Feedback regarding Forumosa's Moderators 2003

my original post , now deleted, because it doesnt make sense having it here, was moved to a new thread and retitled in an unfriendly way, a kind of censorship, if u know what i mean, by da mods without even asking first. have people forgotten how to ask questions first, shoot later?

just because i show up at the mods meeting with a n98 mask on, and now they move my words around without rhyme or reason???

i am beginning to get the notion that my days here are numbered.

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weird. I’ve PM’d Maoman, and hopefully he will explain who did this and why. some mods are hot on these buttons without asking around.

the original post was a good one and timely and was placed on the newspaper thread for a good reason. it was following up on a discussion with sandman and wolfman and others, a serious, thoughtful discussion.

NOTE: i changed the title above, … [the title the mods gave it, without consulting me, was something like “ANother stupid post by Formosa.” is that the way we treat each other here, mods? SHEESH.]
…so i temporarily changed the title to this new one after the mods wrote something very weird and totally off message up there. i guess it was a warning. When this little tempest blows over and things are xplained, i will delete the entire post, don’t worry. that is if i am not banned first for complaining. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON HERE?

…why not PM me and ask me first, mod guys, and mod gals, whoever you are!

PS – I am sure other posters will agree with me. While mods have the right to move things around, that’s their job, and i respect it, shouldnt they also ask us first, it just takes a few seconds? By changing the title of my post to a completey inappropriate one, they totally misrepresented my original post. weird.

Sheesh! One step forward and two steps backward…

[quote=“formosa”]NOTE: i changed the title above, … [the title the mods gave it, without consulting me, was something like “ANother stupid post by Formosa.” is that the way we treat each other here, mods? SHEESH.]
…so i temporarily changed the title to this new one after the mods wrote something very weird and totally off message up there. Sheesh! One step forward and two steps backward…[/quote]
Shameless. Whose minding the minders? Sounds like some serious power tripping going on by a few people or person who’s only real qulaification as a moderator is that they have a password to play with member posts. Certainly that sort of action speaks of no other qualification.

tsk, tsk, tsk…

Chou

If you remember what forum you posted your original message on, it’s pretty easy to figure out who the mods are. There’s at most, two mods per forum.
Also, why does the mod have to ask you if they want to move the thread? They must have had good reason.
Of course, insulting you by retitling it rudely is rather inappropriate, I must say.

I also would agree that some mods (a very few though I hope and we do have some idea who they are) here seem to think they are “god”.
If you ask me those mods who change title of users or insult users aren’t suitable for this “job” and shouldn’t be mod anymore.
It might be funny to them but not funny to others - this forum lives from the people here, if you do not want us just close the board to the public, then you can rant, insult and modify as much as you like. :imp:

And users who can’t figure out the difference between “mod” privileges and “admin” privileges are…well, I don’t want to be insulting. But it ain’t good.

Moderators are charged with keeping order on their forum or fora. This means logical order (moving threads that would better serve the site being in another, more relevant forum), deleting multiple posts if applicable, splitting/merging threads, etc. The aim is to make the information contained on Forumosa more accessible to all.

Mods do NOT have all-encompassing privileges to change user names, titles, or do other annoying things.

There is no reason why a poster should be offended at having a post moved and even being “granted” his own thread. I don’t know what the retitled subject line is – that’s another question. Perhaps the mod felt that the original subject line was not representative of the content of the thread-to-be? But I certainly feel NO need to ask people before I move posts off my fora, if they should not have been placed there in the first place. (Since my fora are fairly quiet – and please keep them that way!! – the main examples I have to deal with since Gloss*ka went belly-up on Segue are people who post stuff offering themselves for jobs. Those belong on the Jobs forum. Pretty simple.)

ironlady, thanks for the clarification. I’m glad to have a mod like you working on this ongoing experiment in community threading… SMILE!

As I noted above in my post, it wasn’t having my original post moved, it was the mod giving it a very insulting title. He or she titled it “Another stupid post by Formosa!”

