Sup folks,

so I was wondering what you all would think about a section where people are anonymous by default something like this.

Two forums which I think that would fit well into this section would be:

1. A Counter-Culture forum for people to discuss things against the social norms like drug use.
2. An almost ruleless board where there are minimal rules and posts do not count. Rules that would be in place would be ones like:

• no malice towards towards people based on things that happened outside of the almost ruleless forum.
• no porn/shock images
• no advertising/referral links

Mods & admins would be able to find out a poster but we'd only do it if you'd broken one of the forum rules. These would have to be 18+ boards obviously but enforcement of that is obviously tricky.

I haven't discussed this with Ches/the mods yet but I'm sure if the majority welcomed it, so would they. If there was a significant increase in workload then the team could be expanded but I think the rules would be obeyed.

I'll include an anonymous poll to get some some opinions... poll closes in 2 weeks so get voting :D

Edit: Start thinking of appropriate names for the 'almost ruleless' board in-case the idea is met with enthusiasm.

__________________

__________________
How much can a koala bear?

@(*o*)@

I hope this doesn't come off rude but I'm going to break your post down into smaller quotes for clarity:

Hey ProofReader, it's a pleasure to 'meet' you :) I am glad you've enjoying the forum :)

However...

...I am somewhat insulted by the way you seem to think that I am only able to 'deal' with one issue at a time :P You see, although this is only the second change I have publicly discussed in the last 24 hours it does not mean that everything else will be put on hold until this one has been made (or not made as the case may be). In fact, suggesting such a thing is almost laughable as in the original post I did in fact state that the poll would run for two weeks - it's okay if you overlooked that though, we all make mistakes :)

I'm sorry I haven't combed through the feedback forum yet, I've only been 'back' a few hours and in that time I've been updating the forums and responding to PMs. I will be addressing the other issues in the coming days though :D

2 mods per forum you reckon? You could well be right but I'm not so sure... Pretty much all our members and, definitely all the regulars, are very responsible posters so I think to assign 'at least 2 per forum' would be a downright insult to them! I guess you could be right though, I'm no master of sociology so perhaps the pseudo-anonymity would create a unexplainable effect where our normally very respectful members decide to publicly put each other to shame.

Unfortunately you're almost right. You have only been a member a year though so here are some things you may not know:

• We have always looked for people that serve different time zones.
• One of our mods, the wonderful and amazing Sense/Net lives in North America (Canada)
• Ches, although living in the UK works varying shift patterns (although I could be wrong if he has changed jobs) which means he's often working nights or early morning. Fortunately for us this can often accommodate for the fact that Australia is 10-12 hours a ahead of this.
• It is also noteworthy that less than 10% of our user base is Australian (I don't even know if that percentage carries through to our registered/posting members).
• Funnier still is that most of are members are from the UK, which luckily is where most of our moderators are based :D

I assure you, not as surprised as I am at my inability to explain myself:

I will rephrase that because if you can't understand it, with all your experience of administering forums, I find it unthinkable that anyone else will be able to:

I'm a fan of democracy - I like to make changes to the forum based on what the majority of forum members want. I know Ches and the mod squad agree with me on this so they would also want it to go to a poll. Yes, that is a little presumptious of me but, to be honest, it is a two-week poll so I wanted to get it started as soon as possible and I know them well enough to say they won't be offended by the fact I didn't have a little pre-poll chat in the mod forum regarding this thread.
When I had said:

'I haven't discussed this with Ches/the mods yet -' that was pretty much addressing them and saying 'sorry I didn't discuss this in the mod forum first' and I thought that made it obvious that the next sentence in that paragraph was also addressed to them: 'If there was a significant increase in workload then the team could be expanded but I think the rules would be obeyed.' You see here I was being polite in saying that I acknowlege that may be a concern to them but it is not relevent at this time because we will not know what the workload will be until the proposed forums have been live for a week or two at least.

