See you around

[Elad n]

See you around guys, i wont be using this platform anymore since they shut my mouth and removed my avatar.

They say its not professional so the PROFESSIONAL thing to do is to ask them to close my account.

Good luck you all!

---

Moderator response:

• https://www.namepros.com/posts/7754873/

Important questions:

• https://www.namepros.com/posts/7749064/

 

[JB Lions]

These are the messages that we sent to @Elad n:

​

Please read them if you feel strongly about this topic.


We're sorry that you took this so hard, but we are confident it is what's best for the future.

I'm reading your replies and I seriously wondered if somebody took over your account/hacked.

It's ridiculous, this avatar stuff. This place isn't supposed to be like LinkedIn, we already have that. It's supposed to be like Namepros. This person who complained about it should just use something that blocks images, if they're that uptight about it. It's not the right direction to be going in, evidenced by the 21-0 poll, which will probably grow even more lopsided.

 

[bmugford]

I hope no one is offended by cubes.

Brad

 

[55Domains]

0 votes on yes, that tells you all. NP should admit its error where due, like everyone else is expected to do so.

I guess my avatar is also unprof then?... Pfft...

Also, what kind of policy is that, why not create a forum only for the Pro`s if only they get to decide who should or shouldnt have the badge. As little as 3 can vote someone out, and dont even have to put their vote or reasoning public, Jokes again.

Will also pull my gold so that makes 2 now....

 

[Compassion]

I trust no one is offended by flat earth maps . . .

you know ...

like the United Nations logo

 

[bmugford]

I trust no one is offended by flat earth maps . . .

you know ...

like the United Nations logo

I am offended by your logo making a mockery of the yin and yang symbol

On a serious note, I can't even believe this is real. It seems like such a stupid hill to die on for the mods. Is it worth losing a quality member over this?

Brad

 

[JB Lions]

We have the following:

• https://www.namepros.com/threads/expectations-for-respect-and-constructiveness.845259/
  
• https://www.namepros.com/threads/official-rules-of-namepros.848752/
  
• https://www.namepros.com/forums/faq-rules-and-help-guides.232/

Please feel free to suggest more or what you'd like to see.

LinkedIn tends to use more real names than nicknames and your avatar seems to be squashing a fly, which is very violent. I squash them too but not here at NP. So you'll have to update name and avatar as well then.

 

[bmugford]

your avatar seems to be squashing a fly, which is very violent. I squash them too but not here at NP. So you'll have to update name and avatar as well then.

To me their logo kind of looks like a high five. With the current social distancing it just feels highly inappropriate.

Brad

 

[hawkeye]

I hope no one is offended by cubes.

Brad

I'm pretty sure a lot of 'squares' would be.

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

The poll and many comments in this thread are not relevant to this matter because the question was never whether the avatar is disturbing or offensive, although the avatar may be those things to some people and those types of avatars are also not allowed.

The relevant matter is whether it is considered professional to have a picture of a scene from a movie where the person is trying to kill someone. The answer is no, it is not professional. Yes, that's an opinion. Yes, you may disagree. But that's the decision we made after it was reported to us.

We understand that some of you may disagree with the direction that we're heading, but it is toward a more professional community. Something that is closer to LinkedIn than Twitter.

NamePros isn't for everyone, and it can't be. It can, however, be for professionals.

Fortunately, if you value professionalism and a positive environment, then the future is great and we have a lot of positive changes coming for you. We understand if you prefer something else.

But we hope you will stay and use NamePros in the way that you would behave in the office rather than at a friend's party.

Thanks.

 

[bmugford]

The poll and many comments are not relevant to this matter because the question was not whether the avatar is disturbing or offensive, although the avatar may be those things to some people and those types of avatars are also not allowed.

It is highly relevant if you want a forum where you actually garner the respect of contributing members.

The relevant matter is whether it is considered professional to have a picture of a scene from a movie where the person is trying to kill someone. The answer is no, it is not professional. Yes, that's an opinion. Yes, you may disagree. But that's the decision we made after it was reported to us.

I do disagree, as does every single member voting in the poll. However, if you want to take the stance that your vote is the only one that matters then fine. That just make it less of a community, and more of a dictatorship.

We understand that some may disagree with the direction that we're heading, but it is toward a more professional community. Something that is closer to LinkedIn than Twitter.

Really? It is hard to take you seriously when there is still a member here who has been involved in 2 separate incidents of threatening other people.

Brad

 

[hawkeye]

NamePros isn't for everyone

Whoa!!, if one looks thru NP there are many mod postings/statements noting that anyone is allowed to join NP, and post here, as it's a open forum. There has 'never' been stated/implied etc. that it's only for professionals. And if so, so suddenly, what is the criteria for being such? Posting buying LLLs for $500, calling any and every domain 'premium', etc etc. Please do so advise as who NP is now for.

 

[capybara]

But we hope you will stay and use NamePros how you would behave in the office rather than at a friend's party.

