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Personally I agree with the suspension. The nonsense the three and other members as well carried on about was absolutely tiring.

I really felt bad for anyone wanting an honest answer to a hearing issue or hearing aid because it wasn’t going to happen with all the off topic stuff and even hateful things that came out. If a member didn’t agree with them there would be problems.

The freedom of this forum had been taken away from so many because of all the nonsense. New members as well as older members were not given equal rights to ask questions.

It’s good to have the childish nonsense stopped.

Thanks Abram.

In reply to @jay_man2

Not something I would do @jay_man2, the only time I would check someones avatar is to see, when they last posted or their activity, if its been a few days, I will PM them, to see if they are okay… Thank you for that info, and thank you also @Raudrive. Cheers Kev :wink:

In reply to @Raudrive

The thing is Rick, we all go off topic occasionally, I am as guilty as anyone else in that regard… But, I do appreciate, and value your opinions, perhaps if we had a chat box, that might help, who knows? Cheers Kev :wink:

@kevels55 said:

The thing is Rick, we all go off topic occasionally, I am as guilty as anyone else in that regard…

As am I. It’s fun to get off sometimes. Talk a little about our lives. I understand.

The things that I didn’t care for were the controlling and snarky comments. Controlling the forum with non hearing aid and hearing loss material.

I have always respected your thoughts.

I might add that I sense fewer people responding to questions the last couple of months. I had been wondering if this is the reason why.

Abram, I moderated an active forum for a number of years so I feel your pain, lol (philosophy no less, imagine the egos, makes herding cats look easy in comparison).

I don’t post here much but I’ve been a member for a long time and I do actively follow topics of interest. I’ve recently noticed a change in the general tone, not for the better. I’m hard-pressed to think back to anything like the sort of mean-spirited comments I’ve seen recently. People with experience tend to ignore this stuff. But some good posters tend to leave, as you note; so it’s good that you’re taking action.

As a moderator, I drew the line with personal attacks. To troll or be a general PITA would eventually get a timeout (or worse). However, out and out personal attacks were in a different league. I can’t think of anything that will mess up a productive forum any faster. So ad hominem attacks got my attention right away. A first incident got a warning. A second incident scored termination. Censorship? Give me a break. There are no First Amendment rights on a moderated internet forum.

I recently posted on a thread here and was personally attacked by Spudgunner for posting a simple question - never even heard of this person before. Not a problem to ignore him and continue to interact with good posters on the thread. But how many new people want to stick around and participate when they read that sort of offensive nonsense?

In my view an ad homimen “two strikes and you’re out” practice would improve the forum.

Edited

The issues with some rude individuals on here has been the reason I have not been posting much. I have been monitoring the forum pretty much every day but only answering what I feel is an answer I can give to help.

I think long term board members here appreciate your efforts Abram to occasionally warn and from time to time clear out riff-raft posts/poster who cross the line. But in reality SpudGunner, Hasse5744 and Prodigyplace can always choose a new identity - ID name and be back on HT in short order. Might be wise to screen new ID posts over the next few days/weeks to see if our temporarily banned or permanently removed ex-members return with a new (alias) ID name. Happens on all chat websites since the beginning of the net.

@Neville said:

I’ve had very positive interactions with all three of them

You’re Canadian, so you’re therefore intimately familiar with the behaviour of wolves :grin:. The position you hold within the pack changes their behaviour towards you. I don’t think you’re getting the full teeth-bared treatment.

I have seen newcomers chased off and that’s a big no from me. Sure, give them another chance. Only one though.

@AbramBaileyAuD I feel a tremendous debt of gratitude for the exceptional support this forum has provided me and the work you do to keep it running. I totally agree that it needs to be kept welcoming and supportive. I know that it must be difficult to make this tough call but sometimes we have to accept that “tough love” is the only way some people respond. Thank you again for everything you do.

@idontwantha said:

@AbramBaileyAuD

Thanks! Something had to be done. I may not comment every day, but I am here several times per day. I am always on the look out for things that may apply to me. I too have noticed less commenting by several of the frequent flyers here.
I have said it before and will probably say it again. Being nice is free. If one can be anything they want online, why be rude?
Mini rant over,
Dan

As much as I genuinely respect the views of others here, I would like to express my opinion that the three members who have been suspended all contribute more to the forum by their posts than they devalue the forum by any sarcasm or snarkiness that they have exhibited.

Yes, there have been times when my eyebrows have been raised upon reading some posts, but are these guys trolls? IMO absolutely not.

Abram, I know that as an admin you have, and must have, a different and more critical viewpoint than a member has. I don’t know what interactions you have had with the three. Certainly more than I know about.

All I can do is express my opinion. I realize that I am in the minority here, at least as far as members who have chosen to post on this thread. But, as for me, I would like to see all three back on the forum.

In reply to @danhuddleston

@AbramBaileyAuD. You took the right action indeed! I am dubious about a second chance though… I doubt if any personal behavioral changes are likely to be permanent (especially as one gets older).

Spudgunner in particular is a bully and an attention seeker. My heart sank if he contributed to a thread I was interested in. I also think he was the catalyst that brought out the worst in others - he won’t be missed by me despite the occasional good post. My impression has been that he was involved in just about all the threads that you forcefully closed and rightly so!

I am also not a fan of censorship, but I dislike toxic behavior even more.

Let’s all move on and get this forum vibrant again … life’s too short for this nonsense and bad vibes ( especially at my age…lol)

Edited

In reply to @ziploc

If you go back through Spudgunner’s 4100 posts in the two years he’s been s member I’d challenge you to find 15% that added any value.

He made a lot of off topic posts that I’m sure he thought were funny. When Abram got him in line on that he morphed into the types of posts that got him suspended.

The forum has been a better place in the time the suspensions have been in place. I’m personally in favor of a permanent ban.

In reply to @stevemink

Let’s hope the forum software captures the device addresses for the computers, phones or tablets that the suspended members post from, and that Abram has the ability to block any access from those devices.

I’m quite happy to deal with the cut and thrust of any discussion, but there seems to be some consistently bashed themes like;

1 The industry (healthcare) is just there to rip you off. Living in civilised countries, you realise that healthcare is considered a right and your local delivery mechanism isn’t always a good example of either personal care or consumer choice.

  1. All audiologists are there to screw you: like all industries we have the good, the bad and the ugly. Even the best of us encounter clients in denial who aren’t ready or still have stigma issues. That can easily sour the most positive approach.

  2. Product innovation is designed to make you feel the need to upgrade and spend more money….If a manufacturer genuinely has an executable product iteration, what should they do, sit on it for five years?

There’s a few more, and I have my personal views on the way the industry works, but the way it’s delivered is based on your local legislature for good, bad or indifferent. I try to help people as much as I can from a position of knowledge, but get a little annoyed with those who for whatever reason make some fairly strong statements on here without the benefit of any training or factual basis.

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