Why Don't The Moderators Take More Action?

[uksparks]

Re: Christmas Spirit?

Okay, the tree is primed and I have a few minutes before I go for a swim and off to bed

whats that meant to mean? As I know if I said the tree is primed I'd be referring to something else.

 

[pennychew]

He said in the post before that he was going to put the presents under the Xmas tree... I'm curious as to what other meaning you had thought of though!

 

[Sintra]

Hi Marvo.
I just wanted to make clear that I wasn't having a go at you in my last post.

What I dont understand (as a moderator on another forum) is that Dan posted a sticky back in Feb 2011 which was a refresher of an earlier post saying this:

It's come to our attention recently that a couple of different types of forum members (mainly "time served" v "newbies" - but then "members" v "moderators" as a result) are forgetting that you're all fellow tradespeople.

What we don't accept on this forum:-
- Cursing newbies
- Cursing time-served
- Cursing moderators
- Cursing pretty much anybody
We have a strict "be nice" policy and if you're not being nice you're not welcome on our forum.

I understand that the construction industry is under quite a bit of pressure but we're all in the same boat and insulting other people won't fix the industry problem.

We're going to monitor this closely now, and we will ban people who keep insulting others, you've all been reminded of the rules now. No more chances.

HOW TO REPORT A POST THAT OFFENDS YOU
Click the report post icon - and never ever respond to it yourself - let the moderators deal with the offensive remark.

How many posts have you reported in the last year. Mmm let me see. None by the looks of it.

In view of this why dont the moderators of this forum take more action against the offenders (we all know who they are)? They are clearly breaching forum rules. Is it a commercial situation - post counting Surely it would be better to ban a few offenders and see a short slump in threads/posts until members start coming back and popping their heads above the parapets? I can only go back to my earlier comment that the reason the forums like what it is and certain people are so rude and obnoxious is because the forum owner and the forum moderators allow it to be like this. Dont moderators have the authority to ban people? I know I do where I moderate. Can't moderators delete these unhelpful, rude, bullying, crass posts? And on that note I don't understand why you moved certain posts and started another thread - it just fuels the whiners to carry on... whinging?!

Any reported posts are dealt with by the staff.

Someone posted a question that was along the lines of do we want a few quality posts a day or lots of useless comments every day. I know which I would prefer. I know the comparison isn't directly comparable but some members on here would be well directed over to the Festool Owners Group. Their rules are strict about what can be posted. No un-constructive criticism (so you dont see thousands of comments about Electrical Trainee joiners/carpenters), no politics, no religion. Bang on like some do on here and you're soon moderated - banned or have your posts deleted. What you end up with is some quality information about a specific subject. If however its all about post counts and revenue then let the mad people take over the asylum!

Can someone please explain why there is a lack of moderation on this site?

This I actually take offence at as many of the staff put in 20+ hours per week for you ungrateful sods.

My comments in bold.

 

[Rockingit]

Given that all of the contributors on ALL of these recent threads are the established members, why the heck is all this dirty laundry being done in public? Talk about shooting yourself in the foot as far as first impressions to newbies is concerned.

 

[Marvo]

The threads were originally started in the public forums and I left them there because there's already similar threads in the non public forums so maybe some opinions from general populous aren't a bad thing. I don't see how a bit of laundry can look any worse than the numerous threads in the public forums that are getting disrupted by obnoxious replies, at least it can be seen as being a topic under discussion.

 

[GMES]

Personally I think this as been coming for a long time now and needs to run it's course until there is some form of resolve on all sides.
The problem with sweeping it under the carpet is it will just fester and bubble under the surface until something triggers it off again, I am not sure if it can be resolved but it needs a chance.
Also with this being a forum and the fact that members are coming in and out over days at a time it makes it appear that it is dragging on and on, If every member was in a room together it would get resolved a lot quicker, and by that I mean it is much easier to sort problems out face to face.

 

[Marvo]

I've been giving this some thought whilst I've been tethered to the couch for the last 3 hours by the sheer weight of Christmas dinner I consumed. Here's my first idea;

There's two actual facts here, firstly, a large percentage of obnoxious posts that appear in the threads that get started by new arrivals contain personal opinions about the state of the industry or personal opinions about limited scope courses and secondly these opinions that get so flippantly voiced are actually off-topic in those threads.

How about we make a single thread or even a sticky in the Chat Chat forum and we call it The Unsubstantiated Opinions On State Of The Industry or something similar. Then, as a matter of course, any post that is made elsewhere on the forum containing personal opinions about or related to the demise of the industry and/or the limited scope courses gets unceremoniously relocated into that thread.

