Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards "Weaponizing" Off-Topic posts in large threads

I was one of those banned by one of CG’s reports. Many agreed it was an unfair ban as I felt I was defending myself against his attacks in one of those Pianoteq threads but I realized I could have diffused the situation better but by the time I decided to apologize publicly for the misunderstanding I was already banned. Honestly I think CG felt bad about the issue and stated sometimes his English comprehension especially with jokes is not as good as he would like so he felt bad about the ban. Meanwhile I received this anonymous message from pianoworld saying “Heres a few weeks off to ponder your decision to pick on Cybergene.” Wow I thought. I emailed frank and the anonymous mod but never got a reply back. Regardless CG and I are on great terms no longer arch enemies- not that I thought we were but a few said it looked that way. So CG don’t worry buddy you’ll be back soon. But you have to admit payback is a ...... Write back soon... Oh that’s right you can’t. Lol 😜

Edit: wait doesn’t he have a sister posting now? How come I couldn’t produce one of those when I needed one?

The problem was less about whether the content was OT, which I decidedly think it was, it was the fact the poster ADMITTEDLY wrote in the post his intent was to derail the thread. I'm not sure what problem he had with other people still wanting to discuss the Nord Grand with the OP, but he was attempting to decide for everyone else that this thread was no longer purposeful. When I reported him, I wasn't looking for an outright ban, I didn't even know that was a likely outcome. All I wanted was for him to not take a crap on a topic that it seems he had a problem with. Given that the N1X thread is 90+ pages long, I wouldn't think a 4 or 5 page Nord Grand thread would be all that much of a threat.

I see many, many topics on the forum list everyday. It's quite easy to just stay out of conversations that one is not interested in. He was trolling, what happened rests on his shoulders.

You know what's even simpler?

Showing presence.
A simple reminder (or waving the hammer w/o actually hitting sth.) to people by a mod (or even an admin, such as you, if you can manage the time) works wonders. Many of us do not know where exactly the line is. A bit of off-topic almost always happens and, as you said, is necessary but it isn't always a clear cut case whether we already ventured too far or not. after all, the only ones here that can decide what is too far ... are you and your staff.

A mod stepping in and stating that we are nearing the borders of [sth. unpleasant is going to happen] would definitely help.

Some would disagree with you. But I strongly agree. I'll say it straight: I think it is a petty-minded, sneaky thing to do to involve the moderators. Like the kids that used to tell tales and run to the teachers. Pathetic.

Yes, I agree. And I look forward to CG's return.

So …. that is your view.

Here is my view ….

The moderators are here to police the postings in an effort to maintain an environment which encourages participation without fear of "bullying" and/or monotonous arguing and other similar things.

Without that, it is possible for a forum to take a dark turn and those with softer personalities get pushed out and do not return.

Those moderators do their best to keep an eye out for those issues but it can be too much for them keep up with because of the sheer number of posts.

That is the purpose of the REPORT button. They want help.

So … you have decided you will not help because it is PATHETIC to do so.

I have decided I will help.

Also …. because I report things …. does not imply that I report "trivial" things.

If I did, I would spend all my time reporting things.

I report things that I believe are in the best interest of this forum to curtail.

If I am reporting things I should not be reporting, I depend upon management to inform me of that.

So far, I have never been informed of anything being too "trivial" to report.

So, if you choose not to help, that is your right.

However, I would suggest you refrain from characterizing my (and others) effort to help as PATHETIC.

Thank You

I agree DMD. It can be beneficial for the forum as a whole to have a real structure and focus. As forums get larger, it's necessary to have moderators and admins to keep that structure and focus in place. That's why forums like this and others have that function in place. It's natural that some people won't like that and they'll think less of people who use it to help. That's just like their opinion, man. That and dollar won't even buy a cup of coffee anymore.

+1 on both.

As BB Player said above the best course of action is for forum members to police themselves and only involve the moderators if that fails. That is the best way to help them.

I'm sure the Stasi's informers thought they were 'helping' and just scratched their heads with bemusement when people disappeared or were given such a hard time by the authorities. An extreme parallel of course and only used in order to provoke some thought about your assertion that you are merely 'helping'.

The result of some of your reports will be that persons will have been banned. How does that make you feel? I was banned for two weeks once. The moderators were unpleasant and would not in any meaningful way engage with my protestations. There was no right of reply. In fact one of the moderators was extremely rude and condescending. It left a bad taste in my mouth, I can tell you. As it happened, I had never reported anyone to them prior to that and I resolved never to do so in the future because I am unwilling to inflict those kinds of feelings on others.

As I've stated I agree with the provisos set out by JJHLH. Furthermore, to address one of your points, bullying is wrong. I would add that overtly political or discriminatory things are wrong too. I can understand posts being reported in those circumstances. But I don't consider it my place to police this forum.

You have your view, and I respect your right to hold it. I have mine.

I respectfully suggest not comparing behavior that people might do on this forum to Stasi collaborators. Please.

EDITED: to delete something EssBrace didn't say

I never used the word Nazi. And I pointed out it was an extreme parallel drawn in order to provoke thought. Why are you reading things in such a literal manner?

You're right, I used the wrong word. I went back and edited out that word from my original reply. My apologies on misspeaking.

EDIT: In general, I personally find that using very extreme examples to make a point rarely help as the examples themselves can incite negative emotions and cause tempers to flare. Just my 2¢.

Do you think it is wrong to deliberately and admittedly attempt to derail someone else's conversation with off topic posts? Or, is that acceptable conduct in your opinion?

CG is a nice guy. Forums that ban nice guys are undermining their own existence.

I agree with you in very general terms. Yes, it is wrong. Or I should say it is undesirable in most cases. I just choose to be the kind of person that doesn't report it to moderators since it is so easy for me to ignore it and move on through the thread. I don't claim to be the final arbiter of what is or is not acceptable conduct. There's already far too many rules and regulations in this world. Live and let live!

I'm cool with your choice to handle it a different way.

However, it just appears to me that many of his defenders aren't acknowledging that he even did anything wrong. If he had "live and let live" by leaving that thread to the people who might not have been down yet, he would not have created the problem in the first place.

So that is your opinion and you have the right to that opinion.

I on the other hand …. blah blah blah …..

So there

Yes, this is madness. If you want to ban CG, then consider that banned or not, he should also have the right under GDPR to claim back all the content he has posted here... think about that for a sec. How much poorer would the forum be?

Yes it can get silly.

Meanwhile, you get the people who turn up out of nowhere, whose only contribution is noise about other people and their posts.

It's the same with every forum.