Just an idea, opinions?

[Laxguy59]

Start it yesterday.

Ironic of the behavior creeping into the thread about this very thing. Some people just don't get it.

I say start it TONIGHT.

And my theory about the most of those wanting on OS's ability to ban, is because the thought of the everyday mods that KNOW their troll tricks, really makes them squirm. Challenges their manhood possibly.

DO IT. Watch how quick things change .....

I think things would change quite fast. for every troll that gets on here, one good member leaves. For every member banned, 2 leave because they were friends with the guy and another 2 leave in the aftermath of the drama. I'm just tired of the people who get worked up over the internet, I mean Jesus this site is fun but online forums are not important enough to ruin your freaking day.

 

[Okuma]

I absolutely agree. I just think that the only person who should have the power to ban, is Steve.

This will ultimately still be the case, no one will be banned without me at least knowing who and why. The mods currently have the power to ban spammers and folks who have been banned before under previous names, but that’s it.

We are already conduct controlled and our freedom of speech here is well censored which is not nessasarily a bad thing. The concern that I have with this not breaking the rules but can still be banned is that there are no clear lines and it is a decision based on personal feelings.

Just curious, but what topics are you wanting to discuss that you currently can’t? Or is it just profanity, name calling, and nudity that your referring to as being censored?

Your site and we'll go along with whatever you decide, but I notice nobody's brought up a popular vote to decide banning. A poll could be opened to decide the fate of those people. Possibly a mod states why we're voting, the accused could state his side and nobody could claim anything underhanded went on.

I’m afraid that would happen all the time as people get upset at other members.

Absolute truth. I do not allow politics or religion on my site and we just do not have these problems...

I don’t have a problem with those topics, I just think they need to stay out of the public forums, as the general tone of the site is to be light-hearted. And this is in no way a dig at your site, but how many members do you have? (I honestly don’t know) These issues were much easier to control when the site was just a couple thousand folks, but as we approach 10,000 members, any little thing can blow up into a 20 page thread in no time.

OS its your site, however you see fit to run it....at the end of the day we are all just guests.

You can look at my post count, I read a lot, but don't post much. When I post, its usually in regarding a gun trade.

Thank you for the site, your time, and efforts.

Robi

I appreciate all of you that say “your site, your rules,” but I have just never run the site that way. I think of this place as a business, (which I hope it will become one day! .) My goal is to keep the customers, (you guys,) happy with the product, so naturally I want to ask for your opinions and suggestions on changes with the site.


As this places continues to grow, I see less and less of it, so gradually I need to give more power to the mods to keep everything running smoothly, I’m just trying to figure out the best way to do that and keep everyone happy. Maybe instead of a majority vote, it would have to unanimous?

One thing that will never change is that you will always be just a PM away from reaching me. If a mod has gone rogue and you are feeling railroaded, just shoot me a pm, it’s as easy as that. Sometimes it may take me a little while, but I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.

 

[Okuma]

I think things would change quite fast. for every troll that gets on here, one good member leaves. For every member banned, 2 leave because they were friends with the guy and another 2 leave in the aftermath of the drama. I'm just tired of the people who get worked up over the internet, I mean Jesus this site is fun but online forums are not important enough to ruin your freaking day.

I think you mean other online forums are not important enough to ruin your day

 

[Laxguy59]

I think you mean other online forums are not important enough to ruin your day

there can only be one

 

[kevinosborne]

Something told me to stay out of this, but I bit somethings fingers off and spit them onto the keyboard to type this: Take my 5 month 300 post membership at face value. I have made mistakes. I've tried not to make too many and yet I will make more mistakes. I don't think I'll ever get banned for making mistakes. I think there are people who have made mistakes but continue on that course for no good reason. Ban those sum*****es, Steve. But only Steve. Not the Mods. God power should belong only to God, not a democracy. And on here Steve is God. You can tell from his avatar.

 

[woodstock]

Damn woodstock..... I couldn't have said it better myself!!!!!!

You Sir (and or Madam) are a scholar(s) and genius(es)!

I didnt get my invite yett , musta slipped yo mind ;]

Don't feel too bad, neither did I! If GDAWG gets in, maybe he'll tell us the secret handshake.

I think this is good , you should look hard at this.

