A question for the Mods and anyone in the community that cares to discuss

[Whispers]

In another thread a situation was brought up by RockerRick who claimed a thread he posted has vanished.

Originally Posted by rockerrick

Well just my opinion but I'm seeing a West Texas coed forum that seems very stifled by it's moderation, I've seen a thread disappear, one locked now, seems like over zealous moderating to me. I'm not sure that the way it's is being bullied is a good thing. It seems a bit like censorship to me. It doesn't seem like you can have differing opinions from the staff in West Texas. But they always end their post politely

Originally Posted by rockerrick

Not defending Whispers, I had an actual alert vanish from here. It's in every other forum in Texas with mods posting in it, what does that tell you about the decision making of West Texas staff? It tells me they are not in tune with the rest of Eccie!

There's a guideline 22 that states staff will go to great lengths to not delete post or lock threads, they clearly have violated that.

Eventually Cryptkeeper responded with

Originally Posted by CryptKicker

Hmmm-- not sure what post you are talking about Rick. Is it something other than the alert that is there now? Maybe you posted it somewhere else (like COED) and we moved it to alerts? If not, not sure which you are speaking of. Sorry...

Kinda makes Rickyboy look like a whiner huh?

Originally Posted by busternutzs

I suggest you search through your posts to find the alert you are referring to. You can go to your member's profile and search all threads started by rockerrick. If you are so sure you posted the thread here in West Texas. You should be able to narrow down the time frame of your post and locate the thread.

I highly doubt one of the Mods would ever delete an Alert. Especially considering it could be a an issue that endangers safety. One would want to believe that buster.....

I look forward to hearing back from you and seeing a link to your post. I would like to see proof of your accusation.

Let's see how in tune you are.

Another comment from Cryptkeeper

Originally Posted by CryptKicker

This has been resolved Buster...

Perhaps a little more transparency Sir?

So that RockerRick's concerns can be validated and perhaps explained in a manner that does not make him look like a fool?

The manner in which you have chosen to respond would seem to label RockerRick as some sort of troublemaker not accurate in his statements.....

How about a couple of easy answers to direct questions for the sake of transparency.

1) Was RockerRicks alert removed from public view for a period of time?

2) If so how long?

3) Doesn't acceptable staff practices lean towards a staff member leaving behind a statement that he removed or edited a post and cite a reason?

i.e. If you believe something should not be posted a simple edit to remove it with a statement " Staff has removed this post for discussion at this time" after which reinstating the text removed and then moving it to the alert section with a comment like "Staff found this post to be an alert and moved to appropriate section

4) If you can agree that what I suggest in #3 is the acceptable norm can you explain why it is not a practice here?


As it looks at the moment Sir your unwillingness to validate what RockerRick states tends to make him look the fool.

I think that if you can "man up" and clarify that the thread was indeed removed for a period of time (days maybe?) that it would be the proper thing to do.

Then we can discuss WHY a warning that represents a danger to the community was removed for a period of time. Considering you have finally reinstated the thread and placed it in the Alert's section it would seem that your actions possibly put the community at for a period of time.

Why?

Before removing a thread of that nature I think it is fair to ask if it presented any immediate harm to anyone here. It was about a BO ho and her pimp.... neither members of this community..... I think it is a fair assumption that it did no immediate harm to anyone here to let it stand and that although you might have disagreed with it's content you (or whomever removed it) had no real reason to remove it .

Which brings us to the real issue.

Censorship.

Why are you or other West Texas Mods making a determination as to the value of the information a member presents or it's validity in your region?

That is not remotely your position.

Maybe West Texas is a sleepy and slow area and has become used to such decisions being made for them...... Maybe no one else will ask these questions in fear of reprisal....

They are valid questions as well as concerns though.

I think over time a community that can see a conversation like this play out... can witness how their staff respond and handle their mistakes..... can come to participate even more as well as share more.....

I've certainly already had several members PM me in support of the idea that some members are bullying others here in regards to what they can and cannot review and 2 people have stated they do not write reviews specifically for the reasons that were starting to come out in the thread you locked. More censure-ship in my opinion.

Oh yeah..... That thread....... We'll get around to that in time..... I have made a reasonable request via the RTM feature to have it unlocked. Please consider it..... It will remove the need to have multiple threads on the same subject.