I like modern offices

 

[Ategy]

yes i have reply of support.. any three pros can remove one pro..
and three pros teamed against me lol and just because of that i am no more so called PRO lol

That's kinda messed up. You'd think it would have been more appropriate for those 3 people to speak up BEFORE you were made "Pro". I'd think once you become "Pro" the only things that would get you removed would be if you broke rules, behaved unethically or became inactive/retired.

That said, this is a difficult industry to get respect. For a few years now I've shared what I'm told has grown to be the best and most complete hand curated list in the industry. Yet it's like NameCult doesn't exist in this industry. While the "Domaining" newsfeed is a private site and certainly entitled to put up whatever they choose, when I asked that NameCult be added to the feed I was told they already had lists, and that the people who already had their lists listed didn't want any new ones! But I'm thinking .. wouldn't it be in everyone's interest to share the best lists for your audience? I guess not! lol .. Heck .. NP didn't even think NameCult was recognised enough to get a simple staff badge .. maybe they're right as I only get a couple of thanks a day in those threads .. but it's also hundreds of views a day now .. more views than any list in NamePros' Expired Lists section. But at the end of the day I get people contacting me thanking me all the time for not just the lists, but also for being so thorough and helpful in my comments all over NP . .so that does give me the warm-and-fuzzies .. lol .. and more importantly, I'm making money selling domains .. in the end I suppose that's what matters most .. maybe it's time I focused more on my own stuff?

On the NamePros front .. I owned/admin'ed a large forum 16-20 years ago .. and can say it's not as easy or as simple as people think. You constantly have different groups pushing for competing features and policies and rules and etc etc. I certainly do complain a bit because there's most certainly things that can be dome better. but at the same time I also can say it's nowhere near as easy as you all think to run a community filled with such a wide variety of members each with very differing expectations at times. Ultimately they do get a lot of things right .. and for the most part they aren't evil and out to get us all (although I'm guessing that's GoDaddy's job according to some of you .. lol).

I hope no one is offended by cubes.

You blockhead! lol

Also .. my issue with anonymity wasn't so much with the moderation team .. although I certainly agree they each should have their own account, even if it's simply "Mod A", "Mod B", Mod C" etc etc.

My actual issue with anonymity is more to do with ownership. Basically who has control and partial rights to all our content and private messages. From the ownership's side I certainly do understand that there can be some people who take things too far. But it doesn't change the fact that we have no clue who holds the rights and keys to anything we post on NamePros both publicly and privately.

 

[Ategy]

The relevant matter is whether it is considered professional to have a picture of a scene from a movie where the person is trying to kill someone. The answer is no, it is not professional. Yes, that's an opinion. Yes, you may disagree. But that's the decision we made after it was reported to us.

Can't say I 100% support without seeing the avatar, but if that's what the avatar was, I can't say that I disagree with the decision. Maybe if the avatar was there for a while, then give a bit of time to choose a replacement .. but if the biggest forum in the industry wants to make us look more professional, well that's fine by me as long as it's well communicated and people are given time to replace their old one .. particularly if they've been using it a while as over time a person's avatar can certainly become someone's brand just as much as their username.

 

[bmugford]

26-0. If this was sports they would invoke the mercy rule.

Brad

 

[Compassion]

I like modern offices

I like your avatar!

Is that Punxsutawney Phil hanging out with a 100 year old tortoise?

 

[bmugford]

Can't say I 100% support without seeing the avatar, but if that's what the avatar was, I can't say that I disagree with the decision. Maybe if the avatar was there for a while, then give a bit of time to choose a replacement .. but if the biggest forum in the industry wants to make us look more professional, well that's fine by me as long as it's well communicated and people are given time to replace their old one .. particularly if they've been using it a while as over time a person's avatar can certainly become someone's brand just as much as their username.

The avatar is in post #5 in this thread. It is the "Here's Johnny" scene.

Brad

 

[JB Lions]

The poll and many comments are not relevant to this matter because the question was not whether the avatar is disturbing or offensive, although the avatar may be those things to some people and those types of avatars are also not allowed.

The relevant matter is whether it is considered professional to have a picture of a scene from a movie where the person is trying to kill someone. The answer is no, it is not professional. Yes, that's an opinion. Yes, you may disagree. But that's the decision we made after it was reported to us.

We understand that some of you may disagree with the direction that we're heading, but it is toward a more professional community. Something that is closer to LinkedIn than Twitter.

NamePros isn't for everyone, and it can't be. It can, however, be for professionals.

Fortunately, if you value professionalism and a positive environment, then the future is great and we have a lot of positive changes coming for you. We understand if you prefer something else.

But we hope you will stay and use NamePros how you would behave in the office rather than at a friend's party.

Thanks.

This is a very easy one. 26-0 so far. You're literally going against that. That just doesn't make sense because of 1 person having an issue with avatar.

You already have a winning model here, why would you start going against the majority of your members?

The avatars are a more fun thing, it's supposed to be a little loose, within the rules.

Is there something else going on behind the scenes?

btw the avatar by itself wasn't violent. Jack Nicholson from the movie The Shining.

 

[Recons.Com]

No. It only takes one member to bring it to our attention, but then we decide whether we agree.

We also voted "no" in the poll "Do you find it or me disturbing."

But, in this particular case, it wasn't removed because it's disturbing.

