Originally Posted by Champlain Islander

Guys let me jump in here before too much water goes over the dam. I am not sure but this forum seems to be a constant source of complaints which has resulted in a fair amount of moderator time. To set the record straight I am not normally one of the mods who monitor this forum. I don't know the characters or much of the history so it is a bit difficult for me. It was me that approached BPS about not using that term. It did come via a complaint which is initially fielded by the admin team but I wasn't privy to who it was that complained other than an email address. I asked BPS to not call anyone that and he agreed to stop. Plain and simple request and he did the right thing. I was surprised to see this thread show up but that is just the way it goes sometimes. I have been a moderator only a short time and try to perform my duties like I managed in the Fortune 500 company during my career. Having to sit like a referee and continually ban people is a failure at least from my way of thinking. My tactic is to show the right path and allow people enough space to follow. My management history is filled with a few failures but more success. Banning a person does take a trouble maker out of the mix but does come at a cost of removing ideas, diversity and knowledge from the forum. I will share one of the reasons why I decided to step to a moderator position when asked by Cal Hunter. Many years ago one of the most popular forums here on HNI was the Off Season. There were many regulars and lots of interaction. Over time the place got to be more like the wild west with many arguments and complaints. Admin, who is given the task of really running the site got tired of dealing with all the issues and ended up perma banning many of the regulars and removing that forum completely from the site. It remained that way for a long time. Gradually a few of the old timers who were left worked out an agreement with admin to restore the forum. It took a long time and we were lucky to get it back. Today that forum is there but nothing like what it was and few of the old regulars even come here anymore. I think the BP forum has some of the most knowledgeable posters anywhere on the site. I would hate to see things degrade to the point where anyone would consider pulling the plug. My suggestion is to try to refrain from being dragged down to a lower level by responding to someone who is already there. Take the high road and be a leader on the forum not a follower over a cliff.

CI