Newbie seeks enlightenment.

[Col Not Colin]

Hi everyone.

    Is there an "about" link for this forum, similar to the type of thing most websites provide?

Can I ask the following sorts of questions:

1.  In a short paragraph, what does this website or forum aim to do?  

2.  What affiliations or structures exist (e.g is this a subsidary of We-are-foums-dot-com)?   Where does the funding come from?

3.  Is there a registered office and/or a conventional postal address for this organisation?

4.  Is there an internal complaints procedure?

 - - - - -  End of introduction, setting the scene etc.     Informal, chat type discussion to follow ---

(Briefly) What is the history of development?  Did one person start this forum as a blog, for example?  Does one person still have over-all control?  This will help to inform us what kind of thing is happening here now, what to expect and indeed whether we want to put in any time here.

How have the existing rules developed?  Is there scope to modify those rules according to user requests?

If I was going tp pick one specific thing to discuss it might be something like this:

The "science forums etiquette" thread in the Forum Announcements section offers the following advice:

You may be intending to become a moderator by impressing the forum staff (with) your superb skills, impressive vocabulary, witty sense of humor and ability to make derogatory comments to newbies. That's all fine and good, but do it quietly and don't annoy the rest of the forum members.

 What is that all about?  That's all fine and good?  That's what the staff do?  Don't annoy the members but the newbies are fair game - is this a fraternity? 

I suppose most on-line forums do tend to have these characteristics.  There's bucket-fulls of research and discussion about how and why on-line communities tend to become echo-chambers for one set of opinions and cliques will form.  Not much point worrying too much about it but it would help to have some idea of the historical development of this forum and hence some idea of what the current state of play is likely to be.

Let's get some balance here, there is NOTHING WRONG with establishing a website for like-minded people to discuss things and share ideas.  People can find another website to discuss their beliefs if they wish, or create a whole new one of their own.  I found this website with a Google search and I was looking for a science forum, if I had wanted a place to discuss the inner beauty of the game of water polo I would have gone elsewehere.  More-over I'd be grateful if the water-polo players kept their discussion off the Astronomy and Cosmology section of this Forum.  There has to be some way to keep the threads and discussions coherent and on-topic.

Can I just start by trying to understand the historical development of this forum and identifying what the current state of play is likely to be.  Thanks for your time and best wishes to everyone.

[Phi for All]

Volunteers trying to provide a platform for discussing science. Volunteers with a limited amount of time.

No offense, but you seem to be asking us for a lot of information you can use to complain about us. Others may have the time to update you on our development since about 2012, but I doubt anyone on staff does. Can't you slake your boredom in a way that involves more discussion about science?

[Klaynos]

Blike started it. It's all his fault. 

It's all volunteers though. All the way up (or down). 

 

[MigL]

I walked into a coffee shop one day, where some guys were having an interesting conversation, so I joined in the conversation.
I got something out of it, and I gave something back.
I've since returned to this coffee shop every day, met the same people, and had interesting coversations/discussions about many subjects; as long as I keep getting something out of the discussions, and my imput is welcome, I'll keep coming back.

Why should I care who originally built the coffee shop, or what its intended purpose was ?
Don't overthink it; it's just a discussion forum.

[iNow]

2 hours ago, Col Not Colin said:

1.  In a short paragraph, what does this website or forum aim to do?  

Bring people together to discuss interesting things, usually on the topic of science... but not always. The common theme is people here appreciate science

2 hours ago, Col Not Colin said:

What affiliations or structures exist (e.g is this a subsidary of We-are-foums-dot-com)?   Where does the funding come from?

It doesn't cost much to host software on a server somewhere, and my guess is there's some extremely limited ad revenue. Unless you're asking to pay for it all yourself out of your own funds, it's none of your business. This isn't a corporation. It's just a website.

2 hours ago, Col Not Colin said:

3.  Is there a registered office and/or a conventional postal address for this organisation?

Nope, but IIRC it's based out UK and those are the laws it follows

2 hours ago, Col Not Colin said:

4.  Is there an internal complaints procedure?

There's an entire subforum for feedback. There's also a report post feature. 

[Col Not Colin]

Hi all and thanks for these replies.

   I'm cautious.  Trying to identify the motivation for online activities is key to staying safe and savvy.

Volunteers sounds good but it must cost money to keep a server running.  Asking where the funding comes from seems a sensible question.

3 hours ago, Phi for All said:

No offense, but you seem to be asking us for a lot of information you can use to complain about us.

Good news, I'm not planning to complain. At the moment my main motivation is not wanting to be a part of any activity that shouts down newbies.

2 hours ago, Klaynos said:

Blake started it

Well, thanks Blake.  You were probably trying to do a good thing.

2 hours ago, MigL said:

I walked into a coffee shop one day,

I think that's what I was looking for, a place for discussion about science.  It's got to be friendly though, one of my sons is going to spill their soup everytime, if you know what I mean.

29 minutes ago, iNow said:

(about funding)....it's none of your business

OK.  Probably fair.  I'll exit now.      <-- Late editing.  That bit's ridiculous and melo-dramatic even by my standards.  There's no implication that it's just because of iNow.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Col Not Colin

[Phi for All]

7 minutes ago, Col Not Colin said:

Good news, I'm not planning to complain. At the moment my main motivation is not wanting to be a part of any activity that shouts down newbies.

Perhaps you have some misconceptions in that regard. Newbies who want to discuss mainstream science aren't shouted down, ever. Newbies who want to challenge mainstream science using their own made up, unevidenced pet theories get asked to follow the rules, which they often misconstrue as being shouted down. 

11 minutes ago, Col Not Colin said:

Well, thanks Blake.  You were probably trying to do a good thing.

No offense, but this is the sort of comment that makes me think this is all about complaining. If this is a compliment, it's very back-handed.

His name was blike, though, and I believe he practices medicine now, so yes, he's doing a good thing.

[swansont]

4 hours ago, Col Not Colin said:

    Is there an "about" link for this forum, similar to the type of thing most websites provide?

 

https://www.scienceforums.net/guidelines/ (one of the options under “browse” at top left)

Section 1: Purpose Statement
ScienceForums.net is dedicated to providing a forum for the discussion of all things scientific with the highest degree of integrity and respectability. We aim to provide all individuals, regardless of their education level, a forum to express their ideas and love of science.

4 hours ago, Col Not Colin said:

The "science forums etiquette" thread in the Forum Announcements section offers the following advice:

You may be intending to become a moderator by impressing the forum staff (with) your superb skills, impressive vocabulary, witty sense of humor and ability to make derogatory comments to newbies. That's all fine and good, but do it quietly and don't annoy the rest of the forum members.

 What is that all about?  That's all fine and good?  That's what the staff do?  Don't annoy the members but the newbies are fair game - is this a fraternity? 

People who want to be moderators are generally not moderator material. It’s a version of Catch-22.

 

[Klaynos]

18 hours ago, Phi for All said:

 

His name was blike, though, and I believe he practices medicine now, so yes, he's doing a good thing.

Damn autocorrect! Sorry.