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/

 

[gilescoley]

I think Elad has been unfairly treated here. You shouldn't be removing someone's avatar because one person takes offense to it. This is crazy.

I cant see how its an offenseive image, its from a famous movie scene.

So I can have the avatars on the left, but not the ones on the right?

This is a serious question? (not a movie quizz ) If nobody finds it offensive now and then in 5 years time, one NP member reports me for the avatar, it will be removed?

Is that correct? I'm just looking for a Yes or No from the mods, thats all

 

[NickB]

@Mod Team Bravo when are the mods going to review all avatars to make sure they are deemed "professional"

You can't remove 1 avatar and stop there, to keep things fair you have to review the other 1,000,000+ accounts surely?

When are you going to start? What metrics are you going to use to decide? How long will this process take?

 

[golan]

Can there be a foundation of intelligence for the mod teams to work from to basically deflect time wasting reports such as this one, rather than yield any credibility to such a ridiculous report?

Well said, man. Respect

 

[golan]

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

Thanks for the idea. I'm also going to cancel all payments now.

 

[cooljub]

This is ridiculous behavior by @Mod Team Bravo

Good Luck everyone

 

[YairDD]

Is my avatar considered offensive?

 

[johnn]

Mods should spend the time to do something to make the forum more friendly instead of acting like cops.
A lot of old members left recently because of these nonsense decision and waste too much of our time.
Mods should concentrate on controlling Spammers/Scammers/Fraudulent transaction instead of get involve in something like Avatar unless it's illegal. There are more important things to do than the avatar:
- Make rules in the Wanted to buy section to reduce the number of fake buyers ($1,000 for one word dot com) and if the OP did not reply once every 24/48 hours then close the thread. Many members just post in WTB but never buy anything.
- NP should not control who is paying the fees when selling or buying. This is the agreement between buyer/seller and Escrow companies are ok with that so why NP dictates who is paying for Escrow fees.
- Too me it looks like there is a shortage for Mods here. For the size like this forum you should have more mods instead just 1 or 2 under more names
- Mods should never engage in a conversation to prove that they FEEL the decision is right.

I rest my case. This is one of the reasons I don't post much anymore.

 

[Avijit Roy]

Elad N , is a valuable contributor, it's sad to see him leaving...

 

[Mary Muse]

I'm glad I cancelled any paid membership last year -- I am now VERY seriously considering leaving this platform altogether this week.

 

[carob]

Is a potential buyer putting pressure on the forum to clean up before a sale?

Who is going to buy Namepros - Godaddy, ICANN, Epik, Sav, Ebay? Ethos Capital? Donuts? Adam Dicker on credit? Wix? Someone wanting a feeder for a marketplace?

Would this be a distressed sale - are revenues down? Advertising expenditure everywhere is going down, a lot of people are hurting.

At one time UK banks went through a phase of buying estate agents (real estate agencies) and found often they ended up just owning an empty office, since what counted was the knowledge and contacts of the people in the office, who often went elsewhere after the sale.

 

[HotKey]

Striving for a better or new standard of professionalism is fine. At the mods/admin, there are countless members whom have contributed so much of their time and efforts throughout the years here. Have you considered a grandfather clause of sorts, towards members that have established themselves over time and commitment to NP, at least?

If someone's picture does not fit current standards but is clearly part of an individuals persona that they've built up over time, and has been professional throughout in other aspects, perhaps some leniency in a grandfathered way could be applied.

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

Striving for a better or new standard of professionalism is fine. At the mods/admin, there are countless members whom have contributed so much of their time and efforts throughout the years here. Have you considered a grandfather clause of sorts, towards members that have established themselves over time and commitment to NP, at least?

If someone's picture does not fit current standards but is clearly part of an individuals persona that they've built up over time, and has been professional throughout in other aspects, perhaps some leniency in a grandfathered way could be applied.

That sounds reasonable.

 

[Skyvisum]

Elad is one of the most interesting members here.I have done business with him and we shared a lot of ideas .I have gotten tips from him and a thread he started,I have used to invest wisely on some liquid domains.

I am disappointed with namepros for letting a good member leave over an avatar(really?)Kudos to all the members on his side.

Still about this .

 

[novasyd]

me, before logging into namepros

 

[Optimal Names]

I just noticed this response to the OP by Mod Team Bravo.

If you really think losing a highly valuable member over some avatar nonsense is best for the future, you are sadly mistaken.

Brad

Whats happening in "the future" that the forum needs to be "disinfected" for? Thats what my immediate thought was to that mod response.

 

[WatchDogue]

Just a thought to avoid such an issue in the future, if suggestions re this matter as I understand the matter are welcome.

Many new members join daily/weekly/annually.

What about " reviewing " the username and avatar soon after the newbies arrive and at their onset
accept or reject either their username and/or avatar?

