northernmason said:So, I have a small request to consider regarding the organization of at least the first pages of threads in the Music subforum—and perhaps others as well.
Today, I opened several new threads featuring excellent introductions, only to find myself reading posts filled with absolute garbage, nonsense, vitriol, and general trash.
I feel it would be quite fair and respectful toward the forum member who actually took the time to carefully craft an opening thread according to all the community rules if their first page wasn't immediately cluttered with such mindless drivel.
I suppose I’d agree with the American. We can't exactly forbid people from commenting when they don't share a preference for a certain artist—whether on the first page or any other—since these threads aren't exclusively for superfans. However, I certainly agree that we should be purging "unsubstantiated" comments—spamming, constant trolling, off-topic rambling, and the like. That does happen, of course; sometimes things slip through because even the moderators aren't online 24/7 (and frankly, many of us are on here far longer than that), and we aren't perfect at moderating—we're only human, after all. 😁
In this particular instance, it looks like some kind of chain reaction occurred—one person starts, then another follows suit. Perhaps it was just bad timing, or maybe it was a deliberate attempt to spite the thread starter due to the aforementioned circumstances (specifically, how the thread was opened and the frequency of similar topics being posted over a few days).
northernmason said:Some were fine—everyone is entitled to their opinion—but that Chuck Norris individual really has no business being there, not even with a single sarcastic emoji.
I just think it discourages anyone from bothering to start a new thread, which, let's be honest, isn't easy or simple.
In any case, once you decide to open a thread, you have to be prepared for the fact that someone might not have a single kind word to say about your favorite artist (or that your thread might end up with zero replies), which, if I recall correctly, has been part of the site guidelines for ages. If someone's negative comment regarding an open thread—or the artist itself—discourages them from starting more threads, then I guess that's ultimately the responsibility of the thread starter. Of course, I am not referring to those deleted outbursts of bile. If we don't manage to intervene in time, there is always that little triangle icon to report a post. The moderators will see what's going on and decide whether to delete it, issue a warning, or leave it be. Besides, when you're setting up a thread, you can always specify what you (or wouldn't) want to see in it.
Elizabeth Torres43 said:I already mentioned on one of the simp-heavy threads that in the music section, people are starting a new thread for every single singer who is still alive and only has two posts... I don't know what everyone else thinks about it, but it feels a bit like trolling.
It’s the same thing you’re seeing—though in my case, it isn't even trolling, it's just straight-up spam. I’ve already had a word with her about it, so from here on out, everything related to that issue is a hard 5.
I was wondering if we could perhaps look into creating a dedicated sub-forum for Pop Music, because that section is absolutely overflowing with threads (even though I participate in them myself)—everything from Beyoncé and Adele to Britney and Gage, you name it. The same goes for the Television section—the "Unseen" area is packed with endless discussions about those Turkish soap operas that everyone seems obsessed with lately...
To be honest, I’ve given that some thought myself, but it feels like a massive undertaking right now. Given how messy genres have become these days—with all the sub-genres, sub-sub-genres, and whatever else exists—trying to pigeonhole certain artists strictly into "Pop" would be a nightmare. I suspect we'd eventually deal with comments like:
why the hell is Some-random-performer posted in the Pop section when they're basically making Britpop, indie stuff, R&B, or dance music? .
In any case, the suggestion will be taken under consideration. Even if we don't go through with a new sub-forum, we might consider some other way to organize things.
