The end of local chat boards?

[Steady Eddie]

29 minutes ago, NoTailT said:

I laughed at your tweet earlier about it and I'm laughing at your post now.

It's a fad. Twitter will settle down, Mastodon will get worse.

Anything that means she’s on Twitter less is good enough for me.

[Amadeus]

As John said, this forum is lightly moderated. It also still has its place in island life as a board where you can post anonymously. A lot of people don't like that but I fully understand and defend the need for it as the island is small and you sometimes simply can't say things openly or use (often useless) whistleblowing mechanisms, etc, for fear of the repercussions that may bring. Just remember all the stories that broke here first. 

[TheTeapot]

Heavy handed moderation kills conversation always.

Humourless moderation is even worse.

There is a clear difference between genuine accounts and actual troll accounts.

THE MODERATORS DECISION IS FINAL 

No chatting back.

[Expat.]

I'm not much of a contributor but I am an avid reader of these pages. The level of discussion and contributions are several degrees of magnitude better than most other places I've stumbled through. There are a lot of intelligent, thoughtful and incisive contributors, and a lot who can make me laugh out loud, for a variety of reasons though. If that's what moderation does, moderate away.  

[Declan]

What’s a chat board? 

[The Voice of Reason]

2 hours ago, John Wright said:

@Asthehills you’ve only been here three months. You’re posting an average of 10 posts a day.

You seem to think it was worthwhile.

We really do moderate very lightly. 

John I must disagree about moderatingly lightly.  I have been on here for many years. I got a ban ( albeit for a small period) from you for being “cheeky” to a moderator. This was when I suggested that that the trans issue was attracting more attention than Brexit on these forums ( a small bit of banter I was having with PK.)

My comments were never directed at you but even if they could be interpreted as having being , certainly not you as a moderator. Possibly as a normal member. Did seem an abuse of your powers but hey ho.

Maybe I was unaware of the code that “ get a room” means terminate your exchanges

[Asthehills]

I will just say I know of a few people who have posted here over the years who don’t now due to moderation and there being a perception of some who can do no wrong, and others who get jumped on whenever they post.

Nothing more to add other than in my very humble opinion this would be a more worthwhile and active forum if all posters were treated equally and if the actions of one particular moderator were a bit less heavy handed and personal.

Its a shame because with a more welcoming approach to new members and less of the fact that some posters can do no wrong just because they have been here for a long time it could be a very useful place for discussion.

[The Voice of Reason]

7 minutes ago, Asthehills said:

I will just say I know of a few people who have posted here over the years who don’t now due to moderation and there being a perception of some who can do no wrong, and others who get jumped on whenever they post.

Nothing more to add other than in my very humble opinion this would be a more worthwhile and active forum if all posters were treated equally and if the actions of one particular moderator were a bit less heavy handed and personal.

Its a shame because with a more welcoming approach to new members and less of the fact that some posters can do no wrong just because they have been here for a long time it could be a very useful place for discussion.

Well as one of the long time  posters mentioned in your third paragraph I can only agree with the latter part of your second paragraph.

If we are thinking of the same moderator I met them many years ago and have always held them in high regard. But it seems the power of a moderator on here has gone to their head which is really weird given their position in the real world.

[Gladys]

11 minutes ago, Asthehills said:

I will just say I know of a few people who have posted here over the years who don’t now due to moderation and there being a perception of some who can do no wrong, and others who get jumped on whenever they post.

Nothing more to add other than in my very humble opinion this would be a more worthwhile and active forum if all posters were treated equally and if the actions of one particular moderator were a bit less heavy handed and personal.

Its a shame because with a more welcoming approach to new members and less of the fact that some posters can do no wrong just because they have been here for a long time it could be a very useful place for discussion.

Not sure there is any preferential treatment.  Thing is, some posters have no filter, do not read what they have posted before pressing the button and mostly have no regard for repercussions.  They get banned, sensibly because the fallout hits the mods and site first, then re-join under a different name, thinking they have played the system.  They haven't, the familiar style becomes apparent pretty quickly.  But rather than think 'I should moderate myself', it becomes a perceived vendetta. 

