Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I realize that there will always be differences of opinion on public message boards about what constitutes appropriate content and conduct. But I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that the Ball Python Forum has reached a point that could use some fixing.

Don’t get me wrong. Trolls are an inevitable part of any forum. But, in general, they drop in, stir things up a bit and see what irate responses they can provoke. And usually soon enough they tire of it all (or people wise up and stop responding to them) and one day they’re gone.

There are often one or two others, however, who are absolute CANCERS in the community. And these malignancies are just not going away until they kill it for everyone. We all know the type: they’re the “experts” who got their first snake a couple of months before the newcomers they like to make fun of; they lie in wait for an innocent question (preferably from a newcomer, even better if that newcomer is a little rough around the edges with their typing skills, grammar, or English usage), then they blast away with a cruel, unhelpful, or sarcastic reply. Time after time after time after time. Ever see one of these cancers actually start a thread? Perhaps with some interesting observation relating to their own animals or a herpetological topic which might make for good discussion within the group? Of course not. They just seem incapable of contributing.

I’m betting most of us (including the malignancies themselves!) would be in agreement as to who these particular cases are in this forum right now.

So, okay, my suggestion? Actually, I’ve got two. First, STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS! Heaven knows, I find it difficult myself, but it would go a long way if people could just not get sucked into responding to them. Let them have their fun, but DON’T REPLY. They’ll be on their way that much sooner with no one to interact with.

Second, regarding the cancers, it's time to stop being discouraged and get busy! Start telling (and keep telling) the forum moderator (or anyone else in the Kingsnake organization you feel like communicating with) that you have had enough of the tumor and are ready for the cure. Open that next snotty post, and to the right of “posted by”, click on “report abuse” and let Kingsnake know how you feel. And KEEP DOING IT until they find a way to deal with those malignant abusers.

Let the surgery, radiation and chemotherapy begin!!

-Joan
[as longtang (remember him?) used to say: "I like snakes and rats"]

You wanted me to reply didn't ya.....
Sometimes you have to wonder. I could write a book! No one would believe.
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RicK Denmon

Ball Boutique,Inc.
What are we talking about?

Why can't we all just get along!

Common sense will prevail!!!

Very good post. And speaking of longtang, does anyone know what happened to him or where he went? i liked that guy. he usually made pretty good posts and funny ones too. anyway....

Rob Woods

>>I realize that there will always be differences of opinion on public message boards about what constitutes appropriate content and conduct. But I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that the Ball Python Forum has reached a point that could use some fixing.
>>

In the event it has gotten lost further down the list of topics, the issue has been addressed here: Voting people off...
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PHWyvern

Hi Mr. PHWyvern –

Despite what I may think or what I say privately about these cancers who contribute little here but ugliness and disruption, I didn’t say anything in my public post about “voting people off” the forum. As you very succinctly put it ”Hate to disappoint anyone, but the forums are not a pure democracy”. Clearly.

Believe it or not, I’m generally in favor of free speech. In a rip roaring, free for all style board (which this is not, and I have absolutely no argument with that), before one of these ignorant weenies had the opportunity to morph into a paper tiger who constantly ambushes newbies with delight, someone would have knocked the little bleep down and slapped the snot out of him. Repeatedly. And thereafter every time he tried to post he would be told to shut up until he knew what he was talking about or could state it without maliciousness.

But this is not that kind of forum. So we depend on YOU to moderate with fairness and consistency. I’m sure we’ve all noticed that on some of the Kingsnake forums, the slightest rise in temperature in an exchange of posts results in the thread being promptly edited or removed by a moderator; whereas on other Kingsnake forums name calling and hostility may play out with depressing regularity for many screen inches day after day with no intervention by the KS staff. The Ball Python Forum has become an example of the latter. I am not arguing about your terms of service. The keyword here is “consistency.”