I'm not talking about deleting posts or editing posts and at this stage I'm not even suggesting taking any further moderating action against the guy who posted it, I'm just talking about relocating it into a thread that will be made specially for this purpose, as a dumping ground if you like.

Okay, there's a few things I'm going to qualify before the moaning starts. I'm not suggesting there shouldn't be discussions about short courses or the state of the industry, I'm just saying it will be an absolute no-no and enforced with zero tolerance in threads that weren't started specifically to discuss these topics.

I'm also not suggesting you can't ask people their level of training or competency, I am however saying this should be done without appending your own personal opinions or presumptions. I'm also not suggesting you shouldn't be able to warn people that are likely to become a hazard or cause injury.....and I understand this is an opinion... but if you do express this opinion you would be expected to qualify the statement with something more substantial than just another opinion.

So as an example here's how it would work;

OP arrives and posts a question about whether he can wire up a separate oven and a hob into a 32A fused isolator where his old stove used to be and how does he identify which fuse is for the stove.

Marvo asks him do you have any qualifications or electrical experience and what test equipment is available?

Op replies he's got no experience or qualifications and no tester but it's only a matter of a few wires and electricians are overpriced so he'll do the job himself regardless.

Marvo replies that it might or might not be possible depending on the layout of things but he's going to have to get an electrician because without the equipment to prove isolation it's not a job it's even safe to attempt.

Now the important part here is the 'because' part which explains how the opinion was reached. The big difference is that calling him unqualified or unsafe is no longer taken as a personal comment, it's clearly a conclusion based on a fact.

Yeah I know what's coming, 'I don't have time or I'm not wasting my energy explaining myself to every chancer or halfwit that comes on here and asks stupid questions.' Well that's fine but without stating the fact you've based your opinion on your opinion will stand for all to read but not in the place you posted it, it will be in 'Unsubstantiated Opinions' thread.

I know this isn't going to be met with much enthusiasm by many and it's also something I wish didn't need implementing but I'm seeing little choice unless someone comes up with a better idea...and no, the status quo isn't an acceptable route for me at this stage. In the past the heavy handed approach has already been tried and whilst it's effective in the short term it comes at a heavy cost. I'm hoping this kind of route will have the effect of stamping out the obnoxious behaviour without the use of the ban stick and without the regular members feeling they're not welcome here or aren't happy being on a forum that's wet nursing incompetents or actively being playing a part in the declining industry standards.

Any considered thoughts appreciated but outright whinging and moaning will probably be moved to the Smoke And Mirrors thread if it's lacking in constructive input.

 

[Marvo]

Hmmm, a full day and no comments either way for or against.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Hmmm, a full day and no comments either way for or against.

It's Boxing Day.

We've been too busy cleaning and tidying out toolboxes and stuffing them full of the new tools Santa Claus brought us.

 

[Marvo]

You mean you're too busy telling the Scousers a few home truths

 

[Geordie Spark]

You mean you're too busy telling the Scousers a few home truths

All the time Marvo, but it's a futile task - akin to trying to educate pork.

 

[telectrix]

in scouseland, we don't try to educate pork, we eat it. same applies to visiting geordies.

 

[Geordie Spark]

in scouseland, we don't try to educate pork, we eat it. same applies to visiting geordies.

Careful now bonny lad or ye'll be gettin' a visit from Tidyboiler the pikey girl and when she leaves she'll be wearing your balls for earrings!!

 

[telectrix]

Careful now bonny lad or ye'll be gettin' a visit from Tidyboiler the pikey girl and when she leaves she'll be wearing your balls for earrings!!

hope she's got good pikey muscles in her ears then. 30lb per ear is a lot.

 

[pennychew]

Sounds like you need to start getting them emptied more often tel!

 

[Geordie Spark]

hope she's got good pikey muscles in her ears then. 30lb per ear is a lot.

She's got solid muscle between her ears.

 

[telectrix]

She's got solid muscle between her ears.

thought you said she wasn't a geordie! :49:

 

[Geordie Spark]

thought you said she wasn't a geordie! :49:

She isn't .. she's a Staffordshire Pikey.

Geordie women have solid bone between their ears.

 

[tidyboiler]

She isn't .. she's a Staffordshire Pikey.

Geordie women have solid bone between their ears.

The ones I work with have tumbleweed.

 

[ferg]

She isn't .. she's a Staffordshire Pikey.

Absolute nonsense she can't be.

She can type.