There seems to have been a spike in obsessive and in some opinions deranged posting, especially in the Prince: Music and More forum.

My question to those familiar with the types of posts and for the older orgers that have seen these cycles before is: should we tolerate this?

On the one hand you have the free speech issue. However, the org is not a democracy and the owner and mods have final say. This is not a pay site, so there is really no obligation to anyone that they will be allowed to post.

On the other hand, these kinds of posts, especially in large volumes do several things:

1. They make the larger community look bad.
2. They can incite others to post angry or spiteful things they otherwise would not, bringing down the overall quality of discourse in the forum.
3. They can lower the enjoyment of the larger community.
4. In a worst case scenario, they could lead to litigation on any number of grounds.

So, what do you think? Should people just look the other way, not click on suspect threads, or should the community have some standards for posters in that forum?

Remember: attack ideas, not people. Let's keep the discussion polite, anonymous and follow the rules. Thanks!

Mars23 said:

Lest not forget...

5. Annoy the hell outta me
and in some cases scare the
bejessus outta me!!


but what can we do???

I am glad I am a member here. The technology is amazing.
Regarding this thread:
I love and respect Prince and his music. I've done my best as a member current at another Prince site I belong to, to never ever post anything negative about him. (unlike many others, if i do not agree with or dislike something he's done, i've not posted a comment.)

Before I was a member here, I used to click on some of the Prince related threads. I was totally taken aback by so many negative and disrespectful comments about Prince and his music.
Then I began to really understand why Prince took such past actions like having his likeness removed from sites and threatening to close down Prince-related sites. (resulting in a huge outcry from the Prince online community about his unfairness)
Do you blame him? I'm sure has visited this site more than once. Imagine him reading all the insensitive and cruel comments regarding his personal life, his stature and his life, and how it must make him feel.
I also wondered about the "no flaming" rule, yet the participants are continuously allowed to flame the person whose very exsistence is what this site is all about? Then I wondered why do the mods allow the apparent disrespectful flaming of Prince to happen?
I believe in first amendment rights and all, but hey i am in support of Prince's past actions. If I were him i'd have done the same thing.

Fans can be fickle, that's part of who we are. However does allowing spiteful and cruel post without caution flags or warnings from the moderators represent a laxness and disregard?

"this is what is sounds like when doves cry."
[Edited 12/28/08 17:53pm]

Personally, I think there's way too much leeway given to people who exhibit extremely disturbing behavior in the P: M&M forum. They're either mentally disturbed or they're acting as trolls. Whatever the case may be, they bump their own threads and jack others with abandon and should be moderated more heavily, in my opinion.

Thanks Mars, I was going to start a similar thread because it's getting rediculous, particularly in M&M.

IMO, free speech doesn't extend to allowing folks with issues to disrupt an entire forum by posting nonsensical threads and jacking other threads with incoherent posts.

It would be best if people could just ignore them but that can't be done when they pollute every single thread and it tends to bring out the worst in others.

As you requested I won't name names but there's two main offenders plus a re-user has returned who was banned countless times not only from the org but every Prince site that exists.

I know people don't like the idea of perma bans but I don't see any alternative in some cases.

Mars23 said:

that's the only solution to the problem, just bypass the thread .... there is a rule about bumping your own threads and those threads are usually locked..

Flowers2 said:

That would be the best thing but the trouble is that these individuals are now disrupting every single thread in the forum. I hope something gets done about it soon.

babynoz said:

Exactly. If the behavior was confined, there would not be much of a problem, but when it is spread throughout the forum and even the entire site, it is hard to expect the entire community to censure their behavior to accommodate a few individuals.

Thanks for starting this thread. I was about to start a similar one.

I think the behavior you're describing is far more disturbing than even the bait/troll threads that occur in P&R.

Efan said:

Yes M&M is getting wonky

A good thread.

I'm sure the mods are pondering on how to manage the issues raised here.

By and large, responding to the posts that are being referred to will likely result in the threadstarter/jacker continuing with their behaviour, but I'd like to add my name to those that are expressing their concerns.

