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

Danin

I'm sorry lads but I just don't get it call me naive but from what i gather from the above is I can openly accuse someone of being a anti semite or racist in the public forum without repercussion once I do it tactfully

but if I call some one a schoolboy name in private and that someone happens to be a mod I'll be banned

which in your opinion is worse

you said I answered my own question but I don't see it sorry, it just looks to me like you've validated our argument that their are different rules for different people and for mods

Trojan

Reviewing the PMs again, I've decide I was overly harsh with 6 months and I'm downgrading it to a 1 month ban.

Any person who feels that one of the local mods, a Cmod, or any admin has made a bad decision regarding a ban they've received is welcome to file a complaint on the Dispute Resolution forum. A neutral Cmod and neutral admins will take a look at the decisions, and it can and sometimes does result in bans being reduced or rescinded completely.

On the other hand, folks (mods and users) should not be afraid to report PMs because they'll be accused of being of "infirm disposition" or similar. That's akin to bullying, even though it's worded nicely.

--

As an admin looking at boards.ie as a whole, the Airsoft forum stands out, and not in a good way. There is a malaise afflicting it, I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps it's that as an aggressive sport, by definition, perhaps that encourages a more robust type of discussion, and that boards is too limited for it. What needs to happen is that either boards changes it's rules to accommodate Airsoft folks or the Airsoft folks moderate their discussions a bit more tightly on boards.

I'm a rugby player, and I know that post match discussion over pints is not boards-safe. It's sometimes a quite aggressive sport, but the J4 thread has many posters that play against each other regularly and yet needs almost zero moderation. Maybe it's an invalid comparison, but it's interesting.

Ultimately it comes down to this: boards wants to allow everyone talk about whatever they want so long as it a) doesn't get anyone into legal trouble, and b) doesn't hurt anyone (i.e. the "Don't be a d!ck" guideline). That's all.

--
Steve: I absolutely disagree with any and all accusations of houseplantery, but perhaps you could rescind War Machine's ban for his most eloquent outburst since I've decided to downgrade the ban?

Poccington

Danin wrote: »

I'm sorry lads but I just don't get it call me naive but from what i gather from the above is I can openly accuse someone of being a anti semite or racist in the public forum without repercussion once I do it tactfully

but if I call some one a schoolboy name in private and that someone happens to be a mod I'll be banned

which in your opinion is worse

you said I answered my own question but I don't see it sorry, it just looks to me like you've validated our argument that their are different rules for different people and for mods

No, I think I took up the anti semite part of your other post wrong. Apologies

Witcher

Edit: I deleted the post I had here because the thread is being dragged off topic debating one case and it's taking away from the fact people are clearly unhappy with the running of the forum at the present time.

Steve

Blay wrote: »

What do people do in reality when they receive some abuse?

Go and cry to mammy or in this case the admins?

No they argue back..I'm not suggesting we have all out war or anything but some people have too soft a skin. Lets face it abuse is part and parcel of being a mod, if they can't take it they know where the door is. That's a bit unfair admittedly but that's life.

No, they follow site guidelines - the very ones that are there to enable everyone to have an enjoyable experience on boards.

Yes mods are expected to have a thicker skin and remain civil in face of abuse - we do. There's a limit to what we have to endure before passing it on to a higher power though.

It's been said that posting here should be akin to posting in the bar after a skirmish. Answer me me this: if someone came up to you in a bar and called you a 'cuntlog' several times to your face, would you remain calm and laugh it off or would you begin to feel like you wanted to punch them in the gob?

Yes it's that simple - unfortunately mods aren't allowed to get upset and we pass the matter to someone else to make impartial judgement on it.

fayer wrote: »

Hi Steve,

My understanding of the situation (I stand to be corrected) is a 6 month ban has been handed out for calling a Mod an eejit in response to a PM where they mistakingly thought they were being abused in thread.

If this is the case, is the wounded person of such a infirm disposition that this would call for escalation to a CMOD?

Let me get this right -
Someone called a mod an eejit as a response to something the mod pm'd them?
That doesn't make sense at all, can you clarify?

fayer wrote: »

On a different note, this witch hunt has been running for quite a while now, it is serving any real purpose any more?

Do you have enough data to conduct some kind of review / create action items out of the community feedback?

Steve

I said this will run for two weeks from when I started it - it'll be closed this Friday.

