Forum Politics

[MnFish1]

While I agree that there is a trend to over-exaggerate what people say, there is a difference between offering constructive criticism and being rude. I have seen plenty of posts where someone is offering useful information, but in a condescending manner. I report these kinds of posts. No need to be rude. It may be frustrating that the person asking for advice is not cooperating, but there could be multiple reasons for this. Best thing to do is just not say anything at all. I've typed out full responses just to delete them because it doesn't make anything better. Not worth feeding the flame.

If you feel someone is reacting negatively to a comment you leave, don't just chalk it up to them being a "snowflake." Maybe there is some validity to that claim. Maybe in a way it is disrespectful. And if you come to the conclusion that they really are just being obtuse, then hit that ignore button. I've only ignored one person on this forum so far and that is because they offer horrible anecdotal advice as fact. That is by far the most frustrating thing to me.

This is completely true. everyone (myself included) can learn.... which I think I tried to convey in the OP

 

[MnFish1]

I’m at the RAP show and having a great time but tired as heck.

1. I honestly care for you all. I really do. I’m here for any of you at any time for any reason.

2. It takes A LOT to get banned from here. I feel like I can win anyone over and I want to make as many people happy as possible, to a fault. I actually hate the word “banned.”

3. We have the best moderating staff in the hobby here on R2R and we’re really trying to do a great job, be fair and treat everyone with respect. We are FAR from perfect but this is a solid team that cares for the community.

4. We’re trying hard to continue to keep R2R friendly and focused on community.

5. You posted a very respectful thread and I appreciate your feedback. We are not “above” feedback and learning from our mistakes. If members perceive us as being “one way” whether we feel like we are or not, then we need to work on clearing that perception up!

6. We’re not trying to hide anything. It’s unprofessional for us to hash out private issues with members even when they feel the need to go public. We’re not going to do that on most cases.

Help us and let’s work together to be the best community we can be. I say that to everyone and thank you for your feedback.

I sincerely appreciate your response - and I know your intentions are good. that has never been an issue. (I didnt see your reply - I was out to dinner). I would though appreciate the answers to the questions in the OP. Just so the answers are out there. As you know - I've tried to be as helpful as I can be troubleshooting the recent issues with R2R. This is not a specific issue about a specific post - and I probably should have PM'd you - but (no offense) you're busy - and don't usually answer. the goal IS to make this a better place.. IMHO. And - believe me - I have taken the constructive criticism I have received to heart.

 

[MnFish1]

I’m new to reefing and new to r2r, but I am not new to forums and honestly this is the nicest most supportive forum I’ve ever seen. You guys are awesome and amazing and totally make someone struggling feel like they’ve got this. I am in the mommy blog circles and post on some forums as well... people are nasty. No matter what I post, what question I ask, what opinion I give I have at least a handful of people telling me I’m a terrible mother. I obviously haven’t read every thread here, but I do read a lot and the few times I’ve seen someone get rude/aggressive 50 people jump to back the person who was attacked, it’s amazing. I really think this community is great and I appreciate everyone who ask questions and gives answers.

... this probably wasn’t the place to air my appreciation, but I’m going with it.

This is the place

 

[Paul Sands]

So this article was not written by a moderator of R2R. Just to clear this up. No moderator has written an article bashing another moderator.

Huh? He shows up in the “staff online now” box and his banners indicated that he’s part of the crew here. Maybe he’s not a “moderator”, but that seems like a minor distinction...

 

[Michael Gilbreath]

I was here before Rev took over and I got to say its a 1000 times better, Rev took this site and made it something great there is no way it will be perfect were human so we well never have everybody agree and yes it shows I just joined but this is my second time here had life issue that made me take yrs off of keeping a tank. The team that helps run this have a thankless job because they can never make everybody happy. If someone leaves just remember there two side and Rev said the team can not play into the he said she said game it would ruin the forum been there and played that game not fun. this is just the way I feel. And to close these post I want to say Thanks Rev and the rest of the team. Michael

 

[MnFish1]

While somethings may seem inconsistently handled I assure you that every report gets looked at by multiple mods unless it is a just a duplicate post. So things are never handled on a whim.

