Closing Edward's Thread in the "For Sale" Forum

[kaiser]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think it is a crying shame for cpreefguy to shut down edwards for sale thread.
Yes he should have posted his location in his initial post, but that was also his first post ever on this forum. This is not the first time I noticed a very hostile tone towards newer guys. A lot of threads have as 2nd or 3rd response "as per forum rules" and usually they are not very friendly written. I think JimD had a good idea when he said it should be handled thru PM. Nearly half of the responses are from people harrasing the guy about his location. All it would have taken is a quick PM to the guy to explain what he needs to change and why and how and the whole thing would have been done with. Instead there are 2 board members all over the guy telling him what he is doing wrong, but nobody is telling him how to correct it. So after being treated like an idiot he vents and thats the end of it?

I don't care who you are or what postion in this club you hold no single person should be able to shut down a thread.

[Henry]

that was pretty harsh Sean. Give the guy a break, it sounds like it was a simple misunderstanding, no need to lock his thread. We all make mistakes especially when we post to new forums. I have sent many ppl to this board, with references to the nice ppl on here that are quick to help. I guess from now on when I send someone to Maast, I will have to warn them first. No something that I want to do. I understand the need for rules and regulations, but this group is headed done the wrong road if we are more worried about how closely a new member follow the rules than their need for help or advice.

[hobogato]

......A lot of threads have as 2nd or 3rd response "as per forum rules" and usually they are not very friendly written....

"as per forum rules" is included in responses to make people understand that there is nothing personal, everyone has to follow the rules. i have gone back and most of the ones i have written and read from other mods simply state to post a location or price as per forum rules. now, granted after two or three of those, the mods tend to get a little testy because they have to keep telling the same person the same thing.

....I think JimD had a good idea when he said it should be handled thru PM.....

i have tried that in the past only to get no response or smart alec responses. also, if this it the way it is handled, a person is likely to get two or three PMs instead of one simple warning in the thread

....Nearly half of the responses are from people harrasing the guy about his location.....

this is exactly what we are trying to avoid

.... but nobody is telling him how to correct it.....

how hard is it to edit your post and put a location in, or even simpler, respond with a location?

.....So after being treated like an idiot he vents and thats the end of it?....

personal attacks on mods are not venting, they are childish and uncalled for and will not be tolerated.







......I guess from now on when I send someone to Maast, I will have to warn them first....

warn them that they will have to follow the rules? how is that any different from any other website?

......but this group is headed done the wrong road if we are more worried about how closely a new member follow the rules than their need for help or advice.....

one problem is we have a large influx of people who show up in the for sale forums and use the site simply as a way to buy and sell stuff. they have no interest in the purpose and mission of our organization. many of them never post in another forum here - either to ask for help or contribute in any other informative way. it is very simple, the rules are in place to protect our sponsors and to make the for sale forums as easy to use as possible.



it just seems a little odd when someone's first post is in the for sale forum and they have lots of stuff to sell...

[kaiser]

I received the folowing PM from another Board Member.

as your thread suggests,, if you have an issue, send Sean a PM,, publicly bashing board members will get you nowhere fast.. that is just making any issue worse,, we are working on changing some things,,, as a board member it is a little irritating to have to constantly remind people of the rules that are clearly posted,, and when a new members very first post is to sell stuff, we are trying to protect our current members from unreliable sources,, we are not the classifieds,, post your info, say hi, tell us about yourself,, then post stuff for sale, AFTER you read the big note that says READ THIS BEFORE POSTING

Exactly how disconnected is the Board from the rest of the club? I don't know what you mean with "publicly bashing board members will get you nowhere fast", but I take that as a threat.
"as a board member it is a little irritating to have to constantly remind people of the rules that are clearly posted" easy fix for that: Resign
I agree that the rules need to be followed. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. And if there are that many people violating the rules, than you need to come up with a better way of conveying them. If there is such a big problem with unreliable sources or you want the guy to introduce themselves first there is ways to do that. On reefcentral only members with a least 50 posts can post in the classifieds. I've seen other boards where you can't read or post anything until you've posted something about yourself in an Intro Forum.
How do you expect anybody to sign up for a charter membership when you pull a stunt like this?

