- Reaction score
- 184
- Points
- 1,210
All,
I'd like to step in and make a few comments about the recent - and now defunct - Acts of Moderation thread. I deleted it because it was no longer serving its intended purpose of being a conduit for questioning and explaining Staff issues, it had unfortunately turned into something with no positive value to the site. I propose we use this thread as a fresh start, so please - once you have read my post - feel free to address any outstanding concerns you may have.
First off, we value your feedback. Even the feedback that slams what we do or how we do it. Without honest, direct feedback we may lose sight of how we can do better.
You have my word that we will read every comment, complaint and suggestion - as we always have. However not every idea will be acted upon. Sometimes they are impractical to implement, sometimes they make life harder for Staff and/or users, or sometimes there may be other factors at play which the general population is unaware of.
What I can guarantee is that we will listen, which I believe is the best any of us can do.
Unfortunately we've seen frustrations rise recently, and I believe it's doing harm to the community we've built here. Some users are frustrated with the Staff, the Staff are frustrated with some users, and I'm sure some users are frustrated with each other. The end result is tempers flare and harsh words are exchanged, as it always is when people are aggravated.
The problem is, it's poisoning the atmosphere here and I know for a fact we are causing some highly respected members to run silent; others to leave all together. In essence, we are starting to drive out that which makes Army.ca unique.
I don't believe anyone here would dispute that there is a problem. Does the problem lie with the users of Army.ca? Yep. Does it lie with the Staff? Yep. We're all guilty at times. We're all human, we all let our frustrations get the best of us and we all dislike being mistreated.
The issue of respect has been brought up several times. As noted, it's a two way street. When someone makes a first post and is slammed by the Staff, they feel disrespected and others feel it too. On the flip side, when a Staff member has just spent their evening cleaning up threads, they feel irritated when a new user steps in and drops a thread without searching, reading the Guidelines or paying attention to Army.ca protocol. (And yes, we can see who has searched, who has read the Guidelines, etc., so this frustration is real, not imagined.) This irritation gets magnified to disrespect when the member has been around the army.ca block yet chooses to do so anyway.
We have spent a great deal of time and effort designing a system where (we believe) the rules are clear but fair; where a user has the freedom to discuss any topic but troublemakers can be dealt with. When someone ignores this system, not only does it cause work for the Staff, but it shows a cutting disrespect for what we have all worked so hard to build here.
So what can we do about this? It's not as simple as saying "new users must search" because that's already abundantly clear through the Guidelines and many other threads. Nor can we demand that new users stay in their lane with any effectiveness. (A rule the cannot be enforced will not be adhered to.)
Simply put, we will always have some who register and post without taking the time to understand how Army.ca operates. When they do, that's work for the Staff here. Someone has to clean up the thread, direct the user to the search button, merge, delete, etc. All because a new user ignored or decided to flaunt well established practices here. That's disrespectful.
As you can imagine, the Staff grow weary of dealing with this same issue day in, day out. But that's their job, and not to sound cliché, somebody has to do it. Thankfully, we have a cadre of volunteers who not only do it, but do it well. So how do we prevent the Staff from becoming frustrated when they have to deal with the same, repetitive, usually basic problems?
Do we ban people right off the bat for not paying attention to the mandatory rules? Do we fire Staff who allow themselves to become frustrated? Neither one of those options is acceptable. In the end, we have to suck it up, all of us. As a Staff member here, dealing with frustrating situations on a daily basis is part of the job. As a user, adhering to the rules is par for the course.
What we can do (again, all of us) is be respectful, even in disagreement. Generally, this is a non-issue, but as pointed out above, Army.ca can be stressful for users and Staff alike. When that happens, sometimes people lose their ability to be impartial and respectful, and that's when things go off the rails. Frequently, that's also when a Staff member smells trouble and locks a thread. Unfortunately that has been known to make some users see red. Maybe they believe the Staff are trying to have the final say, maybe they had just typed up a lengthy (polite) rebuttal which is now lost. (Note: Do not delete your rebuttal, rather PM it to a mod who can consider including it into the locked thread.)
This is not a justification for poor behaviour, nor a pardon for past problems on either side of the house. It is simply an explanation of what I believe the problem is, and a re-iteration that we must be respectful, even if we don't get along. I provide no quick fix or secret trick to getting over this problem... it is collectively ours to solve and if we don't work on it as such, it will not go away on its own.
If anyone has had the perseverance to read my entire response, kudos to you... you are likely singing in the choir already.
