close my forum account!

[www.sitepal.co.uk]

I post a message telling folks about new sales tool & its removed

But yet you keep other pointless messages on this site

Is this forum really for business?

Please close my account, thanks

[Richard Conyard]

Tony,
It's been moved to a more relevant forum not deleted. I think the heat may be getting to you, I suggest a nice cold drink!

[Rob Holmes]

Tony it was moved here: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=20878#20878

Because it was related to IT and the Internet

Just doing the housekeeping ;)

The same as I'm moving this to help and feedback!

Rob

[epiphany]

I generally do one of three things when I move a thread (on other forums I admin)

a. Leave a ghost thread. This is a feature of phpbb anyway. When someone clicks on the ghost thread it takes them to the new thread.

b. Post a message in the thread saying it is going to be moved then move it an hour or so later.

c. move it and pm the user that posted it.

[Rob Holmes]

I generally do one of three things when I move a thread (on other forums I admin)

a. Leave a ghost thread. This is a feature of phpbb anyway. When someone clicks on the ghost thread it takes them to the new thread.

b. Post a message in the thread saying it is going to be moved then move it an hour or so later.

c. move it and pm the user that posted it.

Hi Epiphany,

The ghost threads (by their nature) still leave a messier forum

Posting a message then coming back an hour later is double work

Moving it and PM'ing the user is ok - but all the links still work so really they would only notice if they went looking for it in one of the forums. Problem with PM'ing is generally people reply and my inbox gets filled most days anyway without more coming in.

So heres how I do it...
I generally add a post to the thread (which I did this time) when I move the post so the user gets a notification through IF they have chosen to receive notifications.

So technically Tony would have been notified IF he had set in the user control panel to be notified of updates to his thread.

Rob

[epiphany]

I've never found ghost threads to be messy, I think it highlights threads that were moved and allows forum users to better understand why threads are moved.

Also the work involved in posting a message in a thread to say it is going to be moved and then moving it an hour later doesn't require any extra work AFAIK. You are just delaying the moving part of the equation :)

and for PMing you could just put a bit in the message you send saying no need to reply :)

[Rob Holmes]

Hi Epiphany,

Yes a PM would be ok maybe a bit more personal but the way I did it has virtually the same outcome except it only contacts the thread starter IF they have said they wanted to be notified of additions to their post.

I have no way of telling if they want to be notified or not so I rely on the system to dictate this.

I cannot speak for Tony but I don't think his reaction would have been as strong if he'd read a pm OR if he'd read the email notification of his post IF he had wanted to be updated.

Some people don't want to be updated and they select 'don't update' in their system then I have to respect that.

Rob

[Ozzy]

Hi Tony,
I think your being a little hasty here, especially as your message was only moved to a more relevant area of the forums. You have been a member for a while and even posted messages saying how the forums have helped you and increased sales!

I cant help but feel you are having a bad day :)

Epiphany has raised a very good point though about leaving a ghost thread when a post is moved to somewhere more appropriate, and this is something I am happy for Alan, Rob and myself to start doing. However, PM'ing each person every time we tidy up a post is a bit too much when we are not afterall deleting their message, and we are all busy with paying work too! If I delete a post from a long term member I do PM an explantion though and suggestion on how to post the same message less spammy :)

Tony, if you do really want your account delete then email me again and I'll do so but it will be a shame.

[epiphany]

The thing is Matrix, I would imagine most people don't have the option selected that emails them if a reply is posted in their thread; and if they did use that option they would probably stop using it after they got sick of the spam :) Also if you PM someone they will definitely get an email because that is not a feature you can turn off. ANYWAY! :D On any phpbb forum I admin the mods use the ghosthread feature and I personally think it can be a bit messy at the beginning but the fact that it educates the forum users tends to help reduce the amount of threads needing to be moved in the long run. I would concede it is slightly different on these forums because you have a lot of people coming to post that aren't necessarily internet/forum savvy so they don't think too much about posting stuff in the right section.

These same principles apply when deleting a thread completely as well. Again rather than deleting it I have a preference to lock the thread and explain inside the thread why it is being locked, this again educates other users as to what is lockable. Another option in this situation is to delete the thread and pm the offending user directly, again education is the key word. After a while what you get is a bunch of users that know the forum rules well and do a kind of community spirit moderation without the actual moderation tools (if that makes any sense to you :) )

I have to emphasis that I am not having a go in any way matrix, I just like the topic of forum moderation as building forum communities is something I have been involved in for the last 7 year and sometimes I just can't stop talking about it :P

[Rob Holmes]

Hey no probs - I have the option to turn both off in my profile - but maybe it's a mod extra.

The forum generally has a good feel to them and something like this doesn't crop up very often so lets see how it goes :)

The main aim is to make the forums an even better community :)

Cheers,

Rob

[SmallBizSoftware]

Don't go ... this is one of the best business forums that I have found ... because of it's members I'm sure! ..... ooook and the mods i spose

[Jayne]

Hi Tony,

Don't go before i've a chance to get to know you. All on here seem lovely and do not think for one min' anyone would do anything to upset you on purpose.

Best Wishes

Jayne

(Big Hug) didn't have an icon for that.

[Asteeleleith]

Just to say, after having helped run a forum myself for a while i can see the point.

One would consider it bad manners to move a thread without at least saying where it has been moved to.
This is something i used to do in my forum and members simply did not like it.
As for the gentleman who wishes his details removed, i say only this.
Give it a chance. the mods are only doing their jobs. You opinion still counts and is still valued. By leaving you would appear to be cutting off your nose to spite your face :-)

In forums such as these, offense is easily taken, we try to express ourselves in a the friendliest possible manner. But in a world now where email, text messaging, and now forums are becoming the norm a new methods of communicating has become necessary. Hence the use of emotions.

There have been times when i have been misunderstood and even thought of leaving the forum. But then why, after so much has been gained. Both by myself and other forumers.

The UKBF is a fantastic place to come i think, but it will only remain so while we have the ppl that make it so. That inludes all of the above :-)

Regards to you all

Admin ur doing a great job

Al

[DarrenC]

I used to moderate one of the busiest travel forums, and we did the same as Matrix mentioned - moved the thread and added a post.

Ghost threads can make a busy forum messy, and PM'ing the member can be time consuming, especially if you have a few thousand members.

Did Tony ever come back?

Darren