I don't think Moving Threads is always good

[umbrella]

Lately I have noticed a lot of threads have been started in forums I do visit, but have been immediately moved to "more appropriate" forums. The problem there, is that the forum they're moved to, I never would have thought to go there. There are SO MANY categories here, that there's simply no way I'm going to look at them all.

The latest example is a thread started in the homeschooling forum, but has now been moved to the activism forum. I am not going to look in the activism forum just for the sake of Being an Activist. Most people have activist tendencies tickled because of particular and specific issues that touch them in some way, not because they feel like Being an Activist that day. I think that activism related to homeschooling should absolutely still be in the homeschooling forum, so that homeschoolers will see it. But it's not being bumped in that forum anymore, because it has been moved to another.

[JessicaS]

If such is the case do please feel free to post a xpost directing people to read the thread in Activism.

We do generally have reasons for moving things, if you have questions it is a good idea to discuss that with the person who moved it.

[Epona]

Originally Posted by umbrella

The latest example is a thread started in the homeschooling forum, but has now been moved to the activism forum. I am not going to look in the activism forum just for the sake of Being an Activist. Most people have activist tendencies tickled because of particular and specific issues that touch them in some way, not because they feel like Being an Activist that day. I think that activism related to homeschooling should absolutely still be in the homeschooling forum, so that homeschoolers will see it. But it's not being bumped in that forum anymore, because it has been moved to another.

I agree.

Originally Posted by abimommy

if you have questions it is a good idea to discuss that with the person who moved it.

Long ago I was a mod on a parenting forum, and sometimes you just get bogged down with all of the clean up, and make poor judgments. It's good to have someone point out why you may have mishandled something. Mommy brain runs rampant.

[notjustmamie]

If you want to see what's going on in all the forums, you can always click on "NEW POSTS" and it will bring up posts from all over the site. I've been doing that lately and participated in discussions I never would have found otherwise (like this one).

[Irishmommy]

Originally Posted by umbrella

There are SO MANY categories here, that there's simply no way I'm going to look at them all.

And the vast majority of them were asked for by the members!

[Epona]

Originally Posted by Irishmommy

And the vast majority of them were asked for by the members!

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by Irishmommy

And the vast majority of them were asked for by the members!

This is so.

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by I know true love.

Long ago I was a mod on a parenting forum, and sometimes you just get bogged down with all of the clean up, and make poor judgments. It's good to have someone point out why you may have mishandled something. Mommy brain runs rampant.

I don't think that thread was moved incorrectly. That is a pretty serious subject and very political in nature. A lot of people feel the way the OP was describing in that thread, a lot of people disagree as well.

It is well hosted in Activism because it is applicable because HSLDA is a political organization and also because Activism does not host debate.

If people would like to Xpost with a link to the Activism thread to remind people it is there that would probably be a good solution.

[Epona]

Originally Posted by abimommy

I don't think that thread was moved incorrectly. That is a pretty serious subject and very political in nature. A lot of people feel the way the OP was describing in that thread, a lot of people disagree as well.

It is well hosted in Activism because it is applicable because HSLDA is a political organization and also because Activism does not host debate.

If people would like to Xpost with a link to the Activism thread to remind people it is there that would probably be a good solution.

I certainly see that. I don't really take issue with it specifically. But it does seem to me that activism that strongly applies to a certain topic, should be at home it a forum dedicated to that topic. But I see that there has been a lot of clean-up around here recently, so I understand that perhaps you're trying to contain some of the passionate topics to safe areas. I get that. I must say though, it would be nice to discuss politics and current events here. I'm more than babies and milk and diapers. I have thoughts, and opinions, I enjoy talking about them with other people, and I really love learning more from other people. As it is now, I'm going to places like Ravelry to chat about items of the day. As much as I love my fellow fiber fanatics, I'd much rather have discussions with other crunchy minded mothers. It just feels so much more applicable here. Is there any consideration for the return of thee forums in the future? Sorry to got OT, but I've been browsing this late night, and it's fresh on my mind. I understand wanting to shed the negativity though. It's everywhere.

[umbrella]

I didn't say it was "moved incorrectly" as in it is not an activism topic. I said that now many of the people who might be interested in it, won't see it because it was moved.

[JessicaS]

In such instances one can post a thread in the original forum with a link to the thread in its new location so people know where it is

[Panthira]

I can't keep up with all of the rules around here, where to post what. I can't keep up with xposting, nor do I even understand why that would be relevant. This is a board for mothers, not for admins who have time and know how to file things in the correct spot.

I feel the same way as the OP. I've seen stuff posted in the gifted forum, for example, and then get moved to childhood years. Yes, the post was in reference to a child, but the issue was more of a gifted one. That was not the opinion of the mod, so it got moved, and we are not allowed to question it apparently. I'm so sad to see MDC heading this way. It's much too confusing and authoritarian, and I've been spending much less time here because of it (and I know I'm not the only one).

[carmel23]

Or we had a thread in our DDC for diapers. The poster posted in the DDC because she wanted the members of that DDC's input on diapering. It was a more intimate conversation about diaper. I'm certain she has visited the diapering section, and has studied the posts there....

