Do advertisers get to write their own rules?

[TNdiver6387]

If im not mistaken, the reports go to mods, and not necessarily directly to NetDoc. If the mods are the ones that you feel are dropping the ball, reporting it to them isnt going to solve it. If you send a PM you know exactly where its going.

 

[dlndavid]

I think you are right TN, but this story goes much deeper.

 

[TSandM]

As a moderator, I can say that, when I asked for action to be taken against an advertiser, Pete approved it instantly. I haven't seen anybody get told to "take it easy" on someone because they were a supporting member or advertiser. Sometimes things may not be done because a moderator hasn't gotten annoyed enough to ask for any drastic action. I think we all try to avoid taking drastic action, sometimes maybe too long, because we'd like the board to self-regulate as much as possible. And at least for me, I keep hoping everybody will read what they've written and realize how it sounds, and return to polite discourse

 

[The Chairman]

Psssssssssssssst, TS&M,

you're gonna ruin my rep for only being in this for the money. People might think I actually care or something.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Most of us think purdy good of ya, Pete. I'd bet even Bob does.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Most of us think purdy good of ya, Pete. I'd bet even Bob does.

Actually, I do ... I think purdy good of ScubaBoard as well. I've got a lot of time and effort invested here too, and I'd like to not see this place degenerate into a neighborhood where people have to dance around being careful not to piss off the local bully.

In point of fact, I've attempted to put this person on Ignore ... but I can't. None of you can ... no matter how abrasive or abusive he becomes. Try it ... you'll get this message ...

So ya can't ignore the guy ... ya can't "fight back" ... and if ya report him, his posts may disappear, but he just comes back and does it again somewhere else, or with someone else ... because there are no other consequences. But there WOULD be if you or I did the same thing.

I can understand giving advertisers certain privileges. But with privilege comes the responsibility to not abuse it. Nobody likes being bullied ... except the bully.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that people be held accountable for their actions ... and to be able to post on the board without being harrassed and insulted all the time.

Is that asking too much? Silly me .. I thought those were the rules ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[El Orans]

All manufacturers with a private forum are given mod powers within their own forum.

However, that also means that the ignore functionality is blocked (courtesy of vBulletin).

There are workarounds for this problem. Please contact me if you run into this problem.

 

[The Chairman]

Excellent advice Laurens, and the very thing I told Bob in an e-mail yesterday.

Really, we didn't write the software, but Laurens knows how to circumvent it when needed. The only person that you CAN'T put on iggy is the mighty El Orans... but then: who would want to? OK, OK, that applies to any admin I believe.

It boils down to this: in a community of almost 80,000 people, SOMEONE is bound to rub you the wrong way. As Bob pointed out, you should not try to get back at them, as that only makes it worse. Just put them on ignore and on the odd chance that the forum software WON'T let you do that, just contact your favorite Mod, Advisor or Admin and we will make sure that it happens. We don't mind going the extra mile for our users. BTW, if Laurens sees a hack that will rectify this situation, you can be sure that he will be employing it ASAP.

Of course, Bob makes a very valid point: The manufacturers represented here on ScubaBoard are afforded the opportunity to interact with the diving public in a manner that was unheard of before the advent of ScubaBoard. It's a real priviledge to be able to access these thousands upon thousands of divers and find out just what they want and to get real time input concerning your products. Don't let the pseudonyms fool you: these are real divers spending real money and your ability to respect them goes a long way towards them supporting YOU by buying your products. When you piss off a few divers, thousands upon thousands see the interaction and adjust their buying preferences based on how you treat the common man. It's a double edged sword and is best approached with discretion.

 

[mdb]

Excellent advice Laurens, and the very thing I told Bob in an e-mail yesterday.

Really, we didn't write the software, but Laurens knows how to circumvent it when needed. The only person that you CAN'T put on iggy is the mighty El Orans... but then: who would want to? OK, OK, that applies to any admin I believe.

It boils down to this: in a community of almost 80,000 people, SOMEONE is bound to rub you the wrong way. As Bob pointed out, you should not try to get back at them, as that only makes it worse. Just put them on ignore and on the odd chance that the forum software WON'T let you do that, just contact your favorite Mod, Advisor or Admin and we will make sure that it happens. We don't mind going the extra mile for our users. BTW, if Laurens sees a hack that will rectify this situation, you can be sure that he will be employing it ASAP.

Of course, Bob makes a very valid point: The manufacturers represented here on ScubaBoard are afforded the opportunity to interact with the diving public in a manner that was unheard of before the advent of ScubaBoard. It's a real priviledge to be able to access these thousands upon thousands of divers and find out just what they want and to get real time input concerning your products. Don't let the pseudonyms fool you: these are real divers spending real money and your ability to respect them goes a long way towards them supporting YOU by buying your products. When you piss off a few divers, thousands upon thousands see the interaction and adjust their buying preferences based on how you treat the common man. It's a double edged sword and is best approached with discretion.

Hi Doc: Your comments are very right on. Since I am the "culprit" in all this drama rama I can state, that you have been straight up the whole time. Our minor contribution has nothing to do with my personal opinions. I do voice my candid thoughts. Some folks get in a twist, they can, of course, choose not to read anything I write or just ask one of the good mods to take me out of their loop. In any case, IMHO, Scubaboard is the best worldwide dive forum. You do a great job keeping it such.

 

[FishTaco]

I agree with Bob on this issue.

It's funny how certain threads and posts about manufacturers just disappear.

I've also had the exact same problem with putting an advertiser on ignore, although a remedy was applied a few days after I asked one of the mods about it...all's good now.

Yeah, mdb made a brief apperance in the So Cal DIR forum too, before he was quickly chassed out. He will be missed.

Take care,
Chris