Moderator Rules?????

[Farneyman]

What exactly are the powers/rules/guidlines of the Moderators?

I think these should be made clear cause I only type with 1 finger and it bugs me that my messages are dissappering.

Some posts seem to be disappering with no explaination. I was involved in a couple of posts thats now "gone"?????. Why was this?

Without going into details and going round in circles about the content of each thread, a quick explaination as to why there are removed would be good.

Is this not a forum where free speech/type is allowed because ifs going to be censored I would rather leave.
I dont agree with everybody here as they wont with me but it now would seem that posts are being lifted because a "mod" dont like it?????

Whats the story guys????

A bemused member.

Pants... Ive posted this in the wrong bit.

 

[minty18]

Can a Mod PM the answer then close this thread.

It's getting boring now. I'd have left and gone over to the Todays Golfer forum by now if it wasn't such a pile of w@nk.

 

[thecraw]

As I said at the time mods will be the death of the site and its proving to be so. I think the phrase I used was "too many cooks spoil the broth".


My posting rate has dropped rapidly over the last 6 weeks or so mainly because of the way the forum is headed these days.

 

[medwayjon]

If a post is viewed to be of a derogatory nature to the forum, and by assosciation GM and its parent company it has to be removed in my eyes.

Remember the forum is provided by GM, it isnt our own virtual playground where we can do and say as we like and as such, the interests of GM have to be protected by MikeH and the GM guys and to a lesser extent, the mods.

If we feel a post is showing the forum in a negative light, it will rightly be removed in my eyes.

Of course free speech/type as Farneyman puts it is allowed, and it is to be respected, but there are limits to what can be permitted.

That is my view, any other mods/admins can add their views but that is how I see it.

 

[3offTheTee]

Does not seem that The Royal Ascot Video has been 'moderated'! It is always at the top for everyone to see.

Surely after a period of time it could go down the list like everyone else please.

 

[DCB]

Well guys, weve got moderators now and we just need to get on with it. In the past I frequented another forum that descended into some real gutter fighting all because there were (at that time) no moderators on the site. I've been on here two years now and yes things have been a bit different in the past few weeks, but, it's still a much better forum than some of the other offerings.

Lets give the mods a chance to find their feet and to work out what does and doesn't need moderating!

Mono is back after his suspension so lets give him the chance of starting afresh, some of his posts at the weekend did show that he was trying to integrate into the forum in a better manner.

As for the rest of us, lets keep it civil, even if we don't agree with the mods, it's a hard job trying to keep the peace in a place like this.

 

[heronsghyll]

Does not seem that The Royal Ascot Video has been 'moderated'! It is always at the top for everyone to see.

Surely after a period of time it could go down the list like everyone else please.

No comment on Moderators - but I too agree with this post, I do have a problem when the same post is always at the top.

If it is a key one - direct from GM - which needs a vote or is sharing some very important message, then OK. But there is no reason what so ever to have this story "bumping everyone else" down. It was just a golf day after all.

 

[Parmo]

I agree with the sticky post, I feel the rules & main topics (CF, Noob welcomes, R&A question thead) should be stickied or something like a meet up until it happens or has an important annoucement should be kept for a number of days, but not something for the few in the club to soap each other up with.

I would though as a member see how many posts, threads are deleted and at what times of the day, if it turns out over the few weeks the mods are not utilised then maybe cut back to two mods. At the end of the day we really have never had a issue where a Mod needs to cover 24/7 like if the forum had a hijack or along those lines.

Overall the Mods are doing a good job.

 

[madandra]

I am a mod and as I have said repeatedly I am not going to pull a post which has encouraged debate but I AM going to move/pull/delete something that is a personal attack on anyone on here. This is meant to be a fun place to doscuss golf and if people act with respect and decorum then we should only need to pull blatant spammers and the rare tiff. Recently there has been an increase of offensive posts and to be honest they deserve to be binned. I also agree with the majority that Mono has had the sharp end of the stick which is unfair. Our directions given were simple ... use common sense and I think we have been, I know I have been.

 

[GB72]

Not sure that this is the right question. In my opinion we could do with a set of forum guidelines to assist forum members in deciding what is acceptable and then the moderators could work from them. An example would be that I am not keen on the barely veiled swearing by inserting various punctuation marks in place of letters. This is, after all, a family forum. That said, nobody else appears to mind so I have not commented. A bit of clarification on the boundaries would help everyone.

I agree with Medway on what should be removed and I think that this constant sniping is not doing anyone any good. From my point of view, I have never argued with anyone on this site, hold no grudges and have given and taken advice when appropriate. As such, I am a bit confused as to how I have suddenly become seen as an arbiter of censorship. The number of posts that have been removed have been minimal and I cannot see how their removal has been to the detriment of the forum. In fact the last post I removed included threats and the most obnoxious of swear words. Can anyone argue that it was a bad thing to have someone available to remove that? Not sure if anyone remembers the weekend last year when we had a troll on the site posting obscenities and abuse to one and all. Again, these posts remained in situ until a member of GM was online to remove them. Is it now a bad thing that such behaviour can be nipped in the bud? There was a further incident last year involving accusations that could have ended up in court they were that severe. Again, being able to remove such comments at once can only be a benefit.

