iceman
30-01-2006, 12:17 PM
I can't believe the events of the last few days, though it was predicted. Congratulations to astrogeek for being the first person banned from IceInSpace (under 6 different user names). He's not welcome back until a) He apologises, and b) He has a major attitude readjustment.
That type of behaviour is simply not welcome here. 3 people find it funny, the rest of us don't. Go find a chat room and have your "fun" there. That attitude simply won't be missed here.
The whole spam/general chat thing has been blown way out of proportion and some people are having a real problem keeping things in perspective. Thanks to Dennis and Trevor (and a few others, even Ken who i've had disagreements with) for providing a sorely-missed common sense point of view.
I asked the moderators to crack down harder (than usual) on spam while I was away, because it was predicted that a few trouble makers would stir up trouble. This is exactly what happened. There has been no change in policy (yet), it was something I asked of them so that things didn't get out of control while I was gone. Of course those few trouble makers made more trouble, and that's led us to where we are.
Spam vs off-topic. A few people have been asking what's acceptable in general chat now.. This is an astronomy forum, so we mainly talk about all things astronomy. But like any conversation between friends that have a similar hobby, sometimes we talk about "other stuff". And that's fine, that's great.. that's how we get to know each other better. Posts about Australian Idol, favourite TV shows, etc, are more than welcome. They're off-topic posts and they're welcome in the general chat area.
Spam is a post with no useful content, no purpose except to get other people to reply with spam, and to increase your post count.
Spam is not welcome anywhere on the forum, and it never has been. Yes, sometimes there is some, and it's not always deleted, but it's never been welcome. Go join a chatroom and spam there, or do it on skype or somewhere else.
To re-iterate, off-topic posts are welcome. That's where friends with the same hobby can talk about other things, and get to know each other and get to know about each other.
Does the general chat description need to be changed? Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter.. the forum guidelines say what's acceptable and what's not. Do the forum guidelines need to change? Maybe, I don't know. I need to catch up on more of what went on and speak to the moderators.
Just be aware that the events of the last few days didn't just "happen". It was instigated by some trouble-makers who were trying to stir up trouble while I was away. So when you see posts from these trouble makers, please take what they say with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism. Especially when one claims to have "resigned" as a moderator. Anyone that was around at the time would laugh at that.. His moderator status was revoked and it's obvious he is still having a hard time dealing with it.
Trouble-makers are not welcome here. If you don't like the site, if you don't like the rules, then choose to not come back. Don't visit. Go elsewhere. If you think that a few trouble-makers leaving is going to make the site stale, then i'm sorry - you overvalue the importance of your posts and how they "contribute" to the site. Trouble-makers who can't stay within the guidelines, and who go out of their way to stir up trouble, will be forced to have a forum timeout.
Another point worth noting is that disrespect of a moderator doing their duty will not be tolerated, at all. The moderators are "iceman by proxy". That is, they have been given the authority to uphold the forum guidelines that I want this forum to be run by. Their job is to help me do my job when I'm not around. They are volunteers who give up their time, read through hundreds of new posts every day to keep the forum running smooth for the benefit of all members.
Abusing or showing disrespect to a moderator, or refusing to follow their instructions, is not acceptable and if think it's ok to do this, you'll be forced to have a forum timeout.
Having said this, moderators are also human and their tolerance and patience can be really tested sometimes - just like mine is. As Dennis rightly points out in another thread, we all make mistakes and the important thing is that we learn from them.
That's all I have to say for now.
That type of behaviour is simply not welcome here. 3 people find it funny, the rest of us don't. Go find a chat room and have your "fun" there. That attitude simply won't be missed here.
The whole spam/general chat thing has been blown way out of proportion and some people are having a real problem keeping things in perspective. Thanks to Dennis and Trevor (and a few others, even Ken who i've had disagreements with) for providing a sorely-missed common sense point of view.
I asked the moderators to crack down harder (than usual) on spam while I was away, because it was predicted that a few trouble makers would stir up trouble. This is exactly what happened. There has been no change in policy (yet), it was something I asked of them so that things didn't get out of control while I was gone. Of course those few trouble makers made more trouble, and that's led us to where we are.
Spam vs off-topic. A few people have been asking what's acceptable in general chat now.. This is an astronomy forum, so we mainly talk about all things astronomy. But like any conversation between friends that have a similar hobby, sometimes we talk about "other stuff". And that's fine, that's great.. that's how we get to know each other better. Posts about Australian Idol, favourite TV shows, etc, are more than welcome. They're off-topic posts and they're welcome in the general chat area.
Spam is a post with no useful content, no purpose except to get other people to reply with spam, and to increase your post count.
Spam is not welcome anywhere on the forum, and it never has been. Yes, sometimes there is some, and it's not always deleted, but it's never been welcome. Go join a chatroom and spam there, or do it on skype or somewhere else.
To re-iterate, off-topic posts are welcome. That's where friends with the same hobby can talk about other things, and get to know each other and get to know about each other.
Does the general chat description need to be changed? Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter.. the forum guidelines say what's acceptable and what's not. Do the forum guidelines need to change? Maybe, I don't know. I need to catch up on more of what went on and speak to the moderators.
Just be aware that the events of the last few days didn't just "happen". It was instigated by some trouble-makers who were trying to stir up trouble while I was away. So when you see posts from these trouble makers, please take what they say with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism. Especially when one claims to have "resigned" as a moderator. Anyone that was around at the time would laugh at that.. His moderator status was revoked and it's obvious he is still having a hard time dealing with it.
Trouble-makers are not welcome here. If you don't like the site, if you don't like the rules, then choose to not come back. Don't visit. Go elsewhere. If you think that a few trouble-makers leaving is going to make the site stale, then i'm sorry - you overvalue the importance of your posts and how they "contribute" to the site. Trouble-makers who can't stay within the guidelines, and who go out of their way to stir up trouble, will be forced to have a forum timeout.
Another point worth noting is that disrespect of a moderator doing their duty will not be tolerated, at all. The moderators are "iceman by proxy". That is, they have been given the authority to uphold the forum guidelines that I want this forum to be run by. Their job is to help me do my job when I'm not around. They are volunteers who give up their time, read through hundreds of new posts every day to keep the forum running smooth for the benefit of all members.
Abusing or showing disrespect to a moderator, or refusing to follow their instructions, is not acceptable and if think it's ok to do this, you'll be forced to have a forum timeout.
Having said this, moderators are also human and their tolerance and patience can be really tested sometimes - just like mine is. As Dennis rightly points out in another thread, we all make mistakes and the important thing is that we learn from them.
That's all I have to say for now.