• March 31, 2023, 11:16 a.m.

    Don, that's not genuine. Let's not libel people, even if we have disagreements with them.

  • March 31, 2023, 11:20 a.m.

    The problem is that not 'thick skinned' tends not to be symmetrical. I know of a lot of posters on DPReview that would dish out some quite nasty invective and then complain about others for much smaller transgressions, usually triggered by their own activities. We need to work to make this a site that makes everyone (so far as possible) feel welcome, and that means somehow catering for all kinds of personality types, and providing protection form the group bullying behaviour that the DPReview moderation systems actually encouraged on some of the worst moderated forums.

  • Members 2305 posts
    March 31, 2023, 11:23 a.m.

    must be close :-) i was just on the pentax forums posting some flowers and noticed all the locked threads then i looked at the mod list and guess what :-) it was our favourite mod at it again :-)
    Don
    Aussie humour :-)

    Libel refers to defamation that occurs in print, and slander refers to defamation that occurs in speech. Although this distinction still exists in the United States, it no longer exists in Australia and hasn't for some time. The Defamation Act 2005 (Cth) abolished slander and libel.

  • Members 13 posts
    March 31, 2023, 12:18 p.m.

    I'd settle for no politics allowed and be happy. Some introduce their views no matter the subject. The last couple of years on DPR were really good about cleaning that up.

  • Members 13 posts
    March 31, 2023, 12:41 p.m.

    I am like a broken record on this. This is how forums on any (!) topic go south. It occurs in two steps:

    1. Poster A posts a comment about a camera, lens, photograph...
    2. Poster B posts a personal comment about Poster A rather than discussing a camera, lens, photograph...

    From there things go bad. Personal zings and politics will ruin any forum.

  • March 31, 2023, 2:28 p.m.

    Whatever, best to stick to telling the truth. I know that you could argue that this is humorous satire, but still - best not to get into digs at individuals.

  • Members 621 posts
    March 31, 2023, 2:41 p.m.

    I did the humour in Donโ€™s post. Mako seems to have become a lot more rigidโ€ฆfor quite some time. He was actually helpful with me dealing with a fanboy who would stalk posts and scream being the victim. For me, I like the idea of everyone having a clean slate here and the idea of more accountability with modsโ€ฆ.and the freedom to respect discuss their actions. The fact that the mod posts have become the most popular here in DPRevived is pretty good indication it was not working at DPReview.

  • Members 140 posts
    March 31, 2023, 2:54 p.m.

    Perhaps we can avoid maybe 1/3 of flames and boost overall civility if we adopt a uniform and consistently used, oft repeated description of the ISO setting. As you know more than anyone, it is an extremely misunderstood and controversial topic. Maybe if a group of moderators write up one concise definition then just re-paste it every time it comes up, maybe, hopefully, we avoid all of the wasted energy surrounding that subject.

  • Members 11 posts
    March 31, 2023, 3:38 p.m.

    I don't really understand nor see that any ONE topic often becomes a focus point of invective argument. It often is anything, which sideswipes a thread into a personal word war between a few. A tough 'soft' border which mods must navigate. As a contributing user you can 1. Ignore the thread from there on. 2. Ignore the skirmish and bring the thread direction back with your post 3. Join the melee and throw fuel on the blaze.
    You see 'ISO' , I see 'IQ', let's cal the whole thing off... LOL!
    'Moderation' - defined well by all dictionaries, both for those who are users and as a 'job' function.
    Here
    No Moderation means bringing a shovel to help bury DPrevived, quickly and cleanly.
    How to implement 'Moderation'.
    Given a NEW site/forum/meeting place, it's good to try new ideas.
    Defined term of being a mod - a good idea, maybe 1 yr is too short to really become effective, maybe 3 is too long... or 4 or 5 ??? IDK...
    How to pick/find those who have a well balanced value set and and are neither a 'hanging judge' nor a 'kumbaya' pushover. Moderators are generally 'moderate' themselves. That seems the real issue.
    I think we all consider ourselves 'moderate', until it comes to the HOT button, then we rationalize.
    I see 2 things. 1. NEW users without a history in some reasonable observable history in another forum, should not be chosen as MODs.
    2. those in consideration and have some history in other forums (like DPR) should be reviewed for their history. That includes MODs from prior forums.
    I know... complicated... I don't see a way around it, for those 'in charge' of the site. Maybe AI ? LOL! sorry... LOL!
    Thx
    Yuri

    EDIT: another thought , a 'mentoring' system which would be applied to all MODs at the outset (regardless of prior anything). And after some term of being 'mentored' by a 'Mentor Team', then maybe also being considered for possible 'mentor'. Those who have already put the work into the site, like Bob, would be the initial 'Mentors'... ?

