[Feedback] What's wrong with the Airsoft forum? How do we fix it?

o1s1n

Danin wrote: »

why have rules that obviously don't work with the community and then try and force feed them regardless.

Here's the thing though - we had a very strict set of rules here for years. And you know what? It worked really well. Myself and the other moderators took absolutely no **** whatsoever. As a result, people were curtious to each other and there was a really great sense of community. Those who werent and took the piss didnt last very long. Trolls were banned. Everyone was kept in line. But there was craic had by all.

What I've noticed lately is people are getting away with murder. There are things being posted that would have had you out the door before you hit the submit button. I find it quite funny how lots of people are shouting 'the mods are ruining the forum with over moderation!'. Seriously, go back in time 2-3 years and look at how the place was run.

Danin

"@Danin: Defeatism achieves nothing except for shielding you against bitter disappointment at having failed."
Inari, Lets say we'll agree to disagree on this one because I don't view my post as defeatist at all in fact I see it as being proactive and as for "the bitter disappointment at having failed" sorry but I fail to see where there was any failure plus I'd be worried if I ever did take it to heart that much. If there was a failure it was on behalf of boards to its members by not taking the opportunity to live up to their promises of change after everyone's input.

Lets look at the facts
their was 16 pages of feedback and debate regarding this topic earlier this year and that's fact
name one prominent change that was implemented as a result of that feedback.
are posters to this forum still complaining about the same issues raised "YES" again fact
do we find ourselves repeating the same content in this thread "Yes" again fact

"and definitely more so than complaining about the lack of change"

And what happened to the rule go after the post not the poster you're making out that I'm in some way bitter "Why" I'm just stating facts

ha ha what is this whole thread about "only complaining"
and I see you named people for their valued input and failed to mention any mod or boards

If people stopped posting with hidden self gratifying agendas such as looking for the most thanks or to come across as intelligent or "the wise man of airsoft" we'd all be much better off and get a bit further down the road.

Steve

Guys, lets not make this in any way personal please - this is for feedback and suggestions on how to fix what's wrong.

It's not going to become a witch hunt.

Danin

o1s1n wrote: »

Here's the thing though - we had a very strict set of rules here for years. And you know what? It worked really well. Myself and the other moderators took absolutely no **** whatsoever. As a result, people were curtious to each other and there was a really great sense of community. Those who werent and took the piss didnt last very long. Trolls were banned. Everyone was kept in line. But there was craic had by all.

What I've noticed lately is people are getting away with murder. There are things being posted that would have had you out the door before you hit the submit button. I find it quite funny how lots of people are shouting 'the mods are ruining the forum with over moderation!'. Seriously, go back in time 2-3 years and look at how the place was run.

o1s1n I agree with you but it's the way these rules are being interrupted and implemented some mods allow what I can only describe as "the flow" and only step in when needed, lets call them the old guard but now we have the new regime of micro management, preemptive moderating, covert post editing and a complete totalitarian approach which doesn't allow for any flow or crack to be had by anyone.

Inari

First off, the failure that I mentioned is generic; if you don't try, you have already failed. It just means that without any attempt, you don't have a chance at success.

What happened after those 16 pages? Well, there was a lot of good information posted, and that information Steve has now read. That thread was not for nothing, sure it didn't achieve its goal, but the road is long.

In this thread we have a direct line to the moderators, as this was instigated by the moderator himself - that is one change alone that is worth diving on.

PS: I thanked Thermo; he's a mod :P

Lemming

Danin wrote: »

we all know the problems
we've all spoken about them in length
lets not go down this road again seriously lads whats the point, if boards wants to know whats wrong with the community, why don't they stop asking the same questions and start listening to the answers.

Steve is new here and is not - I should imagine - psychic and somehow simply able to "know" all about the history of the airsoft forums. So he's gone and asked the community for its thoughts and wants so he can better form an idea on what path to take to better the community's collective experience.