[profntbtr]

i kind of agree

[lhoy]

The reality is that if someone's first post is in the "for sale" forum, they probably are not going to be long term charter members and having been on the forum for a long time (even though post count doesn't reflect it) I can tell you that tends to be the case. They come to the club with expectations and demands without bothering to read the rules (you see all the time in the for sale on RC where people fail to put a location). There is nothing more frustrating to see something you are interested in and have no idea where it is.

I haven't even read the thread yet, but I know Sean and the Board members and they are very in touch with the forum and club. On situations like this, they are general danged if the do and danged if they don't.

It is a shame when someone vents on the board and never comes back, but it is a public forum and such things are totally bound to happen.

Lee

[kaiser]

Originally Posted by kaiser
......A lot of threads have as 2nd or 3rd response "as per forum rules" and usually they are not very friendly written....

"as per forum rules" is included in responses to make people understand that there is nothing personal, everyone has to follow the rules. i have gone back and most of the ones i have written and read from other mods simply state to post a location or price as per forum rules. now, granted after two or three of those, the mods tend to get a little testy because they have to keep telling the same person the same thing.

So the mods may get a bit testy and the member just has to understand that and may not get a bit testy himself?


....I think JimD had a good idea when he said it should be handled thru PM.....

i have tried that in the past only to get no response or smart alec responses. also, if this it the way it is handled, a person is likely to get two or three PMs instead of one simple warning in the thread

Why is that person likely to get 2 or 3 PMs? Too many chiefs and not enough indians? Too many people think that they need to enforce the rules instead of leaving it to the people in charge of that



....Nearly half of the responses are from people harrasing the guy about his location.....

this is exactly what we are trying to avoid
see above


.... but nobody is telling him how to correct it.....

how hard is it to edit your post and put a location in, or even simpler, respond with a location?

Edward responded with his location, yet he was shut down because he did not put that into his initial post! You need to go back and read the whole thread it's called "rock, lights, stuff " in the for sale forum.


.....So after being treated like an idiot he vents and thats the end of it?....

personal attacks on mods are not venting, they are childish and uncalled for and will not be tolerated.

if that was a personal attack somebody indeed needs to grow up.

[motohead]

I received the folowing PM from another Board Member.

Exactly how disconnected is the Board from the rest of the club? I don't know what you mean with "publicly bashing board members will get you nowhere fast", but I take that as a threat.
"as a board member it is a little irritating to have to constantly remind people of the rules that are clearly posted" easy fix for that: Resign
I agree that the rules need to be followed. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. And if there are that many people violating the rules, than you need to come up with a better way of conveying them. If there is such a big problem with unreliable sources or you want the guy to introduce themselves first there is ways to do that. On reefcentral only members with a least 50 posts can post in the classifieds. I've seen other boards where you can't read or post anything until you've posted something about yourself in an Intro Forum.
How do you expect anybody to sign up for a charter membership when you pull a stunt like this?

I felt this exact same way here a while back.I was/am trying to get rid of my 100 gallon setup and did not post a asking price in my original post.I did however state that i did not want to part it out and would accept trades for no fish stuff.Also that i would take the best cash offer.Next thing you know,bam.I had people jumping down my throat telling me i had to post a cash price.I thought wow,that's great.Then a "nameless" member posts up the rules for the site in my for sale post and i read them.They clearly state that if a trade is what one has in mind then no cash price need be listed.Here i am wanting to trade off my tank,clearly stated so in the original post,threw in the cash "best offer" option and get slammed for it.I felt like it could have been handled differently,thru pm's or such.Instead the post directed at me were at the very least "dry" and impersonal.I have been on Maast since 2005 and i definitely feel the whole deal could have been handled better.I could make some more comments here but i do not think i should.They would not be productive.I just wanted to throw my thoughts on this deal here because to this day i still feel kind of slighted by that whole episode.
Mike

[captexas]

I'm sorry, but after reading the entire thread, it seems more like the moderators venting on the guy than anything else. I think Sean was way too quick to lock the thread, especially as Edward wasn't the one stirring up trouble, it was the constant posting by others even after Edward had given his location. Edward was simply new to the site and misunderstood why people wanted him to post his location. He thought Sean wanted him to post his personal address and not wanting to do that is understandable these days. It was just a simple misunderstanding and even after he complied, members of the BOD continued to harrass him over it and that is what ruined his thread, not Edwards response.

