Ive always appreciated this site for being as straight forward a forum as one can get. What you see is what you get, so to speak. I can rant, but im not safe from some backlash, snide comments, and a good retort. I can ask for opinions and get nearly all of them back in record time. I can ask for advice with my pity party and get told where to go PDQ. Ive been around a while, and taken some breaks in between. Ive stubbed toes and put my foot in my mouth many a time along the way. Met some great people and found some others i dont get along with so well. Im sure i am similarly viewed, too- annoying some and considered a friend by others. Ive insulted Glock and bought several since then. Ive been helped and hope that i have returned the favor when and where i could. I find that The great mix of opinions, generations, earnings, occupations, religions, beliefs, upbringings, etc between us all is both edifying and difficult in so many discussions, but i have always celebrated such differences and similarities found herein and have learned a ton in the last near-decade of my time here. Thank you, all.

The Sigforum is very entertaining to me. I check in 6 times a day or so. I apologize for not contributing more to it. Number 1 forum in my book!

quote:

Originally posted by i8mtm:
You asked for feedback in how you run this forum. In my opinion, you do not like when people disagree with you. It frequently results in censorship that I believe is unwarranted.

Censoring people that are off-topic, posting threats, or just generally being an ass is entirely different. Kudos to you for patrolling that.

As someone who frequently goes against the board's majority opinion, including the owner's - something I don't wake up every morning intending to do today, and don't take pride in à la "ohhh, I'm such a steadfast outsider, the Lone Internet Ranger of truth" - I can not complain about censorship. Exhibit A: I'm still here 14 years later.

Yes, admins have a bully pulpit. They are also humans with opinions, and it would be unreasonable to expect them censoring themselves, on their own board. That means they can certainly engage in debate the same robust, opinonated way as many others here do. And I think that when confronted like that, posters tend to project their fear of getting banned etc. and cry "censorship", or withdraw under cover of "your house, your rules" without an actual danger to them. Which means they likely have one or several problems: Taking debate too personal, seeking harmony and avoiding challenge too much; and above all being unsure of their own argument and/or behavior. Essentially, complaining about censorship is often just chickening out.

Sure there are exceptions. Humans are emotional, prejudiced, fallible, and sometimes unjust. I'm not going to invoke the stress of moderating a discussion board on an internet full of anonymous loonies from all over the world, because that's also a choice you keep pursuing, or don't - just like board members do. Personally, for me SigForum remains a reference board for American political and societal debate (at least on the right, but that reflects general issues). I'm drawn to counter misconceptions about the rest of the world I sense, but I had to learn getting over myself and stick to factual rather than getting embroiled in emotional debate, too. If I wasn't able to make my case without engaging in namecalling contests, it would probably serve me right to get banned.

Ultimately, from our posting styles and post subjects I suspect that Parabellum and I are really rather similar in our personalities and interests, while disagreeing on some key topics. People tend to have most conflicts with others who are just like them, so why don't they just see things like me?!! Realizing that helps a lot in overcoming the urge to wail "Bully! Censorship! Unfair! I'm leaving!" After all, where would I go?

I've been around here for a while and there is a reason for that. I like it here. I spend more time here than any of the other forums I belong to combined.

I also think having a minimum post count for the classifieds is a good idea. Enough people here check in there so you would not have to monitor it yourself to keep everyone honest. Maybe put it in a permanent sticky?

I came to this forum specifically to inquire about the P239 after having to send back a 3913 I had found but had a cracked frame. Found great information on it and had some great information relayed to me. But what kept me coming back was the fact that it is an extremely well moderated forum. Interesting topics from people from all walks of life and in areas well outside of what you would expect from a gun forum. I've learned a lot, disagreed with some, but again, the moderators kept is under control.

And I have stepped in it a few times, most of which I knew what I was doing (although a few times I was truly perplexed) but I personally never felt any ill will. And that is, to me, what makes this such a unique forum. Happy New Year as we enter the new Decade.

I like the way this board is run. I think you've been quite clear on expectations of behavior. And if you've 'bent' the rules, it's not been overt. Can't say I've noticed it. Unlike some other boards I visit where the "chosen few" freely ignore the rules, while the mods will instantly crash onto any of the plebes who do so.

All in all, I find it one of the better moderated boards I visit. Found this board shortly after acquiring my first SIG. Wanted to convert from DAO to DA/SA. A web search on how to do that brought me here. Found the info quite useful.

Para,

Of all the things I have complaints about this forum doesn't even make the list. Thanks for keeping this forum a nice place to hang out.

Bytes

Para,

I am not the most prolific poster on this forum. I am however a daily reader of the forum.

The SIGForum is a group of individuals with opinions (ok, STRONG opinions) so there will be disagreements, that's life. You, as leader of the SIGForum, ensure those disagreements are addressed with intelligent discourse. There is too little intelligent discourse in the world today. I thank you and the other mods for placing and maintaining the necessary guiderails to maintain it.

Wishing all SIGForum folks a prosperous 2020.

Keeping the herd in check is difficult. I enjoy this site . There has to be checks and balances.
It is run and managed by Para.
I will call this Para's Razor.

