Thread: Think twice before being too judgemental, and then think again before going to print.

These comments were originally in response to a now closed thread. The thread was closed while I was composing my posting, which means that I am a slow typist, and some may opine a slow thinker as well
I have always found the metalwork forums a most enjoyable space, where I feel that I have made many new friends, and also learned much about our hobby. For me and many others Graziano's departure will be a big loss, both of his fellowship and his knowledge. If any member knows him personally, I would ask that you speak with him when he has had a chance to cool down, and urge him to reconsider.
For anyone else reading this, I would urge you to cool down for a day or two should you find yourself in trouble with the moderators, or cross with fellow forum members, before you react in a way which you later regret.
I am eternally grateful for the work the mods do to keep this space friendly, and while they may on occasion get it wrong, or at least wrong in the eyes of one of us, 99.99% of the time they are right, and just doing a job for which I am very thankful.
I have one suggestion for the moderating team, and that is to investigate the possibility of a kind of canned form letter to be sent to errant posters, just listing the violation(s) which have caused their post to be pulled. This could even be in the form of a code where the offences are given a number, so the mod brings up the form note, which states something to the effect that "Your post has been removed for the following reason(s). 4,7,16" , where 4 might mean inappropriate content of a sexual nature, 7 may be for language vilifying a particular group and 16 may indicate profanity for example. This should be relatively quick to implement, and not take too much time for the mod to pull up the canned note, add the offence code(s) and send as a PM to the offender, giving feedback to that person, so that he or she knows where they have crossed the line.
Finally, I think that we should all consider just how we would feel or what sort of response we would give, if we were derided in a thread, or received a complaint written with aggressive, bitter or just plain patronising language, criticising us and or our work. I know that I would not be too happy about it, and if it happened too frequently, and I was a moderator I would not be inclined to keep putting in the time on that thankless task. There are lots of emotive words and expressions which can be quite hurtful, and in my opinion, they serve no useful purpose in keeping this a happy place to be. They are a form of attack, and the forum forbids attacking language on other people, besides which it is so counter productive.
If you feel so strongly about someone, you can flag their post for the attention of the mods, but if you have to say something, it would be better to send a PM to the person involved, preferably after sleeping on it for a while. That way the person involved doesn't feel that everyone is agin him, and your own thoughts will have had a chance to cool, and your response will be more considered, and most likely less inflammatory.
Well that is my two cents worth, Regards to all,
Rob.

Thank you Rob and well written.
And thanks again to the mods for having to deal with this matter and the many others that you have to deal with.

Hi Rob,

Good advice, and well written. One thing we all tend to forget (at least I do )is that whatever we write here, stays forever...

I appreciated the explanation from Neil about the unwanted advertising.

Regards
Ray

Originally Posted by RayG

One thing we all tend to forget (at least I do )is that whatever we write here, stays forever...

Unless the mods delete it.

Cheeky blighter.

As one of "the mods" I would like point out that a "form letter" PM would probably not work as it would come across as exactly that, an automated reply to someone's grievance.

We all get a bit peeved, at times, yes even mods, and some of the comments handed out by some forum members makes one wonder why we bother.

A lot was made in that thread by Graziano about "the mods" sending a PM to explain why his post(s) were deleted, and I won't go further in to the reasons why, they were aired there.

But what most people don't realise is the time factor involved in this particular case.

Those posts were deleted at 20:13pm, the resignation post (if I may call it that) was posted at 20:22, ie a whole 9 minutes later! So not a lot of thought or reflection went in to that post and there would have been no time for "the mods" to discuss any of the things taking place, let alone for one of them to compose a PM and explain why the deletion took place.

So let me say again, it is often better to take a deep breath and consider your actions rather than "shooting from the lip". That approach doesn't work very well in most things and that includes communication on a forum.

As we all know, written communication, be it on the forum or in emails etc, often does not convey our true feeling or meaning and can be misinterpreted as there is no facial expression or body language involved.

So, next time you feel you have been wronged by "the mods", why not send a PM along these lines:


"Dear Mr Mod, I note a post of mine has been deleted from thread X and would like to know why? I have read the rules and still do not understand..."
(it doesn't even have to be that polite)

I'm sure you will get an explanation.


Let me finish by saying that I for one would like Graziano to continue his contributions to this forum, as I have enjoyed and appreciated his contributions in the past.

