Over-moderation

[Chad Hughes]

Matt0matic,

First off, I'm sorry that you feel over-moderated. It's never our intention to offend our members. I hope that this poll and the posts it has generated have shed some light on why we do things the way we do here on SD.

Rules and laws are established in an attempt to create an atmosphere of good order and civil conduct. As one of the forum moderators I look at thousands of posts and apply forum rules to all of them equally. It's not a matter of keeping information from forum members. I'm not sure how much "drama" you have witnessed on this particular forum before a moderator took control, but there have been some threads that have gotten way off track, rude and downright inappropriate. It all goes back to forum rules. You agree to follow these rules when you join. It shouldn't be a surprise when a post gets edited due to rule infraction.

Here's a good example.... I just removed a picture posted by member ZX10R in post #27 of this thread. The photo depicted a turd in a punch bowl. Although I thought the comment funny (I use "like a turd in a punch bowl" frequently myself) the picture is offensive in nature. To top it off, I was right in the middle of eating lunch when I saw it. Not a good combination.

We try hard to create a "G" rated forum acceptable for all ages. Without moderation this forum would quickly become "adult only" and would be absolutley loaded with clutter making the forum difficult to learn from. As it stands, Simply Discus is functional, easy to navigate and is relatively free from nonsense. It would probably be a lot like your racing forum. 80% dog-eat-dog and 20% useful information. Simply Discus was not created as a platform for name calling and ill intentions. It's a source of information and an avenue to share our love of this hobby minus the garbage that clutters that objective.

I guess the bottom line is, be aware of the forum and it's rules that you are participating in. This may require switching gears bewteen a racing forum and a discus forum. Stick to the rules and you should be OK. We're all human. We make mistakes every day and on the forum that may result in a post edit by a moderator. Don't take it personally.

Best wishes!

[ZX10R]

Oooops sorry!!!!

Didn't think it was that bad but if we are going for G rated around here then I guess it was.

[Stag]

Matt0matic,

......that's all I got to say.

[Larry Bugg]

Oooops sorry!!!!

Didn't think it was that bad but if we are going for G rated around here then I guess it was.

LOL, no worries. It was a great example and provided a teaching moment in this thread!!

[Chad Hughes]

No worries.... just sort of ruined my lunch for a few minutes.

Oooops sorry!!!!

Didn't think it was that bad but if we are going for G rated around here then I guess it was.

[ZX10R]

LOL, no worries. It was a great example and provided a teaching moment in this thread!!

I tried to pull a skip and got burned

No worries.... just sort of ruined my lunch for a few minutes.

Sorry Chad guess I owe you a burger

[LizStreithorst]

As one who has made more than her share of mistakes on this forum and has been delt with with honesty and kindness, I say that the forum is fine as it is. Please let this discussion end now. And that's all I have to say about that.

[tacks]

I will go along with Liz on this one. Ed in Fl.

[kent1963]

No worries.... just sort of ruined my lunch for a few minutes.

And thank you very much for removing it Before I got here LOL

[Skip]

OCCUPY SIMPLY!!!!!!!!!!!

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[cjr8420]

I absolutely Love threads like this... I haven't given a good rant now in a while...so apologies in advance.

Every aspect of society has rules that govern the action of how people should act and behave. We may not agree with a set of rules but if we want to participate in that society..we adhere to them or there are consequences...Anyone that thinks otherwise is delusional, IMO. This forum is no different. We have a set of rules in place designed to allow the forum to function smoothly and designed to try to be fair to the majority of members here...If a person breaks those rules, there are consequences.

On SimplyDiscus, we have specific rules for each section that dictate what is acceptable and what is not.... we didn't just pull these rules out of thin air. We developed them over the last 10 years based on trial and error and what works best for this Forum's Model. I believe we have a very lenient system here... and I personally spend hours by pm, email, and phone trying to resolve issues with a soft touch verses a hard hit. I would love for people to self moderate...and most do....when the forum moderates it is because some individuals do not.


Let me be crystal clear.. we have a huge diverse group of people here...and they don't all come from the same countries or walks of life.They all have different ideas as to what the forum should do and what it should be. We try to be everything to everyone, but it is not possible.

