What's happened with moderators since my last 2007 presence here?

[BrianShaw]

Kirk can always make the discussion disappear... he has that power!

[Kirk Gittings]

Witold, it ended that way because Ken was totally fed up with what had been going on here and the incredible amount of time and energy of his that was being taken up with crap. I know exactly how he feels and IMO all new new and returning members should read that thread and realize that there is a limit to our patience and good temper.

This is not a for profit site that needs warm bodies to impress advertisers. So we can be more selective in terms of who we let post here. Its Saturday. I have some good friends coming over for lunch. I've said my piece. Hasta.

[invisibleflash]

OP, everyone can only offer what they can offer. If the mods are stressed out and low on time...that is what they can offer. Members are free to start up their own forums if they don't like this one. I'm not for or against the mods / forum... just stating fact.

[Michael_4514]

I have a big mouth and I'm very opinionated just about all the time, except when I come to this site. I've been here for 9 years, and have posted less than 200 times. I've written many a response, only to abort it, realizing that an extra opinion on the subject is often just superfluous.

This is a wonderful site, full of wisdom and good people, it is free and it is reliable. I don't always agree with moderation policies, but I don't need to. Plus, I find that I learn a lot more here by reading than by writing. Hopefully, I'll learn enough to help others the way others have helped me.

[IanG]

I've been a vocal criric of bizarre moderation of this website in the last year or two but it does seem to have become more level headed of late, the fact this thread is still here is part of that.

Moderation is a two way processthough, we need to listen to them and even more importanly they need to listren to feedback, and take that into account.

Ian

[Phong]

1. I'd like to thank the moderators for their contribution. It's a thankless job.
2. I don't agree with the moderation philosophy of the site, but I am ok with it.
3. The site seems to prefer more experienced photographers for moderators. I think that's a mistake. I'd much rather have the more experienced members spend their time sharing their experience with the community than policing the site. Besides, moderation does not require photography knowledge or expertise. It requires patience.

And that's my piece.

- Phong

[sanking]

Mod Action: Removed Dan's quote that Sandy summarizes well enough for posterity.

Dan,

You did a good job of putting my thoughts into words.

My other thought would be this. All of us have a finite amount of time in this life. Find a way to make the best of it. Crapping on other people, either the moderators of this forum or others, does nothing to advance your goals. Consider instead focusing on what it is you want out of life/photography, and directing your energies to that end.

As Kirk said, it is Saturday and some of us working folks would like to enjoy the company of our friends/wife/relatives.

Sandy

[Jody_S]

And I was just thinking that this forum has been pretty drama-free for the last few weeks. With discussions about lenses, films, composition, lots of beautiful images posted...

[rdenney]

In truth, Ken's threat of warning-free vacations for those who go over the line hasn't been carried out very much. As always, the moderators consider the person when making a decision. Sometimes, the person just has a bad day. Sometimes, we mods are just having a bad day. In the end, a post is just a post--a thought of the day written down, and a day on the forum is just a day in a life--a day that can be spent profitably doing a thousand other things. If a post is deleted, the poster can consider a more appropriate or acceptable way to try it again.

The vast majority of members here have never received a moderation action.

It's simple, really. If people would not take things personally, or invest the core of their being in every opinion they express, they would take what they perceive as attacks from others in stride and just move on, or learn how to respond in ways that to not escalate the issue. There are those who have demonstrated that they can take some ribbing, and the ribbing they get is fun for them and everyone. Others demonstrate less tolerance for ribbing, and people learn to be more careful with them. Occasionally, someone gets crosswise and the result can be uncivil, and that's when moderators step in.

Ken's point was that people who have seen enough of these actions, and who have participated in enough of these threads to already know where that line is should not need to be warned with something more mild than a vacation for a few days. A warning is a reminder, but many regulars shouldn't need reminding, especially when the subject of moderation was the topic du jour for weeks as it had been when Ken made that point.

When the forum has been just fun to read as it has been for quite a while now, the moderators relax a bit. When a bunch of folks go on a tear, as sometimes happens, then we get stretched to our limits and sometimes beyond them. We're human, too. But the worst that happens for people who are neither spammers nor unredeemable jerks is that one of their posts gets removed or they spend part of a week exploring other aspects of their lives. In my mind, that ranks somowhere below the comfy chair torture on the cruelty list. And, for those who like to dance along the line, an action often determines whether they want to be part of this forum or whether they would rather be an unredeemable jerk. We have thankfully had few of the latter, but all the mods have been the special beneficiary of at least one. After deleting one person's posts for rudeness, I was called names by email that no civil person should ever have to hear. I gave him a vacation as a result, and he called me more names. He also offered one of my possessions on a popular sales site for a ridiculously low price, with much of my personally identiable information (that he had to research to obtain) included, just to make my life inconvenient and to attempt to get to me. And he signed me up, using my personal email, for half a dozen porn sites. That's when we banned him. I must say, that sort of thing only has to happen once or twice before a moderator becomes less willing to give the benefit of the doubt. And when it happens, it provides an apt demonstration of what that person was really about. Most who receive an action, however, realize they went too far and reel themselves back in a bit.

We are all friends here, but that friendship can be surprisingly fragile. Some forums become places where people score points for how much blood they can draw from others. And other forums delete even mild ribbing. We try to prevent the former while allowing the latter, but it's a fine and always shifting line. We do our best.

Rick "who likes reading about lenses, films, and composition, and looking at lots of beautiful images" Denney

[Vaughn]

This forum is what it is because of the moderation, not in spite of it.

And anyone who mentions the comfy chair torture is okay in my books! It was unexpected...