Jamey-Maria Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 I have to agree with the sentiments that the moderation or perhaps 'over moderation' or implementation of stricter rules came from those that abused the right by clogging up threads with general chat spam and posting fake spoilers. If someone was to post a spoiler now they would be bombarded with people asking 'and your source is???' 'where did you get this from??? etc etc. By having rules about sources, making threads specific for a certain topic's discussion (thus closing multiple threads and linking to previous ones already discussing the same subject) and enforcing harsher spam rules (Nobody wants to trawl though pages of 'he is so hot' 'yea I agree' 'don't you wan't to see him with more shirtless scenes' 'yea I agree' 'I think they should give him more shirtless scenes' 'yea you are so right' - to get to real spoilers and discussion of them) I think the bottom line is that with such a large membership of the board, as Eli pointed out, there needs to be a fair bit of control for everything to run smoothly. The admin and mods listen to the complaints they get about spamming and fake spoilers and try to put in strategies to counteract that and make the place look tidier and more user friendly. They do it because it makes it easier and nicer for board members to generate more discussion, not because they're on some powertrip intending to prevent people from posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I love music Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 From what I can see, the MODs do a fantastic job. I don't know where you all get your patience and time from! Reading through some of the posts here tho I think we need to put things in perspective. This is a message board and you either post or you don't. Whether you post or not, it doesn't have any major impact on your life...*shrugs*...or then again maybe it does... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Kevin- Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 This place is getting too strict, it's supposed to be fun discussing spoilers but at the moment every thread that hints on a spoiler is closed, I like this site or i did i know this will be closed in about 10 mins, but i can't be the only one saying WTF, nothing worse than a forum where the Moderators all seem to be on some weird power trip. It was never this bad before Aye I agree that theres nothing worse than a forum that is strict. But at the same time I know that they are doing there best for the forum and some things have to be done . Its a fan forum though at the end of the day.Its not a multi million pound organisation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 This place is getting too strict, it's supposed to be fun discussing spoilers but at the moment every thread that hints on a spoiler is closed, I like this site or i did i know this will be closed in about 10 mins, but i can't be the only one saying WTF, nothing worse than a forum where the Moderators all seem to be on some weird power trip. It was never this bad before I disagree. From what I can see, the MODs do a fantastic job. I don't know where you all get your patience and time from! Reading through some of the posts here tho I think we need to put things in perspective. This is a message board and you either post or you don't. Whether you post or not, it doesn't have any major impact on your life...*shrugs*...or then again maybe it does... I agree . The mods are damned if they do and damned if they don't. I admit it must be annoying if you start a thread and its closed, but I do get annoyed when I log on and see that someone has just started a new thread on a topic which already has at least two threads on the subject already, sometimes with the same people posting the same thing repeating themselves. If I had a dollar for every time that happend I could buy enough Jimmy Choos for every day of the year!!!! People need to think. How hard is it to stop and look to see if there is a thread already? The trouble is too that people treat this place like a chat room, and it isn't a chat room. I stopped posting in the character appreciation section for a long time because it was just like a chat session and it was abusive and it was not until the mods steppped in and got some order in there that it got back to what it should be. Now I post in there again and its great. A lot of fan sites have forums where every single post is pre moderated. This one doesnt. The mods spend hours of their own time doing all sorts of features and stuff behind the scenes, and all some of you do is moan because a few threads get closed. Jeez. Talk about lack of gratitude. Like ilovemusic says this needs a bit of perspective. This isn't a chat room, you sign up to the place and you presumbaly read the rules and agree to abide by them as a condition of registration. I think they have got the balance about right, there is always going to be the odd day when someone closes one thread too many, or one thread too few, but I would rather that than a free for all and no moderation at all. It would be hell. I think the mods do a great job and deserve a great deal more appreciation and thanks than they get. We take them far too much for granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 This place is getting too strict, it's supposed to be fun discussing spoilers but at the moment every thread that hints on a spoiler is closed, I like this site or i did i know this will be closed in about 10 mins, but i can't be the only one saying WTF, nothing worse than a forum where the Moderators all seem to be on some weird power trip. It was never this bad before Aye I agree that theres nothing worse than a forum that is strict. But at the same time I know that they are doing there best for the forum and some things have to be done . Its a fan forum though at the end of the day.Its not a multi million pound organisation. Yes, it is a fan forum. A forum where the fans have commented in other threads about how they dislike fake spoilers, spamming