Witcher

Steve wrote: »

Answer me me this: if someone came up to you in a bar and called you a 'cuntlog' several times to your face, would you remain calm and laugh it off or would you begin to feel like you wanted to punch them in the gob?

Is this is the term that was actually used in this "abusive pm"?

I'd probably laugh it off..sticks and stones. Only proper thing to do there is be the bigger man and walk away. A cliche perhaps but it works.

Hopping someone a box to the jaw or the alternative here(banning them) doesn't solve because anything odds are you'll have to look them in the face again at a later date knowing that you took the easy option and instead of orally debating your status as a "cuntlog" you lamped them or banned them.

---

The thread is being dragged off topic here with stories of fisticuffs, perhaps leaving this line of argument and allowing others a say would be better for everyone?

Steve

Blay wrote: »

Surely a mod taking a bit of flak would be considered part and parcel of the job as I said?

Yes and we take more than you'll ever know - believe me.

The mod(which ever one it was) received this abusive pm from Dave I assume debating their modding decisions. Instead of taking it as water off a ducks back they report it. I'm not condoning the abuse just to be clear.

Well Jesus if a person standing up to moderate the airsoft forum(where there is impassioned debating) can't take a bit of flak they're too thin skinned.

Again, I'm not saying pm abuse is right, but what this smells of to me is:

1. Dave complains about modding

2. Sends abusive pm

3. Mod can't handle criticism elsewhere and calls in the admins to ban knowing they've got his back.

1. Dave complains about modding

2. Sends abusive pm

3. Mod can't handle criticism elsewhere and calls in the admins to ban knowing they've got his back. Mod follow site rules and reports the abusive pm in the hope that an impartial admin will look into it.

Sorry fixed that for you.

This is my interpretation and of course is open to debate and being shot down (we'll never know if it is right or wrong unless the mod involved comments). But here it is anyway.

Also WarMachine receives a ban for calling an admin "a socially inept houseplant". The most eloquent "abuse" I've seen grace this website, if you can't shrug that off..wow. Again, not the right thing to be doing but we're adults here..shake it off.

If I went to a skirmish and deliberately shot you in the face point blank in a safe zone would you shrug it off? Even if I said " ah I just did it for the laugh!!11!"

At what point should rules not apply?

As Fayer has said above is this thread really achieving anything? As far as I can see the people in charge here will bear a grudge over what is being said here and take it personally.

I don't know any of you - I'm impartial to any 'cliques' so nothing is personal to me.

Danin wrote: »

I'm sorry lads but I just don't get it call me naive but from what i gather from the above is I can openly accuse someone of being a anti semite or racist in the public forum without repercussion once I do it tactfully

but if I call some one a schoolboy name in private and that someone happens to be a mod I'll be banned

I still don't know what you're on about there. please clarify.

Blay wrote: »

Edit: I deleted the post I had here because the thread is being dragged off topic debating one case and it's taking away from the fact people are clearly unhappy with the running of the forum at the present time.

Thank you.

Danin

I just want to draw your attention to this Trojan & Steve just so that there is no misunderstanding from either side and you'll understand exactly were I'm coming from

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056091414

The_ChiefDUB

Well this thread has certainly taken a turn for ridiculous. How could anyone really take the term 'cuntlog' as a serious term of abuse? It's preposterous. This is clearly a case of a mod being overly sensitive or having an existing beef with another user.
I really do hope this thread can lead to some good changes but I seriously doubt it. I would not be surprised if the content of this thread is serving to put off people with something valuable to say just as much as any of the other factors which we have been talking about.
The change of the six month ban in to a one month ban clearly shows the knee jerk nature of many of the modding reactions here.

Witcher

Steve wrote: »

Yes and we take more than you'll ever know - believe me.

1. Dave complains about modding

2. Sends abusive pm

3. Mod can't handle criticism elsewhere and calls in the admins to ban knowing they've got his back. Mod follow site rules and reports the abusive pm in the hope that an impartial admin will look into it.

Sorry fixed that for you.

Ah the old "fixed that for you" chestnut.

As I said, that's my opinion of what's going on here, people don't have to listen to me, they can make their own minds up but I'd bet others are thinking the same thing.

If I went to a skirmish and deliberately shot you in the face point blank in a safe zone would you shrug it off? Even if I said " ah I just did it for the laugh!!11!"

What? We're talking verbal abuse here not physical.

