Hello folks.
I think it's fair to say that something of a stink has kicked off on the boards this evening, and that's never a good thing.
The moderating team pretty much consists of myself and Cathbear, and it simply isn't possible for us to read every message on here as soon as it is posted. We skim through the boards on a regular basis to see if we can spot something, and if we can deal with it then we do so.
But we're not mind readers! If you have some concerns, PM us about them. We don't know unless you tell us. We may not be able to keep up with the posts on the board as they are made, but we check our personal email accounts on a very regular basis and know when we've been sent a PM here. We will then take a look pretty much straight away at the issue you've reported and see if there is anything we can do. However, both Cathbear and myself have other commitments and duties and can't be around 24 hours a day.
What doesn't help anyone is wading into a thread and throwing around accusations. We can only act if there is proof of fabrication. Is there conclusive proof that people are currently fibbing in the ""Costa"" thread? No - there is nothing sufficiently solid that we can take action on. We can't just accuse someone of lying because we act on behalf of Asthma UK on these boards, so that would essentially be Asthma UK accusing them of lying. Anyone who works for Asthma UK is in the same position when posting on here.
We've been moderating here with a very light touch for quite some time now. We have suspended accounts (more than one of them) over the past six months but have not publicised this because there is no need. We do not like to ""throw our weight around"", and we tend to avoid taking active part in discussions and conversations on the board because it enables us to deal with any issues that arise from a neutral standpoint rather than from one side of the fence or the other. We will post stuff if we need to, and will moderate without drawing attention to it in every other instance. We cannot decide or determine whether someone is lying or not, because no-one can.
I would ask everyone - and I do mean everyone - to read the message board terms and conditions (link to the left below the ""search"" box) and take a look at our posting guidelines. Obviously, making stuff up and posting it is against the T&Cs. But so is accusing people of doing that without proof. To be honest, even with proof the correct course of action would be to contact a moderator, or send an email to Webeditor, or hit the ""report this post"" link and fill in the form there.
So in short, send us a PM and we'll take a look. With your help we can keep up the friendly, welcoming atmosphere that made this message board so popular in the first place.
Thanks all,
Steve
Moderator
