Something New! Introducing the Quarantine Room

[JLC]

This will also be a forum hidden from view of the general public. HOWever...ANYone who wishes to view/participate may do so simply by sending any admin (JLC, rabernet, mlededee, Nate) a PM and letting them know. (Those of you who could already see Night Drop will be seeing the Quarantine now because the permissions are already set.)

What is the purpose of such a forum? Well, I'm glad you asked!

How often have people complained about threads being locked in the middle of a "good" discussion? Or threads being "deleted" for reasons not apparent to the average reader? How often do our members get a bit carried away with their passion for a particular point of argument? ....every once in a while...

Some fret that such uncontrolled discussions and thread-hijackings create a hostile atmosphere for the new hobbyist that are drawn to our Site. And others fret about the lack of freedom of expression when such threads/discussions are shut down.

It is our hope that the Quarantine Room will be a viable compromise for both sides of this issue. Instead of locking threads or deleting them...they will be moved into the QT Room where the discussion can continue unhindered. OR, if an otherwise useful thread spirals out of control with poor horse-beating arguments...the thread can be split...and the horse-beaters can carry on in the QT Room while the original thread remains available for public consumption.

In such a case, the original thread may be locked temporarily for the maintenance needed to do the split...and then a new post will be added by the moderator with a link to the split thread in QR for anyone wishing to continue participating in that particular line of argument.

And of course, the QT Room is open for new threads to be started there if the poster believes the subject to be particularly touchy.

This forum will be only lightly moderated (Please read the sticky at the top of that forum for QT Rules of Engagement)...so reader beware. Members choosing to participate must be able to "stand on their own two feet" and expect little to no intervention from staff. However, it is NOT a "free-for-all." Please realize that all members of all ages may view your words and actions there...and the staff WILL be watching and will not allow any egregious infractions of the Site Rules/TOS.

SO...there ya go! We're as quick as we can be with setting permissions...but please be patient if we're not online.