A Better Unmoderated Forum.

[max]

Hi everyone. I just set up, what I think is a better forum. I’d like everyone to check it out and let me know what you think. It’s an autism social forum which includes over 60 different boards to discuss all your special interests, no matter what they are. No mods, no drama, no BS. Feel free to be yourself and post what you like. Just don’t cause any problems. So please check it out, and if you like it, please spread the word. Thanks, have fun and enjoy.



Autism Social Forum

[itt2]

Good luck. Been on the interwebs for a really long time and have never seen an open forum without a moderator that worked.

[Deleted]

Nov 10, 2015 0:55:52 GMT itt2 said:

Good luck. Been on the interwebs for a really long time and have never seen an open forum without a moderator that worked.

Thats because a world without authority no matter how corrupt is a world in chaos. Authority is better than the alternative, I have been more than patience to accommodate what the people of this forum want.

Max, good luck on the site.

[max]

Nov 10, 2015 0:55:52 GMT itt2 said:

Good luck. Been on the interwebs for a really long time and have never seen an open forum without a moderator that worked.

Thanks, I’ve been on the internet for 25 years. I started out on USENET, which had no mods, and it worked just fine. 

[Deleted]

Nov 10, 2015 1:25:12 GMT max said:

Nov 10, 2015 0:55:52 GMT itt2 said:

Good luck. Been on the interwebs for a really long time and have never seen an open forum without a moderator that worked.

Thanks, I’ve been on the internet for 25 years. I started out on USENET, which had no mods, and it worked just fine. 

4chan a is good one too if your into chaos and insults.

[Misery]

Nov 10, 2015 1:25:12 GMT max said:

Nov 10, 2015 0:55:52 GMT itt2 said:

Good luck. Been on the interwebs for a really long time and have never seen an open forum without a moderator that worked.

Thanks, I’ve been on the internet for 25 years. I started out on USENET, which had no mods, and it worked just fine. 

If you've truly been on that long, then you know as well as I do that that is not actually the case these days (at all), pretty much all of the time, everywhere, and you probably also know WHY. And you also know what problems there were back THEN. I've been on the Net just as long, except I've probably been on MORE, since unlike basically everyone else, I have literally nothing but free time, ALL the time (I do not work), which has been the case for.... a very long time now. I just do what I want.  And I've been to points all over the Net, many of which I rather wish I hadnt, a few of which are basically nightmares in digital form.  Seen many things.  MANY things.  So I know my stuff here.

And I say, sites have mods and admins for a reason.  It's a necessity.  People can get unruly, and a site like THIS, or a site like WP, exists party to HELP people.  They come to a site like this to find like-minded individuals that can understand them. Moreso than on many sites and forums, protection is needed.  Those seeking help dont need even MORE trouble in their lives.

And honestly?  I dont trust an unmoderated forum, and I always always always suggest to others that they shouldnt either.  I dont trust it any further than I could throw the planet Jupiter.  Which, needless to say, isnt very far.  People SERIOUSLY underestimate the danger that the Net represents, and even the nature of that danger (they think it's all "cyber-attacks"! They think it's all that simple! Yeah, got news for them... ).  And frankly, if you cant see the potential danger there yourself... that's a problem.  And no, I'm not going to explain the nature of it.  I shouldnt have to.   Sure, it'll be safe at an unmoderated forum.... until, very abruptly, it isnt.   And then all that drama, all those problems, any lurking dangers... suddenly, all of it is hitting the place like a freight train covered in demonic bees.  Seen it before.  At "safe" sites.  Run by "experts".  


I dont mean this stuff in an insulting way, either.  This is me being absolutely, genuinely honest and open, and blunt in my way, that's all. 

That's all I'll say on the topic for now.  I aint gonna stretch things out beyond that.

[iliketrees]

Nov 10, 2015 1:36:40 GMT @dcj123 said:

Nov 10, 2015 1:25:12 GMT max said:

Thanks, I’ve been on the internet for 25 years. I started out on USENET, which had no mods, and it worked just fine. 

4chan a is good one too if your into chaos and insults.

4chan has mods though.

[Misery]

Nov 10, 2015 13:52:56 GMT iliketrees said:

Nov 10, 2015 1:36:40 GMT @dcj123 said:

4chan a is good one too if your into chaos and insults.

4chan has mods though.

Trust me, 4chan doesnt count.  At all. Along with most "image boards", if that's the right term these days.  Neither does any forum with 10 gazillion people.

This is not a site with 10 gazillion people, and this also isnt a site frequented by anyone with questionable motives either, for that matter.  This, and WP also, are small forums.  Well, this one is REALLY small right now, but it'll grow.  But it's not going to hit that point of being out of control.  Few forums do; a forum has to reach a point of MONSTROUS popularity to hit that point.  It's like hitting some sort of event horizon.  One day, everything is okay, but then the next, BLAM, you've passed that line, and all hope is lost... RIP mods and admins.  A site that has reached that state may as well be considered a site that has literally no mods or admins.  Because you'd need a GIANT team, CONSTANTLY monitoring every section of the board, to even begin to have some semblance of control.  And even then, that control would be shaky and easily toppled.

