Community Forum

[MrFussy]

Just so we are clear here, my post is supportive of Moderators, I think when something is reported to them it is the action that they take needs to be discussed, deleting threads is not Moderating in my opinion, but falls into censorship and even the realms of dictatorship.....

Some definitions, freely available from the Internet to note...

Censorship - 'the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body'
Moderator - 'a person given special powers to enforce the rules on an Internet forum'
Dictator - 'A dictator is a ruler (e.g. absolutist or autocratic) who assumes sole and absolute power, a term that came to be used almost exclusively as a non-titular term for oppressive, even abusive rule'

Moderating is obviously a difficult task, particularly on a forum such as this, Royalers' excellent post highlights the considerations that should be given to community members and community leaders, I feel that this has been lost somewhat on here and I think it should be addressed...

[samlad]

Also, just to quote you here Royaler:

However that trust will only be won, no I should say earned, if there is a clear and open line of communication in both directions.

As this line of communication was taken elsewhere by this particular poster, then this also applies. We aren't able to have our say in this situation either.

[royaler]

I agree entirely that trust is earned, not immediately expected.

For fear of contradicting my comment about this being a continuation thread that will be deleted, I will summarise the ban:

- Over the past few days, a particular poster has had a slanging match with another poster and PM's were exchanged and the issue was considered resolved

- The poster in question has been one that has been banned several times in recent times and continued to push the boundries

- The poster in question made some serious accusations about certain members of this site elsewhere which reinforced her attitude towards E-I and other members. This was brought to our attention by a poster here. Given the comments, it was felt that she has no respect for this community we are all part of so it was decided that she shouldn't be a part of the community

That's it in a nut-shell.

Thanks for that very clear statement of facts Samlad, upon which I and other members can make up our own minds!
TBH it isn't the specific case but the generality of the matter that I'm interested in ....... things like community / communication, democracy, leadership - trust - leadership, openness and rights.
I feel that this could open into a well marshalled debate for a sunday but I'm heading off for a couple of days and won't have the opportunity to be making long posts which need to be thought for such a debate. But I think I know a certain Mr Fussy who will most ably do so!!
BTW Samlad I fully appreciate the difficulty the you and your fellow mods have somtimes. Well done!

[royaler]

Just so we are clear here, my post is supportive of Moderators, I think when something is reported to them it is the action that they take needs to be discussed, deleting threads is not Moderating in my opinion, but falls into censorship and even the realms of dictatorship.....

Some definitions, freely available from the Internet to note...

Censorship - 'the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body'
Moderator - 'a person given special powers to enforce the rules on an Internet forum'
Dictator - 'A dictator is a ruler (e.g. absolutist or autocratic) who assumes sole and absolute power, a term that came to be used almost exclusively as a non-titular term for oppressive, even abusive rule'

Moderating is obviously a difficult task, particularly on a forum such as this, Royalers' excellent post highlights the considerations that should be given to community members and community leaders, I feel that this has been lost somewhat on here and I think it should be addressed...

Super clarification of issues Mr.Fussy!! Yeh as I've just said to Samlad its the generality of the topic that I am much more interested in here ..... not the specific case...... and you are correct when you say this has been lost a bit.
Anyway ...... I'm off for a few days! C ya

[royaler]

Also, just to quote you here Royaler:



As this line of communication was taken elsewhere by this particular poster, then this also applies. We aren't able to have our say in this situation either.

your point is very well made Samlad!

[samlad]

Upon reflection, I agree that last night's deleting frenzy wasn't the best way to deal with this situation and for that I apologise on behalf of all the mods and managers.

Your points have been taken on board and we will make a more concious effort to ensue that moderation isn't as heavy-handed in future. We are here to help, not hinder, but just to clarify, here are some of the things we might have to remove:

- Threads/posts condoning the actions of a banned user that breach the forum rules
- Threads/posts containing any personal information about any poster (which would usually result in a ban anyway)
- Anything with images of minors
- Links to competitor sites
- Anything that is percieved to deliberately discredit an escort or client
-Anything promoting prostitution

There are of course other cases where we would delete something, but if we do delete it, we will ensure that the poster is PM'd with an outline as to why.

[MrFussy]

I agree entirely that trust is earned, not immediately expected.

For fear of contradicting my comment about this being a continuation thread that will be deleted, I will summarise the ban:

- Over the past few days, a particular poster has had a slanging match with another poster and PM's were exchanged and the issue was considered resolved

- The poster in question has been one that has been banned several times in recent times and continued to push the boundries

- The poster in question made some serious accusations about certain members of this site elsewhere which reinforced her attitude towards E-I and other members. This was brought to our attention by a poster here. Given the comments, it was felt that she has no respect for this community we are all part of so it was decided that she shouldn't be a part of the community

That's it in a nut-shell.

Perfect example Sam, thanks, a clear explanation of why the action was taken. Yes it may result in some additional posts, disagreement and debate, but that is what a community is about. By providing detail of why an action was taken we are informed and allowed to make up our own minds, we can agree or disagree to support the decision. Clear communications such as this adds to the Forum, it does not detract from it, nor the roles of Moderators in my opinion, in fact I would go as far to say it is a pre-requisite in any community forum. An articulated explanation will triumph over a rash deletion any day....it should not be regarded as a chore having to explain each and every action, merely treating people as adults, allowing them to make up their own minds in light of the information communicated...

[samlad]

Perfect example Sam, thanks, a clear explanation of why the action was taken. Yes it may result in some additional posts, disagreement and debate, but that is what a community is about. By providing detail of why an action was taken we are informed and allowed to make up our own minds, we can agree or disagree to support the decision. Clear communications such as this adds to the Forum, it does not detract from it, nor the roles of Moderators in my opinion, in fact I would go as far to say it is a pre-requisite in any community forum. An articulated explanation will triumph over a rash deletion any day....it should not be regarded as a chore having to explain each and every action, merely treating people as adults, allowing them to make up their own minds in light of the information communicated...

Again, point taken and please refer to my above post

[MrFussy]

Again, point taken and please refer to my above post

Noted, was typing at the the same time as you were posting Thankyou for the clarification and time taken to discuss the issues.

[City Gent]

Upon reflection, I agree that last night's deleting frenzy wasn't the best way to deal with this situation and for that I apologise on behalf of all the mods and managers.

Your points have been taken on board and we will make a more concious effort to ensue that moderation isn't as heavy-handed in future. We are here to help, not hinder, but just to clarify, here are some of the things we might have to remove:

- Threads/posts condoning the actions of a banned user that breach the forum rules
- Threads/posts containing any personal information about any poster (which would usually result in a ban anyway)
- Anything with images of minors
- Links to competitor sites
- Anything that is percieved to deliberately discredit an escort or client
-Anything promoting prostitution

There are of course other cases where we would delete something, but if we do delete it, we will ensure that the poster is PM'd with an outline as to why.

That's to be commended Sam, a little middle ground goes a long way towards respect.


CG