Plus duties for mods or seperate mod catagories

What i would like to see is a either a new type of MOD or that the present MODS have an increased level of interaction with users.
How often it is that a noob or someone outside the present level of "favour" is ignored despite their questions or requests for help being relatively easily answered. This forum sells itself as "The webs only official all scorpion forum" yet time and time again i see a simple question being blanked, and that despite seeing plenty of registered users, MODS and guests online.
Therefore i think either the present MODS should have an extra duty of either answering these questions or at the very least chirping in with some kind of advice because let's be honest, the amount of work for a MOD is negligible....an occasional moved post is basically what it amounts to ... Or, there should be another type of MOD, for example a "buddy mod" or "information mod"...or simply a "category mod" understood by this mod answering queries within a certain field if no one else comes along with advice.

A new user runs the risk of asking a question that has already been answered in another thread and for his or hers trouble they are either blanked or slightly ridiculed for not using the search button to find these answers themselves. Yet an established user could post a picture of a brood or whatever (despite these pics easily being found all over the net) and receive a hundred "drool" posts in answer to it.

I see a form of nepotism at work here and quite frankly it's unbecoming for The Webs Only Official All Scorpion Forum because it's not as if these new people have anywhere else to go. This forum is basically it....and if everyone searched the net or this forum for an answer to a query before they posted then the amount of posts on this forum would be absolutely minuscule.

I understand that by posting this thread in the correct sub forum it will receive little attention from users which is a shame as in my mind this is a subject that deserves to be discussed and debated. A forum that enjoys the amount of attention that this one does should also be deserving of it.


Lastly i would like to see only logged on users being able to view the forum. I suspect many registered users and MODS hide behind the "guest" tag which again only adds to the "unfriendliness" of this forum.

Good points Den, but I'd have to disagree when you say the work for the current MODs is negligible. Like you and me, we all have lives outside of our hobbies. I agree that every question should get some kind of response, I don't think it necessarily has to be from a MOD.
I think as members here each of us should feel some responsibility to help each other.
When I sign on, unless I've received an email to a particular link, I always click on the "unanswered post" link, that's how I got here. I just feel it's important for all of us to pitch in. My 2cents.

Well, I feel like saying something about this.

For the most part, I agree with you. No question should go unanswered.

That being said, when people ask questions that have literally been answered a few days earlier, one or two posts below their own, it gets a bit ridiculous.

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Lastly i would like to see only logged on users being able to view the forum. I suspect many registered users and MODS hide behind the "guest" tag which again only adds to the "unfriendliness" of this forum.

This is where I disagree with you. If only members can view posts in the forum, how can people who are not members asses the credibility of the forum itself?
There are already parts of the forum that can not be viewed unless you are logged in. Also, links do not work unless you are logged in.

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but I'd have to disagree when you say the work for the current MODs is negligible. Like you and me, we all have lives outside of our hobbies. I agree that every question should get some kind of response, I don't think it necessarily has to be from a MOD.

In my haste i may have formulated myself somewhat inaccurately. Of course we all have a life outside of the forum although i was referring to life inside the forum. So what i should have said was that the mods workload within forum parameters is negligible. We don't really experience trolls here and neither do we experience people who swear and curse and generally create a bad atmosphere. Therefore a mods work here usually comes down to moving a misplaced post (i welcome a mod coming in to this discussion and proving me wrong) or reminding someone to either introduce themselves or some other small item of administration.

I agree and i thought i had included a disclaimer within my initial post that it's not a mods responsibility to answer all posts. However, if a post is not answered by anyone else then i feel it should be a part of a mods responsibility to give some kind of response if no one else does. It's all about presenting a forum that caters for and invites scorpion interested people into a warm friendly arena .. my remark of "nepotism" may have been slightly of the mark but if it gets people thinking about the way this forum is structured with regards to hierarchy then i feel it's worth including. There should not be a small "family" of back patters with a larger "family" of people in the cold .. everyone should be in the warm and everyone should be treated equally within mutual barriers of respect.

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That being said, when people ask questions that have literally been answered a few days earlier, one or two posts below their own, it gets a bit ridiculous.

I agree with you, this does happen although a little understanding of human psychology is needed here. There are undoubtedly many people out there who want their voice heard, who want to express themselves in their own particular way and who basically just want a few posts under their belts. Instead of looking at these posts as "ridiculous" what's wrong with pointing these people in the right direction. We were all new once upon a time and no one has the monopoly on doing things perfectly. If you feel that some posts are ridiculous then refrain from answering them although i still feel that "someone" should answer them which again brings me back to a mods responsibilities. Regardless that a whole forum of users feel a particular post is ridiculous and as such feel no need to answer, then that responsibility should in the last analysis fall back on a mod...in my opinion...again, i welcome a mod into this discussion.

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If only members can view posts in the forum, how can people who are not members asses the credibility of the forum itself?