I couldn't help but notice you said 'voluntary moderation':

I am fully aware that the moderators are volunteers and so are they the last time I checked. Now by the use of the word 'voluntary' I can only conclude that you are implying because they are not under a contract of employment that I should show them the respect of informing them of my intentions to gather opinions from the members regarding significant forum changes before I go ahead and make the thread to gather those opinions. Well, if that is your point I have already explained my descision to not inform them before I made the thread. Now perhaps I should remind you that the reason they are not under a contract of employment is because I cannot afford to hire staff* to moderate the forum, incase you didn't notice upon sign-up you didn't have to pay a penny to establish yourself as a member here. Not that it's any of your business but there is no profit on advertising whatsoever on this forum. In fact, I would say I have lost almost $300US on this bored since beginning. While we're talking finances you might be interested to know I'm going to have to renew my webhosting contract in a couple of months - when I purchased the two years ago it cost me $160 which was £80 now due to the recession and the simply aweful value of the pound (sterling) I'll be paying over £100 for it.
*in British English 'staff' is not only a noun for a stick - it is also a collective noun for a group of workers. I.e. The staff would often forward each other amusing e-mail during working hours.

In reply to that quote and with regard to my 'seemingly frequent absences' which you mentioned in the quote before that:

I am willing to admit that I have been absent a lot. I do hate myself for it and even when I make an effort to come on a lot I still fail miserably. It's just a personality disorder I guess. What I can I can say though is this... smugly written posts which interlace compliments to the forum members with logically-flawed criticisms to the way I do things certainly do not make me want to spend more time here so you are only really making the problem worse. Perhaps that's not the tone you were aiming for in your post but maybe I'm spot on and you thought the attempt to get a rally going against me would go unnoticed. If I am just paranoid I apologise but that's certainly the way I have interpreted it and I'm not afraid to state it in public.

I hope you are enlightened by my reply.

Also I think by this point my opening sentence of "I hope this doesn't come off rude but I'm going to break your post down into smaller quotes for clarity:" has now paled into insignificance. So while I quite possibly have you insulted I would like to give you some of my thoughts that you may want to give consideration:

I think you may have a superiority complex; always posting in brown doesn't make you different from anyone else, although it may draw peoples attention towards your post your post is still just as important as everyone elses no matter how you format it. The first thing you did upon 'meeting' me was critisise me and my methods with concerns that bore little or no relevance to the topic in-hand, critisims that I believe most normal people would express concern for in PM (especially someone who has been an admin on multiple message boards). Oh yes, that is another indicator, you have established yourself in various positions of power on the internet because you feel inferior elsewhere in your life!

Hurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr armchair psychology from Peter! I'm here all week folks, tell your friends. BTW, before you cry 'hypocrite!' for the last paragraph I already have valid counter-arguments to prove you otherwise so don't bother.

Now can we please get back to the topic in hand (although I'm not expecting anyone to go 'hurrrrrr, I like drugs and spamming/insulting people lets do it!').

Also cos I know how much you love me for answering you in such detail and helping you with the whole superiority thing you can TOTALLY thank me for this post super easily by clickying any part of this sentence.


______________


Edit: In case you weren't being mean, your tone was completely accidental and I therefore just made a d**k of myself you might wanna work on your approach when giving advice and your social etiquette - I mean that in the nicest possible way.

__________________

I'm not sure what advantages either board would bring.

Maybe I'm looking at it all the wrong way, but what benefits would the ability to post anonymously bring to the forum? I can't think of many issues where people can't express themselves with their regular name attached to the post.

I also think it would be extremely easy to troll as you could basically start a fight with yourself whilst using only one account. At which point would the mods get involved? This forum has been used in the past to exchange snide remarks that are very hard to pin down. Making them anonymous would make it even harder.

Also, because it's anonymous, the 18+ thing would be immaterial at best, counter-productive at worst. OK, so it serves as a warning to kids, but the anonymous aspect plus the age limit is just likely to make the board more tempting!

