IMO, we need rules with teeth. At present, a number of sceptics are like terrible two-year-olds doing everything they can to disrupt and derail, and Alex, God bless him, wants everyone to play "nice and bonny" as my old dad used to say.
Ain't gonna happen. Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile, because they aren't at all interested in forming a community. They're interested in causing maximum mayhem. What Alex wants may actually be impossible--a pipe dream--though one can admire his humanity and wish, with him, that it could be so.
I have an idea for introducing rules with teeth that are nonetheless fair and reasonable, but make no mistake, would end up with repeat offenders being permanently banned. It may not be the best possible solution, but it's the best I've been able to think of. I don't want to discuss it with disruptors as it will just be regarded as another opportunity to spit their dummies out.
It's an idea I am willing to take a due part in developing/implementing and hope others would also. I think someone, or a group or committee needs to take ownership of the problem and help make this a forum with a distinct purpose, i.e. a gathering of intelligent people of good will who have the intention of sharing and learning. If people can't do that, be they sceptic or proponent, then there has to be some way to get rid of them. Every forum I've ever belonged to has had this prerogative and I've seen it exercised quite often. It's useless giving people an indefinite number of short-term suspensions, and pisses off the very people who should be the backbone of the forum.
If you go to a forum for fans of cycling and tell them they're a bunch of pansies who should be into cars, you'll get short shrift. If to a forum for philately, they won't want to hear incessantly about the superiority of numismatics. If to a forum about psi phenomena, they won't want their conversations interrupted by ill-mannered and unconstructive twerps who have nothing better to do than try to stop them doing so: it's essentially very simple.
Alex, what I'd like to do if you're open to it is to get people with an interest in sharing and developing my idea (or coming up with a better one between us) to register that interest on this thread, then start a background conversation with them. Maybe some or all of those people could help out in moderation duties: I think those could be light with the right implementation, and that would help lift a burden off your shoulders because you could delegate responsibility to them for moderation affairs whilst of course retaining the final say. Naturally, the group would submit any finalised proposal to you for approval. You could take part in the background conversation yourself if you wished.
That's my proposal, for whatever it's worth. Over to you and anyone who might register an interest.
If you want to register your interest, please go to this post:
Of Skeptics and Bannings