Hi Marek...Everyone,
I have been reading through these as new posts were made each time you opened one of these. I had thought I would just stay out of it as I truly have no beef with anyone. I enjoy the news and rumors threads just as much as anyone. However, when you asked "what we would do if our children" were acting like this, I thought I might make my suggestion; though I don't know for sure how viable it may be to accomplish.
When my children started acting up, standing in the corner or placed in time-out was my best option...usually in the same room where I was so as to keep an eye on them. This same basic concept would be my suggestion...of course, you can't put the members in the corner or in time-out...but, in a sense, you can...virtually. If there are at least two moderators at all times, consistently monitoring the rumors threads, at least one of them may catch things happening before the explosion occurs. I know this is like saying that the rumors threads need a 24-hour babysitter, but maybe that is what it is going to take to keep things in check.
I don't know how many of the mods would have this feature, but I have sbcglobal and I am able to open tabs at the top of my screen. Therefore, I stay in the news and rumors threads simultaneously, just clicking back and forth on the tabs and refreshing the screen to see if something new has been posted. In this manner, I am able to keep up with both places and usually within just a few minutes of new posts being made. If this is not an option for the mods to do it this way, as many now have DSL connections of some sort, I would suggest opening the rumors thread in one browser and using another browser or their ISP browser for all the other sections of the forum they wish to follow. In this way, they could easily 'keep an eye' on the sore spots and have a better chance of heading off conflicts, while still browsing the areas they want to view.
It is truly a sad day when adults need a constant babysitter/forumsitter (if you will), but with this many people in one place, tempers will flare and disagreements will get out of control, especially when money is involved. When things like this happen in a workplace, school room, or wherever two or more people may be causing problems by being so close together, you can usually separate them to opposite sides of a room to avoid the conflicts. Since this is not an option in an open forum, my suggestion above is my best attempt at a possible solution.
Thanks,
Patty