There's no long term physical damage from being called a "socially inept houseplant" apart from maybe Trojan's ego but losing an eye if you were to shoot me is a bit more extreme.

At what point should rules not apply?

I'm not saying rules shouldn't apply, I never said that but a bit of common sense and acting like an adult here would help.

People don't always have to follow the rules on abuse like a zombie, in reality you can't ban people for being called a "houseplant" you take it and you fcuking walk it off.

If people attacked someone everytime someone called them a name in reality the planet would be littered with corpses. You suck it up, live with it and move on in life..the same should be done here.

Thread going off topic slooowly and the back and forth quoting is tedious and getting us nowhere.

I think there are underlying issues between mods and some users here and whether they can be solved without one leaving the equation is the key question.

I really think someone impartial has to come in here be they an Admin or whatever as long as they're not a mod or user from here, read this thread and give a possible solution as an outsider looking in because any solutions coming from the moderators here will ultimately lead to another sh1tstorm down the road.

Steve

Trojan wrote: »

Steve: I absolutely disagree with any and all accusations of houseplantery, but perhaps you could rescind War Machine's ban for his most eloquent outburst since I've decided to downgrade the ban?

No problem with that at all. Ban lifted.

Danin wrote: »

I just want to draw your attention to this Trojan & Steve just so that there is no misunderstanding from either side and you'll understand exactly were I'm coming from

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056091414

I wasn't aware of that thread - I wasn't a mod here at the time. Thank you for highlighting it.

Danin

Steve wrote: »

No problem with that at all. Ban lifted.


I wasn't aware of that thread - I wasn't a mod here at the time. Thank you for highlighting it.

thanks Steve, now I hope you can understand where I was coming from with regards to one rule for all, that's not to say I'm calling for that person to be banned, I was just highlighting the discrepancies in the way the rules are enforced and how it comes across that if you have friends in certain places you get away with more.

and to the best of my knowledge as to date no action or warning was issued or taken regarding that thread

War Machine 539

Well Im back!

On my Houseplant comment, I wasnt trying to offend anyone, I was simply venting frustration! I will keep all mention of botany at a minimum from here on out to avoid further confusion!

On a more relevant note, we have to start finding out where ''The Line'' is.
I have to agree with Blay, water off a ducks back should be the method of dealing with banter. If we cant have banter on this site what is the point of it? This is an outlet for us to extend our hobby past the saturday or sunday we play on, were not children, yet were treated . . . . . intentionally or not as such.
As for insults, Mods take them into CONTEXT! Im not shouting but that is the key word of this post! I love this forum, and I love the debates, the banter the knowledge that is imparted on it, dont mess up something that is good. Please, I implore you!

Rules are there to keep order, but why enforce them when order is already there? They should only be used when serious abuses take place, not a bit of banter.

Apologies if this post seems incoherent, I have been keeping track of this offline all day and I have a lot to input!

Blay +1 on everything your saying, your sense of logic is a refreshing thing to see!

Steve

Blay wrote: »

I really think someone impartial has to come in here be they an Admin or whatever as long as they're not a mod or user from here, read this thread and give a possible solution as an outsider looking in because any solutions coming from the moderators here will ultimately lead to another sh1tstorm down the road.

+1
I agree 100% with that.

I think and hope I'm remaining impartial here - please feel free to point out if you think I'm not

Steve

War Machine 539 wrote: »

On a more relevant note, we have to start finding out where ''The Line'' is.

Absolutely - this will be key to moving forward.
If we can all agree on this and buy into it then there really is hope for the forum.

Witcher

Steve wrote: »

+1
I agree 100% with that.

I think and hope I'm remaining impartial here - please feel free to point out if you think I'm not

You are indeed and the debate here is quite engaging:)

You and the other mods should definitely throw out a few suggested changes when the thread is done with, I just think an outsider having a look and giving their 2 cents or just agreeing with the ones from the mods here would be good and maybe stop further threads popping up with complaints.

Maybe I'm wrong, I'll go with whatever the other users here want:)

Steve

Danin wrote: »

thanks Steve, now I hope you can understand where I was coming from with regards to one rule for all, that's not to say I'm calling for that person to be banned, I was just highlighting the discrepancies in the way the rules are enforced and how it comes across that if you have friends in certain places you get away with more.

and to the best of my knowledge as to date no action or warning was issued or taken regarding that thread

I've only glanced over the thread - I'll read it in more detail when I get time. I've taken on board your comments but to be fair, I'm not willing to mod retrospectively and I don't think it'd be fair to ask me to. (not saying you are ).

