Showcase Forum Issues and Requests

I don't post here much, but I do lurk and read quite a bit. And I am very confused as to the reason for the Showcase's existence.

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This is not a problem. Showcased members are under no obligation to follow any rules beyond their own muse. The purpose of Showcase is to allow participation by those who prefer a more free style of discussion unencumbered by rules and moderators.

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If this is the case, then how is it that someone can ask for, and receive, someone's removal from a thread? This strikes me as moderation, rather than the absence of moderation. Randman could simply have chosen to ignore any responses he didn't like. I myself am of the opinion that Dr Adequates points were fairly valid, and his tone was no worse than randman's own.It seems to me that the Showcase functions more as a sandbox for troublesome members, where they can ask for someone to be removed rather than forced to address their points of debate. But it certainly does employ an odd definition of "unmoderated."Back to lurk mode I go.

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It is only showcased members that are unmoderated by board admins. All other members are expected to follow the Forum Guidelines, and the requests of showcased members they are debating with. I repeat this periodically so that those requesting access to Showcase understand this.

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I see. Then I have to confess I'm not sure I see the point. I take your response to mean a showcased member has free reign in the Showcase forum, and any/all respondents do not, and the showcased member can have their permissions revoked at any time for essentially any reason.Why on earth would anyone bother to discuss anything with a member who has been relegated to the Showcase if they can get booted as soon as the questions get tough? It's not that I expect a free for all, but it seems as if you're penalizing those who follow the rules. Or perhaps crashfrog is right, and the Showcase is intended as some sort of quarantine.

I've been lurking for a couple of years, but don't remember the previous versions of the Showcase (the free for all), so I have no idea whether it would work here or not.But, one of the other boards I participate in is more or less one giant unmoderated forum. No word filters, no standard of conduct, no bannings, etc. You might expect that such a place would descend into adolescent chaos fairly quickly, and there is a high proportion of such, but as it turns out most of the hot button topics (politics, abortion, and evolution) are discussed very openly. There are the usual "Jane, you ignorant slut" variety of posts, but most everyone ignores them and focuses on the topic at hand.I've been surprised at how well it's worked. Which isn't to say it's perfect, it can definitely take some getting used to. And it's definitely not appropriate for a site that attracts younger folks.Anyway, didn't mean to hijack. I was just curious about the nature of the Showcase, seeing as how it seems like a member who's restricted to posting there could potentially run off anyone who might want to discuss things with them.thanks for listening...

Perhaps once rand has chased off from the Showcase everyone who disagrees with him, he will be able to have a fruitful discussion. I frankly don't see why anyone would even bother to discuss anything with him at this point.