sasguru banned? Missed that...Why?

[GreenerGrass]

I'm sure I saw him having a meal with someone who looked like a Car Supermarket salesman in a "Scottish Steakhouse" the other day.

He was wearing a panama hat and there was a Toyota Aygo or something like that parked nearby.

[snaw]

I'd like to disentangle the new modding tendencies, which you may have a beef with fair enough, from SASguru being a self-obsessed bullying little oik who only likes the 'bear-pit' as long as he's the bear doing the biting.

I don't mind him, personally (Or any of the mods for that matter). But it's not the him part that I've any real issue with (And I sincerely hope it's not something a mod has against him personally that's got him banned). More the rug being pulled from under our feet vis-a-vis posting, and unless I missed it no memo to relay that all bets were of and the rules had changed.

The why I don't really get either. In fact I'm pretty confused, and starting to feel a little like the place I've spent a large chunk of my working online life, well avoiding work, on, seems to be changing quite dramatically, quite quickly, for an undermined reason.

I'm also finding the intervention of a few reasonably recent members with the burning torches and pitchforks a bit disturbing as well.

I'm not the flouncing type, and I hope I'm making my points reasonably, and no it's not just about my experience on this board, but from what I can tell there seems to be a fair few recent issues causing people to quit. And I'm fairly sure that's not down to trolls, cause we've always had em, but I've yet to see an exodus like this (Well maybe at the last big forum change, but I suspect that was just people changing their avatars more than anything).

[Troll]

Blah, blah,whine,blah
I'm not the flouncing type, and I hope I'm making my points reasonably, blah blah whine blah

Since you instrumental in defining the genre on this board, I take it you are being ironic

[realityhack]

Can I just ask why the first headhunter thread was moved to LR...

http://forums.contractoruk.com/light...estaurant.html

It was, of sorts, about contracting more than most on general, certainly, and also I found the thread a pretty good wheeze but I never noticed any bun fights, any abuse or skullduggery.

Now I appreciate you are all rewriting the rule book just now as you have been saying for 2 weeks but until you finish this great volume of rules could we please have an insight into the rational to this decision?

You're kidding, right? It was one of a number of purile threads on the same 'topic' sas started spamming the forum with. Most were moved to LR. 'About contracting more than most'?

[snaw]

Since you instrumental in defining the genre on this board, I take it you are being ironic

Eh, I was, pray tell how? Just searched and I've used the word three times, and two of them were to say I wasn't the flouncing type and the other was 2 years ago.

Tale that one back pls.

<4 times if you count today>

[TheBigYinJames]

I'm also finding the intervention of a few reasonably recent members with the burning torches and pitchforks a bit disturbing as well.

I've got no comment on the way the forum is run now or formerly, all my posts (apart from the one a few weeks ago making an observation about cliques) were pretty much self defensive - SAS might get away with it, he might be the lovable class clown everybody has a chortle at, but I'm no pushover and he needs to choose his targets a bit more carefully. I bite back. And I've wet his bed while he was away.

Your point above is almost the crux of the matter as I see it - the old regs consider that the rules have been changed without their agreement, and at the behest (or to protect the interests of) newer members who are not used to the culture in here, and haven't 'earned' that sort of protection.

I can get that as well, but it comes down to what this forum is for - is it a place where anybody can come and safely ask questions about contracting without having to put in 5 years of trolling before they earn that right, or is it a social club for old gnarly contractors who have nothing left to ask or tell and just want to flick snot at each other over and over again for entertainment.

And I believe the solution to this has already been mentioned - General is now a misnomer for this group - it should be a 'Regulars Lounge' or something similar. 'Bear Pit' or 'Get Out Noobs' - General should probably remain as a group, so that people who are too scared/stupid to find the correct sub-forum for their question can be redirected, and real general questions and discussions (budget, crap agency gripes, etc etc) can continue.

Just a 2 denarii.

[snaw]

I've got no comment on the way the forum is run now or formerly, all my posts (apart from the one a few weeks ago making an observation about cliques) were pretty much self defensive - SAS might get away with it, he might be the lovable class clown everybody has a chortle at, but I'm no pushover and he needs to choose his targets a bit more carefully. I bite back. And I've wet his bed while he was away.

Your point above is almost the crux of the matter as I see it - the old regs consider that the rules have been changed without their agreement, and at the behest (or to protect the interests of) newer members who are not used to the culture in here, and haven't 'earned' that sort of protection.

I can get that as well, but it comes down to what this forum is for - is it a place where anybody can come and safely ask questions about contracting without having to put in 5 years of trolling before they earn that right, or is it a social club for old gnarly contractors who have nothing left to ask or tell and just want to flick snot at each other over and over again for entertainment.

And I believe the solution to this has already been mentioned - General is now a misnomer for this group - it should be a 'Regulars Lounge' or something similar. 'Bear Pit' or 'Get Out Noobs' - General should probably remain as a group, so that people who are too scared/stupid to find the correct sub-forum for their question can be redirected, and real general questions and discussions (budget, crap agency gripes, etc etc) can continue.

Just a 2 denarii.

OK, reasonable enough point. Badly executed plan if that's the intention IMO.

Why not make the name changes and then enforce the posting rules (Don't agree, but I can accept), not the other way round.

Expecting people to change posting habits of years in the old board structure we're used to, in a couple of weeks, in a badly communicated manner doesn't strike me as having been particularly successful (And seems pretty obvious to me that it wouldn't be).

[The Wikir Man]

Why not make the name changes and then enforce the posting rules (Don't agree, but I can accept), not the other way round.

It's not just name changes - there's the upgrade to do as well, and there were some good (and not so good) suggestions for a new structure and rules that were made in the ideas thread. It takes time to do.

The "problem" (or issue, I guess), as I see it, is that there are a core group of users who have been on here since forever. They know how the forum is run (or has been run in the past) and see no problem with it. However, CUK is a business, and as such cannot rely on that core group to boost the traffic to the site. In order to attract more people, at least part of the site needs to be more professional - by all means have the General stuff, but further away from where the newbies (who are not accustomed to your traditions) see it straight away, leave, and then discourage others from visiting.

Behaviour that drives traffic away is not a good business model.

[shaunbhoy]

However, CUK is a business

Behaviour that drives traffic away is not a good business model.

WTF????

[The Wikir Man]

WTF????

What don't you understand ?



Does that make it easier for you to understand?