freedom of speech

[Anonymous]

modded by mr corsa

[a_manda]

its spelt speech tony not speach :oops:

[Turblue]

Let me just give you all some statistics.

1: About 800 posts out of over 46,200 are in Admin hands.
2: Less than 80 threads out of 3,500 are in Admin hands.

This represents about 1.7% of posts or threads.

I cannot believe that in the current politically correct world we live in, that anyone would find this an issue.

Our Mods and Admins will continue to maintain OpelAus as instructed. Remember, Site Rules state "The administrator's decision is final..."

[dug74]

Our Mods and Admins will continue to maintain OpelAus as instructed. Remember, Site Rules state "The administrator's decision is final..."


thats all good....but sometimes mods get things wrong and delete posts for no reason....i should know ...and i didnt break any rules....oh i did...i forgot to post a pic of my mods before i posted about it. :screwy:

[Aus-SRi]

As Turblue says, Our Mods and Admins will continue to maintain OpelAus as instructed. Remember, Site Rules state "The administrator's decision is final..."

We all know that not everyones going to be happy will some decisions we make, if you do have the odd occasion where a mod or admin has edited,moved or removed without explanation or that you disagree with the decision feel free to contact any of us and we will investigate it further and hopefully rectify the dilema and make everyone happey again :D

Thanks in advance fellow Opelaliens

[woody]

Have to say this is one of the more free and less "modnazi" orientated sites i've been a member of.

Mods/admins are (in my case/opinion) polite and at least contact you and give you time to modify yourself before just removing the thread.

My opinion.. for what it's worth

[Mitch]

Mods/admins are (in my case/opinion) polite and at least contact you and give you time to modify yourself before just removing the thread.

Not always.

[R3N]

What I think is... it shouldn't be up to the disgression(spelling?) of a single mod to delete a thread, maybe they should confirm with another whether it should be.

Just my 2c

[mr_astra_retired]

What I think is... it shouldn't be up to the disgression(spelling?) of a single mod to delete a thread, maybe they should confirm with another whether it should be.

Just my 2c
It is our job as mods and admins to make our own judgement on each individual thread in concern .

If we have any doubt on a certain topic then the opelaus team confers and takes appropriate action.

[R3N]

ok i meant discretion... i dunno wats wrong with me today... mispelling things and that

[woody]

Mitch...

I did say in my case/opinion - however looking around the posts today I see the belts are tightening with regards to the "Off topic" removal of comments and "unnessary comments" around the forum.

Not entirely sure why cos some of the comments i'd read previously and they didn't seem too out of order...

Seems i spoke too soon!

Woody

[Turblue]

It is very interesting to sit back and see what goes on here. It's a reflection of social standards, beliefs and perceptions.

All of a sudden, there seems to be "outrage" that a few posts/threads have disappeared. Ok, it upsets some people. I accept that. I also know, that very few posts are ever moved, editted or deleted.

Woody, it is perception (I feel) that is the reason people are now more conscious of moderation by Staff.

It is actually not the case.

[woody]

Ohh i dunno if i'm outraged... mildy miffed maybe, slightly perturbed at most...

I've not been a memeber nearly as long as most of the active users on this site but in my observation over the duration of my membership it seems that there have been more removals/edits by mods over the past two weeks then at anytime before.

Maybe i'm wrong, maybe it is just my perception.

I understand the need for mods/admins I understand the removal of threads/posts due to the bad/offensive content, i think a level of lieniency needs to be excercised on the removal of posts due to being "Off topic", banter is part of the process.. sharing witicisms and joviality is part and parcel of the nature of such forums, agreed if the topic goes way out then mods should step in. But i'm seeing single posts removed as they do not adhere to the letter of the topic.

If we move to a totalitarian ethic in the posts you loose some of the fun of being here in the first place. :(

all's i'm saying is - mods and admins you go do your job, love your work, but lets remember why we're members, we want to share information stories and updates to our cars, sure we may get slightly off topic sometimes (and i refer only to the slight deviances) but is that really soooo bad?

Woody

[Rhino]

OK Guys, here's what I think, and try not to assume 'tone' in my post, I'm just trying to let you know the duties I think we assume as moderators/admin.

The 'power' (term used loosely) of a moderator is that he/she under certain guidelines from admin - CAN control the forum in a manner that we see fit to ensure that things run smoothly and in the interest of ALL users <- key point!

At the end of the day, we do not have to justify ourselves and our actions. But take into consideration the following:

In cases where threads can get non PC - they will first be removed and then the admin and mods WILL discuss whether or not the decision was justified.

If threads have been posted that are WAY off topic, and considered forum spam (In my opinion like the one stating that we had a high number of users on a certain day - it is a site feature that tells us this anyway :bang: ), we discuss the appropriate action BEFORE we remove them. (Yes I know it is still there)

If it is found that the mod or admin was a bit harsh, it usually gets replaced. But we discuss all movements of threads as a team. There is no "What I say goes" attitude here.

