Post
by Ho » Fri Mar 18, 2005 8:11 am
I do care and have gone so far as to point out and/or correct the abuses I have seen. Other moderators have done the same.
I'm not sure if the "inconsiderate asshole" comment was directed at me or not. I can take that if it is. I simply have a different tolerance level--especially when compared to Grubb. I don't mean to single him out here, but if he's going to pose this publicly, I will address it. However, everything that follows is directed toward all in a general sense.
Specifically with the rating system, as I have repeated in this thread and others, it is built to deal with an amount of disagreement, randomness, and even flat out abuse with little to no overall effect. I'm not going to waste time policing every single rating that is made. However, if I do see that something is up, I will--and have--make mention of it to stop or take corrective action if necessary.
Specific to the flaming issue, as I have said on multiple, Multiple, MULTIPLE occasions...just let it go. Defense of a flame is often a flame itself. Even if it is not, it usually provokes yet another response to it and causes the cycle to continue. At this point the defense is as big a part of the overall problem, a flamewar erupts, and the topic is derailed.
It may seem like a big deal to you, but most people probably just passed right over it and/or will forget about it in about 30 seconds. Don't feel like you need to set the record straight. Anyone who is going to make a decision about you because of what someone else said about you on a message board isn't the kind of person whose opinion you should even care about.
Also, in many cases what gets interpreted as a flame is simply a misunderstanding--a fairly common occurance in a situation such as this where facial expressions, voice inflection, and non-verbals are absent. Jokes, sarcasm, and even completely undirected comments that would be completely blown off in person can seem like an attack if you choose to interpret it as one.
I have been accused of inaction. It's true. It is because I felt there was no action necessary. I want to keep this forum running smoothly. I do not want to control it. I haven't the time nor the interest to do so. I don't lock many topics and I don't ban many users. This is intentional and a result of the fact that most people here are generally well behaved. Other forums are much more restrictive. I don't like that style and I don't think most here do either.
If it gets to the point where I'm continually cleaning up messes, locking threads, and banning users, I'd rather just shut it all down than to run it that way. In the past when that has occurred, that is exactly what I've done.
If you have problems with another user, please work it out on your own. Don't make it my problem and don't make it a problem for everyone else here. Doing so makes you the inconsiderate asshole.