I think the “specific problem that he doesn’t want to talk about” is made up. He is in it to win it. This kind of thread, right here, goes against the spirit and friendliness of PC, not the translation thread. This is not supposed to be a debating forum.
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One of the reasons this translation thread exists is the friendliness and welcome of new members.
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I don’t think no one needs to reveal what they personally feel or happened to them, just to “prove” the problem. The problem is clearly described. It doesn’t go away if some people start whataboutism and don’t understand or pretend not to understand. The first post is edited many times (more info added), and it’s easy to read there, no need to search each messages. no need to ask again and again the same questions.
I think suspecting this member and making assumptions like above is against the “friendliness”.
Don’t attack the person. If you don’t understand the problem, it’s not the persons fault who tells it.
@varn is doing what is actually is good way in my opinion.
He is not telling names or what happened to somebody, who did something, but instead stays in the facts.
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Thanks for highlighting this important point.
It surely is. After my demonstration of the problem in the OP, I seek understanding from the translation/transcription camp, and all the other Postcrossers as well, to support the blanket ban I propose.
Even if this ban is implemented, there are still many things we can translate on postcards such as printed texts on the front or captions on the back, which people are already doing here and which I think is a great mutual learning activity. But as with the writings/messages, I urge Postcrossing team to leave them out completely.
Welcome back (I thought you said you were out) and please refer to my OP. At least a debate can be constructive and does not violate the community guidelines.
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I have been reading the whole thread for the last 2-3 days and do understand your point of view. But, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I support your idea to ban the translation thread (not that banning it would cause me great inconvenience because I can always use google translate or Postcrossing members from the specific country for help).
I don’t find the thread as problematic as you describe because only a few cards are posted there and it is fairly moderated. Your whole argument seems to be that there is an exception to the rule and that it needs to be resolved. But, I find the exception a sensible one. So, I find the whole debate rather an academic one.
@varn , I do appreciate you putting so much effort to discuss an issue that you feel passionately about and compiling all the arguments. I look forward to what the final verdict is from the PC team 
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I’m about done feeding the thread here which I have my suspicions about honestly but they’re not worth airing.
However. I moderate for a living. It’s my paid job to moderate forums and facebook for companies. On one of those forums there is a strict rule that users cannot ask for health advice. People who come in and say “Hey I have a headache what could it be?” have their threads closed and deleted, because it is a strict rule. Except there is ONE thread where health advice can be asked for. One single large thread where all those questions can go. Why? Because of the forum topic, which can require health information and because having it all in one place means it is easier to moderate and make sure no one is breaking any of the other rules.
The translation thread is the same thing. It is an exception because of the nature of postcrossing. It is in one place for easy moderation and so people can find it when they need it. It is there because we have so many languages and Google translate doesn’t always make sense (for example, I see some posts in there explaining phrases that don’t make sense directly translated to English and a native speaker has helped explain what they mean). I also see mostly card fronts and stamps.
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Thanks for writing in. Feel free to ask questions if there is any unclear point in my OP.
Thanks for the input which is a prime example of appeal to authority. Pardon me if I can’t find any new points to add to or revise my main argument in the OP.
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To me this only shows that the “one thread”-method isn’t working either, if another threads still are opened and needs to be closed?
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Let me refer to the forum you mentioned as Forum A.
- Is Forum A similar to Postcrossing which consists of two components: a main site with limited user interactions and a forum like this?
- Is the exception to the no-seeking-health-advice in Forum A intentionally kept implicit and the moderators expect users to learn of it through observation (if not accidentally breaking it themselves)?
- As with the health advice questions people sometimes ask on Forum A, do they involve a third party (in addition to the person asking and forum members being asked)? In the Postcrossing case here, the writings involve the sender.
- Perhaps people also ask questions for their relatives or friends.
I’m curious how exactly the case of Forum A can be applicable to Postcrossing as demonstrated in the OP. Your clarification will also legitimize your appeal to authority. So far the jump between the two paragraphs looks fuzzy to me.
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But that’s because many people don’t read the community guidelines properly or at all, or don’t understand them. Or just can’t be bothered to think about the right place to post.
Just as it happens here, multiple times a day, for all kinds of topics - posts which then can be moved or merged quite easily by the moderators.
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I am out of the content of debate. I have not contributed to it since declaring so. However, I am watching in horror as your tell people their viewpoints are invalid and brushing all questions that threaten your argument aside as if they have never been asked…as if your get to be the decider of what is discussed, even to the point of repeatedly changing the thread title after being asked by a mod not to. I find your approach to be that of a bully. And yes, I believe that type of rudeness goes against community guidelines. I do not believe this thread is in good taste at all and am having trouble seeing, at this point, what purpose it is serving.
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New users don’t always read the rules when they join the forum, and others feel the rules don’t apply to them.
No. But thank you for this comment, it tells me everything I need to know about your motives here, and those motives have little to nothing to do with the translation thread.
You can continue to insist you’re wanting discussion, but you absolutely do not.
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I’m not offended in the least, but it is nice to have clarity as to where you’re coming from.
Good. Would appreciate it if you could clarify some points I raised about Forum A and see if there’s anything we can learn and apply here and how exactly it would be a direct application.
As in the OP, from what I think are the two cornerstones of Postcrossing:
- Senders are the most vulnerable party as far as the message part is concerned
- Presumption of privacy
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Yes, like I wrote; one thread method isn’t working there either.
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Ordinarily, I would. However, in this case I feel you are being disingenuous and since I am not entirely sure of your motives, I no longer wish to engage with you or this thread.
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He is only staying in topic.
Some are trying to distract to other topics and problems, which of course can be discussed in another threads.
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Since no further clarifications on Forum A, it seems that a blanket ban of public posting of postcard writings does not contradict the cited argument above. The translation thread will remain but it will be inconvenient to get a translation/transcription for a written message. The bar should be intentionally set high for this case. That is the part of efficiency I suggest be traded for fairness and for the integrity of the Postcrossing concept.
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[edited forum name to make it sound less aggressive or presumptuous] Since the absorption effect emerges as one point of contention, let me rephrase from an imaginary moderator’s perspective. Assume someone is tasked with moderating Forum X with a specific focus on public posting of the backsides. Here’s his scope of work in two scenarios.
Status quo
- For postcard backsides posted in the translation thread, screen the following:
- Address
- Postcard ID
- Message
- Language (whether it is English or not)
- Content (judge if there is anything, both English and non-English, written that amounts to privacy)
- For postcard backsides posted elsewhere in the forum
- Delete or redirect to the translation thread and screen
- What is happening outside of Forum X?
- Many questionable sharing activities
Blanket ban
- For postcard backsides posted in the translation thread
- Delete if it shows postcard writings
- For postcard backsides posted elsewhere in the forum
- Delete if it shows postcard writings
- What will happen if all the intended postcard backsides are pushed outside of Forum X?
- Still many questionable sharing activities as it looks like adding only a limited number to infinity.
To me, the moderator’s job is easier in the blanket ban case, hence the 2nd pro listed in my OP. The blanket ban does not prohibit translation/transcription/language learning. It makes a specific case inconvenient for the sake of fairness. For more info, revisit Alternative 2 in the OP.
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