Another Quick Forum Update

[MacDougall]

Anyway are we allowed to swear and stuff now, is the "new era" starting now, or is there some sort of transition period?

I couldn't even get c-o-c-k-y past the automod last week.

Crap.

Crap works.

 

[earl]

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Personal attacks should be out. People should be able to talk as well but not too much. Mods have to somehow balance that out.

 

[Todd Packer]

This isnt that hard.

Everyone simply dont be toxic.

Be cool

I totally agree with this. This thread is blowing my mind.

Dude we live in an era where people shoot each other because of whether they wear a red hat or a blue one. People getting mad each other on a sports forum is not shocking in the slighest lol.

You need to move house. People shooting each other where you are.

 

[MacDougall]

It's a pretty wide held opinion that the constant negativity of this place has led to its sharp decline into what it is now. Instead of accepting that, we have the usual suspects doubling down on their naysaying and arrogance. It's like children who can't accept any form of critique, it's laughable.

Why can't we wait to see what the new forum looks like before forming an opinion? I agree with @Demps , we all have a part to play. If you throw your toys out of the cot about the changes but complain about how you long for the glory days then you're a hypocrite.

If by negativity you’re referring to how the team plays, that’s always been within the rules. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the way the mods hands have been tied in not being able to properly deal with posters who abuse others. If that’s the negativity you are referring to, then I would agree.

Yes the abuse is poor and has been poorly dealt with (both in terms of bans handed out for nothing and not banning enough).

But we've been through this a million times and it looks like we're having to go over this again. Your negativity, and the rest of your mates who think you have a mortgage on this place have created an environment where any discussion is stifled. That is due to your own hubris.

Accept your part in how this has all turned out. Or don't, but it's an indicator and further evidence to my point.

What negativity? How does saying something negative about the team affect you? As I told you the other day, which you didn’t do. If you disagree, feel free to tell me why. Don’t get snarky. As for my negativity, I was over the moon with Papali’i. When the club does something good, I will be positive, when they don’t I won’t be. As for me having a mortgage, I’m not the one telling others what opinions are acceptable. You’re the one who attacked me for being negative. I never judged you for wanting to be positive. But it’s me who thinks I have a mortgage on what can and can’t be said ?

I've said my bit numerous times and you haven't even entertained the idea that it might hold slightly true. It's the last time I post about it. As @Demps has said we all have a part to play. I'm happy to accept your criticism of me and will take note of it moving forward.

I never suggested I wasn’t part of the problem. But I’m not dancing on the mods graves either. I respected the job those 2 did, and it made this place a whole lot better

It may get... even better.

I think a clean slate is the go.
I know there's some animosity between users and i think there should be some understanding.

Let bygones be bygones.

2022 looks good and 2023 looks even better.

Lol if you and I have been able to be pleasant to each other there is hope for everyone.

 

[MacDougall]

This isnt that hard.

Everyone simply dont be toxic.

Be cool

I totally agree with this. This thread is blowing my mind.

Dude we live in an era where people shoot each other because of whether they wear a red hat or a blue one. People getting mad each other on a sports forum is not shocking in the slighest lol.

You need to move house. People shooting each other where you are.

Nah just on my idiot box. Stafford Heights, QLD is pretty tame. The only thing we have to worried about is the Northside Zoomers stealing our cars.

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

>

Where do you draw the line?
Personal threats should be out and personal attacks should also be out.

People seemed to be getting banned for minor things like disagreeing with someone and calling them a fool, Saying ‘punt him’ multiple times, criticising others. These things are all okay for a forum as long as they don’t get personal. Posts were getting deleted for any minor reason that could be found. There are pages of threads ‘this post has been deleted’. It’s not really the moderators fault as they were working within the current guidelines but some discretion could have been shown or posters could have been worked with to readjust their behaviour.

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Now’s the chance to focus on the future of the place.

I'd like a place where we can talk as we do in real life, that includes swear words and banter. I'd also like to see personal attacks eliminated. I'd like a less hands on approach from the moderating team than previously existed.

I love the current forum structure and would like that to stay.

What level of swearing should be acceptable for all:
- none
- minor words
- pub words
- free for all.

 

[MacDougall]

I want to thank both @cochise and @willow for all the efforts in trying to keep this place enjoyable.

