is this fair

[solice]

ok i dont want to come across as pretentios, sad, bitter and arrogant but there was a thread "gay soccer" and it was locked. lot of bitching going on in it but it was recently edited. as it was a locked thread only admin and a mod could edit it. but (people shall remain nameless) one of the people bitching in it edited one of there replies.

granted the essence of their reply remains the same, utter contempt for the other person. i would just like to point out that this is not fair. for someone who is involved in the argument to come along and edit a response only because the are mod, this leaves no voice of opposition.

this is all in the interest of fair debate

[damien]

I've been a forum moderator on other websites for a couple of years now and in my experience thread locking should be a last resort.

Before it comes to this the Moderator should come in and "moderate" the thread and tell the arguing parties to chill and take a time out.

If comments are incendiary the poster can be asked to apologise or restate them in a less comabtive manner.

The practice of editing replies at a later date is not fair play at all. In my view posters should not be able to change key content and wording of a post after initial publication of the reply.

Netiquette dictates that the only thing you should edit later is incorrect information or bad typing and grammar and after an edit a note should be attached stating why an edit was done.

Editing ones own comments in a thread that you have locked is not in the slight bit professional. People should stick to what they have said or print a later retraction, they should not remove the original post to make themselves look better.

[amnesiac]

Solice, I am the Moderator who locked said thread and stand by said locking as it had descended into a nasty bitchfest. I was one of the people involved in said bitching and yesterday edited one word out of one of my posts as in hindsight I felt I had crossed a line I really shouldn't have.

In hindsight, damien and you are both correct. I should not have edited my comments. I did not realise only a moderator could change his/her posts in a locked thread. The thread however will remain locked.

Apologies,
amnesiac

[redbulljunkie]

Okay I wasn't going to jump on the bandwagon, but it pissed me off that yet another thread has gotten locked - the straight acting thread. Especially since the tension had died down, we came to some sort of an understanding and were laughing things off.

[amnesiac]

The thread might be unlocked RBJ... Admin wants to take a look at who said what etc.

[odyssey_scot]

Well, thats at least a fair way of determining who was flinging insults, etc. If I was out of line at any stage in that thread, feel free to say it to me. I don't see that I was, but would hate that people would have been insulted by anything I said.

[redbulljunkie]

It looks like all's well that ends well anyway; that asshole jock is gone. [)]

[solice]

i am incredibly pissed off right now, as said already, locking a thread should come as a last resort, if nothing can be done. no warnings were given nothing was posted by any mods or admin to tell people to stop. if you cant mod properly then do everyone a favour and dont mod at all.

and if it was locked because of the comments made by jock, shame on you. RBJ, lil miss pyx and Tank Girl all joined in in slating jock. there are 2 mods there. funny that, 1 mod has an uncontrolable urge to edit other peoples replies and lock threads and the only other 2 mods on this bored seem to take pleasure in knocking other members. this does not inspire confidence in gaycork.com.

the debate was carrying on, the bitching had ended on one side, carried on the other and well done everyone for alienating another member of the community. congratulations. i hope you are all so very very proud.

[damien]

RBJ , lil miss and Tank Girl are entitled to reply to a comment or insult if they believe they are targeted. If you initiate insulting be prepared to get it back. The three people you mentioned were wound up and trolled by Jock. If he then felt alienated then he needs a thicker skin.

The trouble with a small enough board like this (no offense Admin) is that some of the main contributors are going to be mods too. On bigger forums there are various other areas that the mods can moderate and don't participate in.

And the bitching had not ended on one side. Jocks final post was another one that slagged someone off.

Also it was not "everyone" that alienated another member of the community. Please don't generalise.

[solice]

yes i may have over stepped the mark on saying "everyone", i apologise. but for everything else, i stand firm

as for his last post, that was because the thread was locked, it was a different argument. maybe it should have been posted in this thread but it was only made due to bad modding

[goalpost]

Hi, I'm kinda of new to this board i've only mad one or two posts, but well i'm very pissed off that bitching is allowed to go on here.
A friend said oh it's great to talk to people and meet new friends.
I read the posts by Jock,i'm not sticking up for him but he may have
had a point or two,but look i'm not getting into al that i'm not interested. He's gone and well good luck to him.
It doesn't help when people like Redbull call him an ashole that will prompt him to return. Anyway just making my feeling known.Best go do some work.

