Quiet

[Pete999]

Where is everyone? been a bit quiet lately

 

[Marvo]

For the few who are genuinely unaware of why there's regular members missing I'll explain.

It got the the point where the staff had had enough of the unfriendly/unwelcoming/abrasive/elitist and often downright rude treatment of new members and even some regular members as well. On one side we were receiving reports from new members about the posts they were receiving in the threads they'd opened with increasing regularity, then on the flip side, every time a thread was moderated to clean it up we'd get a new thread opened elsewhere complaining about missing posts, calling staff Nazis/Stazi or bemoaning lack of free speech. Bottom line was it was a no-win situation and from the staff side there was nothing to lose.

This hasn't happened overnight, it was already happening back in the days when I first joined this forum. The subject has been broached several times in the past, most notable over Christmas and each time the behaviour improves for awhile, then over time it gradually returns back to being as bad as it ever was. To a casual observer it might seem like the measures are heavy handed or dis-proportionate but the time had come to break the cycle and stamp it out entirely, regardless of the cost in members, which is what we've done.

Yes, some long-standing members have gone for good, some are temporarily banned and some have decided not to contribute as regularly or not at all. It's a shame because those members were very knowledgeable and I personally hold many of them in high esteem, unfortunately from a forum point of view and also from the point of view of the stress on the staff (not to mention the many members who were on the receiving end of bullying or belittling), this knowledge came at too high a price.

Whilst I'd personally be very sad to see some of those members go, the fact is that those who are feeling solidarity with the banned members and those who are just taking a break for their own reasons have a decision to make because the past ways of a chosen few making lives miserable for any newcomer they see fit are gone for good. The minimum requirement is general civility and this is no longer something that's negotiable.

I'm not looking to start a debate again about this, I'm just informing everyone of the way things are. If you have a comment or concern you feel you have to make or something you need clarity on then you have several possible options. Firstly can PM a member of staff, or secondly, if you have access to the areas of the forum that aren't in public view (Arms or 3K etc) you can open a thread. Please be warned it's very possible your question may be answered and the thread closed because, as I already mentioned, the changes for what we see as the better in the long term aren't open to debate and negotiation any more.

I'll leave this thread visible for a while to allow people to read and digest the content.