Can we shut down our own thread if it degenerates into mayhem and violence?

I have created a couple of threads that I am embarrassed to say, degenerated into a really ugly diatribe of killing, and perversion, and subjecting other participants on the thread to what I consider emotional berating.

So, my question is, does the author of a thread have the ability to close their own thread? Can they issue a "warning" to the person responsible for the bad behavior? Or do we just notify the mods?

I guess it comes down to, should we attempt to monitor our own thread? And try to keep it on the original topic, if it goes off the rails? Great threads get closed due to this problem, so can the original creator of the tread try and keep it on topic? And can we shut it down, if it gets real ugly?

Im not taking about the spelling and grammer Nazi's or even the people who want to tell you how stupid you are for believing different than them, but when it degenerates into stuff like using a broom stick in a perverted manner, well Im no prude, but it really disgusts me. Anyone who read that thread and commented were equally as disgusted, and disturbed by what was written, and the mods of course shut it down.

Or do you go the opposite way and think there should be no censorship due to freedom of speech?

a reply to: misskat1

I think only the mods can do that stuff. I suppose it would be handy to remove your own thread but I think it may have a downside. For instance, you (not you specifically, but anyone) might post a thread and no-one agrees with you. So you take it down. Just thinking out loud

a reply to: misskat1
As MrCrow said, only mods can action a thread. If you have issues, use the alert button, and explain the problem to them.

I'm all for suicide bombing a thread. On a site filled with conspiracy theorists, what kind of issues could that bring up? It's not as if any of the members are paranoid or anything.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

None of us are at all paranoid, no. Especially not me. Oh, wait...

a reply to: pl3bscheese

Im not talking about paranoid conspiracy stuff. But, when people try to stir up people with "lets kill all these refugees", I get a lot disgusted. I should clarify, Im like the elderly man who threw the fire bomb at a refugee camp because he feels the invasion in his country is a huge threat. So, under certain circumstances we can all be pushed to violence.

a reply to: misskat1

I don't think that is workable at all. The OP would have a manipulative power to shut down whatever is not going his/her way.

Free speech, hmmm. I am not sure what to make of this. Most of us would get pretty vexed if a rapist started describing what they had done. On that basis totally uncensored free speech is not workable or desirable to that extent. We can as a resort ignore words we do not like and that is a tactic. Words are different to actions. No matter how many negative words are used they have no power to directly physically harm. The worst they can do is incite.

I am only too aware of the shortcomings of words by themselves. They are often hot air quite literally with no other significance than the muscle movements in the larynx that formed them. Actions are a different matter. Actions definitively express intent beyond doubt (unless you have a good lawyer ). It is much easier to judicially approach actions than words alone. It is a mine field to go censoring verbal expression and the result will be Orwellian and very undesirable.

Consider what we say when we are children, how casually we use words. In adulthood, too, we can say the most awful things to the people we love most in argument.

Personally, I am not a control freak. I value freedom of expression. I give a license to others that I do not give myself very often. I would not exhibit myself nude in public as an art project, but if others do that I do not censor them.

I know it is very childish, but there is much wisdom in this little rhyme:

Sticks and stone may break my bones,
But names will never hurt me.

On that basis as long as no-one physically assaults me I will tolerate even their verbal anger. It is my right, too, in terms of treating others as I would have others treat me (which I totally hold sacred) to get verbally angry.

We have all these colourful expletives for a reason. We need them to express ourselves when we are angry.

An example:

I despise child sexual abuse yet I am glad Nabokov's "Lolita" novel is published because of its informative qualities. Even so with Hitler's "Mein Kampf", though I despise what Hitler did to my people. See what I mean by giving license?

a reply to: misskat1

Miss Kat, I replied to you on my thread about the documentary.

Seems to me that once people participate in the thread, its their work that would be removed as well. That doesn't seem fair to participants in a thread.

Just my simple opinion, though.

That would be great if we had that ability, but like another member said, people would be deleting threads when things didn't go their way.

a reply to: misskat1

The MOD's exist for a reason and there are many safety protocols in place.

Do not write an OP if you are incapable of sustaining the premise. Somebody trolls you, ignore them or troll them back.

This is a free speech site, but there are T&C to follow.

Seems you are trying to circumvent what the actual purpose of this site is; deny ignorance and have an exchange of civil dialogue.