[redbulljunkie]

Wouldn't have minded him returning, it was fun shooting him down. He did have one or two points, and if you read through the threads, you'll see that I supported the valid points he made. I just got hurt when he threw my support back in my face again and again. If you read through the gay soccer thread, you'll see that I supported his soccer idea, we were getting to the point of organizing it and then he replied back with what was basically "shut it fag". Same thing on the straight-acting thread, his response to Tank_Girl was "shut it dyke". I mean if he doesn't think gay men should be allowed post here, and he doesn't think gay women should be posting here, then what the hell is he doing here?

[odyssey_scot]

Solice, I accept that you feel bitter about how things have gone here.
I did ask that anyone, who felt insulted by what I said, should tell me. Solice, if I did something that you felt insulted you, I apologise, it was never meant. I merely was defending myself and my sexuality, as well as the Cork dyke community that I am (tho by proxy now) a part of.
I was hoping here that Jock would come back and explain himself, at least we'd get the chance to let him see that we're not slaggin him for the sake of it, but as defence for him slaggin us. I don't see where in the straight-acting thread that I attacked him for no reason, I mean I only replied to that thread because he made comments about dykes, I wouldnt have been replying otherwise (because I think straight-acting is mostly a male issue)

I admit I have noticed a lot of tension on this board (not just the straight-acting thread), but (apart from the exception of my disagreement with FagHAg4ever, which was over some difference of opinion on Iraq, which hey, everyone is entitled to discuss), apart from that, I have not been one to just start arguing with someone.

I know that a lot of people here are feeling that gaycork may be just going through a bad patch (every board does, I've seen it enough times myself to know that boards always recover from it).

But, though I regret it may have offended some people, I will not say that I was wrong in defending myself.
Being a dyke, and proud of it, i won't just let someone say stuff like all-you-dykes-cause-trouble or make (quite heartfelt) comments about dykes looking like men and needing to shave. I mean that kinda stuff is just provocation (and I know I should be big enough to ignore, but I'm not).

I'm not a mod here, I'm just a user, I do get freedom of speech just as much as Jock, or anyone else and I feel I have to defend lesbians against unfounded insults.
I can see what you mean abouts mods and locking threads. Its true some system is needed. I think mods (don't take this the wrong way, lads) need to be given guidelines, like a) first you warn b) then if the stuff continues you maybe PM someone to warn them again c) give a third final warning on the thread again, and lastly (in extreme cases) d) lock the thread. It just needs to be stated for Mods to know what guidelines GayCork would like them to use (it never works if Mods just use their own rules, I've seen it on other boards. Much as everyone likes to think they're right, its bound to cause friction).

Look, in the end what I'm saying is, if people are just going to take what i say, or what others say, in defence of our respect selves, as "slagging" then, you know, Jock might have the good idea here when he left.
Maybe a forum where you can't defend yourself isn't one worth being on.
I'm not going to be melodramatic, I'll just leave it at that lads..

[redbulljunkie]

It was a pity about the threads getting locked. To be honest, I think the problem might be that the moderators are spread a bit thinly. At the moment, myself, lil miss pyxx and amnesiac are the only moderators who are on the boards regularly. Amnesiac was the sole moderator on the forums where the threads spun out of control. For him to have stopped this happening, he would have had to been on the boards constantly throughout the day every day which is a big thing to ask of someone.

[skysabove]

Solice, don't worry about Jock being alienated from the community. I know him very well offline, and trust me, he feels in no way alienated following the comments made on this post. In fact, he pissed himself laughing at them.

Jock is the kind of person who is always winding others up and playing practical jokes. Offline, he's regarded as a messer, and people laugh off his insults. But his humour doesn't translate well online, and he comes across as a troll.

The things he said were insulting, though, and I think those involved were justified in standing up to him.

[solice]

In fact, he pissed himself laughing at them.

interesting, looks like im a tad naieve and pathetic (purely in the comical sense of the words, as in "boy my face is red")

ok, im going to stop, i went to mayo for the weekend and i came to the conclusion that i am no longer fighting other peoples battles. so instead i send out my most humble and sincere and heartfelt apologies to all.

