What's the smokey backroom?

August 15, 2002

[Dog Gone]

Where did this forum come from? I've done a search on Smokey, and Backroom, and I'm puzzled. What's the purpose, and what stuff gets posted here?

[Dog Gone]

Ah, I see the only topic is HEATED DISCUSSION, so I guess you should flame me for this, LOL

[Dakmar]

How's that for a flame?

[Maedhros]

I posted a similar thread asking the same question. It seems like this forum is mainly designed for mods to move popular threads to in order to keep them at the top of the screen.

[Dog Gone]

Toasty.

Oops, I mean HOW DARE YOU POST A PHOTO LIKE THAT?

Just trying to make sure this thread stays on topic

[Dog Gone]

I'm guessing it's for threads where tempers flare and posts would otherwise dominate the other forum. Just a guess. We do deserve an explanation, or it won't be used properly or maybe at all.

[John Robinson]

Jim posted a message to the moderators,

Mods: The Smokey Backroom is here. This forum is setup for those who want a little more heated debate. I'm recommending that we allow a little more rule bending here. We don't want the racist stuff or the propaganda, but we can allow the people to let their hair down a bit. Spitting, biting, hair pulling and cursing allowed as long as they don't go to extremes.

I'm thinking we can also move out of control flamewar threads to this forum rather than deleting them.

Forum internal name: backroom
Topic: heated.

Jim

Reported by Jim Robinson on 2002-08-15 13:48:35

[Dog Gone]

Woo Hoo! I win a prize!

Actually, I think this is a darn good idea, John. This forum improves constantly. Remember all the complaints when we switched to the new format?

Everyone would scream if we went back now!

[Dakmar]

Cool, can I ask, for instance, how many other FReepers dislike VA_Advogado?

[Jim Robinson]

The Smokey Backroom is an enter at your own risk forum. We're going to relax the rules a bit here, as far as heated debate is concerned. This is where you can roll around in the mud and the blood and the beer, so to speak. And if someone gets a piece of his ear bitten off and lets out a curse word or two, he probably won't get banned (as long as he doesn't make a habit of going overboard).

In other words, some of the rules may be loosened up a bit in this forum. But not the rules against racism, or leftist propaganda, etc. That kind of stuff is still not welcome on FR. If a flamewar breaks out on FR, we may ask the flamers to take it to the backroom.

Or, in some instances, we may move entire threads here. This is an alternative to deleting them. We'll be playing it by ear for awhile and see how it is received.

This is not to say that we're going to welcome vicious or nasty attacks, libel or slander, but if some of you wish to get a bit heated and all of the participants involved have thick skins and are not going to cry about it, here's the place.

[Dog Gone]

I think it's a good idea, Jim. The problem is going to be deciding when to move a thread from the other forum here, and whether people take it as a license to be deliberately abusive in the other forums because they get one free bite at the apple.

This might have made the moderators' jobs a little bit harder, at least at first.

[Jim Robinson]

Yes, I know. I hope the posters take it in the spirit intended. If moving threads turns out to be a big problem we'll probably not do it.

[Dakmar]

I think it's a great idea, I just hope people remember that they are conversing with other human beings, mostly conservative ones at that. I think it can be done, and I congratulate you on your bold experiment.

[VA Advogado]

You clearly have VA envy.

[Lx]

Jim, is it by design that posts here don't show up in the latest posts page?

Are you going to provide a link from the regular forum?

Thanks, great work as usual.

[Dog Gone]

Jim, is it by design that posts here don't show up in the latest posts page?

Not speaking for Jim, but for some time now, you've only seen the latest posts in the forum you're in.

Which was EXACTLY the point of creating the different forums.

[Dakmar]

Now, now, I wan't trying to pick a fight here, I was just asking John R about the type of post that would be allowed in the new forum. I used you as an example, since you are the only FReeper that seems to have a visceral hatred of yours truly, and pinged you as a common courtesy being that I mentioned you by screen name.

[Lx]

Really? I've always used the following link that appears on the main page.

http://www.freeRepublic.com/focus/news/browse?ao=0

I thought it had all of the latest posts for all of the forums.

[Dog Gone]

Nope. Notice the "news" in that link? That takes you to the News/Activism forum.

[Lx]

Well, I'll be dipped. Is there a link that lets you see the latest posts in all forums?

[Dog Gone]

No. When you click on Your Comments, it looks at all forums for any posts to or from you, but if you want to see if any new threads have been posted in the Religion Forum, for example, you need to click over there.

I'm guessing that well over 95% of all posts are made in the News/Activism Forum, but a lot really shouldn't be the way this site has been designed. If people really started using FR the way it's set up, you'd get to the threads you're interested in a LOT faster, even with the extra click it takes to switch forums.

Jim, this brings up a point I've been meaning to raise. If the moderators would get aggressive about pulling threads from News/Activism into the proper forum, then people would start following those threads and getting used to posting in the proper forum. They'd switch forums as appropriate. As it stands now, if you want anyone to read a new article, it had better be posted in News/Activism (even it's clearly General Interest or Election stuff) or it won't get seen by people who don't realize the other Forums mean anything.

You probably shouldn't immediately reclassify a thread. Wait until enough people are hooked on it before dragging it over. The people will follow it over automatically when they click on Your Comments, and before long the folks will be used to surfing the various forums properly.