Do we really need a Random Thoughts thread? Thoughts.

I find it odd people seem to resent the off topic threads so much.

Are threads consisting entirely of gifs of Britney and various women snatching weaves so much more off topic than some of the other threads in other parts of the board that similarly don't talk about pop music in any relevant way?

 

Oo-eck. I have to side with IMHO on this one. I'd just be happy with a concrete a-b-c-d-e set of rules- which we're kinda missing right now.

Well. I got banned for GIFs/Images (I think it might have been an image, I can't remember- I saw the banned page pop up and then took a 2 week holiday)....I didn't have a clue what had happened. I saw BEST FICTION got the boot as well, and he's always been relatively sane to me besides his obvious weakness of stanning for the Lotus that refuses to rise. But since I've returned, I've reported a good 6/7 of those image/GIF infractions. Some people doing it 2/3x on the same page. I actually think people just aren't 100% aware of what is and what isn't the done thing. When you're 'inmates' with a certain group of people, you begin to post like those people. And because people see other people do it, they begin to think it's alright to do as well. I don't ever post with a specific intent to break a rule, I don't think anyone else does either (except for those debates that spin totally out of all logical imagination in a certain Lady's thread), we just aimlessly amble ourselves into a certain culture. I saw that Mrs Popjustice is working on some new rules, so that's grand. As long as we're all singing from the same songsheet, the world would be an easier place to moderate.

I essentially live on this site morning, noon and night and always report the bedlam (including one....5 minutes ago), so I don't mind helping out in whatever way I can.

In answer to the actual topic at hand....oui. We do need Random Thoughts. Every forum has one. We need somewhere we can learn about what lies behind the low-quality, size-restricted avatar. I can deal with a lot, but even I'm getting irked with the whole 'let's be really drunk and post incoherently about who what boy has taken a trip up my elevator'-type posts. Also, the hackneyed sub-ATRL GIF-ed up ebonics. Good in moderation, cringe-worthy in ad infinitum.

 

It does look a little insensitive, what happened, if you look at it.
But the way it happened, a member started posting irrelevant stuff, tons of it,
then posted ''don't laugh, I am 'this' and 'this'' while what was posted
looked as if it was written by person that did not have those characteristics
and made complete sense and so did not give away any signs to support those claims.
That's why it continued I think. I am not saying it makes it alright,
I am just trying to explain what happened.

It was not a case of realising someone has a problem
and instead of backing off and sympathising, people started picking on them.

If you ask me the whole of Off Topic is not needed,
even if it's not as bad as it was once. It's actually much much better now.
In the past it was mainly bitchy stuff that spilled on to the main forum.
Now it's fun and buddy-like and that spills on to the main forum.

But it does derail things.
It's testament to how good a forum PJ is that people actually feel safe
and confident to share personal stuff. That's not a bad thing.

English is not my strongest suit, I hope this makes sense.

 

An actual list of rules is necessary, sure, but can we stop wheeling that excuse out, as if we actually need them to act like decent people in the first place? A lot of us here before the makeover (from hell) know the rules more or less. It reads as nothing but a big giant excuse.

We should all know how to act, regardless of a URL being available, to tell us or not. "Oh I didn't know I couldn't call someone a cunt. Maybe if I was told, I wouldn't have done it!". Like, really? That's not me trying to be bitchy by the way, but c'mon. We know the boundaries and when we're crossing them (most of the time).

 

Exactly.

 

Not to create the storm from hell or be a banned word we often associate with female dogs, but I've noticed you upon my return use a GIF in a hyperlink twice on the same page. I only noticed because it was one of the first threads I went and looked at right back from my holiday. This is the thing- what are the rules and what are not? Does anyone know? Obviously this doesn't make you a demon or a monster or a c word-caller, but it's still an infraction. I myself don't even 100% know the actual line on GIFs in a link.

 

The moderators on these forums probably have enough to do without having to spend time sorting out endless petty squabbles and childlike behavior. Has anyone else noticed that some forum members who contributed to interesting discussion either come on less these days or have disappeared altogether. Bring back Debord as a moderator I say.....can anyone persuade him to comeback? These forums are missing the likes of him. Who in there right minds would risk their enjoyment on these forums to become a moderator and just to face endless bitching and sniping...... I take my hat of to the mods

 

I actually found the off-topic section as a whole so friendly. I've been here for years and years, and only a few months ago did I actually start posting in this section, but everyone has been incredibly friendly, and like others have said, it actually helped me get a better grasp of a lot of the users, to find that people I disagreed with a lot in regards to certain popstars actually have other things in common etc.

Most of the snide remarks are clearly friends being friends. Blah I just love the thread, it helped me see A LOT of users in a new, better light.