Being a mod must be a thankless task, volunteering thousands of hours and subjecting yourself to upset posters.

I've been on here less and less lately as the boring arguments have become more prevalent.

Whoever puts their hand up to volunteer to be mod, after watching how 2 long serving mods have been treated, I'd be having 2nd thoughts. I think you'll find it's a lot harder than you think - unless you are intending to just let anything go - in which case why have mods at all?

@kul I'm all for improvement to the site - but feel like this is comparable to paying farah $600k to pay at souths. Hopefully you have a change of heart and bring back like WT have.

If you want to compare to sites like Discord - which has had massive problems with online abuse - then hope you're setting out terms and conditions for use and paying 24 hour 'trust and safety' team

*'To better protect its users and its services since these events, Discord has implemented a trust and safety team that is on call around the clock to monitor the servers and respond to reports. This includes dealing with user harassment, servers that violate Discord's terms of service'*

It's as easy or as difficult as one wants it to be.
It really isn't that big a deal being a mod... Yiu can get stuck into it and moderate like crazy or you can chill out and go with the flow.
It depends how frequent you're on here... It's an entirely personal choice.
It's not the end of the world and all this drama is purely because some people take this all way too seriously, having a crap footy team is only a small part of it.

There wasn't this much fuss when I was sacked as a mod.... I actually found it a weight off my shoulders as I had a lot of untrue accusations against me from other members who didn't see eye to eye with me.

@willow & @cochise will be OK... They join me in illustrious company ?
Cochise has helped me out personally in the past and I'm grateful for that.... I don't have a problem with anyone here and the only gripe I've recently had was not being able to say "BS" in a game day thread... Or even balmain soccer... Which is how ridiculous and sanitised, G- rated this place had become.... Thankfully that's been relaxed.

Don't take things said or other members too seriously and this place will continue to be a great forum.... Don't agree? Scroll on... It's easy

?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wO8toxinoc

 

[The_Patriot]

While i applaud the efforts of all moderators and argue they almost always moderated to the rules the trouble was that the only people being banned were those with the strong and well thought out opinions.
Becoming tired of the stale nature of this place. I found myself on Discord recently.
To my surprise here was a group of so called troublemakers all getting a long like life long friends. I guess thats what happens when they all feel they have been treated poorly by those they had looked to to validate their right to have an opinion.
It was and still is a thing of beauty. I myself have mended a few bridges and now get on well with people who i had fell out with on this forum. Why, well thats the million dollar question.

What I don't understand is - if "other types of fans" created their own way of supporting the club, and found that the new "thing" was good and worked for them, why the need to come back to the forum, or complain about the forum, or ask the owner to change the style of the forum - or any combination of those?

I mean if the Discord experience is that good for the Discorders, they can't be happy with that? I don't use the Discord because I only need / want 1 outlet for my Tigers thinking. I don't have the time or desire to manage multiple social media presences.

I believe you that there are disgruntled or disenfranchised former forum contributors. There are also hundreds or thousands of active members in the forum under it's current set up - many of those must be OK with the way it's been running. It remains to be seen if the member experience will improve or not during the next few months.

Personally I've experienced the opposite of what you are explaining. I think this Forum is a standard above any other rugby league social platform I have yet experienced. I agree sometimes the mods have been heavy-handed, but like referees, they are human and don't have their best performance every week.

I think it's a naive statement to say that only "strongly opinionated" people were being banned. I have seen a lot of petty short-term accounts come and go, starting arguments then disappearing. I'm not a mod, but I would guess the "well thought out" posters are on the minority of those banned. Truly, by definition, well thought out posts should not require moderation... otherwise they are not so well thought out.

All good in theory but yet decent contributors have fallen by the wayside.

I cant speak for the others but Discord and the like are cool and work very well for engaging with other like minded people. That said these other platforms are not the greater social community. For that people look to this place.

Im all for them wanting it to be the best it can be and for them to feel comfortable posting here.

 

[earl]

>

Where do you draw the line?
Personal threats should be out and personal attacks should also be out.

People seemed to be getting banned for minor things like disagreeing with someone and calling them a fool, Saying ‘punt him’ multiple times, criticising others. These things are all okay for a forum as long as they don’t get personal. Posts were getting deleted for any minor reason that could be found. There are pages of threads ‘this post has been deleted’. It’s not really the moderators fault as they were working within the current guidelines but some discretion could have been shown or posters could have been worked with to readjust their behaviour.

