Snide Comments

[juliojordio1983]

I'm throwing a potential hand grenade here....

But its something I am noticing more and more on BCUK.

Recently, there have been a number of times when I am happily just browsing the forum, the thread I'm reading is going along nicely, and then out of the blue, a snide remark is made. Today, I even typed out a long response to a post I saw, that was not aimed at, because that's how much it annoyed me!

When I first started browsing BCUK a number of years ago, the place felt quite welcoming, that there was a genuine community spirit here, that people were respectful to one another, which was why I eventually signed up. I wont start naming people, but I see the same people making snide remarks, with no comeback (be that from Mod's, or from the person its aimed at) whatsoever.

Is this something that Is just going to be allowed to continue?

I'll be honest, I log in here less and less as the weeks pass by at the moment, and that's a real shame. Other forums I visit, either will not tolerate this, or there is a sense of community and the members police each other.

Maybe there is more 'bad blood' or 'feuds' on here which most are unaware of, and this is what I'm seeing, just backbiting?

Genuine thread, no trolling here.

Jordan

 

[Robbi]

How do you know ..... "with no comeback (be that from Mod's, or from the person its aimed at) whatsoever." ..... ever considered PM's might be used to keep the face of the forum friendly and to stop dirty linen being washed in public ?

 

[juliojordio1983]

How do you know ..... "with no comeback (be that from Mod's, or from the person its aimed at) whatsoever." ..... ever considered PM's might be used to keep the face of the forum friendly and to stop dirty linen being washed in public ?

Because I see the same group of people, making the same sort of comments, at usually the same group of people. From what I have seen of the mods here, they are not shy about intervening, be that a comment on the thread, a PM to the poster, or even a ban. As an example, the way Janne was treated was wrong. I don't agree with the deleting of posts/threads. I understand the effect it had on certain threads. I understand a few were really unhappy with that. But what I don't understand is the following witch hunt, that is still being played out recently.

'To keep the face of the forum friendly' I would argue that the type of posts I am talking about would put more people off joining, as opposed to a mod making a comment making it clear that sort of post isn't welcome here. If I was looking to join, and I saw mods putting people in line for poor posts, that would make me think this is the sort of place I want to join.

In a nutshell, Ive felt BCUK is becoming 'clichey' like BB was.

 

[sunndog]

Probably just a phase. Someone has got on anothers nerves and they are having a dig when the chance presents itself.....it will more than likely pass given a bit of time

 

[daveO]

Welcome to internet forums (fora?). They have been, are and always will be populated with the same type of people. It's so cliché now that there are thousands of internet posts dedicated to mocking the various types of people that always occur on forums. You can let it get to you or just see the humour and let it go. There's a button to report posts if you feel it's getting too bad but generally a bit of sniping and grousing is part of any community. It always seems worse because it's hard to convey emotion through text. Some people's sense of humour can seem like abuse if you read it wrong. I can't say I find this place especially cliquey though. I see that critism a lot on the internet but generally from people who are new to a community and don't quite get the dynamic yet.

 

[juliojordio1983]

I understand your point. Life is full of fundamental orifices, the internet is no different.

I am not new to internet forums, I understand what goes on. What I am talking about isn't attempts at humour which I haven't got. I would say it almost feels more like childish bullying being honest.

I guess what I was trying to say is that there seem to be certain members who IMHO, are allowed to get away with things others would not. On a regular basis.

I love BCUK, don't get me wrong. Its just something I had noticed which seemed to becoming a little more frequent, hence the thread to see if others had noticed it too.

 

[SGL70]

I'd argue the some sniping is to be expected, but the manner of commenting in the post referred to would hardly encourage first-timers to post anything at all. Also, it lowers the the entertainment of the forum.

my 2 cents
Greger

 

[juliojordio1983]

I'd argue the some sniping is to be expected, but the manner of commenting in the post referred to would hardly encourage first-timers to post anything at all. Also, it lowers the the entertainment of the forum.

my 2 cents
Greger

Agreed. That's the point I was trying to make earlier.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Jordan,
As a moderator, I am sorry that you feel that the welcoming nature of the forum is slipping away.

The moderating team are a small group of individuals chosen by Tony to help him run the forum - his guidance is that if we feel that we would be uncomfortable with a conversation taking place with our membership of both old and young and it being an "open" forum anyway, we are free to intervene and guide both topics and behavior back onto a more acceptable path. As long as the forum remains in his ownership, it is like being in his living room. However, the pressures of work and family life mean that I cannot spend as much time on here as I would like, neither can I expect any other Mods to do likewise.

Inevitably and sadly, with the growing membership of the forum and our inability to spend 24/7 actively monitoring every conversation, some comments are made that are not picked up. In many cases, a member will report a thread or comment as being unacceptable and we can only thank those that do, in a small way it is helping us to keep things running smoothly and in a family friendly manner.

