All,,,,,

[gmsssi]

BTW.........let me get this off my chest, I have been a member (#343) for over six years and never posted any significant numbers until March of 2005 when I decided to upgrade tractors. As soon as I started posting I was identified as a “Lurker” and I’m sure it was someone just having fun but none the less I felt “labeled”. But it stuck with me until I asked about it in a thread (no moderator interaction). It took a few more days to lose the label and it did make me feel uninvited. I say this not as a slam to the moderators but I use this example as the reverse for this thread. I could have easily have just left the chip on my shoulder and never came back but I did stick it out to test the water and I’m glad I did.

If you read the FAQ’s, we’re restricted to technical document standards and I know that’s not the intent. This may seem like an extreme approach but it appears by some of the statements made in the thread, it has raised considerable concern. Maybe we need more rules but I doubt it. We need someone to draw the line, define it and enforce it. In order to address threads like this the administrator MUST get involved and stress consistency!

 

[gmsssi]

Cool............ /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Bird]

Greg, all the moderators are using the same guidelines, but all the moderators do not have time to read all the posts. And just as the police have never succeeded in catching all the criminals, the moderators may not catch all the posts that need to be moderated. And of course, some violations are obvious and flagrant, while others may be a matter of judgement. To again use a law enforcement analogy, driving at a speed of 1 mph over the posted limit is illegal, but how many officers will write a traffic citation for that? Yep, there may be a few and they're right when they do it, but most would not. And there are some non-law enforcement people who also think citations should be issued for 1 mph over the limit.

I assume you have read the Terms of Service. Look again at the paragraph right under item #10. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> I have definitety had post deleted/removed without an explanation and no profanity was used. </font>
While this isn't an explanation for why your post was deleted (no specifics supplied), all replies to a post that is deleted get deleted as well. This is a limitation of the web software. So, some 'innocent' posts get rounded up with the 'guilty' ones. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif )</font>


Mike, I recently was involved in a thread where things heated up. None of my posts were deleted, but there were at least 6 posts that were deleted. One of the posts that was deleted was from a guy who said absolutely nothing offensive. It just happened that he hit "reply" to a post that was deleted. The member contacted me and was complaining about moderators deleting his post. I explained to him that he was deleted not because of what he did, but because of the fact that his post was essentially attached to a deleted post. He understood after that, and he is fine with it. But I wonder if nasty posts get deleted if it would be possible to also inform the unlucky innocents who get taken out too?


BTW . . . this thread is waaaay of of Johnday's orignal topic and I wonder if it would be beneficial to move that last several posts on this thead to a new thread so Johnday's thread could continue as intended. Just a thought.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> As soon as I started posting I was identified as a “Lurker” and I’m sure it was someone just having fun but none the less I felt “labeled”. </font>
Those labels are automatically assigned by the site software based upon the number of posts, maybe how long the person has been a member, too, not sure about that. No one was 'having fun' with you. Neither the Administrators nor the Moderators have the time to track down new members, or any member for that matter, and assign specific labels.

<font color="blue">We need someone to draw the line, define it and enforce it. In order to address threads like this the administrator MUST get involved and stress consistency! </font>
As I stated before, if the moderators are made aware of an issue it gets addressed. We can not get involved if we are not informed when the issue arise. If there's any doubt as to what to do, the Moderators discuss it. As much consistency is used as is humanly possible. I don't know how else to explain this.

 

[gmsssi]

Bird,

I understand! I have given this thread alot of thought since it was posted and have refrained from replying until today. I have 2 pages worth of response and I've held off. Frankly, I was worried I may be one of the guys their talking about because I'd had post deleted without explanation. Mike has made it clear that mine may have just got caught in the fire and believe me when I say I'm relieved!

Thanks,

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> I wonder if it would be beneficial to move that last several posts on this thead to a new thread so Johnday's thread could continue as intended. Just a thought. </font>
Good idea, but it's not possible to move part of a thread.

<font color="blue"> But I wonder if nasty posts get deleted if it would be possible to also inform the unlucky innocents who get taken out too?</font>
Another good idea, and possible if there are not that many posts in the chunk that gets deleted. However, since there's no way of sending the same message to multiple recipients, this means jotting down the names of the innocent then sending individual PMs to every person in the thread, plus the PM to the person whose message violated the rules. Possible, but potentially very time consuming.

 

[gmsssi]

I'm just a stickler for principal and it is much more understood now!

Thanks,

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Good point.