From its founding in 2006 to the autumn of 2014, this place existed without a Code of Conduct. There are a lot of old threads with content that would make IntFiction seem like a unwelcoming space for a lot of people. Any of these might be web search results that could be someone’s introduction to this place.
I think it’d be helpful if the Code of Conduct called attention to there being legacy content from 2006-2014 that would not stand today and does not reflect modern community norms (and probably the mini-CoC and New users, too).
It might be even more useful to put some sort of Moderators’ note linking to this explanation at the bottoms of the initial posts in some specific contentious threads, like the ones that led to the CoC.
Well, now the only problem is since I added notes to the bottom of those problematic threads, it surfaces them to Latest again. So they’re probably going to get more attention than if we’d left them alone…
Net good. We’re trying to add context, not erase or deny our history. We can handle any short term turbulence (as a community; I’m not trying to minimize your labor).
While I consider it a wise suggestion to close any egregious old flamewar threads so new people don’t inadvertently necro a long-dead topic, I don’t think we need to get in the habit of actively combing through and “scrubbing” topics and posts and posters someone doesn’t like - especially if they weren’t a problem in the past.
We will moderate and remove stuff in the moment as necessary, but we’re not looking to settle old grudges. Ideally old topics have moderation messages interspersed and shouldn’t need any re-evaluation other than just closing them to prevent further comment. We can, of course, add context with mod-banners whenever necessary.
If you come across something historical that should be locked let us know. Ideally it’s a topic that has already heavily moderated and it’s clear why. Just closing/locking these is probably sufficient so people don’t kick them up again.