Inari

Things really took off here, didn't they?

Being honest, there is a chicken and egg syndrome here - does this forum need more/better moderation because of the levels of abuse? Or is there abuse because of the moderation? Look, I speak out as a moderator and admin for many different sites, at different times in my life. I know what it's like from both sides. But, no matter how much I was hated as a Moderator, people could expect one thing from me; Fairness.

I'm not saying that the mods here are not fair, but there is a trick to being impartial. You have to put aside your own feelings...you don't have feelings anymore. They're a luxury you don't have. Your job as a moderator is to keep things going in line with the site's guidelines. Your job is not to take sides. Moderators do not have opinions; users do. You should not cross moderatorship and general user postings.

What is rampant in this forum at the moment is people are getting their backs up, and there is a clear rift forming between users and mods. To solve that there needs to be some serious integrity. The moderators need to stand firm as a united front, and make their rules & guidelines CLEAR and TRANSPARENT. When that is done, people can accept bans etc because the moderators are just following their guidelines. But at the moment there is a serious lack of definition.

This forum needs a charter overhaul NOW. Not in the future, not maybe possibly, but definitely right now. It needs to be done in a thread like this, reviewed and finalised by the new year if this site is to have any hope of recovering. More users are disappearing, and that is going to become irrepairable.

Actually, let me hit home for a second. If this forum dies, you (Boards) will lose the revenue of the Retailers and Sites - it will no longer be an attractive form of advertising when there is no reason for anyone to frequent this forum. This gives incentive to fix the problem, and it is a problem that needs fixing. It needs action - talking is fine, I'm all for it. But there needs to be solid action taken pretty much immediately, and publically. No point in hiding what people need to know.

When things change, then we can work on repairing. What we need is to start from scratch, and sort literally everything. These things aren't quick fixes, and hey, people might leave. But it really does need to be put to work now. If I were running this show, I would draft up a new charter, adapt the site rules and make them specific, and draft up clear moderator guidelines etc, so that people know what constitutes an 'Abuse of Power' etc. I would try to do all of these steps, and then as a moderator I would ask the users if they would prefer I continued to moderate, or stepped down (I have done this in the past, and have not once been asked to rescind my position) - why? Because it instills confidence in the forum.

Steve

Inari wrote: »

Things really took off here, didn't they?

Being honest, there is a chicken and egg syndrome here - does this forum need more/better moderation because of the levels of abuse? Or is there abuse because of the moderation? Look, I speak out as a moderator and admin for many different sites, at different times in my life. I know what it's like from both sides. But, no matter how much I was hated as a Moderator, people could expect one thing from me; Fairness.

I'm not saying that the mods here are not fair, but there is a trick to being impartial. You have to put aside your own feelings...you don't have feelings anymore. They're a luxury you don't have. Your job as a moderator is to keep things going in line with the site's guidelines. Your job is not to take sides. Moderators do not have opinions; users do. You should not cross moderatorship and general user postings.

What is rampant in this forum at the moment is people are getting their backs up, and there is a clear rift forming between users and mods. To solve that there needs to be some serious integrity. The moderators need to stand firm as a united front, and make their rules & guidelines CLEAR and TRANSPARENT. When that is done, people can accept bans etc because the moderators are just following their guidelines. But at the moment there is a serious lack of definition.

This forum needs a charter overhaul NOW. Not in the future, not maybe possibly, but definitely right now. It needs to be done in a thread like this, reviewed and finalised by the new year if this site is to have any hope of recovering. More users are disappearing, and that is going to become irrepairable.

Actually, let me hit home for a second. If this forum dies, you (Boards) will lose the revenue of the Retailers and Sites - it will no longer be an attractive form of advertising when there is no reason for anyone to frequent this forum. This gives incentive to fix the problem, and it is a problem that needs fixing. It needs action - talking is fine, I'm all for it. But there needs to be solid action taken pretty much immediately, and publically. No point in hiding what people need to know.

When things change, then we can work on repairing. What we need is to start from scratch, and sort literally everything. These things aren't quick fixes, and hey, people might leave. But it really does need to be put to work now. If I were running this show, I would draft up a new charter, adapt the site rules and make them specific, and draft up clear moderator guidelines etc, so that people know what constitutes an 'Abuse of Power' etc. I would try to do all of these steps, and then as a moderator I would ask the users if they would prefer I continued to moderate, or stepped down (I have done this in the past, and have not once been asked to rescind my position) - why? Because it instills confidence in the forum.