As for discussing drug use - Pete, I don't know. Is this really the direction you want the board to go in? What does that have to do with iSketch? OK, so there's a general discussion board which gets more attention than the iSketch stuff, but this is basically a game forum. Also, although this is an unofficial forum, have you considered Rob's views? A forum bearing his game's name where people come to talk about drugs and other things against the social norm. Well, maybe he'd sign up, lol - but maybe he wouldn't like it too much. I just... well, maybe I'm a total prude, but it just doesn't sit right with me.

If you are really dead-set on this idea - may I suggest that instead of having these new thread on the visible forum, that you make them application only, and have the boards hidden to all non-approved members? After they are approved, of course they would be anonymous and can do what they like. At least it wouldn't reflect on the forum as a whole to new or potential members! You could even have it moderated only by members, which wouldn't add any burden onto our current mods, unless they decided to sign up and go for modship.

So, yeah, I've voted 'bad idea' for now - but I would like to hear more info on how it would work.

Also - dudes - the previous discussion in this thread is not cool. Proofreader brought up a couple of decent points which I think she was not alone in thinking. It probably would have been better in a PM and with a less apparently sarcastic tone (apologies if I misinterpreted), although it has brought your answers out into the 'public' forum, which will probably set some other minds at rest, so it's done you a favour. Your answers are good, and you HAVE been busy in PM and probably everywhere else too - but come on - you are admin, you're going to come into flak, and you did choose to be admin here. The forum is great, the fact that it's free makes it even better - but just like criticism doesn't encourage you to visit here, replying to criticism with insults doesn't encourage members' confidence in you. I guess what I mean is, respect works both ways.

And after all that negativity - I gotta say - it's nice to see you, Pete. You know how to make an entrance, no denying that, lol.

__________________

I think counter culture would work. I don't really see the benefit of the other board, but as long as it was moderated well there's no reason for it not to go ahead.

edit: Vik makes good points, and maybe neither board is that responsible :P

Also, with anonymous posting would the anon posters have any identifier at all (numbers etc)? Just so you could see when the original poster was replying etc - it could be difficult to read a bunch of anonymous posts without knowing which posts were by the same person.

I think this is interesting.. though I'm not sure how successful it would be. So I'm kinda sitting on the fence about it. I'm a bit stupid, so I'm kinda one of those people that would need to see a trial of it, lol.

In regards to the comments made by Proofy.. I have to say that I'm with her on several comments. Although you said, Peter:

"...I am somewhat insulted by the way you seem to think that I am only able to 'deal' with one issue at a time :P You see, although this is only the second change I have publicly discussed in the last 24 hours it does not mean that everything else will be put on hold until this one has been made (or not made as the case may be). In fact, suggesting such a thing is almost laughable as in the original post I did in fact state that the poll would run for two weeks - it's okay if you overlooked that though, we all make mistakes :)"

I have to say I don't agree with your comments, because when you last sorted out the forum, the arcade went a bit funky, and we lost some of our favourite games. You said you were sorting it out.. and then you vanished for months and never came back, even though a lot of us posted in the complaints and ideas for the arcade thread (I know those who complained will also back me up in that!). When you did eventually come back again, you made this thread rather than approaching our complaints and ideas about the arcade. So that was a disappointment, because then you vanished again, lol, came back a few more times, and nothing was done about the arcadel. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong in you coming back to your forum to post things that aren't related to you being an admin. It's just.. we've been waiting aaaaages for the arcade to be fixed! :( And I know also that there have been other suggestions around the forum that require your attention. Though I can't remember them right now :S (Pregnancy brain! XD)

So yeah, I can totally see where Proofy is coming from in regards the fact that other issues should be addressed first. If it is possible, I'd love it (as would others) if the arcade could be fixed properly (broken games gone, new ones introduced, and the ones that got lost come back - such as pacman). I'm more for having that done before this new idea about the forums comes to life (if enough people agree to it) :)

No reason not to have it I guess... a couple of things though that may be a concern:

Will the admin team know who is posting even if the other members don't?

