Censorship and SB..how far are we going to take this???

[H2Andy]

i know
it's only a dive board but i like it
yes i do

but i like it
i like it
yes i do

 

[SparticleBrane]

This has to be the most useless thread I've read on here in awhile.
I think you're all strokes.

 

[El Orans]

The second issue is a harder one to tackle, and one that can only be handled by having all mods agree to a set of terms for themselves, and the forum members be privy to those terms (much like the TOS for members) so they know how things will be judged.

ScubaBoard - Frequently Asked Questions: The Modiquette

 

[waterpirate]

The cost of diving just went up, and your old lady has just gone down!!
Eric

 

[Walter]

ScubaBoard - Frequently Asked Questions: The Modiquette

I'm glad I resigned when I did. I would never have been able to operate under those rules.

 

[merxlin]

ScubaBoard - Frequently Asked Questions: The Modiquette

Thanks. Never knew they existed.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

ScubaBoard - Frequently Asked Questions: The Modiquette

Those are the same rules I signed up to when I became a mod in 2003.

Does every mod always live up to them? No ...

Did I always live up to them? No ...

That's tough to do ... moderating is mostly about using judgment, and there's an awful lot of subjectivity involved. What may, to a particular person, seem perfectly within the guidelines of both the ToS and the modiquette may, to another person, appear to be a violation.

Any of y'all who think these rules are simple black and white should try being a moderator sometime ... most of y'all wouldn't like it.

I stopped being a mod because ...

- In reality, mods have less freedom to express opinion here than regular members.

- I got tired of taking abuse from posters who think they should have the ability to decide which rules apply to them.

- I had some issues with the very inconsistencies that many of y'all are discussing here.

- I had some fundamental disagreements with the direction that senior staff were taking the board, and felt that if I couldn't give them my whole-hearted support I should step down.

I don't blindly support the staff ... personally I do think that the rules, and the enforcement of those rules, is too much based on the perspectives of people who are guided more by religious beliefs and perspectives than most of the world's population ... and that the rules are too rigid and uptight. But I also think there are some valid reasons why they evolved in that direction, and although I don't particularly like it I'm willing to accept it ... because I believe the alternatives are not in the best interest of the majority of the people who read and post on ScubaBoard.

And I think that a lot of the comments and suggestions in this thread are based on misconceptions, and on an idealistic view of how people will behave if the rules were relaxed. Past experience leads me to believe that it will cause more problems that it will solve.

Even during the time that I was a mod we had some loosening of the rules ... particularly in specific forums where people insisted on "local control". Every time it turned into a giant cluster that resulted in a lot of time, effort, and heartburn for the moderators. Almost always it boiled down to assigning "friendly" mods to those forums to try to keep things under control. And it never worked ... there were always a handful of people who insisted on pushing things too far, and ultimately those forums were either closed or a handful of people were banned and the old rules were reinstated.

There are a few misconceptions, as I see it, in this thread ...

- Y'all are blaming the mods for the decisions of senior staff. Mods don't determine policy ... they enforce it. And I've yet to meet a moderator who intentionally abused their authority ... even though it may appear that way from someone else's perspective .... even mine at times.

- You're expecting 50 or so people ... who come from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures ... to apply consistency to a set of rules that are primarily subjective in nature. That's just not gonna happen.

- You think you're suggesting something new and different. You're not ... it's been tried. It's never worked out. There are some very active posters on ScubaBoard who are adept at pushing the rules. The fact is that the mods spend probably 90% of their time dealing with less than 1% of the active posters on this board ... and those people aren't looking for reasonable ... they're looking for "entertainment" at everyone else's expense. That's a reality of the Internet ... and some of those people are participating in this discussion.

- Y'all think it would stay confined to an opt-in area ... it won't. Serious threads are hijacked here all the time. For the most part, that pattern's gotten much worse since the decision was made to allow "social" forums. Behavior, once established in one area of ScubaBoard, always spills out onto other areas.

As I see it, the "culture" of ScubaBoard has been steadily moving toward one of contention ... because several of the people who post here want it that way. Fortunately, they're a minority. Unfortunately, they can easily disrupt any conversation anywhere on the board ... and frequently do ... to the detriment of all the other people who would prefer to keep those conversations on track and constructive. For some of y'all this is your idea of entertainment ... it's no accident that the popcorn smiley is used so often here.

I'd be willing to bet that if senior staff gives y'all what you want three things will happen ...

First, it will be quickly abused by a few people ... to the point where either moderation is required or someone gets kicked off the board.

Second, it will spill over into other areas of the board. People simply can't take "no" for an answer ... and the more emphatic "no" becomes, the more public they'll want their response to be.

Third, there will be yet another thread here about how repressive the moderators are.

It's happened before, this is nothing new.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[H2Andy]

This has to be the most useless thread I've read on here in awhile.
I think you're all strokes.

that's Mr. Stroke to you, pal

also, i've always said that if someone continues to be a problem, address that person and that problem. don't make everybody else pay for one or two jerks

makes no sense to clamp down on everybody cause a few idiots can't behave. ban the idiots. leave the rest of us alone to have fun.

 

[00scuba]

I was at a work Christmas party yesterday and I think I should have had a Mod come with me. The way I define workplace behavior is probably not as many would.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

that's Mr. Stroke to you, pal

also, i've always said that if someone continues to be a problem, address that person and that problem. don't make everybody else pay for one or two jerks

makes no sense to clamp down on everybody cause a few idiots can't behave. ban the idiots. leave the rest of us alone to have fun.

Easier said than done ... I've seen some pretty creative "resurrections" ... as well as a few "posts by proxie". There are always ways around the rules for those determined to do so ... and we've had some pretty determined people on here over the years ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)