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Old 11-02-2017, 01:21 PM
 
Location: Posting from my space yacht.
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If there is only going to be one thread allowed on a subject, it shouldn't be one with such a sharp partisan spin to it. You are essentially saying we are only allowed to discuss a given topic through the filter of one side's talking points. Considering that there is already a reputation for biased moderating on this site it might be a better idea to pick a thread with less partisan spin to merge the others in to.

 
Old 11-02-2017, 02:15 PM
 
8,364 posts, read 7,553,732 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Bully View Post
If there is only going to be one thread allowed on a subject, it shouldn't be one with such a sharp partisan spin to it. You are essentially saying we are only allowed to discuss a given topic through the filter of one side's talking points. Considering that there is already a reputation for biased moderating on this site it might be a better idea to pick a thread with less partisan spin to merge the others in to.
May I add a suggestion? If several threads are to be merged into one, perhaps it would be possible for the moderators to create a NEW title thread, instead of using one of the existing title threads? And, in that NEW thread title clearly indicate that the new thread is a merge of several previous threads in some way?

For instance, let's say that there are two threads, one with a title like, "Trump's policies on peanut eating are insane" and another with a title like, "Trump's policies on peanut eating are terific!" The two threads are discussing the same topic but from partisan viewpoints. The goal is to merge them into one massive thread in order to avoid redundancy.

The NEW thread merging the two would be created by the moderators with a title like "Discussion of Trump's policies on Peanut Eating - MERGED threads"

This would help (1) people who were participating in the original threads a way to figure out what happened to their thread and keep participating (2) avoid having members think that there is moderator bias towards one view point because the new thread title would be non-partisan and (3) encourage members who might not have participated in the original threads because of their partisan titles to participate in the NEW thread, thus bringing in more perspectives to the discussion.

Of course, this assumes that this approach is possible for the moderators to do. Seems like it should be, but I am not a moderator so I don't know how much extra time and effort this approach might require.
 
Old 11-02-2017, 02:21 PM
 
Location: Posting from my space yacht.
8,452 posts, read 4,710,299 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RosieSD View Post
May I add a suggestion? If several threads are to be merged into one, perhaps it would be possible for the moderators to create a NEW title thread, instead of using one of the existing title threads?

For instance, let's say that there are two threads, one with a title like, "Trump's policies on peanut eating are insane" and another with a title like, "Trump's policies on peanut eating are Spot on!" The two threads are discussing the same topic but from partisan viewpoints. The goal is to merge them into one massive thread. The NEW thread merging the two would have a title like "Discussion of Trump's policies on Peanut Eating - MERGED threads"

This would help (1) people who were participating in the original threads a way to figure out what happened to their thread and (2) avoid seeming to prefer one partisan viewpoint by only preserving one of the original title threads.

Of course, this assumes that this approach is possible for the moderators to do. Seems like it should be, but I am not a moderator so I don't know how much extra time and effort this approach might require.
If they can do that, it would be a good solution. If they cannot, then picking the one with the least amount of bias would be best, where possible. Sometimes there won't be one and they'll all be spun in one manner or another. It seems now they either pick the first topic made or the one with the most responses(often the same thread). Or maybe the one with the bias that suits the mod doing the merging? Either way it seems to reward coming in early and coming in hyper partisan.
 
Old 11-02-2017, 02:44 PM
 
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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Merged threads go by time stamp. The oldest thread is the one the others merge into. There is no choice, it's the way the programming is done in the code.

Posts in those threads also get merged into the thread by time stamp. If threads are merged when days have gone by, it sometimes can make for a confusing read.
 
Old 11-02-2017, 02:49 PM
 
Location: Posting from my space yacht.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robino1 View Post
Merged threads go by time stamp. The oldest thread is the one the others merge into. There is no choice, it's the way the programming is done in the code.

Posts in those threads also get merged into the thread by time stamp. If threads are merged when days have gone by, it sometimes can make for a confusing read.
Don't know if that's true, but even if it is I've seen mods change thread titles so it is within their capacity to change the title of the thread everything is merged in to "Merged Thread for X Topic" or what have you.
 
Old 11-02-2017, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Bully View Post
Don't know if that's true, but even if it is I've seen mods change thread titles so it is within their capacity to change the title of the thread everything is merged in to "Merged Thread for X Topic" or what have you.
It is true. I've moderated on a different VB site. Yes, they do have the capability to change the title though.
 
Old 11-02-2017, 03:39 PM
 
Location: NW Indiana
44,255 posts, read 19,913,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robino1 View Post
Merged threads go by time stamp. The oldest thread is the one the others merge into. There is no choice, it's the way the programming is done in the code.

Posts in those threads also get merged into the thread by time stamp. If threads are merged when days have gone by, it sometimes can make for a confusing read.
True about the time stamp. The opening post which was posted first would be the opening post in the merged thread. The title of the first thread would be the title of the merged thread unless manually changed.

Moderators can, indeed, change thread titles. In my assigned fora, I change thread titles on occasion for clarification.

.
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Old 11-02-2017, 04:19 PM
 
8,364 posts, read 7,553,732 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PJSinger View Post
True about the time stamp. The opening post which was posted first would be the opening post in the merged thread. The title of the first thread would be the title of the merged thread unless manually changed.

Moderators can, indeed, change thread titles. In my assigned fora, I change thread titles on occasion for clarification.

.
Can you float the idea with CD administrators of having the moderators always put a new title on merged threads and adding the words Merged Threads or something similar to identify it as a merged thread?

I would find that really helpful. It is somewhat confusing when you're following or participating in a thread and it suddenly disappears into the ether. I'm never sure if the thread has just been deleted for whatever reason by the mods or merged into a different thread. Sometimes I can find it again, sometimes not.

I am not as concerned about the partisan bias aspect as I am just making it easier to follow threads that are merged. But renaming would also probably reassure people who are concerned with partisan threads seeming to disappear.

I want to add that I, for one, like the idea of merging redundant threads. It's not perfect, but it does keep the boards from being cluttered with multiple discussions on the same topic, which we all know can easily get out of hand.

Thanks for looking into this if you can, PJSinger! And thank you as well for all that you and the other CD moderators do!
 
Old 11-02-2017, 04:36 PM
 
Location: NW Indiana
44,255 posts, read 19,913,851 times
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Thanks, RosieSD.

Another thing I do when I merge threads is to add a note to the opening post and also after the most recent post to state that two threads have been merged into one and if some posts seem out of order, that is why.

I'm sure the senior mods will look at the suggestions in this thread and consider what action(s) might be taken.

Everyone, thanks for your input.
.
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Old 11-02-2017, 04:40 PM
 
4,504 posts, read 3,003,586 times
Reputation: 9630
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robino1 View Post
Merged threads go by time stamp. The oldest thread is the one the others merge into. There is no choice, it's the way the programming is done in the code.

Posts in those threads also get merged into the thread by time stamp. If threads are merged when days have gone by, it sometimes can make for a confusing read.
That certainly doesn't stop the title from being changed to reflect threads are merged.
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