Member Feedback Poll

[mas cambios]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

Got you now - I thought you were referring to something else.

Yes, there do seem to be some issues which affect the site as a whole, rather than a particular board. Those will be looked into first, before tackling the smaller, localised ones.

 

[bomber27]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

It use to be very good but now the Moderators powers have gone to there head. There was a time when they would dish out red cards but instead now just close threads, because of a small minority. eg the MMVCA thread which has been running for quite a while with no problems is now closed because of a couple of new posters with less than ten posts having a crack at each other.

 

[Rampant]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

I'm with Bomber here Mas Cambios, I read the last couple of pages on the MMVCA thread. The people that derailed that thread all seem to have, like Bomber pointed out, only posted a few times.

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

It use to be very good but now the Moderators powers have gone to there head. There was a time when they would dish out red cards but instead now just close threads, because of a small minority. eg the MMVCA thread which has been running for quite a while with no problems is now closed because of a couple of new posters with less than ten posts having a crack at each other.

What is the effect of "dishing out red cards"? How does it actually work? Have red cards become ineffective and taken lightly? BTW pardon my ignorance on how red cards work.

Anyway Bomber your content is probably exactly what the moderators are looking for and kudos to them for seeking it out at least. If they know hopefully they can fix.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

If I had more time then I would have explained my reasons for closing the thread. As you are all well aware there was a lot of crap floating around in that thread. We need time to read through, delete the rubbish and make the rest of it make sense.

If the thread is left open then all that happens is that stuff is added as the original stuff is removed. Once I've sorted out the rest of my evening I'll go through the thread and do what is needed and reopen it.

As for the power going to my head, well, sorry to say but technically it's my forum and what I say goes. I asked people to cut out the crap but they obviously couldn't contain themselves. Coupled with a few members using suspected fake accounts time was needed to sort it.

Red cards are pretty useless but we will changing the system slightly in due course. Despite what many think the moderation here is light, especially in terms of punishments for breaking rules. We will also look at what permissions new members get as they do seem to cause a majority of the trouble.

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

If I had more time then I would have explained my reasons for closing the thread. As you are all well aware there was a lot of crap floating around in that thread. We need time to read through, delete the rubbish and make the rest of it make sense.

If the thread is left open then all that happens is that stuff is added as the original stuff is removed. Once I've sorted out the rest of my evening I'll go through the thread and do what is needed and reopen it.

As for the power going to my head, well, sorry to say but technically it's my forum and what I say goes. I asked people to cut out the crap but they obviously couldn't contain themselves. Coupled with a few members using suspected fake accounts time was needed to sort it.

Red cards are pretty useless but we will changing the system slightly in due course. Despite what many think the moderation here is light, especially in terms of punishments for breaking rules. We will also look at what permissions new members get as they do seem to cause a majority of the trouble.

Multiple user accounts are definitely a problem. It is interesting to watch how multiple user accounts are used. I have picked up on a specific couple of accounts used by one person. They may have more than two accounts of course. It took a very long time to follow/monitor and work it out. They use one account to say what they really want to say, and the other account has the nice guy appearance. They also use the multiple accounts to subtly gang up on people who disagree with them. They even present discussion between the multiple accounts to prop up their position in threads/posts.

In the junior forums, this is the classic bully technique I believe.

Mas is there any feature/logging mechanism able to link user accounts to IP addresses that connect? That would be one way of quickly identifying multiple user accounts I think.

 

[cold case]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

Multiple user accounts are definitely a problem. It is interesting to watch how multiple user accounts are used. I have picked up on a specific couple of accounts used by one person. They may have more than two accounts of course. It took a very long time to follow/monitor and work it out. They use one account to say what they really want to say, and the other account has the nice guy appearance. They also use the multiple accounts to subtly gang up on people who disagree with them. They even present discussion between the multiple accounts to prop up their position in threads/posts.


In the junior forums, this is the classic bully technique I believe.

