Why advertisers are allowed to be moderators in this forum?

[Astolfo]

isn't it unethical?


I know I am going to get all kinds of $hit because I am a “newbie”, or this or that but at the end I think my concerns hold solid ground.

Yes, this site makes money by their sponsorship, but it is regular users that are the enablers.

I have noticed not just one or 2 threads closed when bad sellers/sponsors have been put out for everyone to see when they did not fulfill their side of the bargain.

This forum for the most part is an amazing source of information which I really value, but at the same time I find pretty dubious and troublesome when a sponsor is also the censor of what can be said and what can’t about other sponsors.

When a seller does not live up to their side of the bargain why protect them? Why is it that it is wrong to have people/buyers to present their side of a transaction that in many cases was initiated in this forum?


Why is it that posting a negative experience, backing it up and producing the evidence is a “bad” thing to do, have the buyer alienated and then thread closed by a moderator with definitely vested interest in one way or another?

My experience with the only transaction from a sponsor here was good and I said so; and nobody complained when I posted it, not even knowing if it is true or not.

Pretty scary if you ask me, and makes me weary of buying from the sponsors because if only the good stuff is allowed how do you know that you are buying and spending your hard earned and saved money with the right business?

If I were a reputable business, that draws clients from this site I would be pretty disappointed at the way customers (mine or not) get treated by the moderators and some people in this site.

[Skip]

Yep.. Ur kind off on ur virw point.. But I am driving at moment .. I will let others answer

[nc0gnet0]

Why should the fact that a member is a sponsor preclude him/her from being a moderator? Don't you want the best of the best in such positions? It is not like the moderators wield irrevocable power, that falls to Al himself. In regards to your example, IMO, having a sponsor monitoring a thread which deals with a complaint about another sponsor is more likely to yield a more evenly thought out response, as most sponsors have been on both sides of a deal gone bad. I have seen too many customers that thought they had been on the wrong end of a bad deal spout off before they had to have the chance to cool down. Such ill concieved posts can cause irreparable harm to a sponsors reputation, and soon, you won't have any sponsors, and then, you won't have any Simply Discus Website. Simply put, the open forum is not and should not be a place for unhappy customers to try and get thier pound of flesh from sponsor they are unhappy with.

Now, I can ask, why should a member that has been here less than 45 days be allowed to be critical of a system that has been implemented over the course of several years?

[Skip]

If u are really bothered.. Ask al.. He has final say

[zimmjeff]

alright fokes lets not hurt him. yet.

[ericatdallas]

Skip, watch the road, Simply Discus will be here when you are home, don't text and drive!

[Skip]

lol multi tasking! Duh! winning!

[ericatdallas]

By the way, something isn't unethical just because the potential for abuse exists. To be unethical, you have to show that someone actually did something inconsistent with certain standards.

It would be unethical if sponsors indiscriminately deleted criticism of any or all sponsors. That's not the case at all from what I've seen. Not long ago, before you dropped by, a sponsor left because Al opened the forums to allow for a certain level of controlled criticism. I think he just wants any criticism to be controlled and professional. Not a free-for-all virtual assassination of someone's business. I don't want to speak for him as I'm sure he'll eventually answer though.

There's also a livestock review section. You just shouldn't be criticizing someone without first trying to work out your conflict offline. Then you should provide something relevant other than, "He sucks! Don't buy from him because he is a big A-hole!" Something more like, "I bought 8 fish from him and 4 arrived dead. He wouldn't answer my calls, my e-mails, or my PMs. Very poor communication. The other four fish are alive but are pooping tapeworms."

I don't think it was an unfair question to ask though. A new member certainly can provide perspective that people that have been here longer may not have seen. If a system is broken, then it's possible that all the people frustrated with it have left and only the clueless ones have stuck around. When I first came here, I wondered if Al was too draconian in his rules, but I've learned that he's fair in what he's asking for. Keep in mind, this forum doesn't have to allow freedom of expression. As a private virtual property, Al can choose as he pleases what he allows on this board. With that said, I think he allows for a lot of lattitude consistent with US/democratic ideals of expression.

