Mod Hat Off (Meaning I'm speaking only as a member of defensive carry and NOT a moderator):
Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to learn and interact with other like-minded individuals (at least in a very broad sense).
Mod Hat Back On:
As a moderator, when I hear someone throwing the word "insult" or "the people who insult me on the forum" over and over again on a video or in a posting I want to find those people and those posts and do some looking into the matter. It is, after all, the job of the moderators to keep some semblance of order. We try to be fair and good enforcers of the rules without being too heavy handed or without playing to favoritism (no one is above the rules, not even other moderators).
Per our forum rule #2:
2. While debating and discussion is fine, we will not tolerate rudeness, insulting posts, personal attacks or purposeless inflammatory posts or PMs. Trolling, flaming, and personal attacks are strictly prohibited. You are welcome to disagree with opinions other than your own, but flaming other members will not be allowed. If you can't figure out how to compose a post without it being confrontational or a personal attack on someone, simply bite your lip and don't post it.
We have a saying here: Attack the idea/post, not the poster.
Two things often happen that lead people to believe they are being attacked or insulted:
1. Their idea/post is attacked so vehemently that it seems as though they are being attacked themselves (after all, it is their idea/post).
2. The idea/post is so repetitively picked apart that it seems as though that person is being singled out.
When, we, as moderators, step into a thread and are asked to read it objectively we find that the idea/post is being attacked (sometime to ad nauseum) but not many (or no one) is actually breaking any forum rules. We are left with very few options from a moderator stand-point.
What we CAN do is what I am doing right now--Reminding the forum members of the two greatest tools available to them!!
1. The Report Post Button
We moderators cannot be everywhere and cannot get to every thread to read every single post. Sometimes the only indication we have that a thread is "going south" is that a forum member reports a post and asks us to look into things. This button is a little triangle with an exclamation point inside of it located at the bottom left hand of every post. If you feel that post is out of line, PLEASE, report it! The ENTIRE moderating staff will evaluate it and a decision will be made as to the action to take. No reported post is gone unnoticed.
2. The Ignore Button
In any members forum profile, underneath of his/her avatar is a handy little button that says, "Add to Ignore List." It's unfortunate but sometimes two people just cannot get along. It's no different on forums and when the mud starts flying, to keep everyone from getting messy sometimes it's best if they can't even see each others' posts. That is exactly what the ignore button does. There have often been times when moderators have stepped in and given the ultimatum of either two individuals putting each other on ignore or both be banned because no one wants to read the internet drama that can come from two people trying to duke it out on a public forum. I know that you, adric22, know how to use this feature.
Now, also, as a moderator, I speak to everyone when I say that I would like to say I am more than a fan of wiping slates clean. I, for one, am really sick of seeing half of the threads that adric22 posts in become chamber/unchamber debate threads. If carrying chambered/unchambered is not related to the topic of the thread there's no reason to bring it up.
I'm also sick of seeing old laundry dug out of the closet and hung back out. People can learn from their mistakes and move on.. that includes as members here.. posts being brought up from threads long closed or dead that have no relevance to the current topic will be treated as they are: off topic.
I have been a member on this forum for a long time and I have found this to be one of the only forums I continuously come back to for information and camaraderie. However, every few months or years we have an influx of new members who throw things out of balance a little and it takes some time to get readjusted and everyone get acquainted with the rules and how we enforce them here on DC. But, rest assured we either find a working solution that makes everyone happy (or at least peaceful) or we remove the problem people. We don't like to do it but we will do it.
That being said I have seen far more upstanding and civil posts from members than I have seen questionable responses and those are the posts/members I would like to applaud and thank as well as hold up as the example of DC. I urge you, adric22, to take a look at those fine folks and see them for what they are (good people trying to help) and concentrate on them and their advice rather than zeroing in on the borderline or negative. And, as always, if you feel a member has crossed a line you are welcome to let a moderator know about it. We WILL look into it.
:smile: