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I would suggest that the main proviso of the Head Shop is the same as those of the Laboratory, the Switchboard and the Magick - that threads remain on topic, that topic abstracts are paid attention to and adhered to with reasonable rigour, and that the core of each thread is discussion of that topic, rather than discussion of a side-topic (for which a new thread can be created; vide for an example of these questions in action the "Non Smoking NYC" thread in Switchboard) or off-topic ramblings.
Increasingly, I also suspect that the Head Shop should be kept clean of ad hominem attacks, lengthy and largely pointless autobiographical ramblings, irrelevant one-liners and, of course, attempts to put penes in ears. Where something doesn't do any harm, it can usually in good conscience be left to die, but if something is likely to yank an entire thread off-topic, or generate amounts of chaff that would make continued discussion on-topic difficult or impossible, I think there is a case for deletion.
That, I think, is where moderators have a difficult line to walk, particularly if a post is one part continued discussion to one part (any of the above) - I would contend that a better moderator code of practice might, for example, have prevented a number of threads on racism, paedophilia and abortion from descending into largely pointless slanging matches. The impact of new arrivals (who are not local people who understand local ways) may also have a part to play in these questions. And that in turn is why moderator suggestions need to be ratified by more than one moderator...
The "What class are you?" thread was posted in The Conversation to get the widest possible range of responses, and so people could talk about themselves without feeling obliged to advance an argument or continue a line of thought. The Conversation was therefore the right place for it. If there was a subsequent thread about the construction of class systems, one might stick it in the Head Shop.
Personally, I think the Conversation should be available as an ekklesia - if you want to, you should be able to start a thread on Israel, or smoking, or sexuality in the Conversation, in the knowledge that you will get a loose, freeform, often highly discursive or "rotty". While to an extent I would support SMatthew's contention that the HS is very open (all you need is an idea, or perhaps....a dream), I would suggest as a counterbalance that people should have an interest in a) ideas and b) other people's ideas to post there, and (again personally - I'm waiting for an FAQ, or a ruling, or a voice from on high otherwise) this is its "exclusivity".
Ultimately, however, the function of the moderators is within reason to represent the will of the board, or at least those who have invested in the Head Shop (which, I am not sure...), and so it shoul be easy enough to hack out a series of ground rules. |
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