I'm sorry, but as big as this site is, with as many members as we have, I don't see the need for harrassing new members becuase they didn't know or simply forgot to post their location in a thread. It happens, I've forgot to do it before. For those who say "I hate it when they don't post their location", you need to get a life and not let such little things get to you. How hard is it to ask "What city/area are you located in?". Is that really so painful? The moderators don't even have to do it, people looking to buy the items have no trouble asking themselves!

Again, I think there are more important issues on this site and with the club than pestering someone like what was done in Edwards thread. And yes, this situation is something that should be discussed in the open, not by PM as some BOD member said to Kaiser. Remember this is the member's club, not the BOD's or the moderators.

If you want to enforce the rules like that in the For Sale forum, then make it to where 1 moderator posts the reminder to follow the rule and that be it. Just a simple reminder. There was/is no need for 3 or 4 other people to jump in and agitate things.

[tony]

IMO sean locked it for the right reason at the right time. slighted or not, asking if steve was 12 was not the right thing to do and as bad as the thread was it was likely about to get much worse.

the whole thing just seems to be a pretty silly misunderstanding/miscommunication

[hobogato]

I received the folowing PM from another Board Member.

posting private messages in a thread is not the way to resolve anything, whether or not you disclose who it is from. please don't bring private message discussions into public threads

Exactly how disconnected is the Board from the rest of the club? I don't know what you mean with "publicly bashing board members will get you nowhere fast", but I take that as a threat.

disconnected? if the board members were disconnected, we wouldn't be having this discussion because they wouldn't be looking after the forum. I'm sure the "publicly bashing....." statement was referring to the original personal attack in the FS thread, not you. No need to feel threatened for addressing issues, but if you or anyone else personally attacks another member (BOD or otherwise), it will not be tolerated.

"as a board member it is a little irritating to have to constantly remind people of the rules that are clearly posted" easy fix for that: Resign

yeah, that is an easy fix for someone who isn't committed to this organization. let's keep in mind that these are voluntary positions. we are here because we want to make this a great organization, not so we can harass people.

I agree that the rules need to be followed. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. And if there are that many people violating the rules, than you need to come up with a better way of conveying them. If there is such a big problem with unreliable sources or you want the guy to introduce themselves first there is ways to do that. On reefcentral only members with a least 50 posts can post in the classifieds. I've seen other boards where you can't read or post anything until you've posted something about yourself in an Intro Forum.
How do you expect anybody to sign up for a charter membership when you pull a stunt like this?

we voted on the pre-qualification rules about a year ago. all charter members were allowed to vote and the results are the existing policies. there is not a big problem with unreliable sources, but we want to keep it that way. one of the goals of these policies is to protect our members.



I can appreciate your point of view, but the simple fact here is that the policies in place were voted on by the charter members and the board. They are in place to protect you (and all of the other members - charter or not) as well as our sponsors. They are also a means of keeping the boards easy to navigate and as free of clutter as possible. Remember, the thread was not locked because of the location issue, it was locked because of a personal attack. Notice, there is now a new thread that follows the policy and there are no issues with it.

[greenmako]

So the mods may get a bit testy and the member just has to understand that and may not get a bit testy himself?
No you can get testy back but at least do it with consideration of others especially if you are new and you don't know anybody.


Why is that person likely to get 2 or 3 PMs? Too many chiefs and not enough indians? Too many people think that they need to enforce the rules instead of leaving it to the people in charge of that
I think you misunderstood what the person getting 2 or 3 pms meant. Its usually we send one pm as warning and in that pm will be a link to the forum rules. Then if we get no response and they continue to do the exact same thing we send the pm again. And guess what if they do the same thing and ignore the pm's It gets sent a last time. Usually if they have read the other two pm's and ignored the rules they don't answer or follow the rules that last time. Then the moderator has given 3 warnings which technically at that point the person can be banned we have never banned for this reason but we usually post in their post to try to get them to fix what was wrong.

if that was a personal attack somebody indeed needs to grow up.

