The getting caught thread has been locked... I would like to know if it's a temporary measure or a permanent one since there's no notes from administration

hum I have no problem in seeing a topic getting closed or locked... but I would like to see a note from admin next time saying the thread is temporary closed or will remain closed or something...


Jason aka Moonwolf

.......Probably due to precieved borderline innuendos

I think that was the reason. Yet, a small little, teeny weeny note from the administration/FMT confirming our assumptions/deductions would have been great.

Thanks
BeaStKid

I have no information on this, I am sure a member of Admin will be along shortly to better explain what is going on.

This is the 2nd time the topic gets locked... when it happenned the first time Admin left a comment saying that the thread was closed without saying the reason at first and then only providing the rules and guidelines when posting. What I liked was having a note advising the members that the thread is closed that's all..


As for the reason behind closing it... I don't care if it's said or not.. I mean if they deemed necessary to close the thread then I believe the reason was sufficient enough...

As I said, a small note like last time would have been nice

....I agree, a note would have been helpful.

A meager suggestion, if innuendos are becoming a problem, would it not be better to PM the people posting them and simply delete the offending messages?

that can be done...but if the whole thread is full of them, I don't think this is a viable option...

Hi everyone,

It was mutually agreed upon to close the thread for various reasons, and we're still in the process of considering our best options for addressing the situation. We definitely do intend - and have from the start - to address the matter, but right now as I said we're still ironing out the specifics.

We would never close a thread for unfair, baseless reasons, and we very very much appreciate the fact that everyone in this thread recognized and addressed that. (Thanks guys! )

We are also very unlikely to take any sort of disciplinary or moderation action (such as a closing a thread) without informing the relevant parties. This case is no exception. Unfortunately as I said in this case (unlike the previous time) we're just experiencing a greater 'lag time' in terms of ironing out all the details and the best way to proceed. We will be letting you guys know what's up

I apologize for any confusion or inconvenience, and once again I thank you all for the understanding and patience that you have already demonstrated.

Take care all and have a great day,
Kevin
Forum Moderation Team

can there be like... a section of the site where things like that can be posted?

i just think it's a little silly that on a site where you can read stories about boys humping each other silly, you can't refer to blowjobs.

oops. now we have to lock this thread.

silly, yes?

Eroticism in stories are put there for literary intent. Conversations - could easily be seen as obscene, because it does lack literary intent, making it art. It's more accepted when there is a profound intent to produce art or entertainment. This site does have the obligation to protect the minors - or - do away with the memberships belonging to minors. Obscenities have to be regulated. So that is why I think action has been taken, and I feel, the forums don't need an "adult" place where things can be discussed.

Definitely not a silly reaction in locking the topic.

EDIT:
Since my post was not based on the reason the thread was actually locked I decided to remove it as people seem to keep thinking it was for the wrong reason. The only line of my post that still applies I will leave up....

I think it is only fair that those of us that enjoy the site he has created and pays to keep running be respectful of the rules and understanding of such decisions.

Greg

I was going to stay out of this. But I respect you and your opinions too much to let what you stated go unchallenged.

There are stories here that I would not consider erotic. They're as Billy stated, boys humping each other silly. There's really little if any plot unless you want to consider sex itself a plot.

A forum's owner has every right to regulate what's posted on his or her forum. If the intent in this case is to protect minors then why are minors allowed to read the site at all when you consider there's some rather raunchy stuff contained in some of the stories here.


Greg, I think the flaw in that logic is the word "most". I just finished reading a great series by a hosted author. I loved it. Some of the sexual scenarios were extremely graphic and violent. And yet there were no warnings about the content. How do you reconcile that with the relatively innocent innuendo that was taking place in the thread we're discussing here?

Everyone, please note what Kevin has said, and don't just assume this was done for reasons of innuendo. Kevin said we'd post the reason, and we will, but do bear in mind that even in the internet age discussions take time. It's more than a little unfair to start criticizing the reason when you don't know the reason. Please be patient.

I can't and I won't even try. All I can say is the forums are taken under a different light and there is the presumption of no such things going on in the forums due to the rules. Something said in a story will never be taken as an attempt for the story to corrupt a minor....but in the forums much less can be taken as something devious. Anyway I'm not trying to rationalize this, that isn't my job

I'd just like to remind everyone that the Administration Communication forum isn't here to discuss and debate decisions with the administration. The question was raised, and it will be answered when they have written up an appropriate response. Any issues at that point may be brought to the attention of an admin privately.

