I just learned about all of this late last night. To be honest I hadn't read either of the problem posts (Haggle, Esca) because they weren't in my section.
Generally I do checkout other areas outside my interest or assignment, but not lately. Too busy. I'll admit it. The mods who are in charge of the areas in question are kicking themselves as you've seen and feel horrible for things getting as far as they did. Some of the mods have jobs that require them to travel and typcially they warn the rest of us when they'll be gone, but lately it wasn't getting done. I guess we were somewhat spoiled these last few months with no drama occuring so we got lax. We had also been trying to be more lenient(sp) to allow for a more open forum. Occasionally we saw a "beta rule" broke, but no big right? It generally cleared itself up. I see there were some posts that didn't clear themselves up. It was somewhat fortunate that DW happened to check those posts that the other mods missed, however it's a shame it had gotten as far as it did. I think at that point when Magician and DW got to it they were shocked and a little tired as they had locked previous threads that had gotten a little heated or broke certain rules of the forum. That's when they took action. Typically the mods/admin discuss something before taking action, but this time DW and Magician felt the need to take immediate action. Whether it was the right thing to do or not..... it's done. They did what they felt was the right thing for this forum at the time. If it was wrong please remember they are only human. No matter what action they had taken there would be some that disagree or got hurt. We've all gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and posted too fast. Maybe that's what happened here. It just happened to the admin/mod this time. Maybe they were dead right in what they did. It isn't for me to judge if what was done was the right thing to do. True I'm an admin, but I wasn't directly involved. I can only stand by the staff here and make recommendations as to what to do if future incidents take place as well as ask Beta to bear with us.
We all make mistakes. We're only human. But when an admin or mod makes a mistake it's felt a little more wide spread. When an admin/mod makes a huge decision it's felt widespread. I hate that Uende and Gabe were hurt. They are such awesome people and big part of this forum. I don't want to lose either of them. I hope that the wounds do heal on them though I know the scars will remain. I had scars from my days at Anime-Alpha. I remember when I got angry with the way things were run and basically did a "Call to arms" with all the members asking for backing and asking them to strike or leave. Many of them did. I don't want to see that here.
I'm asking members for some time. Give me a chance to get this place back on track and make it what is used to be. I will be having chats/meetings with my staff as well as talking with Pudge whom I know feels extremely guilty for all of this. It isn't her fault that she travels. I want her to stay. She's a huge asset to this place and I will try my hardest to get her to stay.
This was bound to happen at some point. Forums are hard to maintain and when you have a lot of members and a growing staff it's that much more to try and perfect. There will be bumps along the road, but if we want this place to succeed enough we can do it. I like that some members are contributing ideas to help us better run this place. The numbers/grading that Gloff mentioned is awesome. I'm still working on links. It's taking time since I need my japanese friend to do the links and send them to me. heh. But it's getting there. And a keep-track system is awesome. I will try to better things on my end (the staff end). That is my promise to you. Now my request to y'all. True having rules defeats the purpose of a forum. But we feel that keeping these rules in places helps to keep a pleasant environment yet still allows people to have good discussions. That's a fact if you're a member here. Every forum is different in their rules. I don't think ours are too strict. And for the most part everyone adheres to these rules. All it takes is for one to stray and then get everyone else fired up. While the mods dropped the ball on their end by not catching things in time some members could have handled their ends better as well. We need to work together. I feel that right now the staff and members are on opposite sides and both sides are fired up. Magician's last post while fired-up and out of left field was fueled by some immature PMs that he received. That doesn't justify it, but maybe helps to better understand where it came from.
Both staff and members are hurt and need time to heal. During this process I will be doing damage control as best I can and working out the kinks. I love having a place to meet with people with the same interest. True there are probably other forums, but each is unique and special in its own way. I've met some awesome people here and would LOVE to see them all in person when I get a chance to attend a con. I think as my title states we just need to step back and take a breath. Maybe some sleep. heh. Lord knows I need it. While doing this post I know I ran to the bathroom several times from food poisoning at Denny's. Grrrrr. Shouldn't have eaten that steak with the eggs.
We have a good group of people here. Different personalities and different ideas of how to handle things right and wrong. It's the moving on and learning from it that makes us stronger. I love everyone here. Y'all are like a second family.
