My grip is to all these newbie members coming to WHT just to flame/disrespect a host. Nine times out of ten, it was a simple misunderstanding between the customer and the host.

There seems to be a trend with these types of post, making this forum loose it's credibility. A new member signs up, makes a big issue, then you never here from them again. I must admit, it's entertaining to read some of these post, but let's not turn WHT in to a circus forum like many others.

Yes, from time to time people have valid complaints against host, it happens. Sometimes I side with the customer, other times I side with the host depending on the issue. There have been many times I feel no pity for the customer as they should have done better research on the company. It's like buying a car, tv, stereo or dvd. You (in general) take the time to check out all the features, price, talk to the sales person, etc. Finding a host is no different.

Keep this forum at a higher level so it doesn't turn into "just another forum".

i dont think forums don't have credibility but you're right...



.i don't blame it on completely on the customers, some companies share the blame also, there's probably been about 20+ companies that have shut their doors for an unknown reason(earhost, paradise, shaghost, see eye, cyberwings, on and on) and then their customers bitch and moan about it here...

then the SAME customers go to another host, and expect the get the world for the same price they were paying at their old host...as soon as they find one itty bitty thing wrong, they come back here and complain some more....

if you are a host that posts in WHT's requests forum, when you see a post by a customer that says "thanks everyone, i chose my host" encourage them to post an update in the main forums in a few weeks...try to do the same in the other forums...do this enough and we'll start seeing more threads like the dixiesys praise that was posted in the main forums today...

Actually while I do agree in part, this has always happened in the time I've been coming here. More disappointing are the hosts that then jump on the bandwagon - some of who have been here long enough to know a lot better.

While a large post count coupled with a 2000-2001 signup date does tend to give you a little 'scope' in which to act an ass, a couple of people do seem to be stretching the point. Not saying I've never done it myself of course... but I do try to curb it. Lately I've noticed myself hit the back button in the middle of replying to something I don't really have a right or a need to reply to.

Having said that, it's still not a bad place. Chicken et.al have a very big job after all.

Greg Moore

Lately I've noticed myself hit the back button in the middle of replying to something I don't really have a right or a need to reply to.
I've done that plenty of times before, but made the mistake of *NOT* doing it today (chicken knows what i'm talking about :D)

Chicken et.al have a very big job after all.
We need to find someone who's been here a while and knows the forums and isn't involved in a company to help out....unfortunately, almost all of us that have been here for even as long as 2 years are hosts.

there are very few members (less than a handful) that are active on the forum and are familiar with what WHT is...

I frequently use WHT to search for comments on a host ... but I take most with a pinch of salt ... and there must be multiple occurences / comments about a certain host before I form an opinion.

I believe most visitors (who are savvy enough to come here in the first place) would read most posts in the same manner ... and not overly depend on certain isolated postings. ;)

Having said that, it's still not a bad place. Yes it's a great forum, I'd like it to stay that way.

;)

So you are saying that the members of WHT are acting more like trolls and on occasion dont have a clue what they are talking about and make total fools of themselves either as a change of behavior and attributes of current members or the enrollement of new members?

Forums have problems like that. WHT is probably the "worst" forum that I visit like that. A lot of places I go to frown on 3 word posts and the over use of the stupid smilies when they are not needed to show emotion. Things like this (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83267), a topic that has been discussed several times, and in some cases in great detail, does not need a new thread every other week for it. Thats what makes the smarter people go away. They usually dont mind ansering some questions, in fact some like it, but they dont want to see the same question every single week. Its signal to noise.

Another example would be this thread here:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83267

Yes tables are bad. Yes use CSS and xHTML1. Ive gone over that here:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73387

All he had to do is search. Thankfully vBull has a decent search feature (not the best, but it is way ahead of Open Topic's). Why people dont search is beyond me.

Than there are things like:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83420

Did there really need to be 6 posts in that thread?

And also reviving that 2 year old thread that Chicken started. (I love the auto lock of Open Topic). Signal-- Noise++

Its all about signal to noise. Too much noise and sure you have some 12 year olds having fun and goofing around, but nothing really productive going on. Too much signal and the place starts sounding like the white pages on the Itanium.

