SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted May 30, 2007 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 30, 2007 Quote: being a forums administrator, do you sometimes feel like God? i mean, i know the various SJs are real people and all, but it seems like we're in this virtual world, and every now and then you come down and sort things out. plus you're always hovering around in the background, like some all knowing omnipotent force. Being a forums administrator, I think we often feel frustrated more than anything. We don't really get to enjoy it in the way that most people do and then always take the flak when any decision has to be made when things get out of hand. We are never going to be able to please everyone with the few decisions on things like this. It is more often than not a thankless task and can actually be annoying when people think they know "the full story" behind a situation and are very vocal about it, but they simply do not. The reason we don't post under real names (my name is Andrew) as moderators is quite simple. In the past we have had people actually get quite nasty - even threatening - to admins when we have edited/deleted some of their offensive material. It actually makes me laugh sometimes how some people seem to think we would want to create an awkward situation by deleting messages or banning someone. Why on earth would we want all the hassle associated with that (and believe me there is a lot)? We only do that kind of thing when we feel we have to, when we are almost pushed into it. We want to avoid that kind of thing, not court it. Far from all-knowing, we are simply trying to do the best we can in running (and protecting) the forums. They are part of SnowJapan which is part of the company that I own - there is a lot of time, effort and resources put into the operation and we have every right to protect that. We also really care about it. The ideal situation would be for us to not have to sort anything out, but sometimes it is unavoidable. As has been said before, in reality it is only very occasionally when any action has to be taken and I'm keen for that to continue. Take this Shout Box for example. It is shown on every page of the Forums. If it deteriorates into a free-for-all slanging match full of abusive language and the like, it creates a really bad impression of the Forums. While a bit of controversy may be fun to some people, as the owners of this operation it is not the way we want the world to see these Forums. We are already busy doing lots of work on the site and having to spend further time making sure that area is not going overboard is not really an option - I would take the decisions to turn the thing off all together rather than have it take up lots of our time & ultimately damage the forums. About the post this morning. I can totally understand why a business would want to have some sneaky promotion and be talked about and have links on these Forums. There are a lot of eyes seeing the posts and a link on here gives a site valuable googlejuice. But we're not going to let people take advantage of the Forums like that. There are four (sometimes five) of us who keep an eye on things on the Forums. When I'm online I keep an eye on things from time to time, but of late I am away from the PC more and more and so my time on the Forums is less than what it used to be. (I get dragged in when something happens!) Think that's it for now! Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 SJ ive said it before you need some volunteer mods. people with the power to delete spam and other posts. That way you dont have to worry all of the time. back on topic....niseko has alot of probs and people want to hear them lol Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted May 30, 2007 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 30, 2007 We are open to that idea. Would you like to be one Fattiwns? Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 SJ on my forum I have mods its a good idea as you can not always be there to see what is happening. You only need a few as the next problem you have is the Mods become like an elite club if let off the leash. This is a great forum but like all of them its far to easy for the spam posts to slip through the safety net. Oh and FT all the problems at Niseko have been solved now, there isn't any left. Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted May 30, 2007 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 30, 2007 Thanks folks (and the for the PMs - will reply soon). I actually don't think there are many "spam posts" on here at all - we certainly don't get the total junk spam posts and with the new forums the sign up process is more secure as well. We don't actually have that many major problems. It is just every now and again something seems to flare up, and at times people seem to implode with their own frustration and take it out on other members and then us. Not a lot of fun. The other increasing problem is people thinking they can get free publicity on here for their business etc. Things like that are often trickier to deal with than simple trolls who just post junk. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Sometimes your asked a specific question and by answering it may look like your advertising as well, its tricky but your right this forum runs quite smoothly a lot better than many I have seen, good effort, I always enjoy it. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 SJ people. I think you do a great job, with a light hand, especially wrt bloody swearing. Link to post Share on other sites
