# "Not Open for Further Replies"



## officerripley (May 7, 2021)

I'm curious: why would a thread suddenly not allow further replies? (The one I'm thinking of didn't seem to turn political or insulting so I'm wondering why it's no longer accepting replies.)


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## Nathan (May 7, 2021)

Admin thread lock?


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## Ruthanne (May 7, 2021)

Yes, it is locked and no further replies.  Enough said.


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## Matrix (May 8, 2021)

We usually remove political or offensive replies first after they are reported, but if we have to do it again and again, we will lock such "high maintenance" threads. No reports, no moderation.


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## Pepper (May 8, 2021)

We're seniors.  We shouldn't be acting like children, snitching, reporting and tattling on each other.  Maybe being 'offensive' is a synonym for being a grown-up.

I truly apologize if this statement gives offense.  Just think about it is all I ask.  If you don't, I'll tell Mommy.


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## Chet (May 8, 2021)

A big turn off on forums for me is when it gets argumentative and folks go at each other. Sure, I see a little of it here from time to time, but as adults we know enough to back off usually. I would like it to stay that way.


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## Buckeye (May 8, 2021)

Pepper said:


> We're seniors.  We shouldn't be acting like children, snitching, reporting and tattling on each other.  *Maybe being 'offensive' is a synonym for being a grown-up.*
> 
> I truly apologize if this statement gives offense.  Just think about it is all I ask.  If you don't, I'll tell Mommy.


Well, the bolded is certainly a revealing statement.....

p.s. Tell Mom I said hello.


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## SetWave (May 8, 2021)

Always happens just when I have something pithy to add.


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## Gaer (May 8, 2021)

There are a few people who  I stay away from when I see their posts or threads.  They have demeaned my character and called me unwarrented names.  I don't believe in hitting "report".  I just don't respond to them.


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## hollydolly (May 8, 2021)

Gaer said:


> There are a few people who  I stay away from when I see their posts or threads.  They have demeaned my character and called me unwarrented names.  I don't believe in hitting "report".  I just don't respond to them.


same here, but I just have them on permanent ignore


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## Gaer (May 8, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> same here, but I just have them on permanent ignore


I understand they don't know if they are being ignored.  They remain posting horrible things about you and are oblivious that you don't like it!  hahaha!


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## hollydolly (May 8, 2021)

Gaer said:


> I understand they don't know if they are being ignored.  They remain posting horrible things about you and are oblivious that you don't like it!  hahaha!


that's the hilarious thing....


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## Buckeye (May 8, 2021)

I've long thought that we should be able to see who has us on ignore.


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## Ruthanne (May 9, 2021)

Buckeye said:


> I've long thought that we should be able to see who has us on ignore.


Maybe everyone will tell you if they do but then they can't see your posts so I doubt it.


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## caroln (May 10, 2021)

Actually, I think this is the friendliest forum I've been on.  There's good natured ribbing but nothing too nasty (that I've noticed).  I've been in forums where they have decayed into nothing more than people being just plain mean, using the F-bomb all the time, and makes me think they really need professional help for anger issues.  Another forum is populated pretty much by ladies, all very sanctimonious and smug, that try to make others feel guilty for having opposing views on _anything_. This forum is a breath of fresh air!


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## JimBob1952 (May 10, 2021)

Buckeye said:


> I've long thought that we should be able to see who has us on ignore.



I assume about half of SF has me on ignore.


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## JonDouglas (May 10, 2021)

caroln said:


> Actually, I think this is the friendliest forum I've been on.  There's good natured ribbing but nothing too nasty (that I've noticed).  I've been in forums where they have decayed into nothing more than people being just plain mean, using the F-bomb all the time, and makes me think they really need professional help for anger issues.  Another forum is populated pretty much by ladies, all very sanctimonious and smug, that try to make others feel guilty for having opposing views on _anything_. This forum is a breath of fresh air!


Having been on internet forums since immediate post-DARPA days and having run one myself (built and owned a hobby web site for a number of years}, I can say this one's not too bad and has what seems to be a good balance of freedom of speech with adherence to the rules.  It's not an easy job.  You don't want to put up with crap but you don't want to drive people away or have them driven away.

Edit Note:  I have to also say the mods are on the ball, which is good.


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## LSWOTE (May 10, 2021)

Buckeye said:


> I've long thought that we should be able to see who has us on ignore.


