Ignoring Negative Voices

[Foswick]

I have enjoyed the ability, on Cruisers Forum, to ignore certain members who routinely post negative, rude, unduly critical, or just consistently incorrect information. It has made my experience much better to simply not see these posts.

As others have experienced, I was disappointed, in general, with the overall negative tone here. Not at all what you get when you talk to boaters face-to-face, so not a good representation of the community. By screening just a couple of voices, it made a huge improvement.

But, today I was further disappointed to learn that you cannot choose to ignore posts by moderators. I have grown weary of one moderator, in particular, as they don't seem to contribute much, but they do consistently drag the conversation down into negativity and conspiracy theory nonsense.

Curious, I looked to see who all of the moderators were. Surprisingly, many of the people on that list are some of the worst offenders for general negativity, confrontational tone, and even bad information. There are some really constructive voices on that list, so this is not a blanket criticism of the moderators.

It is just no wonder that there is so much undue abrasiveness, as many people have noticed and remarked on, when many of the moderators are then ones dragging the conversations in that direction.

I understand that, when you do this for a while, it starts to become frustrating to hear the same discussions regurgitated over and over, and you just become impatient with others. But, that is no excuse for rudeness and creating a hostile environment for anyone that does not share your cynicism.

I have been talking to people in the real world, and mentioning Cruiser's Forum. Out of those who are familiar, the general consensus is, "Oh, yeah, I don't go there anymore. Just too much drama and impossible to have a friendly discussion." I'm afraid that has been my experience, as well.

Because of the overall tone, I expect some people to respond to this thread with a response that translates to, "Stop your whining. If you don't like it, you don't have to be here." Or, "If you don't like something, that's your problem." Or some equivalent sentiment that ignores the problem.

Me, I'm a big boy. I've been sailing long enough to know that these voices do not represent what the broader community is really like. And, I don't lose any sleep over what some stranger said online.

But, there is a real missed opportunity, here, when newcomers come along and get shouted down the first time they ask a question. Or, when people read posts but are afraid to post responses for fear of being blasted for saying something someone else disagrees with.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Foswick

... I have been talking to people in the real world, and mentioning Cruiser's Forum. Out of those who are familiar, the general consensus is, "Oh, yeah, I don't go there anymore. Just too much drama and impossible to have a friendly discussion." I'm afraid that has been my experience, as well ...

There are, currently 12,749 Online Users on CF.
The most users ever online was 31,862 [26-05-2024].
We, currently have 208,984 listed members.
Obviously, some still come here - even you [and I].
IMHO: Your complaints are somewhat legitimate; but much overblown.

[boatman61]

Funny.. most of the folks I have known have left not because it was too 'aggressive' but because it was becoming to heavily moderated and boring.. some regular and very good contributers amongst them.

[Mike OReilly]

It’s hard to discuss any of this in the abstract. And of course, one of the frustrating things around here is we’re not allowed to discuss moderation issues. In fact, I suspect this thread will soon be closed.

I’ve been around here a long time … not as long as Gord (no one beats Gord) … but quite a while. I’ve seen lots of people come and go, including dozens of moderators. I’ve had issues with a very few mods over the years. Most have done this largely thankless job well, and certainly to the best of their abilities. I have no issues with the current crop of mods, whom I think do a pretty fine job keeping people in line, and following the rules — all as volunteers, which I think it wrong … positions should be paid. This is a for-profit business after all.

My bigger issue with CF has to do with the general tone set by the owners, which the mods are required to enforce. Personally, I find the approach to be a bit stifling at times. And my sense is this is what breeds much of the acrimony that sometimes surfaces here. Having admined and moded many groups over the years, I believe the best forums are ones that are allowed to largely police themselves.This teaches community members how to behave (just like in all human communities). But here, the mods are sometimes too quick to jump in, which only smoulders the fires, but never puts them out. I think this leads to making this place generally testier than it could be.

But all of this is just my opinion.

In general, I thnk the current mod team is one of the best I’ve seen. And I personally call a few of them e-friends. I just think they operate under strictures which are not the wisest.

[5BTM]

Sniff, someone hurt my feelings on an internet forum.

https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4...c-42626cfe808a

[Kettlewell]

The one thing that irritates me the most is when one poster turns an argument into personal attacks against another poster, or even a group of people. I used to moderate a forum and we had zero tolerance for personal attacks, trolls, racists, political ranters, etc. We gave no warnings--just banned them outright, and it worked quite well. Others would notice people just disappearing and began to police themselves. Yes, it is subjective, but unless you have moderated a forum you wouldn't believe all the crap they have to deal with. I think the mods generally do a good job here, though I think they go too easy on those who make personal attacks.

[SV_FlyingTigress]

Originally Posted by Foswick

I have enjoyed the ability, on Cruisers Forum, to ignore certain members who routinely post negative, rude, unduly critical, or just consistently incorrect information. It has made my experience much better to simply not see these posts.

As others have experienced, I was disappointed, in general, with the overall negative tone here. Not at all what you get when you talk to boaters face-to-face, so not a good representation of the community. By screening just a couple of voices, it made a huge improvement.

But, today I was further disappointed to learn that you cannot choose to ignore posts by moderators. I have grown weary of one moderator, in particular, as they don't seem to contribute much, but they do consistently drag the conversation down into negativity and conspiracy theory nonsense.