SnowJapan Admin SnowJapan#Andrew 6 Posted May 30, 2007 SnowJapan Admin Share Posted May 30, 2007 Thank you. Yes it is a fine line, though sometimes it is quite obvious. We just have to take the decisions the best way we can. Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 I second (for the 58th time) all these positive sentiments SJ1. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 The reason I come here is that it is generally a flame-free zone. I'm not blameless in that regard, but I appreciate it. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I dont think that there are many problems but think about it. at night you can let it go and not worry really. give out a few tickets to some mods etc. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 FT as mod?? Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 He's going to be the spell-checker. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 You guys do a really fantastic job. It is very obvious I would think to most people how much care is put into it. don't let any fools get you down! Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 i think you guys do an ace job. keep it up. this is one of the few forums out there with clued up people having decent discussions. i'm probably not one of the clued up people, but i enjoy reading everyone's opinions. i was just being cheeky before... Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Anyway if we've finished with all the backslapping about how great a forum this is I'll get back to the topic (I agree it's a great forum). It was rumored last season that Kutchan police were going to set up a branch in Hirafu during winter. I thought this would be a great step forward but unfortunately it didn't happen. Supposedly the reason was lack of funding. I know all locals in the region would love to see a permanent police presence in winter. We really need a few of the idiots who come here to be arrested and sent home (with no chance of coming back) and then maybe people would stop acting up so much. Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 are you TGR's Spook? If so, I see your name quite a bit. although I don't know what kind of conclusions knowing the answer to my question would give me. Just curious, I guess, if any others visit TGR. Quite frankly, I rarely post there- way too much noise. Every time I do, I get called an idiot by some dude half my age with even less than half my experience. It's wierd being old. thanks to the mods, as well as the educated posters, this place is very pleasant. On the topic of niseko probs and aussies... I only had one opportunity to hang out with a full-aussie possie in Hakuba. A bunch of x-pro snowboarders came up. I was the only american and the only skier. (albeit i rode them under the table.) However, I can understand why people (specifically japanese) get pretty shocked at their presence. in one night, about 12 of us each spent over ichi-man on saki and nibbles. I never in my life laughed so fricking hard so consistently. dudes showing their over-sized testicles and the whole bit. I'll remember that night of sheer-pissedness and parking lot brawls-amongst-friends forever. And I'm sure the bar will remember too. they didn't speak any japanese and I spent the entire evening apologizing for them, with a smirk on my face. I wasn't laughing at the situation, I was laughing with the staff. These guys were nuts. And the staff were just rolling their eyes. comedy, I'm telling ya, comedy. Wwaaaaay out of the norm for any izikaya. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 GN any area with the population of Hirafu in winter needs a permanent police presence. I never saw any poor behaviour everyone was having a great time but it does not take much before things get out of hand. Hopefully they will have this presence in the future to ensure the town remains a great and safe place to be. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Shocked readers, please note that what Samurai wrote above happened in HAKUBA, not Niseko. Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 sorry. sometimes my stories suck. Link to post Share on other sites
Retired Morris Dancer 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 That one didn't. I think you did actually mention Hakuba as well samurai - I saw it. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 TGR isnt bad just stay away from the war chat and your fine. Alot of the newschoolers crowd are moving over which does suck a bit. Yes Thursday every resort will have troubles but hakubas werent bad enough to make the papers in auz and japan. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Originally Posted By: Go Native I know all locals in the region would love to see a permanent police presence in winter. We really need a few of the idiots who come here to be arrested and sent home (with no chance of coming back) and then maybe people would stop acting up so much. Is it really that bad GN? I know you live there and would see a lot more than me, but it still suprises me to hear it. The worse display of drunken behavior i've seen at Niseko was by some young Japanese people. Link to post Share on other sites
ausi ski bum 1 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I saw this group of japanese guys walking up the main street carring on quite loud yelling out "G'Day mate" and "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi" it was so funny, they were having a ball. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Fatts, one day, when aussie reporters find out that Nagano held the winter olympics, they'd bother to find out where exactly that was. Link to post Share on other sites
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