I'm in your forums. Bein' all emo

[Ubersheist]

Ok... I'm urging those of us who see this forum as a wonderful resource for information, knowledge, networking, as well as entertainment to band together and heed my plea.

I've been a lurker for a few years, and a more frequent poster now for only a handful of months. I've noticed a few unsettling trends, and it's really detering from the spirit and intent of this forum. I've seen this with other forums, and it's turned them into incredibly bland uber PC sites where, comparatively, someone without a soul has more soul. I've seen numerous threads and posts get deleted for reasons that seem superfluous to me. I love this place, but I don't want to get constantly annoyed when things get shut down or removed.

Let me make this abundantly clear - it is not the fault of the moderators and administrators in general.

We are to blame, not the mods.

They've generally tried to be as fair as possible, but I've noticed that they've become over run with complaints, so they're forced to delete or shut down threads because they're getting over run with complaint messages. I've also noticed that they'll jump the gun and shut down a thread because they're certain that the content or comments will bring on a bunch of complaints, and they're 'heading off the problem at the pass,' so to speak.

Here's what I'm asking from our fellow TBers is to consider a few suggestions that I've noticed work on other forums:

• Leave the moderators out of it if you can. This isn't grade school. Stop running to Mom every time somone says something you don't like, and don't run to the moderators with every complaint that you have. They've already got enough to worry about besides our petty issues. Message the offending poster first, and ask them to take down their post or otherwise alter it. Work it out without involving them if you can.
• This is just the internet. It's not real. Grow up a bit, and don't get your feathers so ruffled. It's easy to spout off whatever you want here, and people often do. Understand that they're just blowhards or wimps who wouldn't dare say it to your face in real life. Get a thicker skin, and brush it off.
• This is the Internet, and it is real. Some of these posters are good friends and know each other intimately (get your heads out of the gutters). It is sort of like saying something fairly offensive to their faces. Be prudent with what you post, and don't go out of your way to intentionally offend anyone.
• Stop complaining. Unless it's abundantly offensive (some of the harsher polical stuff, stuff that's racist, sexist, or insulting in a non-playful manner), then let it be. The more that's mildly offensive gets erased or deleted, the duller and less informative of a place this will become. Just let things slide.
• Treat the Rules on the FAQ as guidelines, not necessarily hard and fast rules. I've seen far too many posts get deleted because someone complained that it violated the rules, even though the spirit and intent of the thread or posts did not. For example, recently a TBer posted up a video for his band's song that was critical of a political figure. Even though he specifically asked to only review the technical aspects of the video production, enough people complained and the post was deleted. Everyone who posted complaints said "you're breaking the rules," not "you're breaking the rules and I am offended." I believe that nitpicking over the specific rules instead of the intent of why the rules were put in place really degrades from the overall quality of this forum. Be prudent, and don't jump immediately on a post or thread.
• Ignore, ignore, ignore and ignore. I've found this activity (or inactivity) to be the best way to really make a vibrant and fun forum. If it's offensive to you, it's probably not to 99.99% percent of the other posters. In these cases, it's best not to deny the throngs and masses just because a very few are upset. Just ignore the threads or posts. This also works best with spam and trolls (posters who specifically want to cause trouble and rile people up). If you give trolls attention, they will keep coming back. If you don't, there's no reason for them to keep posting their tripe.

Ok... I think that's everything that I can think of off hand. If I can think of anything more, I'll edit it in later (if this thread doesn't get closed or deleted by then! )

This thread's probably as affective and effective as a fart in the wind, but I've really been concerned as of late about the state of affairs here, but I hope it will help.

[Jared Lash]

I already tried the "I thought the rules in the FAQ were just guidelines" bit. John Turner wasn't buying it.

A better idea if people don't want to see threads shut down or deleted is to not break the rules. A radical thought, but it might just work.

[bassrique]

I pretty much agree.

I have never used this:



and never will.

It takes me about 30 seconds to get over a post I don't like.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

I already tried the "I thought the rules in the FAQ were just guidelines" bit. John Turner wasn't buying it.

Weird. It worked for Jack Sparrow.

Sincerely,

Dated Punchlines

[Relic]

In other words "use common sense and don't be so uptight"?
I wholeheartedly agree, but alas, so long as there is/are one or two people who seem to take themselves too seriously, nothing's going to change.
Still, I love it here and although I wish things would get a little looser, I'm still happy with it as is. It's the people here that keep me coming back

[mike_v_s]

This reminds me of that scene in Jerry McGuire where the title character has just turned in the "mission statement" bearing out his feelings on the direction of the company and the best way to go, despite the ramifications? Remember what Jay Mohr said?

Mike

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

This reminds me of that scene in Jerry McGuire where the title character has just turned in the "mission statement" bearing out his feelings on the direction of the company and the best way to go, despite the ramifications? Remember what Jay Mohr said?

Mike

I forgot what he said, but is he still married to Nikki Cox? She's so hot.

I ask because I listen to his sports show on the radio, and he keeps playing "Heartbreak Hotel" as bumper music.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by bassrique

I forgot what he said, but is he still married to Nikki Cox? She's so hot.