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Now’s the chance to focus on the future of the place.

I'd like a place where we can talk as we do in real life, that includes swear words and banter. I'd also like to see personal attacks eliminated. I'd like a less hands on approach from the moderating team than previously existed.

I love the current forum structure and would like that to stay.

What level of swearing should be acceptable for all:
- none
- minor words
- pub words
- free for all.

A level below a free for all but not personal unless it's against Brooks.

 

[earl]

I want to thank both @cochise and @willow for all the efforts in trying to keep this place enjoyable.

Being a mod must be a thankless task, volunteering thousands of hours and subjecting yourself to upset posters.

I've been on here less and less lately as the boring arguments have become more prevalent.

Whoever puts their hand up to volunteer to be mod, after watching how 2 long serving mods have been treated, I'd be having 2nd thoughts. I think you'll find it's a lot harder than you think - unless you are intending to just let anything go - in which case why have mods at all?

@kul I'm all for improvement to the site - but feel like this is comparable to paying farah $600k to pay at souths. Hopefully you have a change of heart and bring back like WT have.

If you want to compare to sites like Discord - which has had massive problems with online abuse - then hope you're setting out terms and conditions for use and paying 24 hour 'trust and safety' team

*'To better protect its users and its services since these events, Discord has implemented a trust and safety team that is on call around the clock to monitor the servers and respond to reports. This includes dealing with user harassment, servers that violate Discord's terms of service'*

It's as easy or as difficult as one wants it to be.
It really isn't that big a deal being a mod... Yiu can get stuck into it and moderate like crazy or you can chill out and go with the flow.
It depends how frequent you're on here... It's an entirely personal choice.
It's not the end of the world and all this drama is purely because some people take this all way too seriously, having a crap footy team is only a small part of it.

There wasn't this much fuss when I was sacked as a mod.... I actually found it a weight off my shoulders as I had a lot of untrue accusations against me from other members who didn't see eye to eye with me.

@willow & @cochise will be OK... They join me in illustrious company ?
Cochise has helped me out personally in the past and I'm grateful for that.... I don't have a problem with anyone here and the only gripe I've recently had was not being able to say "BS" in a game day thread... Or even balmain soccer... Which is how ridiculous and sanitised, G- rated this place had become.... Thankfully that's been relaxed.

Don't take things said or other members too seriously and this place will continue to be a great forum.... Don't agree? Scroll on... It's easy

?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wO8toxinoc

Ink made a great post. Don't take this so seriously.

 

[Todd Packer]

>

Where do you draw the line?
Personal threats should be out and personal attacks should also be out.

People seemed to be getting banned for minor things like disagreeing with someone and calling them a fool, Saying ‘punt him’ multiple times, criticising others. These things are all okay for a forum as long as they don’t get personal. Posts were getting deleted for any minor reason that could be found. There are pages of threads ‘this post has been deleted’. It’s not really the moderators fault as they were working within the current guidelines but some discretion could have been shown or posters could have been worked with to readjust their behaviour.

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Now’s the chance to focus on the future of the place.

I'd like a place where we can talk as we do in real life, that includes swear words and banter. I'd also like to see personal attacks eliminated. I'd like a less hands on approach from the moderating team than previously existed.

I love the current forum structure and would like that to stay.

What level of swearing should be acceptable for all:
- none
- minor words
- pub words
- free for all.

Just ban f and c. The rest you judge on common sense. There's many ways to use a word. We're all adults.

 

[Tigerwould]

Having been on this forum and previous forum incarnations for a number of years ive enjoyed the banter and many differing opinions put forward by its members.

There is no better site on the internet or social media platforms to gauge what the Wests Tigers community is thinking about certain topics. It has been a reflection of the ride that we have all been on.

What i love more than anything else is someone with a strong opinion. Someone who is not afraid to speak their mind and offer pure opinion based comments. What i hate more than anything else on here has been people who react negatively to these strong opinions while hardly ever offering their own . The guys who come out of the woodwork and harrass the OP for that opinion. Banging on and on trying to force a reaction or make them regretful of ever commenting in the first place.

This has been an issue for many years. Willows moderation style was to ban the person forced into a reaction rather than pull up the person responsible. The person who was not accepting of other peoples opinion. It was a style Cochise also fell victim to.

