Should ECF staff be doing more to keep its members?

Status
Not open for further replies.

myxomatosis

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jun 29, 2011
603
546
KC
www.facebook.com
Compared to the spam-ridden troll lairs almost all forums fall victim to eventually, I have a feeling ECF will stay junky troll free for some time to come.

I don't always agree with all the mods, or their direction (AVP.. let's not get into it) but I'm glad ECF has been here during my transition. It's saved me a lot of scratch and has been a major instrument in helping me stay off cigs (I've cheated some yeah.. but that's whatever :) ) In any event a major thanks is in order.

This forum seems to be doing exactly what it was intended to do: provide a meeting place for support, opinions, ideas, and all things e-cig related. My question is: what other direction is there?

:vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor::vapor:

/myx
 
Last edited:

Uncle Willie

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
May 27, 2011
2,395
102,501
Meet Me in St Louie Louie
Agreed "some enforcement" wasn't my point.

If one comes in to contact with well known members of the vaping community, people who never post here, there is one recurring theme as to why, and it has nothing to do with the speed of the site, or even some enforcement of the rules. The op raised the question and I was answering from what I have seen.

My comment was not directed at your post ..
 

erictho

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Oct 2, 2011
747
429
Edmonton
i dunno, this site is pretty professional at running everything. it also goes a step further in both organized activism, mindfulness, and encouraging full participation by everyone in the community. there's also a lot here that is tolerated that normally isn't tolerated on other forums, all in the name of keeping the peace.
i've had some of my posts censored, and i've made one transgression to the rules. i thought that it was handled with fairness and i didn't have my nose rubbed in anything.
the mods are volunteers, and i think that this must be considered. the mods are generally really well spoken and are clear about supporting their decisions. this is in contrast to the attitudes of mods i've seen on other sites.
this site has built an identity for itself socially, and contains a plethora of information and discussion accumulated over the past 4 years. if someone can really find a forum that tops ecf in all of the above, point me to it. i don't think it's the mod's job to pat us on our heads always reassuring us what good little posters we are. i mean, really.
 

bigpman

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
I have to say that the experience I have had with ECF, in the last month, has been an amazing one. There are many great people here and the site has always run smoothly without any issues. Of course, there are always things that can be improved upon, but goes with anything on the web (or life). I personally come from a technology background and spend my 8 hours at a website development company. I UNDERSTAND the frustrations that go into running a successful website. With that said, I think this place ROCKS!! Period.
 

six

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 17, 2011
3,706
4,504
under the blue sky
I've had very little interaction with moderators or other 'staff' on ECF (probably a good thing, right?). But, I do often read the feedback & help section and also I occasionally get a question mark over my head for some of the thread closures and thread moves...

As long as I remember to read everything in monotone, I never feel like anyone is being rude or ornery (sometimes I forget to do that and have myself a couple of times engaged in conversations that I should have just avoided).

Some replies in the feedback and help section can seem somewhat terse, but they could also usually be interpreted as "matter of fact". And to be perfectly honest: If I were to quit using ECF and spend more time on other forums, it would probably be more because of users than moderators... and one forum in particular allows me to say exactly what I mean to anyone I think I'd like to have a few words with. They even have appropriate smilys for such events. -> in any case, the mods here seem OK and treated me just fine when I had questions.

And I just have to add: If Old Soldier would replace his avatar with a bunny sitting under a rainbow in a field of daisies and butterflies, less people would feel like he's yelling at them ;)
 

oldsoldier

Retired ECF Forum Manager
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 17, 2010
12,503
8,000
Lurking in the shadows
www.reboot-n.com
Actually the avatar change wont happen :) I think I remember one of your posts...

You are wrong. I'm pretty sure you are deliberately wrong most of the time that you are wrong. That's called trolling on forums and usenet. In the real world it's called lying. -- six

I actually enjoyed reading that.
 

AttyPops

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Jul 8, 2010
8,708
134,344
Hc Svnt Dracones - USA EST
Speaking of avatars......
a1e783cc.jpg

(Nice tat Classy. lol. Those of us with crappy 4:3 monitors need to magnify...)
Can't say I always agree. Can't say I'm impressed with an * by peoples title without explanation (Hawthorne fans maybe?), but overall a job well done.

Since we don't know the process, IDK how we can suggest anything. Generally, I would suggest an internal review process for infractions, or a review of existing procedures, to ensure consistency across moderators/admins. I'm pretty sure you have some methods now, but I don't know what they are. Is there a review process, or an appeal process? Of course, you don't want to overload the volunteers either and they have to be able to handle the average/minor stuff without red tape. The only areas I can think of are the "grey areas" where a bad mood, or past feeling could impair judgement for one admin/mod but not another. I would guess that 99% are cut and dry. It's that 1% that gets you every time and a review process helps that.

Overall, I think ECF is the best moderated forum going. I've peeked at other forums, but don't even bother with them. They are not even in the same league. Kudos to ECF and staff.

Another Edit: You may wish to remove your 'like' classy, since I added a bunch of text...lol. ('like' was for the tat, I know...:) )
 
Last edited:

the_vape_nerd

Ultra Member
Supporting Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jun 20, 2011
2,623
2,152
New Orleans, LA
Hmm I'm not a volunteer, a moderator or a member or anything, but I do think this place is run pretty well and is extremely helpful to newbs and people who've been at this a while. I do feel sometimes that there is a bent or bias in favor of vendors or business owners instead of us consumers. Like someone will post something critical of a vendor and it will be removed for no good reason.

