Should AMT be shut down?

SD48277

I ask this question since this part of the forum seems to be where most people get banned, discussing current events--events that are on the nightly news and can be found with a click of a button online--but somehow some of what is talked about or shown is not suitable since it is an all ages forum. So I ask: should AMT continue to exist?

hedonist

I'd like to see it continued. One, I've come to know some fine people here, plus have learned so much over time. I dig the mix of views and personalities - among them, many with whom I generally disagree yet hold in high regard.

That said, it'd be nice if the baiting and bickering would ease up some...maybe that would afford more latitude in not having what are otherwise reasonable discussions shut down.

(I also think having a bit of fun and humor in the process can be a good thing )

rr165892

How about this.Mods have a control panel.Make this the adult part of the board.Where a free flow of ideas and debates can take place without risk of offending the kiddies or breaking the stricter guidelines that are in place of late.
Or How about a thread(just one would be fine) where anything goes?Lets let the inmates run the asylum in just one thread.If offended easily do not enter.If bad words offend don't enter.It would be a lot of fun and some great stuff would be discussed.

Halifax2TheMax

rr165892 said:

How about this.Mods have a control panel.Make this the adult part of the board.Where a free flow of ideas and debates can take place without risk of offending the kiddies or breaking the stricter guidelines that are in place of late.
Or How about a thread(just one would be fine) where anything goes?Lets let the inmates run the asylum in just one thread.If offended easily do not enter.If bad words offend don't enter.It would be a lot of fun and some great stuff would be discussed.

You mean like how the forums used to be? Circa 2004?

deadendp

Too many have gone down by way of the bars or red badge of death. A lot of baiting seems to be done on AMT with the commenters suffering but nothing so much being done it seems to the instigators.

To that I'll say that the instigators seem to be just a few. Sad.

Don't know the answer, SD.

badbrains

Halifax2TheMax said:

rr165892 said:

How about this.Mods have a control panel.Make this the adult part of the board.Where a free flow of ideas and debates can take place without risk of offending the kiddies or breaking the stricter guidelines that are in place of late.
Or How about a thread(just one would be fine) where anything goes?Lets let the inmates run the asylum in just one thread.If offended easily do not enter.If bad words offend don't enter.It would be a lot of fun and some great stuff would be discussed.

You mean like how the forums used to be? Circa 2004?

Exactly

bootlegger10

If you want a no rules message pit then I think you need to create your own. Since this a Pearl Jam message board the civility of the discussions reflect on Pearl Jam, and thus the mods enforce some minimum level of decorum.

I think we need to be better human beings and not start or get sucked into name calling and personal arguments. I just deleted a draft post because it served no purpose except making a joke that some might take negatively.

badbrains

Got to walk around on eggshells around here cuz if you fart, there's a possibility of being banned or put on probation (aka BARS) on your avatar.

Kat

Here is the information to guide you so that you are able to post in the forums.
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/228366/forum-posting-guidelines#latest

Also see the Forum FAQ:
http://pearljam.com/helpfaq

Terms of Use
https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204866734-Terms-of-Use

Report problem posts and we'll take a look. How members speak to each other is important and if someone goes after another person personally instead of discussing the topic, they are not within the Posting Guidelines....so if you type up a post, look it over before hitting Send to make sure it's about the topic. Thanks. Everyone have a nice night.

And farting in public is just ugh.

badbrains

Kat said:

Here is the information to guide you so that you are able to post in the forums.
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/228366/forum-posting-guidelines#latest

Also see the Forum FAQ:
http://pearljam.com/helpfaq

Terms of Use
https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204866734-Terms-of-Use

Report problem posts and we'll take a look. How members speak to each other is important and if someone goes after another person personally instead of discussing the topic, they are not within the Posting Guidelines....so if you type up a post, look it over before hitting Send to make sure it's about the topic. Thanks. Everyone have a nice night.

And farting in public is just ugh.

Don't act like you've never farted in public. I think EVERYONE on the forums is guilty of doing that. I know I have.

gimmesometruth27

here is my question.

exactly how many posters on here are under the age of 18?

how many tenclubbers are under the age of 18?

how many people under the age of 18 can afford to pay $40. i mean full time high school student with very little time for school, social life, online social life, leaves little time for a job to earn spending money. when i was in high school there is no way i could have afforded with my own money to pay for 10 club membership, let alone a pair of concert tickets at current prices.

i think we are deluding ourselves if we honestly believe for 5 seconds that there are minors posting on amt.

i hold this band in high regard, but i am not going to kid myself into believing that the band has much meaning for more that 5% of the under 18 generation.

most of them have never heard of the band, and if they have, they don't know they are still recording music and touring. to them, eddie is the old guy on tv at wrigley field during the playoffs.

i believe amt should be a reflection of the majority of the fanbase. people over 18 with a basic understanding of world events. that is another thing, point me to 5 posters on this entire message board under the age of 18 who are capable of holding a basic civics conversation. bet you can't do it.

