[Forum rules] The spirit and intent of AusBonsai

[Brian]

I find this thread hilarious. We are all speculating who was banned. Anyway I think the majority of bonsai people are opinionated on various topics and uninvited critiques on a tree can rub the wrong way.

[harry]

i think stevens try at keeping us with in the rules and not causing any friction has backfired there are members posting asking who was banned why do they wish to inflame the situation more by stating that some one has been banned which has not been done before so that in its self inflamed the situation i think we should all move on

harry

[Gareth]

As i said, it is just my opinion, and i said take it or leave it as you will.

if you dont agree with my thoughts thats fine, i may not agree with yours, but im not about to imply that your views and thoughts on this matter are invalid, but hey i fear i may be repeating myself as i was doing in another thread not so long ago.

If the Moderators deemed this thread to be fueling the fire i am surprised it hasnt been locked, however, the fact that it was bought up in the first place, in stead of a kind word of caution from steven that something along the lines of "of late there has been some diagreements and it is time everyone familarized themselves with the forum rules again" without any mention of the banned member, implys to me that the moderators in some way WANTED people to know, so that this person could, without too much fuss, be used as an example.

i have of late, as have several other members, been noticing hipocracy on this forum, and people having a go at one another for no reason at all, it is very fast turning into an "eliteist" forum, with no regard for people of lesser skill or newcomers.

So, what i am trying to say is, perhaps in order to bring this forum back to a place were people can actually enjoy it, maybe there needs to be someone made example of.

Again, and let me outline this very carefully, this is ONLY MY OPINION, i speak my mind, if you dont like it thats ok, just as i will take your opinion on board, even if i dont agree with it.

Sometimes there needs to be a casualty or two in order for a forum liek this to survive, people think they are above the rules in some cases, but then again, people speaking their mind as tactfully as they can in a situation like this, as i am, may be confused with the people actually causing trouble, which is weher i come back to the hipocracy statement i made earlier.

I feel i may be treading a fine line here, and to be honest i dont care. I think this post has opened a lot of peoples eyes as to what the moderators have become sick and tired of seeing on a forum that is becoming known internationally as a very productive and professional forum. and what can happen if you dont take in account other peoples worth on this forum.

this forum is supposed to eb a place were people can learn, but i fail to see how that is going to be easy to achieve, when this crapola keeps happening, however as i stated, i think the post made on this thread, first that staed this discussion, was meant as a deterant to further behaviour like this.

Again, thats just my opinion, which as of late, i believe that people with opinions are not very popular, so i dont see how this post is going to do me any good but hey, sometimes thats what happens when people have had enough.

[kcpoole]

i think stevens try at keeping us with in the rules and not causing any friction has backfired there are members posting asking who was banned why do they wish to inflame the situation more by stating that some one has been banned which has not been done before so that in its self inflamed the situation i think we should all move on

harry

FYI harry, there has been 4 people banned for Ausbonsaiin the time we have been running ( I think), and none of them have been advertised to the general public. The reason is to avoid the embarassment or reticence that may arise when and Hopefully if they come back and continue posting.

The reason for each one has been largely due to not respecting the rules of the site, and specifically arguing finer points with the Moderation team ( or just being plain rude) in the public forums. If anyone has an issue with someone on the site or a post ( including the mods), please report the post and the site admin team will discuss an appropriate course of action.
Under each Case so far there is personal messages to the relevant parties, and many a discussion between the mods as to the course of action to take. The decision to place a ban is not taken lightly and we endeavour to treat all with the respect you all deserve

Gareth I agree totally that everyone should abide by the same rules. and as far as I know, most do. If there is any posts that raise alarms them please let the mod team know by reporting it.

@Sno, you are correct that the mod team are not paid ( take note please steven ), we do it because we are keen to see the site provide access and Quality info to all australian bonsai artists whether they be 30 yr veterans or 1 month newbies.

Ken

[Stewart_Toowoomba]

got no idea what is going on here, but the question on everyones mind who doesnt know is who it is. Its going to come out in the wash anyway i guess, but i for one would like to know and i think it would be better in the long run for members to outline who it was and why this particular behaviour wont be tolerated, rather than what is clearly happening, with everyone getting up in each others faces saying what is and isnt fair/right.

The only way people will learn is by example, and i believe, that if someone has done the wrong thing, and their behaviour is deemed unacceptable, then everyone should know exactly who they are and what they did wrong, otherwise its going to end up in a flurry of he said she said. Moderators have doen a good job in banning them for one month if they have done something wrong, but at the same time it means little if people dont know what line this person was walking and why it was unnacceptable, or who it was.

Just my thoughts

Gareth,

On the contrary, I think it is irrelevant who it was and why they were banned. I think the point here is that we need to be cognisant of the rules and do our best to abide by them. It's one of the things that makes Ausbonsai a nice place to be. The rules are there in black and white. We should all read them from time to time, and try to stick to them. I see no reason to put a member in stocks and fling tomatoes at him/her. That's not the point or the spirit of Steven's mail (I think ).