  • Members 6 posts
    March 31, 2023, 5:26 p.m.

    I agree 100%. I'm probably thinking about the same mod, and would leave a site where he was given any authority.

  • Members 3 posts
    March 31, 2023, 5:42 p.m.

    I was a moderator for the past few years on the "Canon Rebel" forum. It was fairly low traffic and had some well-meaning helpful posts and good behaviour/engagement from the small core group of members who participated regularly. I tried to keep a fairly hands off approach, really just monitoring for spam, approving new members and checking for complaints daily. I mostly took it on out of a feeling of duty toward the forum that I grew up with, to give back (despite not having used a Rebel camera for many years). I'm 100% happy to leave the MOD duties behind, it made it a bit more challenging to intact with members (its harder to hang out with everyone when you're the police, so to speak.) I never had to tangle with some of the more challenging subforms (but caught of glimpse of it in the private mods sub-forum), and wish the best of luck to those who take on the responsibility. It requires a degree of pragmatism, and remembering that you're not there to be the leader, or direct the discussion, but to keep the people with bad intentions from ruining the experience for everyone else.

  • Members 878 posts
    March 31, 2023, 6:07 p.m.

    A bit off topic. I changed my name back to JACS. That changed my name (and avatar) of all posts here so far, nice. The "likes" however appear with my old screen name "Snapper." Not complaining, just noticing.

  • Members 37 posts
    March 31, 2023, 6:30 p.m.

    I find the idea of talking softly and carrying a big stick to work in many cases. On the forums where I am a mod, I usually modify a post upon the first instance of an infraction and PM the person saying why I modified their post and asking them to please reread the forum rules and refrain from doing that in the future. Never a threat, just a gentle reminder.

    If anything persists, then you may have to take more direct action. Granted, people who want to make trouble will do so. It happens on every forum to some extent, some worse than others. The best thing to have are level headed mods who do not over-react. If you do not have that (or have mods who actively participate in creating a toxic atmosphere) that will drive away a lot of people.

    Edit: I agree that it may not be wise to appoint mods from amongst the ones from DPReview, old vendettas may carry over, leading to the same toxic environment which everyone complains about establishing itself here.

  • Members 435 posts
    March 31, 2023, 6:50 p.m.

    Well that was interesting. I replied to a member in the site and feedback forum on DPR about another forum he was meddling in and my post was deleted within a couple of minutes. Guess who one of the moderators is on there.

    In 23 years on DPR, that's a first for me! So I see what you mean about Mako2011. First time I've had that happen or even seen him before.

    Danny. <------ still in shock ;-)

  • Members 6 posts
    March 31, 2023, 7:11 p.m.

    A few days ago, I posted a comment, in the Feedback forum, about the number of threads that had been deleted throughout DPR.

    Not only was the thread deleted, my account was restricted, and my future comments had to be approved by a moderator before anyone could see them. I could also not send PMs. No reason was given for the restrictions, and I couldn't get Mako2011 to respond to my inquiries.

    First time in 21-years at DPR that anything like this had happened, and the Admins did lift the restrictions, but I have no respect for a person like Mako2011.

  • Members 435 posts
    March 31, 2023, 7:27 p.m.

    Oh wow. Obviously a nutter. First time I've actually come across him. Amazing, but can see now what others have been saying and you as well. Gees.

    Danny.

  • Members 2305 posts
    March 31, 2023, 8:13 p.m.

    good on you mate for changing your name back to JACS. Im using my old name from DPR after 21,000 posts 12 years without any problems and not letting a few bad mods from DPR control my writings on a new forum. i had to change my name 3 times in the last 18 months because of the stalking from the same 3 mods.

  • Members 1 post
    March 31, 2023, 9:37 p.m.

    I liked DPR original forum more, when there were no moderation.
    It was much more vivid place.
    Whatever you decide, I believe you should start with a clean slate,
    Some of the recent mods on DPR seemed to enjoy the virtual power more, than actual moderation.
    I went to DPRforum and when I saw one of the little Napoleons, spreading his wings already, I cancelled my account there.