Well I just read the thread I guess it could be consider an attack with what Edward said to Bigbird but not really more of him trying to stick up for himself but he didn't have to conduct it in the way that he did. As for it being locked I do think its fine he can start another thread as that one was already off topic and was cluttered with posts that were not about his sale stuff.

[hobogato]

So the mods may get a bit testy and the member just has to understand that and may not get a bit testy himself?

by getting testy, i meant more stern in their request.

Why is that person likely to get 2 or 3 PMs? Too many chiefs and not enough indians? Too many people think that they need to enforce the rules instead of leaving it to the people in charge of that

there are 12 board members and we are not all online at all times, therefore we share the modding duties.

Edward responded with his location, yet he was shut down because he did not put that into his initial post! You need to go back and read the whole thread it's called "rock, lights, stuff " in the for sale forum.

i read the whole thread, several times. it was closed for his response on the last page.

if that was a personal attack somebody indeed needs to grow up.

when someone responds in this manner, it is insulting and uncalled for. if you will read bigbird's first post, he was trying to explain the policy to edward, not hound him. he was even very pleasant about it. again, all of this could have been avoided if the SIMPLE rules of the forum had been followed in the first place. whether someone is new to the site or not, those rules - which are stickied at the top of the forum are the first thing that show up.

[motohead]

So the mods may get a bit testy and the member just has to understand that and may not get a bit testy himself?
No you can get testy back but at least do it with consideration of others especially if you are new and you don't know anybody.


Why is that person likely to get 2 or 3 PMs? Too many chiefs and not enough indians? Too many people think that they need to enforce the rules instead of leaving it to the people in charge of that
I think you misunderstood what the person getting 2 or 3 pms meant. Its usually we send one pm as warning and in that pm will be a link to the forum rules. Then if we get no response and they continue to do the exact same thing we send the pm again. And guess what if they do the same thing and ignore the pm's It gets sent a last time. Usually if they have read the other two pm's and ignored the rules they don't answer or follow the rules that last time. Then the moderator has given 3 warnings which technically at that point the person can be banned we have never banned for this reason but we usually post in there post to try to get them to fix what was wrong.

if that was a personal attack somebody indeed needs to grow up.

Well I just read the thread I guess it could be consider an attack with what Edward said to Bigbird but not really more of him trying to stick up for himself but he didn't have to conduct it in the way that he did. As for it being locked I do think its fine he can start another thread as that one was already off topic and was cluttered with posts that were not about his sale stuff.




In my case,i never recieved a pm from anyone.At any time.I did however feel like i was being cornered and a bit harassed.

[BigKGlen]

I am clearly a "black & white" type of person when it comes to law, policy or rule.
A couple of board members used the thread to openly communicate their opinions and thoughts between themselves on the issue, but offered no guidance to Edward.
That was a bit too much.
I can say that I have learned through trial and error on postings and PM's. It's part of getting use to a new format. Edward was new.
As far as the "this happened to me way back when" stories, if you didn't address it at the time, this is no time to bring it up. Speak you mind when it is important to you at the time of the issue. Don't you just love it when a spouse/SO brings up a 5 year-old issue to try to make a point??

Back to the Black & White...Making a personal remark that is made for no other reason but to aggravate and instigate the situation was wrong. Some sort of action had to take place. Locking the thread was alot better than banishment.

[motohead]

I am clearly a "black & white" type of person when it comes to law, policy or rule.
A couple of board members used the thread to openly communicate their opinions and thoughts between themselves on the issue, but offered no guidance to Edward.
That was a bit too much.
I can say that I have learned through trial and error on postings and PM's. It's part of getting use to a new format. Edward was new.
As far as the "this happened to me way back when" stories, if you didn't address it at the time, this is no time to bring it up. Speak you mind when it is important to you at the time of the issue. Don't you just love it when a spouse/SO brings up a 5 year-old issue to try to make a point??

Back to the Black & White...Making a personal remark that is made for no other reason but to aggravate and instigate the situation was wrong. Some sort of action had to take place. Locking the thread was alot better than banishment.