That is why we are on this thread Danin.

I should also point out to all and sundry that Steve is not - to the best of my knowledge - an airsofter. As such he brings a very fresh and un biased perspective to the table. He knows next to none of us (save mods/ex-mods from any moderator beers) and so is free to make judgement based soley on merit of our behaviour on this forum. This thread has the very real potential to be a game-changer.

With the above in mind, I very much want Steve to take his time and understand the needs and wants of the boards.ie airsoft community and not run off with some impetuously-spurred on half-cocked ideas that fall short, because posters are too much of a hurry to want to get it right.

TheDoc

o1s1n wrote: »

What I've noticed lately is people are getting away with murder. There are things being posted that would have had you out the door before you hit the submit button. I find it quite funny how lots of people are shouting 'the mods are ruining the forum with over moderation!'. Seriously, go back in time 2-3 years and look at how the place was run.

2-3 years ago, there was alot more traffic, more heated topics and just alot more going on.

This year has been a relatively quiet year for boards scandal, just a few bits here or there.

But if you go back to those times there was a need for more moderation, but even still I felt debate wasn't discouraged, you lot stepped in when required.

At the moment, yeah there is things going on that maybe arn't coshur 2 years ago, like lets not lie, Moggys jokes and off topic stuff for example.

But when you look around, there isn't much going on anymore of anything.

I guess in a way Steve not being an airsofter in theory should make him a tougher moderator. There is alot of "banter" that gets fired around, that could be interpreted as poor form,

Example being Seniordingdong having a pop at me and getting banned. Granted I think that was resolved to everyones satisfaction, just explaining " we're mates, i didnt take offence."

But I think it is a perfect example. The only person that should have reported that post was me, as it was directed at me and no one else. I didn't report it, therefore it really should not have been acted upon.

However I do acknowledge that a mod can't be asking everyone whos mates and keeping lists, and I'm not easily offended therefore someone else might.

But there has always been a very cotton wooly type of atmosphere around here, pretty much derived from the fear surrounding the support itself.

Obviously the onus does fall on everyone, its not 100% the moderators or anything. I know I act the bollox the odd time, and I'm hoping to step that back a bit and just post when it really needs it. But then again I think the humour and jokes are part of the fun that was once this forum.

Multicam jokes, ****ehawks, Docroll and the likes.

I guess the issue really that traffic around here has really dropped, and there is literaly 0% "scandal" topics. No IASRA topics, no " Wer are getting banned" topics etc.

So the topics around here are very much user created and driven in their content.

There is a very clear line in when something is acceptable and something isn't, if there is ONE thing I'd LOVE to see is just more explanations for deleted posts and moderation action that isnt smart arsed, just a simple explanation.

I'm still to this day, yet to receive an explanation as to why i had so many posts deleted, even after escalation through the proper avenues. Its something that still bugs me and still makes me wary of moderation here, is those ninja style deletions .

Shiva

Lemming wrote: »

I should also point out to all and sundry that Steve is not - to the best of my knowledge - an airsofter. As such he brings a very fresh and un biased perspective to the table. He knows next to none of us (save mods/ex-mods from any moderator beers) and so is free to make judgement based soley on merit of our behaviour on this forum. This thread has the very real potential to be a game-changer.
.

Absolutely thrilled about this bit myself.....fresh, open mind with no preconceptions.

Danin

Lemming wrote: »

Steve is new here and is not - I should imagine - psychic and somehow simply able to "know" all about the history of the airsoft forums.

Lemming, I'm aware of the above and thank you but making comments like these dont help the situation, all it does is give the impression of you being a bit condescending and therefore it contradicts your own ethos

If Steve, wants to make a rounded and informed judgement regarding change, then it will obviously involve research, something IMO which should have been undertaken prior to the commencement of this tread.

and also let it be said, that judging by your own recent conduct, from a person that proclaims to know a lot about how boards is run, it's interesting to note that no further action was taken considering people have been banned or warned for far less abuse of the system.

