Atlas Thread Disappeared

[rowiebowie]

Couldn't sleep so went on the forum. Seems "The Atlas is History" thread is history. Ironic.

[xrvr]

Not surprised!

[OTRA15]

The recent poster can start his own thread IMO.

Discussing the actions of admins and mods is discouraged under the AF Community Rules. [link at bottom of page]

No worries.

Peter

[Tincampers]

It's been closed but you can still read it...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f240...ry-184772.html

[SteveSueMac]

General thought - not specific to that thread. In a public forum, wherever people can help each other that’s a great thing - but when there’s one side to a story and other parties don’t or won’t participate in the discussion, I would imagine the owners of the forum (individuals, LLCs, whatever the structure) have to be very careful about what is/n’t fair ground for conversation. No matter the forum, when topics start to get the “feel” of trying a case on line with only one side presenting their understanding of the facts, it always feels to me like thin ice. There just isn’t a good way to have that kind of discussion on line - and - the risk it puts on the forum owners is probably worth shutting discussions like that down.

Just one guy’s $0.02

[OTRA15]

Well said.

Peter

[xrvr]

Yup!

[Titus]

Let's not let this one thread and its follow-on cause the powers-that-be to get so fed up that the forum is closed down in its entirety. I find it to be a great resource, and would hate to lose it. I happen to be reading 1984 (last read in high school a few decades ago) , and can't help but notice some parallels.

[InterBlog]

Speaking about forums generally, not necessarily about this forum --

If you think that you will be (or are) the recipient of shadow banning or other forms of underhanded discrimination, always screenshot your content and archive it within seconds of posting it.

It's a way to catch dirty mods in action. In conformance with the rules, I'm not referring to anyone on Air Forums as I say this. But there are other forums out there that are not managed with the same level of diligence.

As the old saying goes, they can win the battle, but they are going to be seriously slammed in the war. Karma is a female dog, especially when it takes the form of a careful poster sending incriminating screenshots to one mod in order to "out" another mod who refuses to play by the rules.

[Action]

The thread has not disappeared. However it is closed like this one will be closed. That thread devolved into a dispute. Significant number of posts have been removed and the thread closed because of that posting. That type of posting does not make for good reading. Is generally one sided where the other party does not know or does not post so that type of posting is not allowed.

Please be mindful of your agreement when you became a member of this site.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/misc...ork&page=rules

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Speaking about forums generally, not necessarily about this forum --

Yes, but the implication is made nevertheless and frankly not deserved.

If you think that you will be (or are) the recipient of shadow banning or other forms of underhanded discrimination, always screenshot your content and archive it within seconds of posting it.

Most forums have volunteer teams of moderators who are tasked to keep the site running in accordance with the site rules that all members agree to as they join. Forums like this one host discussions and when folks participate they are expected to follow the rules set out upon joining. If content is removed it's because the basic provisions of those posting guidelines were not met.

"shadow banning" is not a thing at this forum or most others and there is no political agenda here ("Shadow banning" became popularized in 2018 as a conspiracy theory that Twitter had shadow-banned Republicans...). We are an Airstream discussion forum.

When a member is banned here they are notified. Banning rarely occurs here (except for spammers) because when a member begins to run afoul of site rules they are contacted by a moderator who explains the issue in the hope that the member will adjust their posting stance. Problem posts may be remove but most frequently the member is contacted either via PM or by a global post on a thread e.g. "many posts have been removed from this thread because....".

As an example, a post says something like this would not be allowed:

The defacement or arches monument by the jerk at Anderson is a clear example of wealthy republicans who feel overly entitled.

If seen, the site team they might edit to the post to remove some of the inflammatory language and would contact the poster. More commonly the post would be removed entirely and the poster contacted because we are careful to not edit another members post in a way that might change intent. In a discussion about the Arches defacement that post would not be allowed because it bring political affiliation into the discussion and that will lead to further argument.

It's a way to catch dirty mods in action. In conformance with the rules, I'm not referring to anyone on Air Forums as I say this. But there are other forums out there that are not managed with the same level of diligence.

If you have a concern at another forum - please pursue it at that venue but not here. This sort of statement creates distrust and sets up barriers to open discussion. It sets up a 'them against us' vibe that is not reflective of this site. Being a VOLUNTEER moderator is a thankless undertaking and exactly this sort of association makes the gig harder. Moderators are members first and they have a personal interest in airstreams.

Decisions about moderation are made by a group of moderators after discussion. If there is a problem post, it may be removed from view for a time until a course of action is set upon. At that point the member will be contacted or the post returned to view. Where there are tough choices to be made regarding censure or banishment no lone moderator makes this decision. The group weighs in and this committee approach helps keep things on an even keel. This process takes a little time but ensures that one moderator doesn't become judge and jury.

Interblog, your post (that I am now quoting) was the catalyst for some site team discussion about how to proceed. We closed the thread until that process could be completed so that it didn't entirely run off the rails.

Your post and others in this thread discuss moderation and inaccurately represent what transpired on a now closed thread (not removed - closed) which is expressly called out in our site rules and casts a spectre of distrust that becomes an unwanted drama and distraction from the topic of the board - Airstreams. There is a process for seeking information about moderation (also called out in the site rules); you can contact a member of the site team or hit the contact link at the bottom of the page to seek help. Someone will have a look.

[OTRA15]

Thanks Janet, well said!

Peter

[Pahaska]

I was a moderator on this site for a few years (a long time ago). It is a thankless job and a few repeat posers can make the task very difficult.

[tomquinnjr]

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/0...9r2EKOSIo_7TmY

[Iansk]

Originally Posted by tomquinnjr

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/0...9r2EKOSIo_7TmY

The best part of this story is that the judge’s last name is Rambo...

Ian

[Alex AVI]

ACTION, JANETH, and all the MODERATORS - I would never want to be a moderator. It is a thankless volunteer job that carries enormous responsibilities that are rarely appreciated. I could not imagine any forum without the safeguards afforded by the constant vigilance of the mods. We ought to know that all the time but when we forget, a "smack up side the head" while it hurts, is still appreciated. Keep up the good work.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Janet H

Yes, but the implication is made nevertheless and frankly not deserved.

...

Actually, not about this forum - that wasn't what I was implying. These threads that get scrubbed for valid reason... those posters rarely disappear without a trace. They turn up on other forums. They turn up in other corners of social media. They turn up in my personal off-forum email box, which is easy to find because I'm a blogger. And from there, they escalate. My advisory was geared toward the aspiring escalators, because some of them assume that

<-- THIS -->

must be as bad as it gets (they are often hotly indignant at being scrubbed here). They don't know what they're in for, if they take it elsewhere. So my comments were meant as a general advisory to the fact that it's often rougher beyond these e-walls, sometimes unfairly so, even if they DO tone it down for Round 2. But there are ways to deal with that.

[FlyFishinRVr]

Only back and contributing to AF for a few weeks and here comes this thread to remind me of all the reasons why I stopped.....

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Speaking about forums generally, not necessarily about this forum --

............

It's a way to catch dirty mods in action. In conformance with the rules, I'm not referring to anyone on Air Forums as I say this.

Emphasis added by me.

It’s your qualifiers, IB, for lack of a better identifier, that imply this “shadow banning” is a problem here, if only you could and would speak to it.

I had never heard of this before your post, most definitely not on this forum, and found it surprising that your post with these references was not removed.

The mods/administrators decided to handle it differently, and I have to say I agree with the end result.

Maggie

[OTRA15]

Probably a good time to close this thread IMO.

Peter