Well done OVS,
Concerning your message to the SOH Forums, I couldnt have put it better myself
Regarding Siggi's opinions:- IF you agree to abide by the rules of the forum, why would you be banned?? If you step outside of those rules & continue to do so after warnings, then you deserve to be!
Personality has nothing to do with it.
Legion.
Unfortunately it rarely pans out that way. I've been banned from more forums than I can remember, not for breaking any rules but for fighting my corner too well against a fellow member, mod or admin. Ego will have it's way, and where another member will be driven to abuse, a mod or admin will invariably be driven to bringing out the ban-stick.
That's one of the reasons I had the policy described above on my forums. Nobody feared having an opinion, and being able to express it in a forthright and honest manner. And if things did get heated they didn't need to fear being spoken down to by a staffer, and/or banned. Because no staffer had that power, which also weeded out a lot of people who would otherwise have been unsuitable for the job. How many people would be mods if they knew up front their traditional powers would be non-existent? About 5% of them. The only power they had was to intervene with reason, and move a post/s to the quarantine forum. It worked, perfectly, on every forum I ran.
I won't engage with mods or admins in debate anymore, about anything. 95% of them are incapable of having an open and forthright debate on equal terms, I've learnt that the hard way. It's like trying to argue with a police officer, doesn't matter how right you know you are, best response is always to patronize them, tell them whatever it is they want to hear (placate their ego) and move on. The alternative is to be banned (or arrested), and then have the evidence falsified usually. Had plenty of that at SimHQ in the past, posts edited and accusations and abuse given after I was no longer able to defend myself. Classic techniques from those who have had their abusive behaviour exposed publically, lost the argument completely and felt compelled to win by any other means available, no matter how underhand.
The results are usually clear to see, what I term the "buddy back-slapping, communal **********" phenomena of group-think forum membership mentality, where all debate follows an approved formula, and anyone who expresses any opinion outside of the box is set about by the established clique with the full connivance of the staff. SimHQ to a T. More of a knitting circle than a community, with the majority of posts so overwhelmingly dull one can hear the paint crack as they warp. With a queue of mods just hopping behind the curtains, looking for any excuse to jump in and show everyone their 'privilaged' status. And that's another phenomena in it's own right, those who feel so inadequate in their real lives that they are led to invest so much of their self-regard in an illusory internet status. There's a distinct ego hierarchy going on there, and being a mod on a reasonably well-known forum is close to nirvana for many. Take a close look at the visible tells...special signatures, that advertize their sense of special status, special avatars with special custom titles, exclusive coloured fonts...it's a hoot for anyone who sees it for what it is.
The SimHQ staff...bless 'em.
Anyway, hope that's given you some insights, or at least entertained you.
