Is it time to leave?

[dcc]

I started the thread regarding the shooting a Va. Tech, and this evening I received the following message from cscgal telling me that it had been closed.

Hi dcc,

The following thread that you created has been closed

-----
Thread: Shooting at Virginia Tech
Forum: Geek's Lounge
-----

It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with our FAQ, which includes both our Rules in addition to a welcome guide to getting started at DaniWeb. Remember, DaniWeb's rules and regulations may vary slightly from other online communities you may already be familiar with.

I find it alarming that she would take this action and then insinuate that I have violated the rules and regulations pertaining to these forums without mentioning any specifics.

If I have offended or upset anyone by this thread then I do apologize.

I left this site for a five month period due to a conflict with a previous moderator because of their treatment of new member, and if I am to be reprimanded as ambiguously as this then perhaps I shouldn't have returned.

[jbennet]

Did you actually read danis post !?!

She said that by bickering about off topic ideas, posters were not doing the victims justice. I think that is a fair point. The message is automated. The read the faq warning is always included and you will recieve no warning on your record.

You yourself were not reprimanded. it was only sent to you as you were the initial poster, in order to inform you of its closure.

[dcc]

I have never seen this statement in any of messages that I have received from her before.

[jbennet]

Yes, like i said, thats an automated message. I have recieved many identical ones. It was only sent to you to inform you that a thread which you started was closed. The warning is standard and does not imply that you have been punished.

Please dont leave :(

[jbennet]

Its sent by the syatem after a thread is closed i think.

[happygeek]

Hey, please don't leave. The PM you got is an automated one that gets sent to whoever started a thread when it is closed.

If you read the closing post by Dani in the thread itself, you will see that she closed it because the 'debate' was turning into nasty bickering and doing no justice to the memory of the people killed at VT.

You were certainly not to blame for that, and it would not have been our intention to suggest you were - it does flag the question of whether the automated warning system worked properly in this case, and that is something Dani and I will look at and discuss.

In the meantime, please don't leave. Pretty please :)

[jbennet]

Thats exactly what i was saying. Dont leave :(

[Duki]

Don't leave =(

The thread just turned into a debate instead of a memorial... no harm on your behalf.
I took part in the discussion and I would like to publicly appologize. Some of my posts I'm noticing were out of anger and directly targeted a member of the forum. This was childish on my behalf. The thread being closed is a good thing... thanks Dani!

[The Dude]

Please dont leave the site!!

[dcc]

From what you members have said it would appear that the message that I interpreted to be an admonishment is in reality pro forma.

In this case it did at first appear that I was being instructed to police my own actions without being told of any specific reason. In my response to Dani I specifically mention my curiosity about being instructed to read the FAQ and rules, and in her last response to this she cited members finding the thread "insulting, upsetting, etc.", there was no response to my query about infractions. At that point it did indeed look like I was being singled out for some unspecified problem, and the rest as they say is history.

This type of statement shouldn't be sent unless it is warranted, and then should also be accompanied with an explanation of what infractions had been made. To the first time recipient this pro forma statement, especially in these type of circumstance and the message that followed, appears as a reprimand.

[The Dude]

No one was singling you out my friend,not to worry!

Dani was looking out for possible victims family members that may be here on our site,she was thinking of thier feelings.....

Everything is OK :)

[joshSCH]

Yea dcc.. not your fault.. The debate was not on topic at all.. A few members, including myself, went off on a tangent discussing something that was irrelevant and in no way significant to the thread.. Sorry.

[jbennet]

Yeah, im sorry too

[WaltP]

This type of statement shouldn't be sent unless it is warranted, and then should also be accompanied with an explanation of what infractions had been made. To the first time recipient this pro forma statement, especially in these type of circumstance and the message that followed, appears as a reprimand.

I agree. I've always been annoyed at these PMs when I did nothing wrong...

[jbennet]

Indeed. I got a prime example of one yesteray when dani merged the threads of some double poster. However the email made it sound like my reply had been deleted for double posting, making me angry.

[happygeek]

Dani and I are looking at ways we can improve this part of the system.

Bear with us, we are doing our best to make DaniWeb a friendly place but also one that is manageable for the moderator team. The automatic PMs sent replaced the need for mods to write them for each action, and has cut moderating time by 50% or so. Important seeing as everyone is a volunteer.

We had assumed that things were working OK as nobody has actually complained in all the time that the system has been running. Quite possibly becuase 99% of the time reminding the OP to check the FAQ and rules before posting is appropriate I would imagine.

But anyway, we are looking at the issue and will make changes if needed.

[dcc]

Dani PMed me with pretty much the same information and it looks like the majority of the recipients of this message are making infractions of the rules and need this reminder.

There is one thing that I can think of that would help in situations like mine, place a disclaimer in the message indicating that it was automatically generated with the closure of the thread. You then could extend this to state that the closure for the thread may have been do to infractions of the rules and regulations and then suggest that they read the FAQ and rules.

[Duki]

Dani PMed me with pretty much the same information and it looks like the majority of the recipients of this message are making infractions of the rules and need this reminder.

There is one thing that I can think of that would help in situations like mine, place a disclaimer in the message indicating that it was automatically generated with the closure of the thread. You then could extend this to state that the closure for the thread may have been do to infractions of the rules and regulations and then suggest that they read the FAQ and rules.

great idea