Interesting findings on the internet

[tggzzz]

I have only a passing interest in the shenanigans, mainly because shenanigans caused this place to be set up.

It seems that the benta thread disappeared because benta asked for it to be removed, and the mods obliged. Best guess seems to be that benta was embarrassed by his thread, and wanted to to forget about it. I suspect the mods agreed because there has recently been discussion about people leaving.

To me that is another poor mod decision; as I said, I hate seeing history revised/deleted/etc. Keep the historical record unchanged, and add retractions/apologies as appropriate.

Moderation is a difficult and thankless task. Being understaffed leads to mods reacting to whoever complains about whatever, and that can lead to weaponised moderation. No simple solution.

[MED6753]

I was a moderator for three years at diyAudio; it required a good deal of delicacy and we found that a gentle warning was most effective. So I doubt if there's really a "slash and burn". But I haven't looked closely; I don't waste my time watching playground arguments. I do notice that there are very definite cliques at the other place.

I'm up early to go to RATS (Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society) radio rally. Do they have a separate membership for receiving? The strongest argument I expect to be involved in there is whether I'm prepared to meet the vendor's asking price. In general, the prices asked at radio rallies are very reasonable.

I don't know if you participated in the blog TEA thread or not. If you pull up that thread starting around 19 August 2022 you'll see very heavy handled moderation which IMHO was completely unjustified.

[Zenith]

I don't know if you participated in the blog TEA thread or not. If you pull up that thread starting around 19 August 2022 you'll see very heavy handled moderation which IMHO was completely unjustified.

As I recall the TEA thread was rambling and more or less a world on its own. DJ was pleased it had so much traffic, but rarely looked at it. The discussions about none-TE related things, such as work benches, fizzled out in reasonable time. A fairly new member complained. One of the moderators who'd never looked at it before, saw the rambling discussions and jumped in with two hobnail boots, deleting posts and warning posters, without really understanding what he was messing with. A lot of regular posters became very pissed off.

[tggzzz]

Or the thread started by our very own bd139 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/news/foru ... msg5804353
Don't bother to read it, even though it contains a few good posts amongst the usual dross.

[Zenith]

I read the first two of 20 pages then skipped to the last. A particular contributor appeared. You may guess who I mean. I've believe he's been banned a couple of times in the past and reappeared under other avatars. Without question he's a genuine Wayne Kerr product. I've come to filter out any thread he pops up in.

I occasionally visit the other place and it can be interesting and useful. I don't wish to be drawn into it.

[tggzzz]

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/08/17 ... tion-suits

Translation: Amazon knows it is flogging dangerous and fake items, and knows it needs to protect itself from its customers. Tech bros at work.

I wonder if this is legal in other countries. Probably is.

[tautech]

I don't know if you participated in the blog TEA thread or not. If you pull up that thread starting around 19 August 2022 you'll see very heavy handled moderation which IMHO was completely unjustified.

As I recall the TEA thread was rambling and more or less a world on its own. DJ was pleased it had so much traffic, but rarely looked at it. The discussions about none-TE related things, such as work benches, fizzled out in reasonable time. A fairly new member complained. One of the moderators who'd never looked at it before, saw the rambling discussions and jumped in with two hobnail boots, deleting posts and warning posters, without really understanding what he was messing with. A lot of regular posters became very pissed off.

Nailed it exactly.
Them were fun times and made it the the largest and most viewed thread which it still remains today.....and by an order of magnitude too !

[AVGresponding]

I don't know if you participated in the blog TEA thread or not. If you pull up that thread starting around 19 August 2022 you'll see very heavy handled moderation which IMHO was completely unjustified.

As I recall the TEA thread was rambling and more or less a world on its own. DJ was pleased it had so much traffic, but rarely looked at it. The discussions about none-TE related things, such as work benches, fizzled out in reasonable time. A fairly new member complained. One of the moderators who'd never looked at it before, saw the rambling discussions and jumped in with two hobnail boots, deleting posts and warning posters, without really understanding what he was messing with. A lot of regular posters became very pissed off.

Nailed it exactly.
Them were fun times and made it the the largest and most viewed thread which it still remains today.....and by an order of magnitude too !

Not growing at the rate it used to though.

[tautech]

As I recall the TEA thread was rambling and more or less a world on its own. DJ was pleased it had so much traffic, but rarely looked at it. The discussions about none-TE related things, such as work benches, fizzled out in reasonable time. A fairly new member complained. One of the moderators who'd never looked at it before, saw the rambling discussions and jumped in with two hobnail boots, deleting posts and warning posters, without really understanding what he was messing with. A lot of regular posters became very pissed off.

Nailed it exactly.
Them were fun times and made it the the largest and most viewed thread which it still remains today.....and by an order of magnitude too !

Not growing at the rate it used to though.

Yup them were a crazy # of posts back then.

Turned into a big job to get caught up should you miss a few days.
I guess it turned a few off until they made the investment and joined in the fray.

[Cubdriver]

Yeah, it was great fun. Shame they went and used a pile driver on a fly.

-Pat

[Zenith]

Shame they went and used a pile driver on a fly.
-Pat

What's worse, as I understood it, it was done on the prompting of someone with about 40 posts - basically a passer-by.

Anyway, that's been four years ago.

[MED6753]

Shame they went and used a pile driver on a fly.
-Pat

What's worse, as I understood it, it was done on the prompting of someone with about 40 posts - basically a passer-by.

Anyway, that's been four years ago.

Yes, 4 years ago but I'm still pissed about it. I was called a "bad actor" by one of the mods who never apologized and shortly after resigned from that role.

I know, get over it and life goes on.

[tggzzz]

A mod once modified one of my posts, changing the meaning substantially. Didn't bother to inform me either.