I hope so, I can't see how mods can action things without this information unless they just hit 'delete', if so, problem solved.


At the moment, if I post something, or Hints, or anyone else here, you know it's us. Vik makes a good point about previous posts: even under a user name posts have been used to dig etc... and have been designed to do this by flying under the radar by being non-specific, even though it's very clear to those involved who it's referring to. There's another fault in these posts which means, because they're open to interpretation, someone who's a bit paranoid may think it's about them when it's not. This leads to bad feeling where there needn't have been any and even though it can be argued that this is that member's problem, it's a bit of a headache for the mod team.

I can only see an increase in this kind of material under the anon guise. BUT...

Love it or hate it a bit of controversy increases forum traffic. Any publicity is good publicity and all that. Complainers do this forum the world of good at times because everyone hops on here to have a peek at what's happening, lol. As an example, the discussion between Peter and Proofreader above will probably be viewed more than a thread entitled 'I love my kitten, it's so fluffy'. So... an anonymous post proclaiming that someone has a dark secret will increase traffic... with much speculation about who posted it. In some cases, I worry people will be instantly recognisable anyway, especially if they have a specific style of writing or common grammar/spelling mistakes under their name on the forum.

I can see why Peter would want to encourage a more honest response from the posters. As members, do we not sometimes feel there's something we need to say but feel we can't, or that we'd be shot down or edited/deleted/banned? I think this is a noble wish. However, by making a poster anonymous I don't see how any offensive material could be attributed to the author rather than the forum owner, leaving Peter responsible for material in that section, that said, that's what disclaimers are for. But even disclaimers have their limits...

I'll be interested to see how it goes if it happens. If it were me I'd make it so the board is a privilege and those abusing it have that privilege revoked.

__________________

When I saw the post I thought "great stuff, would come in handy in the debates section" cos I know there have been a few serious matters there where people may have different opinions to the majority here and sometimes they're criticised for it. So by alllowing anonymous posts people might be more willing to express their views and opinions. Also, maybe in threads where people talk about personal experiences but they don't want to be openly named, might come in handy for that - although, mods will know who these anonymous people are because of ip etc which isn't a good idea if there are issues between members here and a certain mod (not saying there are, just an if and somethign which needs to be considered.. kinda)

However, the only thing I'm concerned about at this point is people breaking rules. Yes there will be some rules (the obvious ones you stated) but, like the humour and debates section, although it says "you don't have to read this because it contains material which could offend" (quote not exact), there are some people who have taken advantage of this rule and have used this section of the forum to post indirect, rude comments to other forum members. Whether or not the modding team and/or other members wish to admit it, there are a handful of regular users and some not so regular, who will say they have been the victim of such abuse. The bad thing about this is because of said rule/quote nothing can get done about it when people abuse this section in order to attack others.

If an anonymous section will have the same rules as the humour and debates section, then I don't see the point in it. It'll just be another place for rule breaking and getting away with it. Whilst I'm here and hopefully you will still be about Peter, could I please ask that the rules under the humour and debates section are added to by saying that section of the forum should not be used as a place to take advantage of rules by indirectly abusing other forum members?

By adding this, forum members who feel like they have been attacked on the sly can report posts and something can actually be done about it. Currently, squat all is done about it and members are just told "you could be offended by those posts, so you don't have to read that section".

As for the other two sections you mentioned. The counter culture one actually sounds like a good idea if the demand is there for it. Maybe for younger people so maybe a poll should be created to see how popular it would be. Also, what it would contain, what it could offer members who'd use it and maybe if there are any sort of social workers on the forum who could offer more to this section. Well, when I say social worker I just mean maybe someone who deals with this area irl or summat. Prolly not so important but seems like it could come in handy, assuming I've understood the counter-culture bit correctly.