Mas is there any feature/logging mechanism able to link user accounts to IP addresses that connect? That would be one way of quickly identifying multiple user accounts I think.

G'day onemoreover,
we actually find out straight away who has a multiple account. The excuse often used is that its my Father, Brother or mate from next door using my computer. The guys from admin have to be fully satisfied that it is the one and the same person. It is not very hard to track through their posting traits. I went to my mates house who is on BigCricket and logged on and within 5 minutes was telling the site I had multiple accounts. Multiple accounts are sometimes merged into the first account. Sometimes you see the two accounts having a discussion between themselves. Very funny especially if you know. When they are merged the same poster is speaking to themself.

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

G'day onemoreover,
we actually find out straight away who has a multiple account. The excuse often used is that its my Father, Brother or mate from next door using my computer. The guys from admin have to be fully satisfied that it is the one and the same person. It is not very hard to track through their posting traits. I went to my mates house who is on BigCricket and logged on and within 5 minutes was telling the site I had multiple accounts. Multiple accounts are sometimes merged into the first account. Sometimes you see the two accounts having a discussion between themselves. Very funny especially if you know. When they are merged the same poster is speaking to themself.

Hey CC
Ok good. I take your point that again there are management difficulties. Nothing in all this is simple is it. How right you are about how funny it is when you know what is going on with multiple user account posts by the same person. ROFL.

cheers

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

G'day onemoreover,
we actually find out straight away who has a multiple account. The excuse often used is that its my Father, Brother or mate from next door using my computer. The guys from admin have to be fully satisfied that it is the one and the same person. It is not very hard to track through their posting traits. I went to my mates house who is on BigCricket and logged on and within 5 minutes was telling the site I had multiple accounts. Multiple accounts are sometimes merged into the first account. Sometimes you see the two accounts having a discussion between themselves. Very funny especially if you know. When they are merged the same poster is speaking to themself.

Of course if a thread is having posts arrive in a certain way, which I will not suggest here, I would suspect it would be fairly obvious who is actually "using the computer".

 

[cold case]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

Of course if a thread is having posts arrive in a certain way, which I will not suggest here, I would suspect it would be fairly obvious who is actually "using the computer".

Some users do go out of their way to change their writing pattern. It inevitably becomes their downfall when the slip up. There are other forms of ID available but I dont know if I am at liberty to discuss.

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

Some users do go out of their way to change their writing pattern. It inevitably becomes their downfall when the slip up. There are other forms of ID available but I dont know if I am at liberty to discuss.

No don't reveal anything here, fools only appear smart by leeching understanding from sources other than themsleves. We do not need to help anyone appear half way clever

 

[Rampant]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

This is all very interesting... I hope they don't merge my Boris account into this one.

But seriously though, I wasn't aware that you could track the computer that people were actually posting from.

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

This is all very interesting... I hope they don't merge my Boris account into this one.

But seriously though, I wasn't aware that you could track the computer that people were actually posting from.

I thought I recognised those quality posts from Rampant/Boris, Boris/Rampant

But yes seriously, when you connect to any web site, stuff like that is usually logged in varying composition and quantity, depending on the requirements. The really funny thing is that the admins and moderators will be seeing exactly what the big picture is with many AUP breakers. The offenders probably don't realize how in the picture moderators really are. I bet when challenged by moderators it is like being pulled over by the police for a traffic offence. The offender has all the lame excuses under the sun for their offence, but the traffic cop always knows it's a load of crap.

Hmmm....may have some people challenge me on the traffic cop metaphor now...........that was dumb of me.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

We have a number of systems in place to track multiple accounts. None are fool proof on their own but using a combination we can pretty successfully track people if need be.

 

[Gladyboy]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

This is a perfect example of mods power going to their heads we have some friendly banter going thats right friendly and Breeno gets bored and has to put his two bobs in.

