Idea: All off-topic threads must be approved

[jrlepage]

I go away for a few months, and come back to 21 people essentially endorsing censorship? Wow. I'm shocked.

[BioMechanicalDude]

Eeh, I wouldn't say so. This thing didn't go anywhere, anyway.

[jrlepage]

Thank god it didn't, but it still doesn't take away from the fact 21 forum members (at least) would be okay with censorship. Not something I would've expected from a predominantly American crowd.

[Roflo]

Actually these 21 people want less spamming here, though I don't think consequently approving threads is the right thing to do.

[Overlord99]

Honestly, I really don't care at this point.

[jrlepage]

Actually these 21 people want less spamming here, though I don't think consequently approving threads is the right thing to do.

Exactly. That's the wrong way to go about it.

[Threxx]

if your concern is about censorship then why is there any moderation on this board in the first place

we all subscribe to some level of censorship when using a message board, the mere fact that you can be banned for something you say is a form of censorship, it deprives the person of a voice on that website because of their beliefs

it has become clear that frequent requests for people to post more quality threads in the off-topic section have been met on deaf ears. however this does not extend to the entire member base, and while I admit i voted for approvals, that should only be taken as a last resort before completely shutting down the board.

an alternative solution would be to ban members who repeatedly post garbage threads from posting in the off-topic section period. this allows for discussion to continue without requiring approval and keeps the spam out of the forum. (i know phpBB is capable of this, being an administrator on a board using the software)

(even this is necessarily "censorship," in any private website you will have to subscribe to some level of censorship, it is up to you as the user if you feel that censorship is appropriate and rational or not and then decide whether or not to patronize that website)

[TorgoHiggins]

Censorship is a very loaded word, and while it might technically apply, trying to curtail some spam and establish some quality controls is not, in any way, censorship as most people tend to think of it.

[DMT Produktionen]

I'm still not seeing why this should be implemented. Off topic discursions are off topic discursions. Not everything needs to be productive. I know there are cases of spam that needs to be addressed, and admitly I have not visted the off topic fourms, but is it really worth the hassle of using an approval system?