The answer to that question my friend is simple....Join the forum and become a member..It costs nothing, takes 2 minutes and provides a member with the added incentives/abilities that you pointed out.....If someone upon joining decided that the forum is not for them, then it is of course their prerogative to not log on again.

I find it shameful and it embarrasses me when i see a post going unanswered despite the "online" tag showing 20 or 30 "guests" online.....Of course these guests could actually be people that are not members of the forum but i find that highly unlikely. Many forums are set up so that only logged in members can read the forum contents and i understand why this is so..what i don't understand is why this forum does it differently...again, maybe a mod or admin will enlighten me on this.

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I just feel it's important for all of us to pitch in

Absolutely my sentiments to although humans being humans this perfect scenario is doomed to failure....Hence my request for added mod responsibilities.

I my option I think you all have valid points , just to chuck an idea in the mix what about section care takers ? Like delete old posts that have no use and just have duties like general house keeping and then the admin could tackle tasks like increasing our scorpion asa and thinking ofcompetitions for uk and us , deleting inactive accounts , increaseing number , and expanding on the idea that makes us unquie.

And I don't mind putting my self forward for one of those roles!!

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just to chuck an idea in the mix what about section care takers ? Like delete old posts that have no use and just have duties like general house keeping and then the admin could tackle tasks like increasing our scorpion asa and thinking ofcompetitions for uk and us , deleting inactive accounts , increaseing number , and expanding on the idea that makes us unquie.

Those are valid ideas antmac but the lack of mod interaction on this thread kinda makes me think we're going to get nowhere with this train of thought..This is a shame because it only highlights what i originally pointed out .. That the mods interaction with users is biased...Gordon Ramsey would say "if you cant' take the heat you shouldn't be in the kitchen"

Yes i'm using heated words and flapping my arms but i've decided to make a stand on this point....I'm also a member of a German scorpion forum www.skorpione.de and if anyone here who could understand German popped over to that forum you would see the way they operate..Mods are the heart and soul of the forum..mods keep everything running smoothly and NO ONE is ignored or ridiculed..mods are chosen for their role as mod based on their extensive knowledge of everything scorpion and mods play a huge role with regards to interaction with users .. That site sets the standards of scorpion forums and really is worth aspiring to..Unfortunately it's only for German understanding people which worldwide account for a tiny part of the overall population..Many many many more people understand English which makes it hard for me to understand why this forum can't be similar considering the enormous resources of English speaking people.

I'm not suggesting that this forum should be a mirror image of that one...not at all...my point is simply that we all, and especially our mods, could learn something from it.

So...come on Dolby, Jamie, Bex and GS...jump on the wagon and lets hear your thoughts....Us users could discuss and debate until the cows came home but if you guys don't chip in then it's not worth a damn.

Maybe you see no reason to change anything and that things are just fine the way they are....That's fair enough....but lets hear that.

A forum is a gathering of people with similar interest and yet, they are also a bunch of people with different characters and preferences. There are those who prefer to remain anonymous and lingers around the forum reading up stuffs, and there are those who sign up to get their queries solved and also some who sign up to fellowship with other hobbyist e.g. making friends and to share the joy in having or getting a pet scorpion. Point is, it's their freedom to choose which privacy settings they're comfortable with that we will respect!

As for the queries goes, 
There are NO smart or stupid questions, so-to-speak..but there are, indeed, responsible and irresponsible people.

A responsible individual will give others respect before demanding the respect from others.

When a new hobbyist does a quick search for his queries using the forum search function or by "Googling" for information online before posting a question, this somewhat shows the character of him being a person who do not simply wait for others to spoon-feed" him information. If the results of the search are not clear or did not answer his doubts, then, he may then, feel free to post and seek for more advice, i believe no one would get upset with a new hobbyist because of that.

Of course, If it's an urgent scenario e.g. a new hobbyist is only 3 days in the hobby, and the pet scorpion he just got from the store is now having babies! To make things worse, the scorpion mom is munching on the babies as they are coming out.. what can he do????
When it's of such urgency above, i believe anyone who sees the post in time would immediately try to help him by offering their advice or by directing him to some useful information even when he is a stranger to them.

New hobbyist are never neglected, that is the reason why the different care-sheets are compiled by the Mods and helpful hobbyist in this forum such as the [HOW TO] Scorpion Guides / Tutorials and [ASA] All-Scorpion-Archives, if you have not realized, these are all targeted exactly at the new hobbyist!

Den wrote:

if everyone searched the net or this forum for an answer to a query before they posted then the amount of posts on this forum would be absolutely minuscule.