We do are best in balancing being a "friendly forum" and not overmoderating. But that's not always easy. We use the Terms of Service as our guide, so if something isn't against ToS, we try not to act.

However, individuals have history. So if someone is repeatedly being reported as being abrasive, or coming close to the line of what is acceptable, we may reach out to that person.

Again, I can't reiterate enough to report any issues.

I appreciate your comment - and the conversations we've had.

 

[Shep]

I’m curious what article you guys are referring to? I’m pretty surprised by how much effort you put forth in interacting with members in general @revhtree. I think you and the mods do a pretty good job. I do however feel like there is some behind the scenes stuff that happens and leaves people wondering what’s up.

Not at all

Of course there is behind the scenes stuff, no forum, business, group, ect doesn't have some level of "behind the scenes stuff" but its not some sketchy/shady thing. When someone reports a post/thread/pm/member, the team reviews it and debates what, if any action is warranted. That's all it consists of, we don't share it because we are not going to publicly call out a member for either reporting something or getting reported. Pretty much anytime a thread is locked or deleted, its because it broke the terms of service. Any job that is large enough and has managers/bosses, this is how its going to go. If Bob Smith from shipping gets reported for something, the company is not going to publicly announce it. Out of curiosity, what exactly do you think and want to know about the "behind the scenes stuff"? Should we announce who/what thread/comment is removed, deleted or banned and why they were?

 

[justingraham]

Ahhh man I’m done with this thread. I can’t win. I’ll just enjoy all the good comments from thankful people tomorrow at the show like I did today. Aka tradeshow rev has to get some sleep. Not sure what the Neptune comment was about. But I’m sure I did something else wrong.

I’ll never be able to please a few of you but for every one of you there are 10 who appreciates us/me. Yes I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve but I can’t help it, I’m human, you win.

Still not mad..... night

I don’t think u took my post the right way I appreciate u tons and it’s not about winning or losing this isn’t a game we’re playing ur Rev and I came to this site years ago because of you and the way u ran this site was better then anything out there but it seems to be slipping because of how big it has become that is all I’m saying this isn’t because of you but because of a lack of you (if there was five of u we would be good) on the forum as it seems ur spread thin and to prove my point maybe people shouldn’t have to call u out in order to get the PM they have been waiting for for months seen this happen more recently now which is a shame

Take this however u want but my intentions were not to make u mad or think I don’t appreciate u as I do and god bless u for putting up with all of us as u have to please everyone of us which is hard to do I was just relaying what I have seen that has made this site change in my mind so hopefully it goes back to the way I remember

So I’m sorry if I hurt ur feelings I truly am sometimes it’s hard to remember ur a person just like everyone of us and I really am sorry if I hurt ur feelings

 

[smiley28]

Lol trade show rev... he’s got jokes! Honestly though as the founder how could he ever possibly stay completely available as the forums continue to grow? We couldn’t even begin to pretend we know how busy rev is..
On a whole different note though @justingraham has a point about pushing products. I don’t remember it seeming like that in me early r2r days.

 

[revhtree]

I sincerely appreciate your response - and I know your intentions are good. that has never been an issue. (I didnt see your reply - I was out to dinner). I would though appreciate the answers to the questions in the OP. Just so the answers are out there. As you know - I've tried to be as helpful as I can be troubleshooting the recent issues with R2R. This is not a specific issue about a specific post - and I probably should have PM'd you - but (no offense) you're busy - and don't usually answer. the goal IS to make this a better place.. IMHO. And - believe me - I have taken the constructive criticism I have received to heart.

First off I apologize for not getting back with you on PMs. That’s not good and I’ve been very bad at responding to messages and I’ll work to do better for everyone.

Next can you be very specific and lay out the questions as directly as you can? The ones that have not been answered. I’ll try to answer soon but not sure I can tonight. I’ve really really got to go to bed! Lol

 

[revhtree]

Huh? He shows up in the “staff online now” box and his banners indicated that he’s part of the crew here. Maybe he’s not a “moderator”, but that seems like a minor distinction...

Be difference in being on the reef squad and being a moderator. As awesome as RS members are they don’t make critical forum decisions and handle community issues.

 

[MnFish1]

I have personally encountered threads where members came off the rails and I posted the standard " Please keep the discussion civil" directed towards all in the thread, not singling out one particular member. This is a attempt to be neutral and not engage directly.