Over the years many many previously decent contributors were banned. One by one they fell on their sword while trying to defend their opinions.

While i applaud the efforts of all moderators and argue they almost always moderated to the rules the trouble was that the only people being banned were those with the strong and well thought out opinions.

Becoming tired of the stale nature of this place. I found myself on Discord recently.

To my surprise here was a group of so called troublemakers all getting a long like life long friends. I guess thats what happens when they all feel they have been treated poorly by those they had looked to to validate their right to have an opinion.

It was and still is a thing of beauty. I myself have mended a few bridges and now get on well with people who i had fell out with on this forum. Why, well thats the million dollar question.

The answer it seems is that when you allow people to express themselves to their full extent, like minded people with strong opinions come to respect those who disagree with them.

This has all come about not because of Discord but because someone posted a thread on League Unlimited about how bad this place had become.

The forum was not just over moderated but also housed a small group of guys who were chiefly responsible for many people being banned or turning their backs on the forum. The general consensus on League unlimited was that the moderation of this site was not paying enough attention to these agitators and had made this place a less enjoyable place to post.

Kul was made aware of the League Unlimited thread and i am not shocked at all he has made this decision.

Former user after former user of his forum all come forward with testimony to the same story. These were not Discord people these were League Unlimited people and their opinions carried a certain level of impartiality. A few of the Discord lads posted and told a similar story however the point is that they were not alone in this common story. A large section of of our fan base had turned their back on Kuls forum.

The issue was the style of moderation.

Let me be clear the issue was not the existence of moderation and rules. Everyone understands that it needs to exist and most people want a forum with clear guidelines and a family friendly environment.

@Kul appreciate you looking to improve this place. I have no doubt that many will return if the moderation style changes.

A thread that contained many personal attacks such as

There is another moderator called Cochise (we all call him ck cheese), who still gets bullied. He is a fat ugly baldy headed ginger [censored] with a big fat gunt. This guy is possibly the biggest fanboy loser I’ve ever encountered. He runs that soft ck supporters group ambush which gets ridiculed everywhere. He bans people who disagree with him as his intellect and knowledge are sub par.

Plus more against other posters here. That is where kul took his advice.

No I'd say that is where KUL asked himself why they are so upset.

No that stuff is unacceptable for any reason at all. The kind of person that tees off like that on a forum should be banned, deserves it.

100% no issue with a banning for that kind of posting.

But as ive said if it was my forum id ask why are people so upset. I suggest you try and see it from Kuls point of view.

Hmmm .. the person who posted that is on this forum right now..what would your decision be about banning them .. i would also throw my support behind you if you where interested in becoming a moderator here…

What are your thoughts Geo?

Should we ban some one cos one user doesn't like them?
If that's the case, then it should be fair.
So in turn, a lot of people would be banned because some one doesn't like them?

What is the ideal outcome @cochise ?

Do you want a user removed ?
Do you want an apology ?
Do you want the LU stuff taken down ?

What's done is done.
How can we move forward?

You clearly don't want to stop posting.
No one has asked you to stop posting.

Let's work out an outcome and move on with it.

Swearing doesn’t offend me, if its not a personal attack on someone. In cases where it adds expression or humour if fine with swearing.
What @cochise posted from LU i found incredibly offensive. I don’t think anyone should be allowed the write anything like that on any website. That’s cyber bullying. Don’t think Buzz or the DT crew even deserve that.

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

>

Where do you draw the line?
Personal threats should be out and personal attacks should also be out.

People seemed to be getting banned for minor things like disagreeing with someone and calling them a fool, Saying ‘punt him’ multiple times, criticising others. These things are all okay for a forum as long as they don’t get personal. Posts were getting deleted for any minor reason that could be found. There are pages of threads ‘this post has been deleted’. It’s not really the moderators fault as they were working within the current guidelines but some discretion could have been shown or posters could have been worked with to readjust their behaviour.

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Now’s the chance to focus on the future of the place.

I'd like a place where we can talk as we do in real life, that includes swear words and banter. I'd also like to see personal attacks eliminated. I'd like a less hands on approach from the moderating team than previously existed.

I love the current forum structure and would like that to stay.

What level of swearing should be acceptable for all:
- none
- minor words
- pub words
- free for all.