You know what? this is a great idea.

Start a thread on it and I'll sticky it - I'll also ask the mods to keep out (including me) It would be really interesting to see what the everyone thinks the rules *should* be.

hrta

Steve wrote: »

You know what? this is a great idea.

Start a thread on it and I'll sticky it - I'll also ask the mods to keep out (including me) It would be really interesting to see what the everyone thinks the rules *should* be.

You could always use the same rules as on an airsoft site, as a lot of the rule's would work in here too.

Paul.

hrta

I think any one that is going to post, they should have a good long read from Inari post.

Inari wrote: »

Airsoft is a game based on the honour system - but I think there is a grey area, not on what constitutes a Hit, but rather what is the 'Honour' system?

It is most commonly explained as "If you think you're hit, you're hit" - but I don't think this goes far enough. What I think is that the honour system needs to be plugged with some ego & arrogance - you should have Pride in your Integrity. Afterall, honour is integral to the game.

According to Encarta Dictionary, the word honour means:
Personal Integrity, Respect, Dignity, Reputation, Source of Pride, Mark of Distinction and Great Priveledge. These qualities come together, in what we call the Honour System - but I have yet to hear the Honour System be explained; it is more commonly re-stated in context. This does not give people clarity. The honour system is not limited to 'If you think you're hit; you're hit', and is much more complicated than that, or at least that is my perspective.

Allow me to elaborate:
- Personal Integrity: You should be made to feel that it is your responsibility to keep a level head, and play fair (i.e. according to the rules). This means that you should retain a degree of controll over yourself, and that you continue to conduct yourself in a manner befitting you're integrity. You should be made feel that how you play reflects YOU as a PERSON. If you are sure you hit someone, and they have not acknowledged it, you should be able to note it, and not make a deal out of it - shouting out "Take your hits" is just aggressive, and counter productive...in short, a big downer. If you are hit, you should again feel that you are representing yourself - so show yourself as you would like to be seen; if you are hit, then show off your integrity.

- Respect & Dignity: Everyone who plays the game of Airsoft is a person, and is thus equal (on a broad spectrum, in terms of Human Rights etc). I think respect for the others in the Game should also be pushed - without them, you wouldn't have a game as we know it, you'd just be plinking on your own. You should respect your team; your behaviour in relation to Integrity and adherance to the rules reflects on them. You should also respect your opponents and give them the benefit of the doubt - if you think you hit them, then ou can respectfully disagree...but please remember that respectfully disagreeing is not shouting 'TAKE YOUR HITS!!' - that phrase just causes more problems, and doesn't solve anything. You should also respect yourself, and thus conduct yourself in a dignified manner - take a step back, look at your behaviour/playing and see would you be happy to play against yourself...if not, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong.

- Reputation: This is probably the biggest one that should be pushed - the one that is closest to the good old ego; your reputation. You should be made to feel that your conduct in the games affects your reputation - do you want to be known as the testosterone-fuelled ass that shouts aggressively at people to take their hits, when they're not taking theirs...or do you want to be known as the nice, respectful player who adds to the game by following the rules and treating those around him/her with respect.

These are my thoughts - feel free to disagree & discuss; I just decided to post them to see if A) They spur some Airsoft-related talk & to see what you guys think. For me the Honour System is a big deal - it is what makes Airsoft so great, and also what turns a lot of games 'Bad'

Shiva

Trojan wrote: »

Reviewing the PMs again, I've decide I was overly harsh with 6 months and I'm downgrading it to a 1 month ban.

Right - I stayed away from this until I knew the real story, because I didn't want to wade in with my size eleven's and get it all wrong.

Firstly......If you banned him for calling a mod a cuntlog, you need to unban him. He posted that comment in the Off Topic thread, and took a week off for it. He DID NOT use that term in the PM - the moderator he was discussing the matter with quoted the original post from the Off Topic thread, but made a balls of using the QUOTE TAGS. So in effect, he's been banned twice for the same offense, having already served the ban, come back and been banned again.

Secondly, and in my opinion, most importantly.....The only "abuse" given to the moderator in the PM was that he called him an "eejit". Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way you would have been drawn into this is because the mod reported the PM as being abusive - KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE WORD "EEJIT" WAS THE EXTENT OF THE ABUSE.