As you correctly stated, "mods do NOT have all-encompassing privileges to change user names, titles, or do other annoying things. "

Then WHO is the mod who used his or her non-existant privilege to change the title? and not to change it in a more clear way, but to change it in an insulting mean cruel CRY CRY CRY way. SMILE!

I mean, if mods don’t have this privilege, and a mod did that to me, what will happen to that mod? Will he or she get a talk from gus or from you? I have asked that mod to apologize and he or she has not. it’s easy: “sorry, formosa, I went too far. it won’t happen again.”

is that asking too much? I am sure most people here back me up on this as do you, ironlady. thanks.

F.

FYI: [the title the mods gave it, without consulting me, was “ANother stupid post by Formosa.” is that the way we treat each other here, mods? SHEESH.]

NOTE: I don’t mind my posts being moved around, and even censored or cut entirely, that’s what mods are for. But for someone to have changed a title in an insulting way, this is wrong. If this person worked at a local newspaper and changed a headline to insult the reporter “ANOTHER STUPID ARTICLE BY SO AND SO” … he or she would be fired.

I suggest that this forum is a like a public newspaper and mods should be careful. and the mod who did that to me, owes me an explanation and an apolgy. it’s that simple.

Maoman, how about it? (I am not suggesting the Maoman did it, changed the title, but I am sure he knows who did it. Since he is the one who moved it to its own thread, he must know who gave it the irresponsible title… right Maoman?)

Apologies are easy. Try it. We’re all human and late at night we all do things we later regret.

if ironlady is correct that “mods do NOT have all-encompassing privileges to change user names, titles, or do other annoying things”… then the person who changed my title in an insulting public way, owes me a simple apology. Someone abused their mod privvies, no? WHo?

[quote=“formosa”]As I noted above in my post, it wasn’t having my original post moved, it was the mod giving it a very insulting title. He or she titled it “Another stupid post by Formosa!”

As you correctly stated, "mods do NOT have all-encompassing privileges to change user names, titles, or do other annoying things. "

Then WHO is the mod who used his or her non-existant privilege to change the title? and not to change it in a more clear way, but to change it in an insulting mean cruel CRY CRY CRY way. SMILE!

I mean, if mods don’t have this privilege, and a mod did that to me, what will happen to that mod? Will he or she get a talk from gus or from you? I have asked that mod to apologize and he or she has not. it’s easy: “sorry, formosa, I went too far. it won’t happen again.”

is that asking too much? I am sure most people here back me up on this as do you, ironlady. thanks.

F.

FYI: [the title the mods gave it, without consulting me, was “ANother stupid post by Formosa.” is that the way we treat each other here, mods? SHEESH.]

NOTE: I don’t mind my posts being moved around, and even censored or cut entirely, that’s what mods are for. But for someone to have changed a title in an insulting way, this is wrong. If this person worked at a local newspaper and changed a headline to insult the reporter “ANOTHER STUPID ARTICLE BY SO AND SO” … he or she would be fired.

I suggest that this forum is a like a public newspaper and mods should be careful. and the mod who did that to me, owes me an explanation and an apolgy. it’s that simple. Maoman, how about it?[/quote]
Get your facts right. You said I renamed it “Another stupid post by Formosa” [color=blue]In fact I renamed it “Breathless info from Formosa. Again.”[/color] Insulting? Not really. Irreverent? Maybe, but if the shoe fits…

Fact is, Formosa, you and I have already communicated by PM. You know why and how things get done here. You have been taking a lot of flak lately, and that’s unfortunate. Stop and ask yourself why, however. Maybe it’s you. Most of the posters here contribute and do not frequently send spam PMs, post off-topic, post breathless hyperbole, shout in caps, make multiple posts or cross-post in different forums. You have been guilty of all these netiquette breaches at one time or another. (Have to admit, your cross-posting habit has stopped completely, recently. :wink: ) You still have a way to go, though. Most of the other posters here are maintenance-free members. You are not. Get with the programme, already.

As far as title changing, I do it all the time. Restaurant threads that start talking about other restaurants, or about one genre of cuisine instead of just one restaurant are ripe candidates, for splits, merges and renames. That’s part of moderation. I don’t mind doing it, because I like to see this board helping people. It has become a useful resource for foreigners in Taiwan, no question.

