Do we need moderators?
I know it's been covered before but perhaps a poll will settle it one way or another.

jeeze im the only No. Im proud of how well this site self-moderates, theres very little shenigans compared to how bad it could be. Lets just all think before posting and leave the moderation to a weekly job for chris rather than a constant job for someone else.

I agree with Joel

We are being far to reactionary AGAIN

Let's stop the constant Knee Jerk reaction and let the dust settle.

The board has been in existence for a long time - it's never needed moderating before, so why now?

I think we should all Calm down (I realise the hypocricy of putting calm in bold letters )

Just my '2 penneth'

I think the disappearance of a recent poll re. how we felt about a member illustrates the fact that we don't need moderation.
I think we should all think about the consequenses of our reply before posting.
Why not keep the disputes between the parties concerned?

Mick

I didn't want or intend this to be either Controversial or to be seen as any type of knee jerk reaction to anything.

Please don't take it as such I'm just interested to see how people feel.
Perhaps if not mods then maybe some basic posting rules could be seen as apropriate.
I for example do not take offence at what some would see as bad language. However I know that some do so the generally accepted rule is that people do not use obcenities. maybe this should be a site rule.
Although I do not personally have a problem with certain avatars some of the more "risque" ones do cause me a problem at work. (so much so that I could be sacked for having weldermans avatar on screen) Perhaps this could also be ruled against.
These are just general thoughts and are not meant to cause offence or spark violent, vociferous reactions.
Just chewin' the fat.

I agree with having set rules rather than moderators but it would be nice if there was someone more available to give a general eye on this board as getting hold of Chris (bless his cotton socks) can be difficult which is understandable.

No moderators, for me. If you have the face to say summat then at least let others have a chance to answer back. Makes a forum more interesting... and a lot more like a real community.

Most of us are grown ups, we should act like it and remember that this forum is frequented by minors
No moderator for me either, we should be more responsible ourselves !!

Jason

I quite like some of the more controversial posts. They keep me amused and sometimes make for interesting reading. I too would vote for no moderation. We don't need it. I also don't think the forum is going downhill or getting any worse of late. IMO it's no different to how it was when we first joined. Some members come, some members go and some just hang around.
C'est la vie.

Phil

I was just about to say a set of guidelines and you've got there first.

If we all know the rules before we post then as adults we should all be able to stick to them. Sure at times we'll all bend them a bit ......... but if we stick to them in principle life will be a lot nicer for all concerned. The westfield board is run in a similar way i think.

As for avatars, i've had my say before, at home i think "waaah haaay" nice picture. At work, i'm worrying about my job and as i'm bored rigid at the moment and reading this site a lot i'm really pushing my luck with some peoples.

Oh and can we ban Fozzie unless her avatar is changed back to the one in the nomex suit

We dont need moderators then the rules get tighter and it becomes les fun and so on.

Then we lose the freedom of speach and people start to lose there pictures next to there name.

Im a big NO

this has been started by that silly pole early lets just forget it and move on

I don't think you need rules or guidelines either. Most people understand that a certain etiquette is required on a public forum and if some members feel that others have over stepped the mark, they will say so.

Exactly!!

And that's what drags these discussions on to the detriment, (in my opinion) of this forum.

Mick

The last couple of posts have been interesting.
There is a dilemma here as I see it...
If you allow the forum to self regulate you get the sort of thread that we have seen on a few occasions where everyone throws in their two peneth. This lends credence and weight to the post that you are not happy about.
To stop this happening you have rules/guidelines for the forum. However rules are pointless unless someone is going to enforce them and possibly take sanctions against the rule breakers...Therfore you need moderators....
Before anyone shouts me down I'm just playing devils advocate here....
I do tend to agree in the main that self regulation is the best way but worry that this gives a disproportionate amount of credibillity to the more radical topics sometimes.

On the whole this site is pretty good at self regulating, but, and it is a big "but", there are some who just refuse to comply with the concerns of others.
This "why should I conform" attitude is what makes it uncomfortable to others and brings about these discussions every now and again. Unfortunately getting more frequently!

