Snide Comments

[C_Claycomb]

Thanks for raising this Jordan. It seems to be something that happens in cycles, but it is good for people to highlight it happening. If anyone has any specific problems though, it would be better to send a PM to one of the moderators than post it on the forum.

Years ago I felt that it was necessary to read all the new posts in order to do the job of moderating properly. In the beginning, this was possible, and indeed we had a lot more need to police threads. We had lots of spammers, as well as con artists, frauds, liars, bigots, agitators and TEOTWAWKI enthusiasts, all posting. Some came purely to stir, others to profit from (or take advantage of) our members. New filters and a lot of bans later things have calmed down substantially. Threads are usually pretty tame, we have more posts per day and fewer moderators spending all day keeping an eye on things. It isn't possible to read all the threads and posts. For instance, I have never even looked at the Gift it on thread. I thought "how contentious can that really get?!?". This being the case, we rely upon members self moderating, and reporting posts using the "report post" icon.

Problems arise when people take "Self moderating" as a reason for taking a pop at someone who they find annoying, or whose posts they do not agree with. This is not what was intended, and is not how things should happen. Such comments often carry an emotional charge which comes through, sometimes louder than the poster intended. It is excellent advice not to post replies when irritated. Easy advice to offer, but a lot harder to follow. This is something that makes the job of moderator difficult, it can be really hard not to get annoyed with members who are causing you trouble and using your time. The best treatment is not replying too quickly, leave it overnight, for instance.

People attempting to moderate others who annoy them gives rise to bad feelings and really messy threads. When a Moderator does look in on a thread where people have been throwing mud and cross quoting back and forth, they are presented with a tangled mess that can take a lot of time to untangle, time that they may not have. What to do? Leave the thread alone, if the participants haven't really broken any of the rules, or sweep through deleting posts and locking the thread? We catch flak for either approach, but generally we have had less flak for leaving threads to run than we did when we jumped in and shut things down.

 

[juliojordio1983]

I'm not sure if I am the offender or the offended here as I certainly defend myself in vitriolic style if attacked ( a trait I despise in myself), I certainly post less here because of these type of responses ( I don't come online for fights, I come online to engage with real people doing real stuff so I can learn from them and grow personally). I've got way better things to do with my time, these reasons are why I never renewed my supporters account t here this year, I spend the majority of my time online in places where I get a much better interaction and engagement with folks. Find myself coming on this site less and less these days days and posting hardly ever, I often write stuffand delete it half done imagining the backlash, even this post I nearly didn't post, what's the point!

As calm and nice as I probably come across online, I too can be confrontational, I will defend myself if I feel the need. I didn't start this thread to point fingers at anyone specifically, members or mods. The forum is well run, the mods are here a lot, and if they need to act when they see fit, they do (I myself was banned after a discussion regarding BB's demise)

I also understand that you get all types in life, and that an internet forum, even one such as this for such a niche subject compared to car forums for example, will always have bad eggs. That's just life, and I accept that. I also understand that I haven't been a member that long, and that there are probably feuds and bad blood that I am unaware of, and perhaps some of the comments I refer to are simply that.

To come back to Janne, yes he made a mistake, yes he shouldn't have done what he did, and I think he would agree with that now. But, mistakes are not sticks to beat people with whenever a comment is made, or opinion expressed that some don't agree with.

I think that is the best approach to have Chris. I think the moderation as you described there is spot on. I would not expect the mods to see and read every post, it would be far too time consuming, and taxing. This thread was not a pop at the mods in anyway, it was posted more in hope that people would bear in mind the things said in this thread, when arguments occur. At the end of the day, it is only the internet, and you can log off and forget what you've read and that be that. But for guests browsing (5 at the time of writing) new members, and old members, surely it can be argued that for the good of the forum as a whole, the less posts we see in this manner the better?

 

[Zingmo]

I think the answer is two-fold. Samon pointed out that it is usually just certain sorts of topics that spark ill feeling. Jordan has intimated that it is a select few making the snide remarks. These things only start to be a major part of the forum when there are less of the other topics and less posts by the other people. So answer one is to post more, especially if you have an interesting topic and are a well mannered poster.

Answer two is "Get out more!". If an internet forum is getting to you, it is time to grab your coat and bag and head for the nearest greenery! Go get wet and muddy then come back and tell us all about it.

Z

 

[Janne]

Just so you guys know, I am perfectly fine if you use me (posts, reaction, actions) here.

just my view: I personally would not put anybody on the 'ignore' list, as then I would miss out on their other posts. Even if there is one or two members that have gotten my Adrenaline level up a bit, the vast majority of their posts are still entertaining and worth reading and learning from.
To me, it is like getting a divorce after a couple of verbal fights. Better to work it out.

 

[oldtimer]

Could it be that some of the comments objected to are made late at night when folk are a bit tired and emotional?

I'm really surprised by this thread. I've been a member for over 10 years and my impression has always been what a friendly and warm-hearted bunch is out there. The mods are clearly doing a great job.

I did write quite a lot more but deleted it. As my grannie used to say, "least said, soonest mended".

 

[juliojordio1983]

Could it be that some of the comments objected to are made late at night when folk are a bit tired and emotional?

I'm really surprised by this thread. I've been a member for over 10 years and my impression has always been what a friendly and warm-hearted bunch is out there. The mods are clearly doing a great job.

