problems with forum moderators?

[pickleboy]

it has come to my attention that there has been some controversy over the moderators on this board. i have seen some people that have posted and when edited they get upset. this is the moderators job (unpaid and voluntary with their time). please do not take this as i am butt kissing for the mods, that is not it at all. i feel that the people that do the job should take it serious and uphold the terms caswell has set down. this said i feel that some of the post can stray from the caswell way of doing business and it is the mods job to reign it in. granted i do agree with a previous post that caswell does not have everything that is made, and the ability to pass on new products and ideas is good but we all agreed to the forum terms even if we may not have read it. as for the opinions of the mods in their post, it is just that their opinion, not something that is carved in stone, or to be considered the end all answer. from what i have seen the mods on all the boards do a good job of offering advise from the experience they have gathered from doing the work. also just like any of us less experienced users of this board if you dont agree with a response given or an edit then we should as adults contact the mod or user by way of pm and address the concern. i dont feel that any mod or any user would knowingly give out advise that is harmful or malicious in any way. i think we all as users of this and other forums owe something to the people that helped us get our start and should repay this by helping other newbies get the same start. sorry for being long winded but i thought this should be said. i personally want to thank all the mods as well as all the other users that help me on a regular basis( you know who you are).
cliff

[KeithLambert7]

Don't disagree, but think this kind of Moderator response sets the wong tone...

"Post edited due to clueless newbie's failure to read the terms of service"

BTW - it wasn't to one of MY posts.

Keith

[LeeParsons]

Well siad Cliff.

Lee

[wingwalker]

Being a NEWBIE this may not count, but........
I totally agree, if you want to play the game you must follow the rules, they applly to everyone the same.

I would however make one observation. I think it would help if the message of rejection included a brief (maybe one word) of what the reason was. Not as justification but as a reminder and /or let everyone know what and from who this type of violation is coming from.

We have a great thing going here, don't mess it up.

[cruizer]

I'm more upset that the rules state that one cannot even MENTION a product unless it's sold by Caswell. As Caswell has a large variety of quality products, it's not the end all tell all site. There are many other quality products out there that may help other people with specific situations. Caswell doesn't have it, but you can't tell anyone else about it either. If better products are out there, I think we should be able to share them. And if Caswell reads our posts about how much we like these products and decides to carry them, then even better!

[fxstcguy98]

I don't have a problem having posts edited if Caswells sells the item, I support Caswells whenever I can, they have always been good to me. I do have a problem with it when Caswells doesn't sell anything even close to what is being edited, like say and air dryer for a compressor. I mean come on, we are supposed to be helping each other out here, how better to sell Caswells items if the people are getting outside items to make the job easier? And like Keith said, be professional with the wording of the edit.

[sdold]

"Post edited due to clueless newbie's failure to read the terms of service"

The moderator didn't write that, I did, because I was embarassed that I had supposedly violated the terms of service. I put a smiley-face after it, which signifies, to anyone familiar with the internet, that it is a joke and not to be taken literally.

Someone else might have done that to their own post too. I don't think the moderators would do that.

[KeithLambert7]

It was not yours, and did not have a smile face after it. It could however have been done by a user and not a moderator.

[LeeParsons]

Not mentioning the name of a competitor in an open forum isn't really a problem for me. You can always post something to the effect of "I got an air dryer from one of the tool companies for 50 bucks", that way if anyone is interested in more information they can PM or email you for details.

Several years ago I was a regular poster/user of a forum dealing with specific sporting equipment and the products sold by the forum host. It was allowable to mention and advise about other products not sold by that company and over time (a rather short time) it got way out of hand. Users were posting the name and contact information for products sold by other suppliers who were direct competitors of the host. It lead to many heated arguments and the board went South in a hurry.

Sorry for getting wordy,
Lee

[KeithLambert7]

No, it was in a magnesium(?) thread as I recall. Probably an e-mail altered later by the sender as the suggested. I don't recall seeing the tagline stating who the moderator was below it now that I think of it, probably a give-away (had I been paying better attention). Same colors, same words and all... My appoligies to the moderators.