What has WHT as a community done? I know several forms where members have written programs that have been featured in publications like Wired (with talk of starting their own programming language, in theory only so far). Others that pioneered in hardware. What has WHT as a community done? Argued that with Cogent you get what you pay for?

There is something to be said about someone here who sends me a PM and starts it off with "dear sir" as opposed to "hey man". Who do you think I will take more seriously and want to do business with?

Signal to noise. And WHT has more than its share of noise. WHT is probably the nosiest forum I visit, and only becuase it caters to a niche market with a (relativly) large user base.

A short list of credibility subtractors and/or noise adders:

Spelling "you" with only one of its letters
Using a smilie in every post
Using 20 smilies in any post
Abbreviating Microsoft with a dollar sign in it
Recomending a host just by what others have said, but no actualy interacting with said host, let alone using their services
Making claims about something, than when challanged by someone who says you are wrong and provides reputable data to back them up, acting like a 3 year old
Not researching something (at teh very least Google) before starting a thread
Not being able to formulate complete sentences
Not using a shift key ever
Not using an enter key ever
Ignoring simple tools such as vBul code in more lengthy detailed posts (those are rare anyhow)
Promising the world but delivering a matchbook

i think WHT's problem is just that, large user base with lack of control....when's the last time you saw BC or teck on the forums?? kunal is on about once a month *if* that...and xtstrike has been on and off...chicken is handling the load by himself and this is not the only forum he mods..

WHT is growing at about 300 users a week (of course there are plenty of double names), so i think Mr. Marsh needs to do something about the lack of control that we have. We are at the stage where our userbase is the size of a large town or baseball stadium and the number of actives we have here would fill an auditorium easily

the greatest example is the HostRocket thread last night....it blew up because the member started using racist and offensive language and i told him that it was so publicly...about an 1 or so after that, it blew up into a 13 page thread that chicken just deleted. i asked the readers twice in that thread not to reply because the discussion was going nowhere...
where were the mods during that time? chicken was probably relaxing as he should be...he's not getting paid, so he shouldn't be here all day, but there should be someone here much of the day...

other examples: chickensteak/rackeasy threads...those are mostly chickensteak's and his customers' fault - if they would just learn to handle things off-forums those threads wouldn't blow up into 5 pages in as many minutes...

simply put, if we had a little more control, i think WHT could turn around in a matter of months...

BUT that control should come in the form of great moderation and a couple changes in the rules...

for the one in charge that might be reading this thread: if you will be adding a new mod, make sure it is someone familiar with us and the community...

Agreed akash. Its the community at large that runs rampant. I watched the thread unfold. Some things I just stay out of, others I will argue for ever with. You cant argue with someone who doesnt listen, refuses to behave and act calmly and maturely and wont do anything but flame.

More moderation is in order. There aer several people I would recomend in a heart beat (you being one of them). A mod must be knowledgeable of the subject matter, in this case computers, webhosting, linux/windows, control panels, etc, as a mod is uaully someone that one would assume is correct. People mis posting information hurts the community and it does affect credibility. And it can cause those who rely on it to lose data, customers, time and money. There is nothing worse than a forum with people posting half truths. You cant tell them to stop, or no one would post, the trick is keeping those smart people around. Mods are supposed to be the smart people.

A mod must also have the time. The forum is open 24/7. I frequent a forum that has no less than 1000 registered members viewing it at all times, not counting guests. All you need is 3 angry trolls to stop by, and one mod would more than have his hands full. That forum moves fast enough as it is, trying to track 3 uesers across it and contain things is a lot to handle. WHT is much smaller, but still needs attention several times a day from mods.

A mod also should be able to issue temp bans. Most vBull admins only let people with admin status issues bans. Mods shoudl be able to issue temp ones to hold the user off for 24 hours until admin can take a look into things.

The community shoudl police itself in a way. The HR thread the other night was sort of an example of this and this thread is a perfect example. Another forum I visit has a "State of the ~insert fora ame here~" thread every few months, started by any poster who feels like it and people say how they think things are, where they are going and what they want to change.

The rules also need to be made much more clear. When registering, the rules whould appear in full and have a timer for 15 seconds on the "accept" button. One can not click teh button until 15 seconds after the page loads. It forces you to sit there and read the rules. A link ot them should also be put at the top of every page, either above or below the ad, but not built into the nav bar at teh top, a sepearte part so it sticks out and is visible.