I did write quite a lot more but deleted it. As my grannie used to say, "least said, soonest mended".

I wondered similar, my line of thinking was are the posts made when alcohol has been consumed. I did not mean to stir up a hornets nest, as others have said the vast majority of posts/members are great, we wouldn't come here if that wasn't the case.

Maybe as a relative newbie there is 'history' between members that I am unaware of and that's what I picked up on, I don't know.

What I do know is I look forward to coming on here, sharing and learning, and that isn't going to change.

 

[XRV John]

I wouldn't worry too much Jordan

As others have said it could be because the days are getting colder and shorter so folks aren't getting out as much or because posts are done after the booze has kicked in.

I've noticed the intolerance level and personal attacks increasing in Faceache groups as well. Some right hissy fits there!

Truth be told it is easy to misread on this ere t'interweb thingy because you can't see the eyes or body language of the speaker (typist) like you can face to face in the woods
👍 😃

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[Dave]

I dont agree with the phrase we're in Tonys living room. I wish you mods would stop using it. I am in my living room, and Bushcraft UK is a registered business. I assume its a limited company, or part of one, which is fine. Unless you try to describe it otherwise. [No offence intended]

As far as the cliqu?eness is concerned. To address the OP, its a reflection of real life unfortunately. On this forum, you go to meets, you meet people. You sometimes travel to extreme places, with these people. Which puts you all under even more stress.

Its the same as any other social situation. Some you hit it off with, others you dont. That may then come through on the forum later on, but you dont know the background behind it, so you, well keep your nose out really. Or you poke a bit of fun at it, if you know one of those involved. Or get fun poked at you.

Then the mods, can get involved if it gets messy. I cannot think, of anther way to do it really. I keep my head down for a few months at a time, sometimes. Then come back to the forum. [Plus the mods do all this for free......]

[Back when I first joined there were far far less thread titles, and a lot of the people who were on, had an evolving business interest, or were starting their own schools, and there were some right spats I can tell you. The power struggle was palpable between everyone who had a business interest.]

Ive bit my tongue over the years, but its the internet.

If you dont have anything nice to say dont say it.

As my grannie used to say, "least said, soonest mended".

I think that the, 'don't take my silence for agreement', is a very courteous way to stifle a dispute. Some folks don't seem to get the point there though

For our younger members the quotes above are signs of maturity, intelligence and good manners.

 

[Toddy]

It's the phrase used when we are advised on the behaviour that's expected on the forum.
"You are guests in Tony's living room and his young children are still running around"

The 'business' pays the server costs and the upgrade costs, and it doesn't pay for the volunteer Admin or right now the folks who are doing the work to bring the new site online either.
Tony certainly does not make a living from it. He'd love to make a living from it, but you note we don't do anything but the most basic advertising (and that's cheap here) and the site doesn't flood members with spam adverts either. Tony set it up originally as a place to post a few photos and keep in contact with some folks he met on a Bushcraft course, and like Topsy, it grew

I too mind some of those 'right spats' Not funny, miserable to Mod, and they left a lot of long lasting ill feeling. At the end of the day too many people trying to make money from a limited pool of interested people. I'm not saying that those folks weren't able or capable teachers, etc., just that there wasn't enough business to go around. I think that it needs more than one string to a bow to make a living from the outdoor/bushcraft scene.

cheers,
M

 

[uncleboob]

I have loved and learnt from the conversations I've read and participated on bcuk...interestingly though, one of the reasons that I love the life outside that many of us spend our time thinking and talking about is because it takes me away from a world filled with people's noise, from their competing and back biting. Sadly it seems to be in people's nature to form into groups and fall out with each other.

I do have to say though that the admin and mod team have been excellent. There's been a couple of things I've sought guidance on, their advice has always been fair, sound and on reflection spot on. The nature of bcuk does seem to be changing, I too have felt that it's lost something of its friendly 'sharing around the campfire' feel...as many have suggested I too hope that this is merely a cycle and things will right themselves again soon.


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[mousey]

I also wonder how much is people changing themselves. It's new and exciting, perhaps, when you first join up cause you've found somewhere where there are [potentially] like minded people. Maybe you don't see the rifts that run under as your new etc. But after awhile maybe you feel more at home and have come to know various folks on here [even if you haven't actually met them - I have met very few] and maybe pick up more on those who don't see eye to eye and longer running arguments between members crop up throughout threads of different content.

The comment of 'if you don't like the content of the thread then post more stuff that, you, yourself do like' has been made before and I somewhat agree, as by action or inaction everyone here makes the site what it is.

 

[XRV John]

Sadly it seems to be in people's nature to form into groups and fall out with each other.

As evidenced by every Bear Ghrylls "The Island" I've watched and "Eden"

Luckily we're not yet at the "Lord of the Flies" stage yet so redemption is possible folks

😃👍

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[Fadcode]

It does seem that people are unable to live without some sort of drama............every programme on TV has drama in it, and I am not talking about real drama situations, but Drama introduced to make the mundane programme interesting, like in "Building Alaska", an interesting programme about people building log cabins etc, all going well till they realise they only have 2 nails left to finish the build, and its 450 miles to the nearest hardware store, totally unreal, ...............maybe when people read these threads and all is going well, they feel something is wrong as there ain't no drama............so they introduce some...........................too much telly.....not good for the brain me thinks.