I disagree that banning men is the same thing as a safe space. If there is a something in particular that men tend to be doing when they post which you dislike, that should be the thing which is banned – and that’s what makes the space safe. For instance, if they say something misogynistic, then yeah, ban. I can’t say for sure from experience, but I would imagine for the mods it’s easier to recognize something bannable which is inherent to the comment than it is to figure out whether or not a poster is male.
Tree structured forums are by their nature robust to the “derailing” problem IMO. If there’s a comment which you find to be derailing the conversation… simply fold that comment, and all responses to it will disappear from your screen.
We could remove men on a case by case basis, but sometimes you want a women only space because of the expectations this sets and the safety it creates.
I don’t really see the issue in making a safe space? Have you read about safe spaces before? They are sometimes necessary.
I disagree that banning men is the same thing as a safe space. If there is a something in particular that men tend to be doing when they post which you dislike, that should be the thing which is banned – and that’s what makes the space safe. For instance, if they say something misogynistic, then yeah, ban. I can’t say for sure from experience, but I would imagine for the mods it’s easier to recognize something bannable which is inherent to the comment than it is to figure out whether or not a poster is male.
Tree structured forums are by their nature robust to the “derailing” problem IMO. If there’s a comment which you find to be derailing the conversation… simply fold that comment, and all responses to it will disappear from your screen.