If there are comments that you feel are snide, undeserved or down-right rude - please feel free to report the post by hitting the icon at the bottom of the post, stating your concern and I can assure you it will be looked at in the fullness of time. What you will not see on open forum is the moderators discussing the reported post, what action they consider to be necessary nor any action taken unless it results in the closure or removal of a thread or individual post.
I also believe that you can also use the "ignore" feature if the same member makes comments or replies that you find to be objectionable.

We do try hard to keep this forum accessible, welcoming, informative and respectful though we appreciate that with our growing membership comes a widening range of views and opinions.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Dreadhead]

These things often go in cycles I see it more this time of year. Once the holidays are out the way and everybody has new toys to play with things go back to normal.
But to be honest it doesn't bother me, we're all big boys and girls here, and have the mods to keep everything together

 

[Robbi]

Did you not put up a post in the "Gift it on " thread along these lines ?

 

[SGL70]

Phase, Humor and Cyclic isn't very good nouns to describe the commenting in the referred threads. Poor nouns, even. I'd say 'Bad manners' is a better description, but that's me.

It would be interesting to read a proper answer from Ogri, adressing the points made by the OP. The one given, was a politicians answer.

 

[juliojordio1983]

Orig,

Please understand that in no way am I knocking any of the Mod team here, I think they do a great job. I am not criticising anyone here, merely just making an observation on how I personally have felt things have changed. There is no need to apologise whatsoever.

Did you not put up a post in the "Gift it on " thread along these lines ?

That was one of the threads that comes to mind Robbi yeah. But this isn't aimed at any one specific individual, I see the same people not person, acting in this manner. Since I made that post, I have seen other comments too, which prompted this thread.

I was unaware of the report button, so thank you for bringing that up.

I am just one of those people who believe you should treat others how you want to be treated. That also applies to posts aimed at anyone online. And there have been times recently when I have wanted to take people to task about the post they have made, but I am not a mod, nor the internet police, nor is it my place to be the defender of the people lol.

I started this thread to see if I was on my own, or others felt there had been a recent change too.

PS Leaving work, will respond to PM's once home gents.

 

[Toddy]

Phase, Humor and Cyclic isn't very good nouns to describe the commenting in the referred threads. Poor nouns, even. I'd say 'Bad manners' is a better description, but that's me.

It would be interesting to read a proper answer from Ogri, adressing the points made by the OP. The one given, was a politicians answer.

No, it was a Moderator's answer.

On the whole the forum self moderates, and it's very rarely that we need to step in on any thread.
When we do so, we generally do it without brouhaha, and while it might not be the step that particular individuals wish to see, I can assure you that the majority seem to approve of our actions.
There's a lot of background chatter on the forum, it surprised me greatly when I first began modding just how many folks were quietly happy to send us thanks.
At the end of the day, the forum quietly ticks along, folks chip in on threads as they feel moved, the Boss is happy and most of us are contented to sit down with a mug of tea/coffee/?? and enjoy the conversations.

If you have a specific complaint, then by all means do as Ogri suggested and click that wee triangle; it's at the bottom of every single post on the forum.

 

[snappingturtle]

I'm new here and not found a problem myself, I guess if comments have been a bit cutting and no return given, surly that is a reply in its own right?

 

[Toddy]

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

It can be hard to give inflection and humour in short post type conversations. Over the years, it has surprised me just how often the 'voice' that I only know online really does match up with the person I finally meet in real life.
It's an interesting and diverse group of folks on this forum, and on the whole, out of the thousands of members, there are very few I wouldn't put the kettle on for....and on that note

 

[Laurentius]

I hope I am not one of the guilty ones, most recent post notwithstanding, but I do have a somewhat warped sense of humour at times.

 

[Fadcode]

I do think it is a shame when really interesting threads, which are those that will contain several different views, will tend to head towards a personal nature,I think part of the problem is when edited quotes are used rather than the full quote, which can give the impression of disagreement, (even if not intended) and cause umbrage........and quite often you can see that members who have made good contributions just disappear, obviously fed up and don't want the aggro......tends to spoil the whole thread in the end.

 

[Samon]

It's just a bit of drama and steam bud. You'll be hard pressed to find snide comments on the diy. adventure and fun type threads, mostly it's kept to the ones on law, bragging/experience stories and generally broad opinion based topics.

And if you have read enough threads and dig back, you'll see why some people seem to dislike others. Trust me, most regular contributors here are sound but some very select few can be really really nausiating and annoying, sometimes even without seemingly trying lol. For me, most of those types have left, some remain. And being that most of us are adults, are you really that surprised at 'snide' comments, or the lack of chest pounding and threats that debates lead to in real life?

With that said, I think it's well moderated, no one gets away with being naughty and wrists get slapped sometimes, the trouble makers and wind ups get banned.

 

[GGTBod]

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!