and bullying amongst other things. As a highly popular forum with over fifteen thousand people as members, certain guidelines are needed to keep the forum running smoothly, as I'm sure you would know running a forum yourself. Not one of our rules are imposed for our benefit, they are all for the community's benefit to keep everything organised, civil and to promote a welcoming environment to discuss Home and Away. Not once have I seen a topic closed and no reason given, or a topic closed with "I'm closing this because I can". Using today as an example why is there a need to post three threads about articles from the TV Week when they are discussed every week when the scans are put up anyway? But even in doing so, the person who closed the topic was not rude, pointed out where the discussion could continue in multiple places and left the threads there so the original poster could know what happened. Like you said, this is not a multi million pound organisation. There is no money involved, except if you count the running costs that are paid by the administrators to keep the site running. The staff are all volunteering out of their (sometimes limited) spare time, I myself have been doing 45+ hour working weeks and still try to get on here everyday. John, who I hope doesn't mind me mentioning has been fighting bushfires and still comes on here. Sky is flying around the world and gives so much of her time that could be actually spent enjoying her holiday. Not meaning to sound the "woe is me" train but each and every one of our staff members is here to help this forum to be a better place for the members. People say it has gotten stricter. We get complaint after complaint of spamming or a personal attack or even an unreliable spoiler but when we take action, such as in the CAD section last November or the Spoiler Section more recently, we get met with "over moderation" and "being unfair". My mind honestly boggles and I sometimes struggle to grasp the concept. Every time I log in I have 5 or 6 different reports of different posts and then we come into the suggestion threads where moderator preview has been requested and banning people from simply posting a spoiler that could easily be deleted. Everything that is done in that staff room is after being told by the members, from something as little as a double post to a sensitive issue such as bullying. From the 123 page log of reports and issues from the members to the 4 or 5 pages of suggestions or just the detailed catalogue of names from friendly reminders to severe warnings to name changes to individuals on moderator preview, it is one hell of a job to keep this place going, if none of that was there, if no structure was there incase problems or arguments do arise the place would be in chaos! I am sorry if anyone thinks this is too harsh and I am not directing this at anyone in particular, but this is coming from a long time staff member who is really disappointed at the way things have been headed. People have commented on how we have become stricter as a moderating team. I see it as a response to what the members of the forum commenting on certain issues and their suggestions on how to move forward. Re-reading that it looks like a bunch of mush and even though it is four thirty in the morning hopefully some of it made sense, if only a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eli Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 I think it made sense, Dean, and Cory: your post too was very good! If we have gotten stricter, there must be a reason, because like others have said, it's not like anyone is on a power trip either. Every time I log on there's an average of about 5 or 6 reports on different cases, and the only time I'm really logged off enough for that to pile up, is when I sleep. But almost always is all those already dealt with, because most of the time reports are dealt with almost immediately. I'm not trying to say poor us for being criticized or anything, because it's always good to get feedback, I'm just saying that like Dean pointed out, we have lives of our own as well. For every thread I close or move, I also write en explanation and include links. For every thread I merge, I either make an explanation or sit down and write a personal PM to the thread starter to make him or her aware of why it was moved, so that they won't think we just deleted the thread without giving a reason, since they suddenly can't find their thread anymore. Like I said before, we're in a very damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. But I have a challenge for those of you who think the forum is too over moderated. Find a solution. Tell us how we can make it work without over moderating, and without people not feeling welcome because it's being spammed like a chat room (which BttB isn't.) or because they're being attacked by fellow members. If you can seriously find a solution that ensures no one feels like it's either under- or over moderated, I'll gladly take off my green hat and hand it over to you. I'm sorry if that sounded harsh, it was not intended for anyone in particular, just a general question to suggest that maybe it's not all that simple. It's a little too Catch-22 for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelstar1220 Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 I want to say a huge thank you to all the staff who do an amazing job at keeping these forums running. I have been on the forums for a few years now and dont feel that moderating got more intense or that there is any moderating that wasnt necessary. Honestly if people just obeyed the rules there wouldnt be a problem. Thanks again guys there are many of us that are really grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 I always think think whether you find the forum too strict, too messy, too-something or other, is because you have an idealology of what you want this forum to be and ultimately, it is not. My ideal forum wouldn't be this, it would be closer to what we had in 2004, which was a warm, small, easy-going