Best In The Business

[Fafnir]

I have not been a member of this site for long, but I have been logging on to it for many years. Recently I have noticed that a handful of people have been unhappy about censorship and the such. Just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in …

It’s not cheap to run a site like this, and it’s unlikely to ever make anyone a millionaire. It is a business, but also a passion and I for one think that Steve has done a tremendous job in providing these forums for anglers.

One of the things that makes this site so successful are the moderators. Yes, people might get annoyed about being censored, but it is done to stop this chat board becoming a slanging match between members. Other chatrooms that I have watched over the years are not happy friendly environments. They lack the support and camaraderie that one gets a sense of with this site.

Some people may choose to no longer remain members, but the reality is that sometimes a cleanout is good to keep things fresh. If people get to the stage where they are taking a fishing chatroom so seriously then it’s probably a good thing to log off. I for one will continue to support Steve and this fantastic site. I have looked at many, but found none better. Congratulations Steve and your fellow moderators, you should be proud of the site you’ve created.

PS There is nothing lower in this world then using another persons hard earned database for your own personal gain. The grass may look greener, but people will soon realise how sour it tastes.
PPS I am happy for this post to be moved or deleted, just wanted to have my say.

[familyman]

Here here fafnir ,well said and welcome to the site now that you can reply to posts.
cheers jon

[wiseguy67]

well said

[roz]

Fafnir,

You have summed up the situation perfectly, you are also very observant.

I hope certain people get to read your words of wisdom, and maybe realise the world doesn't revolve around them.

I for one, will continue to support this site as I've gotten so much from Ausfish and I've made some fantastic friends here.

The reality is there will never be another site like this one....not in a million years!!

Cheers everybody

Roz.

[SeaSaw]

There are some great people on both sites. Forget the politics, its all about the fishing and the people you meet. I will be posting on both locations ... just means more time on the cuta

Mark

[dorado]

Well said mate. Fwiw I too will continue to support this site but will also check out other sites from time to time. I have no intention of leaving Ausfish...heck if I did I'd havta remove the Ausfish decals from my Rig and you'd still see it from where the paint has faded around it

[imported_admin]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I was going to stay out of all this but apparently if I don't say anything I get into trouble anyway.

Members agree to abide by the rules of the site when they join. If they choose to break those rules then they pay the consequences. It is really that simple. Myself and the mods that donate their time in helping run this site do not have time to answer every single question about why someone got banned. They are an adult/child and know the difference between right and wrong.

I also get over 2500 E-mails a day, mostly spam, and my spam filter more often then not gets a bit carried away and some E-mails that shouldn't be deleted get deleted. The PM box is set to 20 messages and sometimes I will get that in a few hours and some get pushed off the end before I see them. So if I have not replied to an E-mail or PM from someone asking why someone/they got banned it could be because I did not get it or because it is a matter between the Member and me to discuss not the rest of the world.

Most people will say that there are 3 sides to every story (yours, theirs and the truth). Hence why I have not bothered to enter into any of the crap that has gone one lately. As I have said before, they know why they were banned and I will leave it at that.

Since the upgrade there has been a recycle bin introduced where all the deleted posts go so we have a copy. This way when a post is deleted a Member can't say that they didn't say this or that as we still have a copy of the post.


There is plenty of room for fishing websites on the World Wide Web. If someone wants to join another website then they can do as they please. If someone wants to join several websites, as some members do, then that is up to them. If some one wants to open up another website they can do that as well.

But nothing justifies spamming a website with posts or PM's telling people about other websites. I am sure that you would not like someone going into your place of work telling everyone to go down the road.


This is all I will say on the matter. If anyone wants to make some constructive comments please feel free. But if you want to abuse or insult members or break any of the rules of this site your post will be deleted and you will be banned.

