Where is it going

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Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
Where is BCUK going?

In my own opinion and many other peoples opinions BCUK has really taken a downwards turn.

Posts and entire threads are being removed by over zealous moderators to the point that personal opinions are now being removed. The entire membership, post with the fear that there post will be deleted and at worst they will be banned. It has even got to the stage where people are not able to expresses there own opinions any more. And, when people try to get good honest answers or express there disagreement with a decision made by the moderating team they are banned or the very least threatened.

There are a number of bushcraft forums now and it is noticeable that since I joined BCUK many of the experienced bushcrafters that used to frequent these pages and had a lot to offer have drifted away, thanks to the fact that they have become disillusioned with the whole affair, gently pushed or banned.

Tony I address this to you and I apologise that I am doing this in public but I think it only fear that you and the members paying or not have an open and honest discussion with how the forum should be run.

I, like many others are full members after paying a subscription. Many of use have voiced our concerns with how the forum is run but you have not had the decency to address any of these questions instead we continue to be palmed off by often aggressive replies from moderators and some of the moderator chose to use the PM facility to make there aggressive threats which I am sure there are many members that can verify that fact.

Tony you want people to give money and subscribe to BCUK to help you in the running costs, which people are willing to do but they are soon turned off if they do not perceive the service they expect and most people want a forum that is friendly, helpful and informative but as soon as you have people with big sticks beating members down (and that is how some of the moderators come across) things need to change, at the end of the day the only person that losses out is you because the members will stop logging on and stop subscribing.

It has been said that BCUK forum is only made up of new members and the moderating team. The few people that have been around for a while only do so as a place to chat and arrange private meets. What is left when those people decide to chat and arrange there meets else where?

Tony, BCUK is in your ball and it’s in your court, it’s punctured and it needs mending. What are you going to do about it? Close the forum and just concentrate on the mag? Sack the moderating team and install some others? Write new rules? Or try and get this sorted openly and honestly?

I expect this thread to be deleted very quickly and I expect I will be banned with in a very short time. Which is a great shame as I am only publicly expressing the views of many people on the forum. It would be great to see this thread run with lots of constructive input from yourself and the members in a grown up manor. And, possibly we can make BCUK a places were people want to be again.
 

andyn

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 15, 2005
2,392
29
Hampshire
www.naturescraft.co.uk
Adi,

I personally think you have made some valid points and questions and would be shocked if the thread was deleted and even more shocked if you were to be banned for asking what you have.

As a full members we may not have shares in BCUK but if anyone expects subscriptions to be renewed it is important that the forum is targetted at the community and their concerns addressed.

Good luck getting the answers your after.

Andy
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Adi,
I'm not sure how to take your post.
Admittedly there have been a few spats recently, but that is only to be expected as the membership grows.
As to the more experienced moving on, if those who wish to persue careers, or the more "hard-core" element of bushcraft, there's only so far you can go by posting threads over the internet - those such as Messrs Kochanski and Mears don't post here yet we aspire to their knowledge and lifestyles. There will always be those who want to move on and those who are happy to remain and learn more slowly and assist others in their learning. I'm proud to be a member here and find the "community" (as mentioned in other recent threads) to be as friendly and welcoming as ever it was. I'm afraid that it is the nature of the beast that only so much information can be gleaned from the world wide web, sooner or later you have to get off your nethers and put theory into practice - which is where the meets come in, to get tutors and pupils together to take their ideas further than they are able in isolation. I have learned a lot from these pages and even more from meeting with its members. If I can continue to learn from it and help others in their quest for bushy know how, I'll be happy for a good while yet.
I do not think that a radical revamp is needed and I'm troubled to read that you believe it is necesary, do you have anything in mind?

Ogri the trog
 
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Wayne

Mod
Mod
Dec 7, 2003
3,750
642
51
West Sussex
www.forestknights.co.uk
Ogri i dont think Adi was complaining about the skill level of the membership. I thin he was questioning the direction BCUK is going, I can understand some of his frustration as the mods although most of the time do a great job seem to be more agressive than in the past. Tony is a great bloke. He works tirelessly for the membership and has invested his families future in this site. Hopefully the concerns expressed by Adi and Andy can be addressed.

