The moderation

[yamato]

If you look at some sections you’ll notice the threads have only a few replies. I think there are 2 main reasons for this.

1. The moderation is too severe. Often moderators bark at you when you do something they don’t like. I’ve had them email me to split 1 thread into 2 because I dared ask 2 questions in 1 thread (who cares?!) and close my threads because “there is already a thread about that”. Now you have to decide if you want this place to be a place where people come and chat or a museum for threads…because eventually there will be a thread about everything and then no will ever need to start a new thread.

2. Too many sections. Surely a good forum is lively but everytime I come here it seems pretty dead. You want lively debate but it doesn’t seem possible because of (1) and becuse everything is divided into sections like taiwan politics, -international politics. Why do you need two sections for this?

[GeographicCure]

Please split your “two main reasons” into two threads, entitled “The Moderation #1” and “The Moderation #2”.

(“The Moderation #2” will promptly be deleted, since there already exists a thread by that title.)

[TheGingerMan]

Last I checked, this is not a chat room, and as such, needs moderation. Perhaps by the year 2112 there will be a thread about everything, but I doubt it. Being on topic is important to maintain some semblance of order and avoid overlap, otherwise there would be a million threads about sour cream.
The sections are useful as they provide clarity, as well as saving members time and energy when they are looking for specific information, or wish to discuss a particular issue. This site would be a chaotic free fall otherwise, with endless repetitive posts with no real attainable perspective. The Temp forum is there for just such aimless meanderings.

[Joesox]

[quote=“yamato”]Often moderators bark at you when you do something they don’t like. I’ve had them email me to split 1 thread into 2 because I dared ask 2 questions in 1 thread (who cares?!)[/quote]Was that in “Where can I find?” by any chance? It makes it easier for others to find help in future if those kinds of questions are separated.

I’m a bit doubtful as to whether what you describe as a “bark” was meant as anything other than a polite request. But you do need a bit of a thick skin to use Forumosa (and most other Internet discussion boards too).

[divea]

[quote=“yamato”]If you look at some sections you’ll notice the threads have only a few replies. I think there are 2 main reasons for this.

1. The moderation is too severe. Often moderators bark at you when you do something they don’t like. I’ve had them email me to split 1 thread into 2 because I dared ask 2 questions in 1 thread (who cares?!) and close my threads because “there is already a thread about that”. Now you have to decide if you want this place to be a place where people come and chat or a museum for threads…because eventually there will be a thread about everything and then no will ever need to start a new thread.

2. Too many sections. Surely a good forum is lively but everytime I come here it seems pretty dead. You want lively debate but it doesn’t seem possible because of (1) and becuse everything is divided into sections like taiwan politics, -international politics. Why do you need two sections for this?[/quote]

Well having 10 threads about WCIF sour cream makes it a museum of threads, conversations should flow, and people should pick up where others left off.

Hehehehe Forumosa dead??? Well it is a community and members get busy, need down time and things go into a slump and pick up again. There is also the thing about timing. Friday, Sat. night nothing! and discussions begin again on Sunday evening. Ditto with working hours, some people post during working hours, while others only do when they get off.

Posters in the west come alive, when most people have nodded off here…generalizations ofcourse but there is a rhythm to things. This is a taiwan centric forum, so people associated with Taiwan hang around these parts. International forums, are livelier but not this cozy

[GooseEgg]

@yamato

Surely a good forum is lively but everytime I come here it seems pretty dead.

Dead? That isn’t’ the picture I am seeing. Over the past 3 years, there has been a steady INCREASE in visits - from a daily average of 2,000 visits per day to 4,000 visits per day. To put this in perspective, I am a member of AmCham Shanghai and in a recent (8 Dec) message, they boasted web traffic of 30,000 visitors a month. Forumosa typically tops 120,000 a month. AmCham Shanghai is the largest Chamber in Asia.

At the front of this forum, the daily stats are posted. Forumosa typically sees 400 to 600 posts a day. Maybe you are thinking of IRC?

[jimipresley]

[quote=“yamato”]If you look at some sections you’ll notice the threads have only a few replies. I think there are 2 main reasons for this.

1. The moderation is too severe. Often moderators bark at you when you do something they don’t like. I’ve had them email me to split 1 thread into 2 because I dared ask 2 questions in 1 thread (who cares?!) and close my threads because “there is already a thread about that”. Now you have to decide if you want this place to be a place where people come and chat or a museum for threads…because eventually there will be a thread about everything and then no will ever need to start a new thread.

