Apology for the confusion

[Tony]

There seems to have been some confusion caused by what we as the moderators thought was happening when we edited posts and what you the members were seeing.

When we edit/remove posts we put in a comment about why so that you could all see what was going on and thus understand where we’re coming from. This seems to have not been the case, only we see the comments and we’ve been thinking that everyone can! I apologise for the confusion, we’ve been thinking we’re communicating and being more open and it’s not been getting through!

In light of this and feedback from members and in our own team we’re going to tweek how we moderate threads and posts.

This is a copy of what I’ve written elsewhere in a thread.

We've been talking behind the sense for a while now about moderation etc and I think the above leads me on to saying that we're going to ease off a bit on moderating, I still expect the standards of the site to be upheld but we're not going to remove so many posts and we're going to let more discussion etc take place, even if it's a tad heated, this does put the onus on you the members to keep things under control but I'm willing to give it a go. You all know where the lines are and know when you're stepping over, if you avoid doing that the pressure should ease for all of us. Lately there’s a few threads that have been allowed to continue when traditionally we’d have stopped them, these have ended up containing some good information and so I think there’s mileage in allowing this to become the norm. Remember though there’s a difference between debating and getting stuck in on a personal level.

Let’s get on with being part of a great community…

There’s po’s and con’s to this, it’s going to be more transparent but there’s also going to be some people that don’t like being pulled up in public. On the whole it’s probably going to work out for the better, we do our best but we’re all human and I’d like to think that we’re mates that can have a laugh, have a discussion and come out shaking hands.

Let’s make it work.

 

[BorderReiver]

Thank you Tony.

 

[Brian]

Tony,

Thanks mate, hopefuly this will clear up some of the confusion that there has been in the past and as you said:
Let’s get on with being part of a great community....

Brian

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Very well said

 

[queeg9000]

Tony,

that was put forward very well, it's always good to encourage rational debate on any subject matter. After all if we can't as like minded people, discuss awkward topics, what happens when we need to band together to save something we all enjoy? :You_Rock_

 

[Greywolf]

Tony and the Mods, (sounds like a pop group )

I have had the fortune/misfortune to have been a mod on other sites and can understand the difficulties involved in keeping a site a happy home.
The fortunes come when things go well and the site blossoms, but misfortune can bite when difficult decisions have to be made regarding a threads contents. There will always come a point when the mod team seams to be at odds with the general membership, when in reality they are working hard to maintain the site as a place folks want to visit.
A good analogy is the graceful swan, on top of the water they look like they are gliding along without a care in the world, but a quick look below the surface and they are working hard to paddle the water

Keep up the good work, it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it


Greywolf

 

[andyn]

Well done on taking a step back and assessing the situation. It sounds like you are taking a positive step. Nice one Tony.

 

[Grimnir]

I can only echo what Greywolf has said. I am a mod on another board, one on which a fair amount of politics has to be debated and it is all too easy to get snarled up in the job. It is a thankless task in the end and has split boards before. I hope this one will continue and grow, I'd hate to lose it so soon after finding it!

 

[leon-b]

you closed my thread "black widow slingshot" but it was fair as you closed it because you didnt know if it was legal to do what we were talking about. its good that you are easing off a bit, lets hope the standards dont drop
leon

 

[fred gordon]

Good news and very fair. Now no-one should be able to complain about a thread being shut down as it should be transparent why it happened. Its now up to all of us to make this work. Perhaps it would be a courtesy to let people who have dropped out of BKUK recently know about the new dawn and give them the opportunity to reconsider.

 

[Scally]

brill tony thanks

 

[kaoss]

here here !

 

[morch]

Keep up the good work, it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it

Well done on taking a step back and assessing the situation. It sounds like you are taking a positive step. Nice one Tony.

Couldn't agree more, well done Tony and the mod team.

Dave

 

[Wayne]

Tony and the team.

thanks for the info great to get the feedback.

 

[pibbleb]

Well done guys for the work you've been doing and dealing with the issue ASAP. :You_Rock_

Lifes is just a learning process and I think we've all learnt a valuable lesson or two over the last few days.

Keep it up guys! :notworthy

Paul

 

[BOD]

There’s po’s and con’s to this, it’s going to be more transparent but there’s also going to be some people that don’t like being pulled up in public.

Perhaps they could receive a PM beforehand?

 

[Martyn]

Perhaps they could receive a PM beforehand?

Or, ...and heres a crazy thought, ....perhaps they could just avoid doing things that gets them moderated.

Just in case anybody doesnt know, the rules are here, please read them and save us both some grief, cos I certainly wont be sending nice considerate PM's out before I moderate. IMO, people who break the rules and force me to waste my day explaining to them why, should be buying me chocolates and sending roses to my wife.

 

[Tony]

Perhaps they could receive a PM beforehand?

You can’t have more open moderation and also PM’s so that it’s not open, they contradict each other. Martyn has pointed out where the rules are and all people need to do it read them, take them on board, remember to keep them and to generally be nice people on the forum. No need for moderation then, just some guidance maybe for new members etc.

We’re going to allow you guys to have more open debate, it still needs to be within the boundaries and that’s down to the people that use the forums. The mods aren’t going to compensate for people that can’t agree or keep within that boundary.

 

[Moonraker]

There seems to have been some confusion caused by what we as the moderators thought was happening when we edited posts and what you the members were seeing.

When we edit/remove posts we put in a comment about why so that you could all see what was going on and thus understand where we’re coming from. This seems to have not been the case, only we see the comments and we’ve been thinking that everyone can! I apologise for the confusion, we’ve been thinking we’re communicating and being more open and it’s not been getting through!

In light of this and feedback from members and in our own team we’re going to tweek how we moderate threads and posts.

I applaud both listening to the members concerns (reasonable I think) and a move to a more tolerant attitude to modding :You_Rock_

One thing though, having read through all the relevant posts, I can see no clarification as to whether members will in fact be able to see any such reasons for moderation in the future; or will we still not be able to see the notice you refer too?Is it possible to allow this?

Of course we should all be moving towards a more responsible approach, on both sides, but inevitably there will be a need from time to time. Being able to see what's written by the mods will help avoid any future situations like Abbe's.

 

[Ed]

One thing though, having read through all the relevant posts, I can see no clarification as to whether members will in fact be able to see any such reasons for moderation in the future; or will we still not be able to see the notice you refer too?Is it possible to allow this?

Unfortunatly, it may not be possible for the reasons to be shown due the the vBulletin software that is used for this forum.... you have to talk to the vBulletin developers about this..... its out of the BCUK teams hands

Ed