Forums (Again)

Well, this is a key point, it's not as if members here don't have an opportunity to vent their anger at each other. Don't abuse each other in the public forums, start a game and kick eight bells out of each other there instead.

Originally posted by elvendreamgirl
Take a look at the Olympics. All those people from all over the world, and they seem to be able to get along, despite the differences in race, color, creed, religion, politics.
RHP is also a small version of the world. Let's behave in the spirit of the Olympics. 🙂

Let's hope we can.

There is another important point that I don't think has been raised yet. This is a Chess site and advertised on search engines as such, there is no "content warning" when you enter the site, and as a Chess site why would one be needed. However, someone mentioned in another post about protecting minors, well you only need a cursory glance in the Debates or, at times, the General forum to find fairly explicit content that carries no warning.

The forums are viewable from the front page of RHP without even registering an account and given the content should this be the case? I think it's been assumed that everyone here is over the age of 18, but that clearly isn't so.

I do believe that that forums need just a small amount of moderation. I read RHP forums from time to time and I saw just a few posts that really were out of hand. What might be a good idea is to move "hot" threads into Debates forum section and put appropriate disclaimer there. People who don't like or could not stand the heat just would not go there. Life would be sterile without contraversy as well as forums🙂

that was the origional reason behind the debate forum. but as you can see stuff always seems to spill out into other forums. sometimes they are moved, but alot of them stay where they are at.

Originally posted by usmc7257
that was the origional reason behind the debate forum. but as you can see stuff always seems to spill out into other forums. sometimes they are moved, but alot of them stay where they are at.

guess its not me ive calmed down stopped looking in the forums and started paying attention to my games and clan 44 points and my rating went up 100 points😀😉

Originally posted by tlai1992
guess its not me ive calmed down stopped looking in the forums and started paying attention to my games and clan 44 points and my rating went up 100 points😀😉

There are two ideas I haven't seen addressed here:
(1) There are minors on the site. (brief mention above by Exy)
Does anyone have any idea how many children are on this site and what their age distribution is?
My children visit this site. Ages 14 and 12. I warn them to be prepared for topics they may not want to read. For the most part they self-select. This is a skill they need for the internet anyway (and the newspaper for that matter).
I think that although there are many topics that are difficult for children, I think it is best to allow the types of topics I see here. I would like to see the posts on this site reflect that some readers may be younger -- you may be setting an example for these younger readers.

(2) Many people investigate this site before deciding to subscribe.
When I was deciding whether to subscribe or not, I was impressed that forums are worlds apart better than Yahoo game rooms. However, I was rather put off by the level of incivility in the forums. My point is that perhaps there are many people who leave and never subscribe due to overt rudeness and disagreeableness.
I think this site is more likely to grow if more people work at using civil and respectful language to address differences of opinion. I really don't think it requires all that much extra work either -- just a commitment to do so.

[b](2) Many people investigate this site before deciding to subscribe

Originally posted by zucchini
My point is that perhaps there are many people who leave and never subscribe due to overt rudeness and disagreeableness.
I think this site is more likely to grow if more people work at using civil and respectful language to address differences of opinion. I really don't think it requires all that much extra work either -- just a commitment to do so.