I wish you could ignore emojis as well.  Some people I have on ignore creatively use emojis to mark their presence on things I say they disagree with.


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## Pepper (May 10, 2021)

JimBob1952 said:


> I assume about half of SF has me on ignore.


You're giving yourself too much credit!


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## AnnieA (May 10, 2021)

LSWOTE said:


> I wish you could ignore emojis as well.  Some people I have on ignore creatively use emojis to mark their presence on things I say they disagree with.



Huh ...that's odd, but I guess since they can see your stuff, they can post a reaction.  I've only put a people on ignore temporarily to declutter contentious threads a few times and didn't notice that.


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## Warrigal (May 10, 2021)

Buckeye said:


> I've long thought that we should be able to see who has us on ignore.


Why throw petrol on a smouldering fire?


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## Jim W. (May 10, 2021)

JonDouglas said:


> Having been on internet forums since immediate post-DARPA days and having run one myself (built and owned a hobby web site for a number of years}, *I can say this one's not too bad and has what seems to be a good balance of freedom of speech with adherence to the rules.*  It's not an easy job.  You don't want to put up with crap but you don't want to drive people away or have them driven away.
> 
> Edit Note:  I have to also say the mods are on the ball, which is good.


I remember when they allowed politics to be discussed here.

Not surprisingly, there were one or two members here who could find a way to shoehorn it into just about every thread and get arguments started.

That's why I left for a good couple of years or more. 

Now that politics is disallowed, everything is peaceful and happy.


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## mellowyellow (May 10, 2021)

Pepper said:


> We're seniors.  We shouldn't be acting like children, snitching, reporting and tattling on each other.  Maybe being 'offensive' is a synonym for being a grown-up.
> 
> I truly apologize if this statement gives offense.  Just think about it is all I ask.  If you don't, I'll tell Mommy.


The people who complain on forums are the same kids who ran to the teacher to tell on you in school, a nasty trait IMO.


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## JonDouglas (Jun 6, 2021)

Matrix said:


> We usually remove political or offensive replies first after they are reported, but if we have to do it again and again, we will lock such "high maintenance" threads. No reports, no moderation.


OK, so does this mean that if someone isn't happy with the way things are going, he or she can make enough noise, stink, complaints,  aggravation, political comments, etc. to get you to shut the thread down?  Sounds like a good way for someone or a group of like-minded folks to stop a thread going in a direction they don't like.


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## Nathan (Jun 6, 2021)

JonDouglas said:


> OK, so does this mean that if someone isn't happy with the way things are going, he or she can make enough noise, stink, complaints,  aggravation, political comments, etc. to get you to shut the thread down?  Sounds like a good way for someone or a group of like-minded folks to stop a thread going in a direction they don't like.


Well @JonDouglas  looks like you found your silver bullet..


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## Irwin (Jun 6, 2021)

Chet said:


> A big turn off on forums for me is when it gets argumentative and folks go at each other. Sure, I see a little of it here from time to time, but as adults we know enough to back off usually. I would like it to stay that way.


We've had some good, respectful debates on SF. Some people seem to be incapable of keeping their emotions out of debates though, which is when it gets ugly.


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## C'est Moi (Jun 6, 2021)

Nathan said:


> Well @JonDouglas  looks like you found your silver bullet..


Looks like he has a stalker as well.


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## Nathan (Jun 6, 2021)

C'est Moi said:


> Looks like he has a stalker as well.


Name calling and trolling are both ugly habits.


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## C'est Moi (Jun 6, 2021)

Nathan said:


> Name calling and trolling are both ugly habits.


You should know.


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## Nathan (Jun 6, 2021)

Yep, didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize your behavior.


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## JonDouglas (Jun 6, 2021)

C'est Moi said:


> Looks like he has a stalker as well.



Should I welcome you to the stalkee club now or wait a bit?


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## lovemydad (Jun 8, 2021)

Pepper said:


> We're seniors.  We shouldn't be acting like children, snitching, reporting and tattling on each other.  Maybe being 'offensive' is a synonym for being a grown-up.
> 
> I truly apologize if this statement gives offense.  Just think about it is all I ask.  If you don't, I'll tell Mommy.


Agreed. Adults should be able to handle differences of opinion or what could be considered "offensive comments" by this stage in life. There is also something called scrolling on.  Something some seem unable to do.


