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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #20 on: May 24, 2018, 02:03:24 AM »
1) And what do you hope to achieve?

2) Supposing your poll comes back with plenty of people willing to argue in favour of FET, do you think they will on a regular basis after the novelty wears off,

3) and do you think they'll be any good at it at? Enough to hold the interest of the REr.

4) Also, does transparently turning The World Famous Flat Earth Society into a debate club, not destroy its value? A bunch of people arguing for the sake of arguing without offering anything unique?

I hope to achieve a growing, self sustaining, movement.

Right now of the most ardent Round Earth proponents on the forum is Max. I've abused Max pretty thoroughly on the forums lately to the point where he is now just spamming random stuff from MetaBunk, and even he thinks that arguing in favor of Flat Earth is good fun:

I've argued in favour of a flat earth in real life, and it's pretty good fun.

...

So though I'm tempted to say "yes", given that I would expect good questions to be asked here, I'm gonna have to go with "no".

Voted "no" out of spite, perhaps.

His words, however, admits the notion that many of these guys are easily flipped to argue with us. He is a MetaBunk anti-FE debunker on the MetaBunk website and, still, he admits to arguing in favor of an FE. They just need the right culture. The current culture is "debate the experts who know that the earth is flat," which causes instant aggression similar to a UFO forum with the message of "debate the experts who know that aliens have visited earth" would. That is the only problem. "Have good fun here considering on the possibility of aliens" would be a great alternative to that. It is more interesting to see what people have to say, and welcomes one to join in. It's a common platform for discussion, not a preaching one.

If some people are having fun with it, why not let them have a lot of fun arguing and coming up with creative arguments, which we can put to good use in our Wiki? Our current Wiki is nearly all a result of the anti-FE forum debates. We need iron to sharpen iron.

Bobby is so into the topic that he sometimes even argues against himself, posting good content points we can use in the future in Wikis and such.

9 out of 10 registered a month ago and already he's posting pro FE threads which supports Dr. Rowbotham's ideas.

CuriousSquirrel seems to bounce back and fourth between posting pro or anti FE.

All of the above posters are RE'ers, but they are posting in favor of FE for the fun of it. Some of those people will be so encouraged by their results that they will want to get more into it, some eventually becoming real FE'ers.

I will let you in on something. This is such an interesting topic that people want the earth to be flat. We just need to allow them a path for growth. This is how we generate a movement.

The concept is open to debators of all skill levels. Some will be poor debaters and automatically jump to "it's fake." Others will try to explain the phenomenon or muddy the waters. There already is a question if anyone "really" believes in Flat Earth, and that notion will continue whether we turn our forums into debate clubs or not. It does not degrade our value at all.

I have provided a path to real growth of the movement, and this is a far grander plan than an attempt to eliminate all debate against FE. It turns a pain in our side into a tool for growth. You should join me in this effort.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 06:10:55 PM by Tom Bishop »

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Offline Bobby Shafto

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #21 on: May 24, 2018, 05:08:30 AM »
Bobby is so into the topic that he sometimes even argues against himself, posting good content points we can use in the future in Wikis and such...
All of the above posters are RE'ers, but they are posting in favor of FE for the fun of it. Some of those people will be so encouraged by their results that they will want to get more into it, some eventually becoming real FE'ers.

I will let you in on something. This is such an interesting topic that people want the earth to be flat. We just need to allow them a path for growth. This is how we generate a movement...

I'd like to provide some insight, about me, at least.

I do consider this "fun," but not in the sense a troll would. I consider debate not a way to win an argument, but a way to learn. It forces me to evaluate my position, to understand why I think, believe or believe I know what I do. It doesn't mean I can be won over, necessarily. But it's always healthy to flex yourself, test, and examine what your basis for beliefs or reasonings are.

