Greg

Actually, that already exists. Look up in the sub-navigation and select New Content - Look on the lower left, select "Item I participate in" narrow the time period, and you've got a full list of the forums you been on recently. It's not on the main screen, but once you set the specific setting on the New Content page, they should stay the same each time you return.

I'd like to have a sincere discussion about what type of improvements we can make to the MLW forums. I want to attract more members, and I think the best way to do that is to appeal to the existing membership for ideas and opinions on what we could do to make this forum the best in class. I'm not just interested in new forum features, but modifications to existing forum features. This is an open thread, so lets hear from everyone, but PLEASE keep it on topic. The sky is the limit, I'm interested in all suggestions.

No problem, seeing I have answered the question, I am going to close this thread.

First off, I removed all of the off-topic chatter. The support forum should only contain replies that are relevant to the specific question asked. Also, Charles and I are going to be cracking down on the off-topic chatter in the other areas of the forum. However, I will be addressing this issue in another support thread shortly. Ok, out of the box there is no functionality for me to read PMs. Nor can the mods read PMs. The mods and I can read PMs if a message in a PM thread is reported -- in which case we can then read the whole discussion (for context). There is a plugin that I can install that would allow me or the mods to read PMs, but i have never really seen a reason to do that. PM are private and should stay that way. HOWEVER, i do have the ability to read PM via the MySQL database (everything is stored in the DB), which I would only do if there was an legal complaint. Bottom line, I have enough things to do; sifting through members PMs is not something I want to waste my time doing.

Other than myself (Joined in 2000, and I was the first official member of the forums), Black Dog is the oldest active member. He's been with the forum since back in 2003. As to why people don't stick around indefinitely, lives and prioritizes change as we get older.

Well, I think it was the wrong choice, but it was his to make.

Members can request their account is deleted, but their posts stay.

Note: if requested, I will remove the account but not the postings of a member. The member's name will be removed, but I can't remove existing postings, as that would leave large holes in the discussion. Not to mention that postings are often quoted by other members, which would be next to impossible to remove.

Great, I agree, lets work on making it even better.

I want everyone to remember, I've been doing this a looong time... In Jan 2014, it'll be 14 years of moderating and managing nearly all aspects of MLW. We can all agree, this forum is not a cesspool of hate or partisanship like so many others out there on the Internet. You can agree or disagree with my methods, but the proof in staring you right in the face. Do I make mistakes time to time?... Absolutely. But publicly admitting them over and over again in multiple threads, so specific individuals can point to them and say, "SEE! HE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING!!!" isn't going to make the forum a success. Nor is allowing these types of threads to fractionalize the existing membership into those who agree or disagree with the moderator action and or the general rules. I can't, nor do I want to, deal with every specific infraction. To use the analogy that was brought up in a previous thread, the police can not possibly catch you every time you speed -- that's unrealistic. But if you speed every time you get behind the wheel, you'll eventually get a ticket... and then another... and then another, until you've got enough demerits to warrant a suspension from driving. And if you continue to repeat your poor driving habits and flagrantly speed, you'll be caught, charged and your license will be revoked. The situation in these forums is no different. Not all infractions can nor will be dealt with. But eventually Charles and or I will catch up with you. We'll notice and we'll warn you. Once those warnings hit a threshold, you'll be suspended. If it continues after that, you'll be banned. That has always been the way I've run the forums, and it is not going to change. Lets not forget, the original criticism of lack of communication of warnings has been addressed. That criticism was legitimate; I readily admitted it was an oversight and I FIXED the problem. This thread, and any subsequent thread about specific moderating actions will be ignored and possibly closed. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, as there is a point when things cease to be helpful and start to become destructive and vindictive.

Well, I've had about enough of this nonsense. Ignore the rules at your own peril. If you do not like the way these forums are moderated or the rules that are clearly outlined, leave. Otherwise for those of you who disagree with me and you choose to flout the rules, you'll be shown the door.

You may have been warned previously, but didn't get the warnings - cause the notifications system wasn't working. It's fixed now, so no one has any excuse. Again, this issue is resolved. You can keep posting various analogies and arguments about how you feel slighted by being suspended with or without warning. It won't make any difference at this point, as the error with the IPB forum software has been fixed. You will now be properly notified if you are given a warning and if you are suspended or banned. Keep your comments civil and show everyone respect and you won't ever have to worry about any of these issues.

Not sure how you could be suprised, the forum rules on insults are very clear: Can you all not see the ridiculousness of your arguments? I am dumbfounded that you think you have a legitimate complaint or argument. When you make a "minor throwaway line" that includes an insult to a member or third-party it is not ok. I can't see in what world calling someone a "dumbasses" can be considered a innocent throwaway line -- did it somehow strengthen your argument? No, it weakened it; it causes your opponents to completely disregard your argument, because you can't make a valid one without resorting to petty insults. I have fixed the communication issue with the warnings - that was a legitimate complaint, as it's not fair if a member is not notified of a warning from the moderators or myself. I have also made it clear that you can request an explanation for any decision made on this forum. I am not, nor is Charles, interested in secretly deleting or manipulating anyones postings or the forum as a whole. No one has ever been suspended or banned for their beliefs, never. I now consider this issue resolved.

