Moderation Extreme

[aussie_digger]

Gday Lads/laddettes.

First of all... id like to start off by saying i love this forum,as a fanatical 1/18 Biante collector and modeller, this forum is the bomb for wealth of knowledge,insight,literature,info and conversation to the 1/18 scale model scene.

In saying that i have observed a few things.I noticed the new thread in the info bit at top of 'BIANTE FORUM' posting of you-tube links is now baned due to inappropriate contents of some videos.Now thats fine... if theres innapropriate material.. and its a big problem with people posting innapropriaits you tube links fair enough........ now what caught my attention was the qote

''MODERATORS CANT BE EXPECTED TO MONITOR EVERYTHING'

But the fact is...... Moderators on this site 'DO' monitor every little thing that gets posted.. sometimes within minutes let alone hours of something being posted.
Hmmmm... lets think about that.... isnt that what a moderator does?? filters unwanted/inappropriate content? And again.. from what ive seen.. theirs certainly no short fall of moderators on this site...
And its no like its a HUGE or even minor problem,not that many UNSAVOURY or INAPPROPRIATE material gets posted to what ive seen,and i read this forum everyday just bout when i get home from work.

Im posting this because im dissapointed in this decission to ban you tube links as ive really enjoyed a lot of the tube links members have posted on here, Which majority of the time are always relevent to model cars or relevent to the topic posted.and i really cant say ive come across one thats innapropriate....

I am a pretty conservative bloke,and from what ive read and seen on this site the majority of your members here are of a mature conservative nature.I understand moderators donate their time to doing their job,but remember,their would be nothing to moderate with out THE MEMBERS.Do we not get a say or request in what we wish to discuss/read/post?i say that within reason and relevence to this forum,being model cars.

Anyways.... thats my rant and rave,and as an enthusiastic member of this forum( i may not post or reply all the time but im on here a hell of a lot) id just thought id share my view and wondered am i stepping out of line with this thread and if anyone else thoughts as i do regarding moderation on here and the you-tube ban..

Regards

Scotty

[Damage]

Scotty, much like eBay, many things are pulled only due to reports. The moderators have to act to appease one persons perception of suitability. Yes, some content may be removed by the Mods if deemed inappropriate but often it is the result of one or two members with an axe to grind. IMO it may not be something that would normally be censored. With the youtube ban, once again, a case of the few spoiling it for the many. Keep in mind too, it is an open, family oriented forum with more than a few underage members and does not require one to be logged in to be viewed.

I may well be wrong with some of what Ive said but I'm just calling it how I see it and hope you will get an answer "from the horses mouth" or members with thier own perception on the situation as it stands.

[ratster70]

Like damage said its a moinority that has brought about the ban but in the mods defence it was repeatedly brought up about it and it kept happening so i have no problem with posting you tube videos being banned you can still post links to them just not the actual video so im happy with the way it was dealt with;)

[malscar]

Scotty, the youtube problem went on for quite a while with the mods deleting the inappropriate stuff and gentle warnings issued. Even when they started to voice the problem, people ignored them to the point where a decsion was made to ban them. It was not a quick and dirty decision.

You must remember that although there are a lot of people with mature outlooks, there are also a lot of members who are under 16. Therefore this must be considered a family forum and therefore the language etc must be appropriate for them as well as the other members.

[aussie_digger]

Gday Damage.

Mate,thats cool... exactly the sort of answer i want... other members honest opinion on this.I have actually spoken to member both on the net and IN person about the moderation on here and they have the same opinion as myself... it seems sometimes a little over board.

Scotty

[Holdennumber1]

This is just my opionion, but as much as I like watching the Youtube video's, theres many of them posted up regularly with some going for up to or around 10 minutes.
This would be a very time consuming task if there were say, 6 new video's posted in varios different threads.
And I'm sure Brad and Wayno have many better things to do than spending their time asessing whether youtube video's are safe to be viewed on the forum.
The only solution I could think of would be to enable certain other trusty members who visit those threads to be able to moderate them which I've seen work on other forums. So there could maybe be a seperate moderator of the Youtube thread to ease the workload on the mods and members would still be able to view it.

[aussie_digger]

AHHHHHHH ..... My appoligies.

Ive only been a member for a short time on here and was not aware of the you tube thing being an isue before.