I have deliberately stayed out of the moderator/free speech argument but felt it was time to put my head up and have my comment. Hopefully you will appreciate my point of view and hopefully things can return to normal

 

[Herbie]

GB72 I absolutely agree with your stance yet where I feel it falls short a little is in taking action FAIRLY and IMPARTIALLY which I think gets overlooked in some threads and with some posters, that may not be the opinion of everyone but its mine. Selective policing never works and I am afraid thats what has happened in here from time to time.

Having said that I am overall happy with this site and the way it is mostly moderated.

 

[brendy]

Moved, this has nothing to do with golf.
Guys our position was made clear a while ago now, we have the same as any other forum housekeepers. It seems strange that so many people are protesting to common sense. Some folk do not like change, my answer to this? We should have had mods along time ago and the minority would have been spared the paranoia.
You choose to use a commercial site and forum, then give off that its not being run to your tastes?

 

[Pedro_Wedgitos]

and the free speech argument gets aired on loads of forums and it doesn't hold true. The fact is your are on someone's forum using their server space. In this case GM - and they have responsibilities as a commercial organisation with regards to all sorts of things.

The best way I have seen it explained is that it is like me inviting you into my house. You wouldn't be surprised if I took issue if you sat there moaning about my curtains or being "offensive" in my definition of that.

At the end of the day you are in a them's the rules if you don't like it play elsewhere.

 

[Smiffy]

and the free speech argument gets aired on loads of forums and it doesn't hold true. The fact is your are on someone's forum using their server space. In this case GM - and they have responsibilities as a commercial organisation with regards to all sorts of things.

The best way I have seen it explained is that it is like me inviting you into my house. You wouldn't be surprised if I took issue if you sat there moaning about my curtains or being "offensive" in my definition of that.

At the end of the day you are in a them's the rules if you don't like it play elsewhere.

But Pedro.
Your curtains are crap mate

 

[GB72]

The simple fact is that the forum has now grown from a small, self policing community to an integral part of the magazine that is strongly promoted as being an extension of the monthly edition. As such, a degree of moderation is necessary. Whether we like it or not, if GM are encouraging loyal readers of all ages to join in this forum and we are, after all, benefiting greatly from this involvement, then we have to accept that one eye must be kept on the content and views contained on the forum. If this means the removal of the odd thread then I feel that it is small price to pay for the level of interaction that we have with a national magazine.

Bearing the above in mind, I would have thought that a reasonable rule of thumb on posts would be 'could the post be published in the magazine'. If the answer is no then thought should be given as to whether it is really suitable for a public forum associated with a national magazine.

 

[Pedro_Wedgitos]

The simple fact is that the forum has now grown from a small, self policing community to an integral part of the magazine that is strongly promoted as being an extension of the monthly edition. As such, a degree of moderation is necessary. Whether we like it or not, if GM are encouraging loyal readers of all ages to join in this forum and we are, after all, benefiting greatly from this involvement, then we have to accept that one eye must be kept on the content and views contained on the forum. If this means the removal of the odd thread then I feel that it is small price to pay for the level of interaction that we have with a national magazine.

Bearing the above in mind, I would have thought that a reasonable rule of thumb on posts would be 'could the post be published in the magazine'. If the answer is no then thought should be given as to whether it is really suitable for a public forum associated with a national magazine.

Well written ... only addition would be published in the magazine with my real name next to it and my boss reading it.

 

[Pedro_Wedgitos]

and the free speech argument gets aired on loads of forums and it doesn't hold true. The fact is your are on someone's forum using their server space. In this case GM - and they have responsibilities as a commercial organisation with regards to all sorts of things.

The best way I have seen it explained is that it is like me inviting you into my house. You wouldn't be surprised if I took issue if you sat there moaning about my curtains or being "offensive" in my definition of that.

At the end of the day you are in a them's the rules if you don't like it play elsewhere.

But Pedro.
Your curtains are crap mate

I know I got them from your spare room :0)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The RA videos were posted by MikeH and stickied by him. Nothing to do with any mod or anyone who went ont he day (or me who organised it) wanting to big it up. If you had an issue with it being stickied there for so long Mike is the guy you have the beef with.

As an aside where exactly was it moved to?

 

[Leftie]

Re: Moderators Rule OK

tbh, I've only noticed a few threads that have been blocked/removed, and those were ones that I thought were getting childishly stupid with "disguised" bad language, personal attacks, potentially libelous, etc. Others may have been removed for similar reasons before I ever saw them.

So what? I don't feel that I have missed out, been "disadvantaged", or my life will never be the same again.

It seems to me that the main complainants are mostly those (NOT all I stress) who's posts were the reason that Mods were brought in in the first place.

As far as I'm concerned, we all know the rules and limits, the Mods have been recruited BECAUSE some people have chosen to push those limits and those people should not complain because it is THEIR FAULT.

If you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to stay here.

Peace and love, peace and love

 

[Billysboots]

Re: Moderators Rule OK

I moderate on another (non-golf) forum, and owing to the nature of the site the debate gets far more heated than here. That said, largely as a result of the members the site takes care of itself, so moderation is not usually too difficult a task.

The problem we have is with those who use the "free speech" excuse to post whatever they want - I am not an advocate of censorship (I once got banned from a site merely for disagreeing with a moderator), but there have to be limits to what is acceptable behaviour.

It shouldn't really need to be spelled out to people.