Actually there glen,i did bring it up when the issue happened.Turned into a back and forth deal for sure.This situation simply reminds me of what happened to me,i'll execise my right to speak freely.Why not?Everyone else on this thread is doing the same.
Mike

[edward]

Actually there glen,i did bring it up when the issue happened.Turned into a back and forth deal for sure.This situation simply reminds me of what happened to me,i'll execise my right to speak freely.Why not?Everyone else on this thread is doing the same.
Mike

i was not sent a pm till my thread was already locked. i thought people were asking me to display my address because thats what i think a location is. after that was cleared up i happilly complied and didn't realize i should change the original to display address because it was in the thread, if someone would have simple said, change the original to display address i would have. and finally when i responded to bigbird that people just didn't read the whole thread i was talking about the guy who just asked my address again, i was not talking about bigbird not reading my whole thread and then he responded rudely because he took it or read it wrong. simple, polite clearification would have prevented the whole issue, and i believe even if i am a new member and even if i don't stick around very long i benefit members of this club by giving the good stuff to buy for cheap. so the bod would be serving the interest of all of maast to resolve situation a little bit calmer and nicer. even if that person may not be there for long, they are still a possible recruit and should be treated as such. i am sorry for the 12 year old remark. i wish things would have gone differently. i think someone should consider changing the rules to state that a city where the goods are is required, because location is confusing to me thinking i needed to post my address. thanks for all your input and help on this matter. i haven't used maast for about six months but this isn't my first bad experience nor is it my first screen name. i just wish it was handled different by me and others.

[captexas]

Yeah, the thread might have gotten worse, but only because of other people making it worse than it needed to be. Out of the total 40 posts on that thread, half of them were all about his location. Bigbird mentions to Edward the problem of "wasting bandwith", then maybe BB and others shouldn't have posted their comments adding to what was already resolved on page 2 of the thread and was already being addressed by 5 other people!

All that was required was 1 person making 1 post requesting him to post his locaiton, not 6 or 7 people. There was a misunderstanding as to what "location" really entailed and that was it, yet people kept going on about. This guy is brand new to the site and he felt like he was being attacked, even after he had posted his location. It's understandable for him to feel threatened or be a little testy after all that. Personally, asking if BB was 12 is not an attack, maybe a little sarcastic, but not a personal attack.

Overall, I agree this is all pretty silly. There was a misunderstanding by a user of the website and then poor actions/responses by those in charge of the site. With the BOD trying to get the club national attention by hosting Macna in a few short years, they need to learn to better handle little situations like this, especially with newbies.

ALL of us join sites and do things without reading all the rules all the time. Yes, the "fine print" is always there like the sticky for the forum rules, but we seldom read all or any of it. We get excited and jump right in and sometimes we miss things. It happens, no need to harrass people over it. MAAST members complain about all the things that happen on RC and other sites, yet they end up doing the same thing here! Relax, have fun, enjoy life, and get over it! If you have to get worked up about something, there are plenty of other areas to focus on other than a person forgetting or not knowing to post their location in a for sale thread. Seems over the past few months there is way too much energy wasted on that.

[aquasport24]

WOW...i am only been in the forum for about 3 months or so and after this incident, i see alot of.... US... and....THEM...from both sides. It would be cool if we can be just... US... and ....WE...I think we all making scenses here, we all got to open our opinions. Let all shake hands and go back to this very expensive hobby of ours...well, got to go ..my boss just walked in....

[greenmako]

WOW...i am only been in the forum for about 3 months or so and after this incident, i see alot of.... US... and....THEM...from both sides. It would be cool if we can be just... US... and ....WE...I think we all making scenses here, we all got to open our opinions. Let all shake hands and go back to this very expensive hobby of ours...well, got to go ..my boss just walked in....


:thumbs_up::applause:

[erikharrison]

Preface: I am BRAND NEW to the board, so I have not quite been briefed on what we do in a situation like this. So I did what my gut told me to do. I will send a PM next time, but his reply was sincerly rude.

