I'm fine with this as long as we have a definition of "attack". Disagreeing with The Digital Bits or some blog on HollywoodInHighDef and pointing out where they are wrong does NOT = an "attack".

But, in general, I don't see the need for a huge list of rules. Stop the trolling by banning the obvious suspects and the problem solves itself.

I agree... like Barney Fife once said, just nip it in the bud!

I do think it would be pretty funny though if they banned any slams of bluray.com, while blu-ray.com still kept the now-classic 'rant' thread.

Trust me, this is the right thing to do. Most of the repeat offenders over there do not even think twice before they start spewing venom so hopefully they think twice before posting rubbish now. There are a few of them over there that are quite intelligent such as Grubert but posters like that are far and few between.

You're too kind.

But it is true: the signal-to-noise ratio of the forum had gone down the tubes lately. A real shame, because, as other people here have noted, the knowledge base in the rest of the forums is amazing.

hometheaterforum has also enforced a 'no-war-posts' policy.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem

Ah, but what about a person's credibility or motivations? It can be useful in an argument to point out that the person making a particular argument has a vested interest in the subject matter (e.g. they might be an industry insider) or a documented history of biased posts in order to assess the weight to be given to that person's argument. Happens in courts every day, where such "ad hominem attacks" are not only allowed but actually encouraged.

Anyway, I think the new AVS rules are too draconian and, if strictly enforced, will stifle too much legitimate discourse, especially with regard to challenging authority figures and websites. But then I actually enjoyed the mudslinging in a perverse kind of way. When I want sane and measured discussion of HDM, I usually just come here.

You know when it comes down to it, what legitimate reasons are there to specifically discuss the war or competition in the context of who's winning?

You could say it benefits people waiting to jump in to see "the facts", but honestly, I feel sorry for anyone that has visited AVS looking for sane and impartial feedback on HDM.

All of the BS that happens there is between members who already own one or both formats, and are sticking with their choices. So, why do they even need to address each other at all?

If you have HD DVD, stick in the HD DVD sections, and talk about your chosen formats. And that should include the ability to say you're disappointed with some aspect of the format without being attacked.

Same goes for Blu-Ray. If you're a Blu-Ray only guy, you don't have to show up in a bunch of threads saying HD DVD is done, etc., etc.

If you own both formats and are TRULY neutral (because many that do are not), then you should be able to discuss both formats reasonably.

The measures they have imposed IMO will help immensely if enforced. If their aim is to bring the HDM forums inline with the level and quality of discourse elsewhere on AVS, draconian is probably the only thing that has a chance of accomplishing it.

Well said bunkaroo. I hate to bring it up again, but that "nerd on nerd carnage" post here (classic by the way) really tells the story. It's either 12-year olds who are doing the flaming, or they're just nerds with nothing better to do. Like you said, there's really no reason to post anything negative about either format. You makes your choices, and you takes your chances. Beyond that, there are likely so many factors involved with this format "war" that we don't know the details of that it's just silly to bicker about.

But again, there are apparently plenty of 12-year olds or nerds out there who just don't have much better to do than argue about a stinkin' HD format. The whole concept of HD media is fun (at least for most of us)--since diving into HD-DVD a few months ago, watching many of these movies again on HD-DVD has been a real revelation. I'm sure the blu-ray folks feel the same way. And it will shake out one way or the other, regardless of what any of us say to one another.

AVS HD Disc areas are open again.

I hope they don't think twice. I'd love to see some mass bannings to get the point across and clear out some unneeded members. I don't understand the mentality there. I own HD DVD and never even peek in the Blu-ray forums. I don't know why it's so hard for some.

If this fails, then I really think they should just create a new war forum with no rules, no guidance and no moderation. Just set them loose in there and shut the door.

The only thing is that when you do that, it inevitably bleeds into the other forums as well. You'd have to set it so that users who post in the War forum are physically restricted from posting anywhere else. You'd practically have to make it a private forum to keep those same arguments from leaking into the other forums as well.

The best solution, of course, would be if people would grow up.

I would love to see the likes of Rdjam, Beatboy and TheBland just to name some annoying idiots to get kicked of from that forum. It must be quite a shock for some of those 24/7 fanboy posters to not be allowed to say what they feel like saying on there.

So far so good. People are really trying hard to play nice with some soft jabs here and there.

A couple of knuckleheads tried to derail the Nielsen thread, but it looks like the mods stepped up.

Stepping up as in deleting the posts or ban? This will be key to see how they enforce the new rules.

It is amazing me to me people get so upset about this kind of stuff.

The problem with hugely partisan issues such as this format war (or politics, or religion, or competing video game consoles, or PC vs. Mac, etc.) is that they drive otherwise reasonable people to irrational behavior. Both thebland and rdjam have participated usefully in other forums on that site (Beatboy not so much), but when it comes to High-Def media the "war" mentality takes them over.

I know you're just using examples, but I find it hard to accept the fact people can exibit this kind of behavior around a DVD format. Religion and Politics I can understand, but a DVD Format?

...and yet they do.

I know, but it would be nice to see these people banned. In the end AVS would be doing them a favour by helping them get a life anyhow.

Nice. I got suspended because I wrote "Another Cancellation?" in regards to Dancing with the Wolves on Blu-ray. Who cares if I was actually looking forward to it and own a Blu-ray Player. I hope AVS is ready to lose a ton of members and ad revenue as they will be suspending/banning people over there for the stupidest things.

Dances With Wolves was supposed to come out?

from what i have been hearing.... the studios and companies are actually hiring people to go on the avsforum to talk smack.... yes its that bad...

Did the Nielsen thread disappear? Or am I just blind/drunk?