What is a Message Board

[Guest RichLB]

We've been skirting around this question in several threads. Here's my take on what a Message Board is and what it should not be.

 

I don't think a Message Board should be an open forum for whatever posters wish to post. It is the responsibility of the moderators/owners to steer a board in the direction they wish it to take.

 

Every newspaper with a "Letters" section (and even those which do not) filters what is printed and what is not. Cries of censorship are just shouting in the wind. Of course posts should be deleted, made invisible, etc. at the discretion of the "editor" (or in this case moderator). Those decisions are what gives any media its personality and what develops a loyal readership.

 

Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and other TV outlets do the same thing. So does the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, etc. Anyone who has ever chaired a meeting realizes that controls are necessary or the agenda will be taken over by cliques or those seeking only attention.

 

It really doesn't matter to me where a moderator/owner wishes to steer his board. If he wants a social club for cyber friendships, guide it that way. If he wants an information board, take the wheel and steer it that way. If debate on issues relevant to gay life in Thailand is his goal, take control and make it that way.

 

But, refusal to take control or to feel guilty when doing so is a sure way to guarantee a board will degenerate into a bland domain dominated by a few who come to play. That, of course, is ok if it's what the moderator/owner wants. My hope, of course, is that Scooby will begin to make clear what kind of board he wants and direct his moderators to make it reflect his wishes.

[Bob]

Methinks (meant with respectful humor) that you over-analyze everything. And I'm doubtful that anybody is going to come up with a definitive description or hard set of rules that intellectually boxes the thing into one corner or the other. And maybe a "message board" is even a little like pornography (hard to define but you somewhat know it when you see it)?

 

Scooby owns this particular piece of turf now and I suppose he can make every effort he desires to make an attempt to control the direction, rules, etc.. At the moment, I'm just going to wish him well, let him run it the way he sees fits, and hope it works to my satisfaction (meaning that if it feels comfortable to me around here, I'll hang around; otherwise, not).

[Guest Astrrro]

It seems on almost all forums there are disgrunatled posters who feel their rights have been violated, the mods aren't fair, etc.

 

He who pays for the bandwith sets the rules. If people don't like the direction a forum takes then they can vote with their feet.

[Guest fountainhall]

He who pays for the bandwith sets the rules. If people don't like the direction a forum takes then they can vote with their feet.

That's really the only way to run a Board, in my view. But with one proviso. He who pays for the bandwidth has to make the rules perfectly clear to all. A simple directive to keep on topic, no personal attacks etc. etc. is just not enough. Without going to the lengths of making it a schoolroom, there has to be framework within which posters are at liberty to post. Without it, you are going to have anarchy to a degree that is destructive.

 

With respect to RichLB, I do not agree that it should be steered in a certain direction. Without the freedom to post within the framework, you will end up with too restrictive a focus. Make this into Fox News, CNN, The New York Times or whatever, and you limit the readership to those who agree with that direction. This Board is having enough trouble maintaining its posting membership, let alone attracting new ones. Narrow the focus and I reckon it is doomed to failure.

[Guest RichLB]

With respect to RichLB, I do not agree that it should be steered in a certain direction. Without the freedom to post within the framework, you will end up with too restrictive a focus. Make this into Fox News, CNN, The New York Times or whatever, and you limit the readership to those who agree with that direction. This Board is having enough trouble maintaining its posting membership, let alone attracting new ones. Narrow the focus and I reckon it is doomed to failure.

I am again in the minority it seems, but I argue that it is this very lack of direction which is to blame for the difficulty in expanding the user base. As Bob said above while disagreeing with me, if he doesn't like what he sees he'll vote with his feet. My fear that without a defined and directed focus he may very well lead a parade.

 

And with equal respect to Bob, having the ability to make substantive suggestions is hardly evidence of "over analyzing everything." We already have an example of one message board where a lack of direction has caused the board to run amuck. As I look over the threads and posts of the last few weeks, I see a similar pattern developing here and think it would be a shame if the board becomes a playground for the drivel addicts.

[PattayaMale]

"But, refusal to take control or to feel guilty when doing so is a sure way to guarantee a board will degenerate into a bland domain dominated by a few who come to play. That, of course, is ok if it's what the moderator/owner wants. My hope, of course, is that Scooby will begin to make clear what kind of board he wants and direct his moderators to make it reflect his wishes." RichLB

 

I think RichLB is correct. It is up to the owner and his team to set the tone. But we are not children. Posters here have some great life experiences. Most have made really wonderful posts about Gay Thailand. There was a great sense of community. New posters were really welcomed. The opinions expressed were about, in some way, related to Gay Thailand. Some may give positives about a venue others may see be not as positive.

 

The hardest thing for me to understand is why this board needs such moderation. It seems some are trying very hard to ruin the board. Remember when in high school there was a substitute teacher, it was almost an invitation to some to misbehave.

 

Let's get back to what we know to be right. New members or guests should see this board as the most interesting, informative, fun and welcoming board about Gay Thailand.

[Guest fountainhall]

We already have an example of one message board where a lack of direction has caused the board to run amuck.

I know this refers to the thread in which beachlover and I were participants. I do not accept that it caused the Board to "run amuk", although I fully respect your view. It perhaps caused one thread to expand rather quickly which upset a number of posters. On the other hand, a number of other posters expressed their interest, if not enjoyment, of the arguments and debate.

 

I do, on the other hand, accept responsibility for trying to tiptoe around what I very strongly believe to be a major issue, instead of more frankly meeting it head on, thereby stringing it out. Mea culpa! Again, you will not agree, which is your privilege. But for me this is a major issue of principle. I have never posted anything that I believed to be to the detriment of the Board. In this case, it seems I have. In that case, I know what to do.