The rules need to be rewritten. Saying "Participants may not use the forum to" in front of each point is really annoying.

Theres a reason i havent been to slahsdot in years, its all noise. There is no constructive conversations there.

And the database needs to be searched right now for all users that share in common IPs, homepage links, email addresses, and sigs. Any two accounts with any of those in common is very likly the same person. Temp ban for 2 weeks and put them on a probation list.

Here we go:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83775

Was tha really necessary? There is a thread open about this matter, we do not need a second. vBull created a feature to merge threads becuase people for some reason like to have two concurrent threads on the same exact topic.

I dont get it.

now i think this thread should be moved to suggestions...

VB has a great user group feature where you allow certain user groups to perform certain tasks (like opening/closing/moving threads and editing posts), you can also change permissions for specific people in the user group so if you don't want a member of the user group "community advisors" to edit posts but you still want them to have the ability to open/close threads you can do that.

WHT should use this feature by adding forum moderators to each of the main forums (not the "other forums or advertising forum categories) these forum mods (we'll call them priviledged users) should have the ability to open and close threads in THEIR SPECIFIC FORUM(S), and they should be rotated from forum to forum on a bi weekly (every 2 weeks) or monthly basis. rotating them will remove whatever biases and influences there are so the problem of having hosts that are advisors will have little or no effect...of course requirements of this position would have to be very strict (ie member for at least 2 years and X amount of posts with X posts per day to filter out the inactive members)

i think this would help police the community a little better and would ease the pain and suffering chicken has to go through everyday...

WHT never had credibility to start with.... :)

As for the mods having specific forums, that doesnt really work. Ive seen two places try it, eventaully they just gave each mod full mod rights to the entire place. Getting say 17 mods, one each for the 17 forums isnt really 17 mods. Its really just one. A better solution would be set them up in pairs, let one pair handle one hafl teh forum, the other pair handle the other half.

It keeps one mod from taking advantage of things becuase he has an equal to keep him in check and it does help spread out the work. Though at a place this size, splitting the work isnt really necessary.

I did a lot of reading on WHT when I was looking for a new host recently. While I read the flames and attacks, what I paid attention to was how the host responded to it.
In most cases, if a host simply said, "you're right, we screwed up, I'm sorry, we'll fix it" the thread came to a screeching halt and, as a potential customer of that host, I was very favorably impressed.
If you read through the longest theads of the "xxxxhost.com sucks" variety I think you'll find that most of the problem is caused by the host arguing with the customer about who did what and then getting his/her buddies to chime in with their support. And it goes on for 3-5 pages.
I run a business and I wanted a host who realizes he's running a business and behaves accordingly in public forums. The arguing weeded out a lot right at the start.

Originally posted by Acronym BOY
As for the mods having specific forums, that doesnt really work. Ive seen two places try it, eventaully they just gave each mod full mod rights to the entire place. Getting say 17 mods, one each for the 17 forums isnt really 17 mods. Its really just one. A better solution would be set them up in pairs, let one pair handle one hafl teh forum, the other pair handle the other half.

It keeps one mod from taking advantage of things becuase he has an equal to keep him in check and it does help spread out the work. Though at a place this size, splitting the work isnt really necessary.

even pairs isn't enough...what i'd recommend would have a group of mods(15-20) and give each of them two-three forums with 2 other random mods...so each forum would have 3 mods that are randomly grouped together. the more random it is and the more frequently (does that make sense), the less bias is introduced.

you're completely having one mod for each forum would cause the same problem we have now, just on a smaller scale.

spreading the work isn't the problem...it's putting less strain on chicken while at the same time introducing few (ideally, none) biases into the forums....

Yeah, I can see what youre saying. I pretty mcuh agree with everything youve said.

i just hope robert reads this thread..but i know that no matter how many great suggestions that you, me and every other member post here, it'll take A LOT for him to actually do something...

Of course, WHT does not effect his bottom line. Except when there is a 37 page thread about how RS formatted someones server. Than he shows up.

Originally posted by akash
posts in WHT's requests forum

Honestly, I almost never read that forum anymore. 95% of the time, as you said: people want everything for the whole world, or the same pricing as their old host.