It is a shame the few ruining it for the majority,cause as i said before ive noticed the MAJORITY members here all seem to be of a mature conservative nature and i thoroughly enjoy the converations/playfull banter/piss taking etc by most of ya's.And most of all... the topics/convos about what where all on here for .. MODEL CARS.... god bless their cotton socks....

Wasnt trying to stir the pot or rock the boat as to say,i just wanted a feel from others regarding the you tube ban which has really dissapointed me as i said,, ive seen a lot of entertaining vids posted by members.

Regards.

Scotty

[Damage]

Scotty, in the big picture I've only been a member 5 minutes. In most (not all) cases, I will honestly say that the moderation is fair and just, at least as I see it. Adequate warning is given, even multiples thereof before steps are taken that will affect the whole community. Diplomacy and a fair hand is also used when dealing with only one or two members locking horns. If the warnings go unheeded, action is taken. Brad and Wayne do a top job, and dont succumb to the power-tripping that Ive seen Mods on other forums do.

The youtube ban was really the only way it could be handled easily with the number of staff/mods on deck. Much like the live-eBay link fiasco a while back. Maybe the idea above for topic specific mods has some merit, if only to lighten the load.

[wayno]

Guys, posting that sticky I did about youtube vids being banned pained me as well. Fact of the matter is that stuff that was posted was being reported far too regularly. Brad and I do at least 90% of the mod work here (even when staff are present) but we have jobs and lives and can't be here all the time. We do the best we can.
We try and keep this a family friendly forum. A lot of the members here are younger and this is something we try to actively encourage. These kids are the future of our hobby.
If some of the more 'mature' members don't like this that's fine, but remember we only react when things are pointed out to us.
Moderating style here will not change as the primary goal here is to have a forum that all ages can safely enjoy.

[lukey73]

Scotty it disappoints me that someone who as such a low number of posts and has been a member for such a short length of time starts a thread like this.

As others have said there are various long running reasons why the banning of youtube video's was done. I for 1 am glad it happened as i have 2 kids who love to come in and see what im reading the net as they are both car nuts. I started to stay away from the forum due to watching some of the links being posted with very bad swearing in them. Now i am no saint and swear but i dont do it around my kids, some of the language used in some of the youtube video's was totally unacceptable to post on a family orientated forum. Some forum of warning should have been placed on some video's to make those with kids aware of the language.

People were warned and i feel that some links were added just to inflame the situation. I fully back the mods with there decision and would suggest that if you are so insulted by not being allowed to post youtube links that it really is a small problem not really worthy of its own thread.

I am sure there are plenty of other forums you are a member of that post links to youtube vids, might pay to vist them a bit more than here if thats what rocks your boat. ;)

[gab73]

Shows how much attention i pay, only realised youtube posting was banned, shame but if thats the rules thats fine, must admit i never saw any content that was offending to any age, most likely removed by the mods before i noticed.

[brchi17]

Scotty, it's clear to me that you're annoyed with the youtube thing and I personally don't have a problem with it, as like Wayno has said it was not a decision which was made lightly. I am annoyed that you felt the need to air your concerns out here and not via pm, like many other members do.

I would suggest you find the time to go back over the now closed youtube thread and you'll see for yourself how this decision came about. As other members have said we tried to ask people to do the right thing, however some ignored us which long story short lead to this decision. Like I said before, go back and read that thread, a search will find it.

Wayno's sticky about the youtube issue is true. We don't have the time to read every post every day! This forum averages around 100 new posts per day and as you'd appreciated there are days we there is simply not enough time to fit in reading those with living life. This is not a matter of getting more moderators as too many cooks spoil what I believe is a rather nice broth.

Being the moderator who removed the youtube link that you posted plus send you the pm explaining why, I'd like to also let you know that we could of just suspended your membership on the spot for this. However that is not what this forum is about. Now this has not been said to make you feel intimidated, but to give you an insight being a new member, as to how the moderation on this forum works. We don't scan the forum looking for things to ban people on, however we won't tolerate members who disrespect the rules. You don't have to like or agree with them, all that we ask is that you respect them.

At the end of the day, all we want is what most members want. An enjoyable forum experience.

[Damage]

Scotty it disappoints me that someone who as such a low number of posts and has been a member for such a short length of time starts a thread like this.

