"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
I don't think it is over moderation. It is selective moderation. If you go to trailjournals and look at the gearlist from 8 - 10 years ago they carried very little that is carried now. The people that have the freedom to post whatever they want, haven't thru hiked in years. A lot of their info was gathered at hiker feeds from drunk hikers. They are allowed to say anything about anything and if you disagree you are moderated, so you end up with the same thing being said over and over.
Clyde
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
Well, sure. If a person can't figure out a way to disagree with someone without being condescending, a jerk, or resorting to ad hominem attacks, then they shouldn't find it all that surprising that their posts are deleted.
People incapable of self-moderation tend to have outside moderation imposed upon them. Just like in real life.
Don't dis da 'gator. He's actually lightened up a lot.
I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
Sir,
I said go look at gear list. The things that pass as fact here, because of selected moderation are no longer relevent in some cases. Case in Point, go to articals and look at Mr. Tarlins entry for Erwin and 19E. Both are mostly clouded by his opinion which is factually wrong but allowed to stand because he wrote it. At the time it was written it was contested and the opposing opinions were deleted. This is an arguement I cannot win with an administrator, so to you I say, Good Day, Sir
Clyde
Gee, Gator.......answer a person's question as to why numbers are down and you get moderated.........which is considered questioning your power.
Simply stating the fact that you overmoderate isn't questioning as to why said moderation is done.
If it is, then the power has truly gone to your head.
"Why is it a penny for your thoughts, but you always have to put your two cents in?"
- Stephen Wright
This thread started out making some valid points, at least giving some things to think about. Now, like a lot of threads, it is going down hill fast. FTR I don't think this is over moderated.
Alcohol was involved!
Which is your opinion. Which is okay to post.
But if you state the downturn in numbers is due to overmoderation, it is deleted.
Simply stating the fact that it just MAY be from overmoderation is considered a violation of Terms.
Didn't question why something was moderated.....just simply gave an opinion that down numbers just MIGHT be from overmoderation.
Sue me for having an opinion.
(waiting for this to be deleted as well.)
"Why is it a penny for your thoughts, but you always have to put your two cents in?"
- Stephen Wright
Time and time again it comes to this power thing. It's not but no matter that I say it's not some of you will always think it is. Whatever. I just try to keep the place civil. That means follow the user agreement please. Having seen threads like this before, I was fairly certain folks would use it as a platform for dredging up past moderation.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
As someone who may well be among the leaders in deleted posts, closed threads and generally heavy moderation, I have a few observations:
First, discussions like this end fast when the topic becomes - even in part - whether the level of moderation here is too heavy. The moderators, including Alligator, do not approve of criticism, and their power, whether wielded wisely or not as some might opine, comes from ATTroll, whose site this is, and who has the right to do approve of that level of moderation.
Second, I think quantitatively there is a lower level of posts. There is a certain inhibiting factor to moderation (First Amendment lawyers refer to this as the "chilling effect" of censorship) which keeps people from posting when they have been moderated in the past, even with innocent posts. This means that qualitative nature of many posts goes down, as well.
Lastly, when opinion and feelings need to be left out of posts, what is left is less interesting, as being factual or objective, and hence generates fewer responses. "How much gas do I need to boil a quart of water" isn't a topic that will go on for a long time.
What is left is a fairly innocuous gear-and-locations site, with some psychobabble from all of us about "how does it feel to hike" and so on. In short, it's now very similar to Trailplace before it fell apart (although even TP back then had one 'authorized' viewpoint, which meant it felt a lot like one hand clapping). That's not a bad thing; TP gave me a lot of incentive and information to hike, and did for a lot of others. Of course, TP's downfall was the creation of a raucous, rowdy, crazy, anything-goes site that became a huge success for being that way.
But that was then, and this is now. Value WhiteBlaze for what it is; it is a very useful site for people who need hiking information, especially about the AT.
TW
"Thank God! there is always a Land of Beyond, For us who are true to the trail..." --- Robert Service
MB opinions are not sacrosanct. Without going into specifics, there are limitations for those in the user agreement.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.