You want an apology? Sorry. Ain’t gonna happen. (Does that count as an apology? :stuck_out_tongue: I said sorry…) If it makes you feel any better, know that I bear you no ill will, and hope that you also have no hard feelings. That’s the way things stand. :expressionless:

When Maoman writes “You want an apology? Sorry. Ain’t gonna happen.” … forumosa.com is in big trouble.

the easiest thing in the world, Maoman, is to say sorry. If you cannot even bring yourself to apologize, as i think most posters would agree is the thing to do here, since you retitled my original post about “language” into what you call an irreverent way, and I apologize if I got it wrong in my memory (Another Stupid Post by Formosa, okay, I take it on your word that you didn’t write that, i can’t remember, all i remember is being SHOCKED SHOCKED that someone had retitled by post in a way in a negative way.

By not apologzing Maoman, you are like the Taiwan legislator who called the MAC leader an old virgin and refused to apologize. Are you like those KMT cadres, too? Come on, Maoman, it;s time for you to get with the programme and show a little class. I know you got it. Show it.

F.

And if it makes you feel any better, know that I bear you no ill will, and hope that you also have no hard feelings. That’s the way things stand.

Yes, I have asked myself why this all happened and i have asked myself maybe it’s me. Yes, maybe it’s me. It must be me. I can admit that it might be me. I dropped my ego long ago, Maoman. What about you?

And you should ask yourself the same question, Maoman, and ask if maybe it’s you. You pulled my PM capabilty without asking, and then you retitled my post in a negative, sarcastic way.

Maybe it’s time for you to take a break from being a moderator, enjoy life in the Gulf Stream again, and come back when you are refreshed. Or maybe we could take a break together, you and I, and go have a couple of brewskies at the local pubber. Make mine Porter Champlain! What you having?

But first, apologize. It’s the forumosan.com thing to do! Refusing to apologize, as you did above, makes you look silly.

An admin can also be mod, can’t he? Why is everything always to be seen as exclusively!?
Except the Admin who certainly new s/he was meant no other person should have felt attacked (and surely wasn’t accused by me).

Anyhow, this narrows it pretty much down and the person (no, I am not saying mod :wink: ) I suspected was indeed the one responsible.

Shouldn’t we mmove this post to the Legislative Yuan?

Chou

Are you sure? :unamused: If you’re wrong, you might have to apologize! :shock:

This is getting boring. You remind me of an indignant Kevin Kline in A Fish called Wanda: “Apologize!”

Don’t you have a SARS update for us?

~Yawn~

okay, maoman, i am sure it was you who pulled the plug on my PM last week or whenever. If I am wrong, I will certainly apologize. There is nothing wrong with being wrong or with apologizing for being wrong. I have it on pretty good authority that it was you. If it was not you, then who. I know who it was not. It was not ironlady. The only other mod that i ever PMed to was you. It wasn’t Gus, I never Pm gus. But… if I am wrong, I will apologize.

yeh, Cho, let’s move this to the leg Yawn!

ANd maoman, please keep your sarcasm about my SARS work to yourself or PM me privately. I happen to be doing important SARs work here, and someday you will thank me. No, then again, you will never thank me, even if your life depended on it. SARS is not a laughing matter.

Meanwhile, i still dont get it. Ironlady says mods do not have power to retitle threads, yet you did it and no apology. Hmmmm. maybe u are above the law?

It wasn’t me. We have three admins. Gus didn’t do it, nor did I. Make it a good apology. Insincerity is off-putting. :laughing: :mrgreen:

Formosa apologizes. Sorry for saying or thinking or believing you did something you did not do. I do apologize. I really didn’t think you, my good buddy moderator pal Maoman, who, despite our frequent disagreements, basically agree on what matters most in life, I really didn’t want to believe it was you. But that’s what everyone kept telling me. Now that you say it was not you, I believe you. And I apologize, Maoman. Really.

