It must be that time of year, the nights draw in, people seem to get a bit more edgy and threads more often degenerate because of…..umm, not always sure. Generally threads get closed down because they turn into arguments and generally people that argue are the members between themselves and the problem with this is everyone thinks they are right, so who’s wrong? We get numerous emails telling us that so and so is out of order, or so and so said this and that’s wrong, who the hell do they think they are etc etc.
We then have a look and sometimes PM people, sometimes shut the thread down (sometimes without a comment as it’s better shut down than carrying on and we’re not in a position to go into long explanations) and sometimes leave well alone.
The problem is that some people see things as a good debate and other see it as a thread being hijacked, or “him, him and him are always picking on me” etc etc. It’s generally the members that are quick to be offended. I find it very interesting that what some say on here in threads they say different to other members on here, they chat about upsetting so and so, or they gleefully jump on something someone has said and rock the boat, there’s plenty of members that see themselves as the victims and yet they quite happily post with the intent of winding someone up or stirring trouble. We however have to deal with it all, I’m sitting here at 21.20 in the evening typing this because a thread got shutdown because people argue and other people snipe, stir etc.
I’ve got no problem dealing with things like this thread, it’s a serious question and I’ve not got all the answers and many things aren’t as clear cut as they seem on the surface, but hey, that’s life eh.
I don’t agree that the subject matter is limited, what limits things more is people’s behaviour in the threads. There’s certain subjects that nearly always end in fighting, politics, survival v bushcraft, laws of the land etc and these are I agree generally kept in short rein, maybe too short from what you and others are saying (that’s the beauty of a thread like this and asking the question in a well structured way) and maybe that’s something we need to look at. But and this is a big ‘but’ a lot is down to how the members handle themselves on the forum and in the threads.
Taking the survival stuff as an example, I do think that there are plenty of survival websites dedicated to survival and that’s one reason that we tend to shy away from heavy survival topics, we always have. There’s areas that go hand in hand with bushcraft where they overlap into the same thing called by a different name and there’s huge areas that complement each other but there’s some that are just inappropriate for the site and it’s the same with a few different subjects, yet time and time again they get taken into those areas and anyone that doesn’t agree gets accused of burying their heads in the sand or something much more derogatory. Have a look at the threads across the forums and see how many have been shut down for content and not because of people getting stuck in, there’s not many closed for content against those closed because of people not getting on. There’s a big difference between a thread getting off topic and people facing up for a scrap or turning it into their little play area and having a laugh about it with their mates. Generally off topic is fine, although when the person posting the topic complains we do have a look.
We try to moderate as fairly as possible and even though I know some disagree with that, it is true, no matter what we do there are always going to be people that feel like the victim and we’ve favoured someone over them, or we’ve put our own interests first, or we’re in some special club that looks after its own etc etc. Most things get left alone if they’re running smoothly and just as a point for some that have commented in this thread – I don’t close threads down that are raised with serious questions about the site.
Heck, another hour has gone by with people throwing emails and PM’s at me and others.
Bottom line, I hear what you’re saying, you can see some of a different perspective above in what I’ve written and I know that there’s right in both perspectives which is why this is a great thread, it gives us feedback that we can take on board.
You ask about this being my car, yeah it is and it always has been, that doesn’t mean to say that I’m deaf though, I built the site years ago to facilitate people getting together and talking about bushcraft, I set in place the rules and most people have no problem with them. If people talk to me I’m happy to discuss stuff that can improve the site. Some of the requests and demands from members that I get are never going to happen but rest assured that we do take on board what’s said in a thread like this.
I’m happy for people to talk about all sorts, there’s the other chatter forum as well as all the other forums on the site so there’s a facility to chat about all sorts, those that enjoy sniping and winding others up please resist, those that get wound up when someone else has a different opinion, please respect it and accept it as their opinion. We’ll try to be more considerate in what we close down and why and if you have an issue please talk to the moderators politely about it and be patient in waiting for a reply.
JonnyP, thanks for starting the thread, I’ve probably missed something out and there’s more I was going to say but it’s not really needed. It’s been a very long day and there’s still loads I need to do so I’m off