I would like to see an open and friendly discussion peerhaps in the FM forum as to what the disputes and concerns are.
 

Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
Cheers Andy for your support.

Ogri, I am pleased that you are happy with the service you receive from BCUK your are well liked member of the forum that has a lot to offer, you are helpful, informative, you post some excellent posts and you are humble.

Many people have said your are a really nice guy and that you are an asset to BCUK and once again your above post demonstrate this perfectly. An excellent candidate for moderator I am sure.

Wayne is right i am concerned as are many people to were BCUK is going. I dont want to leave but the ways things are going i feel many people are going to leave which will really effect the forum, i dont want that so i am trying to sort this out. I am sure my other members can empathise with my original post so come on lets here people thoughts.
 

Stuart

Full Member
Sep 12, 2003
4,141
50
**********************
Adi fiddler

Which members do you think have been banned unfairly and which posts do you think have been removed without cause?

Please explain the above and I will do my best to explain the circumstances behind said events and the reasons for the actions taken.
 

Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
Stuart

it is not so much what is done but how it is done, there are examples that i can give but this is not about individual actions but the whole forum in general.

At the moment there is a lot of bad feeling running through the forum and it needs to be sorted because at the end of the day there is very little reason for me to dip my hand in my pocket again and i if i have come to that conclusion then surly others have too
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
As any community grows it is inevitable that our individual voices become smaller against the growing volume.

Some people react to this with grace and some with rage.

Although I have not been a member as long as many others here the only people I have noticed being banned or censored seem to have been largely in the latter category.

Is it surprising that unpaid voluteers such as the moderating team should react badly to some of the abuse I have seen flung around on this forum?
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
I must admit to not seeing a lot of the 'old skool' members here lately, they are often to be found over on British Blades. The thing for me is that whilst I was in Iraq, I didn't get on the site as often as I would have liked, and wonder if I missed something during that time that changed peoples perception on this site.

I personally still enjoy it here, although there have been a few times when Moderator action :AR15firin seemed to be very rapid and maybe a little unnecessary. Maybe this is the price we pay for a site where family content is upheld very well, I enjoy being on a site where flaming and trolling is rare.

Unfortunately, events in the last few days have left me feeling that the friendliness of the site is waning slightly, the attitude to a new young member, I thought, was simply out of order and I felt sorry for him. I didn't think this was the way things were done here, and it really isn't a way to keep new BCUK recruits on the forums. I also thought the attitude to the Pants thread was just that...Pants!

I thought the thread was a bit wacky, absurd call it what you will, but the thread was well named and could be skipped if you thought it wasn't for you. Personal opinion is just that, I don't disagree with what was said by anyone regarding the site moving away from practising bushcraft and becoming more kit related, but we can all correct that by perhaps showing the work we are currently doing, or posting tutorials (remember the ones done by Patrick?). I will post pictures hopefully in the next week of my kuksa that I am making from a burl I collected this weekend. We can all do our bit to keep things on track, but I wouldn't like to see any more people leaving, as once a trend is set, we will really see the decline of this great site.

I'm hoping this is just a phase, and things will get good again soon. :beerchug:

Spam
 

Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
And sorry Stuart but many people think you are part of the problem and not the solution, many of your modding posts have got peoples backs up, you just need to read through some of the posts that you have modded to see that people are not happy with the way you conduct yourself.
 
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spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
This is what I mean when I say the friendliness is waning. Shouldn't a personal thing like this be sorted by PM before posting on a public forum and naming names? I don't want to be seen to be taking sides or disagreeing with anyones' point of view and opinions, but this sort of thing can get so easily out of hand. Let's not forget that interpretation of the written word can be so different to what was actually meant!
 

Stuart

Full Member
Sep 12, 2003
4,141
50
**********************
Adi Fiddler said:
Stuart

It is not so much what is done but how it is done, there are examples that i can give but this is not about individual actions but the whole forum in general.

Ok

Well if you cannot give examples of when someone was banned without good reason or a thread removed without cause, can you instead provide some instances when the method used was inappropriate and I will do my best to provide explanation?
 

Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
Spamel I want an open and honest discussion re the forum and what is happening to it, I have highlighted some problems and hopefully Tony will be along to add his input.