So by this rationale this brings forward the fundamental question are we all governed by the same set of rules and regulations as I've seen people warned to the extent of a possible ban for simple infractions such as txt spk.
maintaining the status quo is not always a good thing nor for that matter is sitting on the fence taking pot shots at people that post with a keyboard sniper rifle. This just gives the impression of someone acting as a self assumed mod, therefore a little bit of understanding and leeway for the members of the forum would go a long way to creating a new status quo.

THE FENCE IS NOT TO BE MISTAKEN FOR THE MORAL HIGH GROUND

Steve

Danin, I appreciate any helpful feedback you have to offer.

Lemming's post was relevant to this topic, he's not a mod here and is not, in any way, on trial.

There's no hurry here, I'm giving everyone a chance to provide 'their own' feedback and ideas.

Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is, criticizing what anyone says in this thread will only discourage others from posting so please stop.

If you've something constructive to add then please do so.

Lets keep this positive.

Inari

Ok, so that is an issue - what are the rules, what are the punishments for breaking those rules, and how do you enforce them fairly. I have personally found that making people aware of how the rules are enforced causes people to play the system.

What rules does this place really need anyway?
- No text speak; use grammar and punctuation etc (Ease of communication)
- No personal attacks (nice and simple; make sure what you're saying is in context if it's only poking fun at someone i.e. use emoticons etc)

Apart from the retailer, sites & adverts specific rules, I can't think of anything else apart from "no discussions of illegal activity"

OzCam

o1s1n wrote: »

The current moderators look over the userbase and select someone who they think will make a good addition to the team.

It's not left open to a public vote as just because someone is popular on a forum does not automatically make them a good moderator.

We kind of assumed that was what was happening, but there was no information about it until now. In the absence of information, people assume the worst.

Of course.

o1s1n wrote: »

As a former moderator of this forum, I know the sheer volume of reported posts this place drags in. Unfortunately the above would just not be possible. It's hard enough to even read through all the reports sometimes, nevermind replying to every single person about their complaint.

That's a valid answer. If it's possible to comment in a thread about problem posts, that might help people to know that stuff was being looked at, and it might also reduce the number of reports. I think it's worth a try anyway.

o1s1n wrote: »

In all honesty, this place is a massive pain in the arse to moderate.

We all assumed that anyway

needles_two?

o1s1n wrote: »

There's also a particular level of nastyness after creeping amongst some of the users and I'm just not willing to deal with it anymore.

Agreed. It's getting to be a real turnoff. Go back to the Rugby Referee system, I say.


I take Lemming's point about infractions being a lot of work, but at least they're transparent. And this forum obviously needs more mods.

Danin: thanks for starting the last thread, and for taking a big risk to do so. Since Steve is making an honest effort here, let's give it one more shot. If he tries and then gets nowhere with the next level up, at least we gave it a go.

There's a fundamental clash here between users who want no (or very few rules) and those who want to see the rules enforced impartially, thoroughly and transparently. I think boards will have to pick one, I don't see how they can be combined. I do think that if there's to be a NSFW or 15+ rated thread it should be the Off-Topic one – only – but the way it suddenly went "family friendly" wasn't well explained.

Unless someone has any more suggestions, I don't have much more to say. I'll keep reading though. Good luck Steve.

Lemming

Danin wrote: »

Lemming, I'm aware of the above and thank you but making comments like these dont help the situation, all it does is give the impression of you being a bit condescending and therefore it contradicts your own ethos

With apologies to everyone else for the momentary distraction from the topic at hand, but what ethos am I contradicting? I am to say the least puzzled as to what apparent ethos you are speaking about. Feel free to send me a PM about it.

Steve

Lemming wrote: »

Feel free to send me a PM about it.

Indeed.


All,
Just to let you know where I'm attempting to go with this thread:

First, it's life is limited so we're on a schedule - that's an attempt to keep the ball rolling so to speak.

