Do Admins need to Delete, Cut, Censor & Ban?

[BusaNation]

Speaking of dictators, dont run your forum like this guy!(warning funny as hell video about forums and admins):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfgn2lOSx6M&

[1hotbusa]

Hi there,

Congratulations Busgo. I hope that you are able to contribute effectively to the board and it's running. I think a NSW person needed to be appointed to bring a bit of parity to the table in regards to moderation.

However I am still dissapointed that the questions I asked a few days ago have not been answered at all, let alone satisfactorily. Is the go forward position for this forum to censor, and create an environment where nobody can assume that they will receive fair and honest treatment, or be able to defend themselves in any way.

If this is the case, then this forum will have UN peacekeepers running it soon.

[BUSGO]

Sorry Graham, I have reread the posts in this thread and can't find your questions.
However, I have accepted a role as board admin and my stance on censorship remains.

That is that I prefer a totally open forum. BUT, I will only act to censor a post if I think that it brings the club into grave disrepute or causes a serious argument over what I consider to be a non-club related issue.
Every member can PM any other member if they want to personally question a post that offends them in some way and they should do that instead of starting an all out flame fest for no good reason.

A member can justify a stance on any subject without personal threats and this is how it should be.

The forum has been very entertaining to some but very hurtful to others over the past few months and I know that many visitors to the board come here for information and entertainment, not to watch a flame throwing competition, as entertaining as that can be to those not involved.

So I suppose, yes there will be some form of censorship, but only in extreme cases as far as I am concerned.
I hope that clears up your concerns.

[BusaNation]

I know i am a guest here in your house and You cool Aussie Busa guys will solve your issues. Perhaps instead of focusing negative energy into your difference, focus on your commonalities, You guys around the world are known and respected all over the globe and are on the map especially in north America as the best group of guys1!! busa Guys who support eachnother, have a kick ass site and have the best group ride events and get togethers, i wish we could be united like you guys!!_Dont lose that! remeber you guys all love the busa and share the same passion and are this great brotherhood that if only us in NorthAmerica could follow! that in its self gives you an edge and makes you a leader in the busa field!! Cheers Duane I try talking TO people, not AT them! , I currently have the biggest sh*T disturber in all the World on my site, he is banned from every BUsa board out there on the map, no kidding, he is ruthless and has no where to go, when he came to my site, i was like holy sh*T?????? everyone , my team told me to ban him right away!!!! I did not, i will always route for the underdog!, having privaltely exchanged emails and after numerous conversations of me listning and being firm, but respectful, he is a contributing member to my site!!!! He has a new home, he still knows where he stands, however , not being authorative but diplomatic prevailed in this extreme case, and TRUST me , this guy is known as the worst POS in the world on Busa forums and other sites-Duane my .02 and i want the change

[Volvi]

Thx for your words of encouragment BusaNation, its appreciated. Sometimes we can overlook the bigger picture.

I believe our site/forum is the oldest one and still existing. The .org I have seen it change hands a few times and when it went offline for some weeks and months. Ive seen Martins of Germany come and go and he had a good site. The australian board has been running since Nov '99 and we have had our ups and downs but were still here and that in itself I see as a major achievment. We mustnt forget the bigger picture beyond any personal bickering we may have.

[jessie928]

How about this?

Set some rules;

No racism

No personal insults

Limit swearing to a more tolerable level (or at least in context)

Stop using derogatory expletives to describe/denigrate women/minorities/religions etc.

Lock threads that get off topic for more than 6 posts (or move them to a new thread)

Start showing respect towards each other.


Stick to the rules.

Are the people who are going to get pissed off about it, the sort of people who actually have something worthwhile to contribute anyway?
I pretty much drop in (without logging in most times), see all the shit and go back to my "preferred" forum. Sad thing is, when I first got my 'Busa, this WAS my preferred forum. And that was only 9 months ago

this should be a basis for any forum.
if you wanto go ape , set up a section in the forum for flaiming and insults. end of story.

its easy to hide behind keyboards and borders.

JEs

[jessie928]

Guys and Gals, what do you want? Are admins being too lax? Do you want them to be more active?

Do we start deleting posts that we think may be offensive?

Do we delete threads gone to the shits?

Do we want full censoreship?

For now almost 8 years we've asked for self censoreship, ie hold yourself back before slinging shit on another. But lately it seems its a free for all slanging match.

Hey I could always close down the board for a few days or a week, would that help heads to cool down.

What do you want admins to do? Its been too much lately. and now with the new 08 busa out one would have thought theres something new to talk about.

DJ was proposing we introduce a reputation system if someone gets out of hand people put 1 neg point towrds them, if the person gets say 20 negative points then they get banned for a week.

So what say you? Unfortunately there may be 50 opinions but I think we gotta start putting our heavy foot down.

i dont know about the reputation system, but a basic set of rules that outline the realm of behaviour that would be deemed minimal for a human being, should be in place, and those posts/ threads should be moderated. ( after all this is not a flaming forum)

otherwise, people can sign up 50 - mates and go apeshit at eachother online. this has happened in so many forums in the past.

you would have to have noticed, there are many people that were more active on this site that have gone into recession because of the behavior of people on it and their attitude towards others.

