a general consensus

[Karmoon]

We were all aware of Cal's actions.

You should probably know that he was the voice of reason, as many of us wanted much stronger actions against the perpatrators.

This community has rules. The rules are VERY simple. If you don't like the rules, or want to obey them, then don't use LO or LO Chat. We won't miss you.

[neurodisruptor]

Ok, anyone that knows me knows that I am all in favor of strict discipline on the forums and despise rude behavior. I mean, just look at the signature Ive had for months.

But I do see room for improvement here. I have been involved in a number of volatile threads where something much less divisive than Nazis has lead to horrible flaming. I have always tried to keep things civil and often post in threads just to put out flames before they get worse. I stand behind the moderators a hundred percent.

Here is a proposition though, because I am actually sympathetic to the OP. His thread was locked not because of his own actions, but because of the reaction of another. And he thus lost the chance to discuss what he wanted because someone else couldnt behave. I do think that that is sad. While I applaud the mod who shut it down, I do have one suggestion that might work better and allow those mature enough for sensitive debate to continue to be mature and discuss those topics they are interested in.

Using the thread mentioned here as an example, may I suggest this alternative. Delete the content of the offensive flaming post and replace the text with *post removed due to inappropriate forum behavior. Please refrain from personal attacks, flaming, and offensive language. If this cannot be done the innocent will suffer and the thread will be locked* Then simply take disciplinary action against the offender and allow the thread to remain open.

I am sure there might be problems with this suggestion and am willing to hear them out without argument. I just wanted to offer another solution.

[Karmoon]

That's fine, but as far as I'm aware there was never anything preventing him from setting up a new thread to avoid that stuff.

At what you suggest, Neuro, is defintiely a method which many of our mods use. I think it's a wonderful idea and I've used it in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

[Lost Nemesis]

Neuro, while that is certainly an acceptable method of keeping the thread on topic, it also creates a hefty workload for the moderators; none of us get paid to do this, and often we are very busy in our real lives as well. We do use that method as often as we see fit to, but the fact of the matter is that there are certain topics that have always and will always breed a degeneration into flame baiting and insulting; World War II, specifically talking about Germany in that period, is one of those topics. There have been countless threads about it and we have had to close them countless times. No matter the intention of the OP, harmless as the topic is, there will always be someone who comes along and forces the moderators to close the topic. Deleting one post only to have another come around in a couple days is not something I feel that moderators should have to deal with; the topic itself breeds these sort of responses, so it should be shut down.

I feel that Cal gave the thread a fair chance, and it degenerated just as past threads have done so; so, he closed it, and I support his decision completely in that regard. If it were a purely hobby related discussion, such as "how to use Unit A" and someone started to flame, then the method you described would be used, Neuro, and a PM would also be sent to the person posting the less-than-great post. But when topics walk the line like WWII topics always do, moderators have to make solid decisions not only to make sure that things stay civil, but also so that our workload remains manageable.

Hope that makes sense to everyone.

[neurodisruptor]

It made perfect sense. And as I said I would welcome any oversight I would have probably made as to its functionality. I fully support any action taken by moderators.

It is refreshing to see mods on a board respond civilly when questioned as well. In other places they often take any criticism so personally the topic itself becomes a flame war. Thank you all for all your hard work.

^_^

[DavidVC04]

With that said, I don't see what more can come of this thread.