__________________

It feels like this forum is at something of a crossroads. Do we carry on as we are, do we become more pure to our function (a game's forum) or do we become a social network first and foremost?

Right now there is certainly a bit of both the latter options within the forum, and it's unlikely that either element will disappear completely. Implementing these new threads would certainly give the social aspect an even bigger role than it currently has. As Buffers said, it's likely to increase traffic if it increases controversy.

I'd have reservations about that though. I like to see a good slanging match just as much as the next forumite, but just because ♥♥♥♥♥ fights increase traffic, does that mean they should be, well, basically endorsed by creating a section which will encourage them? Plenty of other things increase traffic too - for example, if it wasn't for certain quizzes, I probably wouldn't check the forum every day. Others love the arcade (FIX IT!!!!) and others still love the games section. It's nice that you trust that the members wouldn't abuse the anonymous section, but we all know what it's like when otherwise sweet and lovely members fall out.

I guess the question is - is that the direction we want the forum to head in? Larger, more anonymous, more controversy. A lot of us (me most definitely included) visit the forum more for the social (or quiz-based, lol) side than for the iSketch aspect. A couple of points that Buffers and AJ raised have made me realise that an anonymous section might have benefits in some circumstances.

I'd say I'm in favour of a test - but the problem is that when something is implemented as a test run, it usually ends up staying, good or bad.

On a totally personal level, I kind of don't understand the need for anonymity in an already anonymous atmosphere. I mean, aren't our usernames already anonymous? Sure, a few of us know others in real life, but apart from that, no-one has to tell anyone anything they don't want them to know.

Just a real quick reply to AJ about the social worker aspect - if you (as in you plural, not YOU AJ) have problems in real life that require a social worker - go see one. I don't mean this rudely at all, but the iSketch forum is not the best place to get professional help. Plus, I'm not sure a social worker would willingly give out advice to a person when they don't have their casefiles, in case something goes wrong and they are blamed for it.

__________________

Hmm, if someone felt strongly enough about something to want to make a public statement about it by posting, surely they wouldn't mind putting their name to their words... I sort of understand that if there were already a lot of posts, and the general consensus was already heavily inclined to one viewpoint, then some people of the opposing view might be discouraged from posting. There would also be cases where you might want anonymity because you're mentioning something personal, but I don't think that an anonymous forum would be the best place for it... you wouldn't know who was replying to your personal issues, and they wouldn't know to whom they were replying.

Oh, and as for the "Havoc" forum, if you really want to go somewhere where people don't obey rules regarding manners just come and visit my hometown. :)

I know that my comments are mainly against the idea, but I don't see why it would do that much harm either; nobody would be forced to go there.
Perhaps I'm being a bit optimistic, but I think that very few people on this forum have that great a lack of manners that they'd be happy to be unpleasant to others just because people wouldn't know that it was them, too.

Agreed. I can see a test run being a good idea. But just because the test run goes well it doesn't mean there won't be any future problems. There will be new members coming along and whether we like it or not people do change sometimes causing problems - happens anywhere and everywhere; not just here.

Yeah I know, that was a rather hasty reply cos I had to run so didn't get to explain what I meant properly - check out the typos for proof! :P
I went back and read Peter's original post and embarrassingly misread what he said about the counter-culture forum - big oops!

I can see the anonymous stuff working there if topics like drugs and alcohol were a topic. Young people experiment, make mistakes and it can change their lives in a big way. Maybe one forumite's experiences can help another and it'd be a win-win because it'd all be anonymous. As for the whole social worker thing, it's kinda like free advice from someone who is either qualified to give advice or has been down that road. Someone/people who is/are just very socially aware or in the know on certain topics that would be discussed in this proposed forum - so it's not a total failure if it happens. It actually sounds quite interesting the more I think about it, assuming I'm thinking along the same lines as Peter otherwise what I think is useless waffle :p

__________________

I'm on board. I think we would benefit from a space where we can speak our minds in anonimity. Still, i would hope the no naming and shaming and the no trolling on the forum rules to apply.

