Has the 'Respected Member' tag had its day?

[Dan]

Surely every member is respected.

It sounds ever so cliquey.

I think in the current times when everybody should be totally equal, denoting who's 'respected' it a bit cheeky.

It used to be called "Elite Member" - Christ, imagine if we had that these days?!?!?!
On TilersForums.com it's now 'Trusted Advisor' but even then the advice changes and it's marking old now inaccurate posts as if the post should be trusted. And it can cause a bit of a shitstorm every now and again because some poor sod has tiled their bathroom the old way and their tiles are falling off.

I've put a poll up to get a feel for it. But it's not to say if either outcome is clear - that we will go for it.

It's up for discussion.

Please be professional with your replies. That said we wont be warning anybody for speaking out. This is my own thread and my chin can take it.

 

[Intoelectrics]

It's at 50/50 now....
The thing is, how are do you take this 'all equal' stuff?
If the banners are removed then technically so should the new feature of the flags. We are all equal so why should it matter where you post from...

I don't take much notice of the banners and I don't particularly take it that serious either when I do. I prefer things to stay a bit of fun, this forum is a place I visit to relax and enjoy a chat with fellow tradespeople. I appreciate that it is also a place where folk may visit to seek advice. This is when it does get a little more serious, since that advice does have the potential to affect someone's life. The difficulty is that to police the advice given is very difficult, especially on a public forum. Policing posts is a tough job for the moderators, one I do not envy.
I have witnessed, on some forums, title banners giving people a false sense of authority. It can also create cliques where you end up with a bunch of vigilante judges who gang up on other members.
If Admin feel that we need to offer the new members a sense of security I can understand this. I (personal opinion) don't feel that title banners are the way forward to achieve this.

 

[Intoelectrics]

37 votes a piece. This is going right down to the wire. Incredible scenes

I think its definitely going to be another Brexit

 

[Spoon]

I think its definitely going to be another Brexit

I won't be asking for a re-vote though, if the votes goes against what I voted...

 

[ferg]

I won't be asking for a re-vote though, if the votes goes against what I voted...

You do know that we are sending the respected members 4 cheesecakes EVERY DAY!!!!

Let's take back control of our cheesecakes.

 

[Intoelectrics]

I won't be asking for a re-vote though, if the votes goes against what I voted...

I haven't voted, because the option I prefer is not available - Not bothered either way.

 

[Spoon]

I haven't voted, because the option I prefer is not available - Not bothered either way.

I was curious about the vote so I voted to see the values up to now.

If the forum is to be all equal then the simple thing is to scrap off all the info at the right of the posts, like profile pics, Messages numbers, location..... Job done. Just keep the name.

What does Messages numbers mean if we are all equal?

 

[davesparks]

Surely every member is respected.

It sounds ever so cliquey.

I think in the current times when everybody should be totally equal, denoting who's 'respected' it a bit cheeky.

Not every member is respected, there are some members I have no respect for at all.

Why 'should' everybody be totally equal when they clearly are not equal? We are all individual people and to suggest that we must all be totally equal is just insulting to the vast majority.
If you want total equality then there should be no trainees, moderators, administrators etc etc, those titles clearly aren't equal.
For total equality you have to make the first year apprentice totally equal to the retired career electrician.

 

[telectrix]

wasn't it George Orwell said " all men are equal, but some are more equal than others"?

 

[Spoon]

Not every member is respected, there are some members I have no respect for at all.

Why 'should' everybody be totally equal when they clearly are not equal? We are all individual people and to suggest that we must all be totally equal is just insulting to the vast majority.
If you want total equality then there should be no trainees, moderators, administrators etc etc, those titles clearly aren't equal.
For total equality you have to make the first year apprentice totally equal to the retired career electrician.

Very good point.
This would also get rid of the DIY section, as we are all equals. They can post in the general electrical section.

 

[ruston]

wasn't it George Orwell said " all men are equal, but some are more equal than others"?

From a book a book I read.. " God created man, Sam Colt made them equal".

 

[UNG]

See - I think those who are saying electrical trainee, and whatnot are the ones that need to move on. We did that in the naughties. It's 9 frigging years latter and we still haven't accepted that it's a hard trade to get into as an existing skilled worker. So there are going to be half a dozen ways into it.

It's getting very PC isn't it

Whatever term you use it indicates a skill set and a skill level look back to the late 70's and into the 80's when we had the 6 month skillcentre guys coming into the industry some were good others didn't have a hope in hell of hacking it in the industry

The thing is this isn't a hard industry to get into anymore you can become an "electrician" with a bunch of add on qualifications with no underpinning core qualifications or knowledge all achieved in a matter of days or weeks these days. There are not many if any industries you can do that in, yet we are continually told that there are more fires and other issues caused by electrical faults

If it's staying, it needs another name. And half the people who have it need it taking off them.

Those with the mentor tag that aren't being professional on here need to lose that too perhaps?

And then maybe we step back let the forum run and see what complains come in again over a few months and see how new users are reacting to it.

What's in a name or a tag the forum admin team clearly had a reason for creating them at the time so what was the original idea behind them?

I do backup the forum members you know. When the newbie member is out of line there's no way I back them up, they're probably other forums winding this one up and know which strings to pull.

And similar to the plumbing forum, DIY trying to touch Gas and get advice on that, it just can't be done. That brings me legal issues. So I'd never backup a DIYer whos attempting to touch something they shouldn't.

There is nothing to stop anybody doing their own electrical work unlike gas

But there's a way we go about it. I know it's tiring when you clock a DIYer time after time and tell them get a sparks in, and you get cocky.

But that is usually after the DIYer will not accept the advice given, if they are not given or do not get a response then they follow with an aggressive post which gets members backs up

But ideally - we want them to use a sparks from this forum. So when I've sorted the directory out again, we want to be professional, and link them to that so one of our guy gets the job.

There's just a way to go about it. And again I'll say it, this isn't reddit or facebook. You can't just say what you want. Not all the time anyway.

Food for thought.

It would be nice to get work from it, but very few appear to come here looking for electricians all they want to do is get advice to cut the electrician out

 

[Intoelectrics]

It's getting very PC isn't it
What's in a name or a tag the forum admin team clearly had a reason for creating them at the time so what was the original idea behind them?

But that is usually after the DIYer will not accept the advice given, if they are not given or do not get a response then they follow with an aggressive post which gets members backs up

It would be nice to get work from it, but very few appear to come here looking for electricians all they want to do is get advice to cut the electrician out

I guess Dan/Admin need to decide what the main purpose of this forum is. If its predominately here for people to get free advice then the rules etc need to reflect this.
Unfortunately it's in some people's nature to try and get the best deal by cutting corners. We will always get folk joining to see if they can get something on the cheap then buggering off when they get or don't get what they want.
Personally I like the forum when its friendly and we as trades-folks experienced or trainees can chat & joke about our experiences, concerns, hobbies etc... and if we feel we can offer sound advice to those that deserve it then great.

 

[richy3333]

Explains why I don't have it..... as I have no friends... or life....

I've had a crap week and now find out we aren't friends any longer

 

[Intoelectrics]

I've had a crap week and now find out we aren't friends any longer

You can be my friend

 

[Spoon]

I've had a crap week and now find out we aren't friends any longer

I'm everyone's friend.... Until they meet me...
Love you really mate..