I'm not talking about buying guitars or riding scoots. No, this "moderation" is the action taken by the moderators on a forum where I participate. Also no, it wasn't directed at me... but I did participate on a thread that was deleted. In my opinion, the deletion of a thread and zapping posts on another thread was a bit heavy-handed. In fact, the guy who was central in those threads said he won't be participating anymore.
If you've spent time on internet forums, you see that action and response frequently. If you don't spend time on internet forums, this probably sounds like Junior High playground arguing... and, you'd be close.
As Americans, we are all used to being able to say whatever we want. Pretty much. The thing about internet forums: they are almost all privately owned... so, the owner and the moderators get to make and enforce the rules. If they don't like something, one click and it's gone. It's their yard and their ball... most of the forums have a "No Questioning A Moderator Decision" rule, and doing so may get you tossed out.
The best forums don't require much moderation. Some are like the owners' "kingdom" and you don't question or raise the ire of "the king." Don't like it - start your own forum.
The one in question happens to be a guitar forum... I won't mention any names, but if you play an acoustic guitar, you might be able to find it without much work. It has a sub-forum for carbon fiber guitars, and that is pretty much where I participate. The guy whose thread got zapped spends even more time there than I do. And I totally understand his frustration with the moderators' decision. And, if you even mention that decision, that post gets deleted. It's the way it works.
Years ago, I was a moderator on a sailing forum. Definitely more work than pleasure, and you have to sometimes make decisions that you don't personally agree with, because of the rules of the forum. I used to participate on the Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum. They had a rule of "No Price Discussion." That rule was put in place to protect advertising dealers, so you didn't have someone posting: "You can get that $10 cheaper from so-and-so." A new guy got on there and asked for recommendations "for an amp that costs less than $500." The moderators edited that to "for an amp that costs less than xxx." Essentially, eliminating any suggestions the guy might have received. I wrote that I thought that edit was not what the rules were made for and signed it with "and that's my 2¢ worth." Yep, the edited that to "and that's my xx worth." Really stupid. With no "I'm outta here" post, I simply never went back. A few people noticed my absence (guess I posted there frequently) and wrote me, asking what was up. They understood the problem. But, I figured it was no big deal - I just didn't want to participate where the moderation could be petty.
I wrote to the guy on the carbon fiber sub-forum, letting him know that if he wanted to start another thread about the specific guitar, AND made no mention of the deleted posts, I would come up with all kinds of questions on that thread to keep it going... and going. And that's really what that guy wants. We just need to understand the rules, and play within the rules, and still get what he wants. No idea if he'll go for it.
Freedom of Speech is something most Americans think they understand. And a lot of them may also understand what your parents told you: "My house, my rules." ;-)
4 comments:
Hear, hear! Very well said.
I have been off of that same forum for several months now, although I do look at it without logging in or posting any content. I have not been participating for many of the same reasons, plus some others. Indeed it is "their house, their rules" which is OK. Like guitar magazines that have outlived their value to a subscriber, I can live without that forum and certainly would never financially support it. In an email to one of the moderators (I had his address long before he became a mod) I made it clear that I will never be a paying Charter Member as long as a certain moderator was in the picture and had the ability to spuriously close my account right after they got my cash.
Activity on that sub-forum has been pretty quiet the past couple days. Maybe because people don't have much to talk about (that would be rare), but more likely because of this latest situation.
On the bright side, I have my music room set up and get to go in there, look around, and make a selection from what's hanging on the walls. More time playing, less time on the forums. :-)
The "action" has definitely had a dampening effect on dialogue in that forum room. Do they care? Probably not.
More playing time, yes! I have a guitar student and he came for his lesson last night. It is kinda fun helping someone find their musical voice. Tonight is bluegrass jam, which I nominally "lead". And I get in my own finger style practice at my own pace. Almost all of my guitars have dead strings right now, so this weekend may be a marathon string change session. The only one with good strings at the moment is the Rainsong and it has Elixir's on it. Those have been on for months but with very little actual play time.
The back story: it wasn't a punitive moderator action. Words were exchanged, bridges burned. It could have all been avoided. Lesson learned: take time to cool off in the heat of a disagreement. Yeah, that works in real life, not just on internet forums.
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