2012

Well it's 2012, I would say Happy New Year but am almost a week late to do so on this blog. Remembered to do so on my book blog and other blogger blog so at least I didn't forget altogether.

So what to post about today? That's the question. But it's easily responded to given what I've observed, and been personally exposed to, on forums I like to visit.

I don't mind newbies making mistakes especially given I was one once with forums, also on a big intimidating and confusing forum mistakes are to be expected. One I don't like, and what annoys me more than wrongly placed threads/questions ever could, is rude moderator whether they be actual mods there or self-appointed ones.




I know being a mod on a big busy forum can be frustrating when you encounter the same mistake multiple times a day but giving a rude abrupt message basically dictating to the newbie that they have posted in the wrong place and moving their thread. Telling off rather than instructing or passing on the information are two different things. I think what is wrong is those who do this have long forgotten how it felt to not only be new to forums and maybe even the web itself, most especially if you haven't posted anything online anywhere before. Being greeted by a rude dictatorial mod or fellow forum member can send them scurrying away and never return again to said forum.

There is no excuse for this sort of reaction, yes it is annoying to repeat yourself but how more difficult would it be, if your posting anyway on the thread, would it be have a short but polite statement informing the newbie that they haven't posted in the correct part of the forum and copy/paste the message everytime you encounter it. If your going to respond and move the thread anyway wouldn't it be easier to have a prepared polite statement you could simply copy/paste into the reply box prior to moving the thread if you are going to do so. I would also be less annoying or less overwhelming a task when faced with the same problem repeatedly with newbies.

Especially if your composing a new message each time you move the thread, it's no wonder you come off rude, it would quicker to use a pre-prepared statement to paste in. Quicker for the mods and less stressful on them and allowing them to move onto other tasks they would rather do on the board.

The second also a forum niggle happened to me personally rather than I observed it and so the response like above.

I was on one of the only two forums I'm really involved with as an active member, and in one of the side forums where 'other' subjects are discussed which aren't related to the main forum subject matter. So in the TV/Film forum I noticed a thread which I thought was about a film that I saw advertised as just released which is a remake of cult character. Sherlock Holmes to clarify. I was surprised that not the films but a new updated TV series was what the thread was about. I stated that I hadn't known yet another series had been made about this character, I also explained that I can be very picky about remakes.

I also said there was very few remakes of SH that I like because Basil Rathbone will always be Holmes to me and the yard stick all other adaptations are measured against. I said that this was a quirk of mine when it came to remakes and used Doctor Who as another example explaining my preferences about remakes this way. Saying the first incarnation of a character I personally 'meet' tend to be the one others are measured against. Stating that I'm not a DW fan or regular viewer but was using it as a supporting example of my own thought process of remakes of either series, films or characters.

Two other members responded to my post both mentioning DW example and their own feelings on remakes etc., and I posted again and to make it easier responded to points brought up by both members about not only remakes but DW remakes. To me my point made - about remakes not DW I must point out - I moved onto another thread and began talking again. When I saw a couple of new responses on the SH thread I thought I'd better check in case those I was conversing with directly had responded directly back to me so not to be rude.

Instead another member, not a MOD, was scathing demanding we should be talking about Sherlock and how wonderful this series/character/actors were not talking about DW and to stop hijacking the thread basically. Demanding we stop talking about DW and get talking about SH.

I took humbrage at that for two reasons, one I wasn't actively talking about DW only using it as an example of both remakes and my opinion of them, secondary evidence. I had thought about using one of Agatha Christie characters remakes to help make my point but thought that non-UK members might not see the comparison but DW was a bit more international and understood as a comparison.

Also I was talking about SH as it is a remake (of a remake, of a remake if you look back), so I was talking about SH from my point of view not DW!

So I wasn't hijacking, or attempting to hijack, the thread and I was talking about SH not DW, so both points were not only rude but untrue.

Secondary as this poster was not a MOD, just a regular member, I didn't see how it was his place to reprimand other members about anything on the forum let alone conversations between other members on the board were having which didn't directly include him.

Instead I held my tongue and went away elsewhere on the board as I wasn't going to get into a argument with another member which would hijack the thread completely.

Strangely enough I wasn't the first to mention DW and compare it with the SH remake as the actor playing SH was auditioned for DW at one time but turned it down or something similar. Also I wasn't the only one to mention DW after the rude response either. So I further took my cue from other members on the thread who just ignored the outburst giving the poster absolutely no feedback on his demands at all.