If this comes true, i solemnly swear that i will maintain the privacy of those posting unless some extraordinary situation were to arise.

__________________

I think that I'm for a test run, I think see how it goes kinda thing then do another vote a month down the line or something? And I can see some posts that would go there, but I also can't see it being in as much use. I think the sharing of problems might be a good idea in some ways, just general sharing of social problems maybe.. that are too.. something that you may not want to stick your name to. I do also like the fact that you could discuss stuff and not be slated or stuck with a viewpoint and therefore be made to seem like you're always on that view point. If that makes sense (I apologise if what I end up typing doesn't make sense, isn't of good grammer as I don't learn english anymore ;) ) I think also sometimes if a debate gets heated then atleast they don't know who each other are.. so they can't end up being rude to the other person directly so could still interact outside the anonymous section in a kind manner. But.. this place could also be abused alot.. I think it would have to be monitored carefully, but.. as has been flagged up, the mods would be able to identify people by ip? If so, this could being up other issues.. kinda like confidentiality... as the mods would know who you are, unless they didn't? And would you get a number/reference or would the posts just be post one post 2... because it might be hard to identify who's talking as different people would be posting etc etc.

Overall I think it's a good idea but I can't see much use for it here. As this forum seems quite... calm I suppose in view points (Although I haven't been here long enough to judge I suppose) but everyone seems able to voice their viewpoints without being completely shot down... Eh. I think as long as it doesn't distress people it'd be okay... I can see that some subjects that may seem.. Taboo could be discussed there... (can't really think of examples, (eh actually got a mild one... like drug classifications)) and so it would be good if you couldn't tell who was who from posting.

I think everyone has brought up very good points though :) (will probably ty most posts above me :D as they have all been very useful in my thought path.)

__________________

I've read all the response so far and I just have two thoughts I want to share at the moment:

1) Social problems and other sensitive, personal info being shared:

In my eyes, people can already do this anonymously if they really want to share something personal but don't want people to know it's them - they just create another account on this board with a different e-mail address. I don't think mods go around checking all posters' IPs all the time so any post in this board under a different name will be as anonymous as selecting an anonymous name for the anonymous board, won't it? I do understand that creating multiple user accounts isn't endorsed, but I just feel that if someone really really wanted to post something anonymously, then they can already do that, without the need for a new board. And, likewise for anyone who wishes to reply anonymously.

2) Mods and admins being able to identify posters in extreme cases:

I trust the mod team and I don't mean to insult you with the following but I feel like I have to say it: if I wanted to post something extremely personal and didn't want anyone to know it was me, then I would still wonder if human curiousity would take over one day and the mod/admin would check who the anonymous poster was. I'm just paramoid like that. If there were something that I wanted to be truly anonymous, I think I would just not post it, regardless of who can and cannot identify me... just me being careful about what I don't mind people knowing about me and what I don't want people knowing about me.

I agree with what someone said before about going to a social worker if someone has social problems. What would happen if someone, reassured by the concept of anonymity, suddenly posts one day and says they're thinking of committing suicide? Where would you draw the line between what kind of personal information can be posted and what would be too much?

__________________

For me, that's one of the downfalls, as well. Although I trust most of the mod team, I don't trust them all, or haven't always done so (sorry guys). I mean, there was one incident a long time ago where a mod gave out someone's IP to an admin from iSketch. Which is terrible, because it goes against the privacy of forum members (and the guidelines that mods are supposed to follow - speaking as an ex-mod from here). Who knows how often stuff like this has happened, but others don't know about it? So, in my mind.. I still think to myself.. mods can.. or.. *could*.. have a snoop just for the fun of it, and maybe even pass on information to other forum members, such as friends? (btw, I'm not digging at the mods here.. I'm just stating a concern that I personally have).