Curious, I looked to see who all of the moderators were. Surprisingly, many of the people on that list are some of the worst offenders for general negativity, confrontational tone, and even bad information. There are some really constructive voices on that list, so this is not a blanket criticism of the moderators.

It is just no wonder that there is so much undue abrasiveness, as many people have noticed and remarked on, when many of the moderators are then ones dragging the conversations in that direction.

I understand that, when you do this for a while, it starts to become frustrating to hear the same discussions regurgitated over and over, and you just become impatient with others. But, that is no excuse for rudeness and creating a hostile environment for anyone that does not share your cynicism.

I have been talking to people in the real world, and mentioning Cruiser's Forum. Out of those who are familiar, the general consensus is, "Oh, yeah, I don't go there anymore. Just too much drama and impossible to have a friendly discussion." I'm afraid that has been my experience, as well.

Because of the overall tone, I expect some people to respond to this thread with a response that translates to, "Stop your whining. If you don't like it, you don't have to be here." Or, "If you don't like something, that's your problem." Or some equivalent sentiment that ignores the problem.

Me, I'm a big boy. I've been sailing long enough to know that these voices do not represent what the broader community is really like. And, I don't lose any sleep over what some stranger said online.

But, there is a real missed opportunity, here, when newcomers come along and get shouted down the first time they ask a question. Or, when people read posts but are afraid to post responses for fear of being blasted for saying something someone else disagrees with.

Just a thought or two. Its an online forum...opinions and drama are baked in to a certain degree as a function of the medium, anyone who knows enough about the internet to find and join CF should have sufficient "big boy pants" to understand that.

Also, maybe some of the voices are, on occasion, not truly being "negative" in an obtuse sense, but perhaps they are contrary from time to time and are only seen as "negative" from the perspective of a different opinion and on the assumption that that different opinion is "right" and different views are wrong/negative etc..

Or, maybe some of the negative voices are, on occasion, properly negative regarding some proposal or approach based on the poster's experience. Newbie: "Hey, I want to get this great free or nearly free sailboat." This proposed boat that the newbie is in love with may seem to the "negative" poster as having a high risk of being a falling apart derelict, missing sails and without a working engine etc that will almost certainly cost far more to remedy than *waiting and saving up* and spending 20-40 boat units on a viable ship. The negative poster may see this as a high likelihood to become the n+1 vessel clogging an anchorage as an abandoned project or sunk providing a navigational hazard. I think I passed thousands of those sailing around Florida. The positive person may say go for it on the principal of being always positive and encouraging, the jaded person may say "that is a stupid idea...for <these> reason sons..." You are going to get all of that on the internet.

Moderators can't be muted by definition, otherwise they could not moderate.

Regarding shouting down newbies on first question, that is a valid point, but I have learned that sometimes you have to put on your thick skin to pry information out of old, grouchy but knowledgeable people.

[berniecurry]

I rarely post but I visit a lot. This is one of the better more polite places in social media. That is due in a large part to the work of the moderation guys so thanks from me. It is unlikely one site can please everyone but a LOT of users stay here which is saying something about what most want.

If you can not get on on the internet without having to block others, how the heck do you get on in real life. Do you cross the street to avoid those who have a different opinion. Worried about not being able to block a moderator, really!

[mvweebles]

CF isn't as bad as SailingAnarchy, but often has a condescending and sometimes rude undercurrent, at least to my reading. A lot more troll-like behavior here than many boating forums. Pretty high percentage of posters either don't read the OP's question; or decide to answer a question they think the OP should have asked. Not sure why that is but would hazard a guess that CF has a lot of crotchety old guys with a 'smartest-guy-in-the-room' complex.

[Kettlewell]

Not sure why that is but would hazard a guess that CF has a lot of crotchety old guys with a 'smartest-guy-in-the-room' complex.

Of course the crotchety old guy may very well be the smartest guy in the room!

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by SV_FlyingTigress

Just a thought or two. Its an online forum...opinions and drama are baked in to a certain degree as a function of the medium, anyone who knows enough about the internet to find and join CF should have sufficient "big boy pants" to understand that.

This, exactly!

If you imagine that any internet forum is going to be like, go like, feel like interacting with people in person then you are ALWAYS going to end up disappointed. They just don't. That's all.

I participate in several different forums (fora?) and this one is among the least negative, most respectful, least acrimonious, and best moderated of all of them. They just don't get much better than this. So if you feel the need to leave this forum due to too much negativity then I suspect the best advice is to just give up internet discussions entirely.

Specifically to the OP... You are entitled to your opinion, and obviously you can do what you want to do. Personally, I don't see any "missed opportunity" here. Rather, I find this forum to be useful and enjoyable, and will continue to participate.

[MicHughV]

Don't like it ?
Take your ball and play elsewhere.

Simple...problem solved !

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Don't like it ?
Take your ball and play elsewhere.

Simple...problem solved !

That's really negative..
Leave the ball.., then go play with someone else's..

[MicHughV]

Ah Boatman.....as one that has been sent to the sin bin a time or two.....or maybe three or four....I forget now...I take it all in stride......

For the most part I think the mods are quite reasonable and understanding of a situation.
Their job is much like herding cats.

Considering it's an unpaid job, kudo's to them.

[blackc2004]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Don't like it ?
Take your ball and play elsewhere.

Simple...problem solved !

Perfect example of what the post is all about.