An appeal for moderation

[Occhidiangela]

Hi,

As one who has often taken up the mantle of 'grammar nazi' in the past, this may get me accused of hypocrisy.  On the other hand, if what I am about to say came from a poster noted for sloppy posting, then it would have no weight.  So, perhaps, the only ones who can make this point would all be hypocrits.

A forum must have standards or devolve into primordial ooze.  Anyone with more than a passing experience with Internet, especially web, especially game, fora holds that as a self evident truth.  Not nearly as self evident is that if the standards are set arbitrarily high, the result is invariably stagnation and decay as the existing posters drift off and new ones are scared away before they can become regulars.

Thus, the standards must be set with some care.  Too low, and the noise overcomes the signal.  Too high, and there is no signal left.  Either way, the death knell of that forum has been struck.  Those with something worthwhile to say but without a Churchillian command of the language (and there are many such) should be welcome to post and not overly intimidated.  I fear that, in an effort to maintain high standards (a worthy goal) we at the Lounge have (or perhaps just are about to) crossed the line into stagnation.

So, if it is not too late, let me suggest that we show more moderation in the sense "to lessen the intensity or extremeness of" our grammarian criticisms and less moderation in the sense "to preside over" the means of expression of others.

Let us set the standard of acceptable communication at acceptable communication.  Instead of searching for a perfect medium, perhaps devoid of message, we could settle for a medium sufficiently clear that the message is conveyed.  Not an abadonment of standards, but a repositioning of them away from the snobbish self-congratulatory levels we seem to be approching.

--Pete
[right][snapback]63357[/snapback][/right]

In a different slant on the atmosphere in the Lounger, we probably need more joke threads. I daresay, as a culpable party, there has been a propensity toward "serious" topics that is somewhat out of character with the Lounge's founding principle of friend's, new and old, meeting in "Bolty's Living Room" or "our communal living room that Bolty Built" to talk about all and sundry.

FWIW

Occhi

PS: Harrumph, one should never kvetch about something without offering remedy:

WoW! A Christmas Poem
Sung to the tune of "Greensleeves"

What Orc is this
Who just bashed my head?
He still whacks at me, aims to make me dead.

And who's that troll
At me slinging spears
And that Shaman who summons my fears?

They, they, are the Hand of Thrall
Buncha Horde minions
And they've got some gall

Help, help, on Tichondrius
Faction warring sure stirs up a fuss


Oh see the Night Elf
That babe is hot
So why out of me, does she beat the snot?

And who's that brute
With the hammer large
Tries to send me to my fun'ral barge?

They, they are Alliance pogues
Hunters, Paladins
Warriors, and Rogues

Shield broke
In Tauren I cuss
Faction warring sure stirs up a fuss


The undead crawl
In the shadows dark
Then they mugged me last night in Druid's Park

That gnome ran off
With his weird machine
All I see is a crazed mob of green

Hearthstone!
To the tavern warm
Need some beer and rest,
'Fore I face the swarm

Beer, beer!
Ah that foamy draft
When's my next PvP day in Warcraft?