I am often very surprised when a thread gets pulled. Having said that, I do think there has to be some sort of rules/guidelines in place.

Well,as usual,I missed it-not here that often...however,when Spike ran the show,you either followed the rules or you were on the teacups-and not able to post for a period of time.

So yes,moderators/rules/guidelines would be a good thing.

I think all forums require a moderator who can ensure that there is peace and everyone follows the rules; rules we’ve all agreed to in order to participate. I’m good with that. What I have a problem with is when a participant feels they have the right to moderate as well and they try to dictate what topics can or can’t be posted. That’s wrong. I don’t always agree with everything I see, I wouldn’t have appreciated the post Elmer described, but if it doesn’t break the rules we’ve all agreed to, then it’s that person’s right to post it and it’s my right to ignore it and engage in the threads that that I want to engage with. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find it pretty offensive when someone tells me I need to retreat to the hot topics forum to discuss current events. If and when I want to venture there I do, but it’s not anyone’s place to tell me or any of us where and what we can post about; most especially when we’re having good engaging conversation. I’m glad the thread is back too. Rant done. :c)

I missed the thread you considered to be in really poor taste ... thankfully!

It used to be stressed here to avoid politics and religion. I'm okay with those rules being relaxed as long as people keep up a civil discussion. I'm not sure more moderators would help the KT much. (And I'm not sure more moderators could help Hot Topics much).

I think we have shown that we can discuss political topics politely.

That s the key difference between the KT and Hot Topics.

Nickel, yes it's true that many want the KT to be politically free, and they can scroll on by if they so wish.

These topics are usually clearly marked.

But to answer Elmer's question, unfortunately I think we do need moderators.

I scrolled right on by it. See enough politicking on tv.

Self moderation would be my preference. I've barely visited this forum in the past couple of months, it's just the same old-same old crap every time I peek in.

We have a few posters that ruin every topic for me with their criticism and obvious need to endlessly 'correct' everyone.

I don't know anything about the two topics that Elmer mentioned, I steer clear of political threads.

Research the term "paper tiger".

To answer your question, I think there should be a moderator. But only the one paid to do so, not self appointed moderators. I think one should be free to report something they find inappropriate, but not to remove comments by flagging. That tool is getting abused across boards.

I TOTALLY agree with lukkirish.

Raye Smith ... I researched "paper tiger" and only learned what I already knew. Can you be a teeny bit more specific?

Even though I realize that all I have to do is not read a thread that looks volatile, I occasionally do it anyway and usually wind up getting mad because people are human and just can't disagree without getting combative. That's why I really wish that if someone wants to have a heated discussion they would use the Hot Topics forum. What really irritates me is when a very innocent discussion winds up being a brawl. Recently I posted on the subject of how women and men think differently on household chores. I was looking for a good-natured and possibly comical thread on it. But there were some really agitating comments so I'm going to think twice before I post from now on. I think there are always certain individuals who enjoy pushing buttons and starting a fight. Or they get too offended at the slightest hint that someone disagrees with them. Until recently I didn't even realize that we had the ability to "flag" a post and I still don't know how it's done. I think it's a shame that we can't behave like adults thus no need of even having such a tool. I think that if something is really vile or sinister it should be reported to Houzz and they can take it down, but I also think that if people want to rant and fight, take it to Hot Topics and leave the rest of the forums free of incivility.

I wasn't here in time to see the thread, I guess. But, as I have posted a little

before....I wish this forum would be kinder (at times) and as Rita just posted,

take the ranting and raving to HotTopics. If that is what you want to do, that's

ok...just leave this forum for cooler conversations, questions, help, etc., etc.

We all have our (sometimes hot) opinions, of course. But, most of us can live

and let live for a few minutes a day? Our ranting isn't going to change a

darn thing anyway...just hurt feelings and more ranting and raving.

I do not like censorship except for self-censorship (and not being allowed to yell fire in a theater if there isn't a fire). Ritaweeda said "it's a shame that we can't behave like adults" and I agree with her, but it seems that, quite suddenly, some people have come to believe that being disgusting, rude, uncivil and so on is adult behavior. It isn't. Name calling is what people resort to when they haven't got anything intelligent to say and that's just sad. I find the controversial threads on KT to be much more interesting and thoughtful than what usually ends up happening on HT.

