OP magic toggle on/off switch or just control a list with toggle to show/hide posters from everyone

[DrBubbaLove]

Have always thought it would be a nice feature to give an OP some power to control their own thread without having to ignore everyone that they felt was drawing outside of the lines set up in the OP of their thread - keep their own thread going where they wanted - on their topic.

So the OP creating the thread gets an on/off toggle that makes offending poster posts in the OPs threads invisible to all (maybe not somehow to the poster himself), that poster gets an alert that OP made his post invisible and if he likes, he can PM the OP and work out the issue privately -offer to clean up or even delete his own posts if that poster really wants to rejoin the conversation.

Maybe this would be easier to program than a toggle on every post - the OP gets to select from a growing list where they can toggle which poster's post can be seen by everyone else in just that thread.

Just some thoughts. It is just frustrating to see how quickly some posts get derailed because either everyone has an opinion or several people take it off the OPs requested focus. Would allow some self policing of ones' own thread without needing to report any thing.

 

[Tull]

We could call it the "safe space" feature where all can gather in agreement on everything without dissent or opposition,its already here to some degree anyway and why take all the joy out of reporting people for those who do it constantly.

 

[DrBubbaLove]

Well it could be abused i guess, but it is frustrating that someone who really wants to discuss something has no control and the thread can go on for pages with people going on about whatever. was just a thought. and it would cut some work out for the mods if people could do some self policing. If someone objects, they can still go start their own thread where they have same control. It is sort of like making the OP the debate moderator for their own thread, with some limited power to enforce it themselves.

 

[Tull]

How about we just take a position and the heat that goes with it,iwhen real persecution of Christians comes and the stakes are a little higher than ruffled feathers what will we do then........there will be no "magic" on/off switch then.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

If someone repeatedly keeps being annoying and "holier then thou" on threads I just set them to ignore so I don't have to see them. Just click their profile and in the upper right corner click "Ignore". You won't be able to see them and they won't be able to see you. And if you do want to see what they said for some reason there will be a button on the bottom right of any post that says "Show hidden posts". This will let you temporarily see posts by people you set to ignore.

Its the best feature really!

 

[USincognito]

Just click their profile and in the upper right corner click "Ignore". You won't be able to see them and they won't be able to see you.

Ignore doesn't function here like "block" does on Facebook. When you ignore someone, they can still see and respond to your posts. You just won't see that content or be notified about it.

 

[DrBubbaLove]

If someone repeatedly keeps being annoying and "holier then thou" on threads I just set them to ignore so I don't have to see them. Just click their profile and in the upper right corner click "Ignore". You won't be able to see them and they won't be able to see you. And if you do want to see what they said for some reason there will be a button on the bottom right of any post that says "Show hidden posts". This will let you temporarily see posts by people you set to ignore.

Its the best feature really!

I do to. And that is why I know putting someone in ignore status does not help the OP control the discussion in the thread they started, as other people can still see and respond to the offending poster. It actually makes it more annoying because the OP can only see half the conversation of something they did not want to see discussed in their thread anyway. The only thing the OP poster can do is ask a MOD to shut down the thread.

 

[DrBubbaLove]

Ignore doesn't function here like "block" does on Facebook. When you ignore someone, they can still see and respond to your posts. You just won't see that content or be notified about it.

Correct. Putting someone in ignore makes them invisible to me everywhere. I was seeking something to help the OP control just the thread. You needed it in your thread recently and I too have been frustrated at the lack of control we have when we start a thread. I think some level of self policing threads would reduce MOD work loads. So it was a thought.

So if one is the OP and do not want the thread hijacked, putting the offender on ignore does not do that because others still see the posts and can respond to them - so it just continues and all the OP can do about it is ask a MOD to close the thread. I was suggesting something different, that would only make posts in that thread invisible to everyone (except maybe not to the poster themselves who could get an alert that their post there has been Casper'd).

 

[Galatea]

I kind of like how conversations evolve. Sometimes, the rabbit trail is more interesting than the proscribed path. It's more natural to see where conversations wander.

 

[DrBubbaLove]

I kind of like how conversations evolve. Sometimes, the rabbit trail is more interesting than the proscribed path. It's more natural to see where conversations wander.

