A Reminder on Forum Decorum

[Mark Knight]

Lately it seems there have been a number of reports to the Education Forum administrators regarding posts that are, or could be interpreted as, personal attacks. Apparently, there are MANY current forum members who didn't learn the lessons of Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People." [If you've never read that book, you should.] Some forum members may have forgotten that this is a DISCUSSION forum, not an INSULT or ARGUMENT forum. The other administrators and I do agree that on some threads the insults are getting out of hand. I know something needs to change. For the most part, our forum members are adults. But occasionally some don't act like adults when they're behind a keyboard and a screen.

I don't think our function as administrators should be spending all our time on the forum putting out fires. In Smokey the Bear fashion, maybe we need to remind the members that "Only YOU can prevent forum fires." Not that we want forum members to police other members' posts; rather, I suggest that forum members should be adult enough to police their own posts. I know that people tend to get passionate about the JFK assassination. But it would be prudent to dial back some of that passion, especially if it contains vitriol towards other forum members.

There are forum rules, and none of the administrators want to be babysitters or prison wardens. We simply want the discussions to be less personal and more about the JFK assassination...remember, that's the topic of the forum. I don't care if you believe your personal opinions about the JFK assassination "prove" that your intellect is superior to everyone else on the forum. If you believe that, keep the condescending thoughts to yourself, please.

This forum can still be a place where ideas and thoughts can be exchanged without rancor. THAT is our goal as administrators. Demeaning someone else's intelligence, or anything else, does NOT elevate your own position in this forum. We're all adults here, and it's time we let our words on the forum reflect the fact that we can discuss evidence and theories as adults. 

Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

REMEMBER...only YOU can prevent forum fires.

 

 

[Mark Knight]

I'm encouraged that we've had no posts reported in the past 24 hours.

Remember...only YOU can prevent forum fires!