ThreadBare said:

Something more disturbing than P&R?

noimageatall said:

ThreadBare said:

I'm scared of both now.

TheMightyCelestial said:

noimageatall said:

Yeah, because P&R is off-topic as far as the site is concerned. But you can't go into M&M without juvenile threads and posters and their psychobabble. It's old.

I must say as a regular at P:M&M, I have been seeing some very weird stuff on there that I haven't seen in either a long time or at all. I have to shake my head at some of the stuff but quite clear that something must be done cause it's becoming a major issue. I dare say, I've had to think about the stuff I've posted on there and I hope that I haven't looked like a crazy nut on the forum. I am just excited about Prince's new music and I think I've gone a little overboard myself and I'm trying to calm it down for the sake of the forum and I apologize to all of you if any of my posts have been, well, crazy. I know that was never my intention at all.

It's a great forum with some great people on it but it makes me sad that other fans avoid P:M&M because of a few wack jobs on there. I want to talk with more fans about P's music. It's what brought us here in the first place. I hope that the mods will do something soon so that it will be civil and fun forum to be on for 2009, especially since it's becoming more evident that a new Prince CD is on the way. Something needs to be done ASAP before the new CD is announced let alone released.
[Edited 12/29/08 21:03pm]

ThreadBare said:

That's why I don't go in there.

I have a question to ask. If you are one of the people who avoids P:M&M for the reasons Mars23 posted or anything else not mentioned and things were "cleaned up" in the section, would you start posting in there on a regular basis or would you still stay away from the area?

purplecam said:

I don't believe any of this applies to you.. you are a very sane poster and there's nothing wrong with us being playful sometimes, I clown around also sometimes... but there's 'other' type behavior in there now that's very strange.. I don't joke with those types either in that forum... awhile ago, someone wrote that they felt that Prince might be talking to them in the SHOE video .... I just go to other forums when it's like that..

purplecam said:

Please report the shitty nonsense wack job threads and the wack jobs of P: M&M. I try my best to maintain it like it's not another GD

Flowers2 said:

Thank you Flowers2, I really appreciate that. I what you see on the board is what you get if and when you meet me. I also remember reading that post about the SHOE video. It was definately a moment.

luv4u said:

I will definately do that for you. I totally agree with you when you say that we don't need another GD around here. It's the last thing we need.

purplecam said:

I would probably post in there more if it was "cleaned up". As it is, I rarely go into M&M these days let alone post because one has to wade through so many crazy threads.

TheMightyCelestial said:

You know I love you but that was just wrong

i recently joined and am considering deleting my account already. it's a nice enough site with some interesting discussion here and there; however, i'm not really feeling like this is a place for me. some of the reasons for this have been discussed in this thread. at the risk of generalizing, where i don't find personal insults, bickering, and endless back-and-forth about nothing anyone would characterize as significant, i find stalker-type musings that make me, at worst, uncomfortable and at best, unwilling to offer much contribution.

i suppose i could make more of an effort to post on threads which contain topics that interest me. unfortunately, many of those threads are difficult to spot having been buried under a sea of others which, to be frank, couldn't possibly interest anyone who is here to discuss works of art. i find it a shame really, and despite what many of us may think about prince and his oft-debated "short-sighted" positions on the internet, i'm not sure - given the tone of some the posts on this very popular fan site - that i wouldn't come away feeling all that differently than he.

i apologize if the tone of this post comes off as elitist or arrogant. given the fact i have only been a member a short while, i could not blame anyone for feeling that way toward me. still, i thought it might be interesting for some to read the perspective of a newbie who hasn't the most positive first impressions of the site.

have a good day...

nightandday said:

No that wasn't elitist or arrogant at all. It's nice to hear the perspective of a newbie. Hopefully, you won't leave cause we need some new, sane voices in there but I won't blame you if you left. I had to take a break from this place for about a month recently and I'm glad I did it. Do what you feel is necessary.

It may be late but Welcome to the Org

purplecam said:

anytime purplecam

DevotedPuppy said:

Please expand on your opinion of "cleaned up". Input is greatly appreciated. I would like to know what the community "wants".