Blocking threads.

[Arthur Marshall]

As we seem to have become afflicted with threads started simply to either wind people up or to propound some fatuous nonsense someone has seen on YouTube , is it possible to introduce a facility to block entire threads, rather than just people?

I know they can just be ignored, but they have a terrible fascination...

[Lily Rose]

2 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

but they have a terrible fascination

Indeed, sometimes you just can’t help a peek when it pops to the top even though you know you shouldn’t.

[IanD]

18 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

Indeed, sometimes you just can’t help a peek when it pops to the top even though you know you shouldn’t.

Since the culprit is usually one poster, you know what the (existing) solution is... 😉 

[IanM]

50 minutes ago, IanD said:

Since the culprit is usually one poster, you know what the (existing) solution is... 😉 

 

But every time someone posts, the thread gets bumped to the top.  Also when that poster is quoted you can see what they've written.

[dogless]

I guess its a minor niche forum ... we'd none of us be reading if we had something better to do so what's the problem 🌞

 

Rog

[Tony Brooks]

2 minutes ago, dogless said:

I guess its a minor niche forum ... we'd none of us be reading if we had something better to do so what's the problem 🌞

 

Rog

 

Most of us know the OP is being very silly, but what concerns me is that new boaters could take his views as true and come a real cropper. All we can do is counter his/its views, but that seem to encourage him/it. I know what I would prefer to happen, but as I was one told, the mods do not have the expertise to sanction those promoting such tosh.

[Arthur Marshall]

30 minutes ago, dogless said:

I guess its a minor niche forum ... we'd none of us be reading if we had something better to do so what's the problem 🌞

 

Rog

Look, this is a forum. You can't go round being sensible on it.

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, dogless said:

I guess its a minor niche forum ... we'd none of us be reading if we had something better to do so what's the problem 🌞

I have been so busy I havnt been on here for months.

[wakey_wake]

On 08/07/2026 at 16:00, IanD said:

Since the culprit is usually one poster, you know what the (existing) solution is... 😉 

 

Except the 'culprit' is 7:1 not the one poster who succeeded in causing the problem (as we surmise was his aim), but the other regulars who agree that it's a pointless thread and are continuing with a) engaging the OP, b) pointing out what's wrong, c) trying to digress to something interesting.

 

On 08/07/2026 at 17:29, Tony Brooks said:

[...] what concerns me is that new boaters could take his views as true and come a real cropper.

 

I propose the first sensible regular to write "I think this thread is pushing dangerous ideas, and I recommend everyone should ignore it. All who agree, Greenie please!".

 

Then a round of greenies and all decent people refrain from replying. Shortly after a mod could lock it, or file it in the gloomy place, if we have that.

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, wakey_wake said:

 

Except the 'culprit' is 7:1 not the one poster who succeeded in causing the problem (as we surmise was his aim), but the other regulars who agree that it's a pointless thread and are continuing with a) engaging the OP, b) pointing out what's wrong, c) trying to digress to something interesting.

 

 

I propose the first sensible regular to write "I think this thread is pushing dangerous ideas, and I recommend everyone should ignore it. All who agree, Greenie please!".

 

Then a round of greenies and all decent people refrain from replying. Shortly after a mod could lock it, or file it in the gloomy place, if we have that.

Perhaps we could just get it transferred to current affairs.

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Perhaps we could just get it transferred to current affairs.

 

Excellent idea! I'll report your suggestion to draw it to the attention of the moddies. 

 

 

[wakey_wake]

18 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Perhaps we could just get it transferred to current affairs.

That's fine for me too, but I presume some folks actually read that category and still want a solution to the OP problem - which this isn't, for them.

[Llamedos]

On 08/07/2026 at 15:37, Arthur Marshall said:

As we seem to have become afflicted with threads started simply to either wind people up or to propound some fatuous nonsense someone has seen on YouTube , is it possible to introduce a facility to block entire threads, rather than just people?

I know they can just be ignored, but they have a terrible fascination...

There's one 'troll' who's suddenly popped up in the last few day and clearly started a thread with no other apparent purpose but to wind people up. He's succeeding too. I'm not going to mention his name but I think everyone will know who I'm talking about. 🤔

[Arthur Marshall]

He appears to have lost interest. Maybe he'll shut up for another six years...

