Bullies on a forum
 

Before I start this has nothing to do with subsim.com.
I recently went on an open forum that is meant to be about consumer rights.The forum is divided into various sections and I posted a rant/warning on a part dedicated to computer issues.I was posting about my disgust of the Vista operating system and the fact that very little equipment is compatible such as modems printers etc.The responses I got were generally far from helpful though a few people did give some good links and some others were quite insulting.I was beginning to think that a lot of the posters worked for microsoft!There appears to be no moderation at all on this particular site and a hard core of regular posters rule the forum.
I just wondered if anybody else has had a similiar experience on a forum and how they dealt with it?I will not be posting there again.
I also now realise the value of a moderator to a forum.Considering that subsim has such a large membership from many continents I think we all get on very well and long may it continue!!!:up::up::up:

I ignore the flamers on the forums until they have something to offer other than insult. Quite often, if they do not get a rise out of you they will shape up or just go away. Acknowledge those that give legitimate answers and soon the flamers will realize they are being ignored thus going away. Anonimity can be a powerful weapon if you let it.

Yes, Linton it's a mean world out there ... I don't cuss, but over at milatary.com it's like a pool hall ... It's much nicer in here. :p

Perhaps I was lulled into thinking that everybody on a forum should behavein a gentlemanly manner,having grown used to that on every other site I visit.Ignoring flamers starves them of the oxygen of publicity.I will not be so naive again.

Yep, flamers are looking for the rise out of anyone who will entertain one. It is like poison ivy on your skin, do not itch and it will go away:up:

I went bye bye to a number of forums over the years, the first one was a bunch of idiots justifying terrorists and demanded I apologise for my statement that I thought terrorists were scum of the earth. That was a few years ago the other ones were just as insulting and crass, the best thing is stay on the side lines and read the posts before you make the big leap forward.

All forums have give and take but when you get BS from trolls it's time to say goodbye.

The Finnish forums are by-far the most unfriendly forums I´ve ever visited. No matter what you say, someone comes and insults you. :cry:

Wise words AVGWarhawk, wise words indeed.

Dont talk to me about being insulted. Luckily, most people dont know how tall I am on forums (except you guys but you guys rock). However, in the outside world, you wouldnt believe how deep I get cut sometimes :down:

Yes, but this only works in maybe 20% of the cases, most of the time the moderators need to take care of them one way or the other, because someone almost always responds to a post of a flamer/troll/moron, and then the "fun" starts. When a forum reaches a certain size it needs a bunch of good moderators, and more importantly, an admin who wants his forum to be a nice place. Subsim has both.

It does. :up:

As far as forums go, Subsim is about the best I have seen anywhere. Sometimes there is a tiff or two but not like some forums. It seems most know when to stop concerning flaming etc. with this forum. It makes is nice to be part.:up: Neal keeps a good reigh on it and Seth keeps an eyeball on it. This is what forums need. If the forum keepers says he will ban for XYZ and XYZ happen, then ban!!! If the forum keepers let some people slide, soon all will be sliding. Have rules, stick to them, enforce them as needed.


These flamers need to realize it is a privilege to be part of a forum....not a right! Forum owners can ban at will and for good!

People are only people, and there will always be arguments between them. We all had rants and quarrels, sometimes unintentionally offending someone as a result of misunderstanding, bad joke or something even sillier. It happened to me a few times. In that case there are good manners and common sense to the rescue. But when it's intentional, there's no excuse.

http://www.bullyonline.org/related/cyber.htm

I don´t want to go into any details here, but one thing people need to know and to accept is that administrating and moderating a forum can be fairly complicated, things are not always black and white. For example, a violation of the same forum rule can have different results, depending on if a newbie did that or a respected long-time member.

I would guess a long time member gets a PM and it is resolved with a 'you know better' and that is it. Unless the post is something grossly wrong. As for new member it might be as simple as 'this does not happen here, first and last warning'. If the new member wants to be defient, then further actions. Hopefully they get the picture and stop. If not, then time for them to move on. Just the way I see it anyway;)


Sorry Gizzmoe, I forgot you lurk the hallways looking for hall passes also.