TGC feedback thread

Pawwed Rig

Hey everyone

We thought it was time for us as forum Mods to open a Forum Feedback thread. We had one about 12 months ago and got some lively feedback.

Here's your chance to discuss all that you find great and not so great about TGC. Hopefully there'll be lots more of the former, but please don't be afraid to talk about the latter if it affects you. What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? How do you find the Moderation?

Once a decent amount of time has passed, we'll close the thread and take the points raised back and see what we can do to make the place even better for everyone posting here.

If anyone doesn't feel comfortable posting something attached to their username, then please feel free to PM me (or one of the other mods) your points and I'll post them on your behalf. I'll do this in strictest confidence, and won't tell a soul, not even the other forum Mods. That way we can get everyones voice heard.

Usual rules apply. Criticism is welcome but try and be constructive.

Liam McPoyle

Speaking as someone that pushed for this forums creation, and speaking as a former forum mod, I genuinely think it's running better than ever.

There is a good mix of light and breezey threads along with the more serious ones, debate is generally good natured and sometimes spirited which is welcome. The mods do a good job of striking the balance between letting threads flow while keeping order in place though for the most part that's not required so the posters themselves should be commended for that.

Some disruptive influences are no longer active in the forum and I do think this has had a positive effect on the more contentious threads.

While I don't post nearly as much as I used to, I am a daily reader of the forum and enjoy it for the most part.

One thing I will say however that may be construed as negative is that there are only 2 of the forum mods that are regular contributors. I'm of the belief that a mod of a forum should have a regular presence. Now that's a Boards wide opinion I hold so it's not forum specific.

Aside from that though I really have nothing bad to say.

Jolly good show!

Panthro

I think yer all doing a splendid job folks.
As said the place has been tidied up and the forum is better for it I reckon.
Good mix of threads, good contributers, good times.

Beercat!

Panthro

Perhaps sticky this thread, make it easier to find/see etc.

awec

This post has been deleted.

CastorTroy

And unstuck.

Ever since you got rid of those 2 mods I find everything's grand.

Seriously though, I've only been passing through here lately and can't see any issues with the place. Though it has been quieter. But that seems to be boards wide.

Oh and thanks for all the work.

Knex*

All seems good to me.

Carry on! :pac:

Pawwed Rig

CastorTroy wrote: »

And unstuck.

Yeah I unstuck it for a while coz I think often the stickies at the top (or bottom) are ignored

Pawwed Rig

Anyone else?

Maguined

I would like to see more transparency and direction on the forum.

The charter lists the rules but then additional changes would be listed below as separate posts. This shows the users how the direction of the forum has evolved over time and how the mods have responded to issues the forum was experiencing. The last one of these additional posts explaining rules changes was in 2011.

Last year there was a 12 page feedback thread but we have no indication of what happened as a result of that feedback, the thread was simply closed. I would like to see a post in the charter thread as before indicating what changes were implemented and more importantly the reasons why the mods made those changes and how they hoped the changes would improve things.

Pawwed Rig

Maguined wrote: »

Last year there was a 12 page feedback thread but we have no indication of what happened as a result of that feedback, the thread was simply closed. I would like to see a post in the charter thread as before indicating what changes were implemented and more importantly the reasons why the mods made those changes and how they hoped the changes would improve things.

Fair point. In general the issues raised last year were around
1. clarity on warnings. Warnings are left up on threads now with details of what the infraction/warning is for.
2. Discussion of topics in particular feminism and its effects - there has been no restriction on these discussions since the feedback thread last year.
3. Involvement of mods in serious threads - New mods were appointed with interests in these threads and existing mods at the time have been posting across the forum.
4. Deletion of posts where threads go off topic - this has not happened since the feedback thread last year.
5. Moderation in general was discussed - there has been a concerted effort by the mods to use a lighter touch. That said we seem to be a magnet for some of the rereg trolls that create account after account so a couple of threads needed heavy moderation in the last couple of months, in particular the thread where the guys girlfriend had hundreds of partners needed heavy moderation.

Anything else you can think of that was raised in the previous thread?

Maguined

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Fair point. In general the issues raised last year were around
1. clarity on warnings. Warnings are left up on threads now with details of what the infraction/warning is for.
2. Discussion of topics in particular feminism and its effects - there has been no restriction on these discussions since the feedback thread last year.
3. Involvement of mods in serious threads - New mods were appointed with interests in these threads and existing mods at the time have been posting across the forum.
4. Deletion of posts where threads go off topic - this has not happened since the feedback thread last year.
5. Moderation in general was discussed - there has been a concerted effort by the mods to use a lighter touch. That said we seem to be a magnet for some of the rereg trolls that create account after account so a couple of threads needed heavy moderation in the last couple of months, in particular the thread where the guys girlfriend had hundreds of partners needed heavy moderation.

Anything else you can think of that was raised in the previous thread?

You got them all covered from what I remembered of last years feedback thread. It might just be me but I do like seeing these changes listed out on the charter thread. I personally find it helpful like a companies annual report stating where they were last year, the actions they implemented and how they view it as positively affecting the outcome of that year.

For example that point 5 of the mods using a lighter touch. I think this was implemented well and has improved the forum as a result but a newcomer to the forum reading the charter alone would not be able to detect that. The charter just lists the rules but the additional posts listing changes to me gives a good indication to the nuance of how the mods are going to apply those rules so the users have a more clear idea of how the mods want the direction of the forum to go.

Soft Falling Rain

Great forum, I don't post much but follow it. If I had one small criticism though it'd be the amount of hair/hair loss threads that seem to be created. There's a good few even in just the first 2 pages of the forum, and the replies seem to be minimal.

