Forums

/ Subjects / Mathematics

ResourceFinder:

Still

It is good that this banned poster is still dominating the conversation isn't it

It is just like school when someone gets fired or leaves unexpectedly. They are the main topic of conversation for a week or so, and then it is as if they never existed as people move onto more important and pressing matters.

I suspect it will be the same here.

jabed:

This is a big cyberspace. There should be room for all.  Unfortunately some feel so threatened they cannot tolerate others or even ignore them.

Hi jabed. 

Just to give an example of where this all went horribly wrong:  A thread was started about 1920 exam papers.  The originator of that thread was, I think, a fairly new poster here.  The thread included some really interesting material and also a worthwhile discussion about standards of public exams.  The OP of that thread contributed some very valuable stuff and clearly went to a lot of trouble to type it all up. 

Then the thread was hijacked.  This resulted in it being deleted.  All the good material was lost and the time spent typing it was wasted. 

The way I see this, it is a case of rights vs responsibilities.  All are welcome to post here.  And I really do mean that.  But if people are going to post in ways that they know are either unacceptable, or break the T&C, or are sailing close to the wind, then they should start a new thread to do it.  That way, if it is deleted no-one cares.

jabed:

I equally support the case put forward that there should not be this apparent discrimination between the  treatment of those who are newer and those who seem established. 

I don't believe that exists and I am sure that I did not feel this when I was new here.

People who have posted here for a while will clearly have some shared history with the other posters.  They may recognise references to other threads, or previous jokes, etc (for example, that DM posts silly pictures and Betamale thinks he is grumpy - even though we know he isn't) that new posters don't pick up on.  This is inevitable, but does not exclude new people.  At some point everyone was new here and some of those people have stuck around!  The person I mentioned above was fairly new here.

jabed:

The old guard may offer some stability but when they  prevent newer people bringing in ideas,because they do not like change

I disagree with this.  The forum needs new ideas - in fact the more the better.  I get so much out of reading posts here and welcome as much diversity as possible.

Where this becomes problematic is when a single poster is essentially spamming every thread with YouTube links, etc.

jabed: it is not my place to welcome anyone here because it is not "my" (or indeed, anyone else's) forum, but I do hope you will stay and will feel you can ask questions or contribute your point of view. 

DM:

Nazard:

DM posts silly pictures

This is becoming a self-perpetuating myth.  

That was what I meant.  It's part of maths forum lore that this happens, even though more recent posters may never have seen it.  In some ways this could be seen to be an in-joke, although it's not intended to exclude those who missed those halcyon days when pictures appeared frequently.

Randomrosie:

Surely this kind of discussion is something the school kids would be proud of?

Madam, I will refer you to a quote, perhaps by Kissinger, perhaps apocryphal..

"ACADEMIC politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small."

This is an anonymous forum visited by perhaps a few dozen people who will never meet and never have any influence on each others personal lives. Post what you like, when you like and how you like.

I will now get back to my marking....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Randomrosie:

I was directed to this threa

You must have some fun pals ... if I had not posted on TES for over 2 years and someone suddenly said "hey there is a thread on TES Maths that will shock/interest you" ... I would probably think they were strange (and possibly stirring)

But what the heck