[fuzzywolly]

Rather than write a long essay here I am going to keep this short and to the point.

Lately we have had a lot of members disrespecting new members as well as new members disrespecting other members. We need to keep in mind that new members might break a rule or two, simply because they are new. Everyone deserves a chance to get aquainted with the forum, and it is our job to help them out. We need to act professional here, and be the respectful and helpful members we have always been.

So for now on, if you have nothing to add to the thread, and are simply going to flame and rant a thread, then don't bother posting. If you feel a person has broken the rules, press the "report to mod" button. We typically do not hand out warnings for people who have been reported. It really just gives us notice that we need to take care of something/inform the user what rule they broke. It is much easier to hear this from a mod than a sassy member.

Thanks fellas, and let's keep things under control.

 

[metallicafatcat]

. We need to keep in mind that new members might break a rule or two, simply because they are new. Everyone deserves a chance to get aquainted with the forum, and it is our job to help them out.

Not going to disagree with you because I KNOW I'm the main offender. However, I'll disagree with you on what I have quoted. Yes, the may break a rule or two, but that's going to happen. However, when people blatantly break rules such as not using solid grammar and spelling intentionally, not making an intro post, and posting in the FS ads in the Commerce section without an approval is just being lazy. It's there in the rules and should be followed. Look at your own signature, you link to the rules and say rules are rules. Personally, I think there's been a change in you from when you first started being a mod. From more active to a more passive style of moderating. But that's me. Simple things we can all deal with such as the occasional miss spelling error (I know I'm guilty of it). Maybe you did make an example out of someone. I'm not a particular fan of the warning system. Your warning (IMO) is when you click the little box that says you've read and agreed to the rules/terms of agreement. There's a time and a place for soft moderating and the same for a more strict style. I really do like these forums (second most visited) but it drives me absolutely nuts when someone decides to not follow the rules because they just feel like it. You guys (mods and admins) do a lot to attempt to keep the forums clean. First infractions (again, IMO) should be a 12hr ban (maybe 24hrs, I know can't go four hours without checking this forum) and a strict warning from the moderators. There hasn't been too many cases of this, but maybe some more active moderating would help deter this completely. And if you decide to start, and can find something to hit me with a non-permanent ban, I commend you on doing it (should you choose so.) I think I'll get off the soap box there.

 

[fuzzywolly]

I understand what you are saying, but being on several different forums, I can say with confidence that this forum is very "unique" from the rest. Most forums do not have rules about being a member for a certain time period before posting in the commerce section. Some do not have rules pertaining to grammar and punctuation neither. While it is recommended/strongly encouraged to read the rules, most people skim and scan. That is human nature. Therefore, new members are going to miss stuff, and need a bit of guidance in the right direction. Most of the time, they learn quick. However, a few cases have lead to bans due to the stubborness of certain members. But that was after several altercations, flame posts, and hate mail towards us mods. I can honestly say I have never banned a member unless they have done nothing but bad things. Members new and old should not fear the "ban hammer" as its not something we like to do. We resort to that when we mods feel the forum is suffering much damage from this particular member.

That is where it is our job to help new members get aquanted. While it would be easier to just have the rules be read when they have to be read, that is just not going to happen every single time. I will admit, I am not happy when I see someone break the rules. However, it makes me happy to know that we have another member on the boards who can hopefully contribute/learn much on the forum. I try my best to help new members in a calm manner.

I also see what you are saying in regards to my change in moderating. However, I have since taken most of it to the PM's. I have had several altercations with members who have sent me nasty PM's and the such. I have dealt with them accordingly, and most of them have been relieved of their member status. I don't take pleasure in yelling/moderating to moderate. I volunteered to do so to help keep the forum clean and professional. I will take control when I feel is necessary but for the most part I simply need to hand out some advice, not a warning.

I understand where you are coming from, but if you can take your passion for this forum and change your posts to a more constructive manner, I think we can all benefit from that.

 

[tarmageddon]

Hi,

Whilst you're on the subject I also want to bring up something I feel is quite important here based on personal experience.

I know the rules about punctuation and grammar are there to make the board more professional, and I wholly agree that people who are simply too lazy to press the shift key before the letter I should be asked to be a little more attentive.

