Thread closed due to moderator's opinion on subject being different

Hammered hippie

This thread was closed for unjust reasons as far as I am concerned.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2056351932

It is sad to see moderators so convinced of untouchability of their own opinion that they accuse forum members with a differing opinion of being trolls, make condescending remarks about forum users and their forum name and basically gang up on forum members with their peers within a specific forum.
I was of the opinion that the role of the moderator was to prevent all the bad behaviour above.

My thread was a valid discussion with different members contributing different opinions. The only thing possibily wrong with my thread was the fact that the moderator did not agree with my point of view, hardly a reason to shut it down.

Spear

Moved from DRP, as it doesn't meet the current definition of DRP since there's no ban or infraction involved. Also corrected the prefix.

Tom Dunne

I think the moderator, Su Campu articulates quite clearly in the closing post the reasons for closing the thread and I agree with him.

Hammered hippie

@Tom Dunne

I was not complaining about a lack of clarity. It is crystal clear why he closed the thread...he simply does not agree with my point of view, he does not like the subjects I bring to the forefront and he definitely does not appreciate my kind of wit.
This however does not justify him abusing his power to insult me personally, call me a troll and shut me down, yet allowing others to become really rude.

I would like to understand what standards are common at boards.ie and why the mods are so heavy handed on a public....forum??

Tom Dunne

Hammered hippie wrote: »

This however does not justify him abusing his power to insult me personally, call me a troll and shut me down, yet allowing others to become really rude.

If you could provide specific examples of him insulting your personally, I would appreciate it.

Hammered hippie wrote: »

I would like to understand what standards are common at boards.ie and why the mods are so heavy handed on a public....forum??

Mods are heavy handed, because to be quite honest, they have to be. That is why the forums flourish as they do, free from spam and inappropriate material.

However, in this case, I do not see the mod as being heavy handed.

Hammered hippie

@Tom Dunne

Sorry for my late reply.

In this thread in reaction #3 the moderator uses the following lines:

Yawn, I think your username says it all.

And

I'm inclined to think you're more of a troll looking for a reaction than someone with a genuine opinion. This is obviously another one in the line of ME bashing threads, from someone who really belongs elsewhere. If you have something valid to post then do so, otherwise this thread will go the same way the others have, i.e. Closedville.

Now I think that responding with the assumption that my username says it all is quite insulting. Then the moderator goes on to accuse me most likely being a troll, which is a serious way of putting down and smearing someone’s online profile. The rest of the above mentioned piece has a demeaning tone to it and a threat to just close the thread down.


In your response you say that moderators have to keep their domain free of inappropriate material. Inappropriate material is a very very broad way of describing nearly everything. This is why the description of banned opinions as being...inappropriate material..is also a way censorship is often explained to those suffering from censorship.
I understand that sexually explicit, racist, insulting, etc. etc. material is seen as inappropriate or even illegal and is therefore banned...
But to just mention that inappropriate material has to be moderated potentially covers everything a moderator does not agree with. And that is what we are talking about here...a differing opinion between me and the moderator who clearly closed the thread just because he or she was not agreeing with my point of view.
Then the person in the same thread who calls for banning me is just left alone because that seems to be very appropriate ...calling for a ban of boards members over nothing.

It's my opinion that the moderator did a very bad job in that particular thread being led by his own opinion and the wish to shut down other opinions to a point where people that actually were misbehaving and should have been moderated were just left alone.
Then again..the whole accusing someone of being a troll started with the moderator ...so who can blame people jumping on that bandwagon... Very appropriate all together.

Tom Dunne

Hammered hippie wrote: »

Now I think that responding with the assumption that my username says it all is quite insulting. Then the moderator goes on to accuse me most likely being a troll, which is a serious way of putting down and smearing someone’s online profile. The rest of the above mentioned piece has a demeaning tone to it and a threat to just close the thread down.

I think we will have to disagree on that one. I do not think what you have outlined above is insulting.

Hammered hippie wrote: »

But to just mention that inappropriate material has to be moderated potentially covers everything a moderator does not agree with. And that is what we are talking about here...a differing opinion between me and the moderator who clearly closed the thread just because he or she was not agreeing with my point of view.

If a moderator is running a forum badly, believe me, we hear about it. And not just from one poster, from a number of them. You are just going to have to trust me on this one.

In this particular instance, I think the two of you are having a difference of opinion, I do not think the moderator in question is out of line. I get the impression that this topic has come up over and over again, hence the speed with which it was closed. That is something moderators do.

Hammered hippie wrote: »

It's my opinion that the moderator did a very bad job in that particular thread being led by his own opinion and the wish to shut down other opinions to a point where people that actually were misbehaving and should have been moderated were just left alone.
Then again..the whole accusing someone of being a troll started with the moderator ...so who can blame people jumping on that bandwagon... Very appropriate all together.

Perhaps I could suggest a different tone when discussing what appears to be a contentious issue? As in, give your argument more weight by being serious and not making what you perceive as witty comments. In a text based medium such as Boards.ie, sometimes subtle humour does not come through as intended.