New forum moderator required

[sam9s]

Firstly, no one said HFV has bad members or anything like that. Also, the plain fact is that more mods will be better. You can read in Venkat's post that he is overwhelmed. So why not share the burden?.

And I never said, that you meant HFV has bad members .........and no!......... more mods doesnt necessarily mean things are gonna be better, its quality over quantity .... as simple as that ........

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

+1




(Just to demonstrate that there are limits, and that there really is stuff that should be deleted,
and probably is on just about all the better forums, including this one)

.

 

[sbg]

And I never said, that you meant HFV has bad members .........and no!......... more mods doesnt necessarily mean things are gonna be better, its quality over quantity .... as simple as that ........

"too many cooks spoil the broth"

 

[ememm]

And now...
Since this thread has the attention of the moderators...

Please remove the 'more than three letters' and 'minimum 30 sec' limitations in forum search.

These are what I felt, as a newbie, as most annoying things about HFV. It really discourages members from using search and start new thread instead.

I understand these are present to preserve server bandwidth, but its really hard to search few things with the limitations. Ex: Almost 90% of the related threads use X20, V20, X30 etc for panasonic plasmas. Now how can we search for relevent information about these models?

OP, sorry for attempted hijack, but couldnt help utilizing this thread for the attention.

BTW, I find HFV quite civilized and its discussions are useful. I dont think currently it DEMANDS more moderation, but yeah, if more moderation can make it better, its well and good.

So as to prevent this post from being completely OT, here are my thoughts:
- I dont think there is anything wrong in wishing luck for a sale. I prefer to see this as a community rather than a business place.
- I dont think there is anything wrong in using SMS lingo as long as it easily conveys the message. If it doesnt, silence is the best form of contempt.(borrowed line)
- I think people should not rely completely on moderators for making the forum better. For example, they can point people who start new threads, on existing topics, to the right threads or at least warn them. How many of us complaining have actually done that?
- I dont understand what moderators can do about people recommending Wharfedale.

Okay that reminds me...
I have one more complaint - I find many questions about HiFi being answered with 'buy what YOU find is the best'. While that is a perfectly valid and safe answer, isn't it obvious that the poster wanted more help than that? I am not saying people dont give good recommendations, but I feel the tendency to give such safe answer is increasing.

Okay, enough rambling. Thanks for reading,
EmEmm

 

[olly42]

OK, here goes:

1. Remove all posts that are of no substantial value to a thread. Repeat offenders get infracted, temporarily banned and then perma-banned. (Eg. best wishes for your sale etc)

Bluu and all the other forum members who made this point - Point taken in good spirit - and apologies to one and all - I seriously did mean what I said because I know how it feels when you end up selling something which you bought at one point of time but now decide to part ways for XYZ reason - there was no other intention at all. Will think twice before making any posts

 

[captrajesh]

Remove all posts that are of no substantial value to a thread. Repeat offenders get infracted, temporarily banned and then perma-banned. (Eg. best wishes for your sale etc)

forum members who made this point - Point taken in good spirit - and apologies to one and all - I seriously did mean what I said because I know how it feels when you end up selling something which you bought at one point of time but now decide to part ways for XYZ reason - there was no other intention at all. Will think twice before making any posts

With due regards to forum members making such suggestions, I'm not sure if taking such extreme views would be of any use. As some wise man said 'There is nothing called absolute in this world. Nothing black and white but only just shades of grey'

Conveying all the best for the sale has more meaning than the one referred. At least in this forum.

I'll quote another wise man, a mythological figure.

'Do your karma without thinking about the outcome'

'Do what is dharma to you. Others' dharma is unsuitable for you'

 

[olly42]

Capt I am in sync with what you say the reason I made that comment was to clear the air of why I said what I said and second I am here to get knowledgeable on Audio Video Gear, over a period of time share my knowledge with new comers. More importantly - to make friends with folks who are on the same wave length in this forum Have a good day ahead

 

[marsilians]

Im not up for the job and hence don't want to be a Moderator. I would have voted for myself otherwise.

The "I have the power, so screw you approach" is not common. If it is; its wrong and that does not mean we just put up with it when there is scope for improvement. Its common on the Forum's that don't do proper moderation; eg : hifivision. If you guys feel we don't need a better moderator, so be it. I needed to express my views. Mr. Wharfedale does not cut it for me.

You made an assertion in your first post without providing facts. What is causing you think moderators are required apart from the useless posts following your first one.

 

[marsilians]

For something that took place just today, why does the moderator insist a "Reason for sale" for a product if the owner just wants to sell it. Why is "reason" compulsory? If there is "no reason"; its just unacceptable. How and why?

.

I have bought and sold a large amount of components online in many forums. Reason for sale is always a good thing so you are not coming as trying to sell a defective component or a recently repaired one. How hard it is to put down the reason is for an upgrade?

Let's get real and some sense by putting ourselves in the buyers shoes and trying to see if the For Sale or any other Ad would be something you would go for based on the description.

