In your opinion what is an ideal discussion ?

In my opinion, an ideal discussion forum is that where the members can air their opinions sans bias without fear franly.. If there is a truth in the other member's view, with magnanimity one should appreciate and accept wholeheartedly.

In my opinion the members should post when they have something worthwhile to say and not only for filling up a slot. I would never reply to any post until I am addressed to or a point not said before by any other member. Merely saying yes to everyone does not solve the purpose of a discussion.

Discussion involves exchange of meaningful ideas on a particular topic. An issue is viewed under different perspectives and it helps us to gain deeper understanding about an issue.  Here, everyone has the freedom of expression, provided it does not hurt other’s personal sentiments. The persons who exchange ideas cannot come into a conclusion about the discussion. The audience or those who listen are the real adjudicators. 

An ideal discussion forum , in which every opinion added by the member should pave the way to knowledge to the members. In this process there may be differences with regards to the opinions of the participant members. They should be treated as mere opinion of that particular member. by all means personal attacks should be avoided to keep the sanctity of the forum.

In my opinion, an ideal discussion is exchange of views. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and need not accept each other's views. A discussion should surely be enriching . In virtual sites, many a times we tend to read too much between the lines. Comments should be therefore direct. Even if one gets entangled in heated discussion, one has to know where to draw the line to maintain a cordial relationship in the forum. Unnecessary comments of course are most unwanted.   

As far as comments are concerned, they should be lucid. Sometimes a bit of humor is alright, but such humorous comments should be linked with the content of the post. There should not be cryptic, mysterious and obscure .comments.

I love to be enlightened,informed and mischievously

controversial to draw the best out of my knowledgeable friends and the worst out of me! And if it is packaged in commanding wisdom and sparkling wit ,it is a generous bonus! Obviously mutual respect,dignity and openness make any discussion a truly stimulating and memorable experience.

I feel that a good discussion is one where members have freely aired their views on the subject being discussed and have contributed to the discussion.I will not say positive or negative because interpretations would be different to each member and it is difficult to draw the line! Sometimes the topic might be such that it might invite some controversial responses which should be taken by others in the right spirit. We are all adults here and can handle things , if not there are moderators to intervene and steer the discussion on its right track! Repetetive posts and ideas should be avoided  ..A little bit of humor and wit is definitely welcome since we are not on a college campus !

All other other things you said are mostly being followed. The main problem is with those members who drag on, saying the same thing again and again and insist on making others contribute to their opinions. These members are mere point hunters. This type has to be taken care of by the moderators.

An ideal discussion means free and frank expression of views,  responding to others' views,  flexibility and restricting to scope of the point at issue.  Flexibility is significant. If you are so rigid that yo cannot change your view in any circumstances, any discussion will be futile.

rambabu wrote:

All other other things you said are mostly being followed. The main problem is with those members who drag on, saying the same thing again and again and insist on making others contribute to their opinions. These members are mere point hunters. This type has to be taken care of by the moderators.

 

When someone drags on , others need not contribute ....As far as point hunting goes it is clear going by the weekly leader boards ..

Unless each member consciously curbs the instinct to post for the sake of doing so we will find discussions becoming boring and repetitive. Many discussions have more than 50% of the posts made by one member only and this demotivates others ! So, it depends on individual members to maintain a certain amount of discipline ..

For me an ideal discussion is like Indian Masala movie where you should have emotions, aggression, drama, action along with knowledge sharing. But at the end we should feel comfortable to each other without having any negative feeling about other member. Also as mentioned above that a member should feel free to voice out anything (without hurting other's sentiments).

Sometimes we might have heated discussions but as a matured mind we should take it positively.  

usha manohar wrote:

rambabu wrote:

All other other things you said are mostly being followed. The main problem is with those members who drag on, saying the same thing again and again and insist on making others contribute to their opinions. These members are mere point hunters. This type has to be taken care of by the moderators.

 

When someone drags on , others need not contribute ....As far as point hunting goes it is clear going by the weekly leader boards ..

Unless each member consciously curbs the instinct to post for the sake of doing so we will find discussions becoming boring and repetitive. Many discussions have more than 50% of the posts made by one member only and this demotivates others ! So, it depends on individual members to maintain a certain amount of discipline ..

Discipline. when point hunters were dragging the discussion only to amass points, I complained a Moderator. He was kind enough to advise me not to respond to such postings. And these are from a knowledgeable old member of this forum.

 

@usha manohar I must admit that the thread you have started is very meaningful. I say this because I feel we as adults must all know how to maintain the decorum of a forum. In my opinion humour is fine unless it's not too sarcastically directed towards anyone. I would go with the third point that you mentioned and keep an option open for the first point which may take place. I am against the practice of name calling, even indirectly, in the forum. This is truly unethical. Right here, I can point out the names used by a member but I would prefer not to do so. Secondly, supporting both the sides of a discussion seems quite baseless. If we all follow this pattern then discussion can be very healthy even though with opposite opinions.

Humor is required some times . But it should be related to the content of the post. Sarcasm indicates the other member' s inability to express his own view. Inability to add something of one's own kills the very spirit of the forum discussions. For example a member posed a question, " Why Modi is Silent ? the reply was perhaps Modi is maintaining " Maun Vrat. " This is alright and very much related with the content of the post. Sarcasm, calling names are undesirable.

rambabu wrote:

usha manohar wrote:

rambabu wrote:

All other other things you said are mostly being followed. The main problem is with those members who drag on, saying the same thing again and again and insist on making others contribute to their opinions. These members are mere point hunters. This type has to be taken care of by the moderators.

 

When someone drags on , others need not contribute ....As far as point hunting goes it is clear going by the weekly leader boards ..

Unless each member consciously curbs the instinct to post for the sake of doing so we will find discussions becoming boring and repetitive. Many discussions have more than 50% of the posts made by one member only and this demotivates others ! So, it depends on individual members to maintain a certain amount of discipline ..

Discipline. when point hunters were dragging the discussion only to amass points, I complained a Moderator. He was kind enough to advise me not to respond to such postings. And these are from a knowledgeable old member of this forum.

 

 

LOL, That is quite funny coming from you ...You only need to look at every thread here to know who the real point hunter is !

I can recognize them.  Because of this I complained to the Moderators. And this Moderators also agreed with me and identified the concerned Point hunter.  It's easy to identify Point hunters. I can name them. Even another moderator too identified that particular point hunter. In ideal member adds more information than monotonous and stale stuff which is nothing but echo of other members.

rambabu wrote:

I can recognize them.  Because of this I complained to the Moderators. And this Moderators also agreed with me and identified the concerned Point hunter.  It's easy to identify Point hunters. I can name them. Even another moderator too identified that particular point hunter. In ideal member adds more information than monotonous and stale stuff which is nothing but echo of other members.

 

The million dollar question is why is this point hunter member never on the leader board, you seem to beat him/her/them week after week, month after month ! Food for thought !

A Million Dollar question indeed. The reason for this point hunter's inability to be on the top week after week is he has been warned by the concerned authorities. It's as simple as this.

I wonder...Because, if at all the authorities have warned this member, it must have been quite a few years ago ! at least 2 - 3 years ago since board statistics speak different !