What Do You Expect Out of a Moderator/administrator?

[Neal]

Not to start flaming or arguing but I am curious at what you feel is expected out of a moderator and or administrator of a forum? As we suggest it is to sit back and observe. To try and identify a person using mutiple usernames and take action. It is to try and keep peace on the board. Personaly I do not feel that it is an admistrator or board owners responsibility to research and keep track of posts made by hundreds of posters and try and find discrepencies in their stories and take action. It is an anonymous board and if someone wants to exagerate, well that is their choice even if discrepencies within stories is pointed out.

In viewing Baht Stop, Gay Thailand, Gay Button and others I don't see that any other board operates differently than this.
Do you agree, don't agree, what are your expectations of a free board?

I prefer a Board where the Moderator doesnt comment on almost every post and edit other peoples posts simply by using a different color so everyone is supposed to know its the Moderator.

[a447]

I do not feel that it is an admistrator or board owners responsibility to research and keep track of posts made by hundreds of posters and try and find discrepencies in their stories and take action.

I agree. It isn't their responsibility at all.

To suggest that it is the board's job to take on that responsibility, when it clearly is not, is an attempt at obfuscation.


It is an anonymous board and if someone wants to exagerate, well that is their choice even if discrepencies within stories is pointed out.

Yes, it is their choice to exagerate. But then, we don't really know if they are exaggerating, because we weren't there at the time. We can only go on the probability factor. A bit like in a court of law. - beyond reasonable doubt.

But telling blatant lies is, IMHO, quite different to exaggerating. Blatant lies do not rely on the probability factor - they rely on the posters's own words, so there can be no doubt as to the veracity of the post.
Lying is not acceptable at any time and as such should be publicly and roundly condemned in the open forum by both the board owner and the administrator/moderator. Subsequent breaches should lead to banning of the poster.

IMHO, sitting back and ignoring or excusing a post which has been proven to be a lie (on the grounds that "it's an anonymous board") demonstrates a lack of respect towards the board members (who are entitled to truthful posts) on behalf of the administrators. It also and impinges on the general integrity of the board and it's owner.

At the end of the day, of course, members will see such posters for what they are and will take future posts with a large grain of salt and a good dose of skepticism. The poster who lies will lose credibility.

And that in itself is one form of condemnation.

BTW this is an important topic and should be in the main forum.

[Neal]

How bout telling us where "in your opinion" this discussion belongs and give us some examples of what you have proven to be "blatant lies".

How bout telling us where "in your opinion" this discussion belongs and give us some examples of what you have proven to be "blatant lies".I agree I am looking forward to getting some concrete examples where a447 can prove that a poster knew he was lying when he made the post surely the definition of "blatant".

[Khor tose]

Thinking of another board owner the first most basic thing would be to follow the rules you post. The second would be consistency. The third would be a great--leaning over backwards--acceptance of other ideas, even if they are the opposite of yours. T%he fourth and final would be to allow for human nature and permit comments that may seem harsh or inflamatory to you. I admit four is tricky and that is really where you would have to learn to be consistent so everyone understands what is permitted and what is not. Five, and most important, play no favorites-------that really is also consistency.

So five is not the most important. When you come down to the bottom line it is just two: have rules and apply them in a consistent manner.

[a447]

Neal wrote:
How bout telling us where "in your opinion" this discussion belongs

Sure.

I'll just cut and paste from my own post.


I wrote directly above Neal's reply
(it) should be in the main forum.

I mean, if a thread on Ginger ale or matzoh and floater ball recipes (!!) can make it to the main forum, then why not this topic??


Neal wrote:
give us some examples of what you have proven to be "blatant lies"

O.k. Allow me to repeat myself.

On January 15 2008 Latin wrote:


I thought it was a bloody good effort, and as someone who is post 40......


Yet on January 9 2013 Latin wrote:


.and I havent even hit 40 yet.

Is that blatant enough for you?


Khor Tose wrote:
When you come down to the bottom line it is just two: have rules and apply them in a consistent manner.

Exactly. That's it in a nutshell.

And it helps if the administrator/moderator has read the rules in the first place! And I really would like to see the word 'integrity" in the rules somewhere. That would be nice.

Posts have been edited and deleted seemingly at random with little or no explanation. (Moderators, READ YOU OWN RULES!!). If people have taken the time to post, you at least owe them a reason for the deletion.
What is seen as flaming in one post is allowed in another.
Comments are seen as being off topic in some threads but allowed in another. And Neal, you are one of the main offenders!!


acceptance of other ideas, even if they are the opposite of yours.

