Should the OP be the only one who decides where a question is posted?

Moderators often ask the OP if he/she wants the question moved if there are a lot of humorous or off-topic answers. If the OP wishes for the question to be moved, we move it. If not, we simply remove the inappropriate quips. However, any question about fluther or a fluther member is automatically moved to Meta, no matter the topic.

OP is the one to ask the question.
OP should decide where the question goes. Not the moderators. They can ask their own questions if they want them in a certain section.

It’s not the issue of who gets to choose. The real issue is that the choices aren’t necessary and don’t make sense. I know just about everyone else disagrees, but there it is.

For the record, I think that once the question is asked, it belongs to the community, not the OP. The OP has just as much say about it as anyone else. Well, except for the moderators, who usually don’t care when an OP is perfectly willing to allow latitude to people (except for personal attacks). The mods decide what they do based on their own criteria, which is an interpretation of fluther rules.

If the OP is unhappy with the way people answer the question, then I think the appropriate way to deal with it is to intervene and ask people to kindly answer the question being asked, not some other question. But in the end, the question no longer belongs to the OP as soon as “ask” (or whatever it is) is pressed.

@KatawaGrey – I suck at modspeak. What is Meta?

@evandad Meta is the section to the right of the others, General, Social, Just for You and Meta. It refers to questions pertaining to Fluther.

@zenele Whoa… Meta is to the right of Meta? Is that a circular reference, or are you being philosophical?

@wundayatta Yes, I am one of those who disagrees with you. I used to get so frustrated on the rare occasions I would ask a question to see all the non responsive answers, and I hate when a thread gets hijacked so user 1 can welcome user 2 back to the collective, or “How are the kids/pets doing?

Now, when I see a question in General that asks what to do about a bad roommate, I can be fairly sure I won’t see an answer that says “Sit in the corner and shoot them when they come in the door”. Many of the users that think “sick” answers are “funny” are now in Social only – where they belong.

There is lots of room for levity in General as long as you provide a productive answer as well.

The mods should not move them unless the OP requests it. What is the point of selecting the kind of responses you want if the mods can come along and move them?

@wundayatta :: People shouldn’t have to babysit their question. If it is in General they shouldn’t have to come by and tell you to STFU about your cat. If you can’t be funny and helpful at the same-time stay out of General. Of you could simply shoot for helpful. I mostly stay out of Social since it is easy to do and most of the questions are pretty shitty.

Then again, I’ve seen and not bothered with multiple questions that were begging to be ripped apart because of sheer stupidity but because the OP decided it was a question that needed a serious answer they put it into General. Does she like me, should I go out with him, I think he likes me but he has a girlfriend, I have a gf but I think her sister likes mewhatshould I do?
Whatever.

In general, I do think the decision belongs to the asker alone. However, some types of questions are better suited for the Social Section, and I think we may need to refine the guidelines a bit to encourage folks to ask them there.

@augustlan Fair enough.

Not that Fluther (or life) has to be fair, but still.

I just gave a quippy answer in General that, should one look beneath the surface, points out a very serious issue. I considered adding a second line to make it obvious to people that it is a serious answer, but I decided not to do that. It’ll be interesting to see whether it gets moderated or not.

I know that almost noone thinks this is a problem, but I don’t think I should have to sit here stewing about whether this answer will get past the mods or not. I don’t want to have to check to see if it did afterwards. I don’t remember everything that I’ve said for every question.

I am always serious, even when I am making a funny. It is always related to the question. Why should I have to depend on moderators to be perceptive enough to get it?

Ah well. It doesn’t matter. Nothing will change. This silliness will continue because that’s how everyone else likes it. I shall have to put up with it in order to find interesting questions to answer, even if I have to deal with all this stupid thinking when trying to figure out what the moderators will understand so I can answer the questions in what I think is an interesting or amusing way.

Much truth is said in jest.

Really. That’s true.

@wundayatta Was it the cat burglar bit?

@wundayatta: Your funny answer can be the most in-depth answer ever but if no one knows what you’re actually saying, that’s not really on us, is it?

