Although I am not a moderator I’ve taken it upon myself to address a topic that has become quite disconcerting to myself: Namely the fighting and petty bickering that is going on. I’ve been a member for 5 years and have never seen it so bad. Snuffhouse forum is a place to relax and discuss our favorite past time, tobacco. You don’t have to agree with me or be my pal, but to stoop to the childishness which many a thread has devolved into lately is ridiculous. We are (theoretically) civilized adults and should comport ourselves as such for the sake of the forum, if not for the dignity of ourselves. I suggest all new people to the forum take note of this, for there are many people who’ve been here for as long as I and longer who do not wish for the forum to be sullied by typical internet behavior we’ve seen on other forums. Let us rise above the internet and petty behavior and be friendly or at least agree to disagree and if you can’t do that then hopefully swift action will be taken by the moderators.
I believe heated debates should take place! Here! Here were we can openly referee them for each other. The moderators here are amazing people and are worthy of many conversations. We can parent the minds of the children, only as our minds have been raised. This call for responsibility has been duly noted. If I shall become the child I then stand to be corrected! Tally ho!
Im all for debate, heated or lukewarm, but there’s debate and then there’s just bar room brawls…
I have “Liked” both the above comments as I can see both sides. It is entirely possible to have a heated, and very useful, debate without it descending into childish name calling and abusive comments. Snuffhouse has been the most civilized and friendly forum that I have ever been part of and like @saucy_jack I would like to see it continue that way. Lets just keep it polite and respectful.
Don’t worry, we are well aware of everything going on.
Funny, I used to participate in a pipe/cigar forum, with the two sections quite distinct, although some people participated in both. It was quite clear that the pipe smokers were a friendlier, more welcoming bunch. They were always having little spats over in cigars, for some reason. I’ve always thought snuffhouse had a friendly, if somewhat eccentric, flavour. I majored in anthropology, so the diiferent cultures of the different tribes is quite interesting to me. Maybe I’ll do a dissertation on it one day. Saying that premium cigqrs weren’t worth the money was a very easy troll.
@saucy_jack , the same thing has been on my mind as well and I’m glad you brought this up. I’ve been a member here for some time, too, and I agree, I’ve never seen as much silliness and bickering here as now. An to me it looks like it’s not the old members that have lost their mind, but rather an influx of new members with some extra emotional baggage. Some new accounts have seem more like trolling attempts, rather than people actually interested in snuff discussion. They seem to know all The Secrets of Snuff after only a few months of partaking and aren’t shy to disseminate their pearls of wisdom upon us slower folks. Have some humility, ffs. I’m pleased that some of these troll/idiot accounts have been apparently erased, and I’m thankful for the mods for their hard work. I’m all for freedom of speech, but why don’t we let these truculent fools speak on some other fora.
Funny, I used to participate in pipe/cigar forum, with the two sections quite distinct, although some people participated in both. It was quite clear that the pipe smokers were a friendlier, more welcoming bunch. They were always having little spats over in cigars, for some reasn.I’ve always thought snuffhouse had a friendly, if somewhat eccentric, flavour. I majored in anthropology, so the diiferent cultures of the different tribes is quite interesting to me.
Hahaha, @JakartaBoy one word to describe us snuffers is eccentric!
I think this forum is, for the most part, excellent. Anyone indulging in trollism (if that’s a word) appears to me to be fairly efficiently weeded out. Keep up the good work moderators.
Thank you. The best advice - although I know it’s difficult to follow at times - is always ‘do not feed the troll’. If all they are after is a fight, then they will either get bored and go away or we will ban them. If, on the other hand, they are misguided/having a bad day/etc. then a little patience is often all that’s needed. Either way, it’s always good to take a pinch and count to ten before hitting the ‘send’ key…
and the snuffhouse guidelines of no poly-ticks nor religion is worthwhile keeping in mind if you are tempted to rise to the bait.
Some forums, it’s really part of the culture to be a smart arse, give newbies a hard time, sneer at stupid questions, and so on. It’s the way to win friends and brownie points. Sometimes I think some new members are just used to that way of interacting online. After a while, most people realize it’s not really what snuffhouse is about. Hmm, I’ve participated in forums on hats, travel, fountain pens, pipes, linux computers, Buddhism and Indonesian politics. Travel forums, more experienced members are often sharp with silly questions. Linux forums can be quite sharp with people who don’t educate themselves a bit first. Pipes attract people who can be a bit opinionated, but are generally cool. Hats, very friendly. Hats and fountain pens, generally good. Oddly enough, one of the nastiest and most sarcastic I’ve ever seen was one on Buddhist meditation.
I’m happy to see this thread @saucy_jack. I think a compilation of opinions on this instead of a few scattered comments will be much more of a warning/reminder to new members, like myself. I’m glad you took action. Even with these hiccups, this is still the kindest community I’ve stumbled across. Also, to all Snuffhouse members, I’m sorry for initially confronting St Pedro, and the message that came after his response. Actually, just the second, as it was most definitely somewhat emotionally charged. I’ve since done my best to keep my mouth (fingers?) from going off at any comments perceived as irrationally rude. It’s not as good as never flying off the hinges at all, but hopefully it’s a fair enough amends.
I will admit, I have fueled the flame a bit, but I do see the error of it. Nothing wrong with elevated discussion, but when it is downright flaming and trolling, it should be addressed and fixed. This isn’t a place for childish games and dunderheads. We should keep it intelligent and mind-enhancing.
Maybe tangoing should be prohibited altogether! Anything to keep Dancing with the Stars off the air. (Apologies for the off-topic humor :P)
Anyone favorable to renaming this and making it an sticky announcement? That would perhaps serve as healthy reminder of what and what not to do to new and established members alike. And if someone starts trolling or flaming, mods can direct them here in order for them to see they’re not being original at all and their attitude is almost universally despised by forum members.
I agree @MarvinLapsus Usually when I click into the General sub-forum the first thing I see is the announcements and stickies up top. So I get an idea of what is important.
I think that, for the worst cases, it will serve as a reminder of what community wants and what not in this forum. For the more benign, it will act as an outlet for frustration and a place of debate (like @Juxtaposer suggested) where unhappy members can discuss forum norms and restrictions more openly, or ask if they should take their discussions to PM realm or if they’re really of general interest for the forum. (A few name calling, completely tangential discussions could have been interrupted if someone asked the discussing parties to take it to a more private realm, IMHO).
@lunecat: I know, but those apply for most forums on the internet. In my opinion, these thread clarifies a quite different thing: here they’re not just on paper, they’re important and enforced every time, and most of us LOVE being law abiding citizens of Snuffhouse and reject non civil speech. That should make potential trolls think it twice before starting the flames, saving a lot of trouble to mods that won’t have to deal with decisions such as closing perfectly good threads just because some troll ruined them… …As I write this, I begin to think I’m being such a silly utopian! 
Some forums have an ignore feature, is it possible here? That might defuse some problems. If somebody rubs you the wrong way you can just ignore their posts and avoid arguments.