If you want to read a copy of the rules that you read and agreed to when you registered you can see them at
http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfis...num=1075278500

[Sportfish_5]

Steve

Thanks for taking the time to reply to this issue. It is very true there is always many tales when trying to get the truth. I can tell you that the guys do not know exactly why they were banned and that is what they want to understand. Maybe both parties are not getting the information they require from key players in this.

Maybe this is a good opportunity to review the facts from both sides as to me there seems to be a lot of issues behind the scenes that not everyone is privy too. No doubt you have looked at the TFGA site and like it or lump it there seems to be a common theme appearing - otherwise there would not be so many joining it. It is the core people who make this site what it is and not the total number of registered users.

I hope this can be resolved and we get back to talking fishing and not the "Soap Opera" it has become lately. If not then the people will make their own choices of course.


Cheers

Greg

[noluck]

Steve, u say u have copy of deleted posts mate can you please post info
so we can see for ourselfs why so many have been banned, i do no believe it mate that
you could ban so many big post members who contribute so much to your great site
mate, they will go else where and we all loose then
the other site has alos been spammed same as yours mate so let it go
both
are top site and we just want to go fshn and talk fishn no crap.


cheers no_luck

[cobber1]

many a member has been banned with NO explanation.

Basserman was indeed banned for asking the very question "what rule did I break?"

To simply say "As I have said before, they know why they were banned and I will leave it at that" is not actually true and correct.

I full expect my membership to be banned aswell after this non confrontational and non abusive post.

[wayneoro]

okay guys ive seen some of this from another angle i have 150 posts on this site and 90 posts on another site though both sites are for fisherman they are very different i enjoy them both hard core fisherman af is best by far the other site is more social the guys that were banned came to the other site but they charged in butted heads now they have there own site i for one will not be joining it why do anything that detracts from a great fishing site like ausfish

[Jeremy]

I support ausfish. Best fishing chat site bar none.

Jeremy

[finga64]

Beauty fafnir,
I think that the bad weather has taken it's toll on everyone.
Weathers getting better, we're all getting out more, the world is looking better in general
Let's leave all the political/relationship garbage behind and look into the future.
I've read/heard some really bad things happening. All this does is make everybody tense. There's no need for that, no need at all.
I did a search yesterday for fishing sites from Australia and got 346 odd thousand hits. If I was a person and was looking at a site where there was mudslinging at other sites I'd give it a wide birth. I don't want or need the agrivation.
The owner of the 'other' site has put a request in for the few idiots to stop the garbage that is directed to this site. I really hope the idiots listen otherwise they will stuff up 2 websites.
I really hope Steve works with the other site and find the morons making trouble and ban them from everywhere.
I will always participate in Ausfish in the same way I participate in other sites that vary with content as does my interests ie workwork and old Holdens.
But fair dinkum, let's get on with the fishing/camping.4x4bying/boating and all the other great past times that make this country and this site so good.
Like real life, a few bad apples will spoil the barrel
In short. I too am sick to death of the garbage and can't wait for it to blow over so we can get on with what we do best. Be friendly, supportive and helpfull and sometimes funny
There, said my 2 bobs worth. (I also said the same on the 'other' site)
Cheers Scott

[imported_admin]

Sorry, had a problem with the move topic feature again, fixed it now.

[kingcobe]

It’s good to see that thus far debate hasn’t been stifled, as I firmly believe that without healthy debate, ill feeling will remain.

My personal observations are that the fall-out has been as much about members feeling that they lack a “voice” as it has been about heavy handed moderating.

I posted in a thread a while ago that at a time when certain members had been banned, that it wasn’t healthy to make mention of threats having been made to moderators as it could be construed that the banned members had been making the threats. This thread was deleted leaving some members to conclude that the banned members were indeed the ones making threats. Whether they were or not is irrelevant, I think in a matter as worrying as this that a response from mods should have been forthcoming.