[Guest]

I know this refers to the thread in which beachlover and I were participants. I do not accept that it caused the Board to "run amuk", although I fully respect your view.

 

I think he was referring to SGT.

[Bob]

We already have an example of one message board where a lack of direction has caused the board to run amuck. As I look over the threads and posts of the last few weeks, I see a similar pattern developing here and think it would be a shame if the board becomes a playground for the drivel addicts.

 

Two comments:

(1) There are two message boards around that have a small minority of people who post the "drivel" (and that's being kind to phrase it that way, in my view) and I blame that simply on the fact that they have no rules and/or the moderator doesn't really enforce any rules. It isn't a "direction" issue unless you also mean simply a lack of rules or moderation. I don't see we have that problem here to any degree that it concerns me.

 

(2) I too find some posts, as you say, not to my liking....but, hell, I find hundreds of things everyday - even in conversation with friends - that aren't necessarily to my liking. My view on that is "so what" (as long as we don't have some frontal character assaults, variety is somewhat the nature of the world we occupy (especially the internet). Your comment about direction of the posts on this board as of late almost sounds like you're asking for some type of editorial/quality control and, if you want the board to effectively vanish, that's what you'll get (just my opinion) if you enforce those standards. Besides, let's face it, the on-going contest is effectively and artificially boosting what you might call the non-quality posts. That's fine, it's pretty easy for me to skip a thread I have little interest in (just as I'm hopeful all others have the freedom to skip anything I might say!).

[Guest Astrrro]

I know this refers to the thread in which beachlover and I were participants.

 

I thought he was referring to SGT. He mentioned a board not a thread.

[Guest RichLB]

Sorry, I messed up the quote function and when I tried to fix it, I made it worse - but I'm referring to Bob's last reply.

 

I'm having a little trouble connecting your two thoughts. On the one hand you blame problems on other boards to a "lack of rules or moderation" and then continue to warn that such "rules" or "control" will bring about the demise of the board.

 

I think you're over reading what I've written, though. All I've asked for is a statement of purpose - and I haven't indicated any preference one way or the other. Social chit chat, an information data base, or a gay issues debate board - all are legitimate. But, without a direction and the exercise of moderator control, my view is many will find it too cumbersome to wade through series' of replies heading in some other direction (ie, social rejoinders, extended debates, or whatever).

 

If, however, the purpose of the board - as that contest seemed to suggest - is simply to generate numbers, regardless of relevance, I suppose that's what we'll get.

 

And to fountainhall, I was actually talking about SGT and not any specific user.

[Guest BeginnersMind]

I am again in the minority it seems, but I argue that it is this very lack of direction which is to blame for the difficulty in expanding the user base. As Bob said above while disagreeing with me, if he doesn't like what he sees he'll vote with his feet. My fear that without a defined and directed focus he may very well lead a parade.

 

I'm with you on this Rich, but I fear we may have only Truth and Beauty on our side, and not numbers.

 

I'd remove anything that is clearly off-topic. I would delete this very thread if I were a moderator.

[Bob]

I'm having a little trouble connecting your two thoughts. On the one hand you blame problems on other boards to a "lack of rules or moderation" and then continue to warn that such "rules" or "control" will bring about the demise of the board.

 

No problem, I often have trouble connecting my own thoughts (as scattered as they may be at times).

 

If all you were intending to say in your opening post is let's have some reasonable rules and reasonable enforcement, then, yes, I "over-read" your initial post. But that's not the drift I got from it.

 

But, frankly, expressing only my personal preferences, I really don't want to see anything beyond that. Spending any time on a "statement of purpose" or a mission statement sounds again like some academic exercise which I've never found to be very useful. But, if that's what you want, why not privately talk to the owner and moderators about it? And although the owner and moderators might possibly be accepting of an open forum debate as to how they ought to mold or run their board, I feel a little goofy (maybe even a little ungrateful) to be doing it myself.

[Guest BeginnersMind]

Spending any time on a "statement of purpose" or a mission statement sounds again like some academic exercise which I've never found to be very useful.

 

Here it is -

 

Mission:

The Gay Thailand Message Center forums are provided as a venue for the discussion and exchange of information about Thailand and other related issues. It is a place to submit queries and share experiences, information, concerns, news and views, and maybe even a little humor for the benefit of members. Responsible, non-abusive, free and open dialog is fostered between members and between members and Thai guys in support of the Gay Thailand site mission. Abusive posts shall not be tolerated.

 

I propose the following change.

 

Mission:

The Gay Thailand Message Center forums are provided as a venue for the discussion and exchange of information about The Gay Thailand Message Center forums.

[kokopelli]

These posts remind me of a cartoon strip "PEANUTS" wherein Lucy gazes into the cloud filled sky and sees "the Ecstasy of Saint Catherine and the Martyrdom of Saint Laurence" while good old Charlie Browns only sees "cats and dogs".

 

Point is, I thought a forum was something simple where posters could express themselves and read the expressions of others. Why are some making this so complicated?

Call me Charlie Brown.

[Guest beachlover]

I think a board owner needs to develop their vision for the board, set clear rules and guidelines and then moderate the board with transparency and consistency.

 

When you don't have consistency, people don't know where they stand. This tends to be the source of much frustration on many boards. Someone may make a post they believe is within board guidelines, only to have it deleted. Others may be upset that another poster has made a post outside of board guidelines and not been moderated. Consistency is the key.

 

I think for boards like this, it's beneficial to allow fluid, conversational discussion to take place in natural way, whilst staying within certain rules (e.g. no personal attacks). But as with most things, hitting a happy medium is never black and white.

[TotallyOz]

Let's get back to what we know to be right. New members or guests should see this board as the most interesting, informative, fun and welcoming board about Gay Thailand.

 

I hope that we can all agree on this!