Post by Lazy-Ferret on Aug 9, 2010 2:24:28 GMT -5
I found the Lazy Hammock Ferret Forum a few years ago, and what impressed me was that people could ask questions, big or small, and get a multitude of answers to their question. Not all the answers agreed with each other, but then not everyone keeps their ferrets in the same way, but with so many answers to choose from, the poster had the choice to choose to try one, and if it failed, try another, or even better make their own hybrid of the responses. What ever they did, everyone had the opportunity to learn from everyone else's responses.
As time has gone on, people seem to be less forgiving of the way "other" people keep their ferrets, and are far more opinionated that their way is the only correct way. Couple that with when someone reads something that they thought was not right, in their response, they would reply constructively, saying how they thought it was wrong, but managing to use far less sarcasm.
Forums only work if people both read and post, and to get people to do this, everyone has to feel that what ever they write will not be ridiculed, or worse. Another thing is, even if someone does post something that no one else actually agrees with, the post should be allowed to fade away becoming forgotten with time and replaced with new posts. Currently, we are seeing a bad post, but instead of it fading away, people keep referring to the post not only in the same thread but bringing it up in new threads as well.
We have had at least 65 people log on to this forum this last week. That means that every thread should have around 65 replies to let the original poster know whether the work they put in to creating the thread was worth the effort or not. It's not hard to reply, a lot of time, just using an Emoticon will suffice, just to let the poster know that you read it and appreciated it, or to welcome them on to the board etc. I think we are lucky to have such a wealth of great Icons, so lets use them and the forum properly.
If everyone who read the thread and thought it was useful, informative or funny did a small reply, then people would soon learn when their posts were not appreciated by the lack of replies, and with out the need for bad mouthing and flaming.
Why am I telling you all this.
Over the last few weeks, there have been a few threads that have got out of order. They were purely where the person starting the thread did not really give proper thought to what they wrote, where there were cultural/generational difference of opinion, or where peoples replies were a bit enthusiastic in the amount of information that they were giving out. The responses then became heated, or taunting.
For these reasons, we have taken the sad decision to introduce a "Warning System" for members.
You will notice that at the bottom of every post, there is a "Report to Mod" link. If you feel a post is out of order, or has any other issues, please press this link, and explain why you are reporting it. Do not respond to the post, just ignore it, and act as thought it was never posted.
The Moderators will review the post, and take whatever action we feel is appropriate. One of the things we can do is issue the poster with a warning ranging between 10% and 50% depending on what we decide. This warning will stay on your profile for 3 months, and will then decrease by 20% per month. If you reach a warning level of 100%, you will receive a 1 month ban. If you receive more than 2 one month bans, you will be permanently banned from the board.
Your warning level will only be visible to yourself and the Moderators.
So, please guys, lets all play nicely, and try to make the life of the moderators easier. We really do not want to use this feature, and to be honest, do not need the extra work.
The Moderators have bent over backwards to try and make sure this board has everything you need, even adding extra boards, when it looked like there was a need. So lets stop all this reading and not posting, and make it back into the happy, friendly, funny and helpful community that every one has been enjoying for so long.
As time has gone on, people seem to be less forgiving of the way "other" people keep their ferrets, and are far more opinionated that their way is the only correct way. Couple that with when someone reads something that they thought was not right, in their response, they would reply constructively, saying how they thought it was wrong, but managing to use far less sarcasm.
Forums only work if people both read and post, and to get people to do this, everyone has to feel that what ever they write will not be ridiculed, or worse. Another thing is, even if someone does post something that no one else actually agrees with, the post should be allowed to fade away becoming forgotten with time and replaced with new posts. Currently, we are seeing a bad post, but instead of it fading away, people keep referring to the post not only in the same thread but bringing it up in new threads as well.
We have had at least 65 people log on to this forum this last week. That means that every thread should have around 65 replies to let the original poster know whether the work they put in to creating the thread was worth the effort or not. It's not hard to reply, a lot of time, just using an Emoticon will suffice, just to let the poster know that you read it and appreciated it, or to welcome them on to the board etc. I think we are lucky to have such a wealth of great Icons, so lets use them and the forum properly.
If everyone who read the thread and thought it was useful, informative or funny did a small reply, then people would soon learn when their posts were not appreciated by the lack of replies, and with out the need for bad mouthing and flaming.
Why am I telling you all this.
Over the last few weeks, there have been a few threads that have got out of order. They were purely where the person starting the thread did not really give proper thought to what they wrote, where there were cultural/generational difference of opinion, or where peoples replies were a bit enthusiastic in the amount of information that they were giving out. The responses then became heated, or taunting.
For these reasons, we have taken the sad decision to introduce a "Warning System" for members.
You will notice that at the bottom of every post, there is a "Report to Mod" link. If you feel a post is out of order, or has any other issues, please press this link, and explain why you are reporting it. Do not respond to the post, just ignore it, and act as thought it was never posted.
The Moderators will review the post, and take whatever action we feel is appropriate. One of the things we can do is issue the poster with a warning ranging between 10% and 50% depending on what we decide. This warning will stay on your profile for 3 months, and will then decrease by 20% per month. If you reach a warning level of 100%, you will receive a 1 month ban. If you receive more than 2 one month bans, you will be permanently banned from the board.
Your warning level will only be visible to yourself and the Moderators.
So, please guys, lets all play nicely, and try to make the life of the moderators easier. We really do not want to use this feature, and to be honest, do not need the extra work.
The Moderators have bent over backwards to try and make sure this board has everything you need, even adding extra boards, when it looked like there was a need. So lets stop all this reading and not posting, and make it back into the happy, friendly, funny and helpful community that every one has been enjoying for so long.
HMMM.....
Don't get me started on the Men though 
<- just thought I would put my two emotes in!