Occam's razor (also Ockham's razor or Ocham's razor: Latin: novacula Occami; or law of parsimony: Latin: lex parsimoniae) is the problem-solving principle that states that "Entities should not be multiplied without necessity." The idea is attributed to English Franciscan friar William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347), a scholastic philosopher and theologian who used a preference for simplicity to defend the idea of divine miracles. It is sometimes para para phrased by a statement like "The simplest solution is most likely the right one." but is the same as the Razor only if results match. Occam's razor says that when presented with competing hypotheses that make the same predictions, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions, and it is not meant to be a way of choosing between hypotheses that make different predictions.
Similarly, in science, Occam's razor is used as an abductive heuristic in the development of theoretical models rather than as a rigorous arbiter between candidate models. In the scientific method, Occam's razor is not considered an irrefutable principle of logic or a scientific result; the preference for simplicity in the scientific method is based on the falsifiability criterion. For each accepted explanation of a phenomenon, there may be an extremely large, perhaps even incomprehensible, number of possible and more complex alternatives. Since one can always burden failing explanations with ad hoc hypotheses to prevent them from being falsified, simpler theories are preferable to more complex ones because they are more testable. (Wikipedia)

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
I will respectfully add a point that I learned the hard way and think members should consider when they get upset at the way a thread is being moderated.

You don't know the whole story. Really, you don't. Most posts that get moderated do so due to a history that you probably are not aware of. Not always, but many times a member has been warned in multiple prior threads that you may not have seen or something happened off the forum via email that you are not aware of.

Many years ago I got bent out of shape over my perception of how someone was treated and left the forum for a period of time. I didn't raise a stink or draw attention to it, I just stepped away because I thought someone was being treated unfairly.

Turns out I was wrong and the person had it coming. I came back and my posting rights had never been shut down and I was allowed to continue posting even though I probably didn't deserve it.

So, I would say keep that in mind when you see a thread where you disagree with the way it is being moderated. You may (and probably don't) have the full story, so just trust the process and enjoy being a member here. It's OK to just agree to disagree and move on - you are not going to agree with everything that everyone says.......

Bama, this describes me as well. Thank you for putting into writing what I have been struggling to do for a long time. Due to changes in my life I did not visit this forum for years (some day I'll post a photo of one of the changes). When I came back all my rights were still there. Although Para was not too happy with me, he never banned me in any form.

Para, I owe you an apology. I was ignorant and wrong. I am sorry. Thanks for letting me stay, and come back (and come back again). And as for the way you run the forum, I personally think you do a great job. Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

Secondly, do you know why the MGTOW thread was deleted? Tell me why that thread was deleted. If you don't know, just ask me, and I'll tell you.

Why was it deleted? I took a couple days off because of family in town. It was an interesting read and was looking for it this morning to continue.


As far as unfair, or bully like behavior, I don’t recall that. I have been on the receiving end of Para’s reprimands. Each time that has happened it has been for a reason, made clear to me. It is also not coincidental that each time that has happened, it’s because when I was posting, i had had one too many. My own foolish behavior is what generated a reprimand.
I’ll never forget the night I posted “Your hypocrisy knows no bounds”, and thought it was a compliment. After that night, I refuse to post if I have had anything to drink. I insulted someone that I respect, while thinking I was complimenting him.

The Epstein suicide/murder thing is something that I enjoyed reading, but I don’t have a horse in that race, and wasn’t about to get myself involved.

I like this place. I dumped all other forms of electronic social media, and I don’t frequent any other forums. Without this place, I would be pretty bored and there would be no escape from the liberal wasteland to my oasis of like minded people.

Having been on here since 2004, I have made my mistakes with only a handful of posts. When corrected, I had no issue whatsoever. Logging onto this site is one of the first things I do every morning, only after checking the news, my emails and preparing my coffee. It is my favorite site to visit. So much goes on here that I enjoy reading or viewing. Although my post count is relatively low for the amount of time I have been a member, I will always hold this site in high regard.

Still Festivus? Ok, I got a lotta problems with you people!!

I'm pretty impressed with Para's knowledge base on almost all subjects. Might make a good vet(erinarian), as we tend to be jack of all trade type doctors....

Anyway, it's borderline annoying sometimes how much you know about movie genres and the like, and I just cannot keep up. Your (and several other members') knowledge base about movies, books, and sometimes music is impressive. And, since it shows me up all the time, I suppose that's the reason it's annoying.

So there, it's out. And that's the final word.

I didn’t read through all 7 pages so it may have already been said -
Para said:

quote:

your house, your rules

Which is as it should be. Nobody got sentenced to be here, we’re guests.
When you walk into someone’s living room, you don’t drop trou and squeeze out a deuce on the carpet.

Thank you for keeping this forum the most informative place on the internet!

I like to play the SIGforum locked thread game where I'll purposely look at locked threads first and see if I can guess the reason why. 85% of the time, the reason is fairly obvious. 15% of the time, I have to think a little. At no point has the reason not been logical.

I've noticed that debates get shut down when yes/no questions aren't answered with a yes/no especially when 3,000 words are used to avoid answering the question.

I've got no gripes. Great Forum. I come here almost every day and get information and sometimes entertainment. Like the majority don't post though.

Until recently, I was on the fence about the prohibition on active shooter threads. After reading the Jack Wilson thread, I get it now. Thank you Para for such a well-managed forum.

Love the forum and consider the moderation part of the charm.

The way this forum is moderated is one of the things that makes it so great. I’ve no where near the patience that para displays on daily basis in this regard and can only think of a few times over the past 17 + years that I felt he may have over-reacted to a member’s post. And to his credit, I can recall him openly admitting this on at least one of those occasions.

God bless and a happy, healthy New Year to all.
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by PARA:
Say whatever you wish, because I've had my say and now it's your turn.

There are a couple of people on this forum whom I'd like to kick in the kneecaps. Or shins, as I am somewhat short. But in 2019 I've closed Reply windows more often than in the past, as my comments, being typed, are enough of a response without actually posting them.

On a personal note, I'll try to edit more before posting; I'm anal about formatting and word frequency; but heck, if you have to wade through every edit, you're probably sometimes.