For instance, I'm an evangelical Christian. That doesn't mean fundamentalist, though my congregation is.  One of the most healthy and growth-oriented bible study sessions I've ever had was with a Jehovah's Witness. No one else in my church would consider such a thing. But instead of being threatened or combative, he and I walked through "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" and it forced me to consider what I believe and why. It had the contrary effect on me than one might expect. It didn't convert me. It didn't make me angry. Rather, the strength of my understanding of orthodox Christianity grew and I felt better prepared as a result. And what was best was that even though he and I never came to an agreement, we became friends.

It drives my wife and kids crazy, but I do like to take contrary positions, not to be annoying but to press people (and myself) into thinking through why they hold to a conviction or believe something to be true. Doing it is a challenge, because you have to present a credible argument in order to generate a credible response. And sometimes the exercise does make me reconsider my stance. Frankly, that's what I thought this Flat Earth trend was about. Was FEism just something to goad people into doing some critical thinking? I wasn't even aware of it until Kyrie Irving (NBA basketball star) revealed he considered some of the notions worth considering. Then, it seemed to be popping up in places or with people, unexpected. I was intrigued, not by the notion that the world could be flat, but by what is it that convinces some people to entertain the idea? What did some people find so compelling.

Never say never, they say, but I'll never be swayed. I'm more likely to be suspicious that we're living inside a "Matrix" than a flat earth has been hidden from me. The phenomenon I can witness, the details of my work with satellites and my career in naval aviation just make a flat earth an impossibility. But I do like the challenge of trying to defend it and to understand the counter proposition.

So, having said that, it may explain why I might seem to "argue with myself." I'm not hostile to flat earth. I've read a few screeds that make it sound like flat earthism is a threat and that we shouldn't entertain dialogue with flat earthers because it gives you the notice and publicity that you want. I don't buy that. Flat earth isn't a threat to me (as long as you're not sabotaging my work or threatening me in real ways.)  When I engage, I try to be fair. I don't argue to win at all costs. If I see a chink in my reasoning or logic or evidence, I'll reveal it myself even if my opponent didn't see it. If I see a "round earth" argument that isn't sound when trying to ally with me, I may remark or critique it if I want to remain segregated from it. (Likewise, I disagree fundamentally with argumentum ad hominen, which is a too-often emotional reaction.  I do, however, tend toward cheekiness at times, which I've had to learn to control on these fora since the moderation is quite strict.)

I'm probably rambling, but I just wanted to give you one Globe Advocate's perspective, which may not be typical. I can already feel my interest in this subject waning, so it's possible I may not even be logging in come a few weeks or months time. A "Debate Club" concept could light a spark. I encourage it, not because I'd like to see Flat Earth find "evangelical" success in promoting FE, but because I'd like to see folks stretch their minds. I used to participate on TheologyWeb. This Debate Club idea reminds me of that. (Not sure if it's still what it was 15 years ago.)

Thanks for listening. Hope this helps.

/Bob
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 05:11:25 AM by Bobby Shafto »

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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #22 on: May 24, 2018, 09:12:14 AM »
Thork, Pete, something important: Are you suggesting to take away the user's ability to debate against FET?
No, I want to change our focus. It's not a binary decision between allowing it and banning it. Currently, we encourage it too much, and I felt that your proposal carried the same problem. Hence my insistence on pushing the appropriate board down to the third position.

I am absolutely not interested in the Dubay model of "if you disagree, you get the boot." And I'm sure we'll continue getting droves of RE'ers asking the same questions (though I would suggest we might want to consider a restriction on RE'ers "answering" FE questions by just regurgitating RE mantra).

Tom, would dropping "Society" from "Flat Earth Investigations" alleviate your worries a bit?
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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #23 on: May 24, 2018, 02:53:06 PM »
Thanks for the comments, Bobby.

Thork, Pete, something important: Are you suggesting to take away the user's ability to debate against FET?
No, I want to change our focus. It's not a binary decision between allowing it and banning it. Currently, we encourage it too much, and I felt that your proposal carried the same problem. Hence my insistence on pushing the appropriate board down to the third position.