Halifax2TheMax

If this is an all ages forum, how can the non-adults be expected to discuss things like farts, a natural bodily function that proves we're human, like adults? Seems to me the bar keeps getting set higher and higher.

gimmesometruth27

and another thing.

let's not forget how much more vibrant and diverse amt used to be when this was not a pay-to-post forum. there were people from literally, all over the world, on here posting about a host of topics. not just american politics. that is where i began to learn about the israeli occupation.

in my opinion, that, plus the permaban of some of the most intelligent posters on amt is a direct cause of what we have here today.

gimmesometruth27

it was not the same 30 people talking to a brick wall. there were 4-5 times the number of regular posters on here daily.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

badbrains said:

Kat said:

Here is the information to guide you so that you are able to post in the forums.
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/228366/forum-posting-guidelines#latest

Also see the Forum FAQ:
http://pearljam.com/helpfaq

Terms of Use
https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204866734-Terms-of-Use

Report problem posts and we'll take a look. How members speak to each other is important and if someone goes after another person personally instead of discussing the topic, they are not within the Posting Guidelines....so if you type up a post, look it over before hitting Send to make sure it's about the topic. Thanks. Everyone have a nice night.

And farting in public is just ugh.

Don't act like you've never farted in public. I think EVERYONE on the forums is guilty of doing that. I know I have.

My buddy steambathed everyone at the Red Hot Chili Peppers show. Thick. A complete assault on the senses.

I'm not usually one to get worked up over a fart, but there were more than a few guys looking at him with malicious intent. As far as I was concerned... he was on his own.

I'm pretty sure we spent much of the remaining show bracing ourselves in the event we were subjected to another one.

gimmesometruth27

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

badbrains said:

Kat said:

Here is the information to guide you so that you are able to post in the forums.
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/228366/forum-posting-guidelines#latest

Also see the Forum FAQ:
http://pearljam.com/helpfaq

Terms of Use
https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204866734-Terms-of-Use

Report problem posts and we'll take a look. How members speak to each other is important and if someone goes after another person personally instead of discussing the topic, they are not within the Posting Guidelines....so if you type up a post, look it over before hitting Send to make sure it's about the topic. Thanks. Everyone have a nice night.

And farting in public is just ugh.

Don't act like you've never farted in public. I think EVERYONE on the forums is guilty of doing that. I know I have.

My buddy steambathed everyone at the Red Hot Chili Peppers show. Thick. A complete assault on the senses.

I'm not usually one to get worked up over a fart, but there were more than a few guys looking at him with malicious intent. As far as I was concerned... he was on his own.

I'm pretty sure we spent much of the remaining show bracing ourselves in the event we were subjected to another one.

http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/246474/the-im-a-victim-thread#latest

SD48277

From the forum posting guidelines:

7. No Spamming, Flooding, or Trolling (Inciting Flames). There is a special place in hell reserved for those who RickRoll.

8. Please do not respond to trolls...it feeds them and you could lose your posting privileges in the process by joining an inappropriate thread.

Kat, would you explain why a person responding to the troll is the one who could lose their posting privileges, and not the troll him/her-self? Why does the troll only get RickRoll? I genuinely want to understand this.

jnimhaoileoin

I only started frequenting AMT recently and I love having a place to talk about the kind of things that I don't otherwise get a chance to discuss as I don't know anyone who gives a crap. I personally don't fear being banned or censored as I'm so averse to confrontation that I'm unlikely to ever get mad enough to say anything deserving of such punishment

I do agree with SD though that it often seems that trolls get away with a lot simply because they manage to portray themselves as innocent victims, while those they succeed in baiting are punished when they reach breaking point. I think more could be done to rein in these people who are simply trying to cause trouble

oftenreading

I hope AMT continues to exist, but if there are to be sanctions then they need to be applied equally for equivalent infractions. I particularly think it is the trolls who should be sanctioned, not those responding to them; the motivations of those responding are varied, and they may not even understand the nature of the trolling, but the motivations of the trolls are only to aggravate.