And that for me, is probably the only reason for why I probably won't use this setup (if it goes through) because if I wanted to post something anonymous then I'd also want the certainty that no one would know it was me (hence why posting in the first place). I think there's only one person I would feel safe with knowing who was who.. and that would be Peter. But the reality is that the mods do are here more often and do most things, and that's why they were chosen. Lol, I'm starting to feel more and more against this now :|

Oooo... deep discussion going on here!

Like 2.0 - I am okay with the proposed enhancements to the forum. Will I post there? Probably not.

Now then... I was going to maintain a dignified silence regarding comments made about privacy/confidentiality issues and the fact that mods knowing this, that or whatever could be discussed with other members. If at anytime you felt that a mod (or indeed Admin) had breached confidentiality - then please report it to Peter so that he can conduct an investigation!

I don't take my position on here lightly - I thoroughly enjoy it but I am also mindful of my responsibility in ensuring that confidentiality is maintained. Primarily, the mods role is to uphold the rules of the forum and if a member doesn't, then further action will be taken.

I can't think of any current mod or admin who would go against this.

__________________

Sorry to say this, but trusting the mods goes without saying, for me. Honestly, if a mod is that much of a busybody that they'd want to go burrowing and abusing confidentiality, then they probably wouldn't be a mod in the first place. There have been a couple of poor choices in the past, but I think the team right now are spot on. OK, so I wasn't sorry to say that - I meant this part - it's the members and their potential abuse that concerns me more! I'm probably just very cynical.

__________________

Thanks, TF. I do appreciate that :) The thing is, I did exactly that - tell the admin of the forum about it. Nothing happened. So, again, it does give me a lack of confidence on the whole matter.. Like I said, I'm not having a dig at the mods here. I'm just trying to be realistic based on previous problems with mods not carrying out their duties properly. And I don't mean on just this forum either. I'm sure this is the case with any forum - or most forums, because it's easy for someone to say "I'll agree to the rules".. and then go off and do something else in hiding. (sorry to go off topic a little, but it is a concern that I have. Not for me, but just in general for all forum members).

I think a bit of perspective is needed here. I’ve had times in the past where I did not trust members of the moderation team here, (none of the current team – I can’t express that strongly enough). My solution to this problem was simply not to post or place anything personal on it. I’ve never been a part of any online forum where I didn’t trust the mod team.

I’m sure if an issue was raised it was investigated and the reason it may not have been actioned is because it could not be actioned. I’ve had this happen in moderation on other forums, if you have insufficient evidence to act on you cannot act. While someone may insist something naughty is afoot, nothing can be done in a fair, unbiased fashion without a fair heap of evidence to the extent it’s a bit frustrating. I know that the current mods and other mods of the past must be aware of this.

I’m going to go out on a limb and make a comparison here:

Like Rob, Peter runs this site free of charge, out of his own pocket, with his own time and don’t think that because he’s not online he’s not doing anything for the forum, I’m sure he checks his bank balance, lol. It is the best and original iSketch forum.. iSketch is the original online Pictionary. These are their sites, and they do what they will with them. Peter posts when he makes a new change, or has one to suggest. Rob doesn’t have that avenue so just makes changes. They don’t need our permission to make changes, whether we agree with changes or lack of action, or whatever it is they’re doing which displeases us. All I know is I can still log onto iSketch and I can still log in here and pull a moon on my profile. That’s what matters.

Clearly, the arcade is knackered… guessing this has something to do with an update clash and awful coding. Not as easy as it sounds to fix.

Peter is interested in suggestions about forum usage and handling, what he can provide that’s new and innovative. I think that some of the above posts boil down to people not wanting to use the anonymous function because they don’t trust the moderation team. Fair enough, no problem, don’t use it. I do worry though that this can only undermine the current mod team, who I think are great.

