wardlelatic Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I feel compelled to post this kind of statement to highlight the many issues being made about owtb and the way it is run by the lads behind the scene. By doing this I hope to make a few things clearer about why things are done or have been done in the past. Firstly, Owtb is here for all fans to discuss all things OAFC and general chat about life and its ups and downs. All members are welcome if they follow the basic rules needed to run a forum of this nature. Knowing a few posters on Owtb in the real world it is good to see many different people coming together no matter what walk of life they are undertaking, no matter there salary or eductional background, fans chat about everything all in one forum. New accounts being stopped - I made this decision about 6 weeks ago to restrict new accounts for the following reasons. Banned members were opening new accounts straight after being banned Some members were opening more than 3 accounts to inflate situations Stop known trouble makers joining the forum to cause trouble both on here and at games Censorship From my knowledge only one post has ever been changed on owtb after the club asked it to be and that is because one of the senior staff found the comment offensive and racist. I will not say that the club have not asked for posts to be stopped or culled as that is not the case but we have always worked around threads needing to be deleted. No comments or threads are deleted, they are still all visable on owtb in the back office element to the MB for staff to see. Some post from time to time have been moved or made invisable due to comments made that were deemed of a personal nature. Post being Moved and thread merged/closed We know this annoys some members but it is the only way a control can be used to ensure threads are not duplicated. The after match merge-tastic thread ensures that all the match talk is in one thread. With over 130 members on line after 6pm after a match, imagine the number of threads that would be posted on the same subject! The mean idea is to make the admin of the MB has easy as possible. Owtb as lost its fun element, this has happened for many reasons - recently I have taken the step of stopping RoyleArmy from posting on owtb. This is the first time I have singled out a member who has been banned but there seems to be chinese whispers making mountains out of mole hills about this in true Latic fan fashion. Royle Army did not crash the server on Wed night nor did we (admin) close the site for ANY reason. The main I.P Board sever went down and a ticket was issued to bring it back on line. This took time but was eventually fixed ! RA also had difficulties understand the 'Banter' members use on here and on other sites, this lead him getting frustrated with members which caused problems not just for himself, owtb team but other members too. I tried personally to help him use this and other message boards but along with other 'issues' he was unable to understand things like other members (this was not his fault) For these reason and others I am not willing to make public his account is now locked. Other members seem to have issues with the staff on here and like nothing more to post unappropriate material within thier threads just to wind people up and try to outsmart the system. I want to keep OWTB open and get back to how it once was. It has the capability to bring fans together on match days in many ways and keep fans informed during the week. Although at this time some tough decisions are being made by the moderation team time and that may change this train of thought. My final say is this, owtb is a message board on the internet, its here for everyone to enjoy ! Enjoy it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookers_Carl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I would also like to make a personal comment on this. As it is there for all to see at the moment, there is no point in keeping it hush hush. I had an in depth discussion on another messageboard regarding the moderation of OWTB, and the following needs to be made clear. Censorship Certain posters seem to have the attitude that they can say what they want, when they want, to whom they want, however they want, irregardless of the forum rules, and any attempt to curb this is deemed as censorship. Now without being disrespectful to the people who ran the site, please remember the later days of JK latics, which was nothing more than a free for all. Do you really want to go back to those days? OWTB Rules and Guidelines By signing up to OWTB, we are not insisting that you agree with the rules, but that you agree to abide by them. Zorrro, who has experience in moderating other forums as well as this one, will be the first to tell you that this forum is somewhat lenient to say the least, in the way it is moderated, compared to many others. We will NEVER remove a post regarding the running of the forum, if it is deemed constructive, in fact we welcome it. If however, it is deemed to undermine the moderators of this site, or we feel something has been posted to simply try to get a reaction, then we will remove it. The moderators Contrary to the belief of some, we do not do this as a full time occupation. Since it has become the official messageboard, it has helped the club out the club to the tune of 20k. We welcome any suggestion to help improve the board, and how its run, but if anyone thinks it is acceptable to do this by undermining volunteers, who give up their free time to provide a free service to latics fans (and who are under no obligation whatsoever to provide this free service), then we will have to agree to disagree on this.This is one thing roylearmy had difficulty with. As wardlelatic said above, Roylearmy had difficulty not only understanding the banter on here, but the fact that myself and the other moderators do not work for OAFC, and that we were not on this site full time and could not answer his PM's instantly. Sometimes, members of the moderating staff had up to 50 pm's off him in a single day. I am sure everyone will understand on here that you have to draw the line somewhere. My two cents If OWTB was to stop because of this, then in my eyes, the problematic minority have ruined it for the overwhelming majority, who made this board what it is. I personally don't want to let that happen, but when it gets to the point where this is being discussed on another messageboard, and blatant lies are being told about how myself and my colleagues run this messageboard, then as wardlelatic said, decisions need to be made, and I seriously have to ask myself as a moderator, to put it mildly, do I really need this crap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I feel compelled to post this kind of statement to highlight the many issues being made about owtb and the way it is run by the lads behind the scene. By doing this I hope to make a few things clearer about why things are done or have been done in the past. Firstly, Owtb is here for all fans to discuss all things OAFC and general chat about life and its ups and downs. All members are welcome if they follow the basic rules needed to run a forum of this nature. Knowing a few posters on Owtb in the real world it is good to see many different people coming together no matter what walk of life they are undertaking, no matter there salary or eductional background, fans chat about everything all in one forum. New accounts being stopped - I made this decision about 6 weeks ago to restrict new accounts for the following reasons. Banned members were opening new accounts straight after being banned Some members were opening more than 3 accounts to inflate situations Stop known trouble makers joining the forum to cause trouble both on here and at games As with many message boards things can occasionally get out of hand and the moderators have my admiration for keeping control of what is a difficult task. All in all I find owtb an enjoyable website and the merge-o matic is an excellent idea. Carry on the good work wardlelatic and the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I'm gutted we've lost RoyleArmy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankly Mr Shankly Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 All in all I find owtb an enjoyable website I do too. When people don't quote lengthy posts in their entirity that is. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedOwl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 good topic. i think these things needed to be said although i didn't realise the depth of it all. carry on the good work owtb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookers_Carl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 As with many message boards things can occasionally get out of hand and the moderators have my admiration for keeping control of what is a difficult task. All in all I find owtb an enjoyable website and the merge-o matic is an excellent idea. Carry on the good work wardlelatic and the team. Thanks We don't want to let the minority, ruin it for the majority. This used to be a fun place to be, even when we lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 good topic. i think these things needed to be said although i didn't realise the depth of it all. carry on the good work owtb. There's a thread on Oafc.co.uk RA posts under Mendi, not sure what the issues here are, as I say many of us have tried to accommodate RA on here the best we can but it was increasingly becoming 'his' site and I may be wrong but there was at least one other account with a very similar style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Thanks We don't want to let the minority, ruin it for the majority. This used to be a fun place to be, even when we lost. Well done for trying to get your point across on Oafc.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookers_Carl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Well done for trying to get your point across on Oafc.co.uk Thanks prozac Like I said on there and the message I posted above 1) If people were posting blatant lies about how you and your colleagues conducted your business, I am sure you would have done the same. 2) Some people seem to think they can behave how they wish on a forum, and any attempt to control this is 'censorship'. Racial abuse, personal insults, bullying etc are not tolerated offline, why should it be any different on a forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedOwl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 There's a thread on Oafc.co.uk RA posts under Mendi, not sure what the issues here are, as I say many of us have tried to accommodate RA on here the best we can but it was increasingly becoming 'his' site and I may be wrong but there was at least one other account with a very similar style. yeah, i thought so myself. not hard to miss, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayItLivo Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) Hmm, was there no other way to deal with RoyleArmy, like putting him on Moderator's approval? An outright ban seems a bit harsh. Edited October 1, 2010 by PlayItLivo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardlelatic Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 yeah, i thought so myself. not hard to miss, lol. It is his brother as i checked the account ! Although for the record that has also been closed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayItLivo Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) And while we're on the subject of censorship, why was my sig of a dog jumping out of a moving train window removed? Edited October 1, 2010 by PlayItLivo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardlelatic Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 Hmm, was there no other way to deal with RoyleArmy, like putting him on Moderator's approval. An outright ban seems a bit harsh. Like I mentioned there are other issues sherlock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senor_Coconut Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 As this is a kind of 'state of the board ' thread, what ever happened to oa_exile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookers_Carl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Hmm, was there no other way to deal with RoyleArmy, like putting him on Moderator's approval. An outright ban seems a bit harsh. This was an approach we tried. But as I said above, this lead to us sometimes getting up to 50 private messages a day from him saying approve my posts (as if we didn't get enough from him before this). It got to a point where we tried to tell him where he was going wrong, and we give him another chance to post without our approval, which again didn't work. And as wardle said, there were also other issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayItLivo Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 This was an approach we tried. But as I said above, this lead to us sometimes getting up to 50 private messages a day from him saying approve my posts (as if we didn't get enough from him before this). It got to a point where we tried to tell him where he was going wrong, and we give him another chance to post without our approval, which again didn't work. And as wardle said, there were also other issues. Ah, fair enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardlelatic Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 And while we're on the subject of censorship, why was my sig of a dog jumping out of a moving train window removed? Because I got a complaint about it and I too found it in bad taste and the footage may have should an animal hurting itself which is not right ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedOwl Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 what ever happened to the footy talk eh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafc0000 Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I think the mods have made the right call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardlelatic Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 As this is a kind of 'state of the board ' thread, what ever happened to oa_exile? We found out he was a manure fan :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayItLivo Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Because I got a complaint about it and I too found it in bad taste and the footage may have should an animal hurting itself which is not right ! I'm sure you have laughed at worse than a silly dog jumping from a moving train! I don't understand how I was allowed a sig of a woman quite clearly having sex, but when it comes to "Animals do the silliest things" that's off limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senor_Coconut Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 RA just found himself alone during a lull in board hate figures. Corp gone, 0000 has tea parties with vicars to attend, and I've barely got enough interest in the club to post anything negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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