But that is not what everyone agreed upon. The concept of the parent post was that it was better if the current top level Flat Earth debate and discussion forums were debate clubs.

Then, after everyone agreed on that, and we were considering the board changes, there were efforts to add on to that movement to either disallow Flat Earth debate altogether or disenfranchise it.

That seems out of scope to the agreement. Thork has different ideas than you on what debate should look like. I have different ideas. I am sure that others have different ideas as well. Even when legislation is passed in the United States Congress, changes after the fact are pushed back for Congress for debate and discussion when someone tries adding significant changes at the end.

Why not just add the headers to the top level forums first, so as not to cause a gridlock, and then we can all talk about significant scope changes and resolve the best way for disenfranchisement of Flat Earth Debate and the new focus for the entire forum, if that is indeed the best path forward? As it is, I feel that some are trying to squeek in significant add ons.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 06:16:52 PM by Tom Bishop »

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #24 on: May 24, 2018, 03:15:20 PM »
Why not just add the headers to the top level forums first, so as not to cause a gridlock, and then we can all talk about significant scope changes and resolve the best way for disenfranchisement of Flat Earth Debate, if that is indeed the best path forward? As it is, I feel that some are trying to squeek in significant add ons.

Agreed. Assuming the admins don't mind doing it in two bits.

So what we have agreed. Please check.

4) Merge ENaG Workshop and Zetetic Council and rename to Flat Earth Community A place for the society to collaborate on new projects, improvements and content for Flat Earth Theory.
2) Rename the Information Repository to Flat Earth Media For discussing Flat Earth articles, youtube videos, books, interviews and social media.
3) Merge FE debate and FE Q&A and rename Flat Earth Theory A place to examine the Flat Earth Theory.

Now pending the final name and description (we could change later)
1) Rename FE General to Flat Earth Investigations Investigate authoritative claims on any topic. Question our institutions and challenge conventional wisdom.

The specifics of what we use the boards for are then up to us. If we want to just hand info in board 3, we can do that. If we want to argue the toss over the Bedford Level experiment we can do that. Board one (now more flexible) can be used for discussing all kinds of things, including specifically challenging RET if you want.

Now no one is committed to anything, but both views can persist. We can then see what is more effective without having changed the society into a debate club or changed it into an information source either. It is a step to something, what that is we are still free to deliberate and push towards in a second iteration.
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #25 on: May 24, 2018, 03:23:16 PM »
But that is not what everyone agreed upon.
I am no longer convinced that everyone agreed upon anything. Communications must have broken down at some point, and a misunderstanding led us to believing that each of us is supporting a different proposal.

I agreed with Thork's proposal of a focus change, and with moving away from this being a "grill the FE experts" forum. That was the selling point that got me on board with considering this. If you now want to take it out of the deal, then I'm not particularly interested.

Now, I was under the impression that you were also on board with that. I interpreted your words to that effect when you said things like: We know what the problem is. The problem is the "debate the experts" theme, I like the investigations forum idea, or They should not be expecting to come and engage in a debate against us at all, or have the faintest idea in their mind that we are asking them to do that. We need to move away from the "we are the experts, debate us" theme. It was this fundamental choice of direction that I agreed with, and which I still support.

Lets just add the headers to the top level forums first, so as not to cause a gridlock
Which headers are you referring to?
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #26 on: May 24, 2018, 03:27:23 PM »
4) Merge ENaG Workshop and Zetetic Council and rename to Flat Earth Community A place for the society to collaborate on new projects, improvements and content for Flat Earth Theory.
Yes, the longer I'm reading this the more convinced I am that you've completely lost me. Flat Earth Community was supposed to be the new FEG - a discussion of community aspects that don't directly relate to FET. ENaG Workshop might arguably believe there, but ZC completely does not. And why is FEG going anywhere else than its successor?
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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #27 on: May 24, 2018, 03:55:29 PM »
4) Merge ENaG Workshop and Zetetic Council and rename to Flat Earth Community A place for the society to collaborate on new projects, improvements and content for Flat Earth Theory.
Yes, the longer I'm reading this the more convinced I am that you've completely lost me. Flat Earth Community was supposed to be the new FEG - a discussion of community aspects that don't directly relate to FET. ENaG Workshop might arguably believe there, but ZC completely does not. And why is FEG going anywhere else than its successor?
Nah, you're just mixing the titles up.