But she posted in our DDC because she was overwhelmed and wanted to chat with US in the DDC about diapers.

This post was moved to the huge diapering forum, and has since had one additional reply. Well, if it was still in our DDC, we would still be happily chatting away about diapers, sharing links about sales, good ideas on laundering, etc.

Sure, you could find this in the diapering forum, but you are censoring our ability to talk and exchange ideas about diapering as a specific subset community of mothering.com. We wanted to talk about our specific plans for diapering our December Babies!

But the thread was moved, and now it is pretty much dead.

[flower01]

I've been frustrated with this on other boards too. As an OP it's frustrating when you feel your question relates to a specific topic or group of people and a moderator decides it's something else. It can totally change the direction of the conversation.

[Roar]

I agree this is a problem. I believe moving threads should be limited to: Correcting an obvious significant mistakes on the part of the poster - like they had a question about crochet but posted it in the gentle discipline forum so now they aren't getting the help they need.

Threads seem to keep disappearing off the gifted forum. These are not threads that are blatantly off topic and they are not situations where the board has been disrupted or engaged in conflict. I believe posters put their question there there because they believe it is a gifted related issue and because they want comments specifically in a support forum from parents who are familiar with gifted issues. MDC attracts a brilliant group of moms and I feel fairly confident most can accurately assess for themselves where they wish to post. And, as parents of gifted kids can attest many issues that may initially seem to be about general age related child development, homeschooling, etc. have aspects that are specifically related to giftedness. For posters to know that anything they post on a support forum can be plucked and tossed elsewhere for discussion pretty much cancels out the value of a board being a support board in the first place. As I understand it we don't generally allow members of MDC to grab a message from another forum to use as fodder. To relocate a post out of a support board essentially does the same thing.

Peace to all...and I hope we can see a less aggressive moving of threads soon.

[Ruthla]

I agree. Specifically, I think that threads in DDCs really need to be left alone, no matter how "off topic" they seem to be.

Also, the Gifted Childen threads should also stay put. Yeah, issues with raising gifted kids crosses over into almost every area of parenting, into book discussions, schooling choices, etc.

But there's still a distinct difference. A book discussion might include figuring out age-appropriate books for various ages. But with gifted kids, you've got a specific problem: children who are capable of reading books that are too mature for them. If your 5yo is reading on a 1st grade level, and your 14yo is reading on a 9th grade level, you just need lists of books that might interest them. But when your 5yo is reading on a 9th grade level, it's a whole different ballgame. The 1st grade books will bore her, and the 9th grade books may contain things she's just not ready for.

Similarly, discussions of schools, homeschooling, and maybe skipping grades should stay in the Gifted forum, not moved into Schooling or Learning at Home.

What's the point of having a Gifted subforum if many of the threads keep being moved out? People post schooling or book questions there because they specifically want a "parents of gifted kids" POV.

[vbactivist]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I agree. Specifically, I think that threads in DDCs really need to be left alone, no matter how "off topic" they seem to be.

Also, the Gifted Childen threads should also stay put. Yeah, issues with raising gifted kids crosses over into almost every area of parenting, into book discussions, schooling choices, etc.

But there's still a distinct difference. A book discussion might include figuring out age-appropriate books for various ages. But with gifted kids, you've got a specific problem: children who are capable of reading books that are too mature for them. If your 5yo is reading on a 1st grade level, and your 14yo is reading on a 9th grade level, you just need lists of books that might interest them. But when your 5yo is reading on a 9th grade level, it's a whole different ballgame. The 1st grade books will bore her, and the 9th grade books may contain things she's just not ready for.

Similarly, discussions of schools, homeschooling, and maybe skipping grades should stay in the Gifted forum, not moved into Schooling or Learning at Home.

What's the point of having a Gifted subforum if many of the threads keep being moved out? People post schooling or book questions there because they specifically want a "parents of gifted kids" POV.

I agree with this in general - but not specifically with regards to gifted kids. I mean, the same could be said for special needs kids. Or homeschooled kids, etc... I think threads should bemore likely to stay put (than not) in EVERY forum.

[EXOLAX]

I specifically asked for clarification on the guidelines in one forum because of this issue. Honestly I am now reluctant to post even in the limited specialized forums I visit for fear of a post being moved. There are times when I may want only the opinions, advice, etc. from a certain viewpoint and feel posts being moved changes that specialized dynamic. I have seen in the past few weeks more posts being moved and in response posters putting in disclaimers at the start of their message. I feel that the purpose of having so many specialized forums is defeated.

[vbactivist]

Also, I am just wondering (please I don't want to get in trouble for this ), but what harm is there in a post being in the "wrong" forum? I mean, lets say all sorts of "wrong" posts were all over the board, would that affect the mods in any way? It would actually mean less work for the mods if they only were moderating, snarkiness, etc.. rather than having to move harmless threads.

[umbrella]

I just came back to this thread, after seeing that a thread was moved out a DDC, and I see that someone else has mentioned it.

The DDC is a DDC. Goodness, can't we chit chat in there about things that are relevant to our pregnancies and impending births, having kids in general, without it being moved to the Most appropriate forum by specific topic?

I agree with carmel23 about the diaper example.