Self policing the forum-Good or bad?

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Monstermash

Monstermash

Lock Ness Monster
Silver Member
As some of you know, along with a lot of others here, I have taken the approach of trying to self police the forum. Obvioulsy, we are not Mods but when we see a rules violation we step up and let people know that they have not followed the rules. Usually it's new members that haven't bothered to actually read the rules so a polite pm with a link to the rules (highlighting the rule that is applicable) is uaually all it takes for them and they understand. Usually they reply and apologize and everything is good from then on.

Other times, it's not so simple. Occasionally when I send someone that polite pm, I'm greeted with a reply filled with profanity and insults. I'm always amused by this as if I'm the one breaking the rules and being discourteous to the other members. It's funny, the last several times I've received this response, the new member ends up getting banned shortly there after. Lol!

When it's a long standing member it's a different animal entirely. They certainly don't want to admit they are being rude and ignoring the rules even if they are. Instead they try and turn the tables and act like we are the one's doing something wrong by pointing it out. Sorry, but that redirection doesn't work with me. Just buck up and admit you made a mistake and/or if you are continually ignoring the rules why not try to be a little more courteous to your fellow members and just follow the rules. While it's not as serious here on an internet forum, in civilized society the people who break the rules are called criminals. Why is it we shouldn't expect our members to act civilized here?

Anyway, recently I have had the opportunity to learn that the "report post" link at the bottom of the page does...... NOTHING. It doesn't go to a moderator but instead it goes to a generic mailbox that is not monitored. Additionally, one of the mods informed me he has "less than 10 minutes a day" to police the forums.

So with that in mind I ask you, isn't it our responsibility to self police the forum if we want it to run smoothly. The reason I'm asking is because recently there have been a lot of members acting like they are above the rules and obviously without moderation this will continue. If we want to keep this forum running smoothly I believe it's up to everyone to let people know when they have done something wrong. That being said, I don't think everyone should bombard a member because they violated the rules once. Of course people make mistakes and bump in the WFS section a little early. I'm referring to the members where this has become a pattern and who continually ignore the rules or to help a new member out by informing them of the rules in case they didn't read them.

And before you hit that reply button please try and remember that the rules are in place for a reason. The forum would be chaos without them.

Please reply with your opinion.
 
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There is a difference between self-policing and being a wanna be mod. Which category do you think you fall into?
 
MahnaMahna said:
There is a difference between self-policing and being a wanna be mod.
Click to expand...

Really? Please explain the difference. Oh wait..... there isn't a difference.

That may be to difficult for you so I'll let Wiki help you out.....

"Self-policing, a form of self-regulation, is the process whereby an organization is asked, or volunteers, to monitor its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a third party entity monitor and enforce those standards."
 
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Good post, If its true what you say about a certain moderator only having 10 minutes a day to devote to the forum I feel that this person should resign his mod position. IMO
 
This thread and the other one that Jim opened are tedious and simply add to the endless drama here. I thought this forum was to discuss pool related topics and not hash out unrelated opinions. Every discussion forum on the internet has their wannabe mods who can't seem to just mind their own business. Its not like forum members don't already know most of the rules before joining. I mean...doesn't every forum have generally the same set of rules??? And isn't rule #1 on every discussion board to read the rules??? I cannot believe I am even contributing to this thread. Slow day at work. I mean no offense Monstermash. Just offering my opinion.
 
Agree

I think self-policing is just fine if done without being mean.

...which, this being non-pool related, shouldn't it be located elsewhere? :p
 
If you were a gold member and trying to sell a cue. You could be on page 10 in no time because you followed the rules. While others constantly break the rules or their buddies do it for them. I have never sold anything but I could see the frustration by those that follow the rules. How can anyone stick up for constant rule breakers and give those that follow the rules a hard time. Typical

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Unless it has been discussed with ( at least ) Mike and Jerry first, I see it as a bad idea.
This whole thread in fact, is a bad idea, as its not pool related, and, you are calling into question the people who are providing this forum in the first place. Why would you not talk to them directly, rather than talking about them as if they aren't here.

Moreover, who polices the police?