I'll just say this, Ace had asked to post a location. He should have been smart enough to read that all of us pretty much have our location posted next to our name. WE have rules, that EVERYONE must abide by. He was told about those rules, and instead of asking a question about his location, he decided to ignore the post that a Board Member and Vice President of our little .org posted. To me that's like hanging yourself. His answer was short and rude, so I turned around and gave him a dose of his own medicine. If he can't deal with that then ADIOS. It's not in anyway an US vs THEM or WE debate. We all have become friends on this site, and when some random person comes on it and decides that the rules are not to his liking, or that he just doesn't want to read them because he feels that he doesn't really need to... He doesn't need to post on this site. That's just my opinion, and YES, I am biased. I have the right as a paying member of this site to care about it, and the other people that have shown respect on it, to care about them. It was his lack thereof that started all of this. I try as HARD AS I CAN to be VERYYYYYYYYYY active and HELP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. What has this guy done? I can tell you and it's easy. He came on this site and ticked a whole lotta people off, if not by his reaction to Ace's post, but by the "waves on the lake" from his smart alec responses. I personally would have banned him, not because I am trying to pick on him, but for the rudeness that he displayed INSTANTLY. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we did not want him to post EXACTLY where he is.

Location: In my jammies at my computer at 13000 Vista Del Norte, in San Antonio TX a couple of blocks away from Churchill High School, please come rob me.

^HOW MUCH SENSE DOES THAT MAKE?^

[greenmako]

sigh.

It was a misunderstanding guys. He misunderstood the rules and the BOD misunderstood the motivation behind his refusal. Rudeness will not get you banned, we are all people...we all get confused and make rash decisions. The only real issue here is
http://blogs.amnestyusa.org/pub/amnestyusa/death-penalty/beating-a-dead-horse.gif (http://blogs.amnestyusa.org/pub/amnestyusa/death-penalty/beating-a-dead-horse.gif)

[captexas]

LOL, where's PETA when you need them. Surprised they haven't taken offense to that picture! :wink_smile:

OK, so we all learn to give people a chance, not be so quick to jump, better explain ourselves when you want someone to do something, and that it only takes 1 moderator to notify someone, not the mob. Now we just need to do like on Entourage and hug it out! :bighug:

[BigKGlen]

:bighug:

[tony]

hopefully we can ALL chalk this up as a learning experience and move forward!

[erikharrison]

For sure. The other thing that I agree with is that overall this is a good thread. Sure, we all get heated, but at least we talk it out. We're from Texas, land of quick tempers. They come fast and go fast. :)

[JimD]

"His answer was short and rude, so I turned around and gave him a dose of his own medicine. If he can't deal with that then"

This right here is part of the problem, as a board member especially, you should be the one to set an example by being above the sarcasm and demonstrate better judgement in order to resolve or diffuse a potentially volatile situation with tact and appreciation for other peoples feelings. The "me against you" attitude isnt helping anyone or the club. I couldnt care less if you're a board member, the president or even God! The golden rule still applies... We all know that its virtualy impossible to read emotion through text. I have a solution to the problem..... Have the location be a REQUIRED field when registering, end of problem...

[captexas]

..

[captexas]

I have a solution to the problem..... Have the location be a REQUIRED field when registering, end of problem...

I agree with that idea

[greenmako]

I agree with that idea

The software will not allow you to register or change your info without putting in a location from now on, thanks for the ideas

[JimD]

lol, Brian, did you steal my dead horse? :bigsmile:

[greenmako]

I think so!

[apedroza]

We might also think about removing any replies to the for sale forum that go off topic. These things get out of hand quickly and have no use in this forum. Off topic remarks are what the lounge is for.

[kaiser]

We might also think about removing any replies to the for sale forum that go off topic. These things get out of hand quickly and have no use in this forum. Off topic remarks are what the lounge is for.

I don't think censoring the replies being a good thing. Threads get hijacked frequently, not just in the for sale forum and that should be addressed in a different way.

[kaiser]

The software will not allow you to register or change your info without putting in a location from now on, thanks for the ideas

How are you going to eliminate things like "texas" or "just in front of you at the LFS" ? Is there a drop down menu to choose from?

