NEWS - when should a thread be a CLOSED THREAD

[vanman]

By now we all know when a news thread is going to attract the posters or is it the punters.

A murder or a rape, a car crash, a suicide will all attract big hits on Qlocal.

But do you think it is time for the news section to be split into two sections.

One closed threads and one open threads

One for serious threads, like the murders
and one for more humerus news threads like Onethespot/SFC

2 double murders in a couple of weeks

both threads left open then one had to be closed and a lot of posts removed. I presume the same will happen with the latest thread.

What do the posters think

I think threads like the murder ones should be left closed

May be the threads could be called

the News Thread and the Not So News Thread

[joan ofarc]

I can see where you are coming from but I don't think it would work...this is a forum after all, a place for discussion and debate. The threads that are the most sensitive are the ones we want to read and comment on the most. I think it is more healthy to challenge the people who make inappropriate comments or express insensitive thoughts than pretending that they are not thinking these things. How else will they know that they have said the 'wrong' thing? Each one is entitled to their own opinion but the trouble with the internet is that people can say things anonymously and if they are not challenged then they will feel validated. The 'crazies' often come out of the woodwork. Those who disagree with them should be able to explain why they think they are wrong. Maybe eventually they will get the message instead of sitting at home spewing out their bile and thinking everyone agrees with them.

[Disturbed]

They should be left open it's the mindless pricks who post in them that should be banished into oblivion

[littlemum]

I did think that some threads should be left closed, especially unexplained death and suicide as it does open up a can of worms that can be very upsetting for anyone related to the deceased.....I personally am glad that this thread was left closed as that person was my stepdad and I would have been even more distraught to have read anything negative about suicide being selfish etc.

http://www.qlocal.co.uk/southport/ne...t-51121622.htm

As Vanny points out, the recent murders are of course going to be a strong talking point for the forum members, but many of these seem to be 'lurkers' who don't really post in the forums, but as soon as a major incident happens comes along with their negative comments. I do think that if a news story is chosen to be left open by admin/mods then the comments should be moderated regularly.

[Rainmaker]

I think that the murder and rape type news items should be closed for comment. It is far to easy for someone to post without thinking about the effect their words may have on the family who are often local.

It is not enough to say delete the posts or ban the users - the damage has been done and it has technically been done by SouthportGB for leaving the thread they created open for comment... If people talk about things on seperate threads in the forum then that is a slightly different matter as the thread is out the the hands of SouthportGB unless it breaches the forum rules.

[marky]

Fully agree with Rainmaker.

The journalistic intellect required to make the decision to close news posts is sadly lacking from the people who post the majority of them. When they are closed, it's generally done so to avoid criticism of the person posting the item, not to stop posts relating to the content - in other words, for churlish reasons.

After all, page hits = money to the owners & that's the bottom line here; it's got nothing to do with respect for people, otherwise NONE of the news posts would turn into discussions. News is news - discussions about news should be on the forum. It's not difficult to grasp, but it would mean a loss of revenue so it won't happen. Sad but true.

[Smythe]

Fully agree with Rainmaker.

The journalistic intellect required to make the decision to close news posts is sadly lacking from the people who post the majority of them. When they are closed, it's generally done so to avoid criticism of the person posting the item, not to stop posts relating to the content - in other words, for churlish reasons.

After all, page hits = money to the owners & that's the bottom line here; it's got nothing to do with respect for people, otherwise NONE of the news posts would turn into discussions. News is news - discussions about news should be on the forum. It's not difficult to grasp, but it would mean a loss of revenue so it won't happen. Sad but true.

Nail on the head there Marky

[<3-LSD]

All serious Crimes, deaths, rapes should just be locked from the moment they are put on the site. much simpler than having two forums.

[Toodles McGinty]

I find it quite bizarre that a thread regarding murder, suicide or rape can be left open for the world and his wife to comment on, yet when other 'news' items, such as 'a good friend of the site has opened a new restaurant' or whatever, the thread is closed from the off.

