Re: Industry Members Only Sub-Forum

[G. Morgan <usenet_abuse@xxxxxxxxx>]

SRyckman Wrote:

>
>> away for a week or two and only check in a time or two ..... But .....
>> A moderator has to read it EVERY day in order to keep the threads
>> timely. How does that happen?
>
>You obviously don't know me well.

Steve, would you consider letting "us" *in* (the current participants in
ASA), without verification?  You said you were lurking in the group the
whole time, so you have a pretty good idea of who 'we' are as
individuals.

I'm not thrilled with sending in company information either.  BTW, how
are you going to handle installers working for alarm companies that wish
to join the Pro area?  They can give you all the "association"
information you seek, but it won't prove they actually work there (or
ever did).  As I suggested before, you can use social media to verify a
new tech.  Using Linked In, you could use it as an un intrusive
verification tool.  For instance, perhaps a "voucher" for the new
technician will come from their already established contacts.  If they
don't have an account yet, you could instruct them to set one up.  If
the new guy proves himself to know what he's talking about, maybe you'll
accept a minimum of (maybe two or three?) known forum-members, or other
industry folks that have made connections with him/her on Linked In.
In fact, hmm.  Requiring a Linked In account may be the end-all to
decide who's full of crap, and who's not.  It could also eliminate the
need for a company email address (that not all installers have, even if
they work for ADT, etc...)

You'll need 'us' (tinu) or another solid base of people with a
wide-range of skill sets there to answer questions for the DIY'ers
anyway. The forum will not function as a DIY resource until the
"knowledge base" is installed.  I have a feeling most here won't bother
to "prove" they are in the industry, and common sense tells you those
who have been posting here anywhere between 1 and 22 years is not "some
teenager trying to figure out how to bypass systems",  (Or the whack-job
from Belgium, he's easy enough to spot).

Hell, the only reason I still hang around is to pick up an occasional
"Golden Nugget" of information I don't possess.  That, and if I'm the
first to see a new DIY'er thread I'll always help if I know the answer.
Hopefully, I have given more information than received.

<aside>
Besides the above two reasons for staying, there is one more.  This is
the only group I know of that Frank participates in.  I can't cut the
cord now, I wouldn't know that my pal is alive and kickin'.  Plus, I'd
miss out on what his cats are doing to taunt him, (this week).  Sure, I
could email or call.  But it's just not the same!

<resume>
There is a point to be noted though, regarding my little attempt to be
funny.  There is also a social dynamic that still exists, but has
dwindled to almost none.  I hope that whatever happens, that aspect will
not be taken away in a private forum, dismissed as "off topic".   I
learned more about the business then I ever knew; the first time I
reached out and contacted a participant outside of the forum.  Since
then I have chatted/telephoned/ and emailed enough people to learn quite
a bit about the business, more than I could read in any books (not that
there are any).  That would not have been possible if there were
restrictions on "off topic" stuff.  I hope you'll allow a certain degree
of OT stuff, maybe create a sub-forum just for that?


My first post was exactly 8 years, 8 months, and 18 days ago.
Message-ID: <3d475e31.9835032@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Another idea...  most moderated forums are not 100% manually operated.
For the sake of getting replies out in real-time to others in the trade,
and the end-users;  I would highly suggest you use the "white list"
method for most of the participants.  It benefits everyone, especially
you, as the sole moderator.

Which brings up another issue.  The very first time you disapprove a
post by an ASA "regular", he'll be left feeling alienated and probably
won't have much of a reason to hang around.  As I'm sure you're aware,
common practice is to have a moderation "team".  That way, no one person
can ban someone on a whim if they are having a bad day.  I'm just making
suggestions here...  your server, your rules.  I would suggest you ask 2
'or' 4 additional moderators to assist with the approval process if you
plan on manually approving each post. A two-hour lag each way will make
it more difficult to get the technical issue resolved in a timely
manner.

The forum will operate much better if you solicit volunteers to help
with the posting approval, (should you decide to blacklist all incoming
posts and require a manual approval)  So, what do you have in mind? Were
you already going to whitelist "known" posters?  If not, I don't see how
the forum can function as well as Usenet if you, personally, have to
stop 4-8 times a day to approve each post.

If you have more than one Mod. the group will feel better as a whole
knowing they have some type of "appeal" process, as is typical in
moderated Usenet groups.  They usually keep an 'odd' numeral of Mods. so
there is no possibility of a tie.  (If the team ever has to further
discuss a post in question, and decide by voting if it should be
allowed.)  Or perhaps you can enlist 3 moderators, and you get two votes
since it's your system.

Of course, the easier and more efficient way is to moderate "after the
incident".   Everyone is supposed to read the rules you set for your
forum before they make a first post.  So if they screw up once, just
remove the post and send the "poster" a warning.  If they continue,
simply ban/suspend them and their IP.

It's much easier and practical if you ask me (which you didn't).  :-)
It's just going to be a heck of job on you approving posts, but removing
"bad" posts is easy and is way less time consuming.

You'll be able to maintain the forum yourself easily that way.  No
matter how well you're connected at the hip to technology, there will be
times when you won't be able to approve posts in a timely manner over
the *next* 22 years!