Am I the only one who thinks that reporting a PM as abusive because you've been called an eejit is absolutely ridiculous ?

And that folks, is what's wrong with this forum. Incompetent, reactionary and personalised moderation.

To hell with it - I've avoided talking about the elephant in the room up until now, but I've had enough. The simple fact is, the moderation here lacks credibility because to a large number of users, the moderators lack credibility.

The solution isn't more rules, or more leniancy, or any other half-arsed appeasements you guys care to throw to us plebes. No matter what changes are agreed on in this thread, any improvements will be shortlived, because sooner or later the incompetence will emerge again, and we'll be right back at square one.

Lads, and you both know who you are - you're both dead nice guys, but you haven't a ****ing clue how to moderate this forum, so please, step down before you do any more harm.

Steve - you seem to be doing a fine job without knowing the various personalities involved - your experience is showing. Why not appoint another two mods from outside the airsoft forum, who have experience, at least for a few months to allow things settle down ?

Because as it stands, this place is a shambles, and I'm speaking as someone who's been around Boards since the very beginning, and has been it's evangelist when people talked about moving en mass to other forums.

Enough is enough. Do something.

Inari

Done.

senordingdong

Shiva wrote: »

Right - I stayed away from this until I knew the real story, because I didn't want to wade in with my size eleven's and get it all wrong.

Firstly......If you banned him for calling a mod a cuntlog, you need to unban him. He posted that comment in the Off Topic thread, and took a week off for it. He DID NOT use that term in the PM - the moderator he was discussing the matter with quoted the original post from the Off Topic thread, but made a balls of using the QUOTE TAGS. So in effect, he's been banned twice for the same offense, having already served the ban, come back and been banned again.

Secondly, and in my opinion, most importantly.....The only "abuse" given to the moderator in the PM was that he called him an "eejit". Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way you would have been drawn into this is because the mod reported the PM as being abusive - KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE WORD "EEJIT" WAS THE EXTENT OF THE ABUSE.

Am I the only one who thinks that reporting a PM as abusive because you've been called an eejit is absolutely ridiculous ?

And that folks, is what's wrong with this forum. Incompetent, reactionary and personalised moderation.

To hell with it - I've avoided talking about the elephant in the room up until now, but I've had enough. The simple fact is, the moderation here lacks credibility because to a large number of users, the moderators lack credibility.

The solution isn't more rules, or more leniancy, or any other half-arsed appeasements you guys care to throw to us plebes. No matter what changes are agreed on in this thread, any improvements will be shortlived, because sooner or later the incompetence will emerge again, and we'll be right back at square one.

Lads, and you both know who you are - you're both dead nice guys, but you haven't a ****ing clue how to moderate this forum, so please, step down before you do any more harm.

Steve - you seem to be doing a fine job without knowing the various personalities involved - your experience is showing. Why not appoint another two mods from outside the airsoft forum, who have experience, at least for a few months to allow things settle down ?

Because as it stands, this place is a shambles, and I'm speaking as someone who's been around Boards since the very beginning, and has been it's evangelist when people talked about moving en mass to other forums.

Enough is enough. Do something.

Sums it up pretty much.

fayer

Shiva wrote: »

Right - I stayed away from this until I knew the real story, because I didn't want to wade in with my size eleven's and get it all wrong.

Firstly......If you banned him for calling a mod a cuntlog, you need to unban him. He posted that comment in the Off Topic thread, and took a week off for it. He DID NOT use that term in the PM - the moderator he was discussing the matter with quoted the original post from the Off Topic thread, but made a balls of using the QUOTE TAGS. So in effect, he's been banned twice for the same offense, having already served the ban, come back and been banned again.

Secondly, and in my opinion, most importantly.....The only "abuse" given to the moderator in the PM was that he called him an "eejit". Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way you would have been drawn into this is because the mod reported the PM as being abusive - KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE WORD "EEJIT" WAS THE EXTENT OF THE ABUSE.

Am I the only one who thinks that reporting a PM as abusive because you've been called an eejit is absolutely ridiculous ?

And that folks, is what's wrong with this forum. Incompetent, reactionary and personalised moderation.

To hell with it - I've avoided talking about the elephant in the room up until now, but I've had enough. The simple fact is, the moderation here lacks credibility because to a large number of users, the moderators lack credibility.