I'd find opinions such as 'I've been to that eatery, and it is crap' far more informative than 'let's have a pop at the police' on a thread regarding the passing of someone's loved one.

[steftabron]

All serious Crimes, deaths, rapes should just be locked from the moment they are put on the site. much simpler than having two forums.

absolutely. when the news is on (local) TV they invite u to email in on certain things. Like Fred says 'where am I?'

they don't ask u to email to ask what u think about murder etc., like 'who is it and why etc etc'

keep it simple. it's not rocket science

[*concerned*]

................personally, I don't see why ANY topic should be locked to user comments !

After all, it is a local site for locals to use, read and comment on, and if a topic does get out of hand, simply delete the abusive comments and warn or ban the user(s)

[Stupot]

................personally, I don't see why ANY topic should be locked to user comments !

Sorry, but I don't agree. I've suggested at least a couple of times in recent weeks that certain news threads should be closed as a matter of common sense and decency, but it's taken a day or two for it to happen.

Some people are quite unable, it seems, to maintain a level of decency and respect when making their views known about the most serious or tragic events.

If regretfully they have to be reigned in, then so be it.

[marky]

Sorry, but I don't agree. I've suggested at least a couple of times in recent weeks that certain news threads should be closed as a matter of common sense and decency, but it's taken a day or two for it to happen.

Some people are quite unable, it seems, to maintain a level of decency and respect when making their views known about the most serious or tragic events.

If regretfully they have to be reigned in, then so be it.

No arguments from me - another nail on the head moment...

[*concerned*]

If regretfully they have to be reigned in, then so be it.

....which can be done by the mods through posting sanctions, short/long or permanent bans, no need to close the whole topic to any comments from any other users, why should a few spoil it for so many ?

[Stupot]

....which can be done by the mods through posting sanctions, short/long or permanent bans, no need to close the whole topic to any comments from any other users, why should a few spoil it for so many ?

If you read what I said again, you will note I was referring to news threads.

[seivad]

....which can be done by the mods through posting sanctions, short/long or permanent bans, no need to close the whole topic to any comments from any other users, why should a few spoil it for so many ?

It's a foregone conclusion that certain news topics always result in insensitive or inappropriate comments. It always happens, and always will. Even if they're reported, or the moderators read them and remove, there's a time lag. This results in the world and his wife quoting the inappropriate comments, meaning that when the original comments are removed, we then have to remove all of the comments quoting them. The whole process is extremely time consuming.

From the family and friends perspective, read Littlemum's post. They are the ones we should consider, and not strangers sat at a keyboard wanting to have their 2 cents worth. They should always be closed to comment.

[*concerned*]

....easily solved seivad, disable the quote function in the news section

Also, who is to decide which topics are 'allowed' to be commented on, ideally it should be all or none, otherwise it seems to depend on what mood the mod is in that day, or which mod is about at the time

Edited to add this snippet from Steve :

The sad double murder story has already had over 22,500 views after going up 10pm last night

IF comments were not allowed then that topic would not have been so popular (for popular think of traffic to this website) also as I have just read, it seems that the suspect for this double murder is an acquaintance of Barry Morrow - without comments that would not have been made know, assuming they are correct in their quotes from the QLocal court reports ?

[caveywavey]

why should a few spoil it for so many?

But that's exactly what they do. It is always the most sensitive news stories that attract the most insensitive comments and I don't see how anyone benefits from reading some idiot's crass remarks, least of all, the people who are directly affected by such tragedies. Not only is it upsetting and pointless, as Sandy quite rightly points out, it can take some time before certain posts are picked up on and deleted, and usually after too many have read what was written. This also creates more unnecessary work for the mods.

It makes common sense to close certain threads, however, I do often wonder how certain decisions are arrived at on this site. As Toodles has pointed out, why are threads on murders, suicide or rape left open to comment, whilst others covering relatively minor subjects are closed to comment?

[*concerned*]

As Toodles has pointed out, why are threads on murders, suicide or rape left open to comment, whilst others covering relatively minor subjects are closed to comment?