[AVGresponding]

Shame they went and used a pile driver on a fly.
-Pat

What's worse, as I understood it, it was done on the prompting of someone with about 40 posts - basically a passer-by.

Anyway, that's been four years ago.

Yes, 4 years ago but I'm still pissed about it. I was called a "bad actor" by one of the mods who never apologized and shortly after resigned from that role.

I know, get over it and life goes on.

He's back as a mod again, and is back to heavy-handed, "shoot first ask questions later" style moderation.

A mod once modified one of my posts, changing the meaning substantially. Didn't bother to inform me either.

iirc, that was also gnif.

[tggzzz]

A mod once modified one of my posts, changing the meaning substantially. Didn't bother to inform me either.

iirc, that was also gnif.

It was halcyon., but it doesn't matter.

Editing the historical record is repugnant. (Reinterpreting history is fine)

[Zenith]

What's worse, as I understood it, it was done on the prompting of someone with about 40 posts - basically a passer-by.

Anyway, that's been four years ago.

Yes, 4 years ago but I'm still pissed about it. I was called a "bad actor" by one of the mods who never apologized and shortly after resigned from that role.

I know, get over it and life goes on.

He's back as a mod again, and is back to heavy-handed, "shoot first ask questions later" style moderation.

I got the impression he was a professional moderator and that was one of several forums he moderated.

At the other place I've rarely seen the moderators intervene, which is what made the incident so strange. There was this huge ideosyncratic thread, which had been going along happily for ages. The mods never looked at it, DJ admitted he rarely looked at it. There must have been few if any complaints from the regulars. Suddenly he appeared out of nowhere, laying down the law, deleting posts, suspending users and making a lot of people very angry.

[Cubdriver]

Ready, FIRE, aim...

-Pat

[AVGresponding]

Yes, 4 years ago but I'm still pissed about it. I was called a "bad actor" by one of the mods who never apologized and shortly after resigned from that role.

I know, get over it and life goes on.

He's back as a mod again, and is back to heavy-handed, "shoot first ask questions later" style moderation.

I got the impression he was a professional moderator and that was one of several forums he moderated.

At the other place I've rarely seen the moderators intervene, which is what made the incident so strange. There was this huge ideosyncratic thread, which had been going along happily for ages. The mods never looked at it, DJ admitted he rarely looked at it. There must have been few if any complaints from the regulars. Suddenly he appeared out of nowhere, laying down the law, deleting posts, suspending users and making a lot of people very angry.

gnif is some sort of IT professional, like a DBA or something. Definitely not a professional Moderator, in fact more like an Unprofessional Moderator.

[Zenith]

gnif is some sort of IT professional, like a DBA or something. Definitely not a professional Moderator, in fact more like an Unprofessional Moderator.

"Professional" is an elastic and much abused term. e.g. a "professional quality angle grinder", costing about £20 and unlikely to stand more than a few hours use. A paid moderator might be less contentious.

This was four years ago. I'm sure he said he moderated a few other forums. I can't imagine him being a longstanding and respected member of several forums who happened to be invited to moderate them, which fits with him being paid.

My last involvement with gnif was four years back and I am not hankering for further contact.

[MED6753]

gnif is some sort of IT professional, like a DBA or something. Definitely not a professional Moderator, in fact more like an Unprofessional Moderator.

"Professional" is an elastic and much abused term. e.g. a "professional quality angle grinder", costing about £20 and unlikely to stand more than a few hours use. A paid moderator might be less contentious.

This was four years ago. I'm sure he said he moderated a few other forums. I can't imagine him being a longstanding and respected member of several forums who happened to be invited to moderate them, which fits with him being paid.

My last involvement with gnif was four years back and I am not hankering for further contact.

It really sucks that Dave would allow him to moderate again. Makes me wonder about Dave's integrity.

[tggzzz]

... never forget the traditional way way to insult a woman: call her a "professional" without further qualification.

[Zenith]

It really sucks that Dave would allow him to moderate again. Makes me wonder about Dave's integrity.

I've no idea what the forum means to DJ or how he's set up. It possibly creates some income. He's obviously proud of it. He was concerned when several contributors to the TEA thread departed. It's a large website and it inevitably needs a fair amount of moderation and management; spammers, loonies, the compulsively insulting, people who insist on peddling politics etc. Probably DJ thinks gnif is generally fairly reliable, he needs moderators, and the TEA fracas was just one of them things.

I post there occasionally, never on the TEA thread, and look through threads. Sometimes I search it for something specific. I don't see much sign of moderation and I've not come across gnif. Maybe it's because I never visit the more contentious parts, such as Dodgy Technology or FPGAs

[vk6zgo]

gnif is some sort of IT professional, like a DBA or something. Definitely not a professional Moderator, in fact more like an Unprofessional Moderator.

"Professional" is an elastic and much abused term. e.g. a "professional quality angle grinder", costing about £20 and unlikely to stand more than a few hours use. A paid moderator might be less contentious.

This was four years ago. I'm sure he said he moderated a few other forums. I can't imagine him being a longstanding and respected member of several forums who happened to be invited to moderate them, which fits with him being paid.

My last involvement with gnif was four years back and I am not hankering for further contact.

"Professional" video equipment generally meant "Not up to Broadcast standards" when I was in TV Broadcasting!

[mansaxel]

"Professional" video equipment generally meant "Not up to Broadcast standards" when I was in TV Broadcasting!

Sony monitors with "P" in the type name were cheap.

Those with "B" were not.

[vk6zgo]

"Professional" video equipment generally meant "Not up to Broadcast standards" when I was in TV Broadcasting!

Sony monitors with "P" in the type name were cheap.

Those with "B" were not.

Exactly!
Not that "P" prefix monitors didn't get used in Broadcast service---the PVM9221ME & BVM9221ME were "near as dammit" identical.