Their has been no threats insults or the like we can compare our comps as much as we like

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

This is a perfect example of mods power going to their heads we have some friendly banter going thats right friendly and Breeno gets bored and has to put his two bobs in.

Their has been no threats insults or the like we can compare our comps as much as we like

I think your point is very understandable and also a commonly expressed concern by user's. But I don't think it is quite as black and white as it may appear. I don't believe the mods or admins would conduct themselves purposely in a manner that potentially discourages users to particpate, which is the attitude people can take when disciplined. That would just be illogical for them to do and I am sure the last thing that would be desired.

I think it is also fair to expect that the forums maintain some standards, for the benefit of all users well being and the well being of the forums.

I think there are two aspect to such user concerns.
a) Yes we highlight the concern and let the mods and admins know what we think as you have done.
b) Try to also contribute some ideas towards a solution as well.

Somewhere in the middle between users and mods/admins ideas, may lie the answer to improving the said issue.

On this issue you raise above, maybe to start trying to generate some ideas we should ask what are the triggers for a mod to instigate the action you described. We need to understand the process to arrive at a solution me thinks.

Mods, comments?

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

This is a perfect example of mods power going to their heads we have some friendly banter going thats right friendly and Breeno gets bored and has to put his two bobs in.

Their has been no threats insults or the like we can compare our comps as much as we like

Yes, you are correct you can (and do) compare competitions. However, we will step in if it appears that the debate is veering towards a flame war or other silly arguments. It does nothing for the forum to have page after page of fantasy dick waving.

Each mod will make a decision based on their own judgement. They are encouraged to explain that judgement to the user it's likely to effect. If those users then have an issue with it, the correct proceedure is to pm the mod in question (ideally with an admin cc'd in). This way we can deal with the matter quickly and privately.

I have said this before and will no doubt repeat many times again. Forums are a great way of communicating but you do have to remember a few things. The main thing is that every post is written pretty much anonymously. As a consqeuence we don't get to see the body langauge, facial expressions or voice inflections that come with face to face communication. Because of this, we have to take what we see at face value (although we can glean some sense of context from the stuff that comes before it). A little thought before posting can go a long way, likewise the use of emoticons (although I despise them).

What may be a harmless joke to you may come across as a dig, abuse or threat to others.

I will also say that the mods on here are fairly laidback, especially when considering the content matter of the site. There are plenty of other sites out there that come down harder.

 

[onemoreover]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

Yes, you are correct you can (and do) compare competitions. However, we will step in if it appears that the debate is veering towards a flame war or other silly arguments. It does nothing for the forum to have page after page of fantasy dick waving.

Each mod will make a decision based on their own judgement. They are encouraged to explain that judgement to the user it's likely to effect. If those users then have an issue with it, the correct proceedure is to pm the mod in question (ideally with an admin cc'd in). This way we can deal with the matter quickly and privately.

I have said this before and will no doubt repeat many times again. Forums are a great way of communicating but you do have to remember a few things. The main thing is that every post is written pretty much anonymously. As a consqeuence we don't get to see the body langauge, facial expressions or voice inflections that come with face to face communication. Because of this, we have to take what we see at face value (although we can glean some sense of context from the stuff that comes before it). A little thought before posting can go a long way, likewise the use of emoticons (although I despise them).

What may be a harmless joke to you may come across as a dig, abuse or threat to others.

I will also say that the mods on here are fairly laidback, especially when considering the content matter of the site. There are plenty of other sites out there that come down harder.

From a cold start that would be pretty much how I would look at it too. Plus you have supplied the expected procedure when any Mod intervention takes place, but affected users feel a need to discuss/clarify further with the mod.

"It does nothing for the forum to have page after page of fantasy dick waving." - Hmmm I seem to remember the feel of a cold spoon being applied last weekend MC..........

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Member Feedback Poll

Going to close this now as I think we've seen all the replies we're going to get. If you have anything to add then please pm me.

Thanks for all the feedback, it has been really helpful!