 

[marsilians]

.....
btw Dodge makes some cool SUV's and Detriot is the paradise.

I know this is off topic but wanted to share something re: Detroit.

I was there earlier this year on a business trip and went to see the devastation. It is practically a ghost town/city. American car industry has taken such a big hit that it will be hard to know when it will come back to life. Yes you see many US brands sold in India but its not enough to get them out of the hole.

Japanese, Korean and German industries have pretty much killed the local car industry in US and Canada.

 

[anm]

for search use google:
<your keywords> site:hifivision.com

 

[moktan]

a moderator could be someone with loads of knowledge, he could be a purist with the language, internet etiquette etc
but along with all those vital attributes he should also be someone who can empathise with people, especially new ones..he should not forget how it must feel to be a newbie looking for advice..

 

[imgene]

I want to add that the moderator must not be biased in his follow of rules, On one instance I had seen the moderator warning a user for bumping his sale while others were let off without any warning.

If quantity is effecting the quality it is time to correct it and get more hands on the deck.

 

[baijuxavior]

Re: expected cole haan shoes

cole haan shoes

Testing moderation?

 

[Spidey]

Hi guys,

I personally think Hifivision is well moderated and most important it follows principle of democracy and self-discipline.
It is not like autocratic forums like TeamBHP or TE, where some moderator is sitting on keyboard to snap at you, curse you, critisise you and impose illogical rules on us.

It is us forum members to maintain the decorum and standard of forum.
Or if you need a moderator to kick you from time to time , it is your choice.

regards

 

[jaudere]

1)The most important qualification of a moderator should be that he should not love his own audio- visual gear. If he loves it, he will spend more time enjoying it rather than moderating the forum.

2) I am humbled to know that many members here are active on 2 or more forums. Guys, how do you manage to do that in addition to listening to music? HFV itself is enough for me to get drained.


The purpose of this seemingly useless post is to say that 'Let us spend more time in enjoying our audio visual equipment'. We can help moderators by

1)pointing them to the useless posts/remarks/personal attacks.

2)if someone doesnt like a recommended product , he should give better option in similar price range.

I am suprised that Sandeep has seen only Wharfs being recommended. I have seen so many recommendations of Usher, Polks,Paradigms, Qads,PSB,MS,Monitor audio, Missions,Dali etc. In fact personally I have heard polk,infinity,KEF,JBL,Missions & PSB.All the other names is know is because of this forum.

One thing a would like is Not to have the offers on home page. Most of the times i access the forum on mobile & those advs with photos take too much of time to get downloaded.

 

[srinisundar]

1)The most important qualification of a moderator should be that he should not love his own audio- visual gear. If he loves it, he will spend more time enjoying it rather than moderating the forum.


One thing a would like is Not to have the offers on home page. Most of the times i access the forum on mobile & those advs with photos take too much of time to get downloaded.

I agree and disagree on 1st point and last point.

Why the heck/hell the moderator should not love and hear his own gear, itz like mentioning a family doctor should not take care of his own family

Second i stop browsing on mobile and itz an pain, i agree.

 

[KonfuSed]

Whoaaaa, so much of discussion about moderation went past recently. IMHO, HFV as of now is well moderated and occasional humours etc doesn't devalue the forum and infact works as a medicine for the stressed souls. We are not a huge forum forum with 50k+ members where one(mods) needs to be on their toes all the time. If the moderators/super admin feels that they need help then they surely can select someone active from the boards to become a moderator. Probably as of now they are quite ok with current load of work. So till then, chill!!!
And if you want to help with moderation then please do so. There is a "Report Post" button on top of every post, use that and let the mods know if there is anything which is not in good taste. Do your bit and help the forum to run smoothly.

About the Wharfedales (it's OT again), well Sir, I guess you just need to open up your eyes, as there are so many other brands that are being recommended. Infact when I was buying my stuff, I was recommended MA, Usher etc instead of Wharfe's(albeit I went for Wharfes as they suited my budget and my ears best in that range).

 

[gobble]

I am now primed for a new thread - "Why people hate Wharfies ..." hyeah:

Somebody please do me the favor ...

--G0bble

 

[venkatcr]

I accept. However trash needs to be filtered. There is just too much of it allowed right now on hi fi vision. The idea is to reduce the number of unecessary replies to threads that are of no use. Someone wants to responds to a thread just to show involvement. There is no need. We want useful responses to reach a person. Not some dude who decides to suddenly write a word in his mother tongue and expect everyone to understand what he/she is saying.

1. Remove all posts that are of no substantial value to a thread. Repeat offenders get infracted, temporarily banned and then perma-banned. (Eg. best wishes for your sale etc)
2. Ensure all posts are written in non-SMS, English language. Repeat offenders get infracted, temporarily banned and then perma-banned.
3. Disallow cross-posting. It's part of the rules but I've seen many people open threads in different sub-forums to get exposure. Repeat offenders get infracted, temporarily banned and then perma-banned.
4. Disallow new threads for existing topics. There must be a hundred threads about TVs in the 40K range. If everything lives in the same thread, the information get collated automatically. New members who default can be informed and senior members can be infracted.