[roclement]

Alstolfo,

I think you have a very valid point that holds true to other kinds of forums/comunities, like all the reef forums I belong to that are non-profits, etc. The Sponsors here that are also mods have been members of the community first, sponsors second and are people we all know, that participate in the threads, help when needed, and first and foremost love this community.
They also volunteer their time to moderate so in a sense they keep the forum running.

Al (the owner here) is very good about dealing with conflicts and he has final say in everything but rarely has (as far as I remeber) needed to over rule the mods for unethical behaviour. This is a tight community that defends itself, we all know each other and enjoy chats, helping, and sharing our fish stories and experiences.

Welcome aborad, you will have fun!

Rodrigo

[nc0gnet0]

I don't think it was an unfair question to ask though. A new member certainly can provide perspective that people that have been here longer may not have seen.

I should clarify that I did not make the statement that I did with the purpose to imply that a new member can't or shouldn't ask such questions, thus the reason for the smiley (hard to apply a tone of voice in this medium). It was intended to get the OP to look at things from a different perspective.

[Astolfo]

I simply posted this question because mostly I have come across users getting blasted by other members for posting what it appears to be honest complaints and then have the posts closed. And yes I do not agree with those just "you suck", "you etc..etc" but I was commenting more on those posts where the buyer had made real attempts to resolve the issues privately and produced the proof he/she had made an honest effort to resolve the issue, without getting any answers from the "seller", and then get blasted to then get the post closed by a moderator.
For me, the main purpose of joining a forum like this with my REAL name from the very beginning is to join a group of people that enjoys the same hobby I do, be honest and open without the need of a fake name.

@ nc0gnet0: trying answer your question. Frist, I do not know who is who, how things "work", or don't, owe favors, like or dislike anyone (yet); and I notice that a few members' comments are incredibly arrogant in nature which conflicts with the nature of any hobby. Second, I can learn about members by their answers and that will help me to which advise and opinions to respect. Nothing more telling than an answer to a simple, honest and well intentioned question.

[Skip]

Several of the closed post are because alot of people that do not have personal dealings with the seller start to chime in.. Either pro or con... So it gets closed.. And I never seen a mod close a thread that has reputation in question

[ericatdallas]

And yes I do not agree with those just "you suck", "you etc..etc" but I was commenting more on those posts where the buyer had made real attempts to resolve the issues privately and produced the proof he/she had made an honest effort to resolve the issue, without getting any answers from the "seller", and then get blasted to then get the post closed by a moderator.

The fact you can still read the thread shows that no one here is censuring anyone. You also stated it was the user getting blasted by other members (but not the moderators). This is going to be typical of any forum, where the users have their own opinion. In my limited time here, I've seen the users side with the member before. So it works both ways. I don't know what thread you are speaking up, but my bet is that the moderators closed it because it was getting out-of-hand, it wasn't productive any more, or the user didn't follow the rules. This is no different than any other forum. In fact, I saw a complaint here over one vendor here and the same person posted it in two other forums. Guess what? In all three forums that person had his thread locked because it wasn't productive any more and it caused divisiveness amongst the users. Locked but not deleted.

If you have a specific thread in mind, post the link, I'm sure one of us will be happy to identify what the reason was. I'm almost positive it was locked not because the thread was negatively targeting a sponsor but more for some other inappropriate action.

Even if I'm wrong, maybe you'll be brining something up to us that we weren't aware of and may have to scrutinize more

[kevin joseph]

eric your to smart for your own good. you would make a great moderator!.... and let us cuss each other out after we have to many drinks and decide argue about discus. im always so much smarter after a few drinks. i wish i remembered all my genius thoughts the next morning though.

[Bill63SG]

im always so much smarter after a few drinks.

+1.Just got out of the hottub,and you are a genius.