I love TexAgs. Y'all do a great job for the most part.

third coast.. said:

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Finally, are there any mods that have been posting in this thread? Not sure that last one gets answered, but had to ask anyways.

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Technically "Moderator" did post earlier in the thread, so yes?

I do respect you dropping in here and displaying some genuine concern.

Overall, you guys do a good job and hopefully our relationship can repair going forward.

This reminds me of the rivalries purge of the mid 2000s. Or when the websiter mod started banning varsity posters. Big reason why I dropped my third star

WatchOle said:

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AggieChemist said:

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WatchOle said:

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I don't think any of those posters are banned and at least half have never been moderated even once. Are you saying they stopped posting here due to moderation? I'm honestly curious.

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No and I don't think I singled out moderation as the sole driving factor. But this board went from essentially unmoderated to heavily moderated in a period of less than 5 years.

Everyone agrees there has been a change in culture. Everyone agrees the board is less "itself". Everyone agrees it's a negative change.

I know the level of moderation has changed. I know the character of campus has changed. I know we are all getting older.

I don't have answers. I'm just yelling at clouds and missing my friends.

I'm too old and crotchety to make new ones.

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I've got to step away for a while (read: I've got to go home and take care of kids while wife goes to function), but this isn't a heavily moderated forum. I'd like to do a little more research though to see if it's MORE moderated than in times past.

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This used to be a place where I could call schmeball an SOB and he'd call me a hillbilly ******* and we'd raise our beers at each other across the campfire in mutual respect and the knowledge that we understood each other.

Random poster could come here with a dumb situation they caused and be called out for it (even impolitely).

It really felt like an e-campfire or the back room of a fly shop where the talk was crusty. Real. Not always SFW, but not obscene, either.

It was an adult place. It was the hardware store full of old men and my grandpa when I was 10. I might hear something a little old for my ears but I was among men learning to be a man.

It doesn't feel like that anymore.

This is all very esoteric but I'm trying to convey that this place WAS special. And is now less so. For whatever reason.

AggieChemist said:

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WatchOle said:

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AggieChemist said:

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WatchOle said:

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I don't think any of those posters are banned and at least half have never been moderated even once. Are you saying they stopped posting here due to moderation? I'm honestly curious.

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No and I don't think I singled out moderation as the sole driving factor. But this board went from essentially unmoderated to heavily moderated in a period of less than 5 years.

Everyone agrees there has been a change in culture. Everyone agrees the board is less "itself". Everyone agrees it's a negative change.

I know the level of moderation has changed. I know the character of campus has changed. I know we are all getting older.

I don't have answers. I'm just yelling at clouds and missing my friends.

I'm too old and crotchety to make new ones.

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I've got to step away for a while (read: I've got to go home and take care of kids while wife goes to function), but this isn't a heavily moderated forum. I'd like to do a little more research though to see if it's MORE moderated than in times past.

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This used to be a place where I could call schmeball an SOB and he'd call me a hillbilly ******* and we'd raise our beers at each other across the campfire in mutual respect and the knowledge that we understood each other.

Random poster could come here with a dumb situation they caused and be called out for it (even impolitely).

It really felt like an e-campfire or the back room of a fly shop where the talk was crusty. Real. Not always SFW, but not obscene, either.

It was an adult place. It was the hardware store full of old men and my grandpa when I was 10. I might hear something a little old for my ears but I was among men learning to be a man.

It doesn't feel like that anymore.

This is all very esoteric but I'm trying to convey that this place WAS special. And is now less so. For whatever reason.

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just like desperados waiting for a train.

mfbarnes is another poster that hasn't posted much on here.

Let's summarize for Brandon:

1)Frequency. It seems like this board has been moderated more frequently recently than it used to be.

2) Content. It seems like said frequent moderation has been for "weaker" reasons/content than it used to be. I.e. deleting a thread that may have some friction on it, but doesn't have any inappropriate content or direct personal attacks.

3) Transparency. Instead of deleting threads entirely, just clean up the offending posts. It the thread is really out of hand, then lock it and FULLY explain why. Any moderation, even just deleting posts should be openly explained. This would go a long way towards building repoire and also helping posters understand what they can and cannot get away with.

AggieChemist nailed it.

I don't post a lot here, but I do read the OB almost every day. I hit OB, General, Jobs, B&I, Auto, Classifieds, HI, Houston, Aggieland, and Politcs.....in that order. I'm on almost every evening. I peruse about 15 different forums altogether.

The moderation here is by far the most stringent. There is no explanation for posts being scratched, no warnings for the most part, and then the threads go away, too.

FWIW, most all of us are adults, and a little light hearted name calling shouldn't warrant a ban. Those that can't harden up should move along. If someone calls me a jackass in the store, I say eff you and let it go. I don't run to the store manager and cry about it.

I think it would help to sticky a short guideline for each board at the top.... such as no pron, threats, doxxing on the board, etc.
Let the adults be adults, and the crybabies will go away.

Mods should have a sock for posting in threads if they want to contribute. Their mod name should be something like "OB MOD". That way, their personal info gets out only if they give it up. Any poster should be able to ask as to why something disappeared, and not get banned for questioning a mod. That smacks of treating everyone like a two year old. As long as TOS aren't violated, and the TOS aren't geared toward babying everyone, it'll all work out.

It's not like we're all over here posting pics of hitler or anything.

ellebee said:

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It's not like we're all over here posting pics of hitler or anything.

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ellebee said:

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It's not like we're all over here posting pics of hitler or anything.

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And my now-disappeared thread was not really about questioning moderation. I think the moderation is worth questioning. It was just a gut response to the panty-twisting of the deer picture thread, which did exhibit what at face value was mod-over-involvement. If an OP requested deletion just because a thread went sideways, well... I think that's lame, too... and is also a symptom of the culture change we are talking about. I think it's just the world we live in and I'm gonna have to adjust. And that sucks.

I didn't even get to read my own thread today as I was in a meeting with a US Senator. I don't even know what got it deleted.

Me watching this thread tonight

I think if we had known the OP requested the thread to be deleted, we would have gotten to the root of the issue and shouted down the person that complained about his picture, but we didn't know that. We all thought that it was deleted because somebody complained to the mod about the content. If we would have know the actual reason, we would have self policed and not directed our anger and bewilderment towards the mods.

What happened to the illegal alien thread?

In reference to certain members leaving the board, I gotta clear something up.....

I believe there are some that left or are visiting less frequently because of the moderation, but Sean was not one of them. He left because he's a giant front hole and couldn't handle the fact that people that hunt and fish ALSO happen to like AR15s. He literally hated AR15s. It became his hill to die on and he died a self inflicted death simply because he couldn't handle not clicking on threads that he didn't like. That's his loss. Bye Felicia.

But why the hell should we have to say "front hole" on the OB?!?!?

Because it's way funnier than vagina

I am still pissed about the killing of the OG Tine Board by overzealous moderation.

That was the best board at one time