SouthwellC

Thanks for all your opinions - for and against. Maybe it’s proof we can disagree agreeably on here! Everyone has had a long window to share their thoughts, and as this has now turned into a non-football thread, it will locked. Thanks all.

Thanks GMF. I'll definitely raise this with people far more intelligent than me (it's not hard) on these matters.

Well done to @nutty nigel and the brilliant people on this messageboard. Fantastic work 👏

Hello. I'm slightly disappointed to see this thread, and it's not the first in the last few days, descend into mud-slinging and unnecessary abuse of posters. Can we please act like grown-ups and treat each other with some respect. I really would not want to be issuing bans, so let's avoid that. Thanks in advance.

Yes. This is a possible solution. Got a few options if this doesn't pan out in the way we hope.

Hi guys. Catching up on here - happy to provide a bit of clarity. Essentially, I'm happy for the odd non-football forum on here to appear, but when the balance goes and it dominates the football board, then we'll make a decision to cut it. I have allowed the movie, music ones etc because they were some of the few good-mannered threads on the Non Football section. But I don't want six out of the top ten to be dominated by non-football topics, and I don't think the majority of users do either. I don't have a set boundary - but it'll depend on the balance on the page. That isn't helped when people try to be clever by creating threads that sit outside of the boundaries. But maybe don't create five threads that aren't football related all at once. Maybe stagger them a bit. As I said, this is a bit of an experiment. We'll see how it goes over a longer period, but it relies on grown adults behaving themselves and using the board in the right manner. If necessary, then we'll go to purely football and set very hard boundaries but in an ideal world, multi-topics can be tolerated and balanced without conflict. That's the dream.

The vast majority of them won’t - as above, it’s about balance. The odd thread about music or film is fine in isolation, but clearly 15 of them aren’t.

Like I say above - we’ll see how we go. I agree with you, and it’s about getting the balance right. If that doesn’t work then we will move to just football. Let’s allow it to breathe and see how it works, then take it from there.

Think this is fair. Clearly there will need to be a balance - and I’m conscious the vast majority of the threads remain football related, which is the point of removing the non football section in the first place.

I did. They can.

Evening all. Just to say this section has now moved to the 'Announcements' section of the board - so should still be visible. Thanks.

Afternoon guys. Thanks for your responses, positive and negative. They are appreciated and I know it’s never going to be an approach agreed by everyone. That’s absolutely understandable and also okay! To be clear, those conversations about music (currently a very good thread in that section and I’m sorry it’s been caught up in this) are still ones that can happen. I hope the main thread can still facilitate some of those conversations. I don’t particularly mind the political chat, either. But it’s gone too far and we’ve seen an increase in reports, complaints and bad behaviour in those threads specifically (not to say they don’t happen in other threads), especially around both the elections. I know feelings are high, but this message board is primarily a place for football and that section wasn’t created as a political hub in the first place. As highlighted above, clearly we have to be conscious of stuff that gets published on here as well as a news organisation. But that’s not the primary driver, to be clear, it’s about user behaviour. Finally, some valid points on moderation. I hear you all on that front. It’s a difficult area as whatever approach we take won’t please everyone, but I’ve tried to take a lighter approach. I try to adopt a three strikes and off policy, but that differs on a case to case basis depending on the severity of the issue. You don’t really want to hear from us constantly on this channel (that’s what the main site is for!). This is a place for you. I’m more than happy to take questions and my DM channel is always open. Thanks for your continued support.

With respect, KC, it’s not a couple of individual posters. It is a long-running trend on that section of the message board. I don’t mind the political discussions as long as they are civil and in good taste - sadly too often, they are neither. That has been fuelled by both the recent elections. Ultimately, this is a football board at its core - and so it’s a decision to strip the board back to that. I wish it wasn’t the case, but we cannot allow the general downturn of behaviour to continue. I don’t want to be banning people constantly, that’s not how I want to spend my day! You’re right. I’m clearly juggling this with other work - but I should be able to do that without all hell breaking loose. There are other options, but this is the one we’ve decided is the best one for the minute for the reasons outlined above. I recognise it might not be one that everyone agrees with, but let’s try it and see how it goes.

Hi mate. Yes, I’m looking into how we can retain this, but we’ll ensure it’s not lost upon the changes next week.

I’m happy to outline our policy on moderation - which I’ve tried to keep to a light touch since taking over on here, which has been about three strikes and then a red. That’s been pretty lenient compared to the approach we could have taken. Unless there is a two-footed offence, we try to manage things in that way. There are lots of reasons why the above wouldn’t work - most of them technical on this current build of the message board. But it’s certainly under consideration for the future.