There would indeed be something to be said for not using it all the time. And I agree sometimes, usually when an opposing case is presented in a civil manner, it can be interesting. But I was not talking about someone using this power to stifle dissent like a censorship, but rather to stop conversations wondering all over the place or prevent the thread from becoming focused on something else entirely different from why the OP created the thread.
There is a resent example I participated in where Christian OP wanted to ask other Christians why they would so easily flee a belief in one myth (Global flood) and at same time fully adopt another belief (man being principal cause of increasing temperatures). Instead of the topic, we get pages of atheist, agnostics and Christians arguing about the evidence for/against global floods, the science behind both ideas....etc. which really was not what the OP asked for.

Sometimes you get that one or two persons, that the thread will feel more like yours without their offering new rabbit trails. And sometimes they will do it every thread out there for a while until someone reports them and the MODs force it to stop. So such a power in the hands of the OP starting a thread, especially when every attempt at same or similar topic starts branching toward the same trails and away from where the OP wanted discussion would help self police things to some extent. But you raise a good point, but at least what happens naturally with trolls starting multiple threads on same general topics, would happen if this power was abused - eventually most everyone noticing recognizes the name and just stops responding to them and their threads fall off the page.

If we had an "uninvite" or "Casper" button for the OP poster to control their thread, then if someone keeps ghosting everyone that dares disagrees with them, then the same thing happens to them as does the troll. It would also be noticed by others and probably reported as well. If they wanted they could set a list beside the first post (the OP) showing who had been ghosted in that thread, so everyone can see that if they read the OP. Ideally the OP would warn someone first unless there is a history with that person and not use the power unless people stop playing nice and follow the OPs request. I figure it is the OP's thread, if people want to talk about something else, then let them go start their own thread and have at it OR if they refuse that freedom the OP's power make them go away - all without needing a MOD's intervention or even a report or an ignore which really does not make them leave the thread.

Anyway, I have made the suggestion at the appropriate place. This remains just a discussion.

 

[Galatea]

There would indeed be something to be said for not using it all the time. And I agree sometimes, usually when an opposing case is presented in a civil manner, it can be interesting. But I was not talking about someone using this power to stifle dissent like a censorship, but rather to stop conversations wondering all over the place or prevent the thread from becoming focused on something else entirely different from why the OP created the thread.
There is a resent example I participated in where Christian OP wanted to ask other Christians why they would so easily flee a belief in one myth (Global flood) and at same time fully adopt another belief (man being principal cause of increasing temperatures). Instead of the topic, we get pages of atheist, agnostics and Christians arguing about the evidence for/against global floods, the science behind both ideas....etc. which really was not what the OP asked for.

Sometimes you get that one or two persons, that the thread will feel more like yours without their offering new rabbit trails. And sometimes they will do it every thread out there for a while until someone reports them and the MODs force it to stop. So such a power in the hands of the OP starting a thread, especially when every attempt at same or similar topic starts branching toward the same trails and away from where the OP wanted discussion would help self police things to some extent. But you raise a good point, but at least what happens naturally with trolls starting multiple threads on same general topics, would happen if this power was abused - eventually most everyone noticing recognizes the name and just stops responding to them and their threads fall off the page.

If we had an "uninvite" or "Casper" button for the OP poster to control their thread, then if someone keeps ghosting everyone that dares disagrees with them, then the same thing happens to them as does the troll. It would also be noticed by others and probably reported as well. If they wanted they could set a list beside the first post (the OP) showing who had been ghosted in that thread, so everyone can see that if they read the OP. Ideally the OP would warn someone first unless there is a history with that person and not use the power unless people stop playing nice and follow the OPs request. I figure it is the OP's thread, if people want to talk about something else, then let them go start their own thread and have at it OR if they refuse that freedom the OP's power make them go away - all without needing a MOD's intervention or even a report or an ignore which really does not make them leave the thread.

Anyway, I have made the suggestion at the appropriate place. This remains just a discussion.

Since I am afraid of going off on a tangent and derailing the thread, I'll remove myself from the "conversation".