A question to the community....... Why are you accepting of Staff behavior that determines what you can or cannot discuss?

Do you have other concerns? If so share them here or PM me with links and if you are afraid to bring them forward I will.

[john_deere]

Originally Posted by Whispers

Perhaps a little more transparency Sir?

How about a couple of easy answers to direct questions for the sake of transparency.

how about you answer my direct and simple question, sport?

who asked or appointed you - an austin member - to come tell us how to run our shit?

and by the way....the thread that got closed was mine, and i'm fine with it staying closed.

this board is not a democracy and i fully support the idea that mods can shut down anything or anyone at any time they see fit.

[Whispers]

Originally Posted by john_deere

how about you answer my direct and simple question, sport? OK

who asked or appointed you - an austin member - to come tell us how to run our shit?

I am a member of ECCIE and have hobbied in California, Florida, Texas and Arizona over the years since first joining ASPD. Including Lubbock and Amarillo and have some business that will bring me to Midland and Odessa soon. Where I live has no bearing on where my interests might lie.

Over the years I have learned a lot as well as benefited a lot from the information presented here and I try to participate when I can on issue that interest me and where I believe my experience can shed a light on something.

and by the way....the thread that got closed was mine, and i'm fine with it staying closed.

had you requested it be closed I would acknowledge that you had a right to do so but still argue that the thread should be reopened as the information and discussion had merit.

this board is not a democracy and i fully support the idea that mods can shut down anything or anyone at any time they see fit.

More than one Mod has, over the years, come to know that they did not actually have that right...... Some learned and are still Mods.... Others could not come to terms with it and are no longer Mods...

Most of the time, as we saw in San Antonio with JJ and Mokoa, the MOD just did not know any better. When members began to question and draw attention to it they received clarification and their practices stopped.

Usually it is simply a Mod does not know better because he is just doing it the way the guy before him did it.....

That is not always right....

[john_deere]

oh, ok...so you're the self-appointed new sheriff in town?

cool. just wanted to be clear on that.

here's a question....if you're the expert, why did 72% - that's about 40 people - agree with YOUR OWN POLL asking if the current atmosphere in the san antonio forum is your fault?

[Whispers]

Originally Posted by john_deere

oh, ok...so you're the self-appointed new sheriff in town? No. Just a member of the board with opinions to share and questions to ask

cool. just wanted to be clear on that.

here's a question....if you're the expert, why did 72% - that's about 40 people - agree with YOUR OWN POLL asking if the current atmosphere in the san antonio forum is your fault?

LOL.... You believe that to be a negative in some way....... San Antonio has 1000s of members and if 72% of the membership that actually took time to post to the thread felt I was responsible then it supports MY contention that 1 person CAN make a difference...

Is it remotely possible Sir for you to remain on subject? Feel free to start a "Questions for Whispers" Thread if you like.

This one is about an Alert thread that vanished from the boards for some period of time before being re-posted during which time members could have been potentially at risk for no other reason than staff did not feel it belonged.

This thread is about whether or not this is a case of censure ship on the part of someone who believes they have the right to determine what we as members are entitled to know.

I think your dislike for me has already been proven..... And the fact that you seem to post off subject at will without interaction from Staff tends to indicate a 3rd potential matter for discussion. Is staff afraid to interact with you in regards to staying on the topic of a thread

[john_deere]

oh, it's entirely on topic....you've clearly stated in your op that you want to change things. people want to know why they should pay any attention to you.

you're not trying to bully me or shout me down for asking relevant questions, are you?

[john_deere]

oh, and bt-dubs, homie....it's "censorship".

[Whispers]

Originally Posted by john_deere

oh, and bt-dubs, homie....it's "censorship".

I mentioned in another thread that I have a buddy that does the spelling check thing to feel useful and I could invite him along when he was free. It's not a big thing to me and it lets me allow some others to feel like they are contributing in some manner to correct me in little ways...... I'm sure it brings meaning to their lives when they get to do so!

Still putting the Renovation Team together.... I'll let him know you really want to see him along for the ride....

Originally Posted by john_deere

oh, it's entirely on topic....you've clearly stated in your op that you want to change things. people want to know why they should pay any attention to you.

you're not trying to bully me or shout me down for asking relevant questions, are you?

LOL! No John.... You may bully others but I can hold my own and don't get intimidated.....

