@support_team members are Hubitat employees and serve as administrators of this community. Tagging us publicly is one way to bring something to our attention; reaching out to us via private message is another.
This community exists first and foremost to help people learn about Hubitat and how it can improve their lives. It also serves as an important channel for us to identify meaningful opportunities for improvement.
What it is not meant to be is a dumping ground for unfocused ramblings or generalized grievances that fail to meet even a basic standard of relevance or constructiveness, and that includes the Lounge subcategory which is a catch-all for topics that don't need a category, or don't fit into any other existing category.
The debate chamber was created for those who really want to make debates more personal. The stated rule still applies - "if enough flags accrue, action will be taken." What is your expected outcome when a single flag is raised?
I agree with this. I might make the suggestion that you put this in your guidelines and pin it to the lounge category.
My concern with some of your non employee moderators is with on topic threads, but it has also bled into the lounge. I will say again, I think giving at least one of them a break from the job may go a long way here.
I think we are talking past each other. We know what lounge means, but your rules of use are not listed. The other bits you mentioned like "you may not ramble in an unfocused way" or "if you post grievances they may not be general grievances". If you have a place where people can talk about anything and then some rando with credentials swoops in and uses their personal value system to close a thread or remove posts we end up with this problem. People lose trust and feel like they are being toyed with.
So if you want a lounge forum honor the intent. If you need guard rails you should detail them in advance. If you want trust and no problems consider eliminating the lounge and accepting that doing that will also upset some in the community.
I initially thought I may have accidentally reported a few posts. However, I realised that wasn't possible, because I'd have needed to click a couple icons then chose an option.
