Confused

[Disneynutbsv]

Ok, I've been reading the Happyhaunts trip reports and now see that it is locked??? They want her to stay on topic through the whole report...but I think to do that, sometimes its not fun to read. This was fun, it made me lol and you get to know her family. I don't like to make trouble, and I'm honestly not trying to but I just don't understand why an interesting report and a report that a lot of people really want to read gets locked?

 

[Bonnie40]

Can the mods please explain why they seem to 'have it out' for Mel and her ever-so-popular trip reports? You continue to shut down the most popular trip writer on this board...I don't get why you guys have such a problem with her in-depth trip stories. They're better than anything anyone else can write on here IMHO! If people don't like her writing style, they don't have to read it. My guess is my post is going to be deleted, but I think it would be prudent of you to answer to the questions that I'm sure a ton of people are asking of you!

 

[Linxzy]

They did explain it in the thread from the report. And also posted, yet again the guidelines for the trip report message board.

 

[Bonnie40]

So if I understand this correctly, Mel's reports are shutdown because her trip reports include side stories that enhance the overall report? I think the mod's are gunning for her and that's not fair! Everyone was careful in their responses.

The mod's are winning anyone over with this one that's for sure!

 

[Linxzy]

That is not the first trip report closed because of out of topic stories/comments, so I don't think they are gunning at her directly.

Hopefully, Mel will come back and keep writing her reports.

 

[sheridac]

That is not the first trip report closed because of out of topic stories/comments, so I don't think they are gunning at her directly.

Hopefully, Mel will come back and keep writing her reports.

Why would she?? Would you?? Would anyone?? I don't believe it is right or acceptable for ANYONE to dictate someone's writing style.

 

[OhMari]

Bonnie,
Please see the sticky on top of this thread. Also the DISboards have guidelines, we were following them. Here is the link; http://www.wdwinfo.com/guidelines.htm
We closed 1000HappyHaunts because of this guideline6. STAYING ON TOPIC: The boards are named to reflect general topics. Please refrain from asking questions about park hours on the DVC board, or questions about the Caribbean Beach on the Trip Reports board.

Also many personal messages were posted which should be done with e-mails or PM's.

Hopes this helps.
OhMari Trip Report Co-moderator

 

[sheridac]

Bonnie,
Please see the sticky on top of this thread. Also the DISboards have guidelines, we were following them. Here is the link:http://www.wdwinfo.com/guidelines.htm
We closed 1000HappyHaunts because of this guideline6. STAYING ON TOPIC: The boards are named to reflect general topics. Please refrain from asking questions about park hours on the DVC board, or questions about the Caribbean Beach on the Trip Reports board.

Also many personal messages were posted which should be done with e-mails or PM's.

Hopes this helps.
OhMari Trip Report Co-moderator

OhMari,

I'm sorry, but no, that doesn't help. Mel's Trip Report was posted on the Trip Reports Board. If, in fact, it was off topic, it should have been moved to a more appropriate board instead of being closed.

 

[Bonnie40]

sheridac:

Do you know where Mel went? I think I missed all this when it happened. I remember when this happened the last time.

They're gunnin' for ya Mel! I don't blame her if she never comes back but it'll be a pretty uneventful trip reports board. No one got the kind of support she did!

Rock on Mel!

 

[sheridac]

sheridac:

Do you know where Mel went? I think I missed all this when it happened. I remember when this happened the last time.

They're gunnin' for ya Mel! I don't blame her if she never comes back but it'll be a pretty uneventful trip reports board. No one got the kind of support she did!

Rock on Mel!

Bonnie~

I would be happy to discuss that with you in a more private forum. According to rule # 6 that would be off topic here.

 

[connorsmom911]

Bonnie,
Please see the sticky on top of this thread. Also the DISboards have guidelines, we were following them. Here is the linkhttp://www.wdwinfo.com/guidelines.htm

We closed 1000HappyHaunts because of this guideline6. STAYING ON TOPIC: The boards are named to reflect general topics. Please refrain from asking questions about park hours on the DVC board, or questions about the Caribbean Beach on the Trip Reports board.