Last edited by Groggy; 29th Sep 2012 at 04:18 PM. Reason: Who says we don't have a sense of humour?

And there was me thinking your sense was just a rumour.

Regards

Originally Posted by A Duke

Last edited by Groggy; 29th Sep 2012 at 04:18 PM. Reason: Who says we don't have a sense of humour?

And there was me thinking your sense was just a rumour.

Regards

I'll pay that

Originally Posted by Big Shed

We all get a bit peeved, at times, yes even mods, and some of the comments handed out by some forum members makes one wonder why we bother.

I have just gone over the thread in question......have i missed something? I cannot find a single comment against a mod, suggestions yes, but nothing i would consider offensive to the mods. Actually towards the end of the thread there is some praise for the mods.
What made me step back from the thread (ok, after a pretty disgruntled reply) was Saisays post, i don't think it was called for and was by far the rudest one in there. Actually since it was aimed at me it seems (my quote) maybe i should complain? If thats his attitude so be it, but i know its his and not that of the forum overall.

Also, like Ray, thanks to Neil for the explanation on the ads. I thought all ads would have to be approved by someone before they are shown.

Originally Posted by Ueee

I have just gone over the thread in question......have i missed something? I cannot find a single comment against a mod, suggestions yes, but nothing i would consider offensive to the mods. Actually towards the end of the thread there is some praise for the mods.

Ewan, I did not specifically refer to that thread, but to comments aimed at mods in the forum (and PMs) in general, but I suppose you are free to interpret my comments in whatever way you wish.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Ewan, I did not specifically refer to that thread, but to comments aimed at mods in the forum (and PMs) in general, but I suppose you are free to interpret my comments in whatever way you wish.

Thats fair Fred, i just have too much time on my hands right now trying to recover......

I think that comment is so true though, one thing typed in one way can be interpreted in any number of ways that can change the meaning greatly.

I must say though, waiting 24 hours has done nothing to calm me down about a certain post in that thread. So maybe some of us need to wait longer

Originally Posted by Ueee

I must say though, waiting 24 hours has done nothing to calm me down about a certain post in that thread. So maybe some of us need to wait longer

Oh well it must be the drugs slowing down your recovery power, it can't be your age, that's my excuse.

Originally Posted by Ropetangler

I have one suggestion for the moderating team, and that is to investigate the possibility of a kind of canned form letter to be sent to errant posters, just listing the violation(s) which have caused their post to be pulled. This could even be in the form of a code where the offences are given a number, so the mod brings up the form note, which states something to the effect that "Your post has been removed for the following reason(s). 4,7,16" , where 4 might mean inappropriate content of a sexual nature, 7 may be for language vilifying a particular group and 16 may indicate profanity for example. .

I can just imaging the email ping pong

Dear XXXX
Your post has been removed for the following reason(s). 4,7 & 16
Mod,

Dear Mod,
There is no way my post was a 7, A 7 is blah, blah, blah . . . . .

Dear XXXX
You previous PM has now incurred a 47.
Mod

Dear Mod.
Aw come on, 47? maybe a 45 or a 46 or half a 44 but not a 47 blah, blah blah. . . . .

Dear XXXX,
You now have a 4,7,16 and 47 plus a 48 from the last post, this automatically invokes a 50 and you are one code violation from a 54.
You have been warned.
Mod

Yadda, Yadda

Some seem to be interpreting Mark's actions as a dummy spit. The guy stated his reasons why, said goodbye and left.
Hardly a dummy spit and he is not lurking looking for the sympathy vote.
These blow ups happen from time to time and are heathly as it challenges the mods judgement and makes the rest of us think twice about pushing the boundaries.

Finally if you are not returning Mark can I adopt your alias - I have always liked "Graziano".

Originally Posted by Ueee

I have just gone over the thread in question......have i missed something? I cannot find a single comment against a mod, suggestions yes, but nothing i would consider offensive to the mods. Actually towards the end of the thread there is some praise for the mods.
What made me step back from the thread (ok, after a pretty disgruntled reply) was Saisays post, i don't think it was called for and was by far the rudest one in there. Actually since it was aimed at me it seems (my quote) maybe i should complain? If thats his attitude so be it, but i know its his and not that of the forum overall.

Also, like Ray, thanks to Neil for the explanation on the ads. I thought all ads would have to be approved by someone before they are shown.

Ewan,

Adding "like" doesn't seem appropriate. Agree would be.

Bob.