For the benefit and edification of all who will ponder the move, I chose to make this public.
Most of you know me, as I've been here since perhaps the 2nd year of NP's existence. I've been a moderator/section leader for quite some time, too. I have over 100 positive TR's and am one of the few who have Achieved Greatness. And for good measure, I'll add that I moderate eleven forums here. I am a writer by trade (I am the editor of the in-hiatus namepros.com newsletter) but, as a favor to Rachel James (aka NPQueen), I joined the NP team. Those were such great days. NP was doing outstanding & people came here daily to learn the tricks of the trade and sell a domain or two. I still converse with her and her husband, Ron (aka RJ) at times. The staff here was tremendous. Michelle and Wendy were powerhouses. RJ kept things in order. And, let’s face it, everyone loved seeing the Queen in the chatroom. Things were great.
But just like every shattered dream, nothing ever lasts forever.
Things started falling apart here no long ago. All told, Ron sold NP, his baby, to someone who was going to make NP better. Yeah, traffic was decreasing a bit, among other things, and the most practical way to keep NP alive was to sell it to an entity that could stop the bleeding. I do not blame RJ for selling. He did what was best for the site. And I will not criticize Matt, the buyer of NP. Yet I do find myself questioning & here I am today, typing this out as a way to not answer these questions but to cut loose the burden of having to question them in the first place.
We all have our hopes and dreams. One of my hopes was that Matt would pump life into this site, reinvigorating NP from the inside-out. Sadly, all that had been achieved was the descent and deterioration of all that Ron had made. The worst part? We were warned but ignored it completely.
Well, nearly everyone did, anyway. I was the lone exception. Who was the prophet who first brought the issue to light? Wendy.
Ya see, as communities such as NP grow ever so big, the prospect of keeping order is a requirement. Without order, you’ll have anarchy (or something as pointlessly worthless as GFY). NP was kind of the anti-GFY: This is a moderated community and the mods here actually TRY to help ppl. But yes, moderation is needed for the grand scheme of things to float. That cannot be debated. A person is smart; people are retarded, panicky, and self-destructive. People cannot self-moderate. That’s where mods (or police, in the physical world) come in. And yes, all forms of law enforcement are hated. The issue at hand here is not the prospect of moderation.
It’s over-moderation.
Let me ask a question: What constitutes as over-moderation? Surely, penalizing people for every little thing is bad. Sometimes, a reminder to the offender that he/she was in the wrong can solve the problem. Crucifying EVEYONE isn’t the way to go. By doing so, you would, in essence, be over-modding.
But is ALL moderating “over-modding”? I once had this to say about the departed Wendy:
“I do have to side with Wendy. She and I have spoken throughout the years & I see her points. She was a good moderator/authority figure. But that draws the ire of the public. No one likes breaking a rule & being punished for it. All of us mods go through with it: If we ignore something bad, the bad guy in the situation would get away with it & wouldn't have anything bad to say. BUT the moment he's caught with his hand in the cookie jar, there'll be a long rant by the bad guy, chastising the mod for what ultimately boils down to the bad guy getting an infraction. We are 'police' here @ NP. And when ppl do bad, they'll always have criticisms. Wendy's done a lot over the years, more than most of us had. And that being true, she's had the most criticism of us all.
I'm not saying Wendy being removed was a good or bad thing. I'm only saying here that Wendy was given a bad rep from users who've been disciplined by her & it snowballed into her image being shot up pretty badly. We've all gone through it. We've all made at least 1 enemy doing our job. Wendy, sadly, made a lotta enemies. It wasn't from the quality of her work. It was the fact that she DID her work and did it well. The good guys like her. The bad guys hate her.”
Yes, poor mis_chiff stepped away. Upon her departure, I considered doing the same, as all she spoke of really made sense. I tried, instead, to ignore matters & rather than leaving, I took up a few more forums, to help out NP. I tried to dismiss the regression, pretending that everything was going to work out in the end. A few weeks later and things are now even worse. Not only is Wendy gone but a lot of the class and style had left with her. Yes, the bad guys won: She was driven out by the naysayers and spammers and rule-breakers. Wendy is gone. And today, on May 20, 2012, my name shall be added along with hers.
Effective immediately, I resign from all staff positions here at namepros.com.
Ironically, Eric told me that management believed that I was “under stress” & removed me from several forums, to collect myself. He sent me this message awhile after I made this decision to step down from everything. It isn’t stress that had gotten to me: It’s that people suddenly have gotten otherwise blind or oblivious to the rules. Again, I am an exception. Sure, I’m not perfect. Who is? We all make mistakes. But since Matt took over, NP had only gotten worse--and I’m afraid it’ll never return to its glory. Hell, I’m thinking NP might fall completely at this rate. And this destruction is from mismanagement, not mods.