I am not throwing mud and i do not wish to go behind the sense and slug it out with someone on PM and for the problem not go away.

This stuff needs to be addressed and once it is the forum will be a better place.
I am not out to upset any one and i am not a trouble maker, i see there is a problem and i feel it needs to be addressed.

At the end of the day i am a customer and i feel i am not getting the service that i deserve.
 

Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
Stuart I say again i dont wish to degrade this discussion into individual actions and I dont fancy getting into a slagging match. I am talking about as a whole, stop being on the defencive, your not in the $%it, Ok i said you were part of the problem but i ain't blaming you for the downfall off BCUK.
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
That's a fair point, as I said I don't disagree with your points and your opinions. I've also noticed a change and all, but maybe there could be a way to sort these things out. I know that if someone in my line of work has a problem, he can include other people to get the end result he is after. Usually, an impartial person is put in charge of the case and the various view points are put across, and hopefully it gets resolved. This is done behind the scenes, and maybe this isn't the best way here, I don't know.

I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say here! :rolleyes:
 

MagiKelly

Making memories since '67
Adi you may well have a valid point but I have not noticed it on the forum. Perhaps I have not been looking closely enough. If you would give the examples of instances of what you mean people can judge for themselves.

Stuart has asked so that he can give explanations. You have told him he is part of the problem then said that you do not want to get into name calling. If you can't give an example of what you think is wrong it will not be fixed.
 

mark a.

Settler
Jul 25, 2005
540
4
Surrey
That's a fair point by Magikelly. I must admit I too haven't really noticed any particular problems, just the usual stuff that happens on any forum at any given time. So by saying that "there's a problem" but not really giving evidence that such a problem actually exists is tricky. However, I understand that you don't want to name names or cause a slanging match, so it's a catch 22 situation!

There are always times in all forums when the mods have to act, or people decide to show up less frequently before, or someone gets upset, or a loud new member arrives or whatever. So perhaps what you're feeling is purely caused by one of those statistical "bad patches" that will seem to clump together in any random collection of events.

Some suggestions anyway. I really don't feel that the forum is really much different to, say, a month ago. Which is a good thing!
 

Adi

Nomad
Dec 29, 2004
339
5
Magikelly as i have said i for one am not going to let this become a slagging match between different people over different decisions.

I can not believe that you or anyone else have not seen the undertones of discontent in many of the threads.

I have seen it and i rarely take part in discussions.
 

JonnyP

Full Member
Oct 17, 2005
3,833
29
Cornwall...
Stuart said:
Ok

Well if you cannot give examples of when someone was banned without good reason or a thread removed without cause, can you instead provide some instances when the method used was inappropriate and I will do my best to provide explanation?
Hi Stuart........I had a light hearted humour thread on ducks removed because of someone else's comments on it, which in my mind wern't that bad, but why not remove them, not the whole thread. Then there was all the issues with Spoonys thread in which Running Bare gets frustrated and gets banned, though I may not know the half of it, so I can't really comment on that. This is just a couple of issues that have caused me personally some bad feelings recently.
I love this site and I owe a lot to people on it, but the modding is really heavy on here, compared with other forums I go on, like Wildabout britain (where they had no problem with my duck thread).
I use an analogy I used on another thread.......If the referee keeps on blowing the whistle all the time, then the players and the fans get frustrated, a flowing game is the best to watch...........
I am not having any diggs at you mods, but I do think some things are dealt a bit harshly. I am sorry to bring up the ducks again, Toddy will be moaning..............Jon
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Adi,
Thank you for the earlier sentiment though I'm sure it is not warranted.
I know that one of my failures is in not seeing the obvious until it whacks me in the face - as such I'm still not aware of the events leading you into your current way of thinking. Like others, I'd like to know of the overzealous actions that you are protesting about. The only one that I am aware of, is the listing of an enthusiastic youngster's posts about similar topics - could be viewed as heavy handed, but in mitigation, if that method of posting had become popular, the entire board would be a mess of threads all about the same topic with little notice taken of the content.

It is good to see that this discussion is taking place in the open and I hope it leads to a stronger forum as a result.

Ogri the trog
 
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