My suggestion was: “let Kingsnake know how you feel. And KEEP DOING IT until they find a way to deal with those malignant abusers.” That’s really all we can do. The rest is up to you. How or what you do? Well, as you said, this isn’t a democracy, so of necessity we can only leave the details and solution up to you. While you may describe this as “ganging up against someone,” I consider it the only way we can realistically express our distress within the constraints of your policies.

Remember, I was addressing the people in this community who contribute here as well as those many silent folks observing from the sidelines whom I am sure are out there. I’d like to note that as soon as you as moderator jumped quickly in with a “I’ve-already-addressed-this” kind of reply, the responses pretty much stopped. If there really are only four other people out there who feel as I do, then so be it. But I suspect that is not the case.

People, keep punching that “report abuse” button!

Power to the people!

Uh, I guess I’m done.

Respectfully,
Joan

Yes, I DO like snakes and rats! (with apologies to longtang)

This is really sad.

I frequent sports message boards, and they sure have their share of flamers over there, but at least you can see where they come from. People want to talk trash about their favorite team, and put down their opponents.

To have flamers on a message board such as this is truly pathetic. This is supposed to be an media where hobbyists can exchange information about how to best care for their pets. What's the point of flaming here?

np

From the Jargon Dictionary (click here)

lurker n. One of the `silent majority' in a electronic forum; one who posts occasionally or not at all but is known to read the group's postings regularly. This term is not pejorative and indeed is casually used reflexively: "Oh, I'm just lurking." Often used in `the lurkers', the hypothetical audience for the group's flamage-emitting regulars. When a lurker speaks up for the first time, this is called `delurking'.

flamer n. [common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious Usenet personalities

flame [at MIT, orig. from the phrase `flaming a$$hole'] 1. vi. To post an email message intended to insult and provoke. 2. vi. To speak incessantly and/or rabidly on some relatively uninteresting subject or with a patently ridiculous attitude. 3. vt. Either of senses 1 or 2, directed with hostility at a particular person or people. 4. n. An instance of flaming. When a discussion degenerates into useless controversy, one might tell the participants "Now you're just flaming" or "Stop all that flamage!" to try to get them to cool down (so to speak).
The term may have been independently invented at several different places. It has been reported from MIT, Carleton College and RPI (among many other places) from as far back as 1969, and from the University of Virginia in the early 1960s.

It is possible that the hackish sense of `flame' is much older than that. The poet Chaucer was also what passed for a wizard hacker in his time; he wrote a treatise on the astrolabe, the most advanced computing device of the day. In Chaucer's "Troilus and Cressida", Cressida laments her inability to grasp the proof of a particular mathematical theorem; her uncle Pandarus then observes that it's called "the fleminge of wrecches." This phrase seems to have been intended in context as "that which puts the wretches to flight" but was probably just as ambiguous in Middle English as "the flaming of wretches" would be today. One suspects that Chaucer would feel right at home on Usenet.

TMI?

-Joan

I keep three kinds of herps corns,balls and leos.Corns are my favorite and I spend alot of time on corn forums and post quite often.I have never had any problems on the corn forums.I'll be honest when selecting bps as my second project; profit potential played a big roll.Reading this forum every day or two has alowed me to learn alot and I like the bps more and more all the time now.I don't post that often because i'm still new at keeping bps and don't have much to offer,but one of the times I did I managed to start a big fight.The leos are more my wifes project and I only visit that forum about once a month.One of the very few times I posted there I also managed to start a fight some how.I'm starting to get the idea that regular users of a forum start to think of the forum as thier own private group and don't want to welcome others, but these forums aren't thier property.If I ask a question or post a responce that the regulars deem to be stupid they simply need not respond.rather then voting others off;vote your selves off by starting a private forum(I'm not being a smart *ss thier are places on the web for private groups).There are many expierenced breeders/keepers here that seem to enjoy helping along nebies I for one would like to continue to benefit from that just by reading this forum often.
Jason

Jason, everyone is welcome here.