Nowadays, people can cuss a storm, be impolite, and provoke argument & we mods are powerless to stop it. Today alone, I had an issue. There was a post made that contained very belligerent language & provoked a lotta bad thoughts. Had RJ been here, that post would have stayed deleted. See, Eric saw the post & refused to delete it, opting to edit a few small things. I received a complaint & saw no reason to keep such a poor post, thus I deleted it. Eric then UN-DELETED it, telling me a load of rigmarole about free speech and whatnot. (He tried to justify things by telling me I called the poster retarded, thus what comes around, goes around; I in no way called the poster retarded but merely stated that he was acting retarded) IT BROKE A LONGSTANDING NP RULE! It was impolite, offensive, belligerent, and was posted in the hopes of causing turmoil. From the NP rules:
“Posts critical of NamePros policies, staff or moderation activity (such as post edits or deletions) will likely be removed, as well as posts attempting to stir unwelcome drama (such as "I'm Leaving" type posts). If you have problems with a moderator or feel you have not been treated fairly, please contact a NamePros Administrator through the private forum we have provided.”
This exact thread might be considered as “critical” though it is merely for constructive thought (there is much worse to be read in the “Suggestions” thread). Eric, I ask that you not delete this thread or edit it in any way. If others have opinions, they should voice them, as that is the intention of this thread, other than my announcement. It may help management prevent the bleeding further.
But yes, the post I removed was against ToS & I removed it. It was then re-added by a staff member who wanted to appease users. I’ve discussed it above and I’ll say it like this: We should NOT bend to the will of rule-breakers simply to keep them happy. I don’t. But many others here do. A month back, I deleted a thread with good reason & was beseeched to re-add it simply because the poster whined and cried about it & wanted it returned. I only re-added it to prevent further bad-taste in everyone’s mouth. I suppose I contradicted myself: I did succumb before. But I will not again, ever.
I’m done. I am tired of other people telling me how to do my job. And I did my job pretty damn well. But others wanted me to regress, to make the bad guys happy. No. Forget it. During the first few months I’ve been a mod, there was an incident where a remorse-seller gave me grief over a $600 deal. He had 100% no right to the name (he refused a refund a billion times) but I caved--to protect the sanctity of NP’s image. That was when Ron and Rachel were here. I liked them. I still do. And I respect the hell outta them. They did all they could to make NP a better community. I became a mod out of respect and loyalty to them. This new management is tearing at the gears that have kept NP running all these years. In April, NP lost a team leader. In May, NP had lost a section leader. I’m afraid to wonder what’ll come up missing next month.
Nevermore shall I moderate at this forum. Wendy was right. Namepros.com is going soft & will more than likely become a haven for chaos here in the near future. I’ll probably still be here, in one fashion or another, to watch it crumble down. When it does, I’ll sleep better at night knowing that there is no blood on my hands. This wasn’t my doing. I wish NP the very best, truly. I still love this site. But if I cannot do my job the way it’s supposed to be done, then I simply won’t do it, at all.
Most of you know me, as I've been here since perhaps the 2nd year of NP's existence. I've been a moderator/section leader for quite some time, too. I have over 100 positive TR's and am one of the few who have Achieved Greatness. And for good measure, I'll add that I moderate eleven forums here. I am a writer by trade (I am the editor of the in-hiatus namepros.com newsletter) but, as a favor to Rachel James (aka NPQueen), I joined the NP team. Those were such great days. NP was doing outstanding & people came here daily to learn the tricks of the trade and sell a domain or two. I still converse with her and her husband, Ron (aka RJ) at times. The staff here was tremendous. Michelle and Wendy were powerhouses. RJ kept things in order. And, let’s face it, everyone loved seeing the Queen in the chatroom. Things were great.
But just like every shattered dream, nothing ever lasts forever.
Things started falling apart here no long ago. All told, Ron sold NP, his baby, to someone who was going to make NP better. Yeah, traffic was decreasing a bit, among other things, and the most practical way to keep NP alive was to sell it to an entity that could stop the bleeding. I do not blame RJ for selling. He did what was best for the site. And I will not criticize Matt, the buyer of NP. Yet I do find myself questioning & here I am today, typing this out as a way to not answer these questions but to cut loose the burden of having to question them in the first place.
We all have our hopes and dreams. One of my hopes was that Matt would pump life into this site, reinvigorating NP from the inside-out. Sadly, all that had been achieved was the descent and deterioration of all that Ron had made. The worst part? We were warned but ignored it completely.
Well, nearly everyone did, anyway. I was the lone exception. Who was the prophet who first brought the issue to light? Wendy.
Ya see, as communities such as NP grow ever so big, the prospect of keeping order is a requirement. Without order, you’ll have anarchy (or something as pointlessly worthless as GFY). NP was kind of the anti-GFY: This is a moderated community and the mods here actually TRY to help ppl. But yes, moderation is needed for the grand scheme of things to float. That cannot be debated. A person is smart; people are retarded, panicky, and self-destructive. People cannot self-moderate. That’s where mods (or police, in the physical world) come in. And yes, all forms of law enforcement are hated. The issue at hand here is not the prospect of moderation.
It’s over-moderation.
Let me ask a question: What constitutes as over-moderation? Surely, penalizing people for every little thing is bad. Sometimes, a reminder to the offender that he/she was in the wrong can solve the problem. Crucifying EVEYONE isn’t the way to go. By doing so, you would, in essence, be over-modding.