Which really is my point - who decides on what basis to open or close a topic to comments, at the moment it seems to be an arbitrary decision dependent on which mod is 'about'

[caveywavey]

Which really is my point - who decides on what basis to open or close a topic to comments, at the moment it seems to be an arbitrary decision dependent on which mod is 'about'

I see that there are only five listed and think, of those, I could safely discount three. However, I think some of the decisions made are done from behind the scenes.

[Rainmaker]

Which really is my point - who decides on what basis to open or close a topic to comments, at the moment it seems to be an arbitrary decision dependent on which mod is 'about'

Actually I don't think this is rocket science. An editor of a newspaper or any semi-journalistic medium has to make decisions on what is included in their reports. This is much much easier. All SouthportGB needs to do is have an opt out policy for murder, rape etc where the admin has to get special permission to leave it open for comment as the default position is 'closed'.

Simples.

[seivad]

....easily solved seivad, disable the quote function in the news section

The quote function is relatively new. Prior to that, those who knew how used HTML. Those who didn't, simply copied the posts and then replied to them.

Also, who is to decide which topics are 'allowed' to be commented on, ideally it should be all or none, otherwise it seems to depend on what mood the mod is in that day, or which mod is about at the time

It's got zero to do with the mods. Try pointing your finger at the person who starts the thread on the news forum. They're all men, so they're moody most of the time!

IF comments were not allowed then that topic would not have been so popular (for popular think of traffic to this website) also as I have just read, it seems that the suspect for this double murder is an acquaintance of Barry Morrow - without comments that would not have been made know, assuming they are correct in their quotes from the QLocal court reports ?

I sincerely doubt that the inability to make comments on certain news items would result in decreased traffic. How many comments are there on that thread? 92. I'll guess that about 10 have been removed, so let's make it around 100. Do you know how many people were online, and reading that thread when I checked earlier today? Almost 3,000. So that kicks that theory out of the door!

Regarding Barry Morrow, I'm sure that the police are already aware of the connection.

[Ceam]

Just sent roving-eye a PM, I hope he acts on it. I'm feeling really angry about how this is being dealt with.
Come over as being more interested in hits that the thoughts and feelings of others. Shameful.

[Alikado]

In my opinion all 'News' threads should be automatically locked and only updated by 'Management', threads will appear very quickly in the open forum when a 'Newsworthy' item appears. In my opinion it detracts from the integrity of the site when a 'Bun Fight' suddenly appears after half a dozen posts, leave that for the open forum.

[*concerned*]

and reading that thread when I checked earlier today? Almost 3,000. So that kicks that theory out of the door!.

Actually, no it doesn't, maybe 'controversial comments made increased readers interest ?

Regarding Barry Morrow, I'm sure that the police are already aware of the connection.

Yes, of course, but without the forum comments I and many others would probably never have been aware of the connection - which was the point I was making.

[Ceam]

Yes, of course, but without the forum comments I and many others would probably never have been aware of the connection - which was the point I was making.

Well TBH its F-all to do with us, Just let the police get on with their job, Find the right man and lock him up for a long time.
Just been told they won't be closing the thread. So I guess hit's on the site are more important that what is morally right.

[*concerned*]

Just been told they won't be closing the thread. So I guess hit's on the site are more important that what is morally right.

As distasteful as it seems, yes, this website is a commercial enterprise not a local notice board, so news items like this one are a 'bonus' to the site, and can only boost its traffic - which is what the site tries very hard to do.

[marky]

Just been told they won't be closing the thread. So I guess hit's on the site are more important that what is morally right.

Jeez - has that little nugget only just registered with you?

Why let things like morality, ethics and a sense of community spirit get in the way of money - which is what it's all about on here to those who make the decisions (& always has been).

In the words of Jeggsy Dodd: Wake up & smell the offy

[snazzycracker]

I am pretty sure if an option to vote for leaving a thread open or closed was introduced,the majority would stay open.
I used to be on another forum that had this option (admittedly not a news one) but sometimes it was abused by the petty minded groups that always stuck together and voted together to remove things they did not like.