Philosophy Forum Redux - Physics Forums

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The discussion centers on the impact of shutting down the Philosophy forum on the overall quality of discourse within Physics Forums. Participants note that philosophical threads are likely to appear in various subforums regardless of the Philosophy forum's existence. There is a consensus that while some "crackpottery" may still emerge, the moderation practices in place effectively manage and limit these discussions. The removal of the Philosophy forum is viewed as a way to enhance the overall integrity of the site. Ultimately, the thread emphasizes that the community's approach to moderation plays a crucial role in maintaining discussion quality.
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jim mcnamara said:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=643215

This thread is like what used to be in Philosophy. Maybe we are simply forcing the issue to occur in other forums...
Yes, that is the kind of thing that would appear in Philosophy, that thread should have been reported. Although Philosophy is still open, but that thread would not have even qualified there.
 
While there may be a small increase in posts like this in other parts of the site, I stand by what I said in the thread in the philosophy forum.
 
Such "philosophical" threads appear in whatever subforum irrespective of the existence of the Philosophy forum or not.
Again, crackpottery was NOT contained to the TD forum in its time, the whole forums gained, as a whole, from removing that forum.

there will always be a trickle of crackpottery into PF, but shutting down Philosophy cannot be expected to increase that flow by "too much".
The reason for that is that normally, threads of that kind will be reported and deleted immediately after its first post, without anyone getting the time to wind up the "discussion", something OP will find sufficiently frustrating so that he gives up and goes somewhere else.
 
I want to thank those members who interacted with me a couple of years ago in two Optics Forum threads. They were @Drakkith, @hutchphd, @Gleb1964, and @KAHR-Alpha. I had something I wanted the scientific community to know and slipped a new idea in against the rules. Thank you also to @berkeman for suggesting paths to meet with academia. Anyway, I finally got a paper on the same matter as discussed in those forum threads, the fat lens model, got it peer-reviewed, and IJRAP...
About 20 years ago, in my mid-30s (and with a BA in economics and a master's in business), I started taking night classes in physics hoping to eventually earn the science degree I'd always wanted but never pursued. I found physics forums and used it to ask questions I was unable to get answered from my textbooks or class lectures. Unfortunately, work and life got in the way and I never got further the freshman courses. Well, here it is 20 years later. I'm in my mid-50s now, and in a...

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