Just ban f and c. The rest you judge on common sense. There's many ways to use a word. We're all adults.

That’s my feel as well. Makes sense and is accessible for all.

 

[The_Patriot]

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Personal attacks should be out. People should be able to talk as well but not too much. Mods have to somehow balance that out.

Its about the lead up.

What transpired before the personal attack.

This was the thing that Willow missed every single time.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Having been on this forum and previous forum incarnations for a number of years ive enjoyed the banter and many differing opinions put forward by its members.

There is no better site on the internet or social media platforms to gauge what the Wests Tigers community is thinking about certain topics. It has been a reflection of the ride that we have all been on.

What i love more than anything else is someone with a strong opinion. Someone who is not afraid to speak their mind and offer pure opinion based comments. What i hate more than anything else on here has been people who react negatively to these strong opinions while hardly ever offering their own . The guys who come out of the woodwork and harrass the OP for that opinion. Banging on and on trying to force a reaction or make them regretful of ever commenting in the first place.

This has been an issue for many years. Willows moderation style was to ban the person forced into a reaction rather than pull up the person responsible. The person who was not accepting of other peoples opinion. It was a style Cochise also fell victim to.

Over the years many many previously decent contributors were banned. One by one they fell on their sword while trying to defend their opinions.

While i applaud the efforts of all moderators and argue they almost always moderated to the rules the trouble was that the only people being banned were those with the strong and well thought out opinions.

Becoming tired of the stale nature of this place. I found myself on Discord recently.

To my surprise here was a group of so called troublemakers all getting a long like life long friends. I guess thats what happens when they all feel they have been treated poorly by those they had looked to to validate their right to have an opinion.

It was and still is a thing of beauty. I myself have mended a few bridges and now get on well with people who i had fell out with on this forum. Why, well thats the million dollar question.

The answer it seems is that when you allow people to express themselves to their full extent, like minded people with strong opinions come to respect those who disagree with them.

This has all come about not because of Discord but because someone posted a thread on League Unlimited about how bad this place had become.

The forum was not just over moderated but also housed a small group of guys who were chiefly responsible for many people being banned or turning their backs on the forum. The general consensus on League unlimited was that the moderation of this site was not paying enough attention to these agitators and had made this place a less enjoyable place to post.

Kul was made aware of the League Unlimited thread and i am not shocked at all he has made this decision.

Former user after former user of his forum all come forward with testimony to the same story. These were not Discord people these were League Unlimited people and their opinions carried a certain level of impartiality. A few of the Discord lads posted and told a similar story however the point is that they were not alone in this common story. A large section of of our fan base had turned their back on Kuls forum.

The issue was the style of moderation.

Let me be clear the issue was not the existence of moderation and rules. Everyone understands that it needs to exist and most people want a forum with clear guidelines and a family friendly environment.

@Kul appreciate you looking to improve this place. I have no doubt that many will return if the moderation style changes.

A thread that contained many personal attacks such as

There is another moderator called Cochise (we all call him ck cheese), who still gets bullied. He is a fat ugly baldy headed ginger [censored] with a big fat gunt. This guy is possibly the biggest fanboy loser I’ve ever encountered. He runs that soft ck supporters group ambush which gets ridiculed everywhere. He bans people who disagree with him as his intellect and knowledge are sub par.

Plus more against other posters here. That is where kul took his advice.

No I'd say that is where KUL asked himself why they are so upset.

No that stuff is unacceptable for any reason at all. The kind of person that tees off like that on a forum should be banned, deserves it.

100% no issue with a banning for that kind of posting.

But as ive said if it was my forum id ask why are people so upset. I suggest you try and see it from Kuls point of view.

Hmmm .. the person who posted that is on this forum right now..what would your decision be about banning them .. i would also throw my support behind you if you where interested in becoming a moderator here…

What are your thoughts Geo?

Should we ban some one cos one user doesn't like them?
If that's the case, then it should be fair.
So in turn, a lot of people would be banned because some one doesn't like them?

What is the ideal outcome @cochise ?

Do you want a user removed ?
Do you want an apology ?
Do you want the LU stuff taken down ?

What's done is done.
How can we move forward?

You clearly don't want to stop posting.
No one has asked you to stop posting.

Let's work out an outcome and move on with it.

