|
Post by Tiggerwoos on Feb 27, 2006 22:10:11 GMT
Until I actually purchase the domain on this site, I know its a bit difficult to navigate back to the main forum, but if anyone wants to pop in the chat room, here's the link. You need to enable Java, but if it doesn't work theres a help button at the bottom of the chatroom to install Java for free. To log in, just type the name you want to be seen as and sign in. www.everythingvegan.co.uk/veganchat.htm
|
|
|
Post by maisiepaisie on Jul 4, 2006 20:17:22 GMT
Can't believe the chat threads been locked Anyone wanna come to the chat room? I'm the only one there.
|
|
|
Post by Pob on Jul 4, 2006 20:22:38 GMT
I'm there too, now
|
|
|
Post by veggiesosage on Jul 5, 2006 18:22:58 GMT
I'm in that chat thingy now if anyone's interested.
I think its a bad idea closing the chat thread. The chat room just isn't the same and I've no idea what people have been chatting about today cos you can't see anything said before you log in. Thats presuming anybody has been chatting...
I also don't really understand how a few people can write in and complain about a part of the forum that lots of other people obviously like. Do we know who any of these people are? Are they genuine members or are they just trolls trying to cause trouble? Did they ever have any intention of staying here anyway? If they didn't like that 'chat' thread why didn't they just ignore it? Why didn't they get on with posting in threads that interested them, which might have inspired some of the people who perhaps spend a little too much time on the chat thread to go have a look and would move their threads up the 'last 70 posts' thing?
Its worth noting that there are hardly any posts over the last day so its not as if these people have come back. So, how genuine are they?
If its the sexual content of the thread that was the problem then this should have been moderated and some ground rules for the forum should be established. If people break these ground rules then there are ways of dealing with that in a fair and sensible manner, it doesn't have to be fascist like as it on a certain other forum.
Its very clear to me that chatting on the main forum is something people want. You only have to look around and forums with chat style threads are more popular. I strongly suspect people will go elsewhere if they don't get what they want, which would be a bad thing.
|
|
|
Post by bobbywomble on Jul 5, 2006 19:18:14 GMT
i can see your point and understand your frustration in your post being locked however to be fair, the thread was taking over the forum and members were dropping like flies... there are 90 + members of this forum presently and only 5 or 6 were posting on that thread the fact is that this forum is in its infancy and its critical to project the correct image to possible new members that are considering joining up if you think logically and ask yourself this question.. if you were looking to join up to this forum for vegans and looked at the last 70 posts and all you read was "pointless and chatty crap "which often involved a lot of sexual innuendos would you join up??? now consider if you were 14 years old and new to veganism (like some of our members are) ....would you still join the fact is this forum needs members without them it wouldnt need to hit an iceberg to sink.. i know that tigger spends a lot of time and cash running and advertising this place which is why i feel i must jump to her defence i have known tigger and her partner a long time since the days in the marines to be honest... and know the commitment she would put into something she feels a passion for.. i also know that it would not be a decision that she made lightly to lock the thread.. your comment about moderation of people that break the rules is a fair one however this was tryed and didnt work as things calmed down for about 24 hours then normal service was resumed.. so i cant really see what else she could do? i agree that there were hardly any posts in the last day from the members who complained ..... this highlights the damage that thread has done by scaring off members who regularly posted previously but are no longer logging in... all we can do is hope that they look in sometime and notice that people are now posting in the normal thread's i hope these people come back as this forum needs its old members back to be a success i wish tigger every success and support her decision to try locking the thread as i really cant see that she had any alternative the womble is over and out
|
|
|
Post by veggiesosage on Jul 5, 2006 20:00:44 GMT
I support Tigs efforts in sorting out the forum as well and I've put a lot of effort into encouraging members to join up. I'd be happy to do a lot more to help things run smoothly if I was asked. I just don't think the right solution has been found.
When I joined the forum there were around 35 members if I remember. Now there's over 90. It would be naiive to assume that all would still be regularly posting.
People do join and leave forums for a variety of reasons. I've joined 5 since February. I've been banned from one (see passim), stopped posting on another because there were literally 2 posts in the last month, post very rarely on another because its very American and I just have a strange difficulty getting my head round it and I still post regularly on 2. So that could be 3 forums where people are wondering where I am and worrying if I've left because I don't like them. I know of one member who has stopped posting and another who took a break for reasons completely unconnected with the forum itself. Either may or may not be back.