Yup, full of people who want a dedicated server with 2GB of RAM and dual Xeons with 1TB of bandwidth a month for $70 with no setup fee.

Originally posted by Acronym BOY
Yup, full of people who want a dedicated server with 2GB of RAM and dual Xeons with 1TB of bandwidth a month for $70 with no setup fee.

Or (and no offence to any one) a "Free Reseller Package" as someone requested recently.

But back to the topic: No WHT is not loosing its credibility, in fact, I think it is gaining it.

I'm glad to get some good responses on this topic thread. A few good ideas were mentioned on how to improve, of course easier said than done. I don't know the mod situation, but I do know the more active mods are doing what they can.

Any thoughts on having an 'Issues' section where if you did have a problem with a host you could post there? If, and only if all other options have been tried.

In the mean time, it is up to the members to also keep things running smoothly. A little common sense goes a long way.

You've seen these types of post where someone asks "where can I find php tutorials?" Why people ask these types of questions is beyond me. Why ask here, go to Google (or other). Don't expect handouts, find it yourself. Yes, I get irritated with these questions, but it's just as bad or sometimes worst when someone replies with a sarcastic remark. Instead of leashing out at that person (who didn't use common sense) just point them in the right direction, tell them to do a search here or elsewhere. Or just hit the back button and not reply. They'll figure it out and learn. That way nobody gets offended, tempers don't flare and it keeps the board a little cleaner.

Originally posted by Acronym BOY
. . . . . . . . . .
Signal to noise. . . . . . . . . I think you should have included this thread (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83775&perpage=15&pagenumber=1) in your examples to show that off-topic bantor just detracts from the overall discussion. If you think a thread shouldn't be a thread; report it. There is no need to jump in and say, "this thread is stupid." When you do that, you are calling the thread starter stupid, along with anyone that interacted as well.

You lead by example.

Signal to noise.


WHT could use a little more moderation, I agree.

As I haven't really been here that long, maybe I shouldn't say anything, but...

It's possible to pick up some really good information here, and after finding a host here, I might have just stayed away, but I decided to stick around. I've learned a few things, especially on how NOT to treat customers and so on. I don't think WHT has lost its' credibility, without some of the rants and so on, more people would have fallen into the trap of bad business/hosts. Agree, some threads are just pointless.

One thing that would help me, would be to mark the username, sig, or so, so that it would be possible to know who is the moderator. I know Chicken is, but who else? Maybe the mods could have their name in red or green instead of black. No need for an avatar or something like that, just a colour-code.

i think the mods are not highlight in the "online" listing because they want a "hidden" police...they are listed on the right hand side of the main page near the bottom..

I see. Well, I just thought it would be a good idea for newbies.

We definitely need more mods in here. Like you say, Chicken bears the load single handed and I hope the HeadSurfer is paying him these days. I remember Kunal used to stop in 4 times a day only 6 months ago but he is off at University in the US and busy as hell. Haven't seen xstrike for about 2 months and BC, well, don't think I ever saw him. :D

That explains why Chicken is the only one I know of. Must be a real hassle keeping up with all the new threads and messages. If the other mods aren't around, what happens if someone PMs them to have a thread or something removed or a person banned?

Originally posted by Reptilian Feline
. . . . . . . what happens if someone PMs them to have a thread or something removed or a person banned? They have notification on and respond.
I have never PM'd a mod and had them not respond.
Besides, if you use the "Report a post" link, it notifies moderators.
Often times a mod comes around only to address the reported post (without posting in the thread).

That's good to know. I don't know how forums work behind the scene yet, but I'm learning all the time.

generally you know who a mod is because there post is followed by a "THREAD CLOSED" button on the bottom right corner :) :) :)

Not always, though. A mod might post something and then a few answers later, he closes the thread. The mod might not post at all.

Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
I think you should have included this thread (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83775&perpage=15&pagenumber=1) in your examples to show that off-topic bantor just detracts from the overall discussion. If you think a thread shouldn't be a thread; report it. There is no need to...
I've cleaned that thread, but this is correct. If you see a problem, please report it and we'll have a look. Commenting in the thread is the noise.

