JD62's complaint...

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Muffle muffle muffle fancy meeting you here darling he says to the upturned mop in the darkened room
Helllllllllllllllllllppppppp get me outta herrrrrrrrrrre!

 

[NothingClever]

Sigh...another person who can’t handle his internet turns to cyberspace self-immolation as his only method of decompression.

 

[Ghost95]

Being able to disagree here and have a discussion is what a FORUM is about. Take the Got To Have Insurance thread.. For the most part a subject people are very passionate about is still relatively civil.

I'm not going to say I will agree with all your decisions but for the majority of the time, well done. This is from someone who has had a post or two removed and been locked out of a thread...that was a fun one.

 

[The Chairman]

This is from someone who has had a post or two removed and been locked out of a thread

I remember you! No, no, I really don't. When I meet people on a dive boat it's almost overwhelmingly positive... and it can be a bit embarrassingly so. But every now and then there's a confrontation about someone who's post back in 2006 was deleted and he really wanted to know why!!! Wow. I am not involved in most of the moderating decisions and I certainly am not going to remember one over ten years ago. To be completely transparent, I've had more posts deleted than anyone else. I try to remember when my mods tell me I'm not allowed in certain threads, but sometimes I mess up and they delete me again. I love my mods. They don't seem to show favoritism and some people aren't used to that. I depend on it.

 

[Ghost95]

Being locked out was no big deal. Maybe i even deserved it. The other guy got banned so it's all good.

 

[formernuke]

Being able to disagree here and have a discussion is what a FORUM is about. Take the Got To Have Insurance thread.. For the most part a subject people are very passionate about is still relatively civil.

I'm not going to say I will agree with all your decisions but for the majority of the time, well done. This is from someone who has had a post or two removed and been locked out of a thread...that was a fun one.

Best I've done is being the instatagor that got one moved to the pub

 

[Zef]

I have lost count of how many posts of mine have been deleted. Upon personal reflection afterwards I could understand why they may have been deleted, and there are some that I am surprise were not.

I would like to add the following:

1. SB is a privately owned entity...one does not have nor should they expect the right to absolute freedom of expression here. The TOS, whether one reads it or not, serves as fair warning of the conduct expected of those who use SB.

2. Some moderators come across as a bit heavier handed than others and others can be gruff in how they pursue their moderating efforts.

3. From the user perspective, from mine at least, sometimes there are thoughts expressed in a post that gets moderated that are totally lost by deletion....there are things that I have written that I have no problem with them being removed from the discussion thread but wish I had a copy of what I wrote if nothing more than to reflect on it....

...but I understand that giving someone a time-warning to copy their text adds a level of burden to the already burdensome task that moderating an expansive discussion forum, like SB, is.

-Z

 

[The Chairman]

I could understand why they may have been deleted, and there are some that I am surprise were not.

While some moderations are so obvious that we take immediate action if we see it. However, we normally wait until someone reports a post before we take a look at it.

Some moderators come across as a bit heavier handed than others and others can be gruff in how they pursue their moderating efforts.

Not all mods are from the US. Their culture can be a bit different and English may not be their first or primary language. This can have unintended and hilarious results. One mod, many moons ago, had a problem with a user who posted about a "puddle jumper". Most of us know this as a synonym for sea plane, but if you look in the wrong areas of Google, it's a sex act. Yeah, he sent a nastigram to the 'offending' user and hilarity ensued. Of course, most things a mod does can be just as easily undone.

SB is a privately owned entity

While I own the domain and maintain the site, I certainly don't own the community. I make certain to keep the finance side and the moderating as seperate as possible. I don't ever recall making a decision because it would help me financially. Hell, I even banned an advertiser and I've lost the business of two because I wouldn't delete posts that criticised them. Meh. Money isn't everything and if you could see my bank account you'd see it's next to nothing!

Most people on SB are nice and it shows. For those who aren't nice, we ask them to be at least civil. Bigotry, threats and violence are our hot buttons. We don't care if you're wrong unless it's really dangerous. We do care that you don't get into a bicker battle as they are almost always off topic. If someone is upsetting you, report the post. We'll take a look and either do something with the post... or not, if we think you're being a bit too sensitive.

 

[Zef]

While I own the domain and maintain the site, I certainly don't own the community. I make certain to keep the finance side and the moderating as seperate as possible. I don't ever recall making a decision because it would help me financially. Hell, I even banned an advertiser and I've lost the business of two because I wouldn't delete posts that criticised them. Meh. Money isn't everything and if you could see my bank account you'd see it's next to nothing!

The idea I was attempting to imply is that within the bounds of however ScubaBoard is defined, there is no " absolute right" to freedom of speech or right to be free from moderation or even censorship...It was a pre-emptive argument, perhaps unclear or even a poor one, aimed at our star spangled brethren.

-Z

 

[The Chairman]

The idea I was attempting to imply

Oh, I got what you were getting at. I was just clarifying it for you... and them. Mostly them. I will often use comments such as yours as a point of reference to inform people how we do things.

Most of our newer users are used to FaceBook where moderation is essentially nonexistent. They surround themselves mostly with friends and acquaintances that think if much the same way that they do. This creates a virtual echo-chamber where they all seem to dive the same and have similar equipment. When they show up here, they are exposed to fairly experienced divers from around the world where things may not be done like they are in Mayberry. Sometimes, the "But, I was taught..." defence kicks in and a tribal war ensues. This can lead to intense bicker battles between contestents where they are extremely successful at posting right past each other. We try to reach them before they spin out of control and leave in a huff (or was it a Toyota?). The hardest concept to internalize is that comments about an idea or piece of gear is fine. Comments about the users are often not.

[

"You're stupid for wearing split fins": Bad!

"Split fins are stupid": Fine, albeit a bit blunt.​

Of course, how blunt you can depends on the forum you're in. Not so much in the learning zones, but go over to our caving section and we loosen up that standard significantly.