It seems a lot of posters don't see a problem talking shyt about one another. Some say that's even why this forum was created. So we have it, and lots of it, in many different forms. Here are a few I see:

1) Straight smack face to face (in the same thread).
2) Smack behind the back (in different threads, often threads created for gossip). This means the butt of the joke must seek out the smack to respond.
3) Smack whispers behind the back (where the gutless gossiper doesn't quote the butt and changes the butt's na.me to make it difficult to search for if the hopeless butt cares enough to try)
4) And now the more recent, smack talk about people and duct tape their mouths, so they are unable to respond (at least in the same thread).

There are probably ways I'm leaving out. Seems sort of ridiculous to me that if we are going to allow people who enjoy revisiting various levels of K through 12 to gossip, smack talk and spread lies about one another, we should be trying so hard to make rules about how they do it.

Yeah, I'm considering the idea that all PU meta discusssion should happen in the worst posters thread or moderation thread.

The problem is that I think lots of people will find that annoyingly chained. And I'm probably one of them.

The other option is 20 different copy-cat threads and this whole sub forum being unreadable.

At some point, you have to moderate readability/usability.

Possibly. But then I get back to - if the posters of PU can't manage to avoid that themselves, what do I care if the forum is unreadable and should be closed?

I'm pretty sure if Mat comes back from managing his post-op pain to find this forum is nothing more than 100 exclusive gossip threads, there won't be an option of keeping it open.

Same question. If the posters of this forum can't manage a modicum of self control - why do I care if it gets shut down?

You can either provide a modicum of direction at times where it's appropriate (as head mod), or stand idly by as the forum collapses into anarchic chaos. That's entirely up to you.

If you want this place shut down or just don't want to mod anymore, let Mat know.

i really have no strong opinion on how, or if, this forum should be.
mrwookie is the one who can make that decision whenever he pleases.

i'm back in the actual office after my surgery, 10 days ago. pain med free. and very grateful.

some mods just want to watch the forums burn

(this joke does not get old)

hawesome.

One more time: I don't want the place shut down and I'm happy to keep modding. Just because I don't plan to mod the way you want it modded doesn't make either of those things true.

I do however think this forum, or any 'unchained' concept forum, relies on posters exercising some amount of self control to*make it worth staying open.