People need to stop commenting on the threads/thread starters/posts themselves. If you see a suspect post by a n00b and think it is spam, report it. Otherwise we get a 3 page thread about the thread starter and about the host spamming the forum when in many cases, it is incorrect.

A thread to be moved/merged doesn't need comment either. Posting, "Wrong forum!" isn't helpful. Reporting it so it can be moved is.

Finally, if one person does comment in the thread about the thread or thread starter, etc., additional comments about that OT post aren't helpful either. The thread cleaned had 2 pages of replies about the OT comments.

I'm sure there is something I missed but consult common sense for the rest.

Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
I think you should have included this thread (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83775&perpage=15&pagenumber=1) in your examples to show that off-topic bantor just detracts from the overall discussion. If you think a thread shouldn't be a thread; report it. There is no need to jump in and say, "this thread is stupid." When you do that, you are calling the thread starter stupid, along with anyone that interacted as well.

You lead by example.

Signal to noise.


WHT could use a little more moderation, I agree.

Oddly enough I didnt say that this thread is stupid, I questioned why it was started. There was no new content. No new issue. No new question.

And when mods did see it, they didnt merge the threads.

To the mods:

Why have two threads of the same subject matter relating to the same incident open concurrently? I have explained why it shouldnt be done numerous times, but have yet to hear an answer as to why it makes sense to have more than one.

And I do lead by example, everytime someone asks a question that has been asked repeatedly I answer it and provide links asking them to search. A rule shoud be added, search and google before posting. It doesnt take much effort at all. Especially when nothing has changed at all.

Originally posted by Chicken
People need to stop commenting on the threads/thread starters/posts themselves. If you see a suspect post by a n00b and think it is spam, report it. Otherwise we get a 3 page thread about the thread starter and about the host spamming the forum when in many cases, it is incorrect.

A thread to be moved/merged doesn't need comment either. Posting, "Wrong forum!" isn't helpful. Reporting it so it can be moved is.

Finally, if one person does comment in the thread about the thread or thread starter, etc., additional comments about that OT post aren't helpful either. The thread cleaned had 2 pages of replies about the OT comments.

I'm sure there is something I missed but consult common sense for the rest.

You disagree that users should be told how to correct their posting habits by other users?

Many forums that I visit police themselves. Often a thread is started about warez and a handful of people will say that its a no-no and post a link to the rules and the thread will just die, often times a mod wont even have to lock it. The thread starter usually wont argue "but I have freedom of speech!" (yeah, but that doesnt aplly on private property) or "you are censoring me!" and stuff like that, they just accept that what they did isnt with the rules.

Yet again, I ask what benefits are there for having more than one thread open at the same time for he same topic? Would it be OK if I went to the top ten threads in each fora and reposted them as polls? Of course not, that would make no sense.

So why is netdudes open still?

i think chicken is right to a certain extent...we all need to cut back on the repetitive "read the forum rules type posts"

i've been trying to PM users as much as i can (yet sometimes it backfires on me :rolleyes:)...but we should only try posting publicly if they don't respond to the PM or if it is obscenely vulgar or against rules/laws or whatever. I think Strike's vulgarity the other nite woudl be a good example of what to post publicly, because at the time there was no mod on the forum(I hope he got banned for that) What happened afterwards is because people just wanted to "get in on the flame" which resulted in the thread blowing up like that

Oddly enough I didnt say that this thread is stupid, I questioned why it was started. There was no new content. No new issue. No new question. I'm fairly new myself, but I started this thread because I noticed an increasing amount of unjustifed rants by new members. Is it a new issue, No. Im sure it has been going on long before I got here. What I wanted was awareness towards the topic. As far as it being a "duplicate" thread, I appologize as I must have missed the first/other thread.

I'm not completely informed on the mod issue, but yes it would help if we had more active mods.

If you walked in a department store for the first time and asked a clerk "where are the car stereos?" Is it in the electronics section or the automotive section? You would want the clerk to direct you to the right section and not jump all over you saying "read the signs". Same goes here. People expect the mods to do it all, we need to help and do our part.

Originally posted by Acronym BOY
And when mods did see it, they didnt merge the threads.