Have to disagree there Luke, hope thats okay. I think everyone is entitled to thier opinion regardless of post count or when they joined. Whether or not it deserves its own thread, dunno. Apart from a couple of bad apples, this the best online community on the web IMO.

One thing I would like to know is, on an average day, how many reports or PMs relating to posts/members, the mods would deal with. Say, if neither logged in for 48 hours, what would the backlog be like?

[onfire]

Scotty, it's clear to me that you're annoyed with the youtube thing and I personally don't have a problem with it, as like Wayno has said it was not a decision which was made lightly. I am annoyed that you felt the need to air your concerns out here and not via pm, like many other members do.

I would suggest you find the time to go back over the now closed youtube thread and you'll see for yourself how this decision came about. As other members have said we tried to ask people to do the right thing, however some ignored us which long story short lead to this decision. Like I said before, go back and read that thread, a search will find it.

Wayno's sticky about the youtube issue is true. We don't have the time to read every post every day! This forum averages around 100 new posts per day and as you'd appreciated there are days we there is simply not enough time to fit in reading those with living life. This is not a matter of getting more moderators as too many cooks spoil what I believe is a rather nice broth.

Being the moderator who removed the youtube link that you posted plus send you the pm explaining why, I'd like to also let you know that we could of just suspended your membership on the spot for this. However that is not what this forum is about. Now this has not been said to make you feel intimidated, but to give you an insight being a new member, as to how the moderation on this forum works. We don't scan the forum looking for things to ban people on, however we won't tolerate members who disrespect the rules. You don't have to like or agree with them, all that we ask is that you respect them.

At the end of the day, all we want is what most members want. An enjoyable forum experience.


well said......, scotty just remember the mods are here to both help keep the forum clean and to help with any issues you forum members may have, both mods do a fantastic job in doing both, as they have said its best you next time use the PM button then a thread to air your concerns

[aussie_digger]

[quote=lukey73;380821]Scotty it disappoints me that someone who as such a low number of posts and has been a member for such a short length of time starts a thread like this.

I did actually state that, i dont post or reply very often, but i am on this forum reading everything just bout every day after work.
Some ones already addresed your quote and i was thinking/feeling the same regarding it and will leave it at that.


brchi17
I posted it as a new topic as i was greatly interested and wanted to get a view from others on the subject.As your aware i am a newer member, AND YES ,my post count may be low, but i am a huge fan of this forum and view/ready daily with time permitted.
I was pre-mature in posting it as i had no idea about the problems regarding you tube in the past,and thought it was just a current problem,not one thats been ongoing..... I do appoligise and you guys have explained it well.
As i said i was pretty up my self thinking a lot would think the same as myself,but again... i was wrong and wasnt aware of past issues....

Anyways, wont be hearing from me on this matter again.Thoroughly understand,yet still dissapointed as i was a huge fan of the you tube thread.

Regards

Scotty

[brchi17]

....One thing I would like to know is, on an average day, how many reports or PMs relating to posts/members, the mods would deal with. Say, if neither logged in for 48 hours, what would the backlog be like?

Dion to answer your question, my stats for the month of January are something like:

Responded to 28 pm's from members.
Approved 5 new posts that the spam filter picked up and block for manual approval.
Approved more than 10 attachments.
Deleted between 15-20 posts (is no way to track them without rereading the entire forum)
Moved more than 10 posts into the appropriate forum/subsection.
Responded to 10+ reported posts.
Issued 3 infractions.
Spoke with several members via msn regarding issues they had with the forumFurther to this up until this evening I had read EVERY post across all forums and subsections. Mine you this is only what I have done. It does not include what Wayno has done, nor what Richard had done until he left the company a week or so ago. So while this information is just a snapshot of what we do, I will say that January was a quiet month for the mod team.

[aussie_digger]

, nor what Richard had done until he left the company a week or so ago.

Do you guys actually work for BIANTE?

[brchi17]

...brchi17
I posted it as a new topic as i was greatly interested and wanted to get a view from others on the subject.As your aware i am a newer member, AND YES ,my post count may be low, but i am a huge fan of this forum and view/ready daily with time permitted.
I was pre-mature in posting it as i had no idea about the problems regarding you tube in the past,and thought it was just a current problem,not one thats been ongoing..... I do appoligise and you guys have explained it well.
As i said i was pretty up my self thinking a lot would think the same as myself,but again... i was wrong and wasnt aware of past issues....