PJfanwillneverleave1

Yes I think AMT should continue to exist.
Not quite sure how one could get an entire category closed.
I think the word troll has been overplayed to a point where it is common place to call someone a troll as it is to say hello.
It means nothing to the accused but it means a lot to the accuser.
Talking avatars are merely that.- an avatar on a computer
Could you imagine a forum where everytime someone posts they get called a troll? That would not be a very inviting place for noobs or existing members.
When avatars comment in threads of controversial or even menial subjects one avatar can take it the wrong way and cause a cycle of back and forth bickering leading to personal insults caused by nothing more than a persons input to a thread.
We openly have posters stating why they don't post in certain places of the forum for this very reason. How did it get this way?
Avoiding certain categories on a forum in order to not be included should not have to cross the mind of a member.

jnimhaoileoin

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

Yes I think AMT should continue to exist.
Not quite sure how one could get an entire category closed.
I think the word troll has been overplayed to a point where it is common place to call someone a troll as it is to say hello.
It means nothing to the accused but it means a lot to the accuser.
Talking avatars are merely that.- an avatar on a computer
Could you imagine a forum where everytime someone posts they get called a troll? That would not be a very inviting place for noobs or existing members.
When avatars comment in threads of controversial or even menial subjects one avatar can take it the wrong way and cause a cycle of back and forth bickering leading to personal insults caused by nothing more than a persons input to a thread.
We openly have posters stating why they don't post in certain places of the forum for this very reason. How did it get this way?
Avoiding certain categories on a forum in order to not be included should not have to cross the mind of a member.

Do you genuinely believe that there aren't people posting in AMT who claim to hold certain views and will strenuously put forward said views with the simple goal of causing controversy and baiting others to react?

At the very least there are people who cry wolf and try to get others in trouble by claiming to take extreme offence at the most innocuous comments or the genuine opinions of those who happen to disagree with them

PJfanwillneverleave1

^^^^
Yes.
You just have to speak your mind and deal with what comes.
That is not baiting or trolling.

Taking offense to an opinion and hurling insults should be punished.

Trolling and having an opinion are two different things.

jnimhaoileoin

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^^
Yes.
You just have to speak your mind and deal with what comes.
That is not baiting or trolling.

Taking offense to an opinion and hurling insults should be punished.

Trolling and having an opinion are two different things.

What if there's a suspicion that the opinions you claim to have are not actually genuine and are in fact expressed with the sole intention of causing trouble?

Admittedly this is fairly impossible to prove conclusively

PJfanwillneverleave1

^^^
Well then that is what we have mods for.
To prevent personal insults before they occur or at least stop them.

jnimhaoileoin

Anyway, sorry SD I went off on my own tangent there.

With regard to it being an 'all-ages forum', to be honest I never consider that children might be reading the things posted in AMT. I wouldn't really consider it to be an area of the forum that they're likely to frequent, then again nor do I imagine there are many people under the age of 18 posting here at all. I expect what underage posters there are most likely post in the more band-related areas rather than in AMT. As you can see, I'm making a lot of assumptions here

I think it's unrealistic though to try and cater for all ages, particularly in AMT. It is just not possible to discuss some issues in a child-friendly manner because quite simply they are very serious topics and it's naturally that discussion can become heated.

badbrains

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

jnimhaoileoin

badbrains said:

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

Depends if they decide you're bullying them I guess

Amongst the Ani

badbrains said:

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

If you laught at the post and not the poster than it is within guidelines.

jnimhaoileoin

Amongst the Ani said:

badbrains said:

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

If you laught at the post and not the poster than it is within guidelines.

And therein lies the fine line which can be hard to distinguish. Can you disagree strenuously with someone's views without them somehow construing it as being a personal attack? There are some people who are just inclined to take everything personally

PJfanwillneverleave1

jnimhaoileoin said:

Amongst the Ani said:

badbrains said:

Am I allowed to laugh or is that offensive? Or is that considered an insult, to laugh at someone's post?

If you laught at the post and not the poster than it is within guidelines.

And therein lies the fine line which can be hard to distinguish. Can you disagree strenuously with someone's views without them somehow construing it as being a personal attack? There are some people who are just inclined to take everything personally

And that is what we have a flag post option for.
If people always take everything personal it leads to insults as a defense.
If you get offended don't respond.

SD48277

jnimhaoileoin said:

Anyway, sorry SD I went off on my own tangent there.

No need to apologize.