I believe that sort of thing should be allowed to stand and then the vendor can present his/her side of it. Just so that everyone has an equal voice. There are several top notch vendors and then there are those that, while even being ecf approved are very shady. And I'm not talking about BWB here whiskey, Don and his juice are awesome.
 

classwife

Admin
Admin
Supporting Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
May 9, 2010
98,564
161,084
68
Wesley Chapel, Florida
Hmm I'm not a volunteer, a moderator or a member or anything, but I do think this place is run pretty well and is extremely helpful to newbs and people who've been at this a while. I do feel sometimes that there is a bent or bias in favor of vendors or business owners instead of us consumers. Like someone will post something critical of a vendor and it will be removed for no good reason.

I believe that sort of thing should be allowed to stand and then the vendor can present his/her side of it. Just so that everyone has an equal voice. There are several top notch vendors and then there are those that, while even being ecf approved are very shady. And I'm not talking about BWB here whiskey, Don and his juice are awesome.

We don't remove the posts, we move them to where the suppliers can reply - to Reviews of Suppliers - Negative, where these types of posts belong.
Unless the OP has less than 5 posts, and then yes, the thread is closed...this prevents the inevitable attacks from the fans or the jumping on board and becoming a vendor bash.


edit to add...the occasional one post wonder...someone who joined just to rant and does not post again...yea, those will be deleted with the explanation that we don't bash suppliers in the New Members Forum.
 
Last edited:

oldsoldier

Retired ECF Forum Manager
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 17, 2010
12,503
8,000
Lurking in the shadows
www.reboot-n.com
Can't say I always agree. Can't say I'm impressed with an * by peoples title without explanation (Hawthorne fans maybe?), but overall a job well done.

The * is top secret and meant to confound you specifically. Actually there are a few people out there that are aware of the reason. It's not a big deal and It is for internal staff use.

Since we don't know the process, IDK how we can suggest anything. Generally, I would suggest an internal review process for infractions, or a review of existing procedures, to ensure consistency across moderators/admins. I'm pretty sure you have some methods now, but I don't know what they are. Is there a review process, or an appeal process? Of course, you don't want to overload the volunteers either and they have to be able to handle the average/minor stuff without red tape. The only areas I can think of are the "grey areas" where a bad mood, or past feeling could impair judgement for one admin/mod but not another. I would guess that 99% are cut and dry. It's that 1% that gets you every time and a review process helps that.

There is an appeal process:

from the contacts page:

Ban Enquiries ................................................................ forum[AT]e-cigarette-forum[DOT]com
Please make the subject line of your email: BAN

Not addressed to Atty, but some general points about appeals:

95% or more of appeals are denied because the infraction was cut and dried.

In order for an appeal to have any chance of a positive outcome it should start off with a statement of the facts of your side of the story. Complaining about "the asinine rules" or "jackbooted Nazi moderator"almost never ends well.

The moderators do talk to each other, so lying about "getting permission" is a bad idea.

If you edit your post we can read the original post. we can also compare each saved revision. If you post it and change it later you still posted it.


Internal reviews:

There is indeed an internal review process. It happens a lot sometimes the moderators are not involved as it is handled at admin level, but there are also times that the moderators are involved in our internal reviews. If such a process did not exist, many people would never have received their second and third chances at being a part of the ECF community.
 

muzichead

Resident Knucklehead
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 7, 2011
5,281
13,882
Illinois
I am still at a loss as to why the classifieds and co-op section is closed to non verified members!!! I "choose" not to be verified as I am very particular as to who I share my private info with... I don't know any of the moderators or administrators of this forum. Is that a reason as to bar me, (or anyone else), from a part of the forum? If a seller or trader decides not to deal with me it should be their prerogative...not the forum moderators or administrators!!! This is the latest thing that has me upset by the forum and yes, I have thought about leaving said forum because of this... My privacy is "MY PRIVACY"...
 

oldsoldier

Retired ECF Forum Manager
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 17, 2010
12,503
8,000
Lurking in the shadows
www.reboot-n.com
I am still at a loss as to why the classifieds and co-op section is closed to non verified members!!! I "choose" not to be verified as I am very particular as to who I share my private info with... I don't know any of the moderators or administrators of this forum. Is that a reason as to bar me, (or anyone else), from a part of the forum? If a seller or trader decides not to deal with me it should be their prerogative...not the forum moderators or administrators!!! This is the latest thing that has me upset by the forum and yes, I have thought about leaving said forum because of this... My privacy is "MY PRIVACY"...

That is perfectly within your rights. The classifieds are an additional service provided on ECF not the major focus of the site. I'll not explain yet again why the decision was made, instead I'll link you.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ind-did-i-miss-something-lol.html#post5999339
 

priorities

Resting in Peace
ECF Veteran
Apr 10, 2012
25,467
62,648
wherever my daydreams take me
"This forum seems to be doing exactly what it was intended to do: provide a meeting place for support, opinions, ideas, and all things e-cig related. My question is: what other direction is there?" -quote

I totally agree ..I am fairly new and I just love it..have not had to have interactions with moderators or anything like that...my concern is the problems that were caused the other night...you know..that strange night! Yikes...anyway..I have not been back to any other forum since finding this one. take care all....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread