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Post by Robert Clark (rcgreybeard) on Feb 13, 2024 11:53:32 GMT
Robert and Clark are common names, so having something identifiable has been useful.
Badge of honour? Not really, roleplaying games. Grew a beard, went grey, fitted with character, nickname stuck. As nicknames go, it's a least worst. It's white now, so I suppose grey is sticking two fingers up at aging but, as Groucho once said, “A man is only as old as the woman he feels.” No complaints this end!
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RWels
Member
Posts: 2,862
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Post by RWels on Feb 13, 2024 13:12:15 GMT
Robert and Clark are common names, so having something identifiable has been useful. Badge of honour? Not really, roleplaying games. Grew a beard, went grey, fitted with character, nickname stuck. As nicknames go, it's a least worst. It's white now, so I suppose grey is sticking two fingers up at aging but, as Groucho once said, “A man is only as old as the woman he feels.” No complaints this end! Still, you seem very defensive about it now. Character, you tellingly say. Is there an underlying passionate identification for Lord of the Rings behind it?
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Post by timmunton on Feb 14, 2024 17:27:19 GMT
I'm with RWels on this. To be honest Roger Clark just comes across as, in the main, trying to pointlessly needle him. To which RWels responds reasonably & logically & is almost certainly right in what he's saying. Though he is perhaps being overly responsive & reasonable to what comes across at times as a border line aggresive, half attempt to wind him up.
Roger Clark also seems to have a lack of humour as he didn't seem to pick up much on the gently funny side of RWels recent discussion of the beard, where RWels used this as a satirical response to parody RC's manner of argument.
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Post by John Green on Feb 14, 2024 18:15:46 GMT
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RWels
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Posts: 2,862
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Post by RWels on Feb 14, 2024 19:36:45 GMT
I'm with RWels on this. To be honest Roger Clark just comes across as, in the main, trying to pointlessly needle him. To which RWels responds reasonably & logically & is almost certainly right in what he's saying. Though he is perhaps being overly responsive & reasonable to what comes across at times as a border line aggresive, half attempt to wind him up. Roger Clark also seems to have a lack of humour as he didn't seem to pick up much on the gently funny side of RWels recent discussion of the beard, where RWels used this as a satirical response to parody RC's manner of argument. Thank you, although I'm probably partially to "blame" for throwing more wood on the fire. Obviously one shouldn't just believe everything someone claims on a message board, that part is definitely true. Yes indeed, everytyhing I asked about the beard was completely tongue-in-stubbly-cheek!
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Post by Robert Clark (rcgreybeard) on Feb 15, 2024 14:30:40 GMT
Oh! Ha ha ha, I'll have to catch you on the comedy circuit. When you questioned the name, my first thought was you were a moderator here and I'd been a very naughty boy.
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RWels
Member
Posts: 2,862
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Post by RWels on Feb 15, 2024 18:02:36 GMT
Oh! Ha ha ha, I'll have to catch you on the comedy circuit. When you questioned the name, my first thought was you were a moderator here and I'd been a very naughty boy. No I'm not... in fact, I was probably guilty of "backseat driving" there.
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Post by T Morgan on Feb 17, 2024 13:57:01 GMT
I don't care why you were banned, but it obviously rankles that you were and you do come across as agressive with it. I always approach membership of anything as a privilege and check their rules to see if it sits well with me. Just like here, someone is putting in their time and effort (and sometimes money) to make an environment useful to others - they don't have to, and it is on their terms that I join. What you have said, to me at least, reads of a quick fix ban. Not the most elegant, but working is working If you say the site is nearly dead and there is only one active mod then they may just be ticking over with the running and not be aware of all the ins and out. Moderation is one thing, but the poor sod who is currently trying to keep the site running - unsuccessfully - is honest enough to imply there is a huge learning curve and doing what he can to keep it live. Several others seem very grateful. One other thought, are your posts still on the board? Banning can take many forms. Deleting a user can mess up any coherence to threads - I've seen that on Facebook groups where you wonder who is arguing with who as half the conversation has disappeared It must be more awkward to disable an account whilst keeping it in place. If your posts are there then the account is and can be restored - so it fits better with the system administrator stance and less about reading your messages. You also say acting behind the owners back - have you contacted the owner? Is the owner, presumably Mr Wolf, still active as there isn't much other than from stearn Yeah blocking can take many forms. Rhoobarb has permanently blocked me from even viewing the sitc. Given the number of Likes I got, I figure my posts were often considered useful/witty/Nobelish..I hope I've spelt that last one properly. The pile-on began when I took part in a poll about the EU referendum., and gave the wrong answer. As you suggest, the people who run the sites are free agents, and don't have to allow contrary opinions. I should have jumped ship when the bullying started getting bad. Surely if you aren’t logged in you can still view the forum.