[The History Man]

Go on go on tell tell on him! I feel so outside the circle right now.  
 

I’ve wandered around the site for the last few weeks and my opinion has changed.  So many helpful souls with a vast amount of knowledge to share and they often do.  Wonderful.  Unfortunately first impressions were different as I initially hit a few threads via my searches that quickly descended into vitriolic bickering that seemed to be built on historic feuds that were never explained.  
 

As I said on one of the above,  I only have one other forum to compare this to and find that one far more strongly moderated.  This is a double edged sword in my view, but it does allow the oxygen of attention to those who troll. 

[Tony Brooks]

3 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

He appears to have lost interest. Maybe he'll shut up for another six years...

 

or mod action - until he resurfaces, possibly under a differnt name.

[IanD]

2 hours ago, The History Man said:

Go on go on tell tell on him! I feel so outside the circle right now.  
 

I’ve wandered around the site for the last few weeks and my opinion has changed.  So many helpful souls with a vast amount of knowledge to share and they often do.  Wonderful.  Unfortunately first impressions were different as I initially hit a few threads via my searches that quickly descended into vitriolic bickering that seemed to be built on historic feuds that were never explained.  
 

As I said on one of the above,  I only have one other forum to compare this to and find that one far more strongly moderated.  This is a double edged sword in my view, but it does allow the oxygen of attention to those who troll. 

There's a mixture of both on CWDF -- a lot of helpful people with deep knowledge, but also quite a few vitriolic bickerers. Sometimes the same people... 😉 

[MrsM]

I find the light-touch modding here absolutely spot on. It's enough to know that things will never be allowed to deteriorate too far, without being at all intrusive or 'big brother'. Very grateful to those that give up so much of their precious free time to do this thankless task. 

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, MrsM said:

I find the light-touch modding here absolutely spot on. It's enough to know that things will never be allowed to deteriorate too far, without being at all intrusive or 'big brother'. Very grateful to those that give up so much of their precious free time to do this thankless task. 

Ditto. And who tell you off very politely when you step over the line, though I'm sure that's never happened to you!

[Llamedos]

3 hours ago, IanD said:

There's a mixture of both on CWDF -- a lot of helpful people with deep knowledge, but also quite a few vitriolic bickerers. Sometimes the same people... 😉 

I think it’s a sign of their age. I find myself getting more grumpy as the years pass. It’s a man thing. I’m sure I’ll get over it one day. 😂
 

We should all take a leaf out of @MrsM’s book - always measured and courteous. 

[Ange]

9 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

He appears to have lost interest. Maybe he'll shut up for another six years...

Unfortunately not. I've just seen his latest offering...

 

What a pleasant fellow, not.

[Peanut]

Maybe the aim is to so rial contributors, goading them to make unguarded replies that can later be used to discredit CWDF elsewhere.

[IanD]

13 hours ago, Llamedos said:

I think it’s a sign of their age. I find myself getting more grumpy as the years pass. It’s a man thing. I’m sure I’ll get over it one day. 😂
 

We should all take a leaf out of @MrsM’s book - always measured and courteous. 

Death comes to us all... 😉 

[Arthur Marshall]

25 minutes ago, IanD said:

Death comes to us all... 😉 

Not yet it hasn't. Therefore it's just a hypothesis, not a fact.

[IanD]

20 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Not yet it hasn't. Therefore it's just a hypothesis, not a fact.

Out of the billions of people who have lived and died so far, not a single one that we know of has lived to 130, and there are solid scientific reasons why the absolute limit on human lifespan is less than 200 years.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/somatic-mutations-limit-human-lifespan-aging-study-12205984

 

So "Death comes to us all" is clearly a fact, not a hypothesis... 🙂 

 

"A fact is an objective, repeatedly confirmed observation. A hypothesis is a testable, tentative explanation for a specific phenomenon. A theory is a rigorously tested and well-substantiated framework that unifies many facts and hypotheses to explain why things happen."

 

P.S. Yes I know you were joking... 🙂 

 

 

Edited July 23 by IanD