Both this site and WP can easily keep enough people doing the moderating that there arent any problems, when considering the actual population of these forums.  Not even an issue.

One way or another though, not really worth worrying about.  This, I think, will end up being a peaceful place one way or another.  Right now, the only concern should be just getting the word out that it exists, and making sure that this is a hospitable place for anyone that may be seeking assistance, or just like-minded people to socialize with and talk to.  It's certainly MY only concern.  Of course, the fun part is figuring out how to do it.

[btbnnyr]

This place is feeling better already with the mods gone.
Those mods were sick.
It was unlucky that RP got stuck with them right away.
Maybe the people who volunteer to be mods should never be selected.

[Misery]

Nov 10, 2015 17:08:11 GMT btbnnyr said:

This place is feeling better already with the mods gone.
Those mods were sick.
It was unlucky that RP got stuck with them right away.
Maybe the people who volunteer to be mods should never be selected.

Feh.  I'm going to volunteer myself, really.  Not like I have anything better to do.  Though, I also know alot about this sort of thing. So very many forums at this point. I tend to be very passive in most situations and wont take direct action unless absolutely necessary. Granted I might complain a bit, but then I do that anyway.

Usually with something like this my main goal is to simply keep the accursed spam bots under control, when they inevitably appear.  Damn things plague WP alot, and there's rarely anyone on to fix it during a certain time period (AKA, when I'm awake).  It's really annoying.

[Ezra]

I'm wondering what's going on. I'm a mod on a teen forum and rarely see stuff like this. Don't adults know how to behave themselves better?

[Misery]

Nov 12, 2015 7:13:53 GMT Ezra said:

I'm wondering what's going on. I'm a mod on a teen forum and rarely see stuff like this. Don't adults know how to behave themselves better?

Not really.

[OOM]

Mods aren't just to enforce rules. They are there to clean up spam and trolls and to handle shit when it gets way out of hand, but to leave it alone most of the time. They are there to fix glitches and answer questions and all that too. I cant be here all the time, as ya''ll have seen. I do need mods to help keep it running when I'm not here. It's not the same as having cops walking around, it's going to be just folks helping to keep it running. If two people want to go at it all bloody and balls to the wall in a thread and they aren't bothering anybody else and only going at each other then let them do it. But if they start dragging others into it who dont want to be drug into it, then step in and do something. In other words, let the situation dictate what should be done. If me and Dox are going at it tooth and nail and insulting the hell out of each other and name calling and threatening and all that shit, then let us be, we can deal. If one of us does that to someone else who isn't as into arguing and thick skinned as we are, then a mod would need to step in and tel us to tone it down. But it's just common sense.

Also, I'd give all my mods my contact info so if somebody needed me and I wasn't online, they could get me. We just need folks to help run it. Maybe calling them staff rather than mods would be better to get that across.

ETA: I was on Usenet for years too. We had the Killfile back then, and also people showed restraint and didn't interact with those who just caused problems. That doesn't seem to be something that would happen here.

[meistersinger]

Several years ago, I was subscribed to comp.dcom.telecom, as well as rec.arts.radio.broadcasting. Both Usenet newsgroups were robo-moderated by their respective owners (both of whom are now deceased). When you made a post, it went first to the moderator for approval. If it passed their standards (no spam, no bearbaiting, no off topic posts), the message got posted. Both of those newslists were aimed at professionals, and the robomoderation worked quite well. Unfortunately, the moderators of those forums have long passed to their eternal reward. Last time I looked at either forum, it's nothing but chaos, much like WP, and a good portion of the alt.* hierarchy on Usenet.

[OOM]

I don't want a completely unmoderated forum or some kind of chaos, but I definitely want to avoid the overmoderarion and the whole feeling of needing to walk on eggshells about everything. Of course I'd ban somebody for just showing up and being a douchebag or trolling of spamming. I'd warn and eventually ban someone for actual, real personal attacks and actual real isms and such. But I basically plan on letting adults work out the problems they have between each other and either kiss and makeup when they have a fight or just ignore each other. In other words, it will probably be hard to get banned from here.

I used to really enjoy WP before it became a kindergarten and before our feelings over extremely minor stuff and extremely minor incidents of taking a very slight offense became earth shattering events that we needed to be protected from. Not only did it just tick me off that they were treating adults like spoiled little children, but people started actually seemed to start thinking that we all have a right to be free from any offense at all. I think it's very unhealthy to do that to a group of people who already have a lot of trouble with social skills, and who may be trying to learn how to fit in with other folks. Teaching that you need to overreact to every little thing, whether it's meant offensively or not, is going to cause somebody to really be kicked to the curb when they try and apply that kind of behavior to whatever group they interacting with.

I think that for the most part people can learn to let things go and they can learn to hold their tongue and apologize when they cross a line.

At least that's what I'm hoping happens.