What's with the forum police here?

[McCall St. Brewer]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but what is up around here lately with the "forum police?"

I can't tell you how many posts I have seen where someone has answered by crankily telling the OP to do a search before they start a thread on something that has been discussed before.

Aren't we getting near the holidays-- a time when people are supposed to be more friendly and full of good cheer?

Not only that, but shouldn't a homebrewing forum in particular, where our mantra is RDWHAHB, tend to be more relaxed and laid back about such things than your average forum is?

This is upsetting me for a couple of reasons. First, in addition to this forum being a great place for information on homebrewing, I also like it because it has historically been very friendly and civil.

Second, although I'm sure any forum needs some rules and guidelines, people should not lise sight of what it is: it's a discussion forum. Now, I hate to have to point out the obvious, but if everything that has been discussed before is suddenly now out of bounds for further discussion, it won't be too long before there is nothing left to discuss here. There really is a limited number of topics to discuss when it comes to brewing beer.

Lastly, when I was a complete newbie here, I didn't get any rough treatment from anyone that I recall for my newbie questions that had probably been asked and answered countless times before. If I hadn't been treated nicely, though, I'm sure I would have gone elsewhere.

All of us, as we go through the process of becoming more experienced homebrewers, tend to encounter the same experiences and have the same questions: but at different times. As far as I'm concerned, if some of use don't want to answer those repeat questions, participation here is certainly optional.

I hope we can try to keep this an enjoyable forum as it has been in the past.

 

[the_bird]

If you've got a problem with one of the mods (myself or whoever), please send a PM and address us directly. Frankly, I'm not sure what you're talking about.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I'm guessing that he's directing this more at folks responding to messages and not at the mods - at least that's what I got out of the message.

I didn't check the board much over the weekend, but if what you're stating has happened/is happening then it's certainly out of character for the HBT community as a whole.

Then again, there really is no way to control who signs up and posts. I would doubt that the responses that the OP is referring to came from any of the mods or senior members of the forum.

If you have a serious problem with it, send a PM to one of the mods with a link to the thread(s) and express your concerns.

 

[elkdog]

I don't think this is about the mods at all, so much as about members not making newbies feel bad for not having read back through every thread on a topic before they ask their question. A homebrew club certainly wouldn't answer a basic question with, "I know the answer, but you should go look it up," because that's not the collegiality of homebrewing, even if it is a worn-out topic that's easy to research. Some threads here have garnered such responses, though. I think it's a good reality check from McCall, personally, just to help maintain the atmosphere that makes this board such a great one. That's this relative newbie's point of view, anyway.

 

[Yooper]

I was involved in a little "discussion" last night, if that's what you're referring to. The person who was harsh did get a message from me with a warning to refrain from "pouncing". Is that what you're referring to? Or are we in general becoming more unfriendly?

 

[the_bird]

I guess I interpret "forum police" as equal to "moderator"

I kinda already addressed this issue a week or so ago; the thread is here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=47193

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

My comment was not directed at anyone in particular. I've just run into a number of thread over the past few days where folks who, apparently innocently enough, posted questions and were told, not all that politely, to do a search first.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am not always as diligent as I could be about doing searching before starting a new thread, but I also come at this as a person who has been a member for 2 years and who tends to keep up pretty well with what is being discussed.

The thread Yoop refers to was but one example (but by far the most extreme) of what I am talking about. She did post a very appropriate warning, but it apparently was ignored.

I guess maybe this is a reality check for me. I will feel free to chime in whenever I think people need to chill out a bit.

This forum needs to stay relaxed and friendly.

 

[Yooper]

After my warning on the board was ignored, I did "talk" to the person involved, though.

Again, if you have concerns, you can just send one of us a PM with the link to the thread, so that we can nip any problems in the bud. I try to read most of the threads, but as you know, it's not really possible to catch them all. If there are one or two people who are doing this, sometimes a not-to-gentle reminder fixes the problem.

If it's a mod and you don't feel comfortable confronting them, let another mod know and they will address the problem for you.

 

[Soulive]

I think some people are taking things too seriously on here. This forum isn't make believe land where people aren't in bad moods or jerks. I don't know, maybe I'm insensitive but there's nothing someone can say on an internet forum that would really offend me. Some people really just need to lighten up and take things less personally/seriously on here...