The community board was a place to discuss community projects from the outset. That's what the ENaG Workshop and the ZC were supposed to do anyway. Sort community projects.

FEG is something else. Currently it is the 'conspiracy' board and the one I suggested changing to a debate anything board. IE bung moon hoaxes in there etc. Tom's challenge to authority board.

ZC and ENaG have always been low traffic boards so sticking them together and giving them a new community purpose seemed sensible. We don't use them at present. But they have threads about the wiki and stuff in them and to my mind, that's community projects.
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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #28 on: May 24, 2018, 05:04:49 PM »
Lets just add the headers to the top level forums first, so as not to cause a gridlock
Which headers are you referring to?

I am referring to the headers that execute the Debate Club idea:

From the original thread:

Quote
When users visit the forum, I propose that they arrive under the impression that they are participating in a debate club of sorts, with instructions that may choose to debate in favor of FE, or in favor of RE. The discussions will contribute to the overall quality of the movement. Perhaps a header message can be implemented that clearly describes this.

And I gave an example as such:

    Welcome to the Debate Club

    The top level Flat Earth Discussion Forums are a Debate Club. As in any debate club, the goal is to exercise your ability in debate to poke holes in arguments and expose weaknesses, even if you do not believe in that position yourself. Keep in mind that this is a friendly debate. Post in the Flat Earth Debate Club and join the fun!

Turning the current top level Flat Earth discussions into a Debate Club was the original idea. And there was nary a dissenting opinion. The only argument in there was from a person who started with "I agree," and continued with "but you guys will really need to step it up..." All of the long time posters who appeared gave positive reviews. So lets just do that. Start the Debate Club.

If we jumped the gun and turned it all into a major conspiracy forum, or disenfranchised Flat Earth debate, or turned it into a place where any Flat Earth discussion was just a place where we handed out links and information, or very significantly refocused the discussion, that is a serious modification to the basic concept, and a serious change to the the forums. We should have wider buy-in for that. I do like a lot of the ideas, and will be willing to agree with with Thork and you on many subjects, but we can't just tack on such serious changes to the end of a project after we were able to get buy-in on something.

I do like Thork's last idea for renaming and general purposing of the forums:

Quote
4) Merge ENaG Workshop and Zetetic Council and rename to Flat Earth Community A place for the society to collaborate on new projects, improvements and content for Flat Earth Theory.
2) Rename the Information Repository to Flat Earth Media For discussing Flat Earth articles, youtube videos, books, interviews and social media.
3) Merge FE debate and FE Q&A and rename Flat Earth Theory A place to examine the Flat Earth Theory.

Now pending the final name and description (we could change later)
1) Rename FE General to Flat Earth Investigations Investigate authoritative claims on any topic. Question our institutions and challenge conventional wisdom.

With the exception that the Earth Not a Globe Book forum should be a sub forum or separate forum, this is a great compromise. I like the words used. We aren't changing the main formula too much, just generalizing some concepts.

