Author: Peter Skinner
Date: 13:24:08 01/27/06
Hello everyone, Since beginning my term as a moderator I have seen many things happen here on the CCC that I have some issues with. With any bulletin board on the internet you will find groups of people that stick together based on similar ideas, friendships, point of origin on our lovely planet and so on.. I have _many_ issues I would like to talk about, but here are the main ones: 1. General treatment of members. 2. Hijacking threads based on personal agendas. 3. Technical vs. non-technical. -General treatment of Membership- In my moderation philosophy I made it very clear that there are _many_ different type of people here with _many_ varying levels of technical expertise, and _many_ levels of understanding the English language. Since becoming a moderator I have removed several posts where users are simply attacking others for no other reason that a misunderstanding over what ideas are trying to be conveyed. This is a problem, and a serious one. I am very proud to be part of such a diverse group of people trying to show excitement, interest, and knowledge in one of my favorite areas. I am disgusted in how some users treat newer members, or members that are trying to convey a particular message/idea relating to an idea or engine simply based that they are not looking at the information provided but rather the way it was presented. On an even worse extreme, people simply attack the person regardless whether the information is accurate or they have an opinion about the data. As a group we have to be more conscious of the fact idea it is ok to attack an idea, but not the person presenting it or discussing it. This is something I am hoping this little spiel will help with. Do this.. and this place will become more interesting than it ever was in the past. -Hijacking of threads- If you have a personal issue with someone, do not insert it into every thread they make. This is not going to be tolerated any more. If you can not have the maturity level to sustain an intelligent conversation with someone, do not post in their threads or to anything they say. The moderation team get soooo many emails about this person calling this person names and then because the other person retaliates, we get the reverse emails stating it has been done. This happened this weekend when I was the only moderator available for the majority of the time, and I just ignored it. I let the children play and it died out. And I do mean children. You know who you are.. If you hijack a thread for no other reason than to put your elbow in someone else's rib, then expect a harsh and quick response from the mod team. We are not babysitters. They get paid.. we don't. I hope this is understood. -Technical vs. Non-Technical- Recently I removed a thread of Chandler's that said "Rybka sucks for analysis" that provided no proof of that. Just the topic, some Shredder output and a SLEW of complaints. Had he stated "Rybka has issues as an analysis tool" and provided his proof, there would have been no way his post would have been removed. I would have probably joined in on the conversation to see where it was going and what he had to offer. I enjoy a good conversation and Chandler does bring up good points, but he has.. umm.. topic problems :) To often a non-technical person will inject his opinion or ask a question and the more technical people respond very brashly and harshly. This has to stop. Do we need to come up with a glossary of terms that will be allowed and not be allowed? Have a certain number of people enlisted as the technical help desk? Hand out cookies when someone answers politely? Just because your knowledge in a general area is good or great, it does not mean everyone around you will understand what you are saying or conveying. The same goes for the other direction. Less knowledgeable individuals may have to explain more detail what they are trying to say or raise a question about. Topic formation has a great deal to do with how the thread will be received and the people within the thread interacted with. A good formatted topic will yield more information and better responses. I.e..: "Rybka sucks!" = Troll thread, and probably one I will remove. "Rybka has an endgame bug - details" = Thread many people will look at,. Especially if you provide details and evidence. Do you see the difference and how they two topics would be viewed? Excellent :) If we can work on these three issues, the CCC will become a great place once again where 4 page threads of useful data will appear. People will get into great heated arguments, share ideas, and in the end probably still disagree but they will agree to disagree. Sound fun? Well only all of you can make it happen. I welcome you all to chime in and give your thoughts as this IS your club. Peter
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