And as avatars change should same be reviewed to ensure reasonable compliance with a " soon-to-be-written-and-published " Forum guideline with examples illustrating both acceptable and unacceptable for avatars and user names?

As I am a guest of the Forum's ownership I surly have no objection to guidelines that are published, easy to interpret and applied equally to all other guests (members) of ownership.

But to think that one single objection to the avatar of a long term visible member can trigger such a sequence of events is a bit surprising.

I like harmony though surly I am not so naive, ignorant nor stupid to think that kumbaya is the rallying call of the masses on the Forum as after all, this is primarily a forum for domain buyers and sellers who are natural competitors for domain names and their attendant dollars.

I began to wonder what " might " have been possible ( although remote ) objections to that avatar or to a similar avatar prior to this thread..

Possible - though remote - objection 1: Though highly unlikely there possibly " could be " an objection to the avatars’ use from the original photographer or the film studio on a legal claim of copyright infringement;

Possible - though remote - objection 2: Someone, somehow, felt the avatar indicated the celebrity was endorsing the user.

However, the criteria used to review & reject the avatar was to declare same " non" professional “ and that is rather subjective though certainly within the prerogative of the moderation / ownership team.

That is an objection to the avatar I would not have considered until the publishing of this thread.

Hence the need for Forum avatar and username guidelines including acceptable and unacceptable examples, subjective yes but well within the reigns of ownership.

If ownership wishes to instill and project a more professional appearance for their Forum, so be it, it is their investment and their decision as to the direction and appearance of their Forum.

Forums work best IMO when all members believe reasonable and clear doctrines of fairness are applied to all.

Fairness breeds harmony among the reasonable masses.

 

[DomainBarracksRob]

Wow

Just when you thought 2020 could not get anymore upside down

This is ludicrous.

When you being to silence peoples ,free speech, opinions, beliefs, and self expression....you don't become a leader..you become the opposite actually .

This is very unfortunate @elad helped and taught me much, both in post and DM. He brought a great amount of value to this forum.

4-88 says you should be Impeached!( IMHO)

 

[Doron Vermaat]

I think this is ridiculous. This is a forum and edgy usernames and avatars are simply a part of that. Now, if the avatar is very offensive or gross, I'd get it, but I think anyone here agrees that wasn't the case. Personally, I support the use of real names and pictures but it should remain a choice imo.

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

Tips to create change at NamePros:

Better communication.

Here are some things that do not lead to change:

• Repeating yourself
• Getting angry
• Aggression
• Disrespect
• Doing things out of spite ("to prove a point")
• Reacting without thinking
• Being abrasive
• Acting crudely
• Ignoring or disregarding the other side
• Antagonizing
• Attacking
• Threatening

These types of things are ineffective because they don't change anyone's perspective. The only way change can happen is if you help us understand your logical perspective. "Because everyone says so" is not a logical explanation; it's missing the why everyone feels that way, which may be because they (or we) don't understand something.

If you want to help, please explain why you disagree with us and why you believe that your perspective makes more sense.

For example, telling us that we’re wrong in 1000 posts without an explanation does not help, but taking the time to articulate why you think we're wrong and what we should do instead could lead to a positive change with only 1 post.

Unfortunately, many replies approach these situations with more of a lynch mob mentality, but the only thing that does is cause problems and no one achieves anything.

We hope this explanation will help us to work together to improve, find common ground, or at least have a better understanding of each side.

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

To address some of the comments in this thread:

1. We’ve asked and confirmed that NamePros has not been sold since the last time it was publicly announced, is not preparing for a sale, and is not for sale.
2. The expectations of professionalism (e.g., acceptable posts, usernames, and avatars) have been the same since 2015. We will try to do better at conveying these expectations in additional help guides and providing more examples for clarity.
3. We've explained that we voted the same as the majority in the poll and that the poll is not relevant.
   • Some members have messaged us that they didn't think it was unprofessional until they learned the context of it, and now they believe it's unprofessional. The poll question is not presented in a way for it to be useful; it's the equivalent of asking someone to choose a president without understanding anything about their policies or plans.
4. The relevant posts in this thread are those that address these types of questions:
   • https://www.namepros.com/posts/7749064/
5. We do review some of the avatars and usernames of new registrations, but when there are a lot or we are busy with other matters, many go unchecked.
6. It is not practical or sensible to review every username and avatar. When they are brought to our attention, or we notice them, then we follow the procedures we're tasked to follow.
7. We understand that "professional" is a subjective word. The definition even varies across moderators, which is why one moderator may think the situation is "heated debate" and another may think it's "unacceptable." We are working on that, but we've provided an analogy in this thread that we hope will help until the guides are ready.

There are a lot of posts in this thread, and we appreciate the time you've spent to contribute to it. However, we have many other responsibilities to the community, so we cannot read them all as thoroughly as we'd like. If you feel something is important and we missed it, then please contact support so we can discuss it.

Thank you.