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## Packerjohn (Jun 8, 2021)

Gaer said:


> There are a few people who  I stay away from when I see their posts or threads.  They have demeaned my character and called me unwarrented names.  I don't believe in hitting "report".  I just don't respond to them.


Hey Gaer!  Anyone calling anyone names is pretty stupid and childess!  I think it is ok to discuss or argue any issue but calling someone a name simply means, to me, that here is a pretty uneducated person.  I see a lot of this kind of nonesense when people make comments on news stories.  The educated people can add something of value to the story.  The uneducated ones just call someone a name because they don't agree with them.  I guess in the end, you have to ignore these "low lives."


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## Ruthanne (Jun 8, 2021)

lovemydad said:


> Agreed. Adults should be able to handle differences of opinion or what could be considered "offensive comments" by this stage in life. There is also something called scrolling on.  Something some seem unable to do.


And then there is the ignore button....because as adults we need to feel safe from offense, too.


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## Irwin (Jun 8, 2021)

lovemydad said:


> Agreed. Adults should be able to handle differences of opinion or what could be considered "offensive comments" by this stage in life. There is also something called scrolling on.  Something some seem unable to do.


Adults should also be able to engage in debate without insulting the other person or lying, but that's often not the case when it comes to political debates. For those who want to do that, they can go elsewhere.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 8, 2021)

@Pepper Glad you got a chuckle out of that..smoke on!


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## Pappy (Jun 8, 2021)

I have never put anyone on here on ignore. Facebook is a different thing. I have used it once for a loud, foul mouth sister-in-law. Many times I have read something that ticks me off, but I just move on to the next subject.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 8, 2021)

Pappy said:


> I have never put anyone on here on ignore. Facebook is a different thing. I have used it once for a loud, foul mouth sister-in-law. Many times I have read something that ticks me off, but I just move on to the next subject.


Everyone is different.


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## Irwin (Jun 8, 2021)

Ruthanne said:


> Everyone is different.


I'm not.


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## JonDouglas (Jun 8, 2021)

Pappy said:


> I* have never put anyone on here on ignore. *Facebook is a different thing. I have used it once for a loud, foul mouth sister-in-law. Many times I have read something that ticks me off, but I just move on to the next subject.


Neither have I.  I like to know what people are saying, even when when I dislike or don't believe what their saying. As for internet bullies, stalkers and trolls, they are the unfortunate crap that forum mods deal with.


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## Nathan (Jun 8, 2021)

Irwin said:


> Adults should also be able to engage in debate without insulting the other person or lying, but that's often not the case when it comes to political debates. For those who want to do that, they can go elsewhere.


I agree wholeheartedly, lying, insulting trolls have no place here.


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## hollydolly (Jun 8, 2021)

JonDouglas said:


> Neither have I.  I like to know what people are saying, even when when I dislike or don't believe what their saying. *As for internet bullies, stalkers and trolls, they are the unfortunate crap that forum mods deal with.*


yes that's the worse job for the mods..


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## Paco Dennis (Jun 8, 2021)

This is my favorite forum now. I have been on many. SF has a really good feel to it. Respect, openness, love, caring, humor, fun, and especially we are sharing together the phase of our lives which is a quite different than when we were middle aged. It also has that commonality, and it is populated by very interesting and unique individuals.


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## Nathan (Jun 8, 2021)

Paco Dennis said:


> This is my favorite forum now. I have been on many. SF has a really good feel to it. Respect, openness, love, caring, humor, fun, and especially we are sharing together the phase of our lives which is a quite different than when we were middle aged. It also has that commonality, and it is populated by very interesting and unique individuals.


Nicely said @Paco Dennis, focusing on sharing, commonality and unity makes for such a better experience here that the divisiveness that occasionally sneaks in.


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## MarciKS (Jun 8, 2021)

Packerjohn said:


> Hey Gaer!  Anyone calling anyone names is pretty *stupid and childess*!  I think it is ok to discuss or argue any issue but calling someone a name simply means, to me, that here is a *pretty uneducated person*.  I see a lot of this kind of nonesense when people make comments on news stories.  The educated people can add something of value to the story.  The *uneducated ones* just call someone a name because they don't agree with them.  I guess in the end, you have to ignore these "*low lives*."


Case and point...