Why have two threads of the same subject matter relating to the same incident open concurrently? I have explained why it shouldnt be done numerous times, but have yet to hear an answer as to why it makes sense to have more than one.
If you think two threads should be merged, then feel free to report one of the threads, and include in the report, the URL of the other thread and we'll take a look and make a decision.

Sometimes we will let two threads coexist if they are simular, sometimes they will be merged. I'd have to take a look at both in order to answer that one.

You disagree that users should be told how to correct their posting habits by other users?

Many forums that I visit police themselves. Often a thread is started about warez and a handful of people will say that its a no-no and post a link to the rules and the thread will just die, often times a mod wont even have to lock it. The thread starter usually wont argue "but I have freedom of speech!" (yeah, but that doesnt aplly on private property) or "you are censoring me!" and stuff like that, they just accept that what they did isnt with the rules.
In many cases I disagree that users should be told by members about the guidelines. I'd rather remove it and contact the user privately. When comments are made, it means more to look through and more to clean up.

A thread about warez is different than your personal opinion that there shouldn't be two threads on a subject. Sometimes the noise that is created by 'members policing themselves' is not wanted. It also often puts people on the defensive and/or creates problems later on (either on the forum or off the forum).

Obviously there's no black and white line, and there are times when a nudge by another member is helpful, but I'd say that 99% of the time when members comment on a post, they should have reported it instead.

In many cases I disagree that users should be told by members about the guidelines. I'd rather remove it and contact the user privately. When comments are made, it means more to look through and more to clean up. If done in a civil manner I thinks it is alright, but it is a problem when it's done rudely and sarcastically.

Sometimes the noise that is created by 'members policing themselves' is not wanted. It also often puts people on the defensive and/or creates problems later on (either on the forum or off the forum). Closely related to the above. agreed, the negative noise is taken defensively, then the whole mess starts. If you can do it in a way that won't offend anyone great, if not just report it and/or don't reply.

Yes, sometimes I feel like saying "hey stupid, it's like this..." but I don't for the obvious reasons, not to start something which is irrelevant and create a whole mess.
Some people just want to have the last word. Noise comes from both sides. Just don't reply or depending on the severity, report it.

The perfect example is this thread, yes we have different views, both sides have pros/cons yet it is being dicussed in a civil and polite manner.

I used to like hanging out here and helping out on the web site review forum, but the overall combative level here makes me just want to lurk briefly, if at all.

When Matt sold WHT, I had a bad feeling that this forum would turn out to be like so many others - full of rants and backbiting. Sure enough, both continued to rise. Don't know if it's due to the new forum management, or it's direction, but the noise level is a lot louder than before. Hate to admit it: the maturity/professionalism level has also declined.

Would be nice that the tearing-down-each-other competition would cease so both hosts and customers can get the best out of this site. It's a real turn off to see web hosts "diss" their own customer publicly, as it makes me (and maybe others like me) look at the who supports who and flee all together. If other web hosts support that type of behavior why ask for services here, knowing that it's acceptable behavior by the majority?

I sure miss reading the funny posts from the ole timers, the level of help that used to be around, and the *friendly* competitions that once existed. Many of the old crew I don't see posting like before, and their sense of community is sorely missed at WHT. :(

May WHT get back to his roots! :)

Chris

Originally posted by ChrisLM2001a
Sure enough, both continued to rise. Don't know if it's due to the new forum management, or it's direction...
Or the increase in members, posts, threads, etc. That could be it ;)

Well I guess I'm just human, or perhaps I'm part of the problem, but speculating wildly about why <insert flavor of the day> is down and when will customers get <insert any of these: refunds, back online, screwed for good, etc> from said host and even further speculation over what thruths are being stretched, bent, or just plain broke is just good clean "hey I got a few minutes to spare and the phone ain't ringing" fun :D

Gary, what you said explains the situation, but does not justify it.

That is, people should not do it, just because they have some spare time. The extra posts take away the discussion and overwhelm the readers of potentially important information.

