Unfriendly and Inappropriate Behaviour By Moderators

[a massive zebra]

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12210

Here we go again.

This new guy was simply asking an innocent question, and instead of having his question answered and being welcomed to the board in a pleasant manner, he gets insulted and has his thread closed by the mass thread closer. Live webcasts are not illegal, contracts have been agreed with a number of websites over the last few years, and there is a webcast in place for the series in question.

A few days ago when things got out of hand between Mr Casson, Langeveldt and CP the mods did nothing, but on many other occasions this particular moderator is wonderfully keen to jump in and close perfectly innocent threads and in doing so discourage interested new members from returning. Me and a number of others have been very irritated by this type of attitude, and left with no option but to post less and less over time.

There was a thread some time ago about which batter has no class at all or something of the sort. And Neil was on there saying he was sick of all these "negative" topics and talked as if those kinds of topics should not be created. Just because someone is a moderator doesn't mean we have to make threads which please you guys.

 

[Langeveldt]

Interesting.. You quote me in your post, and say that the mods did nothing about our situation..

In the end, me and Cass were prepared to give CP and the mods the benifit of the doubt, but I've been slightly miffed by the abruptness of some of the modding. . I guess the forum is growing, they have an increasingly difficult job to do and they do it... We are just going to have to live with it

 

[a massive zebra]

Whether or not a thread is productive is entirely subjective. I don't really care what anyone else thinks is productive or not so why should moderators presume to know what we collectively want to discuss. I'm not talking about stuff thats totally off topic. I've often seen a moderator step in and lock a discussion that lots of people were still taking part in, and many more people were enjoying and interested in.

One of the moderators really needs to get a life. As long as we arent talking about child pornography or being racist then if someone says something rude, then just leave the post alone. As users of the site we don't have to read anything we don't want to and we don't need to be protected against someone voicing an opinion that is radical and perhaps even inflammatory.

If the internet were one big moderated forum you wouldn't be able to rely on any websites to tell you all points of view on a topic because some guy on a powertrip has decided that it is his or her responsibility to ensure the moral integrity of the community isn't compromised.

 

[Langeveldt]

I think you need to steer clear of personal judgements here... The moderators only perform in the manner asked of them..

Saying that, I mostly agree with you.. There is a fine line between being over and under cautious, and I think we are a bit over the top.. Saying that, I'm not one to talk when it comes to kicking up a fuss about some comments..

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

The most appropriate manner of addressing this situation would be to contact the moderator in question via email, MSN or some other private means. However, personally I have no problem with such a topic as this remaining in play, once the conversation remains constructive.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Would it be ironic if I pointed out this thread should probably be moved by a Mod to the "Site Discussion" forum?

I think generally the mods have it pretty much right. There are sometimes issues that I think could've been handled differently (that isn't to say my idea on how it should've gone would've been any better), but I'd say in a public forum it's better to err on the side of caution than let things get out of hand.

One (hopefully) constructive suggestion I'd make generally would be seperate forum in the "Other" section where new posters could introduce themselves?

 

[Smudge]

The most appropriate manner of addressing this situation would be to contact the moderator in question via email, MSN or some other private means. However, personally I have no problem with such a topic as this remaining in play, once the conversation remains constructive.

I think it's healthy to have such debate, providing, as you say, the criticism remains constructive.

I sometimes am a bit annoyed when a couple of us get virtual chiding from some mods for ***ually suggestive posts, but, at the same time, I appreciate there are a lot of younger posters.

In saying that, I think most teenagers in the world are fairly enlightened.

Anyway, I'll just keep making comments on threads - if they're out of line, they're out of line, and I will adjust accordingly.

 

[Langeveldt]

^Word

 

[a massive zebra]

I think it's healthy to have such debate, providing, as you say, the criticism remains constructive.

I sometimes am a bit annoyed when a couple of us get virtual chiding from some mods for ***ually suggestive posts, but, at the same time, I appreciate there are a lot of younger posters.

In saying that, I think most teenagers in the world are fairly enlightened.

Anyway, I'll just keep making comments on threads - if they're out of line, they're out of line, and I will adjust accordingly.

I certainly would not disagree with anything you said there.

 

[Top_Cat]

I think we're unfairly targeting one mod here so let's hear an open discussion about other boners the other mods like myself have pulled. Again, keep it clean (i.e. no horse shoes in the gloves, boys). If there's problems then I personally want to know why and how we can lift our games if needed.