Other posts referring to similar perceived injustices were also deleted despite me making mention of that process likely being counter-productive. They were deleted when they were merely posing questions, thereby leading many members to feel that the administration didn’t value their presence and was not prepared to tolerate any questioning as to what exactly was going on.

The PMS and e-mails I have received, indicate to me that there is a perception that this whole sorry affair is payback for the fact that one particular moderator was heavily criticised earlier. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but until members feel that they do indeed have some sort of voice, then I think this perception will remain. By “voice” I do not mean in the actual running of the site, but an “avenue of appeal” whereby a perceived injustice can be questioned and an answer given. Even if that answer is to say that there is no requirement to answer, in other words, a simple acknowledgment that the posters concerns have been noted may suffice. To simply delete a thread seems to me to be an inflammatory act that solves nothing, other than to alienate those that have posted to the thread.

An example. I recently posted to the general section a post regarding an appeal for anecdotal evidence of fish kills. I appealed to the moderators to leave my post there (in order to gather more support) and requested that responses be made in the news section to avoid overkill at the general section. It was deleted and backed up with a simple message to my PM that this was the case. It wasn’t moved, it was simply deleted, after I had put in considerable effort to formulate it. Fair go mate, you’re the moderator but to moderate justly you have to sit in the seat of the person that you’re moderating and ask yourselfjust how he would feel and how that will affect the site as a whole. “A simple bit of moderating” you probably think, but in the short space of time that the post was there, the act of deleting it was enough to produce some very disgruntled members who pm’d and e-mailed me to say so. That said, it is not my site, and the admin must moderate as they see fit, but I think you will agree that my previous response in another thread (which was deleted) stating that current moderating practice was counter-productive has proven to be true.

When people feel aggrieved and without a voice, they will vote with their feet and unfortunately, they will take others with them.

I have never, in my time at this site, said that members should have a voice in how the site is run, but merely tried to illustrate that which I consider as common courtesy (ie, an acknowledgment of concerns) be adopted. I appreciate the heavy workload that you have Steve, as I appreciate that your site is by far the best I have frequented, but it appears to me that sometimes the very people that you rely on to reduce that workload have now contributed to it’s increase and perhaps even a loss of revenue for you.

Analogy:

A while ago the major breweries owned most British pubs. The traditional pub had a lounge and saloon; the latter often referred to as “the vaults”. The vaults were a place where most blokes drank in the company of other blokes and talked about things, and in the manner that only blokes can. The lounge was a place where you could take your kids for a meal and relax in an atmosphere that was more appropriate for wives and blokes who didn’t like to do “blokey stuff”. Anyone doing “blokey stuff” in the lounge was barred and relegated to the vaults………..by their actions, and their knowledge of likely consequence, they had chosen to be where they were relegated.

In most cases it transpired that the vaults was the place they were indeed suited to, but those that didn’t feel that way, had the right of appeal to the brewery to have their barring lifted. They then had to illustrate that they could indeed be considered fit to be allowed back into the lounge. Any future “disturbance” that they caused in the lounge was met with a barring from the whole pub.

Latterly, the breweries embarked on removing their vaults to make way for more trendy, “user friendly” larger, family environments. The breweries are realising that there is now nowhere for these “blokey blokes” to go other than the lounge room or to “spit and sawdust” pubs. They are faced with the dilemma of losing the custom of some of their biggest spenders, or relaxing the rules a bit to allow those blokes to be “integrated”. What transpired was that many blokes simply “moved with the times” and moved into the lounges with a big sigh (well, not exactly) and for some time bemoaned the loss of a British tradition. Others sought the spit and sawdust places and found that although it may mean a slight inconvenience to travel further to one’s local, this was offset by the fact that they could drink in an environment which they were comfortable in. Eventually all the hoo ha died down and folk just "got on with business"

What is happening here currently, (it appears to me), is that folk are deciding where they “fit”, just as the British pub goers had to do, and eventually they will all just "get on with business..........the sooner the better I say

kev

I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she left me before we met.