This is a car club, not a dating service, self-help group or knitting class... Although we do offer an 'off topic'... topic (too many topics), it is IDEALLY our aim that it be kept informative and relevant to members at all times. Yes, it can be off topic AND relevant.

Whilst you may find some decisions made by moderators to be harsh, I think you will find that it contributes to a well run forum (I really do think you have to agree), free from member bashing, spam, and 'incidents', whatever they may be. Keep in mind that whilst we think it is fantastic that we have over 800 members... there are 9 of us trying to make sure they don't offend or upset anyone else!

We do thank you all for on the whole, making our life easy and understanding our decisions. But like most things, there are exceptions to the rule and we do have to step in occasionally.

In summary, keep it:
• relevant
• appropriate
• clean

Personal motto:
If you wouldn't want to see it printed on the front of the newspaper - DON'T WRITE IT.

[Vectracious]

I think what some people are forgetting is that our membership accounts on OpelAus.com are a privilege granted by the Administrators, not a right. The Administrators are the ones who run, update, maintain and pay for this forum, therefore we play by their rules.

If someone came into your home and started breaking your rules, would you just sit by and let them do it, or would you put a stop to it?

So if an Admin/Mod has edited/removed your post, well they would have had good reason to, and it's their right to keep their house in order. And if you think that they are being over zealous, well, don't let the door slam your ass on the way out.

My $0.02

[Mr T]

With regard to Rhino's and Turblue's post - I understand your position of trying to keep the site clean and decent for all to view.

Three weeks ago I had a disagreement with the "conditions" of OpelAus, so I made a post about it. I believe that this post was polite and the idea was for this post to allow comment from other users and generate opinions of the issue.

This post was removed within about 10 mins of me posting my carefully constructed wording as to not offend. I was not notified by any admin/mods and this post still has not been released back into the forum as promised.

I really enjoy OpelAus, the social scene is good as is the forum its self, but if admin/mods continue to remove posts/threads for personal and/or ill informed political reasons than eventually people will soon become bored and will socialise elsewhere.

[Rhino]

Sorry to hear that mate. I am not aware of the post...

[Anonymous]

So what happens when a Admin/Mod. violates the Rules/Conditions of the Site/Forum?

I'm generally happy with the Running of the Site, Theres still creases that need Ironing out.

I'm happy to talk to ANYONE in PM,MSN,Phone :)

[frankie9fingers]

Come on Glenn, post a more tricky question!! We get rid of the post and all the bickering happens behind the scenes until someone has to buy them a rose to get over it. It's happened b4 and it'll happen again.

[dug74]

I agree...what happens when mods violate the rules?????

This happened to me 2 weeks ago when i posted about my sharkfin and sunroof and the post was deleted within 5 minutes by a mod who wont be named....REASON: I need pics of the mod before i could post about them :screwy: :screwy:

Since then....things are looking better....and i have settled down..

I was given a pm to explain why my post was deleted.

[jch75]

Freedom of Speech...............

ALIENS vs PREDATOR sucks!

[Anonymous]

Maybe we need a Royal Commission Enquiry :lol:
Or we ALL just give each other a Big Hug :D

I do have a Opinion that I was going to voice, Heck I was sitting here typing it for close 30mins before i realised I'm wasting my time.

But like someone has pre-mentioned, This is a Car Club.
There is not 1 Car Club that runs 100% like Clockwork without Issues or People slagging off others.

But we do need healthy Disscussion when Issues arise. Some people do hold Grudges, Its a matter of time b4 someone gets angry and..... Well, Who knows how peoples minds works.

In Closing, People should be allowed to voice opinions without Reprecussions.
Thank You :D

[Turblue]

Unbelievable.

Posting your complaints in open forum.

GREAT IDEA..!!!!

So when we get newbies, the impression they get is tainted. More people are happy than not. Are you all willing to destroy this site because of whining and stupid posts.???

Let me make a few things perfectly clear. There is no room for discussion on this.

- No one has paid a membership fee.

- This forum is provided free of charge to all. Costs are absorbed by the Owner in full.

- Policy is decided by Staff. End of story.

- The simple fact is, very few posts are ever touched by Staff. I have the statistics to show this.

- Members have a very high degree of latitude in posting.

- If you need to whine. Do it in a PM. Keep it out of open forum.

- If you are upset by having a post moved/deleted. Get over it. It was done by a Mod/Admin. They decide.

- What happens if a Mod/Admin get it wrong? That's up to the Committee and Owner of OpelAus. They decide.

These are the facts of life. End of story. Everyone, get a grip and get on with it.

If you do not like this, leave. I will delete your username from our database.

[The Godfather]

I hope this discussion is over . We have been trying to understend people's needs as much as we can but there is a limit to everything and now the limit has been reached.
So if you are not happy here no hard feelings go and use your freedom of speech in somebody else's forum.
8) 8) 8)

[Anonymous]

Wayne PM Sent. :)

[Aus-SRi]

ditto to what WAYNE and TONY has just said

[TheGuest]

I kinda have to agree.. its not like any of us paid to use this forum.. it would be a different story then.