A call to a return to honor and respect

[HamMike]

Since the old mods resigned I've noticed a decline in mutual honor and respect around here. I've seen everything from inappropriate for sale posts to uncalled for ridicule to ideas. Personally I think the mods need to step up their game and clean things up. I've even seen mods make unnecessary comments publicly that would be best stated in a private message. C'Mon gang lets keep this the family friendly place we have all come to love.

[Cranky Bear]

This is one reason I have almost stopped posting.....

I do feel that a great amount of the responsibility lies with the members themselves as well!

[HamMike]

This is one reason I have almost stopped posting.....

I do feel that a great amount of the responsibility lies with the members themselves as well!

For sure Yoda, the members are the core.

[SwinginIt]

I noticed the change here lately too. I wondered if it was just me. I figured it was because there's been such a large influx of new membership bringing the attitudes of other forums with them. But I guess that's not it because I've been seeing veteran members being condescending as well.

It has been disappointing for sure, especially seeing people being ridiculed or talked down to simply for presenting an idea that doesn't go along with the status quo.

[Rain Man]

I have noticed no such thing, but am not saying that to disagree, only to say here's a member who hasn't seen such a change. Perhaps I don't visit all the forums y'all do. I'll pay a little more attention.

I definitely agree that the members and mods do need to keep this the family-friendly, and collegial place it has been. If you see an objectionable post, report it. I trust you each have done that with the objectionable posts that you saw. And, I thank you for that.

Rain Man

I noticed the change here lately too.

This is one reason I have almost stopped posting....

Since the old mods resigned I've noticed a decline in mutual honor and respect around here.

[sargevining]

I've not noticed much of a change either. Nothing that would require significant changes by either the mods or the members, anyway.

[TZBrown]

What I have noticed is the lack of patience and tolerance.

As in most all social media it is so much easier to type your complaint, without contemplating the results, an hit send.

Most folks would not be as rude, or impatient in person, as they can be in type.
Talking to a person will more often than not result in a better outcome to an issue.

I realize it can be frustrating waiting for a response in type. The nature of our times?

Usually I search up a phone number, or contact a close friend of the person I need to talk with to get the message that I need to talk to them.

The mods can only do so much policing of the system. It is the population of the system that needs to consider their actions.

In the cases of a true failure of civility, contacting the mods usually does the trick.
Accounts can be frozen until resolution is completed.
And requests to CC company for refunds cause great concern to them over the sellers integrity, which is sometimes the only way to get the attention necessary.

[gmcttr]

...I figured it was because there's been such a large influx of new membership bringing the attitudes of other forums with them. But I guess that's not it because I've been seeing veteran members being condescending as well...

Probably a combination of fast growth, many of the members from a few years ago not posting/leaving, a general weariness about increasing numbers of posters wanting the answer handed to them even if it was only a couple of posts away or an easy google search, along with we members not using the PM function to gently remind each other to play nice.

Over the years, I've received a few messages nicely letting me know I was pushing it. No one has done that lately and I'm sure it's not because no one feels that way. So step up...how many of you have PM'd lately to nudge another back toward the path.

While I expect and encourage the same questions to be asked, it becomes apparent that some members don't seem to be interested in investing time to read and research in a way that helps them to truly understand. How many times have you seen "this has probably been asked, but I don't have time to read through this whole thread" posted? With fast growth, comes increasing amounts of this behavior which eventually can elicit negative responses. The new threads started with "it's probably been asked" are fine....chances are the poster doesn't even know what to look for to get an answer and has to ask.

Having noticed a few posters getting "roughed up a bit", which has been pretty mild by internet standards, I have PM'd several members recently with an apologetic message letting them know the problem was with us and not them and it would all be forgotten in a day.

Those that have said the members need to step up are right. A handful of mods are not going to be able to completely control the tone of ~4800 active members.

[olddog]

I'm in with what ever I can do to help.

[mudsocks]

Since the old mods resigned I've noticed a decline in mutual honor and respect around here. I've seen everything from inappropriate for sale posts to uncalled for ridicule to ideas. Personally I think the mods need to step up their game and clean things up. I've even seen mods make unnecessary comments publicly that would be best stated in a private message. C'Mon gang lets keep this the family friendly place we have all come to love.

First and foremost what I'm about to write are my personal thoughts, not those of the mod team. The old team did a great job and they are a tough act to follow. Most of them had the benefit of having been members from the very early days of HF. We are not that team and don't enjoy the comfort of being 'old shoe'. We're still being broken in.

My personal style is one that reflects transparency. I have a dislike for any kind of censorship except for self-censorship. I find disappearing posts and threads more unsettling than Internet bravado. Obvious exceptions being those that are clear ethical issues, safety concerns, local/federal law violations and HF rule infringements.

I was originally brought in as an administrator to help address technical issues regarding email in October and asked to act as a moderator in December so I'm still easing into that secondary role. I feel my role should be acting when necessary, but not scrutinizing and policing each post.

As I become more comfortable in my role I will likely be more proactive in steering conversations back to a more civil tone should they need it.

HamMike if you feel a post or thread is inappropriate, needs clean up or has become a personal attack hit the report button. That's what it's there for. There are just a little over a handful of mods and thousands of active members. We can't possibly catch everything (and we don't). There are a dozen or so members who regularly report issues and without their help we just couldn't manage it. Literally.

Finally I would like for you to PM me the specific instances in your post so I can have a better understanding of what is bothering you. If they concern me directly post them up here.