AS to why people should pay attention? Well... if they are interested in why some practices are not correct or in how, as members, to voice their concerns, they might want to look in from time to time..... Threads I start do tend to be entertaining..... Some lend themselves to seeing people at their best...... others at their worst......

[john_deere]

i don't bully anybody. i enjoy rough humor and i call a spade a spade, though.

and so...i'm just trying to establish a basis for why anybody should give any fucks about whispers and his attempt to "make a difference". especially with a 72% disapproval rating.

i mean, let's be honest....it is the interweb. anybody can say anything. i could swear to have a phd in hookering from poontang university (with honors, i might add), and who can really challenge that?

surely someone with your fervent belief in transparency can understand the need to establish credibility, and frankly, right now you ain't got any.

[busternutzs]

Whether you two hobbyists like each other or not, whether you agree or disagree on how this sub forum is moderated is really not important. I do think the exchange of uncensored ideas, thoughts and different opinions is the important issue.

I think we get use to how things are run and the status quo right or worng.

It never hurts to have an outsider to express his thoughts on what's going on. If for nothing else to shake things up and open minds to look at what's going on in a different light.

[Phrasing]

[TXCatHerder]

After reading this thread I feel I needed to respond. We all have that guy at work that acts like a 14-year old boy that needs attention and just wants to argue, but thinks he is the smartest guy in the room.

I am a Mr. Deere fan, he and Buster contribute positively to the forum. I was hoping maybe if Deere quit paying attention to Whispers, he would go away. But alas, I seriously doubt Whispers will stop expressing himself.

I believe Mr. Thom or Phrasing used to say, sharing information makes us stronger, or winners or something like that. I don’t comment much in the forums, but do share and request information through pms. Our Mods do a great job keeping the discussions focused, stop personal attacks, assist in research, and allow for the flow of information which is what this is about.

I travel and use and review in other Texas and Oklahoma forums. What we have in West Texas is fair discipline and enforcement of rules. No bullying, harassment, censorship, or other BS. It is frustrating using other forums with bumped threads over 30-days, no links to showcases, and my favorite irritant, the provider name not in the title of the review. Some may think these are petty rules, but they make things easier to navigate and keep things on track. Our Mods clearly give a shit and it can't be easy keeping a few hundred type A testosterone charged, ego driven men in check and working in harmony.

I feel I have wasted 20 minutes reading childish BS, and responding to it that I could have been reading reviews and lining up my next meeting.

[CryptKicker]

The post in question was inadvertently removed. It was restored and my post to Rick was my weird sense of humor in copying the tenor of his post. You would have to have been in the West Texas forums to understand. I explained the situation to Rick and he was fine with the explanation and has moved on.

[john_deere]

heh.

so much for the conspiracy.

[Whispers]

Originally Posted by TXCatHerder

.....I travel and use and review in other Texas and Oklahoma forums. What we have in West Texas is fair discipline and enforcement of rules. No bullying, harassment, censorship, or other BS. It is frustrating using other forums with bumped threads over 30-days, no links to showcases, and my favorite irritant, the provider name not in the title of the review. Some may think these are petty rules, but they make things easier to navigate and keep things on track. Our Mods clearly give a shit and it can't be easy keeping a few hundred type A testosterone charged, ego driven men in check and working in harmony.

You provided 3 examples of irritants..... and refer to them as petty rules. They are not in fact rules of any kind.... IF these are rules being enforced in West Texas it is because someone created additional rules/guidelines out of the scope of their authority...

1) bumped threads over 30-days ..... To clarify.... There is a guideline that addresses bumping of threads in the "review forums".... Bumping old threads in other forums tends to irritate us all but is not a violation of a guideline.

2) no link-s to showcases.... Why do you believe there is a rule/guideline that addresses this? It is requested in a review form that a member provide a link to a provider's website and many place a link to a showcase there.... Bot not filling it in is not an infraction of any kind. It may lead to the reviewer not receiving credit for the review but that's the extent of it...

3) No provider name in the title of a review.... Why do you believe there is a rule/guideline that addresses this? The review form provides a space to put the provider's name. The title of a review is a product of the creativity of the reviewer.

I believe if you are getting frustrated visiting other cities it is not because they do not conform to the guidelines of ECCIE..... It appears you have just gotten used to "rules" here being out of line with the basic design of the board.