Swearing doesn’t offend me, if its not a personal attack on someone. In cases where it adds expression or humour if fine with swearing.
What @cochise posted from LU i found incredibly offensive. I don’t think anyone should be allowed the write anything like that on any website. That’s cyber bullying. Don’t think Buzz or the DT crew even deserve that.

Swearing doesn’t offend me either. But grown men wanting to swear for the sake of it reminds me of teenage boys thinking their cool smoking behind the toilets.

 

[Spartan117]

This isnt that hard.

Everyone simply dont be toxic.

Be cool

I totally agree with this. This thread is blowing my mind.

Dude we live in an era where people shoot each other because of whether they wear a red hat or a blue one. People getting mad each other on a sports forum is not shocking in the slightest lol.

Disagreement is ok, I actually appreciate the alternate view points as it either changes my mind or solidifies mine POV.

It's where keyboard tuff-guys go down the insulting or swearing path that shows me that they are actually the dopes.

 

[MacDougall]

I want to thank both @cochise and @willow for all the efforts in trying to keep this place enjoyable.

Being a mod must be a thankless task, volunteering thousands of hours and subjecting yourself to upset posters.

I've been on here less and less lately as the boring arguments have become more prevalent.

Whoever puts their hand up to volunteer to be mod, after watching how 2 long serving mods have been treated, I'd be having 2nd thoughts. I think you'll find it's a lot harder than you think - unless you are intending to just let anything go - in which case why have mods at all?

@kul I'm all for improvement to the site - but feel like this is comparable to paying farah $600k to pay at souths. Hopefully you have a change of heart and bring back like WT have.

If you want to compare to sites like Discord - which has had massive problems with online abuse - then hope you're setting out terms and conditions for use and paying 24 hour 'trust and safety' team

*'To better protect its users and its services since these events, Discord has implemented a trust and safety team that is on call around the clock to monitor the servers and respond to reports. This includes dealing with user harassment, servers that violate Discord's terms of service'*

It's as easy or as difficult as one wants it to be.
It really isn't that big a deal being a mod... Yiu can get stuck into it and moderate like crazy or you can chill out and go with the flow.
It depends how frequent you're on here... It's an entirely personal choice.
It's not the end of the world and all this drama is purely because some people take this all way too seriously, having a crap footy team is only a small part of it.

There wasn't this much fuss when I was sacked as a mod.... I actually found it a weight off my shoulders as I had a lot of untrue accusations against me from other members who didn't see eye to eye with me.

@willow & @cochise will be OK... They join me in illustrious company ?
Cochise has helped me out personally in the past and I'm grateful for that.... I don't have a problem with anyone here and the only gripe I've recently had was not being able to say "BS" in a game day thread... Or even balmain soccer... Which is how ridiculous and sanitised, G- rated this place had become.... Thankfully that's been relaxed.

Don't take things said or other members too seriously and this place will continue to be a great forum.... Don't agree? Scroll on... It's easy

?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wO8toxinoc

Ink made a great post. Don't take this so seriously.

Oh yes silly me I am taking this all so very seriously.

 

[Yossarian]

Hmm this has been quite the thread to read through. I've been around for a long time. Not as long as some but longer than most. I tend to drift in and out as my outside life allows and my interest in league oscilates. If I hear something that may be of interest to the forum I post it.

I've got no serious objection to change. I don't mind a loosening of swearing censorship but I wouldn't want this to turn into the Kennel or even LU. I've never bothered to join LU as it seems all personal vitriol and pubic wig talk. So I'm not in favour of something like that.

I don't know the particulars of Willow and Cochise being punted. I don't know them personally but I've had several public and private chats with them and get along with both of them.

To be honest I've had very few major disputes (of a hostile nature) on this forum. Usually it's only been with the racist or hom'phobic (apparently the full word is censored) crowd or when I've been in a bad frame of mind (and usually this passes pretty fast). I've had some good disagreements particularly on politics but generally even people with considerably different political views have been courteous to me and I hope vice versa.

What does this all mean? I dunno to be honest. I guess I'm trying to say I've got no dramas with disagreements and opposing POVs. As much as I respect Willow and Cochise, I'm open to mod changes. I have a great respect for the ongoing mods like Geo and Spartan. I take people as it comes - I like to think I have good forum relationships with Demps and people he may have conflict with. I like Demps for the most part! I'm keeping an open mind but if the forum becomes a place where personal attack becomes the norm I'd be drifting more out than in. Call my ideas stupid, don't call me stupid!