It was removed because it's not setting the professional standard that we're working toward.

1. So why did you agree? 26 people out of 26 here found it non offensive. Could you explain your thinking?

2. Why do you need report as first stage? Don't you read your own forum and don't see worse ones?

3. Comparison to LinkedIn is not adequate on so many levels. LinkedIn doesn't force you to change pics, people choose to put their photos. What is next? You will demand using real names as username?

 

[Ategy]

This is not fair that is the point......they have bowed down to a very small minority - how small is what I want to know, how many people have complained to the mods about his avatar?

I want to know why this has been flagged as unprofessional while many other light hearted avatars are allowed, where does the buck stop in regards to who decides whats a professional avatar or not? Is it the members? The mods? Management? How many complaints must be received before it gets decided it is unprofessional?

I think the fact it was reported or not really isn't the issue at all. Again .. remember what I said .. whether we like it or not .. this is a privately owned and managed forum. NamePros can do whatever they want even if there isn't a single complaint.

Think about it .. if you owned a house, would you want a picture of someone trying to murder someone on an outside and publicly visible wall? You probably wouldn't .. and since it's your wall, you have total rights and liberties to remove the picture in question regardless of whether 100 other people don't agree with you.

Again .. I didn't see the avatar so I'm not saying this specific decision was what I would have done .. just trying to help you understand the reality of the situation. NamePros gets to decide anything related to NamePros, it's not a democracy or open to public debate .. they can run things however they want. Ultimately those decisions might gain or lose people, but it's their decision to make. All we can do is hope it's fair .. or choose to go to that other forum with all the crickets, cobwebs and tumbleweeds! lol

 

[capybara]

I like your avatar!

Is that Punxsutawney Phil hanging out with a 100 year old tortoise?

Oh no, please don't bring anyone's attention to it! Because...

– The wombat sitting on a turtle is obviously humiliating her doing so, and its sexist and abusive
– The wombat is looking in the opposite direction during the ride hence its a promotion of dangerous driving
– The turtle is white and the wombat is black, the turtle is carrying the wombat somewhere without asking him, which represents the White people forcefully deciding things on behalf of the Black people, therefore its racist
– Also, no social distancing and no face masks

With all that, there is no way nobody is getting offended!

 

[bmugford]

Again .. I didn't see the avatar so I'm not saying this specific decision was what I would have done .. just trying to help you understand the reality of the situation. NamePros gets to decide anything related to NamePros, it's not a democracy or open to public debate .. they can run things however they want. Ultimately those decisions might gain or lose people, but it's their decision to make. All we can do is hope it's fair .. or choose to go to that other forum with all the crickets, cobwebs and tumbleweeds! lol

Please see my post above. The avatar is in the #5 post in this thread.

It is the iconic "Here's Johnny" scene from The Shining.

Brad

 

[NickB]

I think the fact it was reported or not really isn't the issue at all. Again .. remember what I said .. whether we like it or not .. this is a privately owned and managed forum. NamePros can do whatever they want even if there isn't a single complaint.

Think about it .. if you owned a house, would you want a picture of someone trying to murder someone on an outside and publicly visible wall? You probably wouldn't .. and since it's your wall, you have total rights and liberties to remove the picture in question regardless of whether 100 other people don't agree with you.

Again .. I didn't see the avatar so I'm not saying this specific decision was what I would have done .. just trying to help you understand the reality of the situation. NamePros gets to decide anything related to NamePros, it's not a democracy or open to public debate .. they can run things however they want. Ultimately those decisions might gain or lose people, but it's their decision to make. All we can do is hope it's fair .. or choose to go to that other forum with all the crickets, cobwebs and tumbleweeds! lol

It is a big issue because it was reported.....no reporting, no bloody issue - I bet the mods never even picked up on it until it was reported by that 1 member......

They have agreed with this 1 member that it is not professional and are sticking with it, they now need to go through every registered account and check all avatars to make sure they are deemed "professional" - seems only fair considering their pig headed reasoning.........which will lead to that 19th century mid western oil town ....tumbleweeds and all

If it is a case of this not being a forum for members but some sort of dictatorship then I will not be renewing my paid membership

 

[carob]

We understand that some of you may disagree with the direction that we're heading, but it is toward a more professional community. Something that is closer to LinkedIn than Twitter.

NamePros isn't for everyone, and it can't be. It can, however, be for professionals.

Wouldn't it help if you told us the direction you want to go in, instead of having firefight flareups like this? Or did I miss something?

I had seen that avatar for years and it did not trouble me, and yes I have seen the film. In part it is about the risks of isolation and obsession, which are also domainer hazards. And we don't have to take the image literally as a threat to kill - yes I've head NP does feature those - but as someone "about to make a killing" in the domain market.

And what does professionals mean here? Verifiable traders? Verifiable turnover? People who meet ethical standards? Paying members? Who is setting the standards?

A few years back under different ownership the moderation was at times patchy - the result was I didn't feel like posting, even factual info. If I start to feel the goalposts are moving and I can't even see it happen till I run into one, I'll stay off the field and just watch.

 

[bmugford]

33-0.

Brad