As it reaches closure, I'll attempt to create a list of issues that have been brought up and, with your help, make sure everything is included.

We can then address each one in turn, figure out why the issue exists and how best to proceed and move forward in the best interest of the community. If that takes a thread per issue then so be it - this is not going to be a quick an easy process.

I imagine it will involve compromise on both the communities part and on the mods part - all to be discussed.

For now, keep posting what you perceive to be a problem and any suggestions that you have that would make this a better place - that is what this thread is about. There'll be opportunity to get into the nitty-gritty of each issue in due course.

Thanks again,
Steve.

Airsoft Reloded

Its funny you’re all arguing about a thread that is supposed to help stop the arguments. I think this thread is indicative of what’s wrong. A lot of people on boards take it a wee bit to seriously, also some mods won't allow a bit of craic to go on while not letting it to go to far.

Its just a forum people, why is this thread even here?

Witcher

Airsoft Reloded wrote: »

Its just a forum people, why is this thread even here?

So it can go back to being a forum..right now this place is a handbook on how to make users leave the site.

Airsoft Reloded

Blay wrote: »

So it can go back to being a forum..right now this place is a handbook on how to make users leave the site.

Theres that serious thing again, let the mods mod, let o1s1n mod them and tell everyone relax

Witcher

Airsoft Reloded wrote: »

Theres that serious thing again, let the mods mod, let o1s1n mod them and tell everyone relax

People come on here to discuss airsoft and have a laugh..at the moment not much of either is being done...new threads are non existant and old ones are stagnant because people can't have banter. People are leaving because of it..there are a finite amount of users here..only one thing can happen if it continues.

You run a site, imagine if you said to patrons "Come down to the site but you can't play airsoft but you can stand looking at each other"

Would your site last long?

Airsoft Reloded

The retail section seems to be going fine, as does the advert section, the site section, the technical section, the review/question and the events section (Did I leave any sections out). Theres also a dedicated team section and a place where governing body info is displayed. The news thread is going fine i think

Perhaps there is no interesting discussions in the main section because after you take the above away from the possible conversations there isn't much left to say?

defenderdude

Blay wrote: »

snip>

Would your site last long?

Fortunately for boards.ie - yep - it'll last as long as airsoft in Ireland does.
Anywhere else - nope.

Just look at the forum numbers - 98 viewing the airsoft forum. That's as high as ever.

Probably mostly new'ish users, that want to buy guns n gear...
Happy (maybe) sponsors/retailers/boards.ie owners...

Again to state the obvious and already stated by others hundreds of times already...

So many of guys which are/were the best characters in airsofting in Ireland have just moved on - for lots of different reasons (work, life, love, money, sick of BS, bored etc etc)

For me personally - I've become dismayed, mostly because of the large numbers of bloody fantastic guys who just don’t bother with here anymore.
For me the forum is all the poorer because of it. But also because of the petty bitchin that goes on.

I also use Arnies and ASI more now. Not for the crack or banter - just the technical know-how.
The technical knowledge and/or the will to impart and share it, just isn’t here anymore.

If it wasn’t for the adverts section - alot more people wouldn’t darken the door either I'm sure.


How do ya fix it - well, for me personally it would be fixed by bringing back alot of the users that helped to build this forum to what it was - by their humour, knowledge, friendliness, banter and common decency and shared love of our crazy sport.

That's not going to happen. More's the pity.

Just as with the sport - people change and move on.
I suppose it could be called evolving.

And just like the evolution within the sport - the forum is evolving too. It's bigger than any of us individual users and the evidence would suggest it's growing and as popular and sucessful as ever.

Evolution isn’t necessarily progress - but then again I'm a dinosaur.


Interesting discussion but probably a waste of time, emotion and energy imo.

(apologies in advance for cynicism and apathy)

hrta

defenderdude wrote: »

Fortunately for boards.ie - yep - it'll last as long as airsoft in Ireland does.
Anywhere else - nope.