With the generalized name changes Thork has suggested, we have full agreement with me on the matter.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 06:22:43 PM by Tom Bishop »

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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #29 on: May 24, 2018, 05:14:57 PM »
With the exception that the Earth Not a Globe Book forum should be a sub forum or separate forum, this is a great compromise.
Really? There is only one thread that has been posted in, in the last 5 months. It doesn't need a separate forum to my mind. And it won't be buried as ZC isn't high traffic either. I wanted to make some of these ghostly boards seem at least a little more active. ZC hasn't had a post in it for 2 years! So the thread you are using for ENaG will be right at the top anyhow. Its not busy enough to need a sub forum, nothing will be buried. There aren't lots of community programs running. ENaG is a community project. Stick em together and lets reduce the clutter.

I'm more opening up the ENaG forum for more uses (barely used) and just finding a home for the old ZC posts. ZC is long dead.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 05:17:04 PM by Baby Thork »
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #30 on: May 24, 2018, 05:59:37 PM »
FEG is something else. Currently it is the 'conspiracy' board
That's not what it's supposed to be, as I already explained - the problem is that people are misusing it, and we were originally aiming to fix that as part of this restructure.

FEG, by design (and by explicitly stated description as of right now) is for subjects that relate to the Flat Earth Society/community, but not to FET itself. Space conspiracy topics happen to be a common subject, but it's not the only one by far. We need a place for discussions like "are FE'ers religious?" or "do they exist in <region of the world>?", and that's exactly what FEG is designed to do. This is why I opposed to Flat Earth Media, and suggested Flat Earth Community. I'm not sure why they suddenly got split into separate things, but we are now once again missing that essential area.

we can't just tack on such serious changes to the end of a project after we were able to get buy-in on something.
I've ignored this accusation the first time around. This time I'll politely ask you to stop making it. From my perspective, it seems like it is you who's changing things last-minute, erasing every bit of the proposal that originally had me supporting it (or buy in, as you termed it) in favour of the bits I was willing to ignore as long as we achieve the rest.

I'm willing to put it down to miscommunication - as I'm sure we both have only the best intentions and simply misunderstood one another's priorities - and I'm willing to try and find common ground, but this has to be a bilateral process.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 06:35:31 PM by Pete Svarrior »
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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #31 on: May 24, 2018, 07:06:36 PM »
Yes, there was miscommunication. I do only have the best intentions. I was mostly talking in general to you, Thork, and the audience, on the matter of a large and concerted attempt to eliminate or disenfranchise FE discussion. I don't think you want to do that, and I think Thork is more on board now. I do enjoy Thork's last proposal. He has my support on his steps of renaming and merging. Rename of FEG to Flat Earth Investigations and the specific actions and texts he envisions sounds great.

We can always adjust later, as Thork says.

This thread was mainly for the Technical Forums. Unless there are some major issues, I think that we may be at a point to where we can start talking about the community/lower forums. I will start another thread on the community forums. The multi-use of the community forums, for also being a place where people come ask us questions like "Are FE'ers religious?" sounds like a good idea.

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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #32 on: May 24, 2018, 07:24:01 PM »
All of my contentions are to do with the upper fora, of which FEG is one (and should remain one, under a new name and description)

The current description of FEG is not at all a subset of the proposed FEI. I do not understand at all why you'd like to merge in hundreds of irrelevant threads into this new board.
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #33 on: May 24, 2018, 07:30:58 PM »
This is going in circles, and I'm part of the problem.

Give me a day to formulate a coherent counter-proposal. I think I see a way to resolve this, but it's just not something I want to try and describe whilst mobile. If my proposal is rejected, I'll step back and help with the implementation.
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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #34 on: May 24, 2018, 07:56:01 PM »
I'm at the point where I have given my suggestions.

I don't like the current structure. If you change it to something else I don't like, it isn't going to worry me.
To reiterate,
  • I feel there are too many non-used boards and merging some might make the boards seem more alive and reduce clutter.
  • I'd like more freedom in the upper fora as personally I've had every conversation that could be had under the current rules. I also feel that would bring in more users.
  • I'm not confident getting RErs to argue FE is wise or practical ... but that's just an opinion; I have no way to quantify that.

I will optimistically look forward to the changes when you agree amongst yourselves.

