What's with all the locking?

[AR]

I realize that WCI is free to run this forum in whatever way he chooses, even if it doesn't make sense.  It's his choice and it's completely fine with me.

Here's what I don't get, though.  If you click on categories and look at lounge it says "Non-financial topics.  Stay out if easily offended".

So, it seems people go there and start threads on non-financial topics which are of interest.  Then WCI shuts them down, and there is some message about the reason being because the topics are non-financial.   But the exact description of the sub forum calls for non-financial topics to be posted there.

The whole thing seems somewhat nonsensical.

Once again, if running it this way is what he wants to do, that's fine.   When it's your site you're allowed to make any rules you choose.  However, I think confusing your user base is generally an undesirable thing.

If you really don't want non-financial topics, the thing to do would be to change the description of the lounge.

[jhwkr542]

AR wrote:

So, it seems people go there and start threads on non-financial topics which are of interest.  Then WCI shuts them down

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I think this is probably an oversimplification. The threads that seem to get shut down turn overly political or take on a tone of animosity. Or those wci doesn't want to get any more emails about.

[AR]

jhwkr542 wrote:

AR wrote:

So, it seems people go there and start threads on non-financial topics which are of interest.  Then WCI shuts them down

Click to expand…

I think this is probably an oversimplification. The threads that seem to get shut down turn overly political or take on a tone of animosity. Or those wci doesn’t want to get any more emails about.

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So you want to explain to me how this was going to get overtly political or develop a tone of animosity?   I can't even imagine the emails he would have supposedly gotten.

 

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/forums/topic/32-half-siblings-1-sperm-donor/

 

Also, it sounds like you're referring to threads that he locks with his standard "more heat than light" line.  That's an entirely different issue and not what I was referring to.

[CM]

jhwkr542 wrote:

AR wrote:

So, it seems people go there and start threads on non-financial topics which are of interest.  Then WCI shuts them down

Click to expand…

I think this is probably an oversimplification. The threads that seem to get shut down turn overly political or take on a tone of animosity. Or those wci doesn’t want to get any more emails about.

Click to expand...

Well, the recent post about the sperm donor's offspring wasn't political, and it was shut down without time for any replies. I was interested because a number of my med school classmates were donors, including a housemate. His wife (met and married long after graduation) was uncomfortable with that once she learned of it.

The post about rude pool behavior wasn't political and there was no animosity there either.

Once here for a while it begins to feel more like a community of friends and colleagues rather than a narrowly defined venue for financial info. But as noted, it's WCI's thing and he can do as he chooses.

[pierre]

I think that used to be the case, but recently it's happening more frequently, including threads that are still generating light, to borrow from the wci. I was getting helpful advice on my recent thread that got locked and it had nothing to do with politics or animosity. I even think it did have a bit of finance, certainly more finance than a thread about wearing scrubs outside a hospital.

There are plenty of non financial threads that haven't been shut down, so I don't completely get it. But Jim is allowed to do as he sees fit. I still like it here.

[Lordosis]

It seems like medical topics are tolerated. Even it there is no financial side.
It would be funny if this thread gets locked ?

[SerrateAndDominate]

Yeah it’s his show. I get it. It’s probably best to stay on top of things to keep the place welcome for new people to join in. I feel like the group does a good job of self-policing.

I’m of the opinion if someone is so wound up that they have to write him an email then they can just make an account to post something.

[Lithium]

I try not to call out the moderation too much because I like this forum and Jim could shut it down with a few clicks if he decides the margin doesn't justify the hassle.  Also compare it to Bogleheads where anything with a hint of political undertones or "non-actionable" information gets locked in a hot minute, and I think we have it pretty good.

That being said, original point is valid.  Maybe as the forum membership has grown, Jim would like to restrict the topic content more.  It would be helpful to clarify this and change the rules accordingly so fewer threads are shut down.

[AR]

SerrateAndDominate wrote:

Yeah it’s his show. I get it. It’s probably best to stay on top of things to keep the place welcome for new people to join in. I feel like the group does a good job of self-policing.

I’m of the opinion if someone is so wound up that they have to write him an email then they can just make an account to post something.

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If WCI didn't constantly post about how he is getting emails complaining about threads, I'd have a hard time believing that such people even existed.

Once again, though, that's a separate issue.  Shutting down threads for those types of reasons is not what I intended this thread to be about.

A few posts up, CM listed a couple of good examples of what I was actually referring to.

[ENT Doc]

While I agree with the sentiments expressed by AR:

“Moderation policies are not up for public debate. If you have an issue with a step a moderator took, PM that moderator or another one and it will be reviewed. Do not re-post a moderated thread. Do not start a thread complaining about moderator actions or policies. Remember that moderators are volunteers and their decisions, while not necessarily always final, will generally be supported by other moderators and by the owners of this site. Mostly because we don’t want to do all the moderating ourselves.”

[AR]

ENT Doc wrote:

While I agree with the sentiments expressed by AR:

“Moderation policies are not up for public debate. If you have an issue with a step a moderator took, PM that moderator or another one and it will be reviewed. Do not re-post a moderated thread. Do not start a thread complaining about moderator actions or policies. Remember that moderators are volunteers and their decisions, while not necessarily always final, will generally be supported by other moderators and by the owners of this site. Mostly because we don’t want to do all the moderating ourselves.”

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I'm not actually complaining here, although I can see how it might be confusing.  I said repeatedly that he is free to do whatever he wants and that I support that.

So, for the record and to be perfectly clear, I am not debating the moderation of these threads.  Anything WCI wants to do is fine by definition. I'm not asking him to reconsider any past decisions, unlock any locked threads, etc.

I'm just suggesting that he may want to consider changing the description of the lounge if he really doesn't want any non-financial threads.   I think it would improve the forum going forward.  He's free to take the suggestion or not. Either course of action is fine with me.

 

 

[CM]

AR wrote:

Either course of action is fine with me.

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... but I'd rather read non-financial posts as well.

[AR]

CM wrote:

AR wrote:

Either course of action is fine with me. 

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… but I’d rather read non-financial posts as well.

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Sure.  I'd rather win a 2 million dollar lottery than a 1 million dollar lottery.  But either would be fine with me.

[jacoavlu]

CM wrote:

The post about rude pool behavior wasn’t political and there was no animosity there either.

Not true. I had to delete posts from that thread. Then finally it got locked

 

[The White Coat Investor]

The only authorized debates on moderation policies on this site take place in the moderator's forum. If you would like access to that forum, let me know.