WTF

[Darksky]

Ok so I'm getting a little sick and tired of members who just do what they want and disregard rules. Do you just get rid of them or explain the rules to them. I have members that are very active but their postings are becoming more work for me because they do not post correctly, i.e. no credit of author, placed in wrong groups, bad upload and so on and so .... what do do, and why do people get weird when corrected? Are these not our sites we pay for and work hard at maintaining? People are f---ing rude!!!!

[Glenn Lynch]

yeah I have 2 of them they are so annoying cause they post unnecessary stuff and one is preventing for more people to join! WTF?!!! LOLz

[HELP SEEKER]

i have removed for this reason picture upload and text box from their profile, i am looking as well how to remove 'upload files' finction, so they post pictures where its appropriate.

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[Writer Chick {Diane}]

In the niche I'm in (fanfiction) there is a real problem with drama.  It's on nearly every fanfiction site out there.  When I formed mine I made a solemn vow to myself that I would NOT allow these stupid drama queens (and there are as many adult ones as teens) to ruin my baby.  

I advertise all over the place that we are a "Drama-Free and a Troll-Free" site.  You only get ONE CHANCE to behave like a decent human being on my site. If you start drama, you're gone.  No warnings, no second chances.  If you get smart with me when I tell you to stop whatever you're doing, you're gone.  If you start a fight with someone in a public thread. You're gone.  I'm a beyotch when it comes to keeping my site drama-free.  Didn't read the rules even though we provided you a link on sign-up??   Well, that sucks for you.  LOL That's the first thing I do when I join a site.  I've even went a step further with the drama.  If it gets back to me that you were a beyotch to one of our members (and it was unwarranted) on another social site, like Twitter or FB, you're gone.  I don't want members who show their a@@es on public sites like that.  I run a very tight ship.  I don't have thousands and thousands of members, but the ones I DO have love the site and the fact that it's drama-free.  They don't have to put up with the idiots and can actually hang out and have FUN while they're logged on.  So, they wholeheartedly support my beyotched-ness (is that a word?? LOL) 

If someone is posting stuff in the wrong place, we gently show them the error of their ways. Most people apologize and fix it.  If they get smart, they're gone.  I don't need their attitude OR their content. LOL 

My advice is, don't be afraid to suspend.  The integrity of your site is at stake...

[Susan]

We have to approve anything before it can be posted. We had the same problems with groups and blogs etc. Now we have a certain number of groups that we keep and people can post in those groups. All blogs are approved as are pictures. This may sound strict, but our site runs really well like this. 

We dont use moderators, just two admins. who take care of business... We are very choosy when it comes to who we let into our site. We have found that quality over quantity works best for our situation.

I really do know how frustrating it can be...

bb Rek

[Noble Empress Kazz Haneef El Bey]

You can change your settings where all blog posts have to approved to before being posted. That way you won't have to worry about deleting them; they won't even see the light of day if they violate your terms. 

[mark]

This issue can drive an NC mad. Don't go it alone, it's foolish. If you have a loyal, solid, membership base. Then your half way to sanity.

1. Find a few good members to become mods.
2. Clearly lay out your vision and have them follow.
3. Evaluate them over time and weed out the good from the bad.

[Darksky]

Wow everyone that has posted has very good points. I really appreciate the time you have taken out of your day to read and respond to my question. Thanks so much! I will be making some changes, however I do walk that fine line of being to controlling and not enough control.

I believe people need to be free to express themselves and ad to the articles, pictures, and videos. Different view points, mature debate, and questioning the norm are encouraged. The downside is the drama, drama,drama, and hate to say it and sound like a jerk......but the ignorance of people regarding web site etiquette is amazing. I also don't understand how folks just come on and reveal some very personal problems as if they have no filters......some of this leads to drama and i nip it right in the bud.

I have made a few groups to help deal with some of the non magickal issues....like an unemployment group where members can help each other with resume writing and job searches, and have started a group of support for members with addiction issues.

In all we have 70 groups, I now do not allow groups to be made unless the member has a very good idea and is willing to add to that group on a routine basis. Funny how folks get pissed when you tell them NO repeat groups.......as for adding mods/admins my wife and children are all the mods and admins I need, we have a clear vision of the site , its content, and the goal/mission set fourth for the site. I see haveing members assisting with that a magnet for issues and of course drama.

My other issue that I guess we all share are members with other sites, some similar and others with products. I allow no advertising at all, however you may place it on your own page, and spamming gets you tossed no ifs, ands, or buts  My son had a great idea and created a group called the marketplace... this is where folks can plug their products. I do have a few members with like sites and they are great they post when they can and help in answering questions I only wish I could be more active on their sites.....my apologizes. Maybe a new group for site creators only.......well I've rambled on a bit, so again thanks so much for all the positive energy towards my question!