You Sir are a scholar and a genius!

 

[woodstock]

For those of you proposing the twisted logic of"It's the Boiler Rooms Fault, not the A**hats" good grief. Ahats will be ahats-they don't need an excuse.

Exhibit A- look at those who have been banned from the boiler room. Did their a**hattery stop?

Heck no, if anything it got worse!

So drop the idea that it is ANYTHING other than the personal responsibility of that troublemaking member!
And, for those who refuse to follow a logical line of cause and effect, that member should be -take a deep breath because this will be hard for you- Disciplined- Shock, yes I said that awful word!

Here comes another -fair warning- because they need to realise that there are Consequences(ouch sorry)- for their actions.

Even worse, some people just refuse to abide by common sense golden rule type guidelines/rules, and they just need to be gone.
And I don't mean maybe next year, I mean quickly so their trail of mayhem and troublemaking and it's ill effects are kept to a minimum.Needs to be decisive and swift.

 

[woodstock]

I really don't think you guys know how bad you would have to screw up to to convince the majority of the Mods to vote to ban. I would hate to ban anyone personally, but I have been irritated to the point of voting yes before.

Very good point!
Think a "nomination" from a mod OR a member to OS should get the process rolling. After all, there are only a handful out of close to 10K who are regular troublemakers, so it's not like it will be this long drawn out time wasting thing that just eats up OS's time.

Especially after a couple public bans, think the a**hattery will come to a stop. The aholes will push as far as they can as long as they can, but most will realize they are Now Held Accountable for their actions and will suddenly become productive members rather than a**hats.
Done!

 

[NGIB]

Just a little medical analogy: cancer grows quickly from a single cell. Cutting it out early tends to be the best method to save the patient.

I've hung out on national gun forums for years. What made me start my own was the jackasses that tend to become an infestation very quickly. The last straw for me happened when a forum with over 25000 members allowed about 6 people to run roughshod over anyone. Noobs were immediately insulted, anyone that didn't agree with their ideas was called out and ridiculed, the owner was kind of disassociated as he runs multiple forums to earn his living, and the Mods were held back as the owner did not want to see his revenue stream affected. What the owner refused to see is that these few folks cost him more revenue than 6 BAD supporting members - way more. (It was $15 a year to be a supporting member). Right now, 3 of the 6 Mods from there have left and belong to my site as an example. (I wan't a Mod there, just a longtime member with over 7,500 posts). While not every politics or religion topic generated problems, it tended to be the catalyst for bad behavior. These are very emotional issues and tend to amplify behavior - that is why I don't allow them on my site.

As far as my place goes, I have about 100 dedicated members and I like it that way. We add maybe a member a month and we are a close-knit national community of great gun folks and we're all friends. An example of our community: one of our members out West is having bad financial times and his wife needed $600 in health related supplies. He listed his favorite rife to try to raise the cash. About a dozen of us agreed to "buy" his rifle. A point man made the deal and sent the check but stalled on having him ship the gun. The rest of us all donated to the point man to cover the costs. The point man finally PM'd him to let him know what we had done and that it was OK to keep it quiet (pride is important). He thanked us all publicly even though that's not why we did this. My bottom line is I have no desire to turn my place into a business so my goals are much different than Steve - I don't care if I ever achieve even 200 members really. I think 3-4 folks here are members and 1 person joined up last night.

Anyway, my point is it doesn't take very many bad apples to bring down even the biggest site - I've seen it happen more than once...

 

[Ken Ford]

I think that there needs to be a process were a member can be banned. I know OS has other responsibilities and duties other that just this forum. I like the Mods vote, with in reason, but maybe make it a "super majority" like 80%+- to ban?

I also think all hot button topics need to be in the Boiler Room. I don't care if it's Concealed Carry verses Open Carry, God vs Atheists, Muslims vs Islam or Conservative vs Liberal we know from past experience that some topics tend to attract more contention among otherwise calm members. The regular forum needs to remain a fun place to be.

As to blaming the Boiler Room...For some time the BR has been less contentious than some of the posts in the general forum. I attribute this to OS allowing rule breakers to be addressed, whether warnings to out right removal of the offending posters. I have been getting the impression that some members are posting contentious threads in the general forum to get around these actions.