This site has grown tremendously and is perhaps too much for one person to control (I don't really know), but just argueing that "it has been fine up till now" is not really addressing the issues. Sometimes (hopefully rarely) someone needs "slapping down".
I think Chris has done a marvelous job with this site, and still is, but it is not reasonable to expect him to monitor it all of the time.
So if there were to be another moderator it would be upto Chris to select or approve of them.

Just my "old fashioned" opinion!

Spidey

quote:

---

Originally posted by snoopy
moderators would just spoil the fun i love a good disscusion(argument wind up )in fact ime probably one of the worst for expressing my opinion but thats what its all about
p.s mk indy is still the best cheepest 7 kit by far

---

It tends to be obvious when people KNOW what they are talking about. Most people are very good at self moderation and questionable content is normally noted and fore-warned.
Since I started with this forum (although I am only in the VERY early stages of my build ) I have found it and the contributors very helpful. Those that I have found questionable or worse I have chosen to ignore. (thankfully very rare)
Once you start cutting where does it stop.
IMHO

Enjoy.

Oh and if you want futher justification try applying the tollerance to the site that one Richard Spendlove OBE applies to his saturday night radio talk show on BBC local Radio (Anglia and South East regions) 21:00hrs - 01:00hrs.

enjoy.

Ok

Let's imagine that (I'm guessing there's 50or so regular contributors) we're all in a pub, and no, were not arguing about which one or who's round it is.

We're all there talking and giving tips, asking q's.

Someone says something that may be disagreeable to others, do we jump 'em, tell them to shut up, agree or whatever.

Or do we call in the referee.

Personally I think refs are generally incompetent and tend to inflame things.

I would suggest we sort it out ourselves. After all, we can go home from the pub and come back tomorrow all friends again.

ATB

Simon

there are simple rules that have been suggested in the past. As far as i can remember:

No nudity posted directly to forum
No links of an obscene nature
No excessive bad language (im with brian, i swear all day at work but theres just no need to do it in 'public' )

To summaries, dont post what you would not want a friend's teenage children to read. Pretty simple?

These rules do nothing to address the argument side of moderation. I think it obvious that personal insult and threats of violence are childish, and make you look a complete twat, hence no need to make rules here - its just common sense.

[Edited on 26/4/06 by JoelP]

I think the problem is that forum posting is so impersonal,I gauranteeyou that if we all sat down say at Stoneleigh for a beer and a BBQ we would all get along great.

I have met alot of people on this forum and I can honestly say that I have never had any issue with anyone I have met.

I will say that some things wind me up when they are posted on here and those are the ones that slag off one personcompany or another BUT I will admit that I am not the greatest in ignoring them and I have also done the same, usually out of frustration but all the same it's probably not helping the issue.

I think we can do this without moderators but I reckon it will mean that we must all just think before posting and re-read the post asking ourselves the question 'will this offend anyone', also if we have issues with suppliers then how about we either U2U the supplier or just simply post something like 'please can someone ask xxxx supplier to contact me asap'.

I really think this forum would be helped by more social meetings and more trackdays as these are the things that help people to really get to know people and not assume what they are like.

Rich.

I don't think moderators are needed. I got enough comments about my poll this morning through posts and u2u's.

Jon.

LOL Jonathan - told ya you would!

I agree self-moderation is the way forward

But 'Hats Off' to Brian (BKLOCO) for raising the topic

After re-reading my initial post (which I tried so hard not to sound inflamatory) - it bloody did

I give up - 'English' is a hard language to master on forums...

But that said - I think it's good as a community we have reached a collective decision (or have we )

I love 'Snoopys' comment - but dislike his new avtar - old one was much better IMHO

I voted 'Yes', but for the moderator to be like a nuclear deterrent - only to be used when EVERY other option has been exhausted.

A forum like this will always attract one or two pillocks who start arguments maliciously, just for the hell of it, or are just too socially incompetent to have a sensible debate without throwing a wobbler.

There has to be someone available to (a) give a warning to the offender, then (b) boot them off if they don't quieten down.

Otherwise, I think that this forum has managed itself quite well since it started - I've noted a few names and simply don't read a thread where those people are involved. Works for me.

David