If anyone finds the rules here unacceptable...Do yourself and us a favor...Don't log in...No hard feelings on my side of things... one of the reasons I got involved with building this forum was because I didn't like what other forums had to offer and how they did things...My partner Ryan and the core group of mods involved here, felt similarly..and Simplydiscus was born. We did something other than Whine...we saw a perceived problem and tried our best to fix it... I'll go to my grave one day knowing we did a fine job doing so.

Every rule we have and everything we do in the running of this forum is done for a reason...you have the right to accept that or reject it...I personally don't care either way except when someone starts whining about over moderation and censorship ...Over moderation by whose standards...Yours? Joe smith discus expert? Joe smith I have nothing better to do but complain? Joe smith, I'm only concerned with my own beliefs on how Simplydiscus should be run? Do I sound a tad harsh? I've been hearing this rubbish for over 10 years.

Lets talk about what I have seen as facts as far members go here....
1) Members that are basically school bullies in the playground, they get a little experience under their belts and they strut around here like they own the place. They show off what they "know" by slamming others.
2) Members that are dealing with problems at home that use this forum as place to vent..How they act here is often not how they are in real life.
3) Members that believe the forum is overly moderated when they want to say whatever pops into their mind...and are the first to complain when someone else does but they have a problem with
4) Members that come here , not to share in our Discus Community, but to play and stir up trouble...rightly dubbed as trolls.
5) Members that are socially inept...They can't interact without being aggressive, coarse, belligerent, self righteous and self important.
6) Members that feel that in this forum, they have the right to say what they want to who they want, however they want, with no regard for forum Rules,with no respect for the forum management and owners, and with no respect for the vast numbers of people that come here day in and out that think of the forum as home.
7) Members that can be warned repeated to not do something, and yet will push as far past the line as they can.
8)Members that can't accept that we expect civil exchange here even when you disagree
9)Members that stalk other members across threads because they personally don't like them.
10)Members that are childish,immature, and rude. My 8 year old and 10 year old kids have better manners than some here.

If you are one of the 10 types of members above...Odds are you will get moderated at some point...You will also probably get banned at some point...Why? because I absolutely refuse to allow the less than 1% of this forum to detract from the positive experiences of the 99+ % of members that enjoy the site, follow the rules, respect each other and this forum. I and others have put too much time into the forum over the years and will not allow people to trash what we have built here.

And as for the 99% that enjoy this site and appreciate what goes into it...Thank you all! You have my word, as long as I own this place...I will continue to try and create an atmosphere here that is positive, welcoming, enjoyable and informative. I will use what ever tools I have to inorder to do this.

Hope that clears up my views on Forum moderation.

Regards,
Al

this quote alone gets you a beer from me keep up the good work

[judy]

I think it's a testament to the generally-inclusive nature of this forum and to the usually hands-off approach of the moderators that this discussion has flowed freely. Though I did wonder what that image woulda been, it was sure no loss not to see it !!
Every group must operate with rules in order to continue to operate. If we don't like the rules on any particular online forum, we can go elsewhere. I once resigned membership in one putatively professional writers' organization that did not moderate its forums, and they all too often degenerated into juvenile verbal punching matches or downright venality that I simply could not stomach. So I, and others, left the trash-talkers to bad-mouth, insult, and smack each other down all they wanted.
I am grateful every time I sign on for the civil, constructive, helpful, informative, and mutually-supportive atmosphere our moderators work so hard to ensure on this forum.
And a quick BTW, Al-- Paypal is STILL processing my deposit, so your donation from the cone auction, and Barb's postage fee, remain pending. But I will be able to use Paypal for you!

[Chad Adams]

As they say in hockey

"Look at the Score Board!"

Many thanks to the SimplyDiscus Team!

[John_Nicholson]

LOL...Hey Al which of the 10 do you put me in......

For ya'll to really understand this ya'll would have needed to be here about 10-12 years ago, but take my word for it Al has done the right things with Simply. Now don't get me wrong I hate moderation and sometimes I wish we had a little more freedom here, but that does not mean that Al/moderators are doing anything but a fine job.

-john

[Discus-Hans]

John, you fit in all 10

This just caught my eye and I don't have the time to read it all but:

It's very easy, this is Al's house, live by the rules in his house and you're welcome to come in and drink a beer (or 2) if you don't like the rules...........don't let the door etc.
If you don't like the cafe you're in...........start your own, see how long it last, remember over the years I've seen a "few" come and go.

Al & Ryan (+ team) you guys do a good job,

Hans