Who could forget the farce when one poster commented negatively on Whitney Houston after she had died and his post was deleted! WTF? :sign5:

It all kind of went downhill from there.

[timmberty]

whitney houston .. that was me .... i wasnt happy that all went shit shapped but i've manage to live with it !!
i struggle to understand why you get so wound up a447 .. a thai centric board run from thailand where rules and regulation mean virtually nothing, and even less if you can afford to pay for any inconvenience caused.
we all know latin lies so most tend to ignor him rather than puting on our mrs marple hat.
do you always follow every rule in the book ? no crossing roads except at crossings etc ? your know the really nit picking rules that are almost pointless ?
this topic is about how the mods work so its in the mods forum department, for a guy who lusts after rules and regs i cant belive you think those rules should be suspendid just because of what you think!
if i wanted to know where to find a can of drink in pattaya i wouldnt come looking in this forum, anymore than if i want to view posts on the mods, would i go look in the thai part of the forum.
there are as you know other boards where they take this sort of thing far more serious, they are also very keen on new members, so much so they welcome with open arms any cast off's from other boards, even people who they have no time for. so i guess if you dislike the way this one is run you could always go and join them no ?

[a447]

whitney houston .. that was me .... i wasnt happy that all went shit shapped but i've manage to live with it !!

To be honest, I thought it was an hilarious misuse of the moderation process. Apparently you trod on the toes of someone who was a whitney Houston fan. :sign5:


its in the mods forum department

Look again.


i guess if you dislike the way this one is run you could always go and join them no ?

I have.

But I still like the vast majority of posts here that i find very informative, and 99% of the posters come across as decent guys who just want to have a good time.

[timmberty]

yes i looked again ... global forum .. well never mind again its not that important ..
as you say 99% of people over here are decent people, so why not concentrate on them rather than the other 1%
whom you clearly dislike?
i'd go as far as to say its closer to 99 and a half % now, being as the clear out got rid of the most troublesome elements.

[Neal]

I forgot to address the off topic remark.
I forgot who spoke to me about this but it made sense. In sitting and talking amongst friends, aquaintances and newly introduced people, topics will be brought up and as you have your discussions someone may start talking about something that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. Do we cut their balls off? No. Do we keep splitting and slicing threads. Not a good idea. The mods are pursuaded to sit back and relax and see if the discussion comes back to its original topic and after a short while, if it does not, then try and make a simple, easy split or nudge the topic back on its right path. Other forums are strict about keeping all discussions exacty on topic especially when the person disagrees with the mod. :blackeye: I don't think it is a great idea as all discussions will float around. Deal with it a little as this is human nature.

[Neal]

A447 are you saying that Gay Thailand is the Main Forum? There is no forum titled Main Forum. Use the proper language and someone might understand you. Second of all this discussion is not privvy to only those in Thailand it is privvy to every member on the board and therefore belongs in Global Forum.
Ginger Ale is available at Villa Market and that is in Gay Thailand.

Editing and deleting has been ultra minimal. As the words were edited there is no way for you to decide what is reasonable and where there is a contradiction in how rules were applied. Flaming and stalking is a violation and when it goes overboard into an obsession, it will be deleted, as will be posts about the Royal Family and words promoting sex with minors. See the rules for other examples.

Integrity listed and applied on this forum? Well I shall not even touch that one.

A bad post about Whitney Houston dying was deleted long ago in her obit thread? Well while I am the owner of the board I will not allow any nasty, degrading or offensive posts about the dead or recently departed. It is in bad taste and I am sorry if I have to explain that one to you.

The moderators have read the Rules and Guidelines, have you?

(5) Posting etiquette
Sawatdee has on occasion ~ as have all message boards ~ had to deal with violations of message board 'etiquette', the main culprits of which are 'trolling, 'flaming' and spamming.
Each of these behaviours is not only difficult to specifically identify, but it's also difficult to deal with.
Sawatdee will deal with each of these issues on a case by case basis, given the fact that often the behaviour is undertaken unknowingly, is innocuous or harmless, and action need not necessarily be taken.

And finally addressing your infatuation with Latintopxxx:
What you are doing is in fact stalking and flaming. Latintop may and probably does exaggerate the facts and in that case lied about his age. As stated before, this board is an annonymous one and I will not warn nor ban a person for lying about his age. God that is such a violation that he should be taken out in the street and in front of everyone, we should decapitate him. Some posters I dislike and yes Latin usually is one of them. I do not get along and I dislike many of their posts but I do not choose to ban them. I try and talk to them and I try and understand them. We don't get along with everyone and this board will not show favoratisms as to banning those that a user doesn't like because he lied about his age. I suggest like I have suggested before to put him on ignore if you don't like him or someone else.
Personally and not professionally I have opinions of you and what you said when you left with two of your friends and posted your comments on another board. Did I ban you? No. We learn to try and deal with one another. Sorry but you can't put me on ignore.

