Expalnation required over thread closure in AH

sunflower27

Hi there

I'd like some feedback please in relation to the closure of a thread I put up in AH yesteday on Eurovision: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056264664

The thread was closed quite quickly by moderator micky dolenz. His somewhat strange reasoning is detailed at the end of the thread.

Now, while I agree the Eurovison is not everyone's cup of tea, it is obviously a topical issue at the moment.

There had been two previous threads on the Eurovision last week regarding Jedward and Ireland's chances and these were allowed to play out and run their course.

I promptly sent a PM to micky asking why he felt the need to close my thread when two previous threads on the topic were deemed suitable for the forum. He replied to me 'which ones?'

I replied back telling him what they were and he replied and said thanks and promptly closed those as well.

I then PM'd micky and said that I did not realise mods had the authority to close threads just because they had no personal interest in them. He replied 'yeah, great isn't it '

I find this totally unacceptable.

I replied making it clear I would follow this up and he replied that he was in fact 'messing' and to feel free to take this further if I wanted to call into question his abuse of mod power - which is what I am doing here. He also 'wished me luck ' in doing so.

Why was a thread on the royal wedding allowed to run in AH?

Why was a thread on the Queen's visit allowed to run?

Surely there is no logical and just reason why all threads relating to Eurovision were suddenly shut down by one lone mod.

The Eurovision is something a lot of people will be watching on Thursday and Saturday and I would like to clear this all up now so that those of us that are planning to watch (and I am sure there will be plenty of us ) can comment on the programme without a moderator exercising his 'power' because he has zero interest in it.

Thank you.

Spear

Moved from DRP, as this doesn't fall under the DRP remit as that covers bans and infractions.

g'em

Hi sunflower27, there's a big thread in the Television forum dedicated to the Eurovision and this is most probably the best place to have that discussion.

As you can imagine there are threads on all sorts of subjects in AH and sometimes there are more appropriate places for them to be discussed, usually because the subject matter will be treated with a little more... decorum? in the local forum.

For topics like the royal Wedding and the Queens' visit which are more "general interest" subjects AH is suitable forum for them to be in, but given that the Eurovision Song Contest is much more of a specialised subject it's reasonable to close threads on it when there is an existing thread in a dedicated forum.

sunflower27

I was told by micky to put a thread in DRP if I had a problem with the closure of the thread.

Thanks for moving it to the right place.

sunflower27

g'em wrote: »

Hi sunflower27, there's a big thread in the Television forum dedicated to the Eurovision and this is most probably the best place to have that discussion.

As you can imagine there are threads on all sorts of subjects in AH and sometimes there are more appropriate places for them to be discussed, usually because the subject matter will be treated with a little more... decorum? in the local forum.

For topics like the royal Wedding and the Queens' visit which are more "general interest" subjects AH is suitable forum for them to be in, but given that the Eurovision Song Contest is much more of a specialised subject it's reasonable to close threads on it when there is an existing thread in a dedicated forum.

Hi g'em

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are saying, but I personally see no reason why a thread on the Eurovision was closed in the way it was. I'd have thought a mod could have shown a bit more decorum.

In light of the fact two other long threads on the topic were allowed, I think the closure was totally out of order.

So, just to make sure I am getting this right, because there is another thread in another on the Eurovision, any thread myself or anyone else starts in AH on the matter will be closed -and a mod can give any explanation he/she likes to do so?

sunflower27

If we are talking about decorum, then surely AH was the last place a thread on the Royal Wedding should have been?

g'em

The Royal Wedding thread was a very successful thread in AH

The thread won't be closed for no reason at all, in this case I'm assuming it was for the reasons I gave above and I'd agree with them - given the volume of threads started in AH the Mods sometimes have to make calls about whether there might be a more suitable place for them, otherwise the forum would be over-run with similar topics that would be best suited elsewhere.

The Mod involved probably could have given you a clearer explanation about why the thread was closed but the Mods in AH (or any forum) don't have a license to close threads for any reason whatsoever, but I'd hazard a guess that this was the reason in this case.

I don't honestly see a need for a Eurovision thread when there's an already existing one in Television tbh

sunflower27

g'em wrote: »

The Royal Wedding thread was a very successful thread in AH

The thread won't be closed for no reason at all, in this case I'm assuming it was for the reasons I gave above and I'd agree with them - given the volume of threads started in AH the Mods sometimes have to make calls about whether there might be a more suitable place for them, otherwise the forum would be over-run with similar topics that would be best suited elsewhere.

The Mod involved probably could have given you a clearer explanation about why the thread was closed but the Mods in AH (or any forum) don't have a license to close threads for any reason whatsoever, but I'd hazard a guess that this was the reason in this case.

I don't honestly see a need for a Eurovision thread when there's an already existing one in Television tbh

Probably could have given me a clearer explanation? Nice.

A decent explanation is all that was needed without all the power-hungry BS on the thread and within PMs.

Am happy that I brought to the attention of others the tone and immaturity he displayed

Micky Dolenz

I didn't close it because I hate it, I closed it because there are a better suited forums where it is being actively discussed.

I explained this to you last night. Don't forget that me and all the other mods on here do this voluntarily. My responses may have been light hearted but I in no way offended you. Unless you see me closing your thread as a personal insult.

And please don't paraphrase me, I actually said "Yeah, it's awesome ain't it. "
There was no smiley, some people call it dry wit.

sunflower27

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I didn't close it because I hate it, I closed it because there are a better suited forums where it is being actively discussed.

I explained this to you last night. Don't forget that me and all the other mods on here do this voluntarily. My responses may have been light hearted but I in no way offended you. Unless you see me closing your thread as a personal insult.

And please don't paraphrase me, I actually said "Yeah, it's awesome ain't it. "
There was no smiley, some people call it dry wit.

The reason you gave for closing the thread on the thread was not a reasonable explanation. It was incredibly rude and dismissive and totally uncalled for.

It took several PMs from me to you to get an explanation for why you were closing it. Surely if you are in the position of a moderator an explanation should be forthcoming from the off, not simply asking me what the other threads are and then going off to close them as well.

Odd that they were allowed to run on page one of AH for several days!!!

I asked you why you closed it in my first PM to you and you were more concerned with closing the other threads.

Your next PM was a ridiculous comment about how awesome your authority was.

Another PM from me and finally you admit you are messing.:rolleyes:

Dry wit? Unprofessional and rude for a moderator who should know by now to treat posters that actually bother to PM you with a bit of respect.

Spear

sunflower27 wrote: »

Dry wit? Unprofessional and rude for a moderator who should know by now to treat posters that actually bother to PM you with a bit of respect.

Of course it's unprofessional, moderators are unpaid volunteers who give up their spare time for the sake of the smooth running of the site. They're also not subject to your demands, you are, after all, a guest on someone elses private website.

Your question has been answered, by both mod and cat mod and this is being closed.