community. But ultimately times have moved on. Perhaps the relatively easy nature of what the forum was then is why when asked about moderating my views are usually the most lenient. I personally hate seeing locked threads. I think they look messy and do send out, perhaps inadvertantly a certain dictorial mindset. However, I do believe at the same time, a lot of them appear to be necessary, within the rules of the moment. Occasionally the decision of the moderators does make me wince. I can go back 3 years to Flynn's death, when I almost had my head in my hands at the decisions that the moderators were making that day, because I thought they were damaging to the forum. And I think that's where the divide will ultimately come. Some people will be at the potato washing Sally OCD end of the scale, others will want a Vinnie mess end of the scale of the forum, and most will want something in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 What I find very interesting is that, prior to this thread, we've never had any complaint about threads being locked and such like. By this, I mean that it's always been very clear if anyone has any issues with how a moderator is going about doing things, they should contact an admin, who'll then investigate - if there's an issue bugging you, we're not ogres and we won't close ranks to protect one another, we will always look into it. And now suddenly someone has made a rather unecesarily provocative post and suddenly the world and his wife wants to jump on the bandwagon to say how terrible everything is running. Personally, I think we're doing the best we can in a situation where everyone wants different things, but at the same time we won't know that something needs changing or that we're doing something 'wrong' unless somebody actually tells us. And a public bashing is certainly not the most effective way to do this. Also, what's become very clear is that people no longer seem to think about the way they use language. Take for example the "Board Observations" thread - in there a point was raised in a very matter of fact manner, presenting facts and evidence, and a healthy debate about how things are done has progressed and reached a conclusion. There are ways of constructing the things you say to express a strong opinion without getting people's backs up and, unfortunatly, this thread clearly has no regard for that. There is simply no need to get abrasive, aggressive, and defensive whenever you wish to criticise - we always treat members with respect, and it's just such a shame that that respect isn't mutual (obviously I don't speak about every member when I say that, we have reams of very co-operative members). We volunteer our time day in, day out, all year round to help run this place and, for the most part all we ever seem to get back in our motives questioned and our actions criticised, in deeply unpleasant ways. We don't mind being challenged, but we'll respond far better if it's done with the same courtesy and respect that we afford our members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 I always think think whether you find the forum too strict, too messy, too-something or other, is because you have an idealology of what you want this forum to be and ultimately, it is not. My ideal forum wouldn't be this, it would be closer to what we had in 2004, which was a warm, small, easy-going community. But ultimately times have moved on. Perhaps the relatively easy nature of what the forum was then is why when asked about moderating my views are usually the most lenient. I personally hate seeing locked threads. I think they look messy and do send out, perhaps inadvertantly a certain dictorial mindset. However, I do believe at the same time, a lot of them appear to be necessary, within the rules of the moment. Occasionally the decision of the moderators does make me wince. I can go back 3 years to Flynn's death, when I almost had my head in my hands at the decisions that the moderators were making that day, because I thought they were damaging to the forum. And I think that's where the divide will ultimately come. Some people will be at the potato washing Sally OCD end of the scale, others will want a Vinnie mess end of the scale of the forum, and most will want something in between. Well as I recall it, in 2004 when I used to read the forum but didn't join until later, the relatively easy nature of the forum as you put it, was more like an exclusive club only open to a select few who shared a particular world view and the same brand of humor. I think around then there were less than 1000 members. Now there are 15,000 plus, and the demographic has changed so every thing else will inevitably have changed along with it, so I am sorry that it is no longer your little exclusive club. Of late I have seen some very nasty bullying by a couple of people of other members where mods had to step in and stop it; I have seen posts demanding that others be banned for posting spoilers in the wrong place(over reaction or what); that any one posting wiki spoilers should be flogged at dawn(ok thats an exaggeration ); posts repeating the same thing over and over again; people saying they are fed up with all the spam; people saying they are fed up with all the multiple threads; so our mods who do a great job and actually listen to all the moans and groans do something about this and try to keep things to a single thread and what happens? Some one moans about that too. Some people on here have no respect for others and are just spitting the dummy. I can't belief the self centredness of some of the comments to be honest. Its pretty pathetic IMO. I don't think we are over moderated, and do not want this free speech that is being vaunted if it means people get bullied and we get reems of multiple threads, a chat room mentality, spam, fake spoilers, and utter chaos. I think the moderators do a fantastic job and would like to say that I for one do appreciate and respect them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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