I ask because I listen to his sports show on the radio, and he keeps playing "Heartbreak Hotel" as bumper music.

No idea, but I've enjoyed him when he sat in on other shows I listen to. He predicts the termination of Jerry McGuire in that scene.

Mike

[MatticusMania]

Yeah, I have to say, this is definitely the coolest online forum Ive ever seen, in fact, its the only one Ive ever found worthy of coming back to.

I support the "use common sense and don't be so uptight" party!

[MadMan118]

I agree the fact that the mods are becoming more "edgy" is probably just a result of our own actions.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

No idea, but I've enjoyed him when he sat in on other shows I listen to. He predicts the termination of Jerry McGuire in that scene.

Mike

And when you listen to him on the radio, he really EQs the hell out of his voice -- it doesn't even sound like him.

[hbarcat]

I agree with the part about developing a thicker skin and ignoring potentially offensive posts in the sense that you don't respond to them, but I completely disagree with the idea that those who are breaking the rules by making inflammatory posts or posting blatantly political or other forbidden content should be allowed to continue. I don't think we should "just let it be."

I've been participating in political discussion forums for many years and I can take a lot of abuse as well as dish it out, but that's not what I want to see on TalkBass.

I believe that nitpicking over the specific rules instead of the intent of why the rules were put in place really degrades from the overall quality of this forum. Be prudent, and don't jump immediately on a post or thread.

I remember the thread you mentioned that was the poster's band's political video and I was one of the people who posted a reminder to the OP that it was inappropriate. I didn't run to the mods and complain because I hoped that we members could police ourselves (as you are advocating) and maybe everyone will get the message that No Politics means No Politics. The reason should be obvious; If one thread contains a political rant and it stays up then there will soon be three threads with the opposite political rant and then ten threads with all sorts of political rants. That would truly degrade the overall quality of the forum, which is why the intent of the rule is to allow no exceptions.

The reason that I log on here so much (and why I'm a supporting member) is that nearly everyone does follow the rules and goes out of their way to be respectful to each other and this is rare for discussion forums. I think TalkBass is fine just the way it is. It's a lot better that many discussion forums that I no longer frequent because they just let stuff slide until people get angry and start yelling at each other.

[DudeistMonk]

I imagine being a moderator is a lot like being a life guard...Even though that kid knows how to shallow water dive, and isn't going to kill himself, you just can't let him do it...if you do everyone will start doing it and you will have no power to stop them without turning off the lights and closing the pool.

I do agree that the jerks and the wusses who take everything personally ruin it for the rest of us, but so is life...

I was always the kid quietly playing with the blocks in the corner while the other kids whipped them at each other, then someone hits a girl and she tells the teacher...I always hated it when the teacher took away MY blocks cause THEY couldn't handle theirs.

I'm also tempted to quote Team America World Police/South Park about the balance of the world but it might get me banned cause its kinda lewd...

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by DudeistMonk

I'm also tempted to quote Team America World Police/South Park about the balance of the world but it might get me banned cause its kinda lewd...

Then switch movie quotes. You cannot get banned for quoting Jerry McGuire. Fact.

Besides, you're a Gold Supporting Member and everyone knows you guys get 3 extra blatant rule violations before a warning is issued because of it. I strongly suggest you refuse to *&%! out 2 curse words while questioning a mod.

Mike

[disenchant]

I think TB is going the way all things that have rules go. You make rules, then someone pushes the limits so you redefine the rule, then someone else pushes the limit so you redefine the rule again. The reason we have "don't use while asleep" on hair dryers is because some idiot did it! It's just the way things go, and the mods are doing their job. I wouldn't want it any other way.

I teach gymnastics and I had to ban plaid pants because some gymnasts were "loosely interpreting" my black pants uniform request as black plaid EVEN AFTER I said solid, plain black pants. A ban on plaid sounds dumb, but when I let ONE girl wear plaid pants they ALL tried it.

And...sometimes I think a few people on here act like 10-year old girls. But hey, it's all about the love.

[DudeistMonk]

I teach gymnastics and I had to ban plaid pants because some gymnasts were "loosely interpreting" my black pants uniform request as black plaid EVEN AFTER I said solid, plain black pants. A ban on plaid sounds dumb, but when I let ONE girl wear plaid pants they ALL tried it.

And...sometimes I think a few people on here act like 10-year old girls. But hey, it's all about the love.

Perfect analogy but why can't they wear purple pants if they want?...unless of course we are talking about a competition or something.

[Georynn]

Originally Posted by disenchant

The reason we have "don't use while asleep" on hair dryers is because some idiot did it!

That's why they say "the REG's are written in blood"

I still wanna know where "screwed the pooch" entered our lexicon...

[vene-nemesis]

I dont really have any complain against moderators exepting HeavyDuty.
Most of the time when JT or MM close a thread they have been following it like bull fighters waiting to give the final blow.

[MakiSupaStar]

[vene-nemesis]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

How did you put atoz there?