[greenmako]

How are you going to eliminate things like "texas" or "just in front of you at the LFS" ? Is there a drop down menu to choose from?

unfortunately the software doesn't have a pull down menu I think you just type it in. I will go to the Vb site today and see if there is some code that I can add to the site to get a pull down menu or at least verification some how. I guess for now I will have to monitor all new users and make sure they put a valid location in, or at least what looks like a valid location as the person could still be hiding their true location under anther location.

[kaiser]

posting private messages in a thread is not the way to resolve anything, whether or not you disclose who it is from. please don't bring private message discussions into public threads
I took that PM as a personel threat to me by a member of the BOD and I am not going to tolerate that. I posted this to show everybody what happened after I spoke negative about a BOD member. And if that means I am going to get kicked out now, so be it.


disconnected? if the board members were disconnected, we wouldn't be having this discussion because they wouldn't be looking after the forum. I'm sure the "publicly bashing....." statement was referring to the original personal attack in the FS thread, not you. No need to feel threatened for addressing issues, but if you or anyone else personally attacks another member (BOD or otherwise), it will not be tolerated.

if you look at the home page there are three links in the MAAST Membership Box. According to that half the BOD members listed there are no longer on the BOD and looking at the BOD Meeting Minutes, the BOD had only one meeting in 2006 and one in 2007. Has the BOD become some secret society? Like somebody else already said, the BOD serves the club not the other way arround. And when I hear members of the BOD wanting to bannish new members for bad replies or delete bad replies, we might as well pack up now.




yeah, that is an easy fix for someone who isn't committed to this organization. let's keep in mind that these are voluntary positions. we are here because we want to make this a great organization, not so we can harass people.
Exactly, you volunteered for this and you knew what you were going to be in for.


we voted on the pre-qualification rules about a year ago. all charter members were allowed to vote and the results are the existing policies. there is not a big problem with unreliable sources, but we want to keep it that way. one of the goals of these policies is to protect our members.
Maybe instead of just voting on rules you need to vote on ways on how to and by who should enforce these rules.


I can appreciate your point of view, but the simple fact here is that the policies in place were voted on by the charter members and the board. They are in place to protect you (and all of the other members - charter or not) as well as our sponsors. They are also a means of keeping the boards easy to navigate and as free of clutter as possible. Remember, the thread was not locked because of the location issue, it was locked because of a personal attack. Notice, there is now a new thread that follows the policy and there are no issues with it.Edward was already told on page 2 he was going to be shut down, he just made the mistake to give him an excuse. Besides the reason that was given said something about he didn't edit his initial post to add a location.

[greenmako]

Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated! If you would like to help out and make MAAST better pm me or anyone else on the BOD. We always have room for help

[Henry]

Location: In my jammies at my computer at 13000 Vista Del Norte, in San Antonio TX a couple of blocks away from Churchill High School, please come rob me.


At least give me your apartment number so that I can come and rob you. j/k

[kaiser]

Just a quick update. I did receive an apology from the BOD Member for the PM I received.

[erikharrison]

At least give me your apartment number so that I can come and rob you. j/k

haha you googled mapped it? YIKES! :)

[Sherri]

OK.....tapping my foot* :Timeout:.....one problem that is very apparent in situations like this - you can't read emotions...I think all points have been listened to...we've all learned from it I hope...let's move on...cause there's nothing left of the horse being beaten.

BOD's are here for a reason...representing the members. Controlling the problems when & if they arise. We do the best we can. We're not perfect, but I sincerely believe we try to do what is best for the club & it's members. It's our job. If something was taken out of context...it happens. We're adults...I hope...let's move on & learn from it - not beat it all out of porportion. It makes me tired to read and read and read getting no where except slinging mud. It was a beautiful day today, huh? What a great meeting we had! What a great site! :bighug::bigsmile::wave:

Now...isn't it better to laugh & smile??? :p:rofl::lauging::clown::photo: Have a great evening everyone...I apologize to and from all those involved in tonight's great debate! :wub:

[Henry]

didn't google map it I looked it up in the bexar county appraisal district. there's much more info available there.

[Bill S]

You want even more info, try the County Clerk page...

Wow. A thread blew up that I wasn't involved in! How did THAT happen???