Keith

[seanc]

I've got a slightly different take on this subject.

I use Caswell products in all my projects, and will continue to do so. However, Caswell does NOT have everything needed, so I use "other" products in conjunction w/Caswells. These "other" products are something that NOBODY else sells either (in DIY quantities at least), so I've had to go to great lengths to obtain them independently.

Most of my finished projects are a combination of Caswell supplied & other products, and is something that I can't post photos of, or discuss in the forums, because it's not exclusively Caswell.

So I rarely post here anymore (unless it's exclusively Caswell), and the experience I've gained w/Caswell products is of no benefit to others.

To their credit, Caswell is now supplying one of two products not previously available, and I've ordered some to try. If it works as well as the "other" product I'm currently using, I'll be able to post some more. The second product I'll still have to obtain independently.

Sean

[customandsound]

Don't disagree, but think this kind of Moderator response sets the wong tone...

"Post edited due to clueless newbie's failure to read the terms of service"

BTW - it wasn't to one of MY posts.

Keith

to sum that up that was not me i post my name under every edit i do ....

And i Did follow the rules Straight from LANCE caswell common sense .. so to say the least on this you want to post the name of othe companies that will take away from a sale at caswell Go ahead and do so ..

I understand not all companies can sell everything and Yes you need to look out for a place to purchase it .. Heck Ebay has every product that we need. From kits to powder and lot more ..

Not every supply house has a forum. Caswell dose to help there customers and i will admit i don't send alot of money with them as i should. I will be truthful I purchase most of my products factory direct.

at the top of every topic there is a list of stuff read this first .. That is all i ask that every one dose ..

If some one ask where can i get a powder or tool pm them the place ..
Harbor freight is the cheapest place to purchase product's But you get a few good uses then they are junk. There c.q is not the best and it is all knock off's ... i can spend a hour typing so i am done ....

[trsick]

Re: Moderator problems

Well here goes my .0002 cents worth.
The job as Moderator is a thankless & pennyless job. It requires lots of time & effort. In the end, not all users will ever be happy or will agree with the replies.
I would like to THANK Chuck & others for their efforts & willingness to share their knowledge. I'm afraid with all the hassle they will pull away from this forum & then we all lose. I myself have decided to stop posting on this forum for a variety of reasons that not need to be posted here.
One of the main complaints I do have with the Caswell forum is the restriction of posting other vendors on here. But that is what Caswell decides to do & it's their forum & they have the right to do whatever they want. So I have to respect that. But I do not have to agree.
With that said, I am on other forums that encourage the posting of ALL info regardless if it is one of their competitors. That speaks volumes to me that they care about the hobby & trade, not just the "bottom dollar".
I received a lot of great info & met some great people via the caswell forum (esp. CHUCK!). I like to think I also repaid that help by posting help to others as I learned more about our trade.
So signing off.
Good Bye & good luck!
Bob G.

[pickleboy]

very well spoken bob, i feel the same concerns as you voiced here. there has been complaints that the mods are editing to much, i have talked to chuck on the phone a few times and it is not just his doings it is encouraged by caswell to keep on top of term violations. like bob said it is after all their forum. i just hope it does not end up sending the forum board south, there is a lot of talent and knowledge to be had here and it would be a shame to see it drop off. just more babbling from the "pickleboy" though.

[jtagger19]

I think the problem is people are mistaken PUBLIC forums and PRIVATE forums
in a public forum you can say ,do, or post anything you like about anyone cuz the are not owned by any company .

on a company private forum there are rules to follow and the moderators job is to make sure they are followed .

my point is
you can't go into the FORD company forum and start sending people to dodge (THEY WILL ERASE YOU POSTS AND EVEN BAN YOU OUT OF IT )
but you can go into any other public auto forum and say anything you want about ford.
just my $0.02