Regards,
Myk

Ack! I didn't even notice what forum this was in Greg. Thank you for pointing it out. There will be no more comments from me in this thread. My apologies to the admins.

I take responsibility for locking the thread without posting a note with an explanation. Locking the thread was a measure taken because members have consistently failed to follow the forum rules and even general common sense even though it has been repeatedly pointed out.

This particular thread has been at the heart of several problems, and after locking it, removing posts, reminding users of the rules, and trying to be nice, we failed to reach far enough to get our point across. Locking the thread was the only available option left until we could decide on a plan of action to follow.

The moderators and admins are still discussing this thread and overall recent forum activity. Until we reach a conclusion, the thread will remain locked.

As a note to all members, before jumping to conclusions as to why a certain action was taken, it would be better if you were to personally contact an admin and ask in a respectful manner.

Joe

The closed thread (the closure is permanent) now carries this post:

This thread was closed due to devolving into back-and forth chat-type chatter. We do have a games forum for that, and as we said in the forum etiquette announcement, disruptive posts are against the rules.

One manner of disruptive posting in this case was back-and-forth one line, chat room type chatter. It is a severe hindrance to other members, because it makes threads almost impossible to follow, especially if off-topic. As we've mentioned before, for that, go to the games forum. For posting for the sake of posting, go to the games forum because that is the ONLY place it is allowed.

Guys, this action wasn't taken lightly or precipitously. We put a lot of thought and discussion into it (as evidenced by the time it took).
In a nutshell, we have a problem. Back-and-forth chat-type posting swamps threads. This is driving away other participants. As such,
we needed to do something about a thread where MOST of the posts were of this nature.

We know that most of the people doing this in this thread and others were unaware of the issue. However, it is an issue, and members have begun to complain.

C James

eh i guess i was raised differently. all stories can do without sex pretty much, or at least discriptive sex. literary intent... art... these are discursive excuses.

although. i'm also the one that thinks it's funny that there can be partial nudity in pg-13 films, because it's at that age that children stop handling that kind of exposure with anything but curiosity. they go home and have their own thoughts about it.

i think it's silly to censor this site really. gay authors. what is gay? gay is a sexuality. if you identify as gay, you are aware of your sexuality. how do you become aware of it? you realize that a certain gender elicits arousal from you. where does arousal come from? sexual thoughts.

so why protect a group from thoughts they clearly have?

i can tell this isn't a battle i'll win.

but i think censorship is silly and petty, especially on this site.

.......I doubt I can find an arguement against that!

When you join a forum you forfeit any perceived right to free speech and accept that there may well be censorship. If you don't like the rules then don't join the forum and expect to be able to flaunt the rules.

Having said that I do agree with the other points you made. The rules do seem arbitrary and even a bit silly.

However, kindly refer back to my first paragraph.

That's an interesting perspective, Billy, and I encourage you to discuss it further. I'd personally love to chime in with my own thoughts about the matter, both as a moderator and as a member. However, as CJ said above, this most recent closure of the Getting Caught thread had virtually nothing to do with suggestive dialogue or sex. It was closed for off-topic, chat style chattering.

If you would like to open a dialogue about what level of sexual content is appropriate at the site then I welcome you to do so, in a new thread.

This forum or your blog probably would be the best place for the discussion. However, it is highly unlikely we'll actually change our policies given that they aren't a matter of personal taste but instead relate to legal considerations and the overall welfare of the site with regards to its reputation and advertisers (which help considerably with defraying the costs to some extent).

Personally speaking, my own threshold for such things is quite high. I'm not at all easily offended or embarrassed by sexual discussions and quite often I myself have wanted to get 'dirtier' and avoided doing so because it would have crossed the line - which I do think is there for a very good reason.

In any case, none of this is particularly relevant to the closure of this thread.

-Kevin

Thank you, Kevin, for again pointing out that the thread was not closed due to sexual discussions. We have not closed a thread due to discussions that we thought were too sexual. At the most we asked the member to revise their post, but even that is a rare circumstance. The moderation discussion didn't even cover the topic of the thread, but only went over the issue of chat-style back-and-forth posts.

There is no need for censorship on the site if everyone were to follow the rules they agreed to when joining the site. I also posted a global announcement for all to read on Forum Etiquette that covers this. Rarely do we find a discussion that we need to censor, and even then it's usually not over sexual content.

Silly as they may be, the rules are in place to protect the site. There are laws, rules, and regulations that we must follow to ensure the survival of the site. If we allowed anyone to post whatever they pleased, we would be liable and the site would likely be shut down.

Joe