But is ALL moderating “over-modding”? I once had this to say about the departed Wendy:
“I do have to side with Wendy. She and I have spoken throughout the years & I see her points. She was a good moderator/authority figure. But that draws the ire of the public. No one likes breaking a rule & being punished for it. All of us mods go through with it: If we ignore something bad, the bad guy in the situation would get away with it & wouldn't have anything bad to say. BUT the moment he's caught with his hand in the cookie jar, there'll be a long rant by the bad guy, chastising the mod for what ultimately boils down to the bad guy getting an infraction. We are 'police' here @ NP. And when ppl do bad, they'll always have criticisms. Wendy's done a lot over the years, more than most of us had. And that being true, she's had the most criticism of us all.
I'm not saying Wendy being removed was a good or bad thing. I'm only saying here that Wendy was given a bad rep from users who've been disciplined by her & it snowballed into her image being shot up pretty badly. We've all gone through it. We've all made at least 1 enemy doing our job. Wendy, sadly, made a lotta enemies. It wasn't from the quality of her work. It was the fact that she DID her work and did it well. The good guys like her. The bad guys hate her.”
Yes, poor mis_chiff stepped away. Upon her departure, I considered doing the same, as all she spoke of really made sense. I tried, instead, to ignore matters & rather than leaving, I took up a few more forums, to help out NP. I tried to dismiss the regression, pretending that everything was going to work out in the end. A few weeks later and things are now even worse. Not only is Wendy gone but a lot of the class and style had left with her. Yes, the bad guys won: She was driven out by the naysayers and spammers and rule-breakers. Wendy is gone. And today, on May 20, 2012, my name shall be added along with hers.
Effective immediately, I resign from all staff positions here at namepros.com.
Ironically, Eric told me that management believed that I was “under stress” & removed me from several forums, to collect myself. He sent me this message awhile after I made this decision to step down from everything. It isn’t stress that had gotten to me: It’s that people suddenly have gotten otherwise blind or oblivious to the rules. Again, I am an exception. Sure, I’m not perfect. Who is? We all make mistakes. But since Matt took over, NP had only gotten worse--and I’m afraid it’ll never return to its glory. Hell, I’m thinking NP might fall completely at this rate. And this destruction is from mismanagement, not mods.
Nowadays, people can cuss a storm, be impolite, and provoke argument & we mods are powerless to stop it. Today alone, I had an issue. There was a post made that contained very belligerent language & provoked a lotta bad thoughts. Had RJ been here, that post would have stayed deleted. See, Eric saw the post & refused to delete it, opting to edit a few small things. I received a complaint & saw no reason to keep such a poor post, thus I deleted it. Eric then UN-DELETED it, telling me a load of rigmarole about free speech and whatnot. (He tried to justify things by telling me I called the poster retarded, thus what comes around, goes around; I in no way called the poster retarded but merely stated that he was acting retarded) IT BROKE A LONGSTANDING NP RULE! It was impolite, offensive, belligerent, and was posted in the hopes of causing turmoil. From the NP rules:
“Posts critical of NamePros policies, staff or moderation activity (such as post edits or deletions) will likely be removed, as well as posts attempting to stir unwelcome drama (such as "I'm Leaving" type posts). If you have problems with a moderator or feel you have not been treated fairly, please contact a NamePros Administrator through the private forum we have provided.”
This exact thread might be considered as “critical” though it is merely for constructive thought (there is much worse to be read in the “Suggestions” thread). Eric, I ask that you not delete this thread or edit it in any way. If others have opinions, they should voice them, as that is the intention of this thread, other than my announcement. It may help management prevent the bleeding further.
But yes, the post I removed was against ToS & I removed it. It was then re-added by a staff member who wanted to appease users. I’ve discussed it above and I’ll say it like this: We should NOT bend to the will of rule-breakers simply to keep them happy. I don’t. But many others here do. A month back, I deleted a thread with good reason & was beseeched to re-add it simply because the poster whined and cried about it & wanted it returned. I only re-added it to prevent further bad-taste in everyone’s mouth. I suppose I contradicted myself: I did succumb before. But I will not again, ever.
I’m done. I am tired of other people telling me how to do my job. And I did my job pretty damn well. But others wanted me to regress, to make the bad guys happy. No. Forget it. During the first few months I’ve been a mod, there was an incident where a remorse-seller gave me grief over a $600 deal. He had 100% no right to the name (he refused a refund a billion times) but I caved--to protect the sanctity of NP’s image. That was when Ron and Rachel were here. I liked them. I still do. And I respect the hell outta them. They did all they could to make NP a better community. I became a mod out of respect and loyalty to them. This new management is tearing at the gears that have kept NP running all these years. In April, NP lost a team leader. In May, NP had lost a section leader. I’m afraid to wonder what’ll come up missing next month.
Nevermore shall I moderate at this forum. Wendy was right. Namepros.com is going soft & will more than likely become a haven for chaos here in the near future. I’ll probably still be here, in one fashion or another, to watch it crumble down. When it does, I’ll sleep better at night knowing that there is no blood on my hands. This wasn’t my doing. I wish NP the very best, truly. I still love this site. But if I cannot do my job the way it’s supposed to be done, then I simply won’t do it, at all.
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