 

[a massive zebra]

I think we're unfairly targeting one mod here so let's hear an open discussion about other boners the other mods like myself have pulled. Again, keep it clean (i.e. no horse shoes in the gloves, boys). If there's problems then I personally want to know why and how we can lift our games if needed.

About 6 months ago I remember being slightly annoyed by Andre on a couple of occasions but in general one is more than satisfied with the work of all the moderators except Neil.

P.S. James is normally an exemplary leader, very highly respected and has seen his site grow from strength to strength, but did he really need to warn SJS who is one of the most knowledgable, interesting and valued members.

 

[James]

As Corey (Top_Cat) said we're perfectly happy to have an open discussion about the ins and outs of how we control the forum.

If you'd rather talk to me privately about your concerns you're welcome to email me at james.nixon@cricketweb.net or contact me on MSN - nixonja@hotmail.com.

The thread that you mentioned a_massive_zebra. Perhaps Neil shouldn't have been so short with the member but as you've probably noticed lots of these type of threads have been appearing the past week or so and Cricket Web in no way or form wants to be seen as supporting or providing links to illegal material.

 

[a massive zebra]

As Corey (Top_Cat) said we're perfectly happy to have an open discussion about the ins and outs of how we control the forum.

If you'd rather talk to me privately about your concerns you're welcome to email me at james.nixon@cricketweb.net or contact me on MSN - nixonja@hotmail.com.

The thread that you mentioned a_massive_zebra. Perhaps Neil shouldn't have been so short with the member but as you've probably noticed lots of these type of threads have been appearing the past week or so and Cricket Web in no way or form wants to be seen as supporting or providing links to illegal material.

Thanks for your reply James, much appreciated. I am fully aware of the problems you could incur if seen to advocate illegal material, but these particular webcasts are perfectly legal and have even been recommended by cricinfo. Furthermore, this new member was simply asking an innocent question, there was no need to close the thread and the welcome he received was clearly unfriendly.

 

[James]

Regarding the ***ual nature of some threads/posts - remember we have a wide range of ages/cultures and people from all sorts of backgrounds on the forums. What may seem of a light ***ual nature to you and I might be highly offensive to someone of an Asian background for example.

For this reason the forum has always been and always will be moderated towards a G standard.

 

[James]

Thanks for your reply James, much appreciated. I am fully aware of the problems you could incur if seen to advocate illegal material, but these particular webcasts are perfectly legal and have even been recommended by cricinfo. Furthermore, this new member was simply asking an innocent question, there was no need to close the thread and the welcome he received was clearly unfriendly.

Can I ask which web casts you're referring to?

What I'll do is email the member with a link to these web casts and will then enter and top a thread with them which will hopefully mean the threads around this will stop.

 

[a massive zebra]

http://www.willow.tv/EventMgmt/Default.asp

 

[Top_Cat]

Additionally to James' above comment, this has been borne out of experience rather than general knowledge of said cultures. We've had some complaints and comments regarding exactly this from forum members (as I vaguely recall) and so we've been forced to keep a watch on that sort of thing.

Okay, my personal view is that if there is a problem with a specific mod, one should make steps to chat to him personally. I got the impression from this thread you were referring to moderating in general (in which we could then answer questions specifically) but since you're referring to Neil specifically, drop him an email.

That said, keep this thread going as we really need to know what's going on and if people are unhappy. None of us are professional mods (or in my personal case, even amatuer!) so there's always room for improvement/suggestions.

 

[James]

http://www.willow.tv/EventMgmt/Default.asp

Thanks for that - I'll look into it later today.

 

[James]

As mentioned I'm more than to keep this thread going.

We're always willing to listen to our members; because after all if it wasn't for you all, Cricket Web wouldn't be where it is today!

If you're unhappy about something raise it in the forums or email me personally at james.nixon@cricketweb.net

Neil's email is neil.pickup@cricketweb.net if you want to send him an email.

 

[a massive zebra]

Additionally to James' above comment, this has been borne out of experience rather than general knowledge of said cultures. We've had some complaints and comments regarding exactly this from forum members (as I vaguely recall) and so we've been forced to keep a watch on that sort of thing.

Okay, my personal view is that if there is a problem with a specific mod, one should make steps to chat to him personally. I got the impression from this thread you were referring to moderating in general (in which we could then answer questions specifically) but since you're referring to Neil specifically, drop him an email.

That said, keep this thread going as we really need to know what's going on and if people are unhappy. None of us are professional mods (or in my personal case, even amatuer!) so there's always room for improvement/suggestions.

I tried to phrase it in a slightly more subtle manner because last time I made a complaint about Neil in particular he went off on a barney. http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9631