Slandered? You probably meant libeled, and all I did was to provide a few facts about the Lionfish thread. Let me list them...
- People are making wild allegations that this action was a direct result of the Lionfish Thread. (True while the allegations are false)
- People have indeed apologized for their actions in that thread. (True)
- It has been the subject of a number of reported posts. (True)
- None of those reports concerned the Thanks button. (True)
- It has been used to make fun of others. (True)
- Those posts have been removed. (True)
- I don't think that its mission has only to do with Lionfish. (True)
I did not bring up the Lionfish thread, but many have and are blaming it for the removal of the thanks button. I aimed to show that this was not the case. In doing so, I simply stated facts. As I have learned in a suit recently brought against me, the truth, no matter how unflattering, is the absolute defense against libel. I feel that I am not guilty in that respect. I have stated previously I was not being coy in posting this.
I also pointed out later that this was something that the mods have reached consensus on, based over several years of trying to keep civility here on ScubaBoard. Indeed (and ironically so),
keeping ScubaBoard civil is largely a thankless job and the mods should be commended for their hard work and devotion. But here, I will try to explain it.
In many of the more contentious threads, you will see the two sides coalescing by the thanks given to one side or the other. The more contentious the thread, the more thanks are given and to the point that it may resemble your Lionfish thread in the sheer number of thanks given. It should not be hard to see that these kind of contentious threads usually spawn problematic posts which must be dealt with. The causality is tenuous at best: which came first, the thanks or the problematic posts? Yet the mods and I believe that the Thanks feature can actually galvanize opposing sides into to making more and more inflammatory posts, creating more work for us and a less civil community. I don't know how else to explain it, I apologize for my ineptitude in doing so, but I am not alone in seeing this phenomenon. Many of the people who have PMed me privately, thanking me for this, have indicated the very same thing. If you have not experienced it, then please thank the mods for their ability to keep things moderately civil. Perhaps this helps somewhat more even though I must apologize for not being able to convey my thoughts as I would like. Mea culpa.