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## Pappy (Jun 9, 2021)

Paco Dennis said:


> This is my favorite forum now. I have been on many. SF has a really good feel to it. Respect, openness, love, caring, humor, fun, and especially we are sharing together the phase of our lives which is a quite different than when we were middle aged. It also has that commonality, and it is populated by very interesting and unique individuals.


I totally agree Paco.


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## JonDouglas (Jun 9, 2021)

Closed threads are often the work of trolls or denizens of troll farms.  Such critters often give themselves away in a variety of ways.  Below are what I found over the years to be their characteristics.

Trolls tend to focus on a few particular people or discussions to respond to rather than engage in larger participation.
Trolls tend to criticize or attack the source of a story rather than the basics of a story.
Trolls try to insult, denigrate, belittle or otherwise diminish individuals on the opposite side of the their ideology or the ideas and thoughts they are paid to promote.
Trolls tend to make offensive and/or inconsiderate posts.
Trolls tend to not back down on a known fact or fallacy.
Trolls tend to lecture you rather than comment and/or ask questions
Trolls sometimes dox or threaten forum participants.  (e.g., I was threatened with bodily harm on a motorcycle forum for suggesting the motorcycle manufacturer make bike's luggage bags removable. )
Trolls don't care if threads are closed or posts deleted and may take some satisfaction in it.
There are more but having knowlege of the above may help keep this forum the friendly and considerate place it is.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 9, 2021)

JonDouglas said:


> Closed threads are often the work of trolls or denizens of troll farms.  Such critters often give themselves away in a variety of ways.  Below are what I found over the years to be their characteristics.
> 
> Trolls tend to focus on a few particular people or discussions to respond to rather than engage in larger participation.
> Trolls tend to criticize or attack the source of a story rather than the basics of a story.
> ...


Yes, I and I put people who act like that on ignore for sure.


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## Ruby Rose (Jun 10, 2021)

JonDouglas said:


> Having been on internet forums since immediate post-DARPA days and having run one myself (built and owned a hobby web site for a number of years}, I can say this one's not too bad and has what seems to be a good balance of freedom of speech with adherence to the rules.  It's not an easy job.  You don't want to put up with crap but you don't want to drive people away or have them driven away.
> 
> Edit Note:  I have to also say the mods are on the ball, which is good.


A long time ago, I was part of a medical help forum and found it rather disturbing with so many 'broken and hurting' people...leaving me very sad thus unable to fully help so I gently bowed out. One thing I have learned over the years is that you cannot help everyone.


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## Nathan (Jun 10, 2021)

JonDouglas said:


> Closed threads are often the work of trolls or denizens of troll farms.  Such critters often give themselves away in a variety of ways.  Below are what I found over the years to be their characteristics.
> 
> Trolls tend to focus on a few particular people or discussions to respond to rather than engage in larger participation.
> Trolls tend to criticize or attack the source of a story rather than the basics of a story.
> ...


Agreed, all great examples.   To add:  trolls are adept at "turning the tables" in a conversation, often claiming to be the victim.   Also, trolls become defensive(as well as offensive) if their questionable posting is challenged in any way.    Subtle name calling is the hallmark of a typical forum troll.


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## ohioboy (Jun 12, 2021)

Nathan said:


> I agree wholeheartedly, lying, insulting trolls have no place here.


I have myself on ignore, so I simply do not read what I post??


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## Nathan (Jun 12, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> I have myself on ignore, so I simply do not read what I post??


Lol, I'm not sure if the Ignore feature works with one's *own* account,  but yea, I guess a person could just _look away_ and not read their own post.


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## ohioboy (Jun 12, 2021)

Nathan said:


> Lol, I'm not sure if the Ignore feature works with one's *own* account,  but yea, I guess a person could just _look away_ and not read their own post.


Well, I hate to admit it, but I flunked kindergarten. I have a ghost reader.


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## Nathan (Jun 12, 2021)

Kindergarten was the best time ever in grade school.   No worries, there is online Kindergarten classes available, and it's never too late to earn that diploma.


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## ohioboy (Jun 12, 2021)

Nathan said:


> Kindergarten was the best time ever in grade school.   No worries, there is online Kindergarten classes available, and it's never too late to earn that diploma.


Thanks Nate, I'm on it.


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## officerripley (Jun 12, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> Well, I hate to admit it, but I flunked kindergarten. I have a ghost reader.


Well now, don't feel too bad about that; I flunked an aptitude test.


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