2. Too many sections. Surely a good forum is lively but everytime I come here it seems pretty dead. You want lively debate but it doesn’t seem possible because of (1) and becuse everything is divided into sections like taiwan politics, -international politics. Why do you need two sections for this?[/quote]

3. Sorry, But I disagree. I think that moderation on forumosa.com is light, rather than severe, and rightly so. The “search” function is not perfect, and mods will gently suggest merges with topics that have been covered before if the question you ask is of updated relevance. It’s NOT a chat room, neither is it a “museum for threads”. However, information that is pertinent is retained for future use and research. And there will NEVER be a “thread about everything”.

2.I’m not sure what you mean. Forumosa, in my humble opinion, is a lively source of debate. The fact that there are a lot of “sections” is a credit to the site rather than an encumbrance. It facilitates convenience and clarity when searching. This is primarily a forum for people living in Taiwan, so the distinction between “IP” and “Taiwan politics” is pertinent.

I’m not putting you down, merely trying to clarify. Your criticism is valued.

Jimi

[Dragonbones]

@yamato

1. The moderation is too severe. Often moderators bark at you when you do something they don’t like. I’ve had them email me to split 1 thread into 2 because I dared ask 2 questions in 1 thread (who cares?!) and close my threads because “there is already a thread about that”.

Hi yamato, and thanks for your feedback!

I don’t see anything in my “Sent” box to you, but if it was quite a while back, you might have received a polite PM from me suggesting that if you’re looking for two different things, it’s best to post them separately so that the mods can merge them separately with existing threads, if any. If you started a redundant thread on, say, sour cream, you might get a polite PM from me to let you know that it had been merged with an existing thread, or to let you know it was moved from WCIF to Food (and merged). Such a PM, which begins with the link to the new thread, makes it easier for you to find where your thread disappeared to. I don’t see how these would be characterized as ‘severe’ or ‘barking’, but then perhaps you are talking about another moderator’s message.

Now you have to decide if you want this place to be a place where people come and chat or a museum for threads…because eventually there will be a thread about everything and then no will ever need to start a new thread.

Some of the threads on this board are full of chat. Others are actually valuable information resources. When people need that info, such as what Chinese dictionary to buy, what school to attend, where to find rye flour or sodium alginate, or where to find extra-small condoms, it makes it much easier for them to find if the information is organized by thread. It is hard to find if the information is scattered through a dozen redundant threads (and yes, I’ve personally merged that many on specific topics). There is no ‘need’ for you to start a redundant thread on such topics, unless you have tried searching for an existing thread and couldn’t find one.

Even if a thread is just a chat on a topic, say, MJ’s timely demise, having two such threads makes it confusing for posters who want to return to the same thread they were chatting in before. Where’s the harm in merging them? Hopefully if a mod communicates the fact of such a merger to you they will do so in a friendly manner which helps you know where your thread went.

2. Too many sections. Surely a good forum is lively but everytime I come here it seems pretty dead.

Seems like a pretty lively board to me.

You want lively debate but it doesn’t seem possible because of (1) and becuse everything is divided into sections like taiwan politics, -international politics. Why do you need two sections for this?

Lively debate isn’t possible if Taiwan politics and IP are in separate areas? Sorry, but I fail to understand your logic here.

BTW, another reason for dividing the forum into areas is so that the moderating burden can be spread out among many members of the team.

[yamato]

Interesting here is the feedback section.

I give some feedback (i.e. what I think about this site) and I got a load of “you’re wrong about that”. hardly surprising perhaps.

Obviously people are going to look at things in different ways, and if you 've decided I’m wrong from the get go then I doubt I’ll change your mind, but here goes with some “evidence”

This thread
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=85841

I asked a question about Chinese and got the reply

if you add some examples of how to use these it will be much more helpful to others than just tossing the terms out there

it.s subtle, but it’s there imo. Tossing the terms out there? Maybe you see that as neutral toned, I think it could have been phrased a little better. It was the second criticism of my OP without a single attempt to add anything to the discussion. You then went off topic for ages about pron. Sarcastic comments from Ironlady too, no surprises there.

