I understand why this mode was implemented. That being said, I think there’s legitimate insight that comes as an after though, which we’re not able to share b/c of slow mode. I personally think we were better off without it, curious to gauge the sentiment.
Wondering if other LHers think the same way:
Thoughts on Slow Mode?
0 voters
We have found Slow Mode an effective tool to de-escalate conflicts, steer the topic back on track, or just to prevent folks from unproductively piling on a topic. I think what is missing is that we often time did not put an explanation on why the topics were put on slow mode. I would suggest we @trusted_hackrs to start adding note on why the topics were put on slow-mode. In the particular case you outlined, , the user can PM @trusted_hackrs if he/she believes that he/she has a legitimate insight to contribute that would merit bypassing the slow mode? More often than not, slow mode doesn’t prevent users from contributing useful insights – it gives more time and room for folks to fully consider whether their additional contribution is meaningful.
This is very true and a good tool to de-escalate threads especially when people are bashing others. I personally have found situations where I find myself posting replies continuously and once slow mode is enabled, I just move on and ignore the thread.
If the choice wasn’t binary, how to people feel about the different time intervals?
As THers, I’ve noticed we sometimes come behind each other and adjust (so more than one TH has the instinct to slow, but I might have just set 1hr and someone sets it to 2hr) — we’re learning too.
Agreed. I sometimes find the slow-mode interval a tad too long as well. Because we do not have an explanation or even record of who set the slow mode (something I will suggest to Discourse to improve on), we don’t have the avenue to communicate with the person who slow-moded the topic to suggest an alternative interval. This is definitely something we can work on collectively.
THers could work around this for now by signing the note they set when enabling slow mode. This would have the added benefit of letting users know which moderator to contact to discuss the decision.
Please don’t. Everybody thinks they have a legitimate insight lol
I don’t disagree on that. 
I would say 98% of the time folks would not reach out privately if they do not genuinely have something meaningful to say that they can justify on. I am reserving this mean for edge cases (I hope).
@Martin3754 Agreed. Having the mean to reach out to the specific TH who slow-moded the thread would be more effective.
As a personal example, my first effort at enabling slow mode was when cpq and njc were derailing the off-ramp thread on the gas shortage. I added a note and no one seemed to be too upset about it, and they seemed to move on fairly quickly. I think it definitely makes the discourse better for all.
(Edit: slow mode is meant to give time for users to “cool off.” Any disagreements that were held privately, rather than publicly, allow for individual disputes to be resolved (or not) without derailing the topic at hand or distracting from other users’ posts that are on-topic)
Just so we are all clear, the only place some people moved on was into PMs with ridiculous amount of nastiness and actual threats, not that anyone from TH cares about that. So while on the surface slow mode maybe viewed as a de-escalation, it certainly doesn’t work for all people.
Another issue with slow mode, is that it should apply to everyone, but it seems that TH group is either immune to the throttle or have an ability to remove it post and restore it. So if the spirit of the slow mode is for everyone to cool off, then TH group should abide by it as well.
Side note on the poll: can the poll be separated to show results of users opinions vs TH opinions.
If you believe any threat warrants us looking into, please let us know through PM.
Otherwise, we as mods can only de-escalate conversation in the public facing forum, which I believe slow mode has shown to do. Anything that happens in PMs is unknown to us until flagged or raised on an individual basis.
I’ve actually tried unsuccessfully to do this, just to sneak in a small edit. If I haven’t posted before Slow Mode turned-on, then I can. If I post while it’s enabled, I’m definitely subject to it also.
From what I’ve seen, once it’s enabled, it’s on to some degree for that duration (all we can do it reduce the interval).
If that’s the case I withdraw my statement. I could have sworn that I’ve seen one of the THs post something within the slow window, but if that’s not the case it’s not the case.
I have changed the slow window time before when posting (I’ll occasionally shorten it from the 2 hour that some people choose if there’s an actual productive conversation also going on). If someone else then extends it after, I could see it looking that way.
It’s entirely possible, just not what I’ve run into. TH can post after a thread closes (which we try to avoid), but we are powerless over slow mode once it catches us.
Not really. You can delete slow mode, post and then put it back lol
I think all us @trusted_hackrs have been quite disciplined when it comes to not commenting after a thread has been closed or slow-moded.
From Discourse’s clarification, the slow-mode delay applies to the same person posting on the same post. This means that the delay is not between two posts within a thread, but between two posts from the same person within the thread. I think this is what caused the confusion.
I have suggested to Discourse to make the slow-mode feature less confusing and allow moderators to add an explanation when slow-mode is triggered, much like our explanation for closing a thread. Until any changes is made to the software, I would ask @trusted_hackrs to leave an explanation as a reply when activating slow-mode.
Hope this would clear things up!
I know this is a month after the last post, but the issue here is beyond slow mode. Mods deliberately lie - #48 by hd908 thread is locked, then 7 days later a mod puts their last 2 cents in even though the thread is locked. Whether it’s done to unlock / post / relock or some other means, is just as irrelevant as bypassing the slow mode. Things like that should either apply to everyone or no one.
Yeah, I added relevant info without commenting. So? The topic is closed, but some may want to read additional info. You don’t need to post in every thread.
Can someone else add “relevant” info? The fact that you don’t even understand what is it that you did demonstrates the fundamental issue.
And if I didn’t post in every thread aronchi still wouldn’t be able to send links to customers, so you are welcome