I just bumped a couple discussions out of there because I didn't think they were truly far afield.
    YESSSSSS!! :thumbsup: Sometimes Buddhist topics or even Current Events get moved to General Banter, and it's not clear why. Thanks for this note of consideration.
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    It's easy to keep both the main page and Banter open. Just go to the side bar, right-click on it, select "Open link in new tab" (or page, if you like), click on that, and you have the main page and Banter right next to each other.

    I personally want to keep General Banter off the main page. People coming to the site for the first time or first few times should see Buddhist discussions. I don't like to see Banter cluttering up the main page.

    I agree with Fed. If you want to do mainly General Banter, go to a general banter site.
  • compassionate_warriorcompassionate_warrior Veteran
    I don't know what kind of general banter sites some of you have been to, but the few I've seen are brutal! Insufferably rude and aggressive people. Sharks, really. :sawed: I can see why some people would prefer to banter on this forum.
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    Can someone name a topic that is somehow not worthy of a Buddhist's attention? I can understand the argument that it's nice to stay on topic (which, you will notice, rarely happens after the first five or ten posts), but I do enjoy it when someone throws a spanner in the works ... some topic that qualifies narrowly as "banter," but requires a revised and somewhat wider mindset. As they used to say on "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "... and now for something completely different." Only of course any practicing Buddhist can tell you that something "completely different" is not possible.

    I don't care enough one way or the other if so-called banter is corralled off the main highway. But I'd hate to think that a Buddhist might suppose that banter is unworthy of his or her attention and effort, some lesser entity which might righteously be ignored in favor of some illusory bright penny.

    Trolls, spammers, and other idjits are a problem I don't envy the moderators. I am happy for the ground rules the mods take responsibility for laying down. I'm mostly just thinking out loud here.
  • LincLinc Site owner Detroit Moderator
    @aMatt It appears not. :-/ You'd need to go to newbuddhist.com/categories/all or straight to /categories/general-banter
    I'd hate to think that a Buddhist might suppose that banter is unworthy of his or her attention and effort, some lesser entity which might righteously be ignored in favor of some illusory bright penny.
    I think we're over-thinking this a bit now. ;) I'm making a statement about the focus of the site, not making philosophical pronouncements.

  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    I think genkaku is just saying that there is nothing that is not Buddhism, but obviously it is just a different perspective.

    Thanks @Lincoln for providing more clarification on your reasoning. Perhaps this decision will be reviewed one day again in the future.

    Warm regards,
    Abu
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    I think there are pros and cons to both options. But I don't find it too difficult to click general banter to see those discussions. The only con to that is that less people see the general banter and thus those discussions are hard to get rolling. Do we have a banner or something at the top telling that general banter is not included in the homepage? Or even a link? That might be a compromise.
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    Thanks @Jeffrey.

    I didn't realise General Banter doesn't come up until I posted in it. Now I would just avoid it.

    Best wishes,
    Abu
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited May 2011
    I think there are pros and cons to both options. But I don't find it too difficult to click general banter to see those discussions. The only con to that is that less people see the general banter and thus those discussions are hard to get rolling. Do we have a banner or something at the top telling that general banter is not included in the homepage? Or even a link? That might be a compromise.
    Yes, it's right at the top of the discussions index page. it even tells you where to find general banter. it's been there ever since Lincoln removed GB from the index.....

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