It seems something like a pedants paradise here as with this email

you posted some good questions in Learning Chinese this morning, but I’d like to ask you to 1) post topics separately (don’t combine them in one thread); 2) make the title clearly reflect the question being asked; and 3) split this one below off as a separate thread (I’ve cut this from your post, and will let you repost it separately so it appears under your name)…I’ve cut the above out of your post, and will let you start a new thread and repost this question. I would suggest a title like “How can Mandarin keep tone values at full speaking speed?”, i.e., one that clearly shows the content of the thread, not “a question for you experts”, which is completely lacking in information

I mean, c’mon? Is this level of moderation really needed on a forum? Have you guys got nothing better to do than scan these pages and pounce on anything tiny little thing you don’t like? It’s a nice polite email, sure, but with half the board full of posts under 10 replies, -who cares?!

Next, maybe I’m completely wrong about the number of replies, but there are an awful lot of threads with hardly any action. Take a scroll down here:

viewforum.php?f=40&start=150
or here
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewforum.php?f=25&start=150

lastly before you bash out defensive replies, this is a feedback forum. I’m giving feedback on my experiences of this site. If you don’t like feedback then don’t set up a feedback section. What good will it do arguing with me that I’m wrong about what I think?

[sandman]

I give some feedback (i.e. what I think about this site) and I got a load of “you’re wrong about that”. hardly surprising perhaps.

What you GOT was a series of explanations to every single point you raised. Not rude, not condescending, not patronising, but simple rejoinders to your complaints.
Basically, you’re talking crap. But the people who responded were big enough to overlook that and take you at face value. Not me, though.

[jimipresley]

As I said before, your criticism is valued. There is nothing wrong with “what you think”.

[TheGingerMan]

[quote=“yamato”]
lastly before you bash out defensive replies, this is a feedback forum. I’m giving feedback on my experiences of this site. If you don’t like feedback then don’t set up a feedback section. What good will it do arguing with me that I’m wrong about what I think?[/quote]

And here I thought the replies were rather polite. You seem to disagree, and that’s your prerogative. Much the same as it is for others to give feedback to your feedback. It’s not that feedback is not appreciated, it’s just that others express a different view. Which is called discussion, not arguing.

[yamato]

@sandman

[quote]I give some feedback (i.e. what I think about this site) and I got a load of “you’re wrong about that”. hardly surprising perhaps.

What you GOT was a series of explanations to every single point you raised. Not rude, not condescending, not patronising, but simple rejoinders to your complaints.
Basically, you’re talking crap. But the people who responded were big enough to overlook that and take you at face value. Not me, though.[/quote]

ah, and now we’re down to the level of insults. :bravo:

[sandman]

@yamato

[quote=“sandman”][quote]I give some feedback (i.e. what I think about this site) and I got a load of “you’re wrong about that”. hardly surprising perhaps.

What you GOT was a series of explanations to every single point you raised. Not rude, not condescending, not patronising, but simple rejoinders to your complaints.
Basically, you’re talking crap. But the people who responded were big enough to overlook that and take you at face value. Not me, though.[/quote]

ah, and now we’re down to the level of insults. :bravo:[/quote]
Its the area in which I excel.
And by writing “you’re talking crap” I was actually toning it down greatly, in an effort to protect your tender sensibilities. Hsin nien kuai le!

[yamato]

well, at least your honest.

[sandman]

No, that would be bob-.

[TainanCowboy]

I made a pot of delicious red bean and smoked ham soup today!

(no opinion stated per the Ol’ Blighty Babe with the Kendo Sword)

[Buttercup]

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]I made a pot of delicious red bean and smoked ham soup today!

(no opinion stated per the Ol’ Blighty Babe with the Kendo Sword)[/quote]

Goose egg, half the clicks were from me with Opera on auto-refresh.

TC. Eh?

yamato, chill. Who cares? The way it is set up is the model it is. It isn’t a wiki, and yourposts do not make the place interactive.

[Dr_McCoy]

Not a solution for everybody, but I started having more fun on this site when I decided that I had no business giving feedback about anything. After all, who really gives a shit?

[Joesox]

Yamato, you do have a point that us moderators could stand to work on our tone sometimes.

As for thread-splitting and the like, it’s a tricky one. Sometimes I think it’s good to let conversations run their natural course. But for more reference-y type information, it often makes sense to separate it into clear chunks.

Anyway, as Jimi said, your feedback is valued, and even if the immediate reaction seems defensive, I think people will still bear it in mind.