Why do topics get moderated on the very subject they are trying to address ?

[breagh]

What a wonderful thread by Basel Therapist just a short while ago BUT let me ask this.

Why was it closed after one comment?

This thread was obviously started by someone who has concerns about some of the things that go on and this should have been left OPEN for public discussion.

Now whilst some of you think and have commented that it was more or less a pointless exercise and would end up being closed anyway by bored moderators. I am sorry but there seems to be a few people who disagree!

You have simply proven the same point that was trying to be made earlier.

I will continue what I WAS away to post on the other thread before it was 'moderated' as no doubt this one will be very quickly too.

I myself have not been on the EF for very long but from the very first time I posted was subjected to said moving AND deleting of posts. Even to the point of getting PM's accusing me of trying to get my 'golden 10' in order to start selling stuff.

Whilst we acknowledge there is a lot of work in moderating such a forum, in general there is a lot of good work and no doubt personal time involved too but there is definite cache of regulars who seem to take thing far too seriously and have even become Elitist in nature.

I have a life and don't sit in front of EF every available minute to boost my postings rating (as I have seen on another forum) or to find some cocky way of trying to look bigger or better than what seems to be a regular supply of newbies.

When faced with a "check previous posts" statement, please don't forget that when someone is genuinely lost, panicking or inquisitive. After having trawled countless other useless pages via a search engine they come across EF. Like the idea, setup or what ever you want to call it and decide to get involved. Checking the previous posts can take AGES and if you are search weary already or in a hurry, you only want a quick answer from what appears to be a good place to ask.

I was amazed recently to see someone offering a translation service only to have several 'vets' practically condemn this man because of poor grammar. Now yes, this person may not have had the best of grammar (as probably do I)(deal with it !) but what is the harm of someone offering a free translation service to allow non native speakers to read or write the material they are confused with?

I am sure there will be a few more replies to this but since it is getting late and I have work I am actually going to hit the 'off' button and not the 'F5'

Goodnight.

Thanks for writing what I was thinking too. I just could not understand why the thread was closed without allowing any discussion.

Funny how people can have something for nothing and still find something to complain about...

Should our members answer the questions of the chronically lazy?

[biff]

	Quote:	Cata1yst
	Should our members answer the questions of the chronically lazy?

It`s voluntary. If one doesnt want to answer a question, then don`t. Just leave it for those who don`t mind answering (politely)

INteresting that I have also had my new thread, supporting Basl Therapist`s thread, promptly blocked as well. It could have at leas been joined in with this one.

Dougal, if you find it boring, go back to bed with another cup of tea, rather than making snide remarks that actually reinforce the senseless comments that BT was trying so politely to address.

[Joey82]

Why would newbies being bullied on EF stay away from it..

If they are that shocked from what they experienced here , how do these people cope in the real world?

Mind you, some people that are bullied here do bite back , sometimes in a funny way, and soon get to be respected members on the Forum.

I see Ef a bit like a workplace, you can't / won't get along with everyone.

At work you also have the elderly, the managers,the funny ones, the young people, the bullies etc.. in a group of people you will always have bullies, be it with new people , a forum, work or school.

The only difference with school is, you don't get detention

[lost_inbroad]

..and all this mess on a Sunday evening, can't you guys at least wait until Monday?!

	Quote:	lost_inbroad
	..and all this mess on a Sunday evening, can't you guys at least wait until Monday?!

When are we going to KFC? Or is this Off Topic?

	Quote:	biff
	Dougal, if you find it boring, go back to bed with another cup of tea, rather than making snide remarks that actually reinforce the senseless comments that BT was trying so politely to address.

No. I find this persistent whining drivel deeply offensive, given the amount of unpaid effort that has been contributed to this forum over the last six years by the very people who are now being denounced as 'bullies', not to mention the moderators who have to put up with reading this constant whinging about their work.

The English Forum is free. Members get back what they put in. If those who are complaining had contributed even a fraction of what the "bullies" had contributed, then I would be quite happy to go back to bed with a cup of tea.

Until then, I shall continue to treat these silly complaints as the nasty manifestations of childishness and ingratitude that they are.

[Joey82]

	Quote:
	No. I find this persistent whining drivel deeply offensive, given the amount of unpaid effort that has been contributed to this forum over the last six years by the very people who are now being denounced as 'bullies', not to mention the moderators who have to put up with reading this constant whinging about their work. The English Forum is free. Members get back what they put in. If those who are complaining had contributed even a fraction of what the "bullies" had contributed, then I would be quite happy to go back to bed with a cup of tea. Until then, I shall continue to treat these silly complaints as the nasty manifestations of childishness and ingratitude that they are.

