[SeaGypsy]

Newfie, while I agree with your's and Lasseter's sentiments regarding trolls, I think this misses an important point of balance- that of the silent majority here who just lurk. When you take away the Shorties, Anti-doomers etc.- a portion of these lurkers will die of boredom- leave- while another portion become trolls and start lambasting us with bullshit. Trolls are part of internet life, especially in open forums like this. As others have mentioned in this thread- for specific interest areas, there are much more specialized sites- and there always will be. Meanwhile we are stuck in being a news aggregation site with a focus on discussion of peak & energy related matters. To my mind it is vital that the site retain it's CoC, moderation style, mode of operation regarding free speech- lest it die the death suffered by TOD. If it's not broke, don't fix it. There's no perfect in this world.

[Newfie]

Yeah, no perfect world, that's for sure.

Im hearing ya, but your not convincing me.

Not that you need to. Wouldn't want things to get boring!

[lasseter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'L')asseter, one of the keys to the longevity of this site is it's CoC. Whilst the trolls may be upsetting to newbies, they are a part of what happens here. We 'need' them. Blocking them on the first instance, or for simply exercising free speech- can have 2 obvious negative effects- an echo chamber syndrome (everyone agreeing on everything quickly leads to a very boring conversation) and an endless stream of new trolls.

[SeaGypsy]

i would guess Lasseter, that you have been around a few kindred soul type boards in Australia- I wonder if you find the usual levels of discussion as stultifying as I do? The censorship and elitism, the petty personality cults, as debate stifling and conversation killing PC bullcrap... do you know what I'm talking about? I guess you do- else why join up with an international board like this- dominated at least in numbers, by some rather unusual Americans? Sometimes it takes the bad to bring out the good. Americans tend to grok this, and the values of free speech- far better than our usual brand of green-left coalition PC red stampers in Oz. Just my views of course.

[lasseter]

Sounds like you may be talking about the aussurvalist crowd, yeah, I was there for a year, about 10 years ago. I considered it a security risk in the end and moved on. Very clicky, as you say. The tall poppy syndrome is definately a part of oz culture.

I don't particulary discredit any of them though because I have learnt a lot at all of them, a lot of diamonds in the rough in those places and I would rather be there than in some mainstreem club or association and be surrounded by totally blind sheep lol. I always got on ok with the yanks, spent years at goldismoney and made some good virtual friendships. They end of course, as soon as you leave.

[sparky]

.
What is a troll ??
do having a disagreement and being stubborn about it qualifies ?
when do name calling become censorship ?
I've been called a troll and a shill for disagreeing with Montequest
if honest skepticism is barred or chassed away
if PO is preaching to the converted , then it is a cult for zealots

[Newfie]

From Wiki...it works for me...

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people,[1] by posting inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally[3][4] or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[5] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[6]
This sense of the word troll and its associated verb trolling are associated with Internet discourse, but have been used more widely. Media attention in recent years has equated trolling with online harassment. For example, mass media has used troll to describe "a person who defaces Internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families."[7][8]

[ralfy]

The same mistakes are posted repeatedly across several threads even after they've been debunked, fostering not relevant discussion but disruption.

[sparky]

.
look on the bright side
PO newbies have access to the usual arguments , keep everybody sharp
I would think we get better at responding in a convincing manner

Po purpose is informative and debating ,
sure , often enough , it's dancing around the bitter tree
however there is also following the evolution of hydrocarbon extraction
with its mundane consequences ( recession anyone ?)
side branchs include personal lifestyle , activism or the futility thereof , geopolitics
and the unavoidable global warming debate .
bring on the trolls ,
usually boring , some are interesting to refute ,if only as a training exercise

[Newfie]

Too bad we can't come up with a two tier system where newbies can hash out the old chestnuts while the old farts move on.

[phaster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')I want to hear what PO.com should be doing besides sitting here in mom's basement tapping out manifestos and rehashing the old arguments. What great, world changing idea should we pursue? To what purpose should we put our Google rank?

We are number 2 for "peak oil" on whatever search engine you try, right after Wiki, that is a pretty valuable position to have, what should we do with it?