 

[AnthonySmith]

Bunch of damned EAC's if there ever were ones. Ya barstards. C'mon down here and me and my mates'll smack you upside the heads, ya damned ******s. I'll address your g'damn concerns right here, ya bloody ****** EAC.

 

[the_bird]

OK, Mr. Smith - show your face!

"We've played against better safeties than him "

 

[Yooper]

Mr. Smith- the forum is not as anonymous as you'd like to believe. We should have one user name per user, please. Please use your "regular" HBT identity, or change your other user name if you would like.

(If Bird is smart, he'll know who you are, too!)

 

[the_bird]

Yes, Paul, please do so...

 

[AnthonySmith]

Who? Me? What you talkin' about, Willis?

 

[Yooper]

Nice try, PTN.

 

[AnthonySmith]

Rotflmdhao

 

[AnthonySmith]

Not fair, you guys have super powers

 

[AnthonySmith]

Super Mod Powers

 

[AnthonySmith]

Hey Tom, throw it to me!!!!!

 

[Bobby_M]

Would you mind linking to a particular thread or two where this noob intollerance has been displayed just so I can get an idea of what you're talking about?

 

[the_bird]

Don't make us ban BOTH your alter-egos!

We're "The Mod Squad," and we're drunk with power!

 

[Soulive]

Would you mind linking to a particular thread or two where this noob intollerance has been displayed just so I can get an idea of what you're talking about?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=47518

 

[AnthonySmith]

Would you mind linking to a particular thread or two where this noob intollerance has been displayed just so I can get an idea of what you're talking about?

Quoting a quote in a reply... Hey Drunk with power Mods,... Is that a first? Do I get a few extra points for being the first to quote a quote ina reply on a totally different thread? Cause if I do, I want the points to go to the Jets score on Sunday. It's the only way they gonna get any.

!!!We're bored grown ups who either hate our jobs or are unemployed. We like to make fun of other people. Especially college kids that have the time to go a f*ck around making random beer experiments. ~~~~


Don't mind me, I'm just haging around making useless guarantee's


Hey Tom, Over here!!!!

ASs

 

[AnthonySmith]

I'm just killin' myself here! LMAO. "Hey Tom, throw it this way, I dare ya, ya ******!"

I think we should all remember tha we were once n00bs. The day I stop learning something is (I hope) the day I croak. I've been brewing since 1983 or 1984 (when you get 25 years out the details blur along with your eyesight) and I JUST started to batch sparge a month or two ago. I had a system and it worked and I wasn't going to F with it. Well, now I have a daughter who wasn't born when I stated brewing finishing up her first year of grad school, I'm a freakin' newlywed and I'm in grad school myself. You can alway learn something. You can always teach someone. And you should always be aware of your harsh words coming bach and biting you in the arse. If I had a nickle for every time my mouth wrote a check my ass had to cash I could quit my ****ty job and go scuba diving. And I've got the unfortuanate tatoo on my arse to prove it.

"I guarantee we'll win."
Anthony Smith
Former NFL Safety

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've told newbs to do a search when I really don't have the time to write a long dissertation...

 

[Kevin Dean]

Why don't we all just answer the most common questions in our signatures?

*****
I use aluminum - it's safe!
Better Bottles are better than glass
No, you DON'T need to use a secondary, but tons of people do.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

... or just make them part of the page banner

 

[olllllo]

The Beginners Beer Brewing Forum (a modest proposal):
1) Post if you can answer the question.
2) You can be funny or snarky if you do #1. If you cannot do #1 then do not post.
3) If you must recommend a search; post the link in the wiki that tells you how to do it or post your google result link. like this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/How_to_use_google_search
or
http://www.google.com/search?q=CO2+site%3Awww.homebrewtalk.com

If you cannot do #1 then do not post.

If the OP is not listening and being a dick then use the report a bad post button.

 

[brewt00l]

I must be missing some real good dust-ups, this is one of the tamest forums I frequent....

 

[MikeInCtown]

As one of the noobs who has been told to do a search, I have to say F you guys who do say that.

I can see a search bar at the top and use it, but the search function often throws away words when they are common. So if I put in three words commonly used together the search may return only one of those words and then list a ton of irrelevant information based on that one search word.

Besides, if everyone keeps using the search function, there won't be any more posts.