Also many personal messages were posted which should be done with e-mails or PM's.

Hopes this helps.
OhMari Trip Report Co-moderator

I agree that this does not help in any way...so many other trip reports on this very board are guilty of the exact reasoning you are giving here and do not get locked, in fact they get praised and encouraged by all the moderators here. Why is it ok in some reports and not in Mel's? Do you not agree that this looks like favoritism? The answers many of us are asking for are not being given to anyone's satisfaction. Perhaps that is why everyone keeps asking the same question.

And perhaps you could explain why my post asking the same question 2 nights ago was completely deleted within 10 minutes of being posted without so much as an explanation? I read the posting guidelines and I clearly read that "we do not believe in censorship, we encourage discussion". Can you please explain how my post violated the guidelines? If you did not read it, I have kept a copy and could send it to you via pm.

I do not mean to be a problem and I sincerely hope the tone coming across in print is not indicating that. I am simply feeling so disappointed and disillusioned with a community I felt was so welcoming in the past and seems not to be now.

 

[aGoofyMom]

I feel the need to put my two cents worth in. I was reading and enjoying the trip report in question. I did not feel the responses were crossing the lines - but coming from her close friendships that have developed on the board. Some of the responses were warranted to explain references that although may not have been directly about the trip, but helped enhance the read.
I wondered more than once if the activity on her report was perhaps too much and the chance to shut it down was not to be missed. Perhaps all previous warnings from her other reports were combined, I am not sure.

I would like to say that I appreciate a little background on the cast of the trip in question as it helps me to not just connect with, but to recognize when something from the trip report will work for my group and when it won't. That is one of the big reasons why I read these trip reports.

Perhaps the moderators can be more specific in guidelines for how much is too much information?

 

[Winnie Pooh Fan]

Perhaps the moderators can be more specific in guidelines for how much is too much information?

This is definitely needed!!!!!!!!

I could give example after example after example of off topic information that was posted.

Anyone read the recent report that explained for nearly a page about why the trip was important because of problems as a teenager???

How was that not off topic

Instead of posting a warning to the OP the moderators jumped on board with about how wonderful the trip was

That is only one trip report that included a lot of off topic stuff that the moderators gushed over instead of posting a warning. I can go through others but it will be a long list that are still open and running with no warning whatsoever.

If the moderators want to police this board fine then police it fairly.

There was absolutely no reason for that TP to be closed. It was on topic for the most part and the few sections that weren't only allowed us a glimpse into a family.

The absolute worst thing I have ever seen anywhere on a message board is what happened to Mel. To close an OP's report after posting about a child loosing their best friend by being run over by a bus in front of them and how important that made their WDW trips was just outright horrible. It was the day I became embarrased to say that I was a Dis member.

Now is that time that if the moderators will not admit they made a judgment error and reopen Mel’s trip report, then the Webmaster needs to step in and do it himself!

May the sprit of Walt Disney be alive in all of us! And may the moderators realize what they have done and rectify this horrible mistake!

 

[sdy]

I agree that this does not help in any way...so many other trip reports on this very board are guilty of the exact reasoning you are giving here and do not get locked, in fact they get praised and encouraged by all the moderators here. Why is it ok in some reports and not in Mel's? Do you not agree that this looks like favoritism? The answers many of us are asking for are not being given to anyone's satisfaction. Perhaps that is why everyone keeps asking the same question.

And perhaps you could explain why my post asking the same question 2 nights ago was completely deleted within 10 minutes of being posted without so much as an explanation? I read the posting guidelines and I clearly read that "we do not believe in censorship, we encourage discussion". Can you please explain how my post violated the guidelines? If you did not read it, I have kept a copy and could send it to you via pm.

I do not mean to be a problem and I sincerely hope the tone coming across in print is not indicating that. I am simply feeling so disappointed and disillusioned with a community I felt was so welcoming in the past and seems not to be now.

Well said. Very, very.

I completely agree with you. A similar thing happened to me yesterday-- I posted a respectful opinion/query with regard to the actions of the moderating team. Within moments it was deleted and the thread locked.

