STARS and the not so starry

[osprey]

The first thing i have isn't a comment rather a question. What do the stars mean that appear when our account comes up? Some of the stars are shaded in varying numbers while others (moderators,administrators,and webmaster are colored) does this have to do with the number of posts we make or is it the number of replies or what. could you please let me know what this is about? The comment i have to make is that this morning i posted a question about marabou , and with an apology, posted it in both the general thread and the fly tying thread. When looking back later for responses i found my question/post had been locked in the general thread , and there was a message there , not from a moderator or an administrator , or the webmaster. I'm not gonna mention any names cause nobody likes a rat but what i would like to know is who has the authority to lock my post cause the message was from a fellow who was neither identified as a mod. , an administrator, or the web master, or did this guy tell one of the other guys and they do it? I promise it won't happen again, but would like to know how the events unfolded. Thanks.....osprey

 

[MKern]

Stars have to do with how other rate you.
Just kiddin, they mean nothing more than the number of post you have. I used to know the number of post and cooresponding starts (it's something like 25 = 1; 50=2; 100 = 3). Or something like that.

Jack locked your post because he is a moderator. His stars just don't show it. Jack has more rights and clearences than the average PAFF member.

 

[osprey]

Thanks Mkern i like the info but shouldn't his status be reflected in his account? And also he refers to "we" don't want "people" to double post are there two levels of society on this thread? I thought we the people meant we the people.

 

[JackM]

I locked the duplicate thread and directed others to reply to you on the other duplicate, providing a link to it for everyone's convenience. As I explained, we can't encourage people to place threads in multiple forums.

It would be my hope that people would restrain themselves rather than forcing the moderators to take corrective action. There are enough new threads each day that to allow posters to place a duplicate in multiple forums would unnecessarily crowd the boards.

When a thread goes up, it pushes all other threads down and reduces their chances of being noticed. It doesn't seem fair to allow some posters to gain greater attention for their threads at the expense of all other posters just because they posted multiple copies. As I mentioned, your actions alone wouldn't present a huge problem, but if 10-12 posters a day chose to use that method of getting greater exposure for their threads, the matter would be easily an annoyance. Sometimes policies of moderation are aimed at curbing a potential problem, rather than addressing a specific one.

I thought I chose the middle path by locking it, so that it could still be seen in the General Forum and people could reply on a single thread in the other forum, yet it wouldn't suppress other threads. The other alternative would have been to delete one of the two. Until Dave Kile instructs me not to do this, it seems like a sensible policy.

Hopefully you can understand my position. If not, send Dave Kile an e-mail or PM and have him reconsider my actions.

 

[JackM]

By we, I meant the moderators. Dave Kile entrusted these responsibilities to himself, Maurice and Padraic as well as to me. If you disagree with our actions, address the matter with him.

 

[osprey]

Once again i do and did apologize........would you like me to fill that midge box up for ya..........WILL WORk FOR BEER

 

[JackM]

I am just explaining my actions. Your post on here seemed to question them. I think it is the right approach. There is no need to apologize.

My midge box is empty by choice-- I have to work on the parts of my game one at a time and fishing midges is still down on the list. I haven't decided what my goal is for this season, other than to try to spend more time watching the water and less time casting.

 

[DaveKile]

Osprey, Jack and Mkern,

Thanks for the topics and responses. The easy one is as Mkern states, just a ranking system for those posting. Tell you the truth I forget the scale.

Jack is one of the moderators and do thank his, Maurice and Pads help on the site. We are all very lucky to have folks that not only are knowledgeable about fly fishing, but really help keep the forum in order. They all volunteer to do this and it is a tall order especially this time of year.

We try to follow some standard practices that generally make it easier for people to access and find posts on the site. Double posting is one of the situations we try to avoid on the site. Not a big deal. Really not a big deal.

I am kind of chuckling because you have heard from a few of us on your questions. We sometimes get some fan mail that we have heavy hand, so please take these posts as just us sharing you about the approach. We lost our "how to run a website & forum" manuals several years ago and are just winging it.

Glad you asked the questions and we welcome the feedback.

I need to figure out why Jack does not show as a Mod.

Dave

 

[osprey]

Thanks,reallY, i'm old an kinda new to this computer thing but i gotta say this is the coolest thing, finding you group of folks that has happened to me since my accident. I don't get to fish as much as i used to but i still try to get out once a week, i'm a pretty good fly tyer too, but just having you all to talk fishing.........priceless (My grandmother used to say that when me and pap were talking fishing we were telling "Lies") THANKS AGAIN......GOD BLESS

 

[JackM]

Osprey, I should have been more sensitive that my handling of your double-post might embarass you. I was hoping to get the message out to other posters since we have so many new folks on the board now. Your contributions on the board have always seemed positive and I don't want to discourage you from participating fully and enjoying every minute, just as I do. My apologies.