Hi all,
In light of recent events I and some other members of the moderating team have thought that it would be best to remove the chatbox from the site. Outlined here are the reasons why:
1. Chatbox posts are not archived. A lot of good information relevant to lots of other people is posted on the chatbox, and then disappears and is not available to people in the future.
2. Because chatbox posts are not archived, people can be held accountable for their behaviour on the forums, whereas as it stands, it becomes difficult to moderate a chatbox when large sections of it become inaccessible and people are not accountable for anything they said that is no longer in the archive. In this way, people also don't feel as unwelcome on the site as it appears to have been on the chatbox as of recent.
In response to "why not increase the post count required to post on the chatbox?" Making it difficult for new members to access information from people who are on here willing to give it would also detract quite heavily from the site. If a new member had to post 25 posts before they could speak to the majority of the community, there is something wrong with the site.
As of now nothing is set in stone, and we're open to other options, if they are reasonable and achieve the desired effects. However, if you do suggest an option, let us know your thoughts on *why* this option is better and how we can continue to make MSO a welcoming place if that option is implemented.
In light of recent events I and some other members of the moderating team have thought that it would be best to remove the chatbox from the site. Outlined here are the reasons why:
1. Chatbox posts are not archived. A lot of good information relevant to lots of other people is posted on the chatbox, and then disappears and is not available to people in the future.
2. Because chatbox posts are not archived, people can be held accountable for their behaviour on the forums, whereas as it stands, it becomes difficult to moderate a chatbox when large sections of it become inaccessible and people are not accountable for anything they said that is no longer in the archive. In this way, people also don't feel as unwelcome on the site as it appears to have been on the chatbox as of recent.
In response to "why not increase the post count required to post on the chatbox?" Making it difficult for new members to access information from people who are on here willing to give it would also detract quite heavily from the site. If a new member had to post 25 posts before they could speak to the majority of the community, there is something wrong with the site.
As of now nothing is set in stone, and we're open to other options, if they are reasonable and achieve the desired effects. However, if you do suggest an option, let us know your thoughts on *why* this option is better and how we can continue to make MSO a welcoming place if that option is implemented.