We have moderator services through Houzz. They did return the Kavanaugh thread after looking it over. They sometimes don't return egregiously rude/bad taste threads/posts. All in all they do OK. I don't see any need to replace their services.

I wish that this site could set up the same sort of system that Craigslist has, where it takes a number of flaggings to remove a post. That way if some reader gets his/her panties in a wad over an innocent post she can't just decide on his/her own that it is not fit to be in print and have it removed through her own flagging only..

Dragon, before you flame me for using the term "paper tiger" saying it's disgusting, rude, uncivil as you put it, look the term up. A paper tiger is something that initially appears scary but upon further investigation is found to be weak and harmless i.e. the original post thesis. That certainly doesn't qualify as "name calling".

I'd love to find a way to flag obscenities on Pinterest. I enjoy the pics but "hide" anything with foul language.

Its not always the moderator who pulls a post. I deleted one my own posts after I re-read it and realized that a grammatical error put forth an unintended interpretation. Another time, a wrong item was attached to the message. The quickest and cleanest way to fix that was to delete it and re-do.

However, Elmer Fudd brought up some very good and insightful points. I detest posts that are deceitful and purports to distort the truth. Muckraking and smear campaigns have no place on a forum such as this one.

I find the 'delete' button far too handy. Someone did post a pic of a submarine during a flood in the funnies post. I'm assuming that's the post Elmer was referring to.

It's now gone, and I believe, replaced with a completely different photo.

People just delete comments when they're confronted, or get told something that the don't want to hear.

Yes Jasdip, that was the one. It wasn't the image that was in poor taste, it was the caption that went with it. That person doesn't always display the best judgement, I can't guess why she didn't realize how highly offensive and unfunny it was.

Rave Smith - I hope you come back and see this comment. I was not making any comment on your use of "paper tiger" as being rude or disgusting. I was trying to figure out what other folks were trying to refer to without being flagged. I thought you were giving a hint, but I still couldn't figure it out and thought you could be more specific. I didn't think you were being rude. At all.

I apologize if you misunderstood my meaning in my second post - it had nothing to do with you. At all. I was referring to name calling happening in other forums by other people. (I think the term "paper tiger" is a perfectly useful and descriptive phrase. I suppose it was once considered rude, but those days are long gone.)

I’m glad there’s a delete button because it gives a poster an opportunity to rethink their words. Being able to write your thoughts and feelings successfully in a forum setting is a skill that some find harder to accomplish than others. When I’m having a moment or I’m rushed, I’ve often second guessed things I’ve written, so I get it. What I appreciate is when a poster leaves notice that they’ve deleted their post so readers understand the disconnect.

Lukkiirish, yes, an edit button is necessary. But I don't like the delete button.

Raye Smith - I hope you come back to this thread. I wrote a response to you last night and it disappeared, which is confusing. I just wanted you to know that I did not find your use of the phrase "paper tiger" to be rude or disgusting. I was referring only to things that happen in other threads when people start to name call. (I originally was asking you to help me figure out what folks said had been deleted and I thought you could help me find out since you seemed to know.) I am sorry that you misunderstood. I don't even know how to flame people, much less want to do it.

I think it's good for a forum to be moderated, within reason. But everything is relative, and my idea of "reason" might not be someone else's. I'll trust you on the post you mentioned, Elmer; I didn't see it, but it sounds as if I'd agree with you.

My opinion on this is influenced by an experience I had years ago when I was a member of an online writing group for a long time. It was a large group, and it was excellent. We learned a great deal, produced some of our best writing ever, and had loads of fun. All that ended when a woman bought the site and imposed her rules on us. Censorship destroyed the group.

I think it's a good idea too. A little " watchful eye" never hurt anyone and sometimes threads do get ' heated' which can turn into rudeness.

Thanks Dragon, glad to hear that wasn't aimed at me! :) Maybe those "disappearing posts" are in the same place as those voicemails & socks from the dryer that show up a week later! When I responded your post was directly after mine so I thought it was a strange response. To flame someone is to insult them.

A thread disappeared for a little bit then came back, and I noted that the flaggers were unsuccessful and now it's gone again, lol. So silly.

I really hope Houzz is tracking who is doing this.