Actually, @KatawaGrey, it is. You can read Donne’s poetry and say that’s pretty, or you can actually pay attention, and learn a whole lot more. I don’t know. Is this a kind of popularity contest where the worthiness of the content depends on the intellect or work habits of a single individual who may or may not have the experience or intelligence to understand? Should we be asking a bunch of people whether they see any redeeming value in it, and if they don’t, erase it? Never mind that it actually means something important to someone who has the wits to understand?

Anyway, I don’t think so. I think it is antithetical to the goals of this place. I think that the leaders have made a huge mistake, but don’t understand that. I know I don’t like it, and I’m not sure how much longer I’ll feel like putting up with it. I really don’t want to go, but the way this stuff gets on my nerves is too much stress to tolerate for a long time.

I hope this idiocy isn’t permanent. Everyone keeps on claiming there is plenty of room for humor in general. But there isn’t. It is constantly constraining my thoughts. I’ve been letting it and been being pretty boring and unimaginative there, but sometimes one has to test things, just to be sure one has it right. I know that the people here are under a delusion if they think they are telling the truth about allowing humor if it is in a comment that adds to the conversation.

Volunteers are making these decisions. You get what you pay for.

I hate what this does to me. It has ruined a perfectly fine evening. I’ve got to step away. I really hope no one ever asks this kind of question again. I fall into the trap over and over. I should stop caring about what happens here and let it go into the crapper. It was such a good thing, though. It’s hard to let go when I know how it could be.

@wundayatta As much as you resent being told that (mostly) no one else is troubled by the changes, I resent your implication that the moderation team lacks the “wits to understand” your deep, meaningful comment (which was flagged by the community, by the way).

Add in the “You get what you pay for” line, and it seems to me that you are intent on insulting an entire group of people who dedicate their time to making this website what the owners and the majority of the members would like it to be. How is this in any way helpful to your cause?

@wundayatta: It seems to me that you are hellbent on being the misunderstood intellectual. I think it is on you if you give an answer that is stupid and/or humorous on the surface that no one knows what you’re actually trying to say and then get pissed when it gets removed or misunderstood. Mayhaps you can rein yourself in a little and trade humor and stupidity for clarity in general questions. Say all of the silly and incomprehensible stuff you want in social and in meta, though to a lesser extent, I’d think and you should be fine. We’re certainly not going to laud you and make you our king for giving an answer that seems to have no intrinsic value but that you assure us is full of meaning and intelligence.

As I once said to another user, enjoy your high horse. I think I’ll walk from here.

@augustlan I don’t really expect to be understood by the community. All I’m saying is that it bothers me that the community gets to vote and the moderators—well who knows what they do? They don’t make their deliberations public.

All I can say is that I believe that half the time I have been moderated, I wouldn’t have moderated me. There are times when I don’t expect to get a comment through, and then there are times when I’m not sure. I was pretty disappointed this time, obviously.

Anyway, if a group of people gets it wrong, in my opinion, half the time with me, it seems reasonable to guess they are getting it wrong with the rest of the group, too.

@KatawaGrey I’m sorry I sound like a misunderstood intellectual. I do think there should be room for ambiguity. I think that people who believe their post has been removed inappropriately should get a hearing of some kind so they can ascertain where the misunderstanding lies.

I also think your personal attack, which you probably didn’t even know you made, since it was made by inference which I got should be removed if the standards are being applied fairly. In any case your tone is quite condescending, as has been most of the posts of people who don’t agree with me. I wonder when or if you’ll come around as some of the others have.

I also wonder when you got elected to represent the people. I know better than to think anyone would laud me. They haven’t in the past. They don’t come back to apologize when they decide I was right afterall. They don’t even remember what I said back then. They think it is their own creation. Which it is. But they aren’t the first to come up with it.

You enjoy your walk. I think it’ll be an awful long one. And it’s not a horse. It’s an elephant. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! And just wait until I get my giraffe! I’m in the market for an Apatosaurus, too.

Go ahead. Make my day. I dare you to take me seriously!