The solution isn't more rules, or more leniancy, or any other half-arsed appeasements you guys care to throw to us plebes. No matter what changes are agreed on in this thread, any improvements will be shortlived, because sooner or later the incompetence will emerge again, and we'll be right back at square one.

Lads, and you both know who you are - you're both dead nice guys, but you haven't a ****ing clue how to moderate this forum, so please, step down before you do any more harm.

Steve - you seem to be doing a fine job without knowing the various personalities involved - your experience is showing. Why not appoint another two mods from outside the airsoft forum, who have experience, at least for a few months to allow things settle down ?

Because as it stands, this place is a shambles, and I'm speaking as someone who's been around Boards since the very beginning, and has been it's evangelist when people talked about moving en mass to other forums.

Enough is enough. Do something.

Well said.

Airsoft Reloded

Have to agree with Tony, any time I listen to people complain about boards it is about the mods (and the back seat mods), now thats more about the new people. When I listen to regulars its always unfair or uneven modding and I've noticed that myself with some distastefull threads about our site that were left open and not modded at all.

That said what can we expect boards to do? If its worked by people giving their free time then your gonna get bad quality in modding and if they have to pay mods then its not viable.

I think that certain mod should be let go and a policy (in house and behind closed doors obviously) to deal with poor modding should be established.

I also believe that the whole airsoft fora is to partitioned and some things are just thick, like the "experiences/advice with airsoft retailers thread" ignoring the name you can't actually say anything bad which defeats the purpose.

But all that said again the worste thing about boards has always been the fact that so many people take it so serious.

The_ChiefDUB

Bang on the money Shiva.

Shiva wrote: »

Right - I stayed away from this until I knew the real story, because I didn't want to wade in with my size eleven's and get it all wrong.

Firstly......If you banned him for calling a mod a cuntlog, you need to unban him. He posted that comment in the Off Topic thread, and took a week off for it. He DID NOT use that term in the PM - the moderator he was discussing the matter with quoted the original post from the Off Topic thread, but made a balls of using the QUOTE TAGS. So in effect, he's been banned twice for the same offense, having already served the ban, come back and been banned again.

Secondly, and in my opinion, most importantly.....The only "abuse" given to the moderator in the PM was that he called him an "eejit". Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way you would have been drawn into this is because the mod reported the PM as being abusive - KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE WORD "EEJIT" WAS THE EXTENT OF THE ABUSE.

Am I the only one who thinks that reporting a PM as abusive because you've been called an eejit is absolutely ridiculous ?

And that folks, is what's wrong with this forum. Incompetent, reactionary and personalised moderation.

To hell with it - I've avoided talking about the elephant in the room up until now, but I've had enough. The simple fact is, the moderation here lacks credibility because to a large number of users, the moderators lack credibility.

The solution isn't more rules, or more leniancy, or any other half-arsed appeasements you guys care to throw to us plebes. No matter what changes are agreed on in this thread, any improvements will be shortlived, because sooner or later the incompetence will emerge again, and we'll be right back at square one.

Lads, and you both know who you are - you're both dead nice guys, but you haven't a ****ing clue how to moderate this forum, so please, step down before you do any more harm.

Steve - you seem to be doing a fine job without knowing the various personalities involved - your experience is showing. Why not appoint another two mods from outside the airsoft forum, who have experience, at least for a few months to allow things settle down ?

Because as it stands, this place is a shambles, and I'm speaking as someone who's been around Boards since the very beginning, and has been it's evangelist when people talked about moving en mass to other forums.

Enough is enough. Do something.

Stercus Accidit

Shiva wrote: »

....

Well said,

Here,

Any chance of an Eirsoft forum?

Shiva

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Well said,

Here,

Any chance of an Eirsoft forum?

I own www.airsoft.ie

I've actually considered it. It'd take a hell of a lot of effort to make it viable though.
Boards.ie as an entity is the foremost discussion forum in the country - it'd be very hard to attract regular users to a new airsoft forum. Its been tried a few times by various people, and nothing has come of it.

fayer

Shiva wrote: »

I own www.airsoft.ie

I've actually considered it. It'd take a hell of a lot of effort to make it viable though.
Boards.ie as an entity is the foremost discussion forum in the country - it'd be very hard to attract regular users to a new airsoft forum. Its been tried a few times by various people, and nothing has come of it.

DO IT!