What to do with this site

[Gene]

In the last week, there have been 8-10 members that have been complaining about each other.  I have removed a couple people from the site, but most of the comments presented seem pretty benign to me.

When I created this site, I had no idea what it would become.  I quickly learned how little I knew about Irish Setters even though I had owned them for 15 years.  I am not a breeder, don't do shows, don't do agility, don't do hunting or field, usually get rescues (exception being my current ones).  I think all of the above are great, I just don't know anything about them nor do I really care to.  It's obvious these are topics that people on this site are passionate about, and that's great, there just not for me.

As I have mentioned before, I left this site because people were rude to me.  There's at least 1 of the 8-10 members that were one of the ones who ran me off so I can understand the complaints against this peson.

It seems like some of these discussion topics are like politics, you aren't going to change people's minds, so why try to?

Have been pondering some options:

A. Ban the other 8-10 members

B. Leave the site as is

C. Remove the discussion forum altogether

D. Transition ownership and moderation to someone else (note annual costs on the site are around $300 USD and those would transfer as well)

E. Ban any discussions on breeding, health issues, or other controversial topics

F. Shut down the site altogether (really don't want to do this)

What are some other ideas?

I want to get feedback on other ideas and then you are going to vote as a community.  Please reply with any suggestions, then will create another thread to vote later this week.

Thanks,

Gene

[Kimberly Simmons]

In fairness Camilla, I think you were the first to suggest it.....ok I'm going back to ground now....

[Andy Benstead]

I think discussions should be left to run their course. I hate the idea of banning people without a word of warning, if that happens. Are the people that have been banned given a reason?

I always thought that a fair way to ban a person was by a vote. If for example you have 2,000 members and 10 of them want a person banned, is it right to ban that one member? How about the other 1,990 members that may not want the person banned or do they not matter?

Andy

[Torie Lancaster]

I think your suggestion would be very fair to all members Andy :))

[Andy Benstead]

Thank you Torie. xx

[Nardi Rowe]

You could always have what my daughter who was in Kindagarten last year had:

First warning for first offence.  If it persists:

Time out - suspended for a week for eg

Time Away - suspended for 3 months for eg

for those who aren't civil in their comments.  There is no need for rudeness and unkindness.  As mature adults we should be able to agree to disagree no matter how passionate one is about a subject.

[Andy Benstead]

Perhaps a naughty step Nardi. xx

[Nardi Rowe]

Works for Super Nanny. xx

[Gene]

This is a great find.  It has what I have asked Ning for several times (the ability to up-vote or down-vote posts).  Unfortunately, this does not integrate with Ning out of the box.  It looks to be more for blog comments like Tumblr, WordPress, etc.

[karen chesher]

Hi Gene

Im so sorry you have been put in this position,yet again i could see things were starting to deterioate rather quickly on some of the more recent threads. Sadly i do not have an Irish in my life anymore due to where we live being  completely unsuitable for a large dog,and until we are in a position to move i spend alot of time on this site getting so much  pleasure out of reading the stories ,learning about different health issues and looking at photos of these beautiful Dogs and have made some good friends who share my love of this wonderful breed.

I really hope you you dont have to close the site down,if it is possible suspend the members who refuse to be civil and pleasant with other members with warning of a complete ban from the site.I really hope you find the right solution, Good Luck.  

[Howard Glansfield]

Please don't close the site Gene,I have found it to be a great place to visit and have made some good friends on here,I have also had some excellent advice and I would miss the discussions, Some people seem to get over heated about things and I don't know the answer.I used to have a site of my own for Diabetics and there were two members who I had to remove but ,apart from that,it ran well but I did have two moderators to help me and people posting offending messages were warned and their posts moderated.

[Finding_Beau]

Hi Gene

I am sorry it has come to this. I hope ES does not close, but I understand your position. I wonder whether all ES members will get a chance to vote because they may not see the thread in time. I have to work so I do not have a lot of time to spend on the internet. When I get a chance I might load a photo or video and/or answer a message from an ES friend which has come through to my email. I often do not even look at the forum topics. Sometimes I do not visit ES for a week or more. I know a lot of other ES members are in the same situation.

I wonder if it would work better if members wrote their own blogs rather than the forum. The member starting the blog could then delete nasty and/or inappropriate comments when they see them. I do not believe this is possible in the forum. This might make your job easier too.

Susan

[john murphy]

Gene,

First of all thank you for starting this site, which I really enjoy and find very useful / informative; I would not like to see it close. The discussion forum is a valuable educational resource, as it allows people to share experiences, provide information, air genuine concerns and offer opinion. For discussions to be informative they need a variety of opinion, but controversial issues can lead to heated argument and disputes; more so as what people may write on a webpage, they probably would never say in person. I do not think that the use of moderators will be useful, there is a read risk that they will be accused of bias. I would suggest that if a person wishes to comment on a forum, they should be able to make their relevant contribution in a single posting. In my opinion, this would significantly reduce bickering and enable more members contribute considered content. Thereafter, should some members wish to engage in further discussions with each other, then the site has a messaging and message blocking facility.