Jes

[kawasuki]

Look fellors a big group like this is always going to have a slinging match here and there. Also some here have other problems at home or work and just in there personal life and this forum sometimes is a good place let some steam off, uno i have know people that have suicided over little stupid things. also i see the slanging is also some differnces of opinion which is OK No one has threatened to kill anyone have they??? Just a few names here and there (big deal)
Next thing it will be no smoking while on the forum. If u were really worried about others logging on and seeing this then I would suggest cutting and censoring ALL speed related items as this could give us a bad name re the public also the Hwy boys might follow u home or worse tag along on one of the weekends.

[Warchild]

An interesting thread, this.

I, of course, have no dog in this hunt, insofar as I've just now discovered y'all a day or two ago.

However, I am Admin for three other bike forums, two of which are quite huge compared to this forum. In addition to BusaNation.com (still fairly small as it is only 2 months old), I am the Admin for cbrxx.com and FJRForum.com. My Blackbird forum has ~ 2,700 members, and FJRForum.com is the largest FJR forum in the world, closing in on 5,000 members worldwide.

I mention all this because I have experienced the ups and downs of forum behaviors in their most extreme - trust me, I know it can be a very, very difficult thing to find the appropriate "middle ground" with regard to moderation. Believe me... I know.

Start being too heavy-handed with the editing/deleting/banning, and this can definitely be a source of contention. Members who are used to a more "hands off" approach will slow or stop their participation altogether, and this can really hurt if said member is a knowledgeable, long-time contributor to the community.

The flip side of this coin is that if there is little to no moderation, and the forum community can't (or won't) be self-policing, well, this can be an even worse scenario. Nobody wants to hang out at a place known for abusive and scurrilous membership behavior. Take LABusas.org, for example. Those f***kers eat their young for breakfast; there are threads there that show the very worse of the Human Condition.

Of these two extremes, I see a common theme: the larger a forum grows in membership size and diversity, the more moderation is (sadly enough) needed. The trick is to know when to increase it in an incremental fashion, and when to back it off to allow the forum to "breathe", so to speak.

All which is much easier said than done... no question.

I certainly am not offering any suggestions on how you blokes run the forum. Hell's bells, I'm just another newbie who happens to have a few miles on a few different bikes. Not unlike many here.

But I can offer up the set of "guidelines" (and that's the term we use, vice "rules") that I use on the FJR forum, for you to consider as you go about deciding what direction to take (if any) as you wrestle with this question of how little or how much to govern yourselves:

FJRForum.com Guidelines:

This forum is to discuss the Yamaha FJR1300 and the issues surrounding the FJR1300 community. You may liken this forum to your favorite corner tavern, where you can have a beer with your virtual buds, and discuss motorcycles in general, and the FJR in particular. Here are the (very few) rules:

1. No porn or obvious "Not Work Safe" (NWS) material (though links to it are okay, if labeled NWS).
2. No religious/moral philosophy/political crap. There are countless forums/blogs on the web if you want to delve into these divisive topics. This is a motorcycle forum. That said, political discussions SPECIFICALLY about pending motorcycle legislation, regulation, and laws are allowable.
3. No politically-correct fucktards.
4. No ass-clowns in general.
5. No personal attacks. However, when some asshat desperately needs it for violating Rules 1-4, group dog-piles are perfectly acceptable.
6. Those who are easily offended should proceed with caution. Posts in this forum may or may not contain adult language/themes. No whiney-gash crying about them allowed. Deal with it.
7. Always remember that you are a GUEST in our virtual house. The Admins are your hosts. When you are a guest in someone''s house, don't piss off the hosts. If you do, you'll find your dumb ass on the sidelines, participating in a "read-only" mode for a period of 7 days. Repeat offenders fall under Rule #4, and will be booted permanently. If you try to re-register under another name after you have sent to the corner for a timeout, you are definitely toast.

These Guidelines may be periodically updated as needed. Refer to them periodically to determine if you can still handle the load.
Last Updated: 30 JUN 07

Good luck, gentlemen!

[BUSGO]

Thanks for your suggestions Warchild. It is a shame that our site has had to develop to the point where this discussion thread is even needed.

Most of us have seen forum guidelines before and it is a "TRADEMARK" of our forum to not have them.

Dare I say it, but Australian's in general are a "rule hating society" and we generally live by a set of unwritten rules and that is how I, as an admin on this forum would like to keep it.

For many years this forum has been uncensored except for a couple of basic rules about nudity.

The small group of admins here have taken it upon ourselves to monitor the discussions but only act in the most severe of cases in order to maintain our cultural attitude to freedom of speech and at the same time prevent the fire fights. They will still happen from time to time and that is how things work around here.

We will continue to live with it and still grow as a club.

[xhiler8r]

Dare I say it, but Australian's in general are a "rule hating society"

You got it in 1 Busgo and why wouldnt we be since we were founded by criminals afterall.

"Rules We Need No Stinking Rules"

[abusa]

Good set of Forum Rules Warchild, liberal enough for most, controlling enough to keep things in some sort of order for the general public. I still think there is some merit in a members only area as there have been matters over time that have been in the public that shouldnt have been.

Im not in favour of deleting but I am in favour of a Sinbin for those occasions were the thread has just turned in to a slinging match and destroying its original intention.

Hopefully things will settle and all will be back to normal, maybe after the Christmas Silly Season!