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Site Staff & Moderation of threads

7K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  skymaster 
#1 ·
There have been some complaints lately about how this site is moderated. So I want take a minute to address this topic. These are my thoughts, I'm not writing this on behalf of the other staff members or owner of the site.

First of all I want to remind everyone that this site is different from many other forums you may visit, and that is intentional, and we don't plan to change the way we moderate the site. If everyone stops coming because of that, I suppose we would just close the doors and go fishing. We moderators don't do this to make money (good thing because none of us do) or boost our ego's because, well, it just doesn't do that, this job is very humbling at times.

We above all realize that what we/you write is seen by many people and respect is due to all, whether you agree with them or not. The people reading and writing these things are REAL people, if you wouldn't say it to their face, in front of your wife or your boss, don't say it here. This is a privately owned forum but open to the public as long as you follow our rules.

In view of that, here's the "rule of thumb" we use in moderating - this is Randy's (owner of the site) living room. You have been invited into his home. He expects you to be polite, behave, treat others with respect and not RANT on and on, get in people's face, etc. If you do not follow those guidelines, you are politely asked to change your tact. If that doesn't work after several attempts, you are no longer welcome in Randy's living room. Period. Other than spam, we have only had to evict a handful of folks in 9 years and most of them have apologized and promised to behave and have been allowed back into the forums.

Specifically, contrary to some folk's accusation, there is no hidden agenda, the moderators and administrators here don't take sides when it comes to moderating the threads, we really don't. We do realize that sometimes, especially to someone with a strong opinion on a topic, it may seem to them that we do. That is often because they don't see everything that we do. They don't see all the posts (a few posts never see the light of day for more than few minutes), they might not know the history of a topic or the persons involved, or they just might not see the topic subjectively enough (as I like to say, from the point of view of a casual observer). Or often they haven't taken the time to read the rules (like no pile-on rants) and realize they are violating our policy until we point it out. And to be honest, a few, and it is a very few, just don’t care about our policies.

Regarding some recent accusations that we moderate according to the will of our sponsors, to my knowledge (and I'm the longest serving staff member with the exception of the owner), we have NEVER had a sponsor ask us to alter or remove content on this site. We do protect their investment by not allowing free advertising but that is our choice and we are very clear about that.

As to notifying folks about removing or editing a thread: We'll we will sometimes notify you but rarely if you are a regular here and the infraction is obvious. We all have full time jobs (or run our own company) and are volunteers not paid staff. Nor do we do it because we have an agenda we want to promote. We all do this because we want a good clean place to hang out and discuss FISHING. Who wants to read a four page thread about commercial fisherman for the hundredth time? We know where it's going, into a rant, with accusations, personal innuendos, etc. We've seen it before, more than a few times. Sometimes we'll let it go for a bit and sometimes not. But that isn't because of any hidden agenda, we try to let people voice their opinions but at some point, enough is enough.

I realize that I may have just upset a few people with this post, I'm not going to apologize for that. But I will say that my intent is not to upset folks but rather to assure you that we play on as level of a field as we possibly can. It may not be a field you like or agree with but we really do try to be objective and fair to all.
 
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#2 ·
Thanks for articulating this Mike. It would be nice if more folks would assume that we have the best of intentions rather than the worst. I assure you folks we have no agenda of any kind. Our only motivation is to keep the site respectful and family-friendly and a place that folks want to visit to learn more about fishing. We're not perfect and if you feel we've wronged you somehow please let us know via PM or by using the Report Post button and we'll revisit a moderation decision to make sure we are being consistent with our policies.

For most that know me, I am a pretty easy going guy. I like for folks to get along and enjoy fellowship, friendships and fishing. Our moderators are some of the finest men I've ever known and their volunteer work here is most appreciated by me. We all have jobs, families and many other responsibilites aside from NCangler.com. I'd like to keep the site going and growing and I admit I wouldn't mind if it actually did make money some day! :) All that said, thanks for considering our perspective on moderation.

Blessings
Randy
Administrator
 
#3 ·
I can't imagine anyone any real problems with the site. There have been a few threads locked that I may not have stopped that quick and a few other things removed that did not bother me. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't bother someone else. I totally understand the need to err on the high ground, and I sure wouldn't trade this site for any 10 other sites out there. I have made a bunch of good friends on this site, and a few even better than good. And I have never hesitated to recommend it to anyone, esp if they are interested in family friendly fishing trips.

Darrell
 
#5 ·
There are other forums or FB pages for arguing about com vs rec and other political BS (NCW or FB pages). Yes, its an important subject but I enjoy the peace on NC Angler and lack of BS if you will that other forums have. To top it off, this place is not one sided like the other forums that allow the attacks are, its either one side or the other, here, its fishing reports, invites for get together's, questions and answers or just good ole fashion fishing/outdoors talk. Thank you to the moderators that keep this place civil and a great site, and thank you Randy for the forum!
 
#7 ·
there are other forums or fb pages for arguing about com vs rec and other political bs (ncw or fb pages). Yes, its an important subject but i enjoy the peace on nc angler and lack of bs if you will that other forums have. To top it off, this place is not one sided like the other forums that allow the attacks are, its either one side or the other, here, its fishing reports, invites for get together's, questions and answers or just good ole fashion fishing/outdoors talk. Thank you to the moderators that keep this place civil and a great site, and thank you randy for the forum!
this! +1 :)
 
#6 ·
I try to keep my soapbox under the desk. Sometimes I slip up a bit and when I do I get my nose slapped, and that's fine with me. All in all this is the BEST fishing forum I have ever been a part of! I have other outlets where I can spew my frustrations, just look at my FB if you don't believe me LOL! Looks like the software is doing a good job of keeping the curse words at bay, and we do all need to remember the videos we post of our proud or crazy moments have to be within those guidelines as well so if you don't know how to edit sound please ask around and someone will help you. I know when I am excited/frustrated, my language will "slip"...
 
#11 ·
I am a fishing forum junky. I believe the mods here do a good job of keeping everything in line and family friendly. Their house their rules... im cool with that. Several other boards I frequent can get some heated threads that go on for many pages and feelings get hurt, that never comes close to happening here.
 
#14 ·
Hard for me to imagine what people would find to complain about with regards to moderation on this site.

You guys do a great job. There are reasons this forum is so popular and populated. Keep it up.
 
#15 ·
I'd also like to add that I really enjoy the site and how it is moderated. One thing I really enjoy is how newbie friendly it is. Some other forums have a core group of regulars and will jump all over someone new for asking "dumb" questions. I have never read anything like that on this forum. Keep up the good work and know that you have far more supporters than detractors.
 
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