Sometimes, however it is important to find out a little about people before getting too heavy with the sarcasm or warnings. I was once a member of another forum which had similar rules about keeping the English language clean and my brother was keen to join also. He is quite heavily dyslexic and in his intro/application post the spelling and grammar was pretty seriously messed up.

My little bro isn't lazy, he literally has no idea that what he is typing is wrong. I am not saying it would happen here but he was met with responses such as "no way are you 24, more like 4, did your mum not teach you to read and write" and when he tried to explain he was dyslexic they berated him further for not thinking to use a spell checker. Trouble is that when you type everything in absolute pheonetics even a spell checker has no idea what you are trying to say!!

The result of course was that my brother was pretty upset, effectively having being mocked for being disabled and he thought that my friends on the forum (who were actually pretty decent guys) were a total bunch of d**cks.

What I am saying here is that I would hate the same to happen here, either through someone being dyslexic or even someone with a poor grasp of the English language (the pitfalls of having internationally the best forum in its field!) so it is always important to find out WHY someone is making the mistakes they make, before getting too heavily into berating or punishing them for it.

Peace.

T

 

[metallicafatcat]

Only thing I have against is if you make an exemption for one person, everyone is going to want one.

 

[inthetallgrass]

Well no, exemptions from people who have a VALID excuse like Tarmageddons little bro. Like if someone is from Greece (Several members , Yugoslavia (If it still exists) or taiwan their grammar isn't comparable to ours so I beleive in exceptions there, but not with the capitol eye and stuff.
Like - I went to yesterday shop was good it was. - if there foreign it'll make sense to them and anyone else will get what they mean, but to English speaking countries make no exceptions besides the odd mistake that everyone maked. <<<Intentional lol.

 

[dutton]

I (we) understand that English isn't the primary, hell, not even secondary language for some people on these forums. It can be confusing to read sometimes, but people are not going to be punished when they're doing their best. Obviously, it's a bit harder to tell if people don't enter their location, though.

 

[fuzzywolly]

This is one of the reasons I do not hand out warnings immediately when a new member breaks a rule. I love the fact that we have people from all over the world on this board, and understand that not everyone is fluent in the English language. However, most of the time, the people who get warnings are the ones that speak English as a first language and are just too lazy to fix up their posts.

But this was not the reason for this thread. This is about respecting each other. Something that has been lacking for a few weeks now.

 

[blackfoot1]

Guests and new members tend to take the brunt of the "abuse" on this site.
A lot of the members on here, who have been around for a while, seem to think of themselves as mods... This is when the trouble starts.
It's too easy for a member to jump down someones throat (without realizing they are being a little abrupt or harsh) for not using punctuation or for some other minor reason, rather than leaving it to a mod to handle.
I have done it myself from time to time, but I always try to answer any questions first and then end my post with a quick note to say "have a read of the rules".
It was this thread that made me post this
http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/phpBB/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=2813
That guest ran screaming from this site because the thread got so confused no one new who was talking to who or about what.
In future, I think it might be a good idea if we all either answer the OP's question or just sit there and shut up.

 

[woogie]

The big thing to remember about the Internet, is that it is just that..... the Internet.

I have seen it to many times, where people come on and try to act like the "big guy" and will try and make others feel like crap.


We all come from different walks of life, as well as from all over the world. So to get on someone is really foolish. You don't know if you are talking to a 9 year old or a 89 year old. It doesn't matter but you need to show respect in order to get it.

I have seen it on other forums far to often..... " do my work for me because I don't want to". I have jumped on a few people that do this, but then I send them a pm and help them out with the question that they had, and try to help them narrow it down.

Now while it is sad that people do leave because they think that we are jumping all over them, it may be for the better. Because if they can't take some criticism then this may not be the place for them. Case in point was the thread that you linked Blackfoot. He took everything wrong, and was making everyone else out to be the bad guys. To me people like this lack the maturity to be on a forum with such high standards. If you don't like it you can leave and go else where.

I for one extremely like this forum, especially for the strict rules and the fact that they are enforced. I would hate to see this site turn into another "ASR or ASF". Where certain mods run around and jump on a few people, and then turn around and do the same thing. As well as having people just post up not needed threads just to rank up their post count.

The reviews, and mods that people do on this forum are great. And especially the way that they write them up. Very nice and concise and to the point. Many pictures when able, and we are always willing to help people and get them to where they need to be, as long as they do some of the work them selves.

