Re: Agreed. I'm happy with Lifeboat as "information hub"... Archived Message
Posted by margo on May 3, 2019, 1:31 pm, in reply to "Agreed. I'm happy with Lifeboat as "information hub"..."
I feel you put that rather well, Ken. All TLN can ever be, probably, is an "information hub". Higher expectation and over-valuation are unhelpful. Random posters here share a common interest: amateur media analysis. Comment is voluntary: no one can be forced to speak or to adopt a position. It seems a good space: a space to find news; to ponder a new angle pointed out by others; to test perceptions and arguments. On the downside, the range of subjects is necessarily limited. Some posts receive no response at all: none of us have any control over whether others take our interests as seriously as we do. We can't shame or bully others into responding. That's how this space works ... but it's also a fact of basic psychology. Despite these stark limitations it's a space that operates well - most of the time! - without moderation/pre-moderation. Within this free zone, though, a line is crossed, in my opinion, when some start using a broadbrush to criticise the board as a whole, traducing the community and the space. Imo, it's fine to train our sights on each other to argue our points, but why would some want to aim indiscriminate ad-hom fire at the facilitator ... or at the board, in general? G. Brennan points out: it's not a good look for visitors. More than that, though, it's not a healthy dynamic: if you are so annoyed with the views at a certain venue, to the extent that you feel the need to bad-mouth the entire venue as well... perhaps it's time to look elsewhere, for more like-minded company? I'm talking of broadbrush, cutting criticisms (that this entire place is a cult, or a Lord of the Flies domain, etc). Phrases like these risk being classed as outright smears even if they're not intended that way. They can toxify an atmosphere to a different level: a divisive, bitter level that threatens to break the place apart. Who benefits from that? To side-step misunderstandings, it would be helpful if those who are unhappy here, set up something fresh at Lifeboat Too (website offered by Dan) with *their* choice of rules and subject matter. This would allow those who find TLN too "cult" to role-model what they have in mind, over there, and show what such a board could look like?
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