[So who then could it have been? I am not in the loop, so i don’t know who the admins here are, other than you and Gus and CHristine. But she is no longer here. So who is it? Maybe someone can tell me who the 3rd wheel is, even without in anyway implying that this person had anything to do whatsoever with the PM scandal of last week? Appreciate a quiet whisper in me ear, PM style, so as not to embarrass that person publicly…]

As Samwise said to Gollum “There is no promise you can make that I can trust”

No, Ironlady did NOT say that mods don’t have the power to retitle threads. I said “Mods do NOT have all-encompassing privileges to change user names, titles, or do other annoying things.”

We certainly DO have the power, and the need, to re-title threads. If, for example, a thread needs to be split, then it can’t have the identical title for both halves – or else the split doesn’t make any sense. You may have felt there was too much “editorial bias” in this case, but that is a matter of judgement, I suppose, and it’s between you and the mod in question. Everyone has a different sense of humor, and every reader has a different sense of what is funny and what is offensive. As I have heard that PMs have exchanged hands, that would be the more appropriate way to handle it, I believe.

As for your idea that Forumosa, as a public forum, owes you an apology – well, that was attempted last year, with lots bigger whiners than you (Gloss*ka) and it did not end favorably for them, even after they pulled out pretty much all of their guns (including several sets of security guards, police, lawyers, and registered letters, e-mails and cell calls). It might not be a bad thing for the mod in question to say “I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt”, but it might not be a bad thing for you to think about your on-line persona and how that might lead someone to do what was allegedly done, and the probability of the site/admins taking your side against a moderator who works for free (and there IS actually work involved, believe it or not).

Why don’t y’all just buy each other a beer and get over it? :sunglasses: Notice that I’m not suggesting a handshake in the age of SARS, but you could give each other the Chinese salute thingie.

ironlady, thanks for your post. good.

i did not say “that forumosa, as a public forum, owes me apology.” Show me where I said that? All I asked of Maoman was a simple apology, which refuses to make, on the grounds, I guess, that he, as a matter of principle, never apologizes for anything. weird.An apology is very simple. “Formosa, look, if the funny way I retitled your post appeared too heavy handed, i am sorry and apologize.” How hard can that be?

I don’t want forumosa com to apologize. Just the person who made a mistake. but this seems a bit common on forumosa now. the person who took away my PM privvies has refused to even acknowledge he did it or apologzie and now Maoman refuses to say sorry,when it is such a small sorry. How can people be so petty,ironlady. Maybe you can have a talk with Maoman. I know he won’t listen to me anymore and has pretty much made up his mind he doesn’t owe anyone anything. That’s sad.

GOOD POINT: “It might not be a bad thing for the mod in question to say “I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt”, but it might not be a bad thing for you to think about your on-line persona and how that might lead someone to do what was allegedly done…”

Maoman are you listening to what ironlady suggests? Good idea. And I for one can readily… READILY!..think about and admit that my online persona is sometimes too much to bear and how it might lead someone to do what was allegedly done. sure. i admit it. and i intend to become a better poster and forum user in the future. starting this minute!

Now…just waiting for the maoman to say (no lawyers needed)…“I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt”, as ironlady so wisely suggests.

I nominate you, ironlady, as queen of this circus, forever and ever. You the best!

Sorry, kids, you guys are gonna have to work it out between yourselves. Despite having posted on this one a couple of times, mostly in a successful effort to avoid starting my homework, it’s just not my thing. Anyway, Maoman is much bigger than I am, and if I align myself “against” him, I’ll surely live to rue the day I do so. Probably at the next mod’s meeting, in fact.

Fellow poster, who wishes to remain anonymous, posted me: “formosa, sensitivities are getting frayed, time to move on, let barking dogs lie.”

I agree. Time to move on. Let barking dogs lie.

After all, as ironlady so correctly noted above in her very atute post, formosa is just an online persona, not a real person, so none of this is worth all the ink it has engendered, nor the virtual fisticuffs it has created.

Out, out, brief candle!

FWIW, all mods can re-name topics, but I think the “titles” Rascal mentioned were the titles underneath your user name at left, i.e., “Pscho Xiaojie”. Admins can change those; mods cannot.