[amnesiac]

Solice, I'm sorry if you don't like my style of moderating. I moderate these boards as a favour to a friend and have recieved my own guidelines on how to do the job. And yeah I've made mistakes but you know what? It's an online message board. I've learned from them. I have a life offline you know (I thouroughly reccommend it). In the grand scheme of things my actions here not going to affect anybody in any profound way. I'm just trying to create and maintain a certain atmosphere.

Tank_Girl, I hope you don't feel I had any problem with you. I was shocked at some of the things that were being posted about "those dykes" and I think you stood up to them pbrilliantly. However, the people behind this board do not feel you should have to fight that kind of battle here. Personally you are one of my favourite contributors to the boards.

As long as I have the support of the administrators and the majority of users I'm going to continue doing this job as I see fit. Some users (damien, RBJ, Admin) give constructive advice and I'm grateful for their input.

[amnesiac]

And re. thread locking.... once I lock a thread it's reported to Admin along with my reasons for doing so. I don't unlock threads... Admin does. Petition Admin if you feel a thread deserves to be unlocked.

[odyssey_scot]

Originally posted by amnesiac

Tank_Girl, I hope you don't feel I had any problem with you. I was shocked at some of the things that were being posted about "those dykes" and I think you stood up to them pbrilliantly. However, the people behind this board do not feel you should have to fight that kind of battle here. Personally you are one of my favourite contributors to the boards.

What you said there, I really appreciate. I did feel a little like I'd been seen to be slagging off Jock (when such an action was never intended. I was on the defensive, not the offensive). So am glad that to see that my comments were not being taken in the wrong way.

I just react very quickly and without much thought, kinda the jumping-before-thinking kinda person. It would never occur to me to just complain the poster and ignore his comments (as I should plainly have done, seeing as it seems he was taking the piss anyways). I see red, when someone insults me or the people I see as my community and family.

Its not just been Jock lately, the whole board has gotten a slightly bitchy vibe to it in the past weeks, and I'm aware that that may frighten away new posters who really should get a chance to be as much part of this online community as we are.

As for things that happen here not having a profound affect on people, I have to (somewhat) disagree. Yes, your personal actions probably won't affect a person, but this board in general certainly will. It was after posting for about a year on a similar board (www.linc.ie), that I finally got the guts to come out onto the scene (after feckin years of personal turmoil as to whether I should live my gay life or not). I really feel boards like this are invaluable and become a lot more important than other boards would to straight people.

Sorry! Am warbling on here, I don't generally go so serious!

[lil mizz pyx]

Ok I'm finally going to contribute to this thread. Sort of.
About the thread-locking I think maybe it was premature, since the thread did seem to have calmed down a lot. I think maybe just steppnig in and saying something to people first might have been better.. But in the end, it wasn't my call, and I do respect Amnesiac's judgement.
In terms of keeping this place all friendly I think that things like locking threads really should be kept as a last resort. If a thread's getting bitchy, then definately step in and say something to the people involved. Leave it a while, and then if it hasn't improved, lock it up. I think that if people can see threads being locked all over the place, they're not going to get a good impression of the forums. I'm not saying that this has happened, I'm just saying it has the potential to. I'm far more the type to step into forums and try and divert people, try and get people to play nice by other ways. And if ya do that, people might actually end up playing nice, and we could have the Happy Board of Peace And Lurf.

[amnesiac]

I'll try to cut down my locking by 12.42%
*grin*
Wehn I lock a thread I do it temporarily and it's then up to Admin to decide whether to unlock it, edit it, whatever. When I lock a thread, I'm not necessarily saying I think it should remain locked, more often I'm calling "Time Out" and asking my seniors what should be done. But I'll try and lay off on the locking to please all you lurvely peeps. If you promise to show up for the meet over Pride ;)

[redbulljunkie]

that's the franciscan well meet is it? (I'll be at that one anyway)

[lil mizz pyx]

Well I'll be at that one.. but I'll Be Watching You, mister A...

*takes out calculator, monitoring every single thread*