Anyway let's hope we start winning soon. Winning era forum was a lot more fun! Remember when where to play Tim Moltxen was our biggest problem? Good times...

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Having been on this forum and previous forum incarnations for a number of years ive enjoyed the banter and many differing opinions put forward by its members.

There is no better site on the internet or social media platforms to gauge what the Wests Tigers community is thinking about certain topics. It has been a reflection of the ride that we have all been on.

What i love more than anything else is someone with a strong opinion. Someone who is not afraid to speak their mind and offer pure opinion based comments. What i hate more than anything else on here has been people who react negatively to these strong opinions while hardly ever offering their own . The guys who come out of the woodwork and harrass the OP for that opinion. Banging on and on trying to force a reaction or make them regretful of ever commenting in the first place.

This has been an issue for many years. Willows moderation style was to ban the person forced into a reaction rather than pull up the person responsible. The person who was not accepting of other peoples opinion. It was a style Cochise also fell victim to.

Over the years many many previously decent contributors were banned. One by one they fell on their sword while trying to defend their opinions.

While i applaud the efforts of all moderators and argue they almost always moderated to the rules the trouble was that the only people being banned were those with the strong and well thought out opinions.

Becoming tired of the stale nature of this place. I found myself on Discord recently.

To my surprise here was a group of so called troublemakers all getting a long like life long friends. I guess thats what happens when they all feel they have been treated poorly by those they had looked to to validate their right to have an opinion.

It was and still is a thing of beauty. I myself have mended a few bridges and now get on well with people who i had fell out with on this forum. Why, well thats the million dollar question.

The answer it seems is that when you allow people to express themselves to their full extent, like minded people with strong opinions come to respect those who disagree with them.

This has all come about not because of Discord but because someone posted a thread on League Unlimited about how bad this place had become.

The forum was not just over moderated but also housed a small group of guys who were chiefly responsible for many people being banned or turning their backs on the forum. The general consensus on League unlimited was that the moderation of this site was not paying enough attention to these agitators and had made this place a less enjoyable place to post.

Kul was made aware of the League Unlimited thread and i am not shocked at all he has made this decision.

Former user after former user of his forum all come forward with testimony to the same story. These were not Discord people these were League Unlimited people and their opinions carried a certain level of impartiality. A few of the Discord lads posted and told a similar story however the point is that they were not alone in this common story. A large section of of our fan base had turned their back on Kuls forum.

The issue was the style of moderation.

Let me be clear the issue was not the existence of moderation and rules. Everyone understands that it needs to exist and most people want a forum with clear guidelines and a family friendly environment.

@Kul appreciate you looking to improve this place. I have no doubt that many will return if the moderation style changes.

A thread that contained many personal attacks such as

There is another moderator called Cochise (we all call him ck cheese), who still gets bullied. He is a fat ugly baldy headed ginger [censored] with a big fat gunt. This guy is possibly the biggest fanboy loser I’ve ever encountered. He runs that soft ck supporters group ambush which gets ridiculed everywhere. He bans people who disagree with him as his intellect and knowledge are sub par.

Plus more against other posters here. That is where kul took his advice.

No I'd say that is where KUL asked himself why they are so upset.

No that stuff is unacceptable for any reason at all. The kind of person that tees off like that on a forum should be banned, deserves it.

100% no issue with a banning for that kind of posting.

But as ive said if it was my forum id ask why are people so upset. I suggest you try and see it from Kuls point of view.


Where do you draw the line? What if it was a death threat? Do police ever look at it from the POV of someone making the threat?

Where do you draw the line?
Personal threats should be out and personal attacks should also be out.

People seemed to be getting banned for minor things like disagreeing with someone and calling them a fool, Saying ‘punt him’ multiple times, criticising others. These things are all okay for a forum as long as they don’t get personal. Posts were getting deleted for any minor reason that could be found. There are pages of threads ‘this post has been deleted’. It’s not really the moderators fault as they were working within the current guidelines but some discretion could have been shown or posters could have been worked with to readjust their behaviour.

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Now’s the chance to focus on the future of the place.

I don’t think “punt him” is a banable offence, but after a while it becomes spam and adds nothing to the discussion. That’s where mods are within their rights to tell someone to offer something constructive, or don’t offer anything.