All of my contentions are to do with the upper fora, of which FEG is one (and should remain one, under a new name and description)

The current description of FEG is not at all a subset of the proposed FEI. I do not understand at all why you'd like to merge in hundreds of irrelevant threads into this new board.
At no point have I ever suggested merging anything into FEG. I only suggested renaming it to allow broader topics.

FEG is something else. Currently it is the 'conspiracy' board
That's not what it's supposed to be, as I already explained - the problem is that people are misusing it, and we were originally aiming to fix that as part of this restructure.
And that's exactly what renaming was supposed to do. Only I felt that 'conspiracy' is pretty woolly anyway and extending to moon deniers, chem trail fanatics and 911 hunters is really an extension of the same thing anyway.

FEG, by design (and by explicitly stated description as of right now) is for subjects that relate to the Flat Earth Society/community, but not to FET itself.
Which is why I picked it out as the board for Tom's FE investigations Status quo or whatever it gets named.

Space conspiracy topics happen to be a common subject, but it's not the only one by far. We need a place for discussions like "are FE'ers religious?" or "do they exist in <region of the world>?", and that's exactly what FEG is designed to do. This is why I opposed to Flat Earth Media, and suggested Flat Earth Community. I'm not sure why they suddenly got split into separate things, but we are now once again missing that essential area.
I kind of figured they'd end up in the new FET board as we answer people's questions about the society. ???

Anyhoo, yeah, you have my thoughts.
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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #35 on: May 25, 2018, 02:42:10 AM »
Lets be happy about what we have discussed and strategized. We got in many good ideas.

I understand that there is jadedness after sitting here for years, and on the other site, looking at the state of the discussions; but that jadedness is tainted because the original formula was not a winning one.

I think we have reached a pretty good and fair compromise on this. We will wait for Pete to respond on his particular concerns with forum merging and old threads.
« Last Edit: May 25, 2018, 04:02:00 AM by Tom Bishop »

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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #36 on: May 25, 2018, 05:26:08 PM »
Okay, here are my issues/suggestions for the current implementation.

  • Flat Earth Community - I feel that we slightly missed the point of that one. Collaborating on "projects" is a nice idea, but in practice I strongly suspect it will end up being the new ENaG Workshop. As such, I don't think it should be the #1 forum. I also dislike the name, because I suggested a different board with the exact same name, and we're currently missing a good equivalent.
  • We still do not have a good replacement/successor for Flat Earth General. This board is essential, even if currently widely misused (that's something I'm working on from a moderation standpoint). We need a board for topics like "Do Flat Earthers believe in climate change?" or "Are they generally religious?" It doesn't belong with other FET subjects, but I strongly believe it is a core function of the Society to try and document these sort of issues. To me, subjects about the community should live in Flat Earth Community. This board would also naturally include any media coverage, rendering Flat Earth Media redundant.
  • Flat Earth Theory and Flat Earth Investigations are spot-on. I'm generalising for brevity, but I think the separation between "anti-RET" and "anti-FET" boards will be a very productive addition

I believe that the changes I'm suggesting are relatively minor, but please correct me if you see any massive negatives. It's just an attempt at re-organising things in a slightly neater manner, and at ensuring that we do not lose the array of subjects that FEG currently allows in the upper.

My final proposal would be something along these lines:

4) Merge ENaG Workshop and Zetetic Council and rename to Flat Earth Projects [name to be discussed] A place for the society [and other individuals] to collaborate on new projects, improvements and content for Flat Earth Theory.
2) Rename the Flat Earth General to Flat Earth Community For discussing subjects concerning the Flat Earth community as a whole, as well as Flat Earth articles, youtube videos, books, interviews and social media.
3) Merge FE debate, FE Q&A and FE Information Reporistory* and rename Flat Earth Theory A place to examine the Flat Earth Theory.

