I just made this post in the main forum, probably not very wisely after Meadish explained that bannings could not be discussed.

I will never ever understand this rule. The only vaild complaint I have ever seen about TV is the bannings of forum members and yet no one seems prepared to sort this problem out starting with a basic discussion. In the end the feedback would be very valuable to George and co. who would in the long term make more money from this website if a solution is found.

It seems a very backward approach to business to ignore the 'customers' only complaint about service. Most efficient business models pay for this kind of information. Perhaps a thread in Bedlam would be a start Meadish, it may turn out to be very useful?

A 'how can we improve this forum / any complaints about this forum' kind of topic. Burying heads in the sand is not very productice and I assume George wants this website to be as productive as possible.

I thought a place where these problems could be discussed would be useful. I understand they are probably discussed in the mods forum but posters can't give back feedback there and posters feedback would be useful to this site don't you think?

I thought Bedlam might be a good place to start as the more sensible posters are here and we will not have newbie trolls turning up to just to slag mods they have had problems with in the past. Obviously thats not productive at all and the reason moderation/complaints cannot be discussed in the main forum.

Here in bedlam maybe something more useful would come out of it, useful to us the users and useful to the admin as a happy forum is a productive one, and a productive forum ends up making more money.

Individual slagging matches for mods should not be discussed here I don't think.

My first complaint is though many people have been banned from this site I would imagine many would come back if offered the chance. Right now this forum has become quite boring without some of the old characters, something I think everyone would agree on. Is there anyway to bring them back might be a first thing for admin to look at.

Please note mods I am asking here for a place where we could discuss modration issues and not actually discussing them so don't be too harsh if you feel the need to close this thread.

Please note mods I am asking here for a place where we could discuss modration issues and not actually discussing them so don't be too harsh if you feel the need to close this thread.

Isn't this a classic example of the problem. To me it appears that everyone is so afraid of offending a mod and getting banned that the quality of posts has dropped right off.

Please note mods I am asking here for a place where we could discuss modration issues and not actually discussing them so don't be too harsh if you feel the need to close this thread.

Isn't this a classic example of the problem. To me it appears that everyone is so afraid of offending a mod and getting banned that the quality of posts has dropped right off.

Its true, after the times of 2003 the fear of mod action has put everyone on edge I think to the point where I daren't even approach a mod with constructive criticism for fear of being put on the 'trouble maker' list.

Even starting this thread which is done with best intentions (coz I would love to see TV improve since I use this site everyday without fail) is dodgy I feel, and a mod on the wrong day may end up banning me / suspending me for it. A true shame.

so two problems noted so far:

1. There's members out there that were banned that are dying to get back here and post and contribute to the site. How to get them back?

2. Fear of the mods means there is a lack of useful feedback coming from the forum users. How to get that useful information from posters and use it in such a way as to improve the forums service?

mods have to moderate themselves...there are mods that have an agenda, ie, shoot down popular posters for no reason other than to exercise their control...there is a community of moderators that have their own rules and control the excesses of fellow mods accordingly

unfortunately mods support other mods to the extent that the purpose is lost...it is unfortunate that a lot of the TV mods are british...what this means is that even though there may be a legitimate complaint they will 'close ranks' regardless...in America if you were to side with a person that was clearly wrong it would be yer ass...choke on that, ENRON Ken Lay...

well...fuk that...in a perfect world a mod that banned someone for no good reason would be excluded and punished...

I'm not saying 'put it to the vote' ...uninformed schoolyard 'democracy' is unwelcome everywhere...a <deleted> arrangement that the US would like to impose on the world...all I'm saying is that the mods must moderate themselves...

Good topic, BKK. I, myself, have never had a problem with any mods or admin although I've read many, many stories. I do agree with your points and with your intention. Objective and well thought out criticism has great value.

Listening to, respecting and valuing your customers is essential to the ultimate success of any business. Seeking to consistently improve one's self as an individual and/or a business entity requires at it's foundation an in-depth reflection of current ideas, objective analysis of those ideas, and a willingness to change what was once thought of as right but then, upon further investigation, found to be untrue. That is a never-ending endeavor.

I, myself, have never had a problem with any mods or admin although I've read many, many stories.