I know it's quite an inane issue but I just find it annoying that every time I visit the forum, the first thing I notice are hair threads.

So maybe one superthread with tips and info would be worth a spin?

The Black Oil

There appears to be a greater range of threads and topics in the forum now compared to the last time feedback was collected. This is good to see and reflects well on the community.

Pat Mustard

I like the forum. Well done.

A change that I would like to see is fewer of the men-are-victims type threads.

iptba

The Mustard wrote: »

A change that I would like to see is fewer of the men-are-victims type threads.

If somebody is not interested in a thread, no one forces them to read it.

Shakespeare's Sister

iptba wrote: »

If somebody is not interested in a thread, no one forces them to read it.

Really? This is a feedback thread and you give that generic answer?

IMO nothing wrong with "men are victims" threads, but hostility towards women could be left out of them. Some of the comments towards women of late here are just... wow.

Pat Mustard

iptba wrote: »

If somebody is not interested in a thread, no one forces them to read it.

Nobody is forcing me to read the women-hating threads? Well that's fantastic, because I have no interest in reading them, which is the very reason that I posted.

This is a feedback thread, where people give feedback.

Pawwed Rig

Calm your boots folks. All feedback is welcome

TheBeardedLady

You only have to look down the list of threads in TGC right now to see how hostile the place is to women. Anyone with eyes in their head can see it. And many, maaaaany of the comments are just sickening tbh.

Why don't I report them? Because there's so many and I wouldn't know where to start and mods contribute to those threads, so they know they're there. People get away with blue murder in here that they wouldn't be able to elsewhere.

Nothing gentlemanly about the place imo. You may as well change the place to the MRA forum and be done with it.

That's my feedback, welcome or not.

iptba

I prefer issues, including those where somebody is raising the possibility that men are not fairly treated on the issue, to have separate threads. Having them all corraled into threads covering separate topics means the discussion can be disjointed and one may not get as indepth a discussion on the topic.

This is a response to what is being suggested. I'm happy with the way things are now.

iptba

I think tGC is providing an important forum where men can highlight and discuss issues they are concerned about.

These are often issues they would often not get the opportunity to discuss much or at all with others or, if they did, it would likely only be with a single individual or small group.

skallywag

Is it just me or do a large percentage of the women which come on here to post tend to swear a lot, and generally come across as quite bitter and angry? i.e. when compared to the language used / general behaviour of men which post over on TLL ...

skallywag

TheBeardedLady wrote: »

...You may as well change the place to the MRA forum and be done with it...

MRA

I'm assuming you don't mean anything connected to Magnetic Resonance ...

iptba

skallywag wrote: »

MRA

I'm assuming you don't mean anything connected to Magnetic Resonance ...

Men's Rights Activist (sometimes now called Men's Human Rights Activist). Some people think they're not needed as the feminist and the "equality" movement work for equality :rolleyes:

Seriously?

Personally I think the forum is running fine, though I'm not a fan of mega-threads.

As for the number of mens issues threads, that's a reflection of the interests of the individuals who actively post here.
If people prefer a greater volume of other content, then they need to post it themselves and not attempt to restrict those are actively taking part in the forum.

TheBeardedLady

Seriously? wrote: »

Personally I think the forum is running fine, though I'm not a fan of mega-threads.

As for the number of mens issues threads, that's a reflection of the interests of the individuals who actively post here.
If people prefer a greater volume of other content, then they need to post it themselves and not attempt to restrict those are actively taking part in the forum.

Men's issues should be dealt with and the rights of men are of the utmost importance but misogyny is not acceptable (misandry is not acceptable either and I would never partake in it). There are huge amount of misogynistic posts in this forum that go unpunished and that's the issue I'd have with the forum. I could spend my weekend trawling through and reporting all the offending posts but they're there for all to see (including the mods) and tbh, I'm not bothered. If this forum continued the way it did, it wouldn't affect me as I don't post in here often (too hostile) but it goes against every single charter on Boards so often.

TheBeardedLady

Seriously? wrote: »

Personally I think the forum is running fine, though I'm not a fan of mega-threads.

As for the number of mens issues threads, that's a reflection of the interests of the individuals who actively post here.
If people prefer a greater volume of other content, then they need to post it themselves and not attempt to restrict those are actively taking part in the forum.

Restrict those who are breaking the charter though like anywhere else on Boards, which happens all the time.

Seriously?

TheBeardedLady wrote: »

Restrict those who are breaking the charter though like anywhere else on Boards, which happens all the time.

You can't fault the mod team here, they react to reported posts fairly promptly and have acted upon misogynistic posts here numerous times before.

Anyway I guess this thread isn't really a discussion one.

So I'll exit it with final observation to the mod team of "keep up the good work" and if you're going to review anything perhaps look at splitting out of the mega-threads recurring topics into their own threads.

skallywag

TheBeardedLady wrote: »

There are huge amount of misogynistic posts in this forum that go unpunished and that's the issue I'd have with the forum. I could spend my weekend trawling through and reporting all the offending posts but they're there for all to see (including the mods) and tbh, I'm not bothered.

Why not report such a post as soon as you see it, in only takes 5 seconds. The vast majority of men on this forum don't support this carry on either, an I've reported such posts myself.

Pawwed Rig

Seriously? wrote: »

Personally I think the forum is running fine, though I'm not a fan of mega-threads.

I am not a fan of mega threads either other than the pics one. We don't have any as such other than threads that have been going a long time that people still post to.

What is the difference is the next question!!

Well we don't tend to merge new threads into an existing megathread unless there are two very similar issues that have been posted on within a short space of time.