Staying On Topic

Liberty · #1

What is appropriate to post on LEO Contacts and Bloopers? Someone recently posted a humorous little story relating to a civilian police contact. The thread got locked because as the moderator explained it wasn't gun related. I was confused. The preliminary post by Mr Cotton described the sub forum and didn't mention that it was supposed to be gun related. I PMed the moderator to clarify.

1: What is a proper posting for "Police Contacts and Bloopers"?

2: What is the proper way to clarify policy on the forum? Is it appropriate to PM the moderators or should I do it here as I am now. It seems that it is sometimes taken for granted that it should be clear to us users, but I must admit that sometimes it seems inconsistant. For example the donkey word causes exitement, but buttocks and rear end don't seem to get scrutiny. Topics go way off stream for a whole week. Yet a thread that was started that to me seemed to be exactly what was described in the begginning thread gets locked.

Could there be list of forbidden words posted? So far I believe that I've been able to avoid the censorship, I would like to keep it that way as I am sure others would. When I first joined for a couple of post I thought the word "Glock" was one of the forbiden.

dpatterson · #2

Seems strange. The 3 or 4 post before the one that was locked are not CHL related as well. However, they have not been locked.

Note one of those Post Titles

--> "Nothing to do with CHL, but proof LEOs have senses of humor!"

Just an observation.

DP

KBCraig · #3

Case in point:

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... php?t=7601

dpatterson · #4

While the post in question is not exactly CHL related it is related to the topic in which it was put.

I think if we are going to lock one post for being off topic then ALL off topic threads need to be locked.

DP

#5

I'm curious why this wasn't handled in a PM. That's how the Moderators handle all problem posts and members, except for the most benign posts as the one in question. It would have been nice to extend the same courtesy to the Moderators, especially considering the growth of the forum and the time they donate to keep it running smoothly. We make mistakes too folks and we make every effort to keep them to a minimum.

The Moderators have reevaluated the thread and we agree that the LEO Contacts & Bloopers section need not be CHL-related. For that reason, the thread has been unlocked.

Chas.

KBCraig · #6

Charles L. Cotton wrote:The Moderators have reevaluated the thread and we agree that the LEO Contacts & Bloopers section need not be CHL-related. For that reason, the thread has been unlocked.

Thanks, Chas.

Have y'all discussed the "Federal" section? The subhead is "What's going on in Washington, D.C.?" Is it really wide open for any DC stuff, like immigration bills that are completely unrelated to firearms?

If so, that's fine. I always thought you wanted the topics pretty well discussed to firearms and related laws. I don't mind off-topic discussion, I just want to be clear.

Kevin

Liberty · #7

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I'm curious why this wasn't handled in a PM. That's how the Moderators handle all problem posts and members, except for the most benign posts as the one in question. It would have been nice to extend the same courtesy to the Moderators, especially considering the growth of the forum and the time they donate to keep it running smoothly. We make mistakes too folks and we make every effort to keep them to a minimum.

The Moderators have reevaluated the thread and we agree that the LEO Contacts & Bloopers section need not be CHL-related. For that reason, the thread has been unlocked.

Chas.

I did PM the the moderator that locked it on June 5th to try to clarify the policy. The moderator would not respond back to me and I still haven't received a PM from him. I thought it would be appropriate to post my questions here. I'm sure others had the same questions as to what is appropriate and what isn't. Even though I did PM the moderator first, Why wouldn't it have been a good idea to discuss it first here. I thought the purpose of this sub forum was to discuss and announce the board policy. It can be hard to follow the rules when the rules are only discussed in private. It seems that even the moderators aren't always clear on what it is. Is it considered bad form to publicly discuss moderation decisions? I realize and understand that moderators take their job seriously, and deserve to be treated with the highest respect, but I there have been some consistency issues. I don't believe that public discussion of these issues should be taken as a personal attack. Rather the discussions could be a part of the solution.

My intentions with my questions on that forum weren't intended to get that particular thread unlocked, it probably had run its course anyway. I was disappointed because I enjoy reading the contact and blooper section and was concerned that such censoring could stifle new postings on that subboard.

#8

KBCraig wrote:
Charles L. Cotton wrote:The Moderators have reevaluated the thread and we agree that the LEO Contacts & Bloopers section need not be CHL-related. For that reason, the thread has been unlocked.
Thanks, Chas.

Have y'all discussed the "Federal" section? The subhead is "What's going on in Washington, D.C.?" Is it really wide open for any DC stuff, like immigration bills that are completely unrelated to firearms?

If so, that's fine. I always thought you wanted the topics pretty well discussed to firearms and related laws. I don't mind off-topic discussion, I just want to be clear.

Kevin

That's a very good point and I'm going to post a reminder.

Thanks,
Chas.

stevie_d_64 · #9

Charles L. Cotton wrote:
KBCraig wrote:
Charles L. Cotton wrote:The Moderators have reevaluated the thread and we agree that the LEO Contacts & Bloopers section need not be CHL-related. For that reason, the thread has been unlocked.
Thanks, Chas.

Have y'all discussed the "Federal" section? The subhead is "What's going on in Washington, D.C.?" Is it really wide open for any DC stuff, like immigration bills that are completely unrelated to firearms?

If so, that's fine. I always thought you wanted the topics pretty well discussed to firearms and related laws. I don't mind off-topic discussion, I just want to be clear.

Kevin
That's a very good point and I'm going to post a reminder.

Thanks,
Chas.

I would like to say something about this...Bear with me...

Any discussion in this forum that may not be gun related to me is worth discussing, because it is important to that person who posted it, and those actively engaging in that discussion...

While on this site it is a rarity to have something completely off the chart gun-wise, I believe the forum membership in general are passionate and involved people who have a diverse background of knowledge and experiences that prove that those off-topic discussions (however rare, or frequent) are just as worthy to the betterment of everyone...

The common denominator I see in each and every participant in forums like this is...

Pro Second Amendment people are "empowered people"...They have a great passion for what is right and moral in this country, politically, socially and have a varying degree of knowledge about how things work in this country...

The tie to any discussion is how empowered we are, and how we love it enough to protect that empowerment...Pick an issue, and I can guarantee you the off-topic nature is tied directly in our desire to protect by any means the ability to continue feeling as empowered as we are...

I hope this makes some sense, and I do understand why off-topic annoys some, and they are absolutely right...

I think the membership in this forum does a really great job in policing itself, and that off-topics are not as frequent as they appear to be...

I can tell a lot about a person, because I already know about their passion/empowerment in regards to self-defense and guns in general...Thats a gimme...

When someone goes off, and discusses something a little or a lot off-topic, I really don't mind seeing how their minds tick...

I can only wish I had half the mind some here have...And I learn something new every single day from this website...And I don't mind being a whipping dog if I post something in error...

People need to be encouraged to write what the feel and know, and not just say sometimes..."Uhuh!, +1, I agree, etc etc..."

Ok, I'm done now...Carry on...