[JimD]

You want even more info, try the County Clerk page...

Wow. A thread blew up that I wasn't involved in! How did THAT happen???

Hey, the threads not locked yet so you still have time! lol...

[Henry]

Yeah the county clerk page is fun to look through, lots of information. and ppl wonder why their identities get stolen.

[Mr_Cool]

I just read the whole thread, or at least until the post after it got locked. Made me think of a story I heard when I was still umpiring.....

I guy I know went to professional umpiring school (there's only 2 or 3 of them) to see how he would do. I guess he did just fine, because after the couple of months spent there, he was offered a minor league contract. Well, once you are offered a contract like that, you start to get evaluated so that you can advance within the ranks.

One night durning a game, he had to eject a manager. And, wouldn't you know it, it was a night that he was being evaluated. So, when the game was over, he sat down with the evaluator, and they broke down the game. He was told what he did well, and what he needed improvement on, as is usually the case in an evaluation. Guess what he needed improvement on? (Go ahead, guess!)

He was marked down for ejecting the manager. To make a long story short, the evaluator told him that HE instigated final confrontation that lead to the ejection. It seems that the umpire and the manager argued for a while about a call. When the manager got no satisfaction, he walked away. But, after about 5 steps toward the dugout, he turned around and continued the arguement. Naturally, the ump tossed him after this.

The point is....the arguement was over. The manager had already walked away. He was done. (Not happy, but done.) Why did he turn back around and continue the arguement?!? Because the ump said something else. He PROVOKED the manager. And then he tossed him?

Do you see what I'm getting at here?
(BB is the ump. Edward is the manager. Everyone else here is just a fan adding their 2 cents, like fans always do.)

If you don't see it this way, go back and re-read it.

[captexas]

Nice story, but if Edward is a manager in your analogy, then all of us are managers as we are all users of this site and members of MAAST. We all post threads and responses to them just as Edward did. As with your story, the "umpires" could have responded a little better to the issues with Edward and Kaiser.

Anyway, I believe everyone calmed down and the situation was addressed. With 3000 on-line users, all with different personalities there will always be some conflicts here and there, just a matter of responding to them in a positive manner. It's not always easy, I know I got into some good arguments back when I was a BOD! :ph34r:

[aquasport24]

BOD=biological oxygen demand...j/k..

[aggie4231]

Wow, just wow. Being a MOD on Marsh, I have some opionions.

We require the sellers location to be listed like most of yall already have(next to your name). The only time we don't make that requirement is if you are basically nowhere near Houston(dallas area, some of you Maast folks, etc). Also, if we remind you and you post it in the thread we are happy. With in the thread we will post a basic snip it of the forum rule, then pm the person with more reasoning.

As a group, we wont harp on the issue in the thread as eventually happened here. We will discuss it in our own little Mod forum. Luckly we have MODS along with the BOD. In the thread, the BOD should of cut out the posts that weren't relevant to the topic, especially after he eventually posted his location. I know it takes up space and bandwidth, but let the guy attempt to sell his stuff, think how many members can benefit and you might get some new members. I was just a guest on Marsh for just over a year until I bought my tank(from a for sell thread), then joined. It was a misunderstanding.

Here is were I have a problem with being t onit picky.

here is the rules about location

Location: Post your location in the body of the thread. Members need to post their location in any thread started in the Trade & Selling forums. The location in your signature/profile does not count.

Here is Seans last post when he locked.

I am locking this thread, as per the forum rules, you never posted your location in the body of your first post. In addition, disrespectful comments towards other members will not be tolerated.

Now according to the rules he did ,eventually, conform to them by posting his location in the body of the thread. Nowhere does it say that it HAS to be in the first post. So if you locked the thread for that reason, then you are in the wrong. Now if you wanted to stop the back and forth stuff, why didn't a BOD edit it, or remove posts that weren't relivant to the topic.

It just seems that there are too many chiefs(BODS). This should of been handled in a conserted way.

Personally there are somethings that I seen around here(not just this) but in general, I probably won't join MAAST unless I move to San Antonio. I just don't see any love for us Corpus people being thrown around. I have meet some of you in Port A and like those that I have meet.