Oh and PS: Since you are a world traveller the thought of not having another diet drink to choose from may sound trivial and petty to you but I can assure you that expats living here that do drink diet drinks and only have Pepsi Max, Coke light and Coke Zero day after day and month after month coming from countries that have a zillion of diet drinks to drink from, yes, another diet drink to choose from is a big deal.
Secondly, while I know I am the owner and moderator of the board, I also feel it is my right to make posts like any other user. After all I do pay the shortfalls of what advertisers don't, and I do hours and hours of work on this board every day for free. I am sorry that a thread on Matzo ball floaters does not interest you (are you sure it is not a Jewish thing?) but then again some posts on Dave Club, and the bars that are open at 3am don't interest me. :occasion9: but I have learned to deal with it.

[a447]

A447 are you saying that Gay Thailand is the Main Forum? There is no forum titled Main Forum.

I know. But I used lower case : main forum.

It was obvious that I was referring to the Gay Thailand forum - the one with the most threads and posts. I even mentioned it was the forum where there were threads on chicken soup. As you are the owner of the board, I thought you'd be aware of that.


there is no way for you to decide what is reasonable and where there is a contradiction in how rules were applied

Actually, there is a way. It's in your own SAWATDEE POSTING GUIDELINES:


A Moderating action/decision will be clearly explained (in any other color except black text) within the post or thread in question, and the explanation will include a reference to the specific Guideline deemed violated

I don't know why that post was deleted, as you didn't follow your own guidelines. No explanation was offered.
Nor did Butterfly when he moved my post to another thread - but only moved part of it. Without any explanation whatsoever.


The moderators have read the Rules and Guidelines, have you?

Please see above.

Neal, you know very well that nobody, including me, gives a rat's arse about Latin's age. That is not the issue here and is a clear example of obfuscation I mentioned in my post above.
As for "stalking", all I'm doing is constantly pointing out discrepancies and contradictions in latin's posts. It only seems like stalking because he provides me with so many opportunities to do so! :sign5:

You should also know that I couldn't give a shit about soup or diet Coke being discussed in the Gay Thailand Forum. If I'm not interested in a thread, I don't read it. Simple.
But again, that is not the issue here. I was making the point that if you can include those threads in the main forum, why can't you include this one?

And yes, I did make comments on gaythailand.com. However, you never mentioned what comments I made there which could possibly have gotten me banned from here. Care to tell me what I said that I could have been kicked off this forum for?

But at least you have clarified one thing in your post above.
Posters can only make comments on this board which you consider tasteful.
But YOU, apparently, can make asinine, tasteless, crass and offensive comments with impunity. I refer to this disgusting racial slur:


I am sorry that a thread on Matzo ball floaters does not interest you (are you sure it is not a Jewish thing?)

Unforgivable.

[Neal]

I am not discussing incidents that happened 6 months to a year ago. You have some problems and I think you should seek help. I have no further comments for you.

[a447]

Not even 'Sorry?'

[Neal]

I see nothing I that begs for an apology on moderations done over 6 months ago under different policies.

[a447]

Nor do I.

I was actually referring to your unexpected and unwarranted racial slur against me.

[Neal]

Dickhead!! I am JEWISH! I wanted to know if you had a problem with me asking for the recipe for Mazoh Ball Soup because maybe you had a problem with Jewish people. See you really do have some issues.

[christianpfc]

Why have rules at all? This board is not a democracy, it's yours! Admittedly, you need a few members who post to make the board work. But if you ruled by common sense, without rules, that would work for me.

I would appreciate if you could ban members who have a history of lying (about their age, location, whatever), but I don't go as far as others to track their claims.

I think editing other people's posts is in a different color and clearly labelled as editing is a great idea. It avoids deleting the whole post and keeps the post compact.

[Magnum]

Well said, Christian. I wonder how the forum can actually work and I think it's very hard to control all the maniacs here. So of course I'm disappointed if some posts disappear or were deleted but apparently this is necessary to keep peace. This forum seems to be the best of all gay thailand forums, so the mods do most things right.

a447, I like you and some of your great informative posts but sometimes I think you just could more relax, isn't it? :happy7:

[a447]

Neal wrote
Dickhead!! I am JEWISH!

Dickhead!! I KNOW!

