What do you all think of this?

Possible the largest forum in Australia called Whirlpool is heavily moderated.

Example:

https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/wp_rules#wp_pointlessposting


"Religious" debates

Note: this section DOES NOT exclusively refer to debates about religion.

"Religious" debates are so called because they have a lot in common with (but are not necessarily) discussions of religion and politics. These consist largely of people expressing strongly held personal beliefs about things that can't be proven — supposedly in the interest of agreeing on the best way to do something important, whether it's attaining eternal peace, governing effectively, imposing morality upon others, or determining which gaming console is superior.

And, like most such debates, they rarely result in anyone involved changing their point of view. Aside from being unproductive and ultimately pointless, these arguments consume inordinate amounts of moderator's efforts and erode the value of this open discussion environment.

Examples of "Religious" topics include:

    Mac vs PC (vs Linux, etc)
    XBox vs PlayStation (vs Wii, etc)
    Android vs iOS (vs Windows Phone 7, etc)
    Holden vs Ford (vs Toyota, etc)
    Auto vs Manual transmissions
    Atheism vs Agnosticism vs Religion
    Evolution denialism
    Climate change denialism
    Automotive – ICE vs EV

Threads which seek to unproductively perpetuate any of these debates will be closed or removed.

Before you complain about a thread being closed or deleted due to a 'Religious Debate' ruling, its probably worth your time reading and understanding this excellent article from youarenotsosmart on how marketing companies manipulate us.

freediver wrote on Jun 13^th, 2024 at 10:05am:



yes - that does to me too.

However there is a very long page of rules there:

https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/wp_rules#wp_pointlessposting

Jovial Monk wrote on Jun 13^th, 2024 at 10:11am:



You wouldn't last 5 posts on Whirlpool.   

Bobby. wrote on Jun 13^th, 2024 at 10:15am:


I was fairly active on Whirlpool at one stage, never moderated. You?

Jovial Monk wrote on Jun 13^th, 2024 at 10:28am:



I got into trouble many times going off topic when the actual topic
was not clearly defined.
If people reply - then you can end up with a dozen posts or more
in a row deleted and then get the blame for it.   

Jovial Monk wrote on Jun 13^th, 2024 at 10:36am:



You'd be banned for trolling:

https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/wp_rules#wp_pointlessposting

Why is "Trolling" bad?

The main goal of "trolling" is to incite an emotional or knee-jerk response from other posters. This response is typically in the form of:

• a personal attack;
• a repeat of previous points/posts; or
• an emotional outburst.

Such posts and the responses they generate tend to undermine the friendly atmosphere of WP, and often result in long running feuds between (what can only be described as) factions loyal to one side or the other.

Nicknames

Use of nicknames for a user or public figure adds nothing to a discussion and is frequently used as a form of trolling, especially in political and sports related threads.

Such posts will be removed until the nickname is edited to be an appropriate name for the individual. Appropriate names include a reasonable shortening of the name or names used extensively by the person themselves, but not beyond this.


Anatomy of a Troll

Trolling is perhaps the hardest thing to detect with any accuracy, simply because it really is in the eye of the beholder. However, experience has shown us that trolls tend to follow set patterns of behaviour. For example, trolls:

• Post to get emotional responses from other posters.
• Always post the same tired responses in response to the same tired topics.
• Never answer questions directed at them.
• Never justify their position.
• Always demand documentary evidence from others to support their assertions, while offering none in return.
• Always disappear if their bluff is called.

From a moderator perspective, if a post serves no purpose other than to upset others, then there is a good chance that the poster is trolling. The next question we look at is whether the poster meant to troll, or not. That is where moderators will look at the poster's user history to determine what is "normal behaviour" for the user.

Carl D wrote on Jun 13^th, 2024 at 10:54am:



Very true -  Whirlpool is ridiculous.

You just dislike discipline being applied to you, Bobby.  You dislike rules applied to you.  Witness your foolish performance in the Defence Forum.  Tsk, tsk, tsk...