The truth is,  none of the mods want to deal with the shite, they don't get paid and are purely volunteers to enable a site which, in the main, most people enjoy.  If you cannot understand that, then perhaps you aren't cut out for MF. 

[NoTailT]

50 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

John I must disagree about moderatingly lightly.  I have been on here for many years. I got a ban ( albeit for a small period) from you for being “cheeky” to a moderator. This was when I suggested that that the trans issue was attracting more attention than Brexit on these forums ( a small bit of banter I was having with PK.)

My comments were never directed at you but even if they could be interpreted as having being , certainly not you as a moderator. Possibly as a normal member. Did seem an abuse of your powers but hey ho.

Maybe I was unaware of the code that “ get a room” means terminate your exchanges

This light hearted response got me a 20 day restriction from posting for answering back to moderators.

https://www.manxforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/66896-airport/&do=findComment&comment=1605432

[The Voice of Reason]

18 minutes ago, NoTailT said:

This light hearted response got me a 20 day restriction from posting for answering back to moderators.

https://www.manxforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/66896-airport/&do=findComment&comment=1605432

Wow seems I got off lightly!
Certainly overuse of profanities and defamation , racist, homophobic comments etc are worthy of bans but I didn’t realise that MF censorship had reached this level.

My ban such as it was has certainly opened my eyes. 

Yes Gladys these people don’t get paid and ordinarily we should be grateful for the work they put in. But that doesn’t excuse their excesses ( Expects further ban)

If you don’t hear from me in the next week you’ll know what’s happened!!

Edited November 13, 2022 by The Voice of Reason

[Omobono]

Manx Forums is an excellent way of getting ones point across , and in this day and age  of a faceless and often clueless government   it has been a major   indicator of public opinion ,  I know of several MHK's and civil servants who keenly follow the forums , because they no longer trust the propaganda   that continues to  be  pushed out by government ,  the forums are populated by some very  well informed contributions ,   often  from a cry from within the system itself , as long as its not defamatory  or offensive  it  has become a Manx institution in its own right , and long may it continue  

[slinkydevil]

4 hours ago, The Voice of Reason said:

Wow seems I got off lightly!
Certainly overuse of profanities and defamation , racist, homophobic comments etc are worthy of bans but I didn’t realise that MF censorship had reached this level.

My ban such as it was has certainly opened my eyes. 

Yes Gladys these people don’t get paid and ordinarily we should be grateful for the work they put in. But that doesn’t excuse their excesses ( Expects further ban)

If you don’t hear from me in the next week you’ll know what’s happened!!

[The Bastard]

If you're not keen on the moderation, then there are other forums. At the end of the day, someone pays for the hosting, the domain registration, and the legal consultations and they can pretty much do what they want with their site. If their appointed staff want to ban someone they are perfectly at liberty to do it. If you're not happy, then start your own site and spend your life dealing with all the associated spam, butthurt and absurd nonsense complaints from crackpots behind the scenes.

[AOR]

The end of local chat boards?

This would have been said when Beemanx was up and running. Probably because someone used the 'f' word or something. But it survived, erm, until it didn't.

Then manx.net forums (good ol' Snitz Forums software) run within Manx Telecom. There were various reasons why that did close down but a significant one being because a bloke with too much money and too much influence didn't like the way his petulant kid was being discussed. See next...

Slim took on the reins (I can't just think of the exact name, a Manx forum anyway) and did a great job but it's not nice when you have people knocking on your door and worrying your family. See above.

Then there was this. Manx Forums. It has survived through various issues including the uncle Albert fiasco but it had a strong team behind it, and as it transpires a remarkably strong and loyal following.

I don't think a disgruntled user that has had a bit of a ban due to a fit of pique is going to make any difference.

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by AOR
Typo: Beemanx