Favourtism by Moderator(s)

[USM]

I was quite upset when people crashed into my sale threads by OTing too much, so I asked the moderator to remove these OT threads. However, those threads still remained, what the moderator did was asking these people to retrain from continuing OTing.

Today, I discovered that another sale thread by "Thoa_rs" for his Nikon lens.

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=76298

Some people have OTing there, and the moderator was good enough to remove those OT threads.

Why did my one was not done the first place? Is it because "Thoa_rs" knows the moderator personally as a friend, etc? Hence, the moderator helped him.

[LiOnElLiN]

dont know leh... maybe you need to give coffee money...
...but coffee powder will probably do just as well!

[lavenderlilz]

Originally Posted by USM I was quite upset when people crashed into my sale threads by OTing too much, so I asked the moderator to remove these OT threads. However, those threads still remained, what the moderator did was asking these people to retrain from continuing OTing. Today, I discovered that another sale thread by "Thoa_rs" for his Nikon lens. http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=76298 Some people have OTing there, and the moderator was good enough to remove those OT threads. Why did my one was not done the first place? Is it because "Thoa_rs" knows the moderator personally as a friend, etc? Hence, the moderator helped him.

Maybe you can post the link to your thread so that the rest of us can see?

[Darren]

Hi USM,

Although we try our best in moderating and removing inappropriate posts, please understand that we are also all holding day jobs and as much as we would like to devote lots of time to ClubSNAP, we also have to take care of putting food on the table for our families (speaking for those who have families; and I am sure that those who do not have families to take care of will also have their own commitments).

Thanks for your understanding, and be assured that there isn't any kind of moderator favoritism in play.

[dkw]

Has this occurred consistently, or is it one-off? I'd cut the mods some slack, after, can't police everything 100%.

[fish47]

I can't agree more. No long ago, i posted a thread to MO Sandisk Ultra II 1GB CF. And the moderator stepped in and said that don't buy from unknown distributor, because the warranty is not valid, or something like that. And i am not a reseller, just want to MO through a friend who got his goods from dealer in Taiwan. But in other's post for MO of CFs, no such comment from moderator. So i am wondering is the moderator trying to protect the market of the reseller whom they known or they are partner of that business. Thanks.

[Larry]

I think I need to clear up the air here. USM, you PMed me to remove the OT posts from your thread, but I took the judgment call to post a warning instead, so that there won't be any additional OT posts if they heed my warning (AFAIK it worked, as I don't recalled anymore OT banter after my post). A lot of times, as moderators we resort to this, as many people still persist in posting more OT remarks after we remove them. If you felt that my warning was not enough, you could have let me know and I would have removed the offending posts.

In thoa_rs's thread, there were still additional OT threads after my warning (I did the same thing as I did with USM's thread), but some members took to question the need to remove OT threads in the first place. my fellow moderator roygoh responded accordingly, and also to remove all the OT threads as it was way too long and deviated too much from the original topic.

I can assure all members that there's no favouritism in play here. I don't know USM or thoa_rs personally (at least I don't think i do), and I'm very sure roygoh doesn't either (FYI, roygoh is based in the US).

I hope this explains the situation.

The Moderator
Marketplace

[Jason Ho]

Originally Posted by fish47 I can't agree more. No long ago, i posted a thread to MO Sandisk Ultra II 1GB CF. And the moderator stepped in and said that don't buy from unknown distributor, because the warranty is not valid, or something like that. And i am not a reseller, just want to MO through a friend who got his goods from dealer in Taiwan. But in other's post for MO of CFs, no such comment from moderator. So i am wondering is the moderator trying to protect the market of the reseller whom they known or they are partner of that business. Thanks.

Agree on what? You make no sense on what you posted.

Before I start explaining how the forum moderation works, I think its best for you as a online forum poster to understand your own liabilities.

First I want you to know and clearly understand the last sentence of your post is purely groundless accusations. You are implying or indirectly implying to others that ClubSNAP administration is being unfair and we side with resellers. If you have any real true hard facts about what you posted above, post it. Else I want you to know that we can take legal action based on just what you posted above. Its very damaging to ClubSNAP reputation. Though we may not have done a perfect job, I believe most members will agree with me that ClubSNAP has always maintained a good reputation of being fair and just.

Second, I was reading your MO Thread. Theres nothing that i read that says "said that don't buy from unknown distributor". Its ClubSNAP administration responsibilities to inform our members about what they may be getting into. And its basically to protect ClubSNAP and our own member interests. As a MO organiser, you were given the chance and opportunity to fill in more information (which was lacking from your original post) but you didnt. And if you read the Consumer Corner and Service Guidelines , you will realise what you have posted on your MO thread is really against our guidelines. We can always lock up and delete your post, but instead we choose to give you the benefit of doubt and was expecting that you can fill in the missing information. While we are perfectly ok of your decision of leaving the thread as it is, I do seriously mind your bitching and whinning here and worse of all, accusing ClubSNAP of unfair practice.

Last but not least, I want to remind you that you don't pay to post here and we dont collect commission from any MO sales. And all the moderators and admins are volunteers here. While we may not be doing a 10/10 job, I do think you need to learn how to respect and appreciate other people's efforts and time spent in managing this forum. The last thing we expect is any of our member to cast any doubts on the ClubSNAP administration by posting such groundless accusations.

Since Darren and Larry have already addressed USM issue, I am locking this thread up to avoid any more senseless replies.

[Larry]

Originally Posted by fish47 I can't agree more. No long ago, i posted a thread to MO Sandisk Ultra II 1GB CF. And the moderator stepped in and said that don't buy from unknown distributor, because the warranty is not valid, or something like that. And i am not a reseller, just want to MO through a friend who got his goods from dealer in Taiwan. But in other's post for MO of CFs, no such comment from moderator. So i am wondering is the moderator trying to protect the market of the reseller whom they known or they are partner of that business. Thanks.

fish47, you have to realize that the warning was not directed at you, but as moderators and admins of ClubSNAP, we have a responsibility to keep members aware of any potential pitfalls. we maintain close ties with the manufacturers and they take it to keep us updated of any problem areas which might occur. You'd also note that nowhere did the warning say "don't buy from XXX member or XXX distributor", but rather a reiteration of the warning "caveat emptor" or "buyer beware". there's nothing wrong with a warning not to buy from unknown sources, that's just common sense.

ClubSNAP has always been very open and transparent in its operations.

I hope everyone can really take a step back and look at the running of the forums from the viewpoint of the mods & admins. We're running a free forum for all, with no pay or rewards of any kind, but yet we're subject to alot of scrutiny and criticism for actions which we deem correct and unbiased. If you have any suggestions for improving the way we maintain the forums, pls feel free to voice it out, but I personally resent it when any mods are accused of favouritism or having ulterior motives without really understanding the whole situation.

The Moderator
ClubSNAP.org