The point very simply is, "People, please play by the rules!", and the notice of the banning is simply there to remind us of the consequences.

If it were my choice, I'd suggest we all just drop it, take 5 minutes to refresh on the rules, and move on in the spirit of Ausbonsai!

Cheers,

Andrew

Hi Andrew

I agree with you and and feel that to bandy the name of the barred member is not in the spirit of this excellent forum. We all make mistakes and poor judgements and we all at times have extenuating circumstances that may well impact HOW we deal with others whether in person or online. This forum is (and needs to be) clearly based on values of fellowship and respect and a shared passion of an artwork we all enjoy. But as with art, you have those whose passion can be expressed in ways that affront (or may affront) others, so we need to have boundaries to adhere to, as well as an open and welcome back to the group after action has been completed. i dont read that we can't disagere in this forum, just not be attacking or make it personal. I like seeing differnt views of other members, it is quiter healthy and helps us newer members to review what we see. This surley is a VERY important element of the art of Bonsai. what i find difficult is that we are communicating via text and as in text messgaes, we cannot express our full intent of what we want to say and it is very easy to have our message muisconstrued. Texting within my family cna be a minefield at times and this is no differnet. The rule is to reread an decide would i like to have thiswritten to me on my posting??

I hope that the member does return to the forum and can rejoin us, as i REALLY value the significant and involvement of experienced members. We in the bush have others few and far between to share and grow in our passion. I'm sure it must have been a hard decision and clearly not one that was taken lightly.

This is a good opportunity for us alll to revisit the agreed rules ansd spirit of the forum.

Namaste


Stew

[harry]

Ken i know other members have been banned brett has said he has been what i meant was it has never been put on the open forum before so that is why i said it inflamed the situation i too hope who ever it was returns this thread might do the opposite and keep them away

harry

[ozzy]

Banning never works, tarring and feathering is the way to go

[Bretts]

i think stevens try at keeping us with in the rules and not causing any friction has backfired there are members posting asking who was banned why do they wish to inflame the situation more by stating that some one has been banned which has not been done before so that in its self inflamed the situation i think we should all move on

harry

FYI harry, there has been 4 people banned for Ausbonsaiin the time we have been running ( I think), and none of them have been advertised to the general public. The reason is to avoid the embarassment or reticence that may arise when and Hopefully if they come back and continue posting.

The reason for each one has been largely due to not respecting the rules of the site, and specifically arguing finer points with the Moderation team ( or just being plain rude) in the public forums. If anyone has an issue with someone on the site or a post ( including the mods), please report the post and the site admin team will discuss an appropriate course of action.
Under each Case so far there is personal messages to the relevant parties, and many a discussion between the mods as to the course of action to take. The decision to place a ban is not taken lightly and we endeavour to treat all with the respect you all deserve

Gareth I agree totally that everyone should abide by the same rules. and as far as I know, most do. If there is any posts that raise alarms them please let the mod team know by reporting it.

@Sno, you are correct that the mod team are not paid ( take note please steven ), we do it because we are keen to see the site provide access and Quality info to all australian bonsai artists whether they be 30 yr veterans or 1 month newbies.

Ken

Can I give my opinion on that without getting in trouble again, I doubt that

[anttal63]

Banning never works, tarring and feathering is the way to go

Ouch

BTW i was once banned too Club elite !!! Silly boys

[ozzy]

Banning never works, tarring and feathering is the way to go

Ouch

BTW i was once banned too Club elite !!! Silly boys

You're a trouble causer from way back

[kcpoole]

Can I give my opinion on that without getting in trouble again, I doubt that

Of course you can brett, Having your own Opinions are what makes people interesting .
We can and shoudl learn from eachother which is the point of the forum, but do not lambaste anyone fro haveing a different thought process and cannot see your own. Sometimes it is a fine line, but we all have to learn that and if we do we bocome a valuable member.

the secret, is just do not criticise any one, or Argue the point if a decision out of your control has been made.
If you want to do that, you can do so in a PM instead which is what has always been said.

Ken

[Bretts]

The reason for each one has been largely due to not respecting the rules of the site, and specifically arguing finer points with the Moderation team ( or just being plain rude) in the public forums. If anyone has an issue with someone on the site or a post ( including the mods), please report the post and the site admin team will discuss an appropriate course of action.

You have always been fair to me KC, but as I see it if I was to call a mod Rude then I would again be in trouble.
Hence I do not feel I can safely give my opinion on what you have said without getting in trouble Just staing the mods are wrong might be classed as a breach of the rules.
That doesn't make it a fair discussion Philosophically speaking

[ozzy]

Attention members ... Please feel free to bitch slap me right into next week if you feel the need

[anttal63]

Attention members ... Please feel free to bitch slap me right into next week if you feel the need

Just hand over ya Olives that ll do it !!!

[bodhidharma]

Attention members ... Please feel free to bitch slap me right into next week if you feel the need

Where is the damn slap emoticon Bugger,this will do