I'm not happy that people weren't posting in the other threads either. I just don't agree that one thread is to blame for that. I honestly think that someone who will join, make a couple of posts before complaining about content is most likely to be a troll, its a very troll like tactic. Others are perhaps touring around looking for a place that suits them and this one just didn't do it for them. Its a strange world out there!
I've heard allegations that mods from one forum have gone off to try and sabotage another forum, simply out of spite. What oif it was someone like that making the complaints?
If its a long time member who has complained then again, positive action would be better by posting on the threads that interest them.
Like I've said before I don't use the last 70 posts function, I don't find it useful so I can't say what my reaction would be to that. I think I'd first look at the home page to see what topics there are and post on those that interest me. If there was a topic that I didn't like or didn't interest me I'd leave it alone and I certainly wouldn't complain.
Like I say, a code of conduct and sensible moderation is the key. Just one message saying there have been complaints isn't going to change people's habits overnight. Chat threads are the human bit which matters a lot to me. I've been vegan for about 15 years and I've already said everything I can about which soya milk I like.
Like I said, all criticism should be constructive and I'm happy to help if needed. I've got skills, I'm a manager in real life so I'm used to getting people to do what I want in often quite difficult constraints, and am sure that could be put to good use.
|
|
|
Post by bobbywomble on Jul 5, 2006 20:46:37 GMT
with 50 posts already on numerous different subjects from loads of different members for the first time in ages i dare say that it seems to be working..... last time i counted there were 68 posts from the pointless thread and 2 from other threads in the last 70 posts not bad for a new forum
|
|
|
Post by veganbikerboy on Jul 5, 2006 21:20:36 GMT
i'm in the chat room if anyone else wants to give it a bash ;D
|
|
|
Post by veggiesosage on Jul 5, 2006 21:47:07 GMT
*Is def trying to make the effort to please Tigs*
|
|
|
Post by rubes on Jul 6, 2006 13:09:33 GMT
*sighs* I agree with veggie - a messageboard without a chit-chat thread - an area completely free from any particular topic - just seems a bit wrong. More often than not out there in the 'real world' we're shut off from having a natter with like-minded vegan friends and now we're shut off from having a natter on here too (unless it's about a recipe, or soya milks, or vegan bargains etc etc - and who wants to come online and only be allowed to talk about these things all the time?? The chat room is all very well if people have a large chunk of time available to chat but it's much better to be able to pop in a chat thread have a laugh and a joke (or a moan, depending on the kind of day we're having!!) for a few minutes at a time inbetween getting on with other stuff outside of the PC. The way I see it, idle chit-chat, laughing and joking with friends - it's all part of human nature - when I'm having a conversation with someone it's very rare that I stay just on one topic...we leap from one thing to another. A chat area free from topical constrictions is an integral part of any successful forum (and it is ALWAYS the busiest, most posted on thread - regardless of the forum content as a whole). I do think that a better idea would have been to have some guidelines regarding sexual content (as that seems to be the major bugbear of the complaints) rather than just banning chit chat altogether. As for it dominating all the 70 latest posts - I wouldn't know - I've never used that function, don't know how to use it and don't particularly feel any need to do so - I just look at the main page so I can see where all the latest posts are in each sub-forum. Finally, I can't say as I've noticed any of the members who didn't like the chat thread have even come back - all I have noticed is that those who did post here regularly really don't anymore....except for the odd post or two a day.....so if locking the chat thread was supposed to encourage more people to post I have to say that (at the moment) it really hasn't worked and has had completely the opposite effect. However, all final decisions belong to Tigger (and rightly so) So I'll continue to drop by and have a look from time to time and see what all you lovely people have been up to and hope that at some time in the future we're allowed to pointlessly chat to each other again!!
|
|
|
Post by Pob on Jul 6, 2006 15:18:16 GMT
To be fair there are still some other unlocked threads that are quite chatty. And there's nothing physically stopping us starting a totally new chatty thread.