I still maintain that popjustice is one of the friendliest forums, if you have a bare minimum of common sense.

 

No, I agree that certain "rules" are grey areas, even to old users like ourselves. Such a gifs, are linking them OK or is that banned, etc, etc. I was banned for posting a Skakira one. I knew that they were frowned upon by the moderators when I posted it though, so I'm not going to act like I'm outraged/a complete victim about it happening.

I'm not trying to say I'm above everyone and I never broke them, or posted a gif, or used the "b" word, but I was only trying to say that I don't think a lack of rules being readily available should be a proper excuse to users that have double digits in posts, including myself.

Let's own our mistakes instead of blaming the moderation or lack of rules and move forward from there. Does that apply to everyone? No and I'm not advocating that. Mostly myself but I doubt I'm alone. My 2c. I'm not trying to make anyone out to be bad, so please don't take it like that.

 

Yes but this is the internet and some (unfunny) remarks just get misinterpreted and do upset people. I recently read a thread where a new member started a thread and people were obviously bullying him/her. They then posted a comment somewhere else about how they felt people were being unkind. Someone replied by making a bitchy childlike comment like 'You'll get over it' in a rather rude harsh manner....I bet they thought they were being funny....I just thought what a twat.

Frankly reading bullying comments aren't nice to read for anyone.

 

We need a universal symbol for tongue in cheek comments, I suggest °

 

Other than the numerous people who volunteered in this thread, you mean?

An off-topic section is intrinsic to the atmosphere of a forum, in my opinion. Yes, when a group of people choose to post in a thread like 'Random Thoughts', naturally friendships develop, and naturally members who don't post there will not have this same friendship, but any competent poster (of which 99% of regular 'Random Thoughts' users are) would never let this get in the way of actual conversation in the main sections of the forum.

It's a forum. People are passionate. And occasionally, passion does lead to people getting invested and then angry/confrontational, before calming down. It's not pretty but it happens on every forum. However, if anything, posting in this section has made me view members in a different light to the point where, despite the fact that I disagree with mostly all of their music opinions, I now actively try even harder never to lose my cool with anyone on the main forum. Because, at the end of the day, they could actually be a decent person... even if they like Nicola Roberts.

And I also back the need for a proper set of rules. Not more rules but a finalised set of them. It's all become incredibly out of hand RE: deleting threads/posts, locking threads, banning members for posting a gif whilst others run rampant being deliberately confrontational... I don't think anyone knows what the hell is going on.

 

I know things like these happen once in a while, that's life, but what I mean is: if you find it tough here, if you think this forum is filled with unfriendly remarks, then you'd probably better not go to any forum, ever. Because as far as I'm concerned, Popjustice is pretty much the saint heaven of popmusic on the internet.

You leave this place and you better get ready for being bashed, bashing back, and basically learn how to survive in a field where you get called the c-word at least once a day, and you get happy when you go an entire day without anyone "snatching your wig".

I guess this is all to say that yes, more mods would be nice, more warnings would be nice (instead of banning/closing threads with no chance for redeeming), but that popjustice is still a very tame place, and this whole drama seemed a bit unnecessary.

 

I am major eye-rolling at some of the people in this thread. "We need more rules!" says the person breaking the rules every other post. Okay. "I hate Off Topic, it's pointless," says the person posting intimate details of their life. Okay.

Anyway, I think I'll step out of this thread, it's gonna get needlessly messy. I will go back to enjoying and bonding with other members. The forum is not in as bad a shape as it's being made out to be.

 

It only looks like that if you jump in threads and posts every 3 weeks, anyway.
Or you don't know what the posters are like.

 

Yeah, I can understand that. I'd own up to calling someone a nasty word or being directly offensive to them, but there's definitely stuff like the average forum banter and the whole Ebonics thing that I couldn't own up to just because I'm not sure whether we have to or not.

Common sense, really. The common sense and grace not to call someone else a p-word. Our rules should be the same as Davina on Bo Selecta- "please do not say fuck or bugger".

 

I just think this section's moderators should be people who actually frequently come here and enjoy the place but can keep things in check and stop people from being too aggressive/graphic/etc, not users who don't even like it and would rather the whole section was gone. And yes definitely more warnings and less randomly deleted/locked threads.

 

Regarding the cliqueyness: I feel left out on here because I don't use the webspeak that has now overtaken normal English, which was what distinguished Popjustice from other places. I'm pretty sure I'm now a minority because I don't snatch weaves while my artists slay ratchet lessors and don't literally die every other post. Qorl.

I guess I'll forever remember Popjustice's original credo: a place for intelligent discussion about pop music.

(I realise I need to move with the times.)

 

There's a place and a time for everything.
I too have complained about Wigs and Bodies being ready, but I then realised, if used in a smart way, those are ok too.