I like this forum… I like iSketch… I like them both even better because they’re free. I do appreciate that without the members there would be no forum and I’m not claiming that we should be one big happy family but I think that we should appreciate moderators here like we do our admins on iSketch, because without them? It’d be anarchy.

__________________

Still doing my thang. Much like now and tomorrow, where I will be here from 7pm - 7am GMT.

iSketchforum Mods > iSketch Admins

__________________

hehe, a big happy family :P
hmmmm.since i dont really like reading long paragraphs (no offense, its my own problem XD) immmmaaaa try to keep this short.

as for trusting the mods and admins and whatnot :) why not? XD none that i've known of have ever been untrustworthy.....they're lovely peoples who probs get headaches from the rest of us (probs me -_-) but are still working to helppp usss and whatnot..answering questions, making updates, whatev :)

hm....as for the forumthingymabobs (yes i make up my own words :D) the counterculture thing sounds cool tbh XD i dont personally have that many opinions but it'd be interesting to hear others talk bout them. hm....as for the second? i dunno ...like what someone said earlier..isnt that what the humor and debate section is for? but its not really my opinion that would matter...i wouldnt use that section anyway XD if others want it, sure? XD



oh. one last thing. i cannot believe ches said thang -_- thats just odd......

__________________

I don't think people directly meant (although I'm speaking on my own behalf, not meaning to uhh speak for other people if this isn't what they meant?) But with the whole umm... not trusting mods thing... I think it was more, they could find out who it was if they wanted. I trust the mods on here :) And would never think that they would care who was posting etc in the anonymous section, but there is the chance that they can find out.. I think that's more the point, so it's anonymous for everyone else except the mods.. If they chose to find out, (not saying they would) so that if they wanted to know who it was they could, however anonymous that person was behaving...
But.. that being said, would you really post something online if you didn't want people to know it was you, if you knew there was a chance that it could be traced back to you. Because even if you weren't a mod I'm sure there is some kind of way that you would be able to find out who it was (via hacking and other sorts) So eh. So basically, I trust the mods to respect our confidentiality :) And think they do an amazing job.

Thank you peter for payyying for the forum and making it freee :) It's a wonderful place. I love everyone on here :) And think everyone does an amazing job and are amazing ;)

-wanders off mumbling incoherently-

__________________

That's a good post sorsie... and I know nothing was meant... it was just how it inadvertently wandered... lol

lol Ches... I see your point there! (Please don't make a rude joke out of that, I beg you, lol)

__________________

Wow, what an indepth discussion!

I'm pretty much with Sorsie on this one. I'd like to see a test run, just to see how it goes. I can understand that someone could, and would indeed want to post something completely anonymously as these types of situations can and do occur.
I myself completely trust the mods and admins on this forum to know the identities of these anonymous posters as they would need to take action on potential trolls if the need arises.
I think a test run for a "short" period of time, and then maybe there could be a discussion of how successful the test period has gone, where individual people could voice their opinions.

Maybe the random complaints thread would fit better in this new section, if it goes ahead?

__________________

Hmm, reading some of these posts has instead made me think more about how mods would be curious etc. I know, I know, we should probably be feeling like we can trust them more, but I'm not perfect. Thinking back on various things I've seen and heard on numerous forums and knowing that we're all human, curiosity can and indeed it does get the better of us at times.

Now I'm not sure about vBulletin but is there an option for the admin to change the settings so that IPs were hidden normally but if there was a need for it (e.g to check a troll etc) then Peter and/or Ches could come on here and go "Right, we need buttmunch's IP, so I'm gonna allow viewing of IPs, once I have what I need, I'll hide them again". I *think* this is possible on a free forum - dunno which one, sorry. Just a thought though, might make some people a bit more comfortable posting if that option was possible.

Ooh, I see something new...

__________________