Just look at the forum numbers - 98 viewing the airsoft forum. That's as high as ever.

Probably mostly new'ish users, that want to buy guns n gear...
Happy (maybe) sponsors/retailers/boards.ie owners...

Again to state the obvious and already stated by others hundreds of times already...

So many of guys which are/were the best characters in airsofting in Ireland have just moved on - for lots of different reasons (work, life, love, money, sick of BS, bored etc etc)

For me personally - I've become dismayed, mostly because of the large numbers of bloody fantastic guys who just don’t bother with here anymore.
For me the forum is all the poorer because of it. But also because of the petty bitchin that goes on.

I also use Arnies and ASI more now. Not for the crack or banter - just the technical know-how.
The technical knowledge and/or the will to impart and share it, just isn’t here anymore.

If it wasn’t for the adverts section - alot more people wouldn’t darken the door either I'm sure.


How do ya fix it - well, for me personally it would be fixed by bringing back alot of the users that helped to build this forum to what it was - by their humour, knowledge, friendliness, banter and common decency and shared love of our crazy sport.

That's not going to happen. More's the pity.

Just as with the sport - people change and move on.
I suppose it could be called evolving.

And just like the evolution within the sport - the forum is evolving too. It's bigger than any of us individual users and the evidence would suggest it's growing and as popular and sucessful as ever.

Evolution isn’t necessarily progress - but then again I'm a dinosaur.


Interesting discussion but probably a waste of time, emotion and energy imo.

(apologies in advance for cynicism and apathy)

How to fix Airsoft, just have fun, everyone has forgot to have fun, it's all about having fun, and get on with it.

Now have a laugh,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBAMnUAtPBM

Steve

Airsoft Reloded wrote: »

also some mods won't allow a bit of craic to go on while not letting it to go to far.

Good point.
The question is going to be how far is too far?

If we can define that to some degree then it's progress. If everyone knows and can agree (by consensus if necessary) where the line is then we have a rule that's enforceable and it becomes less of a mods personal opinion on when to act.

hrta wrote: »

How to fix Airsoft, just have fun, everyone has forgot to have fun, it's all about having fun, and get on with it.

Now have a laugh,
<YOUTUBE clip>

Is that really what people want to see in this forum? Yeah it's a laugh but I can see it offending a lot of people due to it's content.

Who gets to decide on the offensive line in here?

All these posts show up on the front page of boards - when they cross the line of good taste then both the public and the admins start to notice and that causes problems for the mods and the community.

I'm pretty much trying to stay out of the discussion here lest I influence it in any way - as are the other mods. I am, however, interested in what people thing about ideas to fix what's wrong.

What do you all think the moderation level should be?

Should freindly slagging be allowed? - e.g. " ya bollix, you shot me in the ass at the last skirmish?"

When does that turn into personal insults?

Should '18' content be allowed?

Should there be a virtual 'safe zone'? aka restricted access private section with minimal moderation?

This is the feedback we need, please keep it coming

Witcher

Steve wrote: »

What do you all think the moderation level should be?

Should freindly slagging be allowed? - e.g. " ya bollix, you shot me in the ass at the last skirmish?"

When does that turn into personal insults?

Should '18' content be allowed?

Should there be a virtual 'safe zone'? aka restricted access private section with minimal moderation?

The moderation shouldn't be preemptive as it is now eg. closing threads because it *might* become a flame war..it *might not* too so leave it open, deal with a problem if it arises.

I would follow with what Doc said earlier, friendly slagging should be allowed, if it's too far the individual concerned can press the report button themselves and have it dealt with, it might be purposely insulting but person may laugh at it and have no problem with it. If it's a troll etc delete it but among forum users there is rarely any serious aggression.