Peter

Originally posted by Chicken

Or the increase in members, posts, threads, etc. That could be it ;)

Don't know why the quality has declined, but piping in to say that it has since Matt sold WHT. Could be the increase in size, but if that's the case then it's a moderator issue -- and Chicken, I don't like going down that route (as you know we like you, hippy shoes and all). ;)

Chris

Well, when I run across something that I feel is amuck, I fix it. I run across a great deal, and fix it. I also check the reports about 6 times a day, more than some hosts check tickets ;) -so if there's something that you, the member here, see that you feel is off, feel free to... (see attachment)

Originally posted by Acronym BOY
A short list of credibility subtractors and/or noise adders:

Spelling "you" with only one of its letters
Using a smilie in every post
Using 20 smilies in any post
Abbreviating Microsoft with a dollar sign in it
Recomending a host just by what others have said, but no actualy interacting with said host, let alone using their services
Making claims about something, than when challanged by someone who says you are wrong and provides reputable data to back them up, acting like a 3 year old
Not researching something (at teh very least Google) before starting a thread
Not being able to formulate complete sentences
Not using a shift key ever
Not using an enter key ever
Ignoring simple tools such as vBul code in more lengthy detailed posts (those are rare anyhow)
Promising the world but delivering a matchbook

Using "teh" as a substitute for "the" . ;)

just messing with ya

Originally posted by Jag
Using "teh" as a substitute for "the" . ;)

just messing with ya

I cant tpye, honestly, I make every effort to make my posts as complete as possible, and some typos slip through, but that isnt intentional, trust me.

acronymboy,

i disagree on several points, namely the capitalization and smilie use.

i do not use the shift key, unless unavoidable, such as when trying to refer to the acronym for the united states. it has more to do with the pose i am usually sitting in when posting than anything else =]

as you might have noticed, i am partial to my smilies. personally, i dont see anything wrong with using them on a forum. however, i avoid using them in person to person business correspondence, unless the other party makes use of them as well.

cheers,
paul

I'm a lurker, rarely a poster, and I must concur that the recent noise to signal ratio in WHT is just too much for me. As a quasi-Luddite interested in seeing how the whole Web biz works, I used to lurk here daily, but there are just too many pointless or repetitious threads around, and too often threads degenerate into pointless off-topic ramblings dotted with too many smilies.

personally, i dont see anything wrong with using them on a forum. however, i avoid using them in person to person business correspondence, unless the other party makes use of them as well.

It all boils down to respect. Lack of capitalization makes it very difficult to read one's post, and lack of punctuation makes it worse. So you want to sit comfortably and ignore the shift key. Maybe I'll dig my nose with one free hand and just type in shorthand. Maybe I hate making an extra click with my mouse button, so I won't even bother editing my posts! And you know what, how tedious it is to reply to a thread. I'll just my response as a new thread! And it will go downhill from there. If you can't be bothered to make your fellow forum member's life a little easier, why should they reciprocate? I think a little effort to make everybody's life easier by making your posts as readable and clear as possible will go a long way to creating better conversation.

Frankly, I think there should be a ban on one smilie responses or those insipid "Lol!", "Me too!", "Yeah, they sux!" posts. Free speech is one thing, but WHT's chit chat should be consigned and limited to the Lounge, and off-topic or "Me too!" banters should be kept to a minimum.

Originally posted by MrsGiggles

Frankly, I think there should be a ban on one smilie responses or those insipid "Lol!", "Me too!", "Yeah, they sux!" posts. Free speech is one thing, but WHT's chit chat should be consigned and limited to the Lounge, and off-topic or "Me too!" banters should be kept to a minimum.

Me Too!! :D :) ;) :rolleyes: :eek: :angry: :cartman:

Originally posted by MrsGiggles

Frankly, I think there should be a ban on one smilie responses or those insipid "Lol!", "Me too!", "Yeah, they sux!" posts. Free speech is one thing, but WHT's chit chat should be consigned and limited to the Lounge, and off-topic or "Me too!" banters should be kept to a minimum.

Yeah, those kind of posts sux!

Err... Just a very quick post to point out I am still alive, still moderating but I'm just quieter than I usually am (we probably should switch the bolding thing back on some time). Will be fully back into the swing of things in 2 weeks time once I finish my absolute final exams and settle into my job.

I'll post some further addenums to Chicken's comments once I finish dealing with the 30+ reports and I get some sleep.......

:eek:

hurry....get kunal online...this is turning out to be a WHT mod reunion :D

I'd welcome that as everyone seemed to have disappeared for a bit there. Chicken... on verge.. of stroke...