weedemon said:
This is a thread to thank to people who work for this forum trying to keep it the awesome place that it is.
Thanks! For that part at least.
I know you guys probably feel like your getting crap from both ends here.
Too strict, not strict enoughwe hear both. Often. You just can't please everyone. All of the staff members here are very reasonable, but at the end of the day, pleasing everyone takes a back seat to enforcing the rules.
For almost a year this forum had no rules except "Be nice". As the community grew, it became (very) apparent that if we were to continue, we needed a good set of rules. The philosophy behind the rules was, and is, simple:
These rules exist to keep the forum fun, informative and manageable.
I can assure you that none of the staff here are power-hungry. Quite the opposite; none of us want to be "the man". That being said, the rules are there for a reason (see the philosophy above), and if we see someone break them we act. You're right; sometimes a private message is how it's done (you don't see these, of course), other times a modnote is left on the post to inform the author and those who read it, that a rule was broken. It's easier on the staff and gets the message across to members who might have missed that rule when they signed up.
I know we have rules here on the forum and I do my best to follow them.
That's appreciated, but you should know that you are breaking one here:
Public discussions of staff decisions are not permitted on the site. If you have any concerns or queries relating to a staff decision please take it up in private with a staff member. That rule is also stressed in this section's [topic=6805]sticky[/topic]. It's now emphasizedsomething that should have been done alreadyso thanks for the reminder there.
Why does that rule exist? One of the main reasons is to keep threads on topic. You'd be amazed at how fast a thread can be derailed when one member argues a staff decision. Soon there are 5 members chiming in and 20 posts of completely off-topic discussion. Fast forward to someone reading the thread for information on the vapenow they have to go through 2 pages of crap.
The desire to keep threads on topic is also why we don't allow beta testing requests. The original Oracle thread was what prompted this. One person asked about beta testing and within hours there were over 30 posts (now deleted) consisting of "Me too", "+1", "I'm in". Almost anyone on a vapor enthusiast forum would like to beta test a vaporizer, so if someone asks, things snowball quickly. That's why we have a zero tolerance stance on it. If you want an example, [post=174760]here's[/post] a recent one.
IAmKrazy2 is one of the most experienced vapeheads anywhere and would make a great beta tester. His comment was made in earnest and I'm sure he was expecting to pay for it. Even so, 2 posts later and there's a "Me too" post. If the modnotes weren't left quickly you can be sure that there would be more requests.
Regarding AlexSV's post, he is a manufacturer, and they are held to very strict standards here. I'll share an excerpt with you.
fc manufacturer rules said:
You can't mention another company's vaporizer unless it's an informational post in response to a member question or incorrect statement, like 'our design uses ....., while the xyz design uses....'. Even there, you'd be better be absolutely certain that your statement about the other company's design is 100% factual, and that your statement doesn't imply in any way that your design is better. Members though, are free to compare your product to another company's vape. They should not be asking you for a response that involves comparing your product to someone else's, and you should either ignore the post, or just state that you're only allowed to provide info, not comparisons to other brands.
You can't post in a thread that's about another company's vape unless it's a 100% positive post, and you can't mention your products at all unless the thread is about a product your company produces. Members will have more freedom in what they can post than you will. I'm sure it'll be a little frustrating, but we know where we want to draw the lines in order to keep discussion civil. We've structured our rules and moderation to maintain a friendly, peaceful atmosphere, and that will continue to be our goal.
I hope I've helped clarify some of the rules you've addressed and the reasons they exist. A lot of time and effort has been put into them.
