Why not leave it as it is and rely on a mod, whoever is on duty to simply delete an unsuitable post ?
Because Cat and James have full time jobs and it is a total PITA having to do this!
Seriously people lets just give it a go, it is only ever going to be one or two active threads at any time!
Honestly Iām feeling like Iām in an episode of Grumpy Old Men / Women!!! Take a chill pill people! 
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I think a mass hand out of chill pills is in order. There seems to be an increasing number of snarky / snidey posts being made. Certain people keep popping up on my radar and whilst I totally get it that a year long pandemic is getting to everyone, I think people need to get away from their keyboards and go and get some fresh air!
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The answer is that you probably canāt, nor can you stop lounge members from editing the thread titles1, as now shown above (apart from the fact that it seemed appropriate I just wanted to check if it were possible).
Does it need running past the team though? As long as it is used in moderation it should be OK - but we do need to be clear that thread drift is generally allowed and few threads should be so marked.
1] Well, you can - by removing the privilege globally.
My gut feeling is yes as I want these posts to be an exception rather than the ruleā¦
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So what happens if an āundesirableā post is seen on a flagged post ?
Not about grumpy old men at all, Iām just an argumentative old git.
You see, I enjoy giving an opinion on most topics serious or not but also rƩalise that sometimes some humour can help to lighten the mood when opinions differ and tempers start to fray.
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Thatās actually the point though Peter and sorry to labour the pointā¦ the concept is that these topics are set aside from others specifically to be informative and devoid of āchit chatā - thus focused on the issue and factual rather than being an invitation to comment. If someone wants to āchit chatā and lighten the mood, surely they can do that in another (perhaps their own) thread as @anon88169868 so righly comments.
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Is its āethosā, the āoriginal oneā that you like, cast in bronze? Has it not evolved, with threads of varying degrees of gravity, from the Vaccination Programme to outright jesting?
Is it not worth making it clear that some topics are on the forum to be approached in a serious manner and the discussion limited to the subject?
I think so
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No it does not only aid your cause. There is no need to be rude or so personal to John or myself.
By the way I feel far from being an āold stagerā, which nomenclature I resent.
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Iām actually quite amazed at the amount of angst this simple and sensible suggestion has drummed up.
@Tech guru, I would suggest that you just go ahead with it - is it worth all the discussion and going around in circles, especially when polarised views are starting to appear. People can either take it or leave itā¦
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I think the bottom line is that the majority of us are āold timersā.
No āangstā from me Yogesh, just giving an opinion thatās all. Surely you donāt want members to be gagged because they donāt agree with something ?
As I said I believe such a change is unnecessary but hey, I will go with the flow.
Its not my decision to make - Itās @cat and @james who will decide but thanks for your confidence.
FFS Peter, no-one is gagging anyone, please get that out of your mind. @cat has already responded to that claim many, many times on this issue. If someone disagrees with something posted in such a thread, it is perfectly open to them to start their own one and as for content @Dan_Wood has already very kindly offered to fact check any content to ensure accuracy.
I really donāt see where the small amount of resistance arises from or why it does when so many assurances have already been given by Cat and James.
Itās not even āresistanceā Graham, just others giving an opinion which is different to proposals made.
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conceded Peterā¦ I just trust that those expressing a difference to the proposal wonāt try their hand at causing issues if the scheme goes ahead.
Iām going to plead the Fifth one this otherwise Iāll get bannedā¦
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I doubt that, opinions were asked for and thatās what has been given, at the end of the day on review itās up to cat and James what happens on the site.
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Well thatās me told!
In other words a gagging order.
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First off, apologies for not getting involved with this sooner, Iāve been busy with other things.
To summarise as far as I understand it;
@graham has identified an issue wherby some topics which contain important factual information can be diluted/diverted by off topic comments. This is not normally an issue but in certain circumstances it may be beneficial to the community and external visitors if certain threads stuck to the point.
The suggested solution is to add an icon before the topic title to encourage comments related to the OP. These particular topics will be vetted by myself or Catharine before they can be flagged in this way.
Is this accurate or have I missed anything?
Thanks @graham for the suggestion, anything we can do to improve the quality of discussion is to be applauded.
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