Moderation can be done as more or less as a housekeeping activity. I too get bored on seeing the "All the best for your sale", repeated "LCD under 40k", etc posts. All I do is coldly walk over those posts which doesn't interests me. But I do understand that these acts as an overhead to this forum.
Merging similar threads and deleting the threads which haven't gathered much interest and haven't attracted a minimum number of replies can be taken up

All these require a different approach to moderation. To start with, all posts on HFV have to be completely blocked. Then, a moderator looks at each posts and either approves it or deletes it. Actually I, for one, will be happy to do that. But as I said before it has it's own pros and cons. The instantaneous interaction that we have today will be lost. Even if I work for 8 hours a day on HFV, which I cannot, I will not be able to approve more than 50 posts a day. If all the 4 moderators work 8 hours a day, we are looking at 200 posts. Realistically, do not expect more than 50 posts going live in a day.

What we are doing today, excepting for For Sale, is a post mortem exercise. We delete or moderate after a post has gone live. This is where we need the help of all members. I do not, for example, see more than 2 or 3 reports a week.

Totally agree with Gobble here. A little bit of healthy humor doesn't hurt at all provided it is not demeaning someone or hurting any sentiments

And that is what exactly was happening or was on the verge of happening some time ago. Innuendos and timely bits of humour is always welcome. But, when that tends to become sarcastic and the use of sexual overtones and foul language, we had to take a call. I always look forward to Gobble's replies. He has the perfect timing of Nagesh, one of the greatest screen artists I have even seen.

Blasto - Yes, Venkat's insight was very helpful. However, I still think I would have been up for it. Not anymore though.

What happened? Chickening out so quickly?

I don't think there is anything wrong in using SMS lingo as long as it easily conveys the message. If it doesnt, silence is the best form of contempt.(borrowed line)

SMS is all right for a mobile phone. Here, there is no limit and you can write with fluency.

I think people should not rely completely on moderators for making the forum better. For example, they can point people who start new threads, on existing topics, to the right threads or at least warn them. How many of us complaining have actually done that?

None to very few? Unfortunately even I have stopped doing that any more. I have seen many threads where the OP pleads for some reply/answers.

I have one more complaint - I find many questions about HiFi being answered with 'buy what YOU find is the best'. While that is a perfectly valid and safe answer, isn't it obvious that the poster wanted more help than that? I am not saying people dont give good recommendations, but I feel the tendency to give such safe answer is increasing.

Look at this way.

If I recommend, say, Wharfedale, I will have SandeepMohan calling me Mr. Wharfedale. If I recommend say, Epos, I will have another member wondering very loudly if I was getting paid by Epos. If I recommend say, B&W, I will have another member thinking aloud whether I assume everyone has too much money. If I recommend a local product that is inexpensive and really like, someone will wonder if the owner of the company has taken me out for dinner. Another will wonder why I am recommending a product that does not have a reputation and improper building and testing methods.

If I write a detailed technical analysis of a product, it's advantages and disadvantages, I will have a whole lot of people clamouring that I am too analytical and ultimately what matters are our ears and not the technology. I have many times tried to tell people that a computer based audio system hooked to a good DAC can beat the pants off a CD Player anytime. The replies have always been negative.

At the end of the day, the OP who asked for advise, gets so confused that he is back to square one.

I want to add that the moderator must not be biased in his follow of rules, On one instance I had seen the moderator warning a user for bumping his sale while others were let off without any warning.

Would any member take the effort of looking at so many threads and report to us?

I want to ask everyone. Would each one of you ACT as a moderator, look at all threads, and send a report to me which thread needs moderation and with what? Let me see this happening without fail for 15 days. Then we will talk.

And, I would like to know how to answer this question I received by PM today:

"I have been reading reviews of the wharfedale 9.5 FS, the centre, sub and the dfs (the one showcased in the group buy).
the reviews all say they are awesome speakers. The sub is however rated a notch lower. I cant hear them in Goa and travelling for the moment is ruled out. By the time the group buy time will expire. Please let me know if I can blindly go for them without an audition and if yes what ht receiver to pair it up with...."

Do you see the onus this gentleman has placed on the person he is sending the PM too? What if my recommendation is incorrect? I don't even know what kind of sound he likes. As I said sometime ago, for this gentleman, this is a one in a lifetime purchase. Frankly, I don't even know if many of you will even understand what I am talking about here.

Anyhow, as I said before, listen to foot tapping music, and scream at a good looking man/woman on the screen. Hey, that is one thing I want to do. Next time Rajnikant appears for the first time in a movie on my HT, I am going to jump up, dance, and whistle. If it can be done in a hall, why not at home?

Cheers