So in a nutshell, you harvest what you sow ?

[adrianlondon]

	Quote:	lost_inbroad
	..and all this mess on a Sunday evening, can't you guys at least wait until Monday?!

Maybe this forum should follow the Swiss example and simply shut down at 4pm on Saturdays and not go back online until Monday morning,

[breagh]

It's clear who the usual suspects are by the groans and thanks that go on.

Thank you Biff for stating the obvious. If you can't have helpful or constructive comments then just say nothing! Free advice or not. Info seekers need just that, info. Not 16 year old playground banter!

	Quote:	breagh
	It's clear who the usual suspects are by the groans and thanks that go on.

What? You mean those that have actually been keeping the forum going over the last six years?

	Quote:
	Free advice or not. Info seekers need just that, info. Not 16 year old playground banter!

If it's plain information you want, without strings, perhaps a trip to the library might be in order?

[jacek]

It seems like if somebody tries to write message which some people do not find interesting the discussion must end here. Yeah, use engine search function didn't you read or were aware that such discussion took place many times before the mods decides to close the thread because he's had it!

Anyway, somone asks a question then one persons jumps with negative response to it, the rest gets confused and sees it as bullying situation and rightly so. Great way to call it a day...

[breagh]

Dougall please read the first half of para 8 on the opening post.

We understand and acknowledge the work that goes into the forum, we never said anything to the contrary.

[biff]

	Quote:	adrianlondon
	Maybe this forum should follow the Swiss example and simply shut down at 4pm on Saturdays and not go back online until Monday morning,

All very well for you to say - you having the power to pull the plug on my internet connection at any time Adrian. How`s the cake?

[Joey82]

	Quote:	adrianlondon
	Maybe this forum should follow the Swiss example and simply shut down at 4pm on Saturdays and not go back online until Monday morning,

	Quote:	biff
	All very well for you to say - you having the power to pull the plug on my internet connection at any time Adrian. How`s the cake?

There was cake??

	Quote:	breagh
	Info seekers need just that, info.

Well, there are about 8 threads on this so I'll pick this one to have my penneth and then get back to my book. It's not our job to answer questions of "info seekers" nor is it our job to be seen and not heard. We can say whatever we like - it's a community after all. It isn't wikipedia. That being said, I try and be nice most (some) of the time. The big issue with these sorts of threads is that they're essentially a complaint against a forum using that very forum. It's about as helpful as writing an article in the Times criticising the paper and its readership. It probably won't get far.

While it's true that some responses to newbie questions are less helpful than they could be (and this isn't right and should be rectified) it's too easy to imagine systemic problems where there are none. There will always be people who call rudeness "bullying", we've had it before. Sometimes it's true but I genuinely don't think there are cliques on this forum. People spend a lot of time on the forum and meet up in real life so it's really not just an anonymous forum, it isn't just "the internet". This means a lot of the same rules apply here as to a real community. A comment from someone new here won't be taken in the same way as the same comment from someone you've had a beer with 8 or 10 times. It helps to know exactly what this forum is before launching into a critique of it.

	Quote:	breagh
	We understand and acknowledge the work that goes into the forum, we never said anything to the contrary.

... apart from opening threads whining about that very work.

"Why do topics get moderated... yada yada..."

The English Forum is, quite simply, the best resource for English speaking foreigners in Switzerland. It didn't become that by being a dry repository of information created by robots.

Think about what you are saying, and to whom you are saying it. And please, do us all a favour and read the link Catalyst provides above, and take note of whose words they are.

Thank you.

[Nil]

	Quote:
	No. I find this persistent whining drivel deeply offensive, given the amount of unpaid effort that has been contributed to this forum over the last six years by the very people who are now being denounced as 'bullies', not to mention the moderators who have to put up with reading this constant whinging about their work. The English Forum is free. Members get back what they put in. If those who are complaining had contributed even a fraction of what the "bullies" had contributed, then I would be quite happy to go back to bed with a cup of tea. Until then, I shall continue to treat these silly complaints as the nasty manifestations of childishness and ingratitude that they are.

WAIT A MINUTE!

Either I got it wrong or you got it wrong.

I don't think that the complain is about Moderators being bullies.... Not at all!

I think it is about members being bullies and no one stops them to bully! Like AbFab said in the other thread, it is happening because it has no more boss or chief in here. Not because of the mods, I think it is quite obvious that the mods are not enough in the team to be able to see and handle everything on the forum and they may not know which direction to take anymore.

But to see people being allowed to bully others when it is strictly against the forum rules is the main concern here.