Onsite notifications were working, but unless the member explicitly selected the option (to be notified of a warning) in the notifications settings, they would not have recieved anything in messenging or in the notification area. I have overriden any personal preferences, and all members will be notified in the Notification section whenever a warning is issued. The email notification functionality was NOT working, but that functionality has been restored. I also choose to override any individual member preference relating to email notifications too, meaning that any time a warning is issue, the offending member will get an onsite AND a email notification of the infraction.

Ok, I've track down the problem. Because of a configuration issue with the send mail functionality, IPB wasn't sending out notices (of PMs or warnings). I won't go into details, but the wrong configuation setting was selected in the forums administration settings. As far as I know this isn't a issue that was present in a past, but I can't be for sure when it occured. However, it likely started around the same time as the major upgrade we did over a year ago. I can now see why there was a misunderstanding between some of the members, the moderator and myself. I have also modified the notification settings for all members. When someone is warned, an email will be sent to you AND a notification will be posted in the Notification section of your profile (the little button between the Messenager and Profile links). Note, all members are required to keep the email associated with their forum account up-to-date and active. Anyone that has been warned, suspended, banned or had a post or thread removed and or closed, is free to request an explanation from me. You can simply reply to the email that will be sent out with the warning, message me via the forum, email [email protected] or fill out the form at: http://mapleleafweb.com/contact Thanks

Ok, everyone's criticism for the lack of communication has been noted. However, I should note that any disciplinary action is ALWAYS accompanied by a warning. However, this jives with the above accusations that members were warned/suspended/banned without notice. So I actually logged in as a test user and actually sent myself a warning. Low and behold, no warning arrived in my email inbox. Therefor there appears to be a issue with the warning system. Give me some time to figure everything out and I will update this thread when I know more. Thanks

So let me get this straight... we've been too hard on some of you (i.e. those of you in this particular thread), but not hard enough on others (i.e. those you don't agree with)?

Trolling is defined in the rules of these forums. However, in practice, defining somone as a troll or something as "trolling" is a subjective task. It's a task that Charles and I take seriously, but obviously everyone has different thresholds. A single transgression isn't likley to get someone suspended or banned - we always give everyone the benefit of the doubt. As I mentioned, if we took that strong of a stance, there would be few left in these forums. However, repeated incidents occuring over a short period of time will often get our attention.

I have looked around, I simply believe you are over-stating the problem. There are certain members who bother other specific members, big deal. This forum is no different than the real world, there are certain people who grate other people. If you don't get along with someone, avoid them or ignore them. I can't force members to respect each other, and Charles and I won't even try to enforce respest, because that's impossible. As to the trolling, again, I believe you are overstating the problem. Eventually those who engage in troling will be premenantly removed from the forums. That's the way things are done in these forums, slow and incremental moderation. In the mean time, ignore them and do you best to elevate the discussions through reasonable debate. I could come down hard on everyone and do a lock-down and sweep of the forums for all members who have transgressions in their past, but there wouldn't be many of you left.

You can climb down off the cross Smallc, no one is going to ban you for opening yet another thread whining about moderation. Everyone here is responsible for what the things they say... period. If you were warned or disciplined, it was because you broke the clearly defined rules. You cannot blame anyone for the mistakes you make, particularly the moderator or myself. I should note, the VAST majority of the reports are frivolous and are simply ignored by Charles and myself - Charles and I are not stupid; we can tell when someone is trying to manipulate the reporting feature. If you follow the rules, don't run your mouth off and ignore trolling, you have NOTHING to worry about. However, if you like to get excited and counter trolling and those you disagree with with malice and spite, your days are number in these forums, and I look forward to the day when I can send you packing. The overall quality of the forums depend greatly on the ability of the forum members to take the high road when confronted with trolling and other undesirable behaviors. Here is a question for all of you who are complaining: If you believe this forum is heading in the wrong direction, what have you done to reverse the trend? If you can’t answer that simple question, perhaps you should consider the impact of your actions.

You've posted 172 times as of today and you've been around since May 2013 - and you think you've seen enough to call Charles biased? That's rich! I'll be blunt with you, you don't have a clue what you're talking about. Follow the rules or leave. You clearly broken the rules and your posts were removed. You have NOTHING to complain about. If you continue to whine and complain, I will close this thread and you'll be shown the door.

Of course, I didn't mean to imply that you were accusing me of that attitude! I just saw an opportuntity to explain myself and my approach to moderation. Thanks!

I don't think comparing this website to a business is the best analogy -- as we don't sell anything; and no one here is a customer. It might be more apt to consider this like a private park. So long as everyone is polite and respectful, you can use the park to do whatever you like. But if you repeatedly break the stated rules of the park, you will be asked to leave. Also, I may have used the "take-it-or-leave-it" attitude in the past, but ONLY in the context of explaining the rules and guidelines of the forums AND only directed at those who either were complaining or breaking the rules.

Kimmy's right, this forum isn't operated by the Federal or Provincial Government (nor has there ever been any Fed or Prov funding), so just about anything we do on here can't be considered "unconstitutional". I've been running this forum since 2000 - I think if I was going to secretly manipulate the board to promote a particular partisan agenda, it should have been obvious by now - don't you think? I believe the forum has a great mix of ideas and ideologies (and even partisanship). I have the upmost confidence in Charles AND Micheal. If you get banned from these forums, it is because you repeatedly ignored warnings for breaking the clealy defined rules. It's as simple as that.