Anyways, wont be hearing from me on this matter again.Thoroughly understand,yet still dissapointed as i was a huge fan of the you tube thread.

Regards

Scotty

Scotty, please be reassured that just because you're a new member or have a low post count that you are not view any differently than someone with the opposite stats. I'd like to think that one of the strengths of this forum. Everyone is treated equally and every reported post/incident is considered on it's merritts. Plus we don't hold grudges towards anyone who earn infringements or questions the establishment like you have done so tonight.

Like you I am disappointed that we were forced to shut down the youtube video's and links, however that was the feedback we got from our members. As a forum that is run by a public company for the public, there are some restrictions which we have to run with which you don't have to worry about with privately run forums. I'd also like to think that it's this unique feature which makes this one such an informative happy place to frequent.

[Road Runner 72]

Hi Scotty,

But your still going to be posting/reading yeah? hate losing new members just for a little misunderstanding, like you said in your 1st post the place is full of info, facts photos etc & people like yourself do add to that if the can.

As I have a bunch of friends who don't post & some of the old race info/movies & books they have drops my jaw, let alone there hugh collections, I try get them to post, but they are happy as they just read what the wan't & say it's not for them & happy on there internation forums.

You can't post videos, but you can post the name to type in youtube for a search ;)

BTW welcome to the forum ;)

Cheers

Mike

[The real OZ GP]

Do you guys actually work for BIANTE?

Neither Brad or Wayne work for Biante , they are volunteers giving their time to keep the forum running and for that I thank them.

In fact both Brad and Wayne pay Biante a substantial amount each year to moderate this forum ;)

[lukey73]

Have to disagree there Luke, hope thats okay. I think everyone is entitled to thier opinion regardless of post count or when they joined. Whether or not it deserves its own thread, dunno. Apart from a couple of bad apples, this the best online community on the web IMO.




No worries Dion,

I suppose i relate to when i joined and there were no mods as such, people voiced there opinions which lead to mods being appointed and a Biante employee ( after Trevors passing ) looking after the forum also.

In life i tend to observe and ask questions rather than come out rather than come out and make comments as to which Aussie as know idea about. Being close to both Wayne and Brad i know how much they actually put into this forum for no reward from Biante, when someone new starts making statements to which they have no idea about i will back the Brad and wayne 100%.

Its sort of like me coming to your house, being there for 15 mins and telling you how to run not knowing the reasoning you do the things the way you do them. In this instance might it not have been better to ask rather than accuse ? ;)

[aussie_digger]

No worries Dion,

I suppose i relate to when i joined and there were no mods as such, people voiced there opinions which lead to mods being appointed and a Biante employee ( after Trevors passing ) looking after the forum also.

In life i tend to observe and ask questions rather than come out rather than come out and make comments as to which Aussie as know idea about. Being close to both Wayne and Brad i know how much they actually put into this forum for no reward from Biante, when someone new starts making statements to which they have no idea about i will back the Brad and wayne 100%.

Its sort of like me coming to your house, being there for 15 mins and telling you how to run not knowing the reasoning you do the things the way you do them. In this instance might it not have been better to ask rather than accuse ? ;)

Im not at your house,or the mods, im on a forum and as an individial i have opinions and ideas.They may not always be right,but their mine and thats my choice.With all due respect... im not on here to EARN any ones trust or respect, and im certainly not gonna wait to speak freely till YOU think im part of your household(forum) after earning my so called stripes.im on here to converse with like minded people,to discuss, get insight and info on the same thing that brings us all on here.Model cars.
Im the sort of bloke that will ALWAYS say it how i see it,and i wont sugar coat it and i wont be rude or crude either,i approach with respectul straight to the point diolouge.If that offends.. so be it.

:confused:Ive got just as much right to be here and speak up on matters that concern/dissapoint me as any honourary member or life member, as i have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on BIANTE model cars in recent years and continue to do so with all the mod work i do as i only work with BIANTE/autoart models.

With that said.... i did say this lastnight till reading the following... im over it... had my say,got my replies/responce... moving on.............. who's shout is it?:p

PS: Shame bout the you-tube ban as i was gonna put up my wedding video i recently got up on the tube of me and my wifes military wedding at Gallipoli Barracks.


Regards
Scotty:)