Shout Box - Some Observations

While I accept the whole point of the Shout Box is for spontaneous comments which don't fit well within a forum thread I do feel the need to make a few observations.

1. It appears to be monopolised by a small number of users.
2. There have been recently been reports of 'Private/Closed' sessions which are of no interest to me.
3. Some comments are more appropriate for the Private Message function.
4. 'Please can somebody host' messages are tiresome.

Apologies for my grumpy post - maybe I should just ignore the Shout Box - I think quite a few users already take this approach.

Andrew G in post 101544 said:

While I accept the whole point of the Shout Box is for spontaneous comments which don't fit well within a forum thread I do feel the need to make a few observations.

1. It appears to be monopolised by a small number of users.
2. There have been recently been reports of 'Private/Closed' sessions which are of no interest to me.
3. Some comments are more appropriate for the Private Message function.
4. 'Please can somebody host' messages are tiresome.

Apologies for my grumpy post - maybe I should just ignore the Shout Box - I think quite a few users already take this approach.

1 - Anybody is welcome to use it, it just happens that a regular few use it.
2 - The shoutbox isn't tailored to any 1 person's personal preference.
3 - I've started moving over to PM for certain conversations, so see your point with that.
4 - The whole point of the shoutbox is to ask/notify. Asking people to host is asking something!

Random thought: maybe the Games section could be improved to add an "I don't want to host but am interested in a game between X and Y times on Z date".

From a moderator point of view, the shoutbox tends to get the most moderation, from excitable and ill-thought out comments. It is best to ignore if you're not interested. But other people like it - horses for courses!

I do keep an eye on it but don't go back reading pages of comments so the occasional inappropriate post slips through.

Random thought: maybe the Games section could be improved to add an "I don't want to host but am interested in a game between X and Y times on Z date".

While I accept the whole point of the Shout Box is for spontaneous comments which don't fit well within a forum thread I do feel the need to make a few observations.

1. It appears to be monopolised by a small number of users.
2. There have been recently been reports of 'Private/Closed' sessions which are of no interest to me.
3. Some comments are more appropriate for the Private Message function.
4. 'Please can somebody host' messages are tiresome.

Apologies for my grumpy post - maybe I should just ignore the Shout Box - I think quite a few users already take this approach.

It has given everyone a voice which sadly ignores the fact that most people (myself included) do not have anything interesting to say while at the same time foisting their witless outpourings onto the whole world.

postal in post 101601 said:

It has given everyone a voice which sadly ignores the fact that most people (myself included) do not have anything interesting to say while at the same time foisting their witless outpourings onto the whole world.

What a fabulous statement, I might use on Twitter at some point if you don't mind.

Peter

Andrew G in post 101544 said:

While I accept the whole point of the Shout Box is for spontaneous comments which don't fit well within a forum thread I do feel the need to make a few observations.

1. It appears to be monopolised by a small number of users.
2. There have been recently been reports of 'Private/Closed' sessions which are of no interest to me.
3. Some comments are more appropriate for the Private Message function.
4. 'Please can somebody host' messages are tiresome.

Apologies for my grumpy post - maybe I should just ignore the Shout Box - I think quite a few users already take this approach.

I am not renowned for my patience and see Andrew's post as very sensible and not grumpy in the slightest. It is my firm belief that the internet is not such a liberating medium as many suggest. It has given everyone a voice which sadly ignores the fact that most people (myself included) do not have anything interesting to say while at the same time foisting their witless outpourings onto the whole world. At one stage when Geoff was experimenting he took account of my neolithic attitudes and he let me have a bespoke set up with the Shout Box not visible. Sadly I now have the Shout Box back after the migration to the new site. Can I ask that the option to hide the Shout Box is made available for all who have a low irritation threshold and high blood pressure?

Can I ask that the option to hide the Shout Box is made available for all who have a low irritation threshold and high blood pressure?

postal in post 101601 said:

Can I ask that the option to hide the Shout Box is made available for all who have a low irritation threshold and high blood pressure?

Um, I just don't look at it; I treat it just like the adverts (yes, I know they pay for the site, but I still don't read them).

Um, I just don't look at it; I treat it just like the adverts (yes, I know they pay for the site, but I still don't read them).

@postal:
What browser are you using? With Firefox or Chrome it's possible to hide the shoutbox via an add-on.