|
...I'm sorry, but I've just got to say this:
The back-seat moderating going on around here is getting rediculous. I am absolutely sincere when I say that it is a far greater nuiscance to this forum than anything the hapless "newbies" have ever done.
Seriously: some guy makes his first post, and every time it even resembles some kind of request, a rampaging horde of "forum veterans" raids the scene and crucifies the poster on a burning cross in some random black family's front yard. For every one such post that's made around here, there are literally pages of flames and arguing over it.
If the self-righteous, holier-than-thou backseat-moderators are so concerned about the forums being clogged with requests and begging, then the first thing they can do is to shut the hell up and stop clogging up the forums with ten times the volume of posts.
The next step would be to take their own advice and actually use their brain. I swear, this has all gotten to the point that it's downright obsessive--maybe even paranoid. Seriously, guys, you don't have to destroy their heads or set them on fire, they won't turn red and assault you with freshly-mutated claws, and anyone who expects everyone who comes along to willingly read a long generic ToS or rules list needs to be slapped.
This isn't the only website out there, yaknow; and when you've got places like the BEArchive's forums and Gaia Online out there, it's inevitable that people are going to come in here unaware that there's a higher standard in place. Instead of harassing them to the point that they never come back, try to simply be patient and politely point them in the right direction.
Let me stress the key word there: politely. In an environment like the Internet, you don't know how proficient someone might be with your language; terms and phrases--and all their connotations--can easily go over the heads of whomever you're addressing. Toss in a form of communication as ambiguous as text into the equation, and you have yourself a molotov cocktail of misunderstanding.
Let's not even get into how quickly websites (or better yet, anything on the Internet) can vanish or move without warning.
Thus, you've got to try to treat any "misguided souls" with patience, care, and respect; they may very well end up returning the favor, in one way or another. Instead of driving away potentially-productive members, open their eyes so they can have a chance to unlock said potential. At the very least, it's unquestionably the mature and intelligent way of dealing with the situation.
Whatever you do, mark my words: the sort of barbaracy that has been taking place will only serve to destroy The Process Forum.
|