If the shoe fits.
And Iām caught upā¦
Should I comment on this silliness?
Someone is getting flagged for months/years of passive/aggressive comments that in a vacuum noone would even mention. These flags are mostly silly in isolation.
Equally silly is someone acting like they havenāt been waking the line for months/years. Acting like itās surprising that people are upset by comments in a time of relative turmoil.
Aaaaand now Iām silly too because I made vague commentsā¦ahhhhh
The formās definition of spam includes " . . . vandalism. It is not useful or relevant to the current topic;" i.e., it is not limited to promotional material.
I also suspect the commentary added to the screenshot is an issue.
I suggest everyone stop perceiving people with whom they disagree as members of an opposing tribe. This approach inevitably leads to destructive friction.
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And, it might improve the vibe around here if there was a bit less flagging and a bit more ignoring from here on endā¦
Just a thought,
SEE
The forum user mute option was enabled at some point. Iām enjoying its use. Look in your own user preferences, users, muted. 
10-4ā¦ (superfluous parenthetical).
Scotte - agree. Itās possible that genii is out of the bottle for good, though - unless the flagging feature is removable in the Forum SW. It is being used as a sort of Thumbs Down with extra clout. I was one of those who had to ask Elk what happened to a post of mine the other day, as it was the first time that had happened to me. I was scratching my head at what I might have posted that the ācommunityā had deemed obscene or inappropriate. Then I learned that all it takes is one person simply not liking your post.
Others had apparently started flagging this relatively new membersā posts in an effort to get him to think more carefully (Iām being perhaps overly generous to the flaggers here - I have no idea if their flagging was personal, gratuitous, or totally justified). So the wild guess - since I was pushing back against his posts with actual replies - is that he flagged my post. So I was introduced to this current ānew normā of Forum behavior. I subsequently PMāed with this member, and things seem fine now.
My concern with regard to approaching this concern by simply ignoring inappropriate, ill-willed, and endless axe-grinding sorts of posts - including protestations of victimhood/martyrdom when any of the above is pointed out - is that it is starting to feel like the overall tone and tenor of the Forums as a whole has taken a decided turn to the negative. And that is hard to ignore.
If we as a group have no other power to maintain the tenor of the Forums than to attempt to tolerate and ignore, it will likely permanently become temperamentally just like any other Forum. If one or more individuals can tilt the whole tone of the conversation in multiple threads, they are being tacitly rewarded by being āignoredā.
I donāt know what the answer is. If the goal is to make others share in an individualās unhappiness - it is working, whether we and PS Audio like it or not. Seems disproportionate, and the general sense of fairness here is being taken advantage of.
Mr. Beef:
I wouldnāt over think it (no offense intended): It takes two to tango. If gauche and crass behavior is ignored, then the number of posts taking up space is automatically reduced exponentially. On the other hand, I would rather folks call out poor behavior and take up further space in threads, than to allow everyone to have the power to indiscriminately flag something and effectively censor posts/posterās they disagree with or donāt like. Thatās too easy and too disruptive, in my opinion.
A favorite philosopher of mine (Thumperās father) once admonished: āIf you canāt say somethinā nice, donāt say nothinā at all.ā [Stepping down from my soapbox now.]
Cheers.
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Again - agreed. If it were that easy. Gaucheness and crassness encourages others to do the same, and weāre seeing that become the new norm in public discourse lately. We have āceded controlā in the words of a smarter-than-me, and generally silent friend. All it takes, to paraphrase the famous phrase, is for good men to do nothing. Overly dramatic, perhaps, butā¦
Having seen the flagged posts, flags were not being used to merely express disagreement with the contents, but to stem poor behavior such as calling another member ignorant and/or trying to pick a fight through trolling. That is, the flags were being used in good faith - with one exception where flagging was intentionally used as a weapon. Of course there can be misunderstandings, but these are easy to address as Badbeef notes.
I find telling that no one with a flagged post took advantage of the ability to simply edit their post to remove the offending material whereupon their post will be restored (the automated email one receives clearly sets this out and I explain it above). This informs me the posts were appropriately flagged.
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If only we all had the discernment and discipline to only wield the power for good.
Call me a skeptic, but I doubt that the center will hold over time.*
Good to know in any event ā thanks for the insight.
SEE
*Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
ā William Butler Yeats
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Wonderful poem, albeit chilling.
A bit melodramatic given the relatively trivial nature of our endeavors here; but it came to mind neverthelessā¦
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Yes - apt. I perhaps naively wish for our Ceremony of Innocence, our Tiny Oasis here amidst the stormy sea of the Internet to continue as before. For that to be possible, some of us must not lack conviction.
The other side of my feeling about this is that if it becomes mostly about how bummed people are about what Paul is doing, has done wrong, has said he Was Going to do but changed his mind, what he Really Should be doing if he was as smart a businessman, salesman, pricing strategist or engineer as they are, etcā¦Pull the Plug on the whole thing, before it causes irreparable damage to the Brand.
Totally selfish motivation here - I think they make great bang for the buck stuff, and I want to continue to be able to buy it.
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And we like melodrama.
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While weāre waxing poetical, this old Leo Kottke tune, āTiny Islandā just popped into my head:
"I wish I had a tiny island
floating in the sea
Palm treesā sway donāt get in the way,
itās a tropical ease
And everywhere I keep my silence, no sound returns to me
Just endless waves at the end of our days, the sighing of the seas
But yesterdayās gone, I donāt know where I come fromā¦
Wonder where Iām goingā¦"
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One of my favourite poems, if only for the imagery of the final couplet:
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
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If any democratically chosen government would remove as many press releases as posts were puffed here, press, some poets, and opposition would be up in arms. Apparently these good principles do not apply here on this forum. Iām not up in arms, just saying.
However, I donāt just refer to objective comparisons of other equipment to PS Audio equipment, I can understand to a certain level PS Audio dousnāt appreciate that. I also refer to safety related and very relevant information for PS Audio equipment users (owners) that went up in shady clouds (puffed). Seems the magic dragon left the see and moved up into the mountains.
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Fingerā¦hoveringā¦overā¦theā¦Flag Buttonā¦ ; )
Going by your first sentence, it would seem you donāt pay a lot of attention to the News. Which is a Good Thing, Whichever side of Whatever you may be on.
Letās call this what it is, a single audiophile equipment manufacturers websiteās Forum area, rather than glorifying it up to a Governmental level.