Cheers
Mike
I'd like to step in and make a few comments about the recent - and now defunct - Acts of Moderation thread. I deleted it because it was no longer serving its intended purpose of being a conduit for questioning and explaining Staff issues, it had unfortunately turned into something with no positive value to the site. I propose we use this thread as a fresh start, so please - once you have read my post - feel free to address any outstanding concerns you may have.
First off, we value your feedback. Even the feedback that slams what we do or how we do it. Without honest, direct feedback we may lose sight of how we can do better.
You have my word that we will read every comment, complaint and suggestion - as we always have. However not every idea will be acted upon. Sometimes they are impractical to implement, sometimes they make life harder for Staff and/or users, or sometimes there may be other factors at play which the general population is unaware of.
What I can guarantee is that we will listen, which I believe is the best any of us can do.
Unfortunately we've seen frustrations rise recently, and I believe it's doing harm to the community we've built here. Some users are frustrated with the Staff, the Staff are frustrated with some users, and I'm sure some users are frustrated with each other. The end result is tempers flare and harsh words are exchanged, as it always is when people are aggravated.
The problem is, it's poisoning the atmosphere here and I know for a fact we are causing some highly respected members to run silent; others to leave all together. In essence, we are starting to drive out that which makes Army.ca unique.
I don't believe anyone here would dispute that there is a problem. Does the problem lie with the users of Army.ca? Yep. Does it lie with the Staff? Yep. We're all guilty at times. We're all human, we all let our frustrations get the best of us and we all dislike being mistreated.
The issue of respect has been brought up several times. As noted, it's a two way street. When someone makes a first post and is slammed by the Staff, they feel disrespected and others feel it too. On the flip side, when a Staff member has just spent their evening cleaning up threads, they feel irritated when a new user steps in and drops a thread without searching, reading the Guidelines or paying attention to Army.ca protocol. (And yes, we can see who has searched, who has read the Guidelines, etc., so this frustration is real, not imagined.) This irritation gets magnified to disrespect when the member has been around the army.ca block yet chooses to do so anyway.
We have spent a great deal of time and effort designing a system where (we believe) the rules are clear but fair; where a user has the freedom to discuss any topic but troublemakers can be dealt with. When someone ignores this system, not only does it cause work for the Staff, but it shows a cutting disrespect for what we have all worked so hard to build here.
So what can we do about this? It's not as simple as saying "new users must search" because that's already abundantly clear through the Guidelines and many other threads. Nor can we demand that new users stay in their lane with any effectiveness. (A rule the cannot be enforced will not be adhered to.)
Simply put, we will always have some who register and post without taking the time to understand how Army.ca operates. When they do, that's work for the Staff here. Someone has to clean up the thread, direct the user to the search button, merge, delete, etc. All because a new user ignored or decided to flaunt well established practices here. That's disrespectful.
As you can imagine, the Staff grow weary of dealing with this same issue day in, day out. But that's their job, and not to sound cliché, somebody has to do it. Thankfully, we have a cadre of volunteers who not only do it, but do it well. So how do we prevent the Staff from becoming frustrated when they have to deal with the same, repetitive, usually basic problems?
Do we ban people right off the bat for not paying attention to the mandatory rules? Do we fire Staff who allow themselves to become frustrated? Neither one of those options is acceptable. In the end, we have to suck it up, all of us. As a Staff member here, dealing with frustrating situations on a daily basis is part of the job. As a user, adhering to the rules is par for the course.
What we can do (again, all of us) is be respectful, even in disagreement. Generally, this is a non-issue, but as pointed out above, Army.ca can be stressful for users and Staff alike. When that happens, sometimes people lose their ability to be impartial and respectful, and that's when things go off the rails. Frequently, that's also when a Staff member smells trouble and locks a thread. Unfortunately that has been known to make some users see red. Maybe they believe the Staff are trying to have the final say, maybe they had just typed up a lengthy (polite) rebuttal which is now lost. (Note: Do not delete your rebuttal, rather PM it to a mod who can consider including it into the locked thread.)
This is not a justification for poor behaviour, nor a pardon for past problems on either side of the house. It is simply an explanation of what I believe the problem is, and a re-iteration that we must be respectful, even if we don't get along. I provide no quick fix or secret trick to getting over this problem... it is collectively ours to solve and if we don't work on it as such, it will not go away on its own.
If anyone has had the perseverance to read my entire response, kudos to you... you are likely singing in the choir already.
Cheers
Mike
I still need to finish that automated system I guess.