 

[Chicken_Faced_Killa]

Having been on this forum and previous forum incarnations for a number of years ive enjoyed the banter and many differing opinions put forward by its members.

There is no better site on the internet or social media platforms to gauge what the Wests Tigers community is thinking about certain topics. It has been a reflection of the ride that we have all been on.

What i love more than anything else is someone with a strong opinion. Someone who is not afraid to speak their mind and offer pure opinion based comments. What i hate more than anything else on here has been people who react negatively to these strong opinions while hardly ever offering their own . The guys who come out of the woodwork and harrass the OP for that opinion. Banging on and on trying to force a reaction or make them regretful of ever commenting in the first place.

This has been an issue for many years. Willows moderation style was to ban the person forced into a reaction rather than pull up the person responsible. The person who was not accepting of other peoples opinion. It was a style Cochise also fell victim to.

Over the years many many previously decent contributors were banned. One by one they fell on their sword while trying to defend their opinions.

While i applaud the efforts of all moderators and argue they almost always moderated to the rules the trouble was that the only people being banned were those with the strong and well thought out opinions.

Becoming tired of the stale nature of this place. I found myself on Discord recently.

To my surprise here was a group of so called troublemakers all getting a long like life long friends. I guess thats what happens when they all feel they have been treated poorly by those they had looked to to validate their right to have an opinion.

It was and still is a thing of beauty. I myself have mended a few bridges and now get on well with people who i had fell out with on this forum. Why, well thats the million dollar question.

The answer it seems is that when you allow people to express themselves to their full extent, like minded people with strong opinions come to respect those who disagree with them.

This has all come about not because of Discord but because someone posted a thread on League Unlimited about how bad this place had become.

The forum was not just over moderated but also housed a small group of guys who were chiefly responsible for many people being banned or turning their backs on the forum. The general consensus on League unlimited was that the moderation of this site was not paying enough attention to these agitators and had made this place a less enjoyable place to post.

Kul was made aware of the League Unlimited thread and i am not shocked at all he has made this decision.

Former user after former user of his forum all come forward with testimony to the same story. These were not Discord people these were League Unlimited people and their opinions carried a certain level of impartiality. A few of the Discord lads posted and told a similar story however the point is that they were not alone in this common story. A large section of of our fan base had turned their back on Kuls forum.

The issue was the style of moderation.

Let me be clear the issue was not the existence of moderation and rules. Everyone understands that it needs to exist and most people want a forum with clear guidelines and a family friendly environment.

@Kul appreciate you looking to improve this place. I have no doubt that many will return if the moderation style changes.

A thread that contained many personal attacks such as

There is another moderator called Cochise (we all call him ck cheese), who still gets bullied. He is a fat ugly baldy headed ginger [censored] with a big fat gunt. This guy is possibly the biggest fanboy loser I’ve ever encountered. He runs that soft ck supporters group ambush which gets ridiculed everywhere. He bans people who disagree with him as his intellect and knowledge are sub par.

Plus more against other posters here. That is where kul took his advice.

No I'd say that is where KUL asked himself why they are so upset.

No that stuff is unacceptable for any reason at all. The kind of person that tees off like that on a forum should be banned, deserves it.

100% no issue with a banning for that kind of posting.

But as ive said if it was my forum id ask why are people so upset. I suggest you try and see it from Kuls point of view.


Where do you draw the line? What if it was a death threat? Do police ever look at it from the POV of someone making the threat?

Where do you draw the line?
Personal threats should be out and personal attacks should also be out.

People seemed to be getting banned for minor things like disagreeing with someone and calling them a fool, Saying ‘punt him’ multiple times, criticising others. These things are all okay for a forum as long as they don’t get personal. Posts were getting deleted for any minor reason that could be found. There are pages of threads ‘this post has been deleted’. It’s not really the moderators fault as they were working within the current guidelines but some discretion could have been shown or posters could have been worked with to readjust their behaviour.

I asked this earlier but what do people want the place to look like moving forward?

Now’s the chance to focus on the future of the place.


I don’t think “punt him” is a banable offence, but after a while it becomes spam and adds nothing to the discussion. That’s where mods are within their rights to tell someone to offer something constructive, or don’t offer anything.

I found it boring as well but you just ignore it and it goes away. It became a bigger deal than it needed to be