I am sure many people read a thread this morning started by the moderators in which it was stated that two members of this forum had been banned.
Since then this entire thread has been deleted. Please may I ask the moderators to make a clear statement regarding exactly who has been banned (if anyone) and the reason why these people have been banned.
I'm a bit confused mick, I thought you were one of the moderators? Which suggests this has been a fairly arbitrary decision if you didn't know about it and what's going on with whole threads being removed? I personally didn't agree with much of what Chris b said and I think he and many others of the negative persuasion lost all credibility when they passed up on the chance to question dw at the forum directly, keyboard warriors clearly. But not all of the criticism has been without justification and am not in favour of banning people. Who else has been banned?
I was unable to attend the game on the day of the forum, and I sent a question to Steve as per original post, this was subsequently withdrawn, Steve knew why I wasn't there, nothing sinister or bottling out, just 2 sport events clashing.
And you're clearly not banned either, very confusing. I'm pleased about that, diverse opinion makes the forum more interesting . You weren't the only one who couldn't make the forum Chris, I wasn't there either but from what I hear not many of the burning issues raised on here were actually put to dw and you aren't a lone voice. On a different subject there is a good non partisan article about hastings united in the hastings independent free paper.
I normally just read and rarely comment, my days of home and away games are about 15 years ago. I don't feel the knowledge to give opinions. I like Bert because he makes great factual posts. Watching what goes on here though is kinda depressing. People on this forum don't seem to get that you can disagree without either being rude or meaning the other person is not a true fan etc. forums are surely all about opinion and discussing even hypothetical ideas.
Chris I think you make some very good points but you do allow those with the opposing view an open goal with the personal stuff. It has been shown on here time and again that if you don't agree with their viewpoint they are not above getting nasty, using the catch all we need to get behind the team and or using the less pleasant comments made to close down any genuine debate.
I am sure Mr willis is not interested in my opinion I don't go often enough. I respect the view about loyal supporters, but that was pretty dismissive of a fellow supporter and if you want to build gates in the future you will need to be a heck lot more welcoming. However I would venture players don't check the forum out unless they have a thick skin or just had a great game and want to read the plaudits ( that would be me, although I hasten to add I was never as good as I wanted to be!!). What is wrong with giving opposing views that means you need to be tagged as a keyboard warrior.
It seems a polite debate around the chairman is relevant. What does he bring? what do people expect and what, of those desiring a change, people would want to change? Is it realistic?
General, Yes, I am a moderator on this forum though my initial involvement in this morning's "waste of a stamp" debate wasn't because I felt I should have been consulted......it was because I could not see anything that really deserved a ban. There is actually a very fine dividing line between some of the posts in that particular thread. The comment about "engaging what little brain you have" was out of order but then again this was in response to a comment about "taking a year out, and another and another and another". This was certainly a provocative statement. My point though is that moderators should act in an appropriate way to ensure the tone of each post is acceptable and that respect is shown between members. As I say, there is a very fine line in making this judgement. What I absolutely object to though is any move to apply censorship to this forum. This forum is supposed to be totally unaffiliated to the club. Therefore if an individual wishes to express his views that the club cannot progress all the time the current club owner is in place then he has every right to do so without intervention from the moderators. I would like to think no-one is currently banned for this particular 'offence'. I certainly would not support such action by the moderators. Once we start applying any level of censorship on members then this forum will lose all credibility.
So Mick, can you clarify what you and the other moderators and admin will do about potentially libellous/litigious comments in the future? In your post you imply that because the forum is unaffiliated to the club, then basically everyone can post what they want? I would personally advise caution with this approach as administrators and moderators of public forums can (and have been) sued for allowing libellous remarks to go unchecked. I’ve not seen too many of course but have seen some near the mark stuff in recent weeks which is a cause for concern. What I absolutely object to is posters who take freedom of speech to the extreme and use it to troll and make insulting remarks about others – unchecked.
As far as credibility of the forum goes – I think that’s all gone in the last few months. A repeated failure to act on certain issues by moderators has led to a situation that we are in now. A repeated unwillingness to apply the basic rules ( which are clear for all to see on the homepage) has allowed this forum to degenerate into a position where football is not discussed anymore and arguments and bitter sniping is now the norm. However, now it appears that “anything goes”; those rules should probably be ripped up anyway.
Pat if you read the rules, you will notice that moderators have broken these rules as well as people like me. ( not all moderators but some), so perhaps they should be re written
So Mick, can you clarify what you and the other moderators and admin will do about potentially libellous/litigious comments in the future? In your post you imply that because the forum is unaffiliated to the club, then basically everyone can post what they want?
Not at all. The usual standards regarding decency, abuse, intimidation, racial or other offensive comments will still apply. I am disappointed that you appear to be suggesting otherwise.
I would personally advise caution with this approach as administrators and moderators of public forums can (and have been) sued for allowing libellous remarks to go unchecked. I’ve not seen too many of course but have seen some near the mark stuff in recent weeks which is a cause for concern. What I absolutely object to is posters who take freedom of speech to the extreme and use it to troll and make insulting remarks about others – unchecked.
Insulting remarks will not be tolerated but, as I pointed out yesterday, drawing the line as to what is and isn’t acceptable is almost impossible. It is a very subjective decision and often down to personal opinion and probably who the writer is. What moderators obviously cannot be expected to do is check the validity and accuracy of every single comment made on this forum. It is not unreasonable that posters therefore must take personal responsibility for the veracity of what they write. In any case, readers will always make their own judgement on what to believe and what not to believe.
As far as credibility of the forum goes – I think that’s all gone in the last few months. A repeated failure to act on certain issues by moderators has led to a situation that we are in now. A repeated unwillingness to apply the basic rules ( which are clear for all to see on the homepage) has allowed this forum to degenerate into a position where football is not discussed anymore and arguments and bitter sniping is now the norm. However, now it appears that “anything goes”; those rules should probably be ripped up anyway.
It is ridiculous to suggest that now “anything goes”. The point is that individuals must be allowed to voice an opinion that is “against the club” on a forum such as this. Anything else can only be seen as censorship. It is absolutely inevitable when a club underperforms on the pitch as ours has this season that people will look around for people to blame. You may not agree with that opinion but that does not mean the person does not have the right to express it, providing this is done within the agreed code of decency.
Thank you Mick. That is a reassuring and comprehensive response. I totally agree that free opinion must be heard but in line with the forum rules. Let's hope from now on the moderators apply these properly and the forum can go back to the way it used to be- fiery debate but no personal insults !