The 18+ content has always been a bit of a problem here as there are kids on the forum..I really don't know how that one should go. Possibly a restricted section...I'll leave that for wiser minds:)

hrta

Hi Steve,

To true, what i posted, but here is the thing, most of the people posting in here, would joke around like that on the field, so this will be new to you Steve, as i read some were you don't play airsoft.

AndyG can fill you in, as to the slagging he gets every week,

I think a lot of people are missing is, a lot of players have moved on from airsoft, lost jobs, and what not, so not many of them post any more.

Then there is a lot that can be said on a field, but not on an open forum, as most people know each other on and off the field, but the thing they forget is,

Human communication consists of 93 percent body language and only 7% of communication consists of words, this is the biggy with online communication, with out the body language providing clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person, there is no way to indicate, aggression, amusement, lack of interest, these are the fight or flight drivers.

So it is very easy to post some thing, and land you in hot water, with some people, and not with others, so people really need to think before they post some thing, as to how it could be interpreted by some posters, and not by others.

Paul.

Lemming

Blay wrote: »

The moderation shouldn't be preemptive as it is now eg. closing threads because it *might* become a flame war..it *might not* too so leave it open, deal with a problem if it arises.

As much as I see your point and agree to it, pre-emptive action is as much a mod tool as reaction. For example, someone comes in posting about where they can be "de slingbackers" for shooting birds and cats with. That thread is guaruanteed to be nothing but serious trouble unless it's either locked or binned very quickly. We as a community accept when the mods do that.

But what about where a topic is getting very heated/emotive/etc. among a number of participants. Sometimes it's more effective for a mod to come in and lock a thread for a few hours to allow everyone cool down, etc. It's been done before on other boards forums (and indeed on other very popular airsoft forums that shall remain nameless as boards.ie is not concerned with those). Is that acceptable since it's pre-emptive action to ward off more work further down the line.

I think that we shouldn't be telling the mod "no pre-emptive" locking or such, because it's as much a valid and sometimes necessary tool as any other available to them. What I do think is that where a thread gets locked, it really doesn't hurt for a mod to post the reason why. From a moderator perspective, it also means that you don't get twenty users all asking you the same question (e.g. "why?"), and any PM's you do get regarding the thread will likely address the reasons in maybe trying to argue for re-opening said thread. It gives users an idea (beyond the strict interpretation of the rules) of what is likely to be a threshold for locking threads in future.

The 18+ content has always been a bit of a problem here as there are kids on the forum..I really don't know how that one should go. Possibly a restricted section...I'll leave that for wiser minds:)

Regarding mature content, I think the best approach is common sense. If it's something that you would hesitate to look at openly in a work environment - and by work, I don't mean a bunch of builders sat around oogling page 3 of the sun newspaper - then you probably shouldn't be posting it openly for all to see.

On the note of common sense, much of what gets posted and then censured really does need users to apply a modicum of common sense in what they're posting. For example, slagging off your mates. Nothing much in it, I've indulged in it on more than one occasion but everyone should remember that boards.ie has a "no abuse" rule and that you may run afoul of it if you're not careful and clear in what you're doing, which does unfortunately happen.

Regarding the mods and common sense - and what users expect, most boards.ie forums cannot be run by strict interpretation of the rules (with a few exceptions, e.g. no abuse which is reasonably clear for the most part); could you imagine trying to moderate After Hours (to pick a way out there example) using the strictness of Airsoft Adverts? I dare say over half of boards.ie's userbase would be banned. Only a small handful of boards.ie forums require strict adherance to rules (adverts-related), or at least tighter adhereance (if one looks at politics or soccer).

In short, we need to allow the mods room to manoeuvre and use a level of discretion when deciding a course of action. But we also need to understand their approach to situations in order to avoid falling afoul in subsequent discussion.



Edit: hrta already beat me to it regarding common sense.

Witcher

I agree saying no preemptive action is a bit much but some threads are locked after 3/4 posts with the reason as for example "done elsewhere", every thread has been "done elsewhere" at some point leave it be.