Now pending the final name and description (we could change later)
1) Create Flat Earth Investigations Investigate authoritative claims on any topic. Question our institutions and challenge conventional wisdom.

Here's why I believe this would work better:
  • It would be very difficult to isolate threads that should live in Flat Earth Investigations without importing a whole boatload of threads that don't belong there. I'll be happy to try and fish some out manually, but I don't think moving an existing board in there piecemeal makes sense. I would consider it a priority that FEI is strictly a "challenging the mainstream" board, and not noobs going "if the Earth is flat then why <x>?", and currently every board is littered with these.
  • I do not believe we need a separate board for media and community matters, and the two largely overlap (most community discussions will begin because of some media outlet saying something). However, we should be flexible enough to allow both to take place. It also makes sense to me that community subjects would be called "community". We could throw in "& Media" if you prefer
  • If you want a board to discuss projects, why call it anything else than "projects"? In five years' time people will have forgotten what the intention was, and unless the board name is intuitive, we'll end up in the same mess as we did with FEG now. That way we can also easily make ENaG workshop a sub-board if Tom intends on carrying on with it - and any other major projects can have their subboards if these ever come to life.

I hope this is acceptable. Let me know what you think.
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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #37 on: May 26, 2018, 01:27:08 AM »
    I'm going to disagree on one point.

3) Merge FE debate, FE Q&A and FE Information Reporistory* and rename Flat Earth Theory A place to examine the Flat Earth Theory.
  • I do not believe we need a separate board for media and community matters, and the two largely overlap (most community discussions will begin because of some media outlet saying something). However, we should be flexible enough to allow both to take place. It also makes sense to me that community subjects would be called "community". We could throw in "& Media" if you prefer
I do believe we need a repository of some kind (that could be mixed with media). The repository is very handy for dumping something you find. So Let's say I find something like ... well I remember the first time I found Rowbotham's gravestone. On it was his title 'dr'. Something that was always getting disputed before that. Its nice to be able to drop a source in a place with no justification. I don't need to make a thread, I don't need to discuss the relevance, I can just drop a flat earth article or trinket of some sort on the forum, that I may use later, or that someone else might read for interests sake. Maybe a link to a Voliva's leaflet, or an image of Lady Blount's mansion. Maybe just a flat earth map that is different and cool. And I just want it in a searchable place. I know we have 'search' but you type in 'flat earth map' and you aren't going to find the one you saved on this forum.

It isn't a high traffic forum by any means, but it is helpful and I do use the repository for digging out things now and again, although I should use it more. To my mind it should have been merged with the FE media, as you can then just dump tweets and stuff in there too and if people want to discuss they can. But the instant you merge with FE Debate and FE Q&A anything you wanted to save is going to be buried.

I know this isn't helping, but even with tweets, if you want an Elon Musk tweet 6 months later for a rebuttal and its somewhere 19 pages deep under FE debate, that's lost. I like a quick drop dumping ground for source materials.
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #38 on: May 26, 2018, 08:09:50 AM »
I see your point. We could still have a media dumping ground as a sub-board of my version of FE Community (& Media), perhaps? It could still be called Flat Earth Information Repository.

That way you can choose between making a thread to discuss a piece of media, or just dumping it for future reference. That way, if a media dump thread evolves into a discussion, there's an obvious place to move it, too
« Last Edit: May 26, 2018, 08:11:33 AM by Pete Svarrior »
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Offline Dr David Thork

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Re: Debate Club: Technical Forums Execution
« Reply #39 on: May 26, 2018, 11:42:16 AM »
No further questions, Your Honour.


Actually, whilst we are on this ... I am a little nervous of a photobucket scenario playing out over the internet again. Should tinypic do the same, all my image would go too.

Out of scope, but has there ever been any thought to hosting out own images allowing users upload? If that is too scary regarding potential size, maybe we could just host the images we use again and again in a kind of library ... but out of scope for now.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2018, 11:45:01 AM by Baby Thork »
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