I think it's gone from one extreme to the other. All chat to no chat. Maybe we need to find more of a balance.
|
|
|
Post by tabitha on Jul 6, 2006 15:23:08 GMT
Cant please everyone though . *Hugs Tigs and worries about her*.
|
|
|
Post by rubes on Jul 6, 2006 16:07:37 GMT
True Tabs I just wish it didn't feel as though the opinions of people who didn't post very much/at all had been put above those of the members that did/do post (maybe that's a bit harsh but that's what it seems like - sorry!) Pob - no there isn't anything stopping anyone from opening another chat thread but is there really any point at the moment ....and yes there are other threads that are slightly chatty but they're usually about a specific 'thing' rather than 'pointless but fun chatty c**p' and should we be risking taking them 'off-topic' by divulging in pointless chat???
|
|
|
Post by Tiggerwoos on Jul 6, 2006 16:11:12 GMT
Aww... fanks Tabs for the hug! I've got nothing against people having a laugh and a chat on the various threads, providing it does keep more or less on topic. As Pob said, there are some threads that are quite chatty so finding a happy medium would be good. Also as far as I know there is only one other vegan message board with a chat thread.......... Most don't actually have any at all, or even have a chat room which this place has, and alot of vegan forums don't even encourage any chat, so this as vegan forums go is alot more easy going I would have thought. Also another vegan message board's policy is very similar to over here, where they keep the debate to the forum, yet have a very active chat room and after a little time, most people actually decided they liked the chat room and it is always heaving in there. This nice forum, which I myself use has 800 plus members and they have managed to strike the right balance, without having to resort to specific chat threads. I don't really see any reason, why that logic could not be applied here. I can also relate to those who's posts were ignored as I myself often spent a few hours a day digging up articles and the article pages weren't even being being viewed anymore, so can really appreciate where the people who have come forward recently were complaining about, as previous to that, although being a quiet forum which was growing slowly but surely we would get arouind 50- 100 posts a day from the 30 members or so we had or more vegan topics, which we could also see the lighthearted aspect of and from time to time if anyone wanted a chat we used the chatroom.
|
|
|
Post by fezzarooooo on Jul 6, 2006 18:00:40 GMT
Just to let you all know that, because of problems with my eyes, I won't be in the chat room very often so don't think I'm ignoring you all when you're in there or anything... I just find any chat room too draining & a trigger for my migraines.
|
|
|
Post by veggiesosage on Jul 6, 2006 20:03:27 GMT
I don't think we should start a new chat thread while Tigs still says that she doesn't want us to.
If you're talking about Vegan Freaks Tigs, that site is 90% chat, they just don't call the threads 'chat threads', and 10% soft porn.
Something that occurred to me last thing last night, and which I tried out earlier, is that you don't even need to be logged into the forum to post on the chat room. I presume that means you don't even need to be a member. You can also post under any name you like, you're not limited to your username.
So there's nothing stopping a non vegan troll just joining up as me (or anyone else) and saying what they like as me. People will obviously assume that it is me. At least if my name appears on the main forum you know it really is me as no-one else can use my name.
Nor is this some paranoid delusion. We've all seen that serious harassment has occurred on this forum as it has on others. Also, some of us are not exactly flavour of the month on another forum. I've heard allegations that people from one forum have gone out to troll and sabotage other forums.
Concern has been raised about young people. Well they can access the chat room as easily as one of us, or a troll and there's no reason why they wouldn't want to. I'm not sure that its a safe environment.
|
|
|
Post by tabitha on Jul 6, 2006 20:09:23 GMT
Thats interesting. We were talking in there today and someone kept flitting in and out without saying anything.
|
|
|
Post by fezzarooooo on Jul 6, 2006 20:15:20 GMT
I don't think we should start a new chat thread while Tigs still says that she doesn't want us to. Aye as mod if someone does start a new chat thread against tiggs wishes I'll be forced to lock it as soon as I see it. That's interesting about the chat room veggie, have you PM'd tigger about it?
|
|
|
Post by Tiggerwoos on Jul 6, 2006 23:25:20 GMT
OK, people... Have managed to work out how to do a subscribed sort of chat thread. This will only be visible if you subscribe to this thread and are signed in, but is password protected. Those who don't wish to view it, don't have to subscribe and it won't be visible to them.
If you want the password, please PM me and I will give you the password. I hope this can solve all our probs and is a solution for everyone!
(The ogre forum moderator is off to bed cos you have all given me a headache!)
I hope this is the solution for everyone........ But please please don't let it get to the stage where this is the only post you are posting in.
|
|
|
Post by Pob on Jul 7, 2006 8:01:07 GMT
Patiently waits for Tiggs to get up ....
|
|