You look on many other forums you see people trying to do the same, and they can't write up what they are doing, or trying to do. And if they do it just about always seems to be a load of gibberish. Now saying that there are a few people that write up some good reviews and what not. But for the most part you see people post up info that you can find just about anywhere and are not really needing to post.


Sorry to kind of go on a rant.... but that is the way I look at it and think everything should stay the same. If you can't keep to the standard then you should be let go. Much the same at a job.

Especially since we do have people from around the world posting. And I don't think I have seen anyone jump on another member from somewhere other than the US for a weird type up. We all know that when you are translating from another language things are not always going to "mesh" well. And sometimes things get mixed around and what not.

But we all know that and are more than willing to help people just the same. BUT when you are from the US and you can't type the proper way...... then something needs to be done.

 

[inthetallgrass]

Well said woogie. People do need to learn to take criticism etc. When I see someone not capitolizing (wow I am terrible at spelling today sorry) their I's I would just say (We capitalize our I's here to make everything nicer to read ) But I have seen people who jump down others throats straight away, sometimes even if English isn't their first language. That isn't necessary.

One other thing is people complaining they are getting bullied when others disagree with them. Everyone is entitled to voice their opinion and I feel compelled to do so on nearly every post so people need to be able to take criticism or questions.

 

[defgun]

I will give an infinite +1 to being tolerant of people who don't know fluent English. Some of us are blessed to have English as a first language, as it is one of, if not the hardest languages for a foreign speaker to learn. Our spelling is not phonetic, we have tons of grammar rules and even more exceptions, odd verb conjugation, and pesky verbal particles and helping verbs. That's not counting all of the slang an colloquialisms that are considered "Standard English".

My experience is that when people are polite and tolerant of people who are still learning a language and correct them in a civil manner, it makes all the difference in the world. Especially when they're learning a difficult language (Russian, in my case: English, in the ones mentioned here).

And, I'm also glad that the mods here don't have a reign of self-gratifying terror like certain other forums. It makes it much easier to enjoy interacting with others.

 

[inthetallgrass]

Yes + 1 to you def guun. If you make a mistake you are politely corrected (any mistake now, meaning a fact about a gun or spelling etc.) instead of being told to GTFO.

 

[defgun]

Exactly. It's patience and tolerance that keep a community going.

Let us not forget what "forum" used to mean: A place of discussion. A place where intelligent people gathered to civilly discuss things. I have pretty high hopes for what an internet forum could be, but at the very least, people should maintain a civil disposition.

That being said, we should have a warning about the rumor mill (which I've fallen victim to) and sources of misinformation (ditto) in the Beginner's section. Perhaps dispel a few major rumors (BAR-10 is the best stock sniper rifle there is, UTG L96 is a total waste of money, etc, etc) and have a general warning about airsoft's many, many rumors.

 

[jamface54]

Perhaps non-English speaking members should put a little comment on their profile (eg: where inthetallgrass has written quick-scoping is gay) and if they get something wrong then we can correct them or ignore it, depending on it's severity.

 

[inthetallgrass]

Perhaps non-English speaking members should put a little comment on their profile (eg: where inthetallgrass has written quick-scoping is gay) and if they get something wrong then we can correct them or ignore it, depending on it's severity.

That is a good idea.

 

[dutton]

Perhaps non-English speaking members should put a little comment on their profile (eg: where inthetallgrass has written quick-scoping is gay) and if they get something wrong then we can correct them or ignore it, depending on it's severity.

That is a good idea.

There is an option in your profile already to post your location. It can be seen in the lower left corner of your post, in the statistics listing. Most people just don't use it for whatever reason.

 

[defgun]

Most people have Internet-phobia. They think that one piece of personal information posted on the internet will allow anyone to find out everything about them, while they'll send a letter through public mail with their street address in plain sight with no fear.

Hence, it may be a good idea for non-English speakers to have a small "disclaimer" in their sig or "comment" area. That being said, we could just be tolerant of everyone's mistakes, so as to allow non-English speakers to go about their business normally.

 

[fuzzywolly]

That being said, we could just be tolerant of everyone's mistakes, so as to allow non-English speakers to go about their business normally.

Heavens no.

 

[jamface54]

I am now a man with UK on his profile.