Page 1 of A word from Westy...

Morning all

It is with great disappointment that i wake this morning to see a thread that i thought to be a good idea on a `topic of the moment`, closed due to some people not being able to behave and act civil on a thread opened to help others on DVD Recording.

Now, i do not dispute my good colleague Clayts actions in the slightest - i`ve known the guy for over 2 years now and he knows what he`s doing and i trust his judgement.

No, it`s the people who are insistent on making other peoples questions and comments totally worthless by starting silly, petty arguments when all we`re looking for is an answer. I don`t mind healthy debate, but the actions and comments from some here have been just plain daft and when the moderators have stepped in we`re accused of shooting ourselves in the foot. :/

Reviewer has always been a well run - and i`d like to add, professional - website with a great user base who all interact together to help others on any subject on a daily basis. These are the people we have hardly ever had any trouble from since they joined the site, however the new users who insist on upsetting the apple cart and starting mini flame wars and protesting that they know all will not be tolerated, and us moderators give up our free time without payment to manage the forums in order to keep the Reviewer house in check. We do not recieve payment, we enjoy what we do and are always on hand to help. We trust the forum users to behave, however when that trust is abused, it is our job to make sure things don`t get out of hand and to take the necessary action where required. Just like any succesful business or website, good management of what you`ve got will always mean the people come back again and again :)

Our friends over at The DVD Forums have had to adopt an almost gastapo like beaurocracy as things have gotten WAY out of hand too many times because new users and the less well mannered regulars think it`s fun to start a thread war and flame other users. It`s not the dvd forums fault they`ve had top adopt that approach, they have been forced to adopt it otherwise people would never go back and the site would fall to its knees.

Here at Reviewer we like to think it`s a friendlier, more relaxed place, but that doesn`t mean we won`t come down hard on those individuals who think their opinion is the only one that counts, or those who misbehave and hijack modest threads.

Yes, i am unhappy because i believed the DVD R thread to be useful - but you only get out of it what you put in, and sadly those who can`t be constructive have spoilt it yet again for other users, meaning ANOTHER DVD R thread has had to be closed and yet another started.

I sometimes wonder why i bother with moderator duties, but then i remember the ones who make Reviewer what it is today and will always be - a FUN place to be :) :)

Perhaps i`m being a little over emotional, but i`m a human being and when the good job that both myself and Clayts and Dan is abused it can make life harder than it needs to be, not just for us, but for everyone else too.

Rant over, i`m gonna go hug my Sony DVD Recorder cause it`s feeling left out after not being mentioned in any DVD threads.... ;) ;)

Sorry, but it had to be said

Westy

Site Technical Help Editor and Moderator

Home Cinema Editor - Area450

Why not start a new `DVD Recording` Thread & just take out `Off Subject` & `offending` posts. I put in a post about the New JVC DVD-RAM recorder. I went to a lot of trouble finding sites for people to look at & now see it`s been removed along with the thread. This is a DVD forum after all not a Fart, Wasp, Gay, & so much other non DVD. I personally like a little fun & can live with them, but the near future is going to be DVD-Recorders. DVD players in about a year or so will be almost non existant, why buy a player only when you can record on one as well. I apreciate there will be top end DVD players as in Hi Fi that perfectionists will want but by by & large DVD-Recorders will rule. Hard drives are useful but you cannot archive onto these so I believe they will be secondry (but very useful) to DVD-Recorders. If the recording thread is not reinstated then people will be comming on asking what make DVD-recorder to buy (even if DVD-RAM became the only one to buy) there will be many makes out there & lots of the same threads will arrise.

Thanks paull,
I found the jvc more desirable than the pan e50, as it has i-link & also records -rw.
The jvc site comes up in japanese, which I cannot read!!!!!!!!!!!
I shall mow delay my purchase, but the JVC is more to my requirement than the Pan e50. I hope it can be multi regioned & macro vision free.

Quote:
If the recording thread is not reinstated then people will be comming on asking what make DVD-recorder to buy (even if DVD-RAM became the only one to buy) there will be many makes out there & lots of the same threads will arrise.

Which is precisely why I started this one, as Westy said :D
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Moderator
DVD Reviewer

Webmaster of Area 450 - independent Sampo DVD site

Would it not be possible to implement a three warning system.

Say three strikes and your out, I know it is a shame and may seem harsh, but if the moderators ask for unhelpful comments to stop, then the person who makes the post should be taken off and have their use of the forum withdrawn.

We try not to be as systematic as that, Dave, to be honest, as neither of us have the time nor the inclination to operate the system. We all hold down regular jobs as well as moderating here, and operating such a system (even though it`s an excellent idea) would be overly bureaucratic, and way too much hassle.

We will try to resolve some matters off forum, with direct e-mails to the protagonists. At the same time, we will keep our fellow moderators copied into such correspondence, so we are all aware of the problems.

Rather than issue flat out withdrawal of forum rights we will, on rare occasions, issue short suspensions. These serve to illustrate that we won`t tolerate bad behaviour, and also gives the offender time to calm down and think about why they visit here.

We hardly ever revoke people`s rights totally, unless they continue to blatantly flout forum rules (eg advertising, trolling).

I think every Forum will have people "trying it on". As my good pal Westy says, Reviewer is far more relaxed than DVD or AV Forums, where they are seriously regimented and rigid, due to problems in the past. We do genuinely try to avoid the Big Brother stance, but I`m afraid there are a very small minority of visitors who feel they have to challenge our authority. I`m not sure why they feel like that, maybe they don`t either, but at the end of the day our role is to ensure the friendly reputation of this site is not put in danger by the actions of a small number of troublemakers.



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Moderator
DVD Reviewer

Webmaster of Area 450 - independent Sampo DVD site

Clayts I see your point totally, nice to see such a well run forum too.

How does one get more involved with helping you guys out, with anything from reviewing, moderating, etc.

Quote:
If the recording thread is not reinstated then people will be comming on asking what make DVD-recorder to buy (even if DVD-RAM became the only one to buy) there will be many makes out there & lots of the same threads will arrise
.

"Which is precisely why I started this one, as Westy said"

Right, I presumed it was only technical, not What make etc. :)

Can you put my JVC post in the `DVD recorder thread` or do I have to chase the sites up again. I updated the thread with english information that some people here may have missed.

Why not have a "DVD Recording" forum?

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Regards, John72.

Hmm, yes, that`s an interesting suggestion - I`ll have a word with "management" :D

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Moderator
DVD Reviewer

Webmaster of Area 450 - independent Sampo DVD site