Don't be confused. Clocking post count and members is really not the aim of this forum.
Certainly, if all questions can be answer via a search, posts count would definitely drop but the mods would be happier as it simply means that the online-information the users found have worked! Maybe you need to prove your existence by replying simple queries in the forum daily but i believe in bringing our community to a different level. With the launch of [HOW TO] Scorpion Guides / Tutorials and [ASA] All-Scorpion-Archives, new hobbyist are immediately brought unto a different level without having to post just to seek advice for basic questions such as e.g. Why my scorpion is not eating

And it is our goal that there will be more sharing in the forum on exchanges that revolves around things like e.g. "the different approach to their breeding success" than frequent posts such as "Hey i just got a new emperor scorpion, any insights to care for it would be helpful !!"

Den wrote:

The mods workload within forum parameters is negligible.

Den wrote:

Therefore a mods work here usually comes down to moving a misplaced post (i welcome a mod coming in to this discussion and proving me wrong) or reminding someone to either introduce themselves or some other small item of administration.

You seemed to have many misconceptions here on our mods. In my opinion, a mod is simply a fellow hobbyist with buttons. They are not necessarily the most experienced keepers who has the answers to everything nor are they 24/7 on standby in this forum, but I am sure that they have the desire to serve the community with the right attitude! And yet again, definitely not by the method of spoon-feeding.

And in some scenarios, a mod can be logged in, but not necessarily "eyeballing" every thread that comes by. For all we know, he could be at work in his office while leaving an window minimized on his favorite forum! And the same possibility goes for other registered members in this forum.

What you have impressed upon me is that you are lamenting here, majoring on the minor things such as e.g. "Hey who actually behind that guest list" ... "Oooo i think a mod is hiding in there!!" or "Hey, that mod is online.. hmnn i wonder why is he not replying to this newbie" ..and i seem to be the ONLY one who even bother to answer these simple questions.. and with my 2000 word count essay, i think i am the one who's really helping anyone here... hello.. can anyone hear me? No answer?? Hmnn..i think i should post this on the highest visibility thread so that my knowledge and effort that i have contributed can be known"

The fact is, sharing of information and helping others comes naturally from someone who has the passion to help. And by helping, it's not jumping into every "simple and repeated questions" e.g. why is my scorpion not eating and give a "2000 word count reply" just to show how knowledgeable you are when you can simply direct the user to an existing FAQ/guide or thread which has discussed that very same topic previously. 

If the user still has doubts after reading, further posts can be made. As we believed, "always teach a man to fish.." 

Has your "food" always been prepared nicely on a silver plate for you for the past 38 years?

You may consider to work on more self-help guides that will help so much more people. As far as this forum is concerned, Information in the hobby should be shared freely, there should be NO requirement to know who is actually logged in and who is referencing to your provided information before you decide to share certain info out, remember, they are groups of people on the net who enjoys this privacy of staying low profile, lets just respect them as they are. Nobody owns anyone a living here. Just like the mods here, they are volunteers who do not mind the extra buttons/ workloads to carry out the "negligible work" which is in your view. However, I believe, Mods deserve the respect for their work and i will not tolerate any sarcasm thrown to them at will!  

Den wrote:

I find it shameful and it embarrasses me when i see a post going unanswered despite the "online" tag showing 20 or 30 "guests" online.....

Is this your forum? Why are you shameful and embarrassed? I believe our mods are doing their best to assist, but when a reply is missed, we would appreciate anyone help's to guide the new hobbyist. But preferably, do not start your reply with things like "Oh.. i can see so many users online.. but..but... i wonder why no one actually bothers to reply, oh well, let me help you..." + again..  "a 2000 word essay reply"

Den wrote:

I would like to see only logged on users being able to view the forum. I suspect many registered users and MODS hide behind the "guest" tag which again only adds to the "unfriendliness" of this forum.

The only unfriendliness i see the demanding, superior attitude, and insensitive post you have made right at the begining of this thread!

Den wrote:

Yet an established user could post a picture of a brood or whatever (despite these pics easily being found all over the net) and receive a hundred "drool" posts in answer to it.

When an established user post a picture of a brood, his friends would congratulate him, people who are eager to learn will ask questions (e.g. asking him how did he achieve that and i'm sure he'll be more then happy to share his "tips") and the last person (like yourself) would simply dwell on a plate of sour grapes.

Den wrote:

We don't really experience trolls here and neither do we experience people who swear and curse and generally create a bad atmosphere.

That's not true, you have proven it wrong.

Den wrote:

Many forums are set up so that only logged in members can read the forum contents and i understand why this is so..what i don't understand is why this forum does it differently...again, maybe a mod or admin will enlighten me on this.

Privacy is an individual preference to be respected. We do not enforce people to be logged in to the forum but we allowed anonymous viewing. I believe we do not need to clock another registered user under our belt or know which exact registered member is reading our forum threads when information shared is free for all to reference and for the viewer to decide if it is useful for them. 

By the way, you are in this forum, and as i have said, it's like sitting down and joining us in a dinner table. As it's the basic respect of anyone to adhere to the house rules... have you respected the part of not talking about other forums?

Don't talk about other forums:

Bottomline, it's a just a matter of preference. If you like it here, please stay, if not, i don't know...
how about shut up and move on.