Post by iolar on Jan 16, 2024 10:10:01 GMT 1
Sadly a lot of forums are destroyed by a small clique who band together to attack anyone who doesn't share their collective 'view'.
This is where the moderators are so important. It is absolutely vital that they put aside their own opinion.
I used to belong to one of the first audio forums to appear on the net. It was set up to promote the sale of valve/tube hi-fi kits. In the beginning everyone helped one another as most of us knew nothing bout valve technology.
Then others who didn't buy any of these kits joined they set about inventing the wheel every few weeks, were Idler t/t fanatics who attacked anyone who didn't agree with them and in very short space of time so, many truly innovative people left the forum. I was attacked ruthlessly because I bought a Japanese direct drive t/t. These Japanese #super decks' were far advanced in ideas and technology.
Within the space of two years the forum was effectively dead. Once these Brownshirts had done this they left to form a new forum where they could mutually back slap each other in peace. The two moderators could have intervened when the first vitriolic comments weer made - they didn't. It still exists but it's a sad little place.
With a Dutch friend who was an IT man we set up a forum that wasn't just about audio, we wanted to get people discussing real food, real ales, info on holiday destinations etc. No one was allowed to talk about anything they had no direct experience of, no shilling, that meant an automatic ban. Sadly the first people who joined didn't have the open mentality to make the forum work. It was up and running before Facebook came along.
The mods could ask mangetout to name the person and the comments they made. Differences of opinion are the life blood of a forum, insults, lies and bullying destroy a forum very quickly.
Often being a team leader I quickly identified a toxic influence and got rid of them very fast. When a team work together well, almost always it is made up of very different personalities that's what makes it work and work well, the same is true of a forum.
This is where the moderators are so important. It is absolutely vital that they put aside their own opinion.
I used to belong to one of the first audio forums to appear on the net. It was set up to promote the sale of valve/tube hi-fi kits. In the beginning everyone helped one another as most of us knew nothing bout valve technology.
Then others who didn't buy any of these kits joined they set about inventing the wheel every few weeks, were Idler t/t fanatics who attacked anyone who didn't agree with them and in very short space of time so, many truly innovative people left the forum. I was attacked ruthlessly because I bought a Japanese direct drive t/t. These Japanese #super decks' were far advanced in ideas and technology.
Within the space of two years the forum was effectively dead. Once these Brownshirts had done this they left to form a new forum where they could mutually back slap each other in peace. The two moderators could have intervened when the first vitriolic comments weer made - they didn't. It still exists but it's a sad little place.
With a Dutch friend who was an IT man we set up a forum that wasn't just about audio, we wanted to get people discussing real food, real ales, info on holiday destinations etc. No one was allowed to talk about anything they had no direct experience of, no shilling, that meant an automatic ban. Sadly the first people who joined didn't have the open mentality to make the forum work. It was up and running before Facebook came along.
The mods could ask mangetout to name the person and the comments they made. Differences of opinion are the life blood of a forum, insults, lies and bullying destroy a forum very quickly.
Often being a team leader I quickly identified a toxic influence and got rid of them very fast. When a team work together well, almost always it is made up of very different personalities that's what makes it work and work well, the same is true of a forum.