If I posted some advice and a member took issue with the advice and voiced their disapproval, my response would be " We will have to agree to disagree, respectfully" and disengage from the discussion. I will not force my opinion on anyone, as there is many different ways to have a successful reef tank. I might learn something from it.

Any and all members that engage in disrespectful, aggressive, use of profanity, bullying and trolling members to harass them in other threads will be reported. Reporting is a way to bring attention to the staff a potential problem. It does not mean that there will be action taken at that time, but can allow the staff to monitor the situation and if needed, reach out to the member to discuss the matter.

I do know that the staff and moderators do the best they can to oversee the forum everyday, as do the reef squad. We all have responsibilities outside of the forum and volunteer our time here. We don't know everything under the sun when it comes to the hobby, but individually have expertise in different areas. We do the best we can.

We are the collective of the forum, each and every member here. It is up to all of us to make this the best reefing forum on the planet or the worst. Its up to all of us.

Thanks - this is an excellent response to the discussion - and - FWIW - its a discussion - not a critique from my point of view. Maybe people disagree with me - but - The site was different 6 months ago - or perhaps im just reading more??? This could be my misperception...

 

[JoshH]

Thanks - this is an excellent response to the discussion - and - FWIW - its a discussion - not a critique from my point of view. Maybe people disagree with me - but - The site was different 6 months ago - or perhaps im just reading more??? This could be my misperception...

I don't think it's just you that has noticed things have been changing...

 

[MnFish1]

idk if this thread is a response to something general on the forum or the specific thread i also posted in and had my post deleted

i forget if i noticed it was in the vendor forum or i knew and just went with it anyway, but when i saw my post was deleted i wasn't surprised. that's the rule for that forum. the old guy mad at liveaquaria is what it is, i joined in on poking him at fun, which probably isn't good and it's moments like that where moderators do need to step in to make people feel welcome, but to be fair my gif was excellent! if some old guy wants to start a thread on here to yell at the sky, so be it. sometimes you just gotta vent your frustrations even if they're irrational

You're right - the LA thread got me thinking - several other issues got me to 'post' publicly. And - again - not really complain - but ask some things. As I have said a couple times - this site - I rely on daily - if I have a question about my tank - I search - if I have an answer to a question - I try to answer. If someone wants a debate - I'll debate. And - I guess I must be unrational. so I'm venting my frustration

 

[revhtree]

I don't think it's just you that has noticed things have been changing...

So you think we’ve changed or am I reading you wrong?

 

[Demonic]

Still not mad..... night

Comment of the night ..Love it

 

[revhtree]

Comment of the night ..Love it

Haha needed that!

 

[MnFish1]

Josh there’s no “back room nonsense.” People leave for various reasons. I’m not going to defend the hard decisions we make after many many many painstaking discussions we have as a mod team and with certain members. We do what we do as we see best for the forum as a whole. It’s not always the right decisions but all of them are done with much thought and consideration. There will always be two sides to every story. You won’t hear much ours because we’re not going to get into private issues we have with certain members. And then there are those who just leave for unknown reasons. But alas we can’t please everyone even with the best of intents.

Its none of my business - but - there is a 'back room'. There are private forums for 'supporters' - which I'm happy to be. There are also private forums for moderators. So - whether its nefarious or not (I don't think it is since I'm in one of them) - there are back rooms.

 

[Shep]

Its none of my business - but - there is a 'back room'. There are private forums for 'supporters' - which I'm happy to be. There are also private forums for moderators. So - whether its nefarious or not (I don't think it is since I'm in one of them) - there are back rooms.

Well the supporter forum is pretty dead and pretty much unused and again, please see my previous post. Of course there are places for mods to discuss things, we can't exactly publicly debate about a member breaking the rules or about someone reporting something.

 

[revhtree]

Its none of my business - but - there is a 'back room'. There are private forums for 'supporters' - which I'm happy to be. There are also private forums for moderators. So - whether its nefarious or not (I don't think it is since I'm in one of them) - there are back rooms.

What’s your point man? There’s back rooms, private rooms, but not back room nonsense. Back rooms with a lot of blood, sweat and tears but not nonsense.