Your online trail

[peachy]

Originally Posted by Jet Lag

Of course, advice is nice and possible in a small community, but is difficult to maintain in a larger group.

I disagree, if moderators show restraint the community bring things back on track. I am a member of an unmoderated forum with over 12,000 members (was more like 30,000 before they had a prune) and that has always kept on track.

[Jet Lag]

Originally Posted by BigD

I expect most people that will join us on our forum are likely to be blessed with some common sense...

Utopia?

[swissflygirl]

That's why some guidelines are useful. Some forum members have a lot of experience with participating on forums and what's considered as good netiquette, others less so.
But a sticky with forum guidelines (not rules, just expected modes of conduct) helps everyone to know what's expected behaviour.
Should these guidelines not be followed, then moderation may be required....but in small doses.

Originally Posted by Jet Lag

Of course, advice is nice and possible in a small community, but is difficult to maintain in a larger group.

[Jet Lag]

Originally Posted by peachy

I disagree, if moderators show restraint the community bring things back on track. I am a member of an unmoderated forum with over 12,000 members (was more like 30,000 before they had a prune) and that has always kept on track.

What kind of forum is it- a general interest or specific interest forum?

[BigD]

I'm pretty laid back about moderation to be honest, and we certainly don't want to indulge in moderator mobbing - where moderators overstep the mark. The word round the campfire is that this has been a problem on other forums...

BigD

[peachy]

Originally Posted by Jet Lag

What kind of forum is it- a general interest or specific interest forum?

Specific interest - Northern Soul / Soul House

[Jet Lag]

Originally Posted by peachy

Specific interest - Northern Soul / Soul House

That is easier to keep in line as everyone is lovin' the same stuff, just like me on my Chi forum.

[peachy]

Originally Posted by Jet Lag

That is easier to keep in line as everyone is lovin' the same stuff, just like me on my Chi forum.

If doesn't keep in line all the time, people come on and unleash what I can only describe as a profanomatic. The point is that the forum stays on track over time, despite being pulled off to a tangent occasionally. Maybe moderators can protect their users from this but it is not needed to ensure the survival of the forum.

[lesley]

It is a very tricky fine line. TMI or blandness. I was stalked by a man in Thailand, I moderated on a forum there (although I was far too biased to do it properly), one man took great exception to me pruning some of his more obscene postings and privately contacted someone he knew that I knew in real life land. This stupid person (and I use the word advisedly) gave Mr Bargirl chasing nutjob not only my home and mobile numbers, but my address too. It was jolly scary to have him phone me at all hours of the day and night, luckily he was distinctive looking and the guards on our flats kept him away from our place. Tragically he died of a drug overdose a couple of months after it all started.

[Tilia]

Having been part of internet communities since they stared basically, I got burned early on and thus learned to be extreemly careful of what I write about myself and I also learned not to believe everthing that is written.

What I've seen though is that there are people that couldn't care less if they got identified, stalked whatever. In those cases you can't do much, can you? So I would say that the best is to simply give some friendly advice when someone is appering to give too much info for their own good and then leave it at that. You can't baby-sit people all the time.