I think there's an over-reaction to how "unwelcoming" this forum is to newcomers. There are a few people who make new members lives hard, but thats the nature of any forum since the dawn of time. The question is how prominent and important are those members and does that make it seem like other posters doing the same is approved of, when in reality it isn't, we're simply extending greater forgiveness to the oldtimers?
All of that said, I think discussing it may be a bit premature, since those people aren't problems in themselves and censoring them for some "potential" image problem that might occur should a newbie not grasp that posters character correctly - censoring them for that would just be terrible policy.
What *might* help though, is if members - NOT MODS! MEMBERS! YOU GUYS! were a bit more proactive in letting arguments happen, but keeping them from spiralling out of control. Rather than letting an argument go from 0-10 then close, it might be beneficial to try and allow a level of heated debate, and either cool themselves down, or allow the mods to attempt to intervene if it goes beyond, say, a 7 or 8 for more than a few posts. If the discussion is unsalvageable, THEN close the thread, but allow it time to ebb and flow and try and keep it from exploding. (It'd also mean a lot less people would be tempted to ever respond to HHBH when he's clearly just trying to get under peoples skin)
I think really, there is no big problem where musicbanter is *actually* not welcoming newbies - with few exceptions new members are treated fairly, and don't leave because of some personal offense, but rather because a small slight to them might have them form a negative opinion, which is probably reaffirmed by seeing how some of the drama-ish threads end up playing out between those involved - then the new member decides MB as a community isn't for them.
Admittedly, there's no reason for everyone to be nicey nice - But at the same time, letting threads go nuclear and letting people wind each other up as a routine thing, isn't making anyone look good, no matter how nice or not-nice they are to each other, or to new members, outside of that thread.
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Originally Posted by Pedestrian
As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.
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Originally Posted by Trollheart
I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!
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Last edited by GuitarBizarre; 08-07-2013 at 03:29 PM.
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