- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 9,786
There really is only so much the mods can do. The frequency of thread locks seems to be decreasing, but I think it still happens at too high a rate for the forum. I'm not complaining about the mods for thread locks, more like, the culture of users who frequent the forum and how we provide feedback.
Jeff sort of regularly chews people out for sticking their foot in their mouth and that is fun to see. It should happen more often and by more users when thread drift and negativity starts to insinuate itself into a thread. As much as mods have power, abusers like to play up the martyr/victim role for getting chewed out. It helps when several people, in a polite but logical language, try to steer a person out of their bad trajectory. In the end, this place is about social networking and peer pressure really works. How about we all play a bit of hall monitor role when reading threads.
As a critique of the ESEE forum, I often see comments in other forums about this forum being overly 'clicky'. It is legitimately very difficult to look outside of 'the club' mentality, because people become friends and learn each others habits and sense of humour and play off of that. But that vibe, if overly strong, can be off putting to outsiders and I do say that the ESEE forum has formed a reputation of this outside. Obviously the mods are aware of this and this is part and parcel of the many thread locks here. Again, this isn't something that mods need to police more of, it is something that should be reinforced beween the users. Think, even for two or three seconds about all those snappy, but inherently useless, replies. When the insider jokes swamp out the thread content it becomes a total drag.
Again, the way to combat this is having a friendly outlook and inviting nature. Try to respond to new people's posts and welcome them to the forums. Even if we have seen somebody's striking their firesteel into a PJCB for the 1000th time, try to recall how new it was to you when you experienced that joy for the first time and give them their pat on the back for their work.
A subforum like ESEE is a challenging one because it has so many goals and objectives. First and foremost, this is a forum to provide information about ESEE products. But what makes the place special is the owners are less concerned about schlocking their wears and use the forum for actual communication about broad issues from survival to politics. This is why I keep coming here and don't frequent other manufacture forums which are really just advertising vectors and fanboy hangouts. I think it is a great place. I think it can be improved still and there are core contributors who can make a big difference by helping improve the place. Just like pick up the trash in your favorite park. Pick apart the trash in your favorite forum
Jeff sort of regularly chews people out for sticking their foot in their mouth and that is fun to see. It should happen more often and by more users when thread drift and negativity starts to insinuate itself into a thread. As much as mods have power, abusers like to play up the martyr/victim role for getting chewed out. It helps when several people, in a polite but logical language, try to steer a person out of their bad trajectory. In the end, this place is about social networking and peer pressure really works. How about we all play a bit of hall monitor role when reading threads.
As a critique of the ESEE forum, I often see comments in other forums about this forum being overly 'clicky'. It is legitimately very difficult to look outside of 'the club' mentality, because people become friends and learn each others habits and sense of humour and play off of that. But that vibe, if overly strong, can be off putting to outsiders and I do say that the ESEE forum has formed a reputation of this outside. Obviously the mods are aware of this and this is part and parcel of the many thread locks here. Again, this isn't something that mods need to police more of, it is something that should be reinforced beween the users. Think, even for two or three seconds about all those snappy, but inherently useless, replies. When the insider jokes swamp out the thread content it becomes a total drag.
Again, the way to combat this is having a friendly outlook and inviting nature. Try to respond to new people's posts and welcome them to the forums. Even if we have seen somebody's striking their firesteel into a PJCB for the 1000th time, try to recall how new it was to you when you experienced that joy for the first time and give them their pat on the back for their work.
A subforum like ESEE is a challenging one because it has so many goals and objectives. First and foremost, this is a forum to provide information about ESEE products. But what makes the place special is the owners are less concerned about schlocking their wears and use the forum for actual communication about broad issues from survival to politics. This is why I keep coming here and don't frequent other manufacture forums which are really just advertising vectors and fanboy hangouts. I think it is a great place. I think it can be improved still and there are core contributors who can make a big difference by helping improve the place. Just like pick up the trash in your favorite park. Pick apart the trash in your favorite forum