I know thats just general forum tidying up not having 4/5 of the same type of thread on the same page.

Another preemptive modding example (in theory) thats a bit much is: new person asks a simple question, answered with 2 posts and it's locked "Threads run it's course/question answered" etc. The person may come back to the thread and if it's locked will open another one, have it locked and then get "done elsewhere" completing the cycle.

All I would seriously ask of the mods is just step back a bit with the involvement, I don't want the current mods overthrown etc. I'd rather have mods like the current ones who have an understanding of the forum/sport, if the place could just flow a bit more freely I'd be happy:)

Steve

Blay wrote: »

Another preemptive modding example thats a bit much is: new person asks a simple question, answered with 2 posts and it's locked "Threads run it's course/question answered" etc. The person may come back to the thread and if it's locked will open another one, have it locked and then get "done elsewhere" completing the cycle.

Is there any example of that that you can recall / link to? (pm if you want)

Witcher

Steve wrote: »

Is there any example of that that you can recall / link to? (pm if you want)

I'll have a look back a few pages and edit any links into this post:)

Edit: Gonna have to hold my hands up to this one, can't find an example of it but it's what could result from closing threads after two posts that the user may come back to. I've edited the post to include "in theory" to acknowledge this:)

I'm harking back a bit now but this thread caught my eye..good thread..potential for laugh/good discussion but it was locked because of one off colour post by Moggser (which did give me a laugh at the time admittedly), but the post could have been snipped/deleted and thread continued but it was locked...why?

I know it's only one example and I'm clutching at straws there..but as I said I'm not looking for a revolt on the forum just a step back on the nuking of threads and posts that stray a bit from the topic. I'm just giving examples of what the problem is not evidence against the mod so he can be strung up.

Lemming

Blay wrote: »

I agree saying no preemptive action is a bit much but some threads are locked after 3/4 posts with the reason as for example "done elsewhere", every thread has been "done elsewhere" at some point leave it be.

I know thats just general forum tidying up not having 4/5 of the same type of thread on the same page.

Another preemptive modding example thats a bit much is: new person asks a simple question, answered with 2 posts and it's locked "Threads run it's course/question answered" etc. The person may come back to the thread and if it's locked will open another one, have it locked and then get "done elsewhere" completing the cycle.

All I would seriously ask of the mods is just step back a bit with the involvement.

I would agree with the second example you gave. Someone will come in with either an answer, o ra link to an answer, new person goes "thanks" and wanders off to have a read. Thread then falls off the back pages gracefully unless someone else has more to add or said new user comes back with further queries. Thread never gets locked or touched in a moderator capacity.

As for the "done elsewhere" threads, no particular disagreement from me although if a particular topic has a well established thread in existence, it may be better for the mods to merge the 'new' thread into the existing thread as a continuance of discussion. If you want a perfect example of this (elsewhere I'm afraid); the arnies-airsoft forum discussion on the G&P Stoner 63A is actually two separate threads combined - an original "in development" thread from back in 2007/2008, and a newer thread that was created upon G&P announcing they were taking pre-orders from retailers.

OzCam

Blay wrote: »

[...], friendly slagging should be allowed, if it's too far the individual concerned can press the report button themselves and have it dealt with, it might be purposely insulting but person may laugh at it and have no problem with it. If it's a troll etc delete it but among forum users there is rarely any serious aggression.

True, there's rarely any serious aggression, but here's a thing and there's no way around it: the slagging between two people is not only read by those two individuals. If you want it to be private, use PM.

Other readers – including the Powers That Be, parents, employers – coming along can get the completely wrong idea because they don't know the context. Lots of posters on this forum seem to think sometimes that there's only a few of us in a closed little circle reading these posts. I've been embarrassed by some of the things posted on this forum in the last year, and they don't reflect well on us at all.

Whether we like it or not, every airsofter is a representative of this community and should behave like one, online as well as on the field.

Search engines are not your friend.