Sounds like a recipe for a whole lot of self righteous indignation.
 
jburkm002 said:
If you were a gold member and trying to sell a cue. You could be on page 10 in no time because you followed the rules. While others constantly break the rules or their buddies do it for them. I have never sold anything but I could see the frustration by those that follow the rules. How can anyone stick up for constant rule breakers and give those that follow the rules a hard time. Typical

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

DING DING DING! We have a winner! Jonny! Tell him what he's won! :thumbup:
 
Mr. Bond said:
Unless it has been discussed with ( at least ) Mike and Jerry first, I see it as a bad idea.
This whole thread in fact, is a bad idea, as its not pool related, and, you are calling into question the people who are providing this forum in the first place. Why would you not talk to them directly, rather than talking about them as if they aren't here.

Moreover, who polices the police?

Sounds like a recipe for a whole lot of self righteous indignation.
Click to expand...

Thank you for weighing in Mr. Bond. Please understand I am not calling the mods into question here. They are just so overwhelmed with other duties that this forum requires that it's hard for them to have the time to look at every thread.

I'm not suggesting they're doing a bad job, just that they may not have the time to do it as well as they would like. Simple things like shooting a new member a pm to let him know about the rules is a good example. I think most people are good if you give them the opportunity. But it's hard to follow the rules if you don't know about them.
 
Tom, I tried to do same thing you are trying to do.
It is not worth it. Nobody listens and some people are ready to give up their children before admitting they did something wrong. Just so much "ego", it is pathetic.
So, I thought about this for a while. There are few things you can do.
1. Send PM(not report button) to Jerry, AzHousepro and Mr. Wilson.
Include link to reported post and brief(!!!) explanation.
2. If you want your post to last for at least few hours, just analyze when and how some people post. There are few guys that have shit load of stuff and once they bump, it takes a page on their posts alone.
Examples are Itzel0101, Seaglass505 and few others. So, just wait for them to finish bumping and watch when they bump.
I understand that they need to sell and that they have lots of cues. No problems. I just learn to deal with situation. I sell may be one cue per month and my life does not depend on those sales.
They do it for a living so, let them be. May be that is all they have to survive. By the way, Seaglass is not very friendly so, do not waste your time. He sounds like what I call "internet tough guy"
So far, I have a very successful rate on reporting posts using PM to MODS.
Jerry been REALLY good about it - very polite, grateful and always fast to reply and delete the posts.
AzHousepro is good as well - no replies but, I can see his actions.
So, believe me, Mods are doing what they can and they are not spending 10 minutes per days.
As for appointing a "forum police". I am sure there are reasons why it is not done yet. Sometimes you need to think outside the box. When I see you next time, we will talk about it.
This is my take on situation and my thoughts. Take it for what it is worth.
 
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Unless the site Owners/Mods have explicitly blessed self policing, I believe people should mind their own business. I've seen way too many examples, in forums, where the self appointed internet police caused a lot more harm than good. They have tools here to report problem/offensive posts and people can always PM a mod if they have problems with a poster and/or specific posts.
 
Report everyone that violates the Forum....the Mods will be swamped.....nothing will get changed......
the solution is to change the way posts are created......that's a programming challenge that someone
has to pay for......More Gold Memberships? Jerry has a budget and who knows how small or large it
is. More paid memberships would certainly help but that's not the ultimate solution either.

Threads benefit from posted comments....dialogue takes place......aside from being interesting and
entertaining at times, the posts are informative as well. Cue & case prices are discussed and people
learn more about cue and case values. It's the completely needless chit-chat between Azers on these
threads that runs on and on that undermines the Forum sale & wtb threads.

I don't have the answer but the AZers that flaunt their disregard for the Forum rules that need to get
hammered........Time for suspensions to be handedout.......lose your Forum privileges for two weeks
or a month and the concerned AZ will straighten fast as word gets out about it and things will improve.

Matt B.
 
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I guess I fall into the category of "Eh- whatever" but knock yourself out. It wont bother me if you want to be the Barney Fife the forums. I'll continue to do my best to try and follow the rules.