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Feb 17, 2024 13:58:31 GMT
Yeah blocking can take many forms. Rhoobarb has permanently blocked me from even viewing the sitc. Given the number of Likes I got, I figure my posts were often considered useful/witty/Nobelish..I hope I've spelt that last one properly. The pile-on began when I took part in a poll about the EU referendum., and gave the wrong answer. As you suggest, the people who run the sites are free agents, and don't have to allow contrary opinions. I should have jumped ship when the bullying started getting bad. Surely if you aren’t logged in you can still view the forum. Not if one's IP is blocked.
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Post by John Green on Feb 17, 2024 19:25:45 GMT
As I've mentioned before, there was one poster on Roobarb-this was during lockdown-who sometimes expressed suicidal thoughts. One or two members (I use the term advisedly) would suggest to him that it wasn't a bad idea if he carried it out. There were no repercussions. As a sociologist...well, I've got a degree in it... I find it interesting the way 'gatekeeping' has developed. Previously, emphasis was on the way that individuals could act as positive trend-setters. Nowadays, I think we've seen the takeover of moderation by agit-propers who remove all contrary opinion, often under the heading of 'triggering' or hate-crime.
We now have dog-whistle microaggressions; that is statements which say 'x' but really-at a level below human perception-express 'l', 'd' and 'w'. Not easy for people to offer a defense against accusations which rely on soothsaying. Very, very, astute, to have taken over moderation on so many sites. (Missing Episodes is, thank God, an exception).
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Post by Robert Clark (rcgreybeard) on Feb 17, 2024 20:09:33 GMT
John, I'm sure you are right but I do wonder if there is a simple explanation for things like this thread title. An easy life. Limiting numbers to those you know won't rock the boat must make moderating a lot, lot easier.
I can only speak for myself, but I will lurk somewhere for a while to get the feel before taking that plunge and joining up. I won't join if I don't think I would feel welcome or didn't think my contributions would be useful. I am very aware that someone else is putting their time and probably money into running a board and they will run it according to their own rules and tolerances. It is slightly different if you are paying for a service but, even then, there are terms and conditions attached.
It does usually fall to one or two to keep something going and I don't think here is any different. When I checked if RWels was a mod when he pointed out my username wasn't quite fitting with board policy, I saw there were 2 administrators, 2 global moderators and a moderator. The last online column shows that only Paul Vanezis, a global moderator, appears to be active. That means it is down to one person who isn't listed as the the forum founder to keep things going. I get the impression this board isn't using self-hosted software, so that makes the life of a moderator a bit simpler as they only have to moderate. I don't use the word only to lessen the task, but to be clear they are not managing software as well.
Roobarbs is a huge board covering a wide interest area. I haven't joined as quite frankly I find its scope a little intimidating, but I can read what I want without joining. That is self-hosted and is powered by vBulletin. I don't know how many active moderators they have but I am guessing more than just one to keep track of all the different sections and keep the software on track.
As has also been demonstrated, humour can easily be lost or misinterpreted with the written word. I'm no sociologist and just use common sense. If I find I don't like the way something is working, I can move on just as easily as I joined. The weather has been kind, so it's back to the garden and planning a bit of sailing - watching and listening will take a back seat
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