I'm baffled not only by the decision to lock Mel's thread (and the harshness of said decision) but also by the absolute reluctance of the moderating team to engage in a topic so many are, obviously, anxious to discuss.

As I stated in my deleted post, "guidelines" are just that. And as long as no one is offended or offensive, all efforts should be made to be flexible.

It seems that the biggest issue, in a macro sense, is the tone that the action(s) of the mods set, not the "popularity" of a particular member or thread. A board that endeavors to be friendly instantly became not a bit uncomfortable. And remains to be such.

I'm sure we all appreciate the efforts of everyone who works to keep this board up and running. I most certainly do. I think we're all simply looking for some tangible assurance that this is, indeed, a safe place where ALL are welcome.

 

[sheridac]

At the risk of being off topic, I must say, I've been monitoring the progress of this thread with a kind of morbid curiosity. Will it be locked? Will it disappear altogether? Will any of these questions be answered?

It would help, greatly, if these trip report writing guidelines could be clarified. Currently they are ambiguous at best.

 

[PoohnPglet]

I love to come over here and read the trip reports and notice there was a little bit of a controversy going on here. So I thought I would take the advice that the moderators offered and read the guidelines for this board.

So as I am reading the guidelines, I see that they were posted on 6-16-06 and I was wondering if anyone knew what the specific guidelines were before that date.

Thanks

 

[PixieMixie]

I'm going to go ahead and be "off topic".


I have used disboards for over 4 years. I used it to help plan 3 trips to WDW, and always lurked more than anything else. But since I started to plan another trip in Sept I came back....now I'm left with a question or two.

What exactly happened to Disboards? What exactly is considered "off topic" Over on the tip board there is a thread about granny bathing suits...what does that have to do with DISNEY tips? The budget board is like a make shift shopping and freebie forum instead of DISNEY on a budget. There is also a million and a half "game" threads that serve no purpose but to bump post counts and has made "search" useless. All in what I mentioned should be in the OT forum.

Instead there is an issue with a ON topic thread running slightly off topic?

 

[bdg100]

I have never read Mel's reports but I'm going to try to now. I'm going to run a search for them. In the meantime, LET HER POST, LET HER POST, LET HER POST.

 

[SandraVB79]

IMHO, this looks like the mods are "mobbing" Mel, and are jealous because her trip reports are so popular.

Yes, in other trip reports of her, the off-topic comments were getting a little too numerous (is that an English word?), but it in this one????
After each (frequent) installment of Mel, there were a couple of people that said they liked the episode, and there were a couple of them that gave a remark or asked a question about something they read. And because of that the thread gets locked??
Not even a warning on this thread and some days to behave well again (although I don't think anyone behaved bad)?

As someone else said, this smells like favouritism and censorship, and it's a start to get ashamed you're a member of the DIS.
There are so many trip reports where the writer goed off topic. Way off topic. And nothing gets done about those, not even a remark.
Mel writes ONE paragraph about a most horrible trauma her daughter had to live through as a small child, and how that influenced her and how a Disney vacation can make her happy again, and the thread gets locked??

In that case, you also have to lock Zzub's thread. Because his whole post-trip report thing has nothing to do with a WDW-vacation either. And I am oh so sure many other threads are like that too.
But no, only Mel's thread gets locked.

It seems to me, the webmaster should re-assess the need for adequate mods for the trip report boards.

 

[fizz13]

Well I stated my opinion on this subject last time Mel's thread was locked and had it deleted and a "lovely" reply from one of the mods calling it an undisguised attack on them. let me tell you, I wasn't trying to disguise it. I don't see how this expresive form of writing is harming anyone. It is not blasphemous, racist,or offensive in any way, just descriptive, and enriched with real life. No one is made to read it if they choose not to, and everyone who chose to read and reply, had been sure to be careful this time as we did not want a repeat situation.
Of course, I'm sure this thread will be deleted in due course, so i wouldn't waste too much more time writing here, I have a feeling our grievences will be in vain.