Discovering Theravada forum - changed settings

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Please see this topic for details...

Configuration of the Discovering Theravada forum
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=7764

Please leave feedback here - thanks.

Metta,
Retro.

[Mawkish1983]

Hmmm, I can see the benefits... but it might look at little bit like censorship to an 'outsider'.

Just a thought. Good luck with the extra work

[retrofuturist]

Greetings Mawkish,

Indeed... yes, it's one of the known downsides.





That will be factored into the evaluation of the trial.

Metta,
Retro.

[Mawkish1983]

(I know it's , but this just popped into my head.)

[PeterB]

I think its an excellent idea and one well worth a try.

There are other message boards, and other forums on this Forum.

I think it is essential that a distinctly Theravadin voice should be available to those who respond most to that.

[Tex]

Sounds like it's really nothing more than being proactive instead of reactive to posts that aren't in line with the Theravada. I like it. Keep it simple for those looking for a Theravada answer and if they want other Buddhist answers, we know where to refer them.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

This is just a reminder that all responses made in the Discovering Theravada forum need to be approved by a moderator before they appear.

We've had a spate of queries lately where people thought we'd singled them out personally in terms of limiting their posting ability, and I just wanted to reiterate that this is not the case.



Metta,
Retro.

[Dan74]

If there are others who multitask while browsing the fora, they could fall prey to not realizing they were replying in Discovering Theravada (like I have done ). A mistake is discovered as soon as one tries to submit the post and the message "to be approved" comes up, but by then one could've spent some time in composing the ill-fated reply.

One idea is to have it display "Disovering Theravada" in boldface in the View New Posts to help us doofuses (or is it "doofi"?) avoid the aforementioned predicament.

[Kim OHara]

It's an easy mistake to make. Perhaps each forum could have its own background colour?
Let's see ...
Innocent shell-pink for Discovering Theravada?
Stern, no-nonsense grey for Announcements?
Saffron, of course, for Ordination.
Dusty vellum for the Study Group?
Black with red text for the Dhammic Free-for-all?

This could be fun!


Kim

Edited to add:
'Doofuses' is better. 'Doofi' would be far too high-falutin' for any genuine doofus.

[plwk]

When in Rome, do as the Romans do...especially the Senate

[Jason]

Seriously?

[retrofuturist]

Greetings Jason,

Seriously?

From memory, I think the trial is up in approximately a month... but in that time we've had no topic go off-topic, or "go Mahayana" (which is, in itself off-topic in the DT forum).

At the end of the trial I expect we'll seek feedback from members, and possibly even a vote.

Metta,
Retro.

[MidGe]

As an alternative, would simply "move" the posts to an appropriate forum be acceptable, meeting (some) objectives and perhaps not appearing as censoring?

[mikenz66]

Hi MidGe,

As an alternative, would simply "move" the posts to an appropriate forum be acceptable, meeting (some) objectives and perhaps not appearing as censoring?

In fact, that's what we sometimes do when a post is not suitable for the Discovering Theravada
Forum. However, my observation is that since we started this policy most of the posts in that Forum have been very good. Members seem to be more concious that the purpose of that Forum is to provide straightforward answers to the question. This is good for the moderation team, since none of us likes to have to delete or move posts.

I realise it can be frustrating to make a post and have to wait for a an hour or two for it to be approved (such as your recent post there), but we're only a small group of volunteers here.

And please note that there is no intention of censorship. Anyone is free to take one of the questions and start a deep discussion about it in one of the other forums.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

This is just an update to let you know that the scheduled three month pilot of the "moderator queue" functionality is coming to a close, and Dhamma Wheel staff have decided in favour of making the moderation queue an ongoing fixture.

We feel that it has improved the overall quality of responses in the Discovering Theravada section, and helped to ensure that those who come with questions are actually receiving responses appropriately connected to some aspect of the spectrum of Theravada thought.

Metta,
Retro.

[Sanghamitta]

Good...

[Jason]

I'm glad that it's helping to improve the overall quality of responses in the Discovering Theravada section, but I still find it annoying that I have to wait hours, sometimes even days, to view and edit my posts.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings Jason,

Well, I suspect it's not really days...

That said, we do have some protocols in place to ensure that anything that's neither approved or rejected after 12 hours gets addressed promptly thereafter.

Metta,
Retro.

[Jason]

Greetings Jason,

Well, I suspect it's not really days...

That said, we do have some protocols in place to ensure that anything that's neither approved or rejected after 12 hours gets addressed promptly thereafter.

Metta,
Retro.

OK, maybe I was exaggerating just a little.

[Quiet Heart]

I understand what you are saying...and I have to accept it....after all it is a Theravada forum. so you have the perfect right to limit those that respond to a topic on that forum.
But my personal opinion is that it is a poor choice...but I have to accept it and go on from there.