I got to say ,though, this thread reminded me of this;

hm1_zps4d827c9c.jpg


hm2_zpsb45596ca.jpg
 
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Monstermash said:
As some of you know, along with a lot of others here, I have taken the approach of trying to self police the forum. Obvioulsy, we are not Mods but when we see a rules violation we step up and let people know that they have not followed the rules. Usually it's new members that haven't bothered to actually read the rules so a polite pm with a link to the rules (highlighting the rule that is applicable) is uaually all it takes for them and they understand. Usually they reply and apologize and everything is good from then on.

Other times, it's not so simple. Occasionally when I send someone that polite pm, I'm greeted with a reply filled with profanity and insults. I'm always amused by this as if I'm the one breaking the rules and being discourteous to the other members. It's funny, the last several times I've received this response, the new member ends up getting banned shortly there after. Lol!

When it's a long standing member it's a different animal entirely. They certainly don't want to admit they are being rude and ignoring the rules even if they are. Instead they try and turn the tables and act like we are the one's doing something wrong by pointing it out. Sorry, but that redirection doesn't work with me. Just buck up and admit you made a mistake and/or if you are continually ignoring the rules why not try to be a little more courteous to your fellow members and just follow the rules. While it's not as serious here on an internet forum, in civilized society the people who break the rules are called criminals. Why is it we shouldn't expect our members to act civilized here?

Anyway, recently I have had the opportunity to learn that the "report post" link at the bottom of the page does...... NOTHING. It doesn't go to a moderator but instead it goes to a generic mailbox that is not monitored. Additionally, one of the mods informed me he has "less than 10 minutes a day" to police the forums.

So with that in mind I ask you, isn't it our responsibility to self police the forum if we want it to run smoothly. The reason I'm asking is because recently there have been a lot of members acting like they are above the rules and obviously without moderation this will continue. If we want to keep this forum running smoothly I believe it's up to everyone to let people know when they have done something wrong. That being said, I don't think everyone should bombard a member because they violated the rules once. Of course people make mistakes and bump in the WFS section a little early. I'm referring to the members where this has become a pattern and who continually ignore the rules or to help a new member out by informing them of the rules in case they didn't read them.

And before you hit that reply button please try and remember that the rules are in place for a reason. The forum would be chaos without them.

Please reply with your opinion.
Click to expand...


Wow!

So when people are so upset with you they use profanity, you think it is amusing?
When they''re actually banned from the forum you 'Laugh out Loud'? Lol
When they point out that you have no right, not being a MOD, to tell them what to
do you have a name for it...redirection
You compare members to being criminals?

There are a lot more issues here than meet the eye, and I know I'm not a qualified
professional, so I really can't help, but may I make a suggestion?

Take the family out to a movie, get away from the forums for a while. You'll feel much better!
 
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Based on the flow of this forum there should be a good dozen or so mods. Usually there's an application process. Its voluntary but I'm sure there would be no shortage of people willing to lend their time especially with so many daily readers here.

The Wanted/For Sale forum is in desperate need of 2-3 mods. Its too much for just one person.
 
I'm not super bothered by it, but I can see why it can definitely be an issue.

I would think maybe they could give mod status to another person, someone who's been around for a while and has both the time and inclination to police the for sale forum specifically. I would think one person with a focus on that forum could clean it up pretty efficiently and with a strong focus on rule enforcement I would think in a few weeks we'd start seeing people obeying the rules more strictly.

I wish it was programmed like some other forums I go to where comments don't automatically bump a post, that is a separate feature that can only be done so often or you have the option to pay a little extra to be able to bump more frequently. I'm sure that would be an expensive change to make, but it's a nice way to generate some extra income and allow people to comment/discuss in the for sale thread without constantly bumping it up. It's hard when the bumping is from other posters because it seems such a logical place to ask a quick question, especially when the answer is likely to be useful to other people looking at the item.

Either way, however it's ultimately handled, it ain't my sandbox and I'm just happy to be allowed to play in it. I do my best to follow the rules.
 
I understand what you are saying, but how do you complain about people breaking the rules, by starting a thread that breaks the rules.

I'm a little confused is it only alright when you break the rules.
 
Outside of the For Sale forum, I think the site is reasonably well moderated. Do things get out of hand occasionally, sure, but those responsible eventually get their hands slapped a little.

I understand that the For Sale forum is a different issue, but as I don't use it, I have no perspective.

What makes you feel the "report" button doesn't work? Just because one mod doesn't pay attention to it....?
 
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