Blessings of peace, abundance, and heath to you and yours!

Stop by some time for some tea and a slice of pie............

[Debby de Wilde]

I encourage members that do post correctly to help and correct members who don't. If they upload content that should be in a different group or simply does not belong I right away delete it and send them a message saying why I did so. 

It helps. Sometimes they leave because of that, but hey, you can not please them all. 

[Darksky]

Absolutely..............funny how folks get when corrected..................

[RF]

My site has been open since September 2008: http://www.starseeds.net/ currently we have 7200 members, which is good enough for me, I really don't care for quantity, I want quality. You won't believe all these years how many times people join the site only to break the rules! Some people just don't have anything better then to leave their bridges and troll our sites. Most times we have had to remove them even after giving them fair warnings, thankfully sometimes a good fair warning is all people need, sometimes people are just having a bad day. Being the site we are which is geared towards people with a cosmic interest, we also get quite a few loons who actually think that because our site is so strange that wed allow every tom, dick and weirdo to sign up and do whatever they want. ERROR...I don't think so. I don't really care if people don't put things in the right place so long as they respect one another on the site and respect members beliefs etc...it IS in our guidelines to put certain things certain ways when it comes to content, however, its not something we take too seriously, HOWEVER any racism, or judgement of anyone's path on the site is ABSOLUTELY forbidden, and the person gets only ONE warning and after that they are gone no if ands or buts about it. What I get tired of is say a Christian (no offense to you guys I love Jesus too!) will join up as a starseed only to reveal their true nature after they have been approved which is to "Save" us from our evils or whatever, we have many different paths on our network, from Voodoo practitioners to Buddhist, everyone gets along perfectly well for the most part, its fanatics who think their way is the only way that really burns my ass, those and people who are racist against one entire species of extraterrestrial... (Haha i know that s a little weird subject for this site lol) I really hate racism in any form. Some people really are just young and some "Adults" may be young-ins who disguise their age. I used do that when I was their age lol. Before I had my mods, running the site was SO difficult, but I asked my really close friends to help me and they are absolutely wonderful people! and do one hell of a great job. I so agree that moderating is a pain in the ARSE! but, its an admins job lol, whatta ya gonna do? What we do is if members post things in the wrong area, we paste an image that says it was posted in the wrong area and to please move it, then we close the discussion. It only happens in our forums since our forums are categorized. As for Articles/Blogs, we have guidelines on which articles get featured on the main page, and articles are approved before hand that way we know which ones to feature and which will not, this makes members WANT to post articles correctly to get more views....eventually they learn to differentiate between what constituents a well written article and what constitutes a discussion. And they also know if said discussion is not placed properly it also wont get any views because it will be closed and will drop off the front page due to lack of replies...on our front page we have the forum module set to latest replies...I also make sure I am notified whenever someone starts a discussion.

[Austin Walker]

There are so many excellent responses in this discussion. Hopefully mutual respect can outweigh the stupidity that anonymity seems to invite.

I had a small non-profit Ning network for two years. The members had a common background. We knew each other from a huge forum that had been left adrift by its parent corporation.. none of the mods were able to contact the admin for months. I started my first Ning site so that regulars wouldn't lose contact with each other if the big forum went dark (before Facebook sucked the life out of everything). For the most part it ran smoothly, although my admin approach was radically different. I chose "permanent admins" and "temp admins". The temps had limited abilities and were rotated monthly, and chosen based on participation in discussions and member recommendations. This was specifically to add a degree of democracy and a sense of shared ownership. For two of the perm admin spots, I chose two members who had been very active but notoriously trollish on the big non-Ning forum. I figured if they were responsible for keeping order, they wouldn't have the time or inclination to cause trouble. They turned out to be my most reliable and no-nonsense admins.

We had this policy on language. "You can use any profanity you want, but you can't cuss at someone, or name-call, or demean another person." It worked, especially for the teenagers. When they knew that they could swear, they didn't need to. And civility became the norm.

It's been two years since I closed that network and now I'm getting ready to launch a commercial one. I have no intention of trying to make it as democratic as my first one. My biggest concern, other than getting new members, is how to handle trolls. The tough talk about 'no second chances' sounds good, but does banning work if the problem member can sign up again with a new email address? I have already paid for a year of Ning Plus up front. I would feel a whole lot better if we could ban by IP address. You guys have already invested that time and money. What's your experience? Have you had to ban the same person repeatedly? Hope I'm not off topic Darksky but I feel your rant.