Its not so much about having a problem with the mods as I haven't myself except once with an admin which to be fair I deserved. Some other people as you point out though are not so lucky, and this is problem since the mods aren't robots, and as much as they might want to bite their tongue and not press the suspsension/banned button, they can get as wound up as the next guy, and lo and behold mistakes can be made, good posters are banned, and the end result is the board is effected negatively. Another thing to add here is especially when a mod makes a sarky comment after it, poor taste I think and does nothing but further the gap between mods and posters who also might one day be at the end of the comment.

I suppose one suggestion is better self moderation within the site. I have seen elsewhere on the board that should not be mentioned the use of 'repo' points. Now that board can get messy because repo points are given not always for the right reasons, but on this board repo points will be more likely allocated from one poster to another on the basis of 'good info'/'encouraging advice' just because thats what this board and its posters are noted for.

It'd be natural for someone to try to get more green repo points than red because its human behavior to want respect amongst your peers in any community, even an online one.

It sounds childish but if something like stars were awarded by other posters for good advice given then I will guarantee you find more members offering good advice in a hope to get more stars by their name.

On the flipside if stars were discarded because a poster makes a stupid flame or whatever then they will likely think a little harder before making that flame.

This is even truer when those repo points are followed with a comment from the giver as a pat on the back from another poster encourages another useful post, whilst a 'I think you was a bit rude there mate' comment would make a poster stop and think that perhaps he was and could do better next time.

Its an effective way to ensure moderation from the posters and peers in a community. If you leave it in the hand of individual mods then you end up with the kind of individual poster/mod clashes that often result in an unfair banning. Again, negative for this board.

Obviously mods have to be involved at some point if a poster gets out of hand, but I bet simple little things like this would help the Thaivisa community come together and leave less work for the mods.

At the very least some people will work there <deleted> off to get a whole batch of gold stars (as they do to get post counts up) and you have a busier board with more useful information.

I've been slaggin Bops off for months, but he never gets Banned.

it is unfortunate that a lot of the TV mods are british

err, no actually, i think you'll find most of the active mods are either american, austrialian or british with the majority actually aussies, so your incorrect theory is wrong.

I've been slaggin Bops off for months, but he never gets Banned.

I have been trying to get you banned!!! Wow, both of us are pests.

err, no actually, i think you'll find most of the active mods are either american, austrialian or british with the majority actually aussies, so your incorrect theory is wrong.

Does your use of the word "active" mean that only the majority Aussie mods are awake?

Perhaps the Yanky and Pom mods fall asleep too easily. A drinking problem maybe????

A drinking problem maybe????

I think you could have left the "maybe" out..

totster

it is unfortunate that a lot of the TV mods are british

err, no actually, i think you'll find most of the active mods are either american, australian or british with the majority actually aussies , so your incorrect theory is wrong.

There in lies the problem....get rid of the Aussies.

I've been suspended a few times and honestly it came as a suprise to me every time. I would have toed the line quite eagerly if the line was shown to me more clearly.....I got suspended once for using the term "idiot farang" after having used the same term in my previous three posts over a period of three days and without warning. The moderator could have just said, "Chownah, don't call people idiot farangs or we will suspend you" and I would have eagerly complied. The point here is not to air some past grievance...the point is that a simple direct statement is all that would be required many times to correct someones posting style....and if someone doesn't respond to this warning then the inevitable will come to pass.

Rules, its all down to rules ladies and gentlement. We, as moderators are here to make sure that the Administrators rules are followed, a simple thing that some of you lot have difficulty with, some more than others.

There have been some changes recently in the moderators forum which should start to level things out a bit. We are only human and sometimes mistakes can happen, generally these are rectified pretty quickly. With some of the new policies and procedures we are adopting there should be less 'instant bans'

It always makes me laugh though, its always the forums biggest trouble-makers that scream, shout, cry and throw their toys out of the prams that complain and bitch about moderation on this forum. You can (as a moderator) see who these people are quite easily/quickly by looking at their warning levels... the closer to the magic 10 they get to, the more they seem to whinge and moan... must be a sub-consious thing!

Still, back to the rules part... Discussion of Moderator actions, policies etc are not allowed to be discussed on the forum and should be directed to a moderator or administrator. I wont be issueing any warnings for this thread itself, but should anyone reopen the thread, in any section of Thaivisa.com, i will excerise my right to issue warnings and suspensions.

I hope that helps clarify the situation.