To moderate or dictate???

[DonJuan]

I'm a member of a few forums (and I'm sure I'm not alone there) and moderate on one.

I am firmly of the opinion that a significant number of moderators get carried away with their "power" - they have the power to moderate, and moderate purely because they can, not because moderation is required.

I haven't read the thread being discussed here, but from the posts made so far, it seems that (as happens way too regularly) a discussion has been locked because of an inappropriate argument between two members.

In my opinion, in circumstances like that, the solution is to ban the argumentative members (to let them cool off) and allow the discussion to continue. If it truly was "finished" (other than the argumentative members) then it will drop down the list and disappear. If there was more to be said by others, then let them say it.

My 2c.

Agree with this. Don't put it out there for the people if you don't want the people to have an opinion. Blame the two parties involved.

You seem to have confused VWWatercooled.org.au with some kind of democracy.

Out of their own free will, members can participate within VWWatercooled.org.au in exchange with agreeing with the terms and conditions when they first register.

Thus, within the domain of VWWatercooled.org.au, we are bound by their rules (as long as they're not illegal).

Essentially, the moderators decide how liberal the forum is. But you are of course free to make your own judgement on how liberal this forum is, and that some are more liberal than others.

Have you seen the other moderator who joined in? So the rules are ok for some and not others or are moderators allowed to have and share opinions and then tell others not to. IMO this is not a good way to run things if you are chasing supporters.

Don't get me wrong, Gavin and hawk I have met (sorry I forgot about you earlier Gav). Think they're great. I don't have anything against moderation or the people doing it. Just needs some thought before action.

[Tim]

I'll put you forward Tim if you want.

I dont think I could be trusted with the power to edit posts
I love a laugh far too much for that

[Diesel_vert]

Have you seen the other moderator who joined in? So the rules are ok for some and not others or are moderators allowed to have and share opinions and then tell others not to.

IMO this is not a good way to run things if you are chasing supporters.

Definitely.

But at the end of the day, it's their forum.

Just needs some thought before action.

Society in general would go a long way if everyone did that.

[FJ Steve]

There's plenty of revenue, so that's not a consideration.

Not everything that gets posted is discussion.

Australia is a democracy and looks what that has got us. There's still rules to follow and plenty of Australians that don't like them, me included.

Moderation is a tough thing at times, maybe you guys fancy having a go?

Gavin

I'm an Administrator on a national/international forum already. I know what it's like...but in 5 years of operation, we've never had to issue an infraction, or bring out the banning stick.

I don't fancy having a go......and I don't think that was the KPI that Don Juan posted the thread for in the first place. Many of us acknowledge the responsibilities of the roles....we're just saying...don't get too exuberant with that lock button.

[Blitzen]

I dont think I could be trusted with the power to edit posts
I love a laugh far too much for that

Hahaha, I was a Mod for a while... It was worth it, especially banning Rocket36 for a week, but apparently telling Maverick to perform auto fellatio was doing to far... I learned from that... You can be too forward apparently...

[hooba]

You seem to have confused VWWatercooled.org.au with some kind of democracy.

Out of their own free will, members can participate within VWWatercooled.org.au in exchange with agreeing with the terms and conditions when they first register.

Thus, within the domain of VWWatercooled.org.au, we are bound by their rules (as long as they're not illegal).

Essentially, the moderators decide how liberal the forum is. But you are of course free to make your own judgement on how liberal this forum is, and that some are more liberal than others.

Well said.

I'd also like to add that Corey has gotten much better at moderating over the past few months.

And that Rocket36 has been very well behaved over the past 6 months.

[VW Convert]

Hahaha, I was a Mod for a while... It was worth it, especially banning Rocket36 for a week,

And for that, a knighthood should have been awarded!


Cheers

George

---------- Post added at 10:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------

And that Rocket36 has been very well behaved over the past 6 months.

Agreed, I've actually enjoyed his recent contributions to the forum, his best by far!

Cheers

George

[Transporter]

Here in Australia we are governed by a democracy which essentially allows the people to speak. Why is it then that a forum would over-moderate people sharing opinions in a public gallery. The tuner 'wars' is really a beat up 'mines better than yours' and not a direct insult or attack on anyone personally. If it is, ban those people. To disallow people to participate in a discussion is an absolute crock.

On various other forms I hear bad things about the moderators on this forum and having only met hawk, I can only vouch for him. Top bloke and a great family man. But why must people be banned or face 'infractions' for posting in a public discussion thread on tunes?

Can someone please explain why a forum doesn't allow members to participate in public discussion. If it is a private discussion, send pm's. To see this type of dictatorship is disheartening considering everyone is here to enjoy the VAG experience and learn more.

Wikipedia states "An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages."

Isn’t it easy, when you didn’t want read that thread then simply don’t read it. But no, you wanted to read it and be in there, that’s why you posted there, some posted the information only to fuel the argument. I just moderated it, trying to bring it back on topic and falsely believing that when people are able to post in the forum that they can also read, and as moderator I asked members that were posting in that thread to stay away and let APR and Viezu to arrange the meeting to compare their tunes. That was the purpose of that thread but obviously some members started to post their pieces of minds there, together with the insults and going way off topic.
Is this really what you're in this forum for?
If yes, then let me tell you this and also to answer some of your questions?

Democracy is not anarchy and there are the rules.
Democracy allows you to speak; you have the rights to a free speech but you also have the responsibility (if you know what it means) for what you preach. The same goes for the forums. Remember the Wikileaks?
The forums have the rules, ours have them too. You should read it before you posted, disregarding my request in the APR vs Viezu thread Rules of the Forum
Do you make any difference between discussions and insults? Obviously not.

[Bug_racer]

At the end of the day the whole tuner wars is just a bunch of hype on a few forums
Until there is actual physical racing its useless to compare tunes on cars just by dynos
I have a car being re-tuned for the 4th time , not because it doesnt make power , but because its undriveable in traffic .
The previous 3 tuners were searching for power and it was tuned and dynoed , yet the problem still remained . Sometimes its not just about a peak figure but the overall driving experience , some of which you will not see on a dyno .

[DonJuan]

Actually, seeing how the rules are there for forum sponsors and then they are broken, I can understand why everything got a bit distorted...

"Sponsors will not respond to another Sponsors threads in relation to their products. If you offer a similar or comparable product then create a new thread to promote your own merchandise."

"As a sponsor to this forum you also understand that if you break any of these rules this will result in action being enforced by the Administration team which may result in a temporary suspension of your subscription, or in more serious cases may result in the termination of your sponsorship based upon a consensus agreement of the Administration team."