General Chat

on the need for moderators? I think they would benefit the site as certain messages could be deleted BEFORE things got nasty.

might work. do you think they would do it though? tina x

I don't see why not,most other sites like genes have them,but i don't think genes will do it,they want the money ,but don't want any hard work,or am i being cynical? Fred.

YES i do. less hurt as well

Sites a lot smaller than GR have them, I'm sure that some of the people that use this site a lot would gladly give their time for free - but must admit I don't know what the technicalities involve.

As I said on two threads yesterday - ebay can do it so why not GR? Gwynne

Trish is right, many memebers would gladly be moderators, but what worries me is the worst offenders would be the first in line for the job. baring people for personel resons, i have noticed some members of long standing do not like a newbie comming along and being more popular than them, they would use that as an excuse to bar them, whilst there msn click would get away with murder

Gary, I think that even GR know who the worst offenders are. Certain people come to my mind immediately that would be good for the job. It would also benefit GR as they would not have the bad publicity, they wouldn't have decent people leaving the site, nor would any bad messages be on here for hours for all to see until GR had time to investigate.

The mods wouldn't have to sit reading all the boards all the time. On ebay there is a report button which forum users can press. Then the mods actually read the 'offending' post before deciding whether to delete. The guidelines would have to be a lot less woolly than they are at the moment, though. Gwynne

Gwynne, that's where good old human common sense comes into it I think. There was a certain message the other day on the boards that at first glance to a newbie would seem innocent enough but caused a lot of angry people to retaliate - it was obvious it was going to lead to trouble to a regular poster

Trish i do not think gr's old owners, a couple of amatures or the tv company have ever run this board properly they have just alowed them to sail along as they like, like on tips when people ask for alook up, because people want to be seen to be the first with the answer, they just paste the resuld directly from Ancestry, which is totally illegal and is not allowed on any other geneaology site, if Ancestry decided to stop this, they could shut this site and prosicute the poster for breach of copyright, i also thing the answer looks crap with all the names in no order and begining with view record, wich is a dead give away, i do not do look ups on here any more, but when i did i always transcribed them and listed them fom Head downwards, it looks so much better and far more informative, i think this type of thing would have to stop with a more policed system

Hi Trish, That's exactly the problem. A lot of people know what is going on and can read between the lines etc but GR are oblivious to the undercurrents. Even obviously abusive posts are left on far too long. If there was an instant response from mods that would help. There should be someone on duty 24/7 to give an instant response to reports of abuse or **** stirring. We would still have some much respected members with us if that was the case. Some people fly off the handle out of sheer frustration at GR's lack of response. Gwynne

Very good point there Gary.

Gwynne, as I said I don't know how the technicalities work but if the abuse button was clicked and the thread reported to all moderators then that message stands a very good chance of being deleted immediately. As you say even a reported message to GR could (and does because I openly admit I have reported a couple) stay on the boards for hours

OH is stirring so will have to go out soon - look forward to reading your comments when I get back.

I agree (as ive also said on another thread) that moderators would be ideal, but weve said it all before and nothings been done havent we ? If there was to be moderators, then it would have to be someone whos not a member and someone with no friends or aquaintances on the board....and to do that correctly and to find someone who is telling the truth that they are totally seperate from the people that use this board or site would almost prove impossible regarding the number of members on here, So if a so called stranger moderated the board, and it really was someone who never disclosed their interests in certain members/groups/individials, it could prove a disaster Elaine x ps Honestly saying I certainly wouldnt like the job as I really couldnt distance myself from the fact that I dislike some people and like others....it wouldnt be fair on anyone

I think there are members who would be able to be completely impartial. People who have been trained managers for example, if you can manage people well at work you can do it on here. I can think of a three and strangely enough two of them are male. It seems to work on TYFH. Ann Glos

Hi Trish I'm unsure about it. Moderators wouldn't help where the problems are caused by or on other websites and I'm not sure that they would have solved the problems that caused Jeanette, Bec and Lemon to end up losing their tempers and swearing. I would far rather GR ensured that multiple accounts weren't created, that the site was only for fully paid members and that people couldn't constantly change their names. I think if GR dealt with complaints a little more practically and sensibly, things would improve too.

Gary only represents half the story regarding lookups. It doesn't matter how beautifully you type it in your own words, if you are offering a lookup in a source to which you don't own the copyright, you are breaking the law. Strictly, half the threads on the records board should be pulled. Ancestry clearly gains so much positive publicity from this site that it isn't bothered, but by depriving other organisations, many of them charities, of funds, we actually impede access to further material.

With all due respect Ann The site you mention is tiny compared to this site, and truthfully most of the members who use their board and site are very cliquey as its such a small site. There is a very small percentage of threads being added in a day (Genes have more in half hour) so there is really no comparison How do I know all of this ? Well I used to be a member before being thrown off for posting something unrelated to their site or people on THIS site . (and I still never got my money back) And I also know a current member of that site So you see, because that site is so tiny, its moderators and manager feel they have to watch their members on here, as there's nothing to moderate on their own site lol ! Elaine x ps If you go to the site you will see on the home page referance to THIS site...even though its not by name Proffesional isnt it ?