See something that needs to be dealt with, hit the Alert button.

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

Wow, second time in a couple of weeks where we agree!
I only start threads if I am prepared to sustain them, and that includes challenging whatever disagrees with my OP views, and/or challenging hateful/inappropriate comments. I pretty much have the last word in all my threads except where I agree with whoever posted last.

So yep, the alert button and mods is the best way for a discussion forum to run as far as I see it.
Some members would definitely use such powers of delete to kill a thread when they were losing the debate. That is for sure.

a reply to: misskat1

I didn"t read the replies so far, and I apologize if I repeat anything already said, or seem totally out of sync. (I find it interesting to observe my immediate reactions before letting myself be influenced by the other responses)


I think that, though there is no obligation, you can mediate your threads to keep them peaceful. It is possible.

My own threads stay rather short, I don't encourage much controversy.

ON the other hand, it doesn't win me much in the way of flags and stars.

It might depend on what is important to you?

The more people will get in heated debate, the more flags and stars you'll get,
and also, people who need to take part in a heated debate will get that opportunity!

Sometimes people soak up (in the long run) the most from the more violent and uncomfortable exchanges they have had!

I know I have had terrible confrontations with people, that much later, I began to agree with their stance!

It makes me want to give a certain liberty to the direction a thread is going. Who knows? It might be constructive!
Everyone can just follow their intuition in the moment and see.

I read once that the worst problem an artist can have is to have a problem letting go of their creation, so that it develops it's own life, apart from your expectations. Know when to stop, and let it be.

That seems now, wise to me.

I wish I could give ya all stars for your replies. I had not thought in terms of people just shutting a thread down due to confrontation or disagreements.

And I am glad to know that the original poster can at least stir the conversation in a better direction.

Thanks for your input.

Ive only utilized contacting Mods one time about an out of control guy (the broom handle) and they immediately took action. So, I know they do a good job.

a reply to: misskat1

It's difficult, if a person authors a thread I think they should have to stand behind their words for better or worse. Expressing an opinion and then removing it if everyone disagrees is disingenuous and it's also not fair to others who have written in the thread.

At the same time though, I think it really sucks if someone tries to author a thread on a controversial topic and it's hijacked by people calling for religious cleansing and the genocide of 2 billion people as your thread last night did, which goes well beyond people merely disagreeing with each other.

Then there's the political topics where people who disagree with a topic troll a thread and try to hijack it until it's shut down so that it's not discussed anymore.

a reply to: Aazadan

"Then there's the political topics where people who disagree with a topic troll a thread and try to hijack it until it's shut down so that it's not discussed anymore."

That is frustrating, the hijackers who derail with a personal arguement that goes on for pages, its hard to wade through it sometimes, when they are arguing over random bs. The sad part is a lot of great points are stuck on page 300 and who can get through all the "thats not what I saids" to get to the good points? lol

I get a big chuckle when some of the guys who have been here for a while, get tired of it.

a reply to: misskat1

Just leave it there for posterity those kinds of folk soon get found out



BUT if you were to delete

a reply to: misskat1

Can we shut down our own thread if it degenerates into mayhem and violence?

If it wasn't for the mayhem and violence, I wouldn't even patronize ATS. To quote HST....

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

a reply to: olaru12

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."


I think olaru12 i have just found a new line in the epic tale of banter s&f

originally posted by: Revolution9
a reply to: misskat1

I don't think that is workable at all. The OP would have a manipulative power to shut down whatever is not going his/her way.

Free speech, hmmm.

You aren't under the impression that you have any right to free speech here, are you? Why cannot an OP shut their own thread down if it violates their own terms and conditions for said thread? If they outline it in the OP, why not?

The entire forum is based on that, and countless threads are shut down, daily, by people not even interested in the topic, but who feel it is against the T&C of the forums.

I think we should be able to can our own threads. They are Our threads. Our ideas. The problem is, once we post, the content then becomes the intellectual property of ATS. And not the OPs. Any content posted here, is not ours to control. It is at the whim of the people who run the site, and those they have moderate it.

Sure we can edit a post, for accuracy, but only within a limited time frame. Any longer than the few hours it is, and we lose even that control. The post is not ours to delete. Only edit. and edits require a full explanation - which is never done, even by moderators.

you cannot generate monetised content if the content is at the whims of someone you have no power over...