I was referring to


because maybe you had a problem with Jewish people.

Somehow in your twisted mind, you have managed to construe your own racial comment as a racial slur against yourself.


magnum wrote:
I think you just could more relax

Haha...I'm actually a really laid-back, relaxed guy. Just re-read those bar reports. They should give you a clear idea what I'm like.
Or PM a couple of the guys I have met face to face with in Pattaya over the years. I'm sure they will back me up.
And for even more proof, I live in Australia. The land of the "she'll be right, mate" attitude. Say no more...hehe

It's just that I don't like to sit back and let posters lie their hearts out on this forum, as I feel it lowers the tone. Afterall, we are basically just a bunch of guys with the same interest - gay sex in Thailand. No need to make things up or
needlessly attack posters without any supporting evidence.

And I also refuse to let posters like Neal simply get away with totally misconstruing my posts or refusing to answer my questions. Especially as I have addressed every question he has asked me in this thread.

Now if some posters are happy to let things like that slide, good for them. That is their choice.

But it is not mine.

And for even more proof, I live in Australia. The land of the "she'll be right, mate" attitude.I think of you as the Cardinal Pell of this Board - he is an Aussie just like you and I, right?? Laid back, relaxed and comfortable? Great sense of humour, people he's met in boy bars say great things about him?

[a447]

he is an Aussie just like you and I, right??

Wrong. :sign5:

Your the one a447 who claims that because your an Aussie everyone must know what an All Round Good Guy you are simply because your an Aussie. I am pointing out that like so many of your posts your writing total crap. Not all Aussies are All Round Good Guys there human beings just like everyone else from every corner of the world. As I said I think of you as the Cardinal Pell of this Board, that's the kind of human being I think you are. Aussie or not is irelevant.

[Neal]

Actually this is very similar to your other hogwash but I can answer here also which I have done previously and you deny.

Most people know I am Jewish. I don't hide it and I don't boast my religion around, and I really do not follow the religion closely. I am agnostic really but Jewish by birth. Many many times in my life I have been slagged off for being Jewish and yes, I get anoyed as I myself know how ridiculous and accusation that is. "well he's got money cause he's a Jew. Well you know how those Jews are. They killed Jesus didn't they? and on and on and on. I've heard it all. As a matter of fact I even had two PMs regrding me and that Jew Soup because of my thread and how it was inappropriate to be on the forum the way it was.

My comment to you, not knowing that you were or were not Jewish, ONCE AGAIN I AM SAYING THIS, was...why are you throwing the comment of the Matzoh Ball soup in this discussion? I then went further to ask if this was really a question as to soup which was out of place for you or was this a Jewish thing? Meaning I wanted to know if you were making some sort of nasty anti-Jewish comment. One day maybe you will get it and maybe one day you will undertstand the meaning of an annonymous board!

No, we don't appreciate being lied to but ya know what? That's the way it goes. It is up to you to decide who to believe and who not to. It is not up to you or me to put people on display for their mistruths and not even my job to sort through any complaint that you send me via PM or open board that someone is lying except if they have multiple usernames. I don't have the time fo it. That's what the ignore button is for. Learn to use it.

You will not challenge, prosecute, try, and sentence people on this board anymore, period. As you said in an earrlier post, prove them wrong and lying and then BAN them. Throw them off. Strange. Never did get that check in the mail and notice that you bought the board. :evil4:

[a447]

Your the one a447 who claims that because your an Aussie

No I don't. I said I live in Australia now.


Not all Aussies are All Round Good Guys

Never said that, either.

I was talking about the relaxed attitude that they have in Australia. (Well, that's the reputation, anyhow). You took it literally!
I never equated Aussie and "All Round Good Guy."

If I did and I can't read my own post, please feel free to quote me where I said that.

Neal, your hang up on chicken soup is baffling. It was only mentioned by me in reference to the forum it was in.


You will not challenge, prosecute, try, and sentence people on this board anymore, period.

And I suppose, therefore, that you will no longer do that to Beachy.

Not a problem.

[Neal]

Again you want to try and equate the policies that were in place at leats 6 months or more ago that have since changed and you are aware of it. Please comment on more recent events such as something after the policies of the board changed. here are just about zero deletions and edits, and in regard to Beachie from many moons ago, we are all human and being a poster as well as an owner those lines got crossed at times. Same with me and another few posters and that's why I asked everyone to come back and let us move on. It doesn't help when you keep bringing up long pastevents. at least I stopped. You are still out there with the gallows and your black hoodie ready to pull the lever.

self-serving drivel
piffle
special pleadingThank you George.