TexasCHLforum.com

I don't know how this can be said differently than what has already been posted. I'll try once more and this thread is locked.

The Moderators didn't intentionally leave any language in a post that violated the 10 year old daughter rule. It simply wasn't caught. It does happen on occasion but not too often. When it does, members often point it out for us. If anyone chooses not to believe this explanation, then don't.

I've even deleted my own posts after they were posted and I realized they were not appropriate. I don't mean violations of the 10 year old daughter rule, just that they violated the spirit of the forum rules. I hold myself to a higher standard so there can't be any hint that I expect or am shown any favoritism.

Chas.

The posts in this thread were moved from another thread about CHL insurance. I moved them so the discussion in the other thread could get back on topic.

I want to make a few observations about TexasCHLforum rules, the Moderators and the members. I hope this information may shed a little more light on how the board is run.

First, I want to assure everyone that we make every effort not to over-moderate the forum. When TexasCHLforum got too big for me to handle by myself, a group of moderators was selected. One had to withdraw because of time constraints and he was replaced so we could keep enough Moderators to provide good coverage.

When the Moderator group was being formed, the first thing we did was develop a code of conduct for ourselves and reduced it to writing. Here is an excerpt from the Responsibilities Section:

Responsibilities

1. Be examples to all members of faithful & aggressive adherence to the mission statement of this forum. It should be reviewed occasionally.

2. Actively encourage participation by all members regardless of age, experience, area of expertise, or tenure on the forum.

3. Promote a strong bond of community allegiance, through an atmosphere of friendship & fun in light hearted discussion as well as serious, straight forward and polite discussion in matters of great consequences.

4. As much as possible read all post and show interest in the topic and the author. New members, new shooters, young and inexperienced members should feel at ease to ask any question or tell the newest thing they learned no matter how basic it might be to the experienced & aged shooter.

I believe this clearly reveals the mind-set with which all of us approach our duties as Moderators. The goal is not control, but to foster the mission of TexasCHLforum with the minimum amount of intervention as possible. In fact, another element in the Moderator Guidelines reads:

In all things restraint is to be the greatest virtue. Moderators are not to become Post Policemen.

While we try to limit our involvement as Moderators, there are times when we have to deal with situations that require immediate action, such as posts containing profanity and blatant personal attacks on another member. But lesser issues require the Moderators to discuss the matter before any action is taken. The Moderator Guidelines stress that seven heads are better than one.

I hope this information gives good insight into the guiding principles for the Moderators. Now I would like to address some specific topics. First, we can and do make mistakes. The private Moderator forum is used to discuss specific non-urgent issues before deciding whether to take action and, if so, what action is appropriate. All Moderators’ opinions are heard and respected. Sometimes decisions are unanimous, sometimes they are a majority with some dissenters. I actually like it when there are dissenting opinions as that helps to moderate the Moderators by making sure we consider both sides to an issue. But in spite of all of the procedures we follow, mistakes or bad decisions can be made. When they are, we make every effort to correct them if possible. I have made mistakes or exercised poor judgment, but thankfully I believe they have been few in number. When I did, I acknowledged them and apologized. If you could see the discussions in the Moderators Forum, you would see that we hold ourselves to an even higher standard as we are all aware that our actions will either help TexasCHLforum flourish, or they will destroy it.

Deleting or editing posts: Our policy is to delete posts only when necessary and when we do, we copy it to the Moderators Forum and send a PM to the poster. The PM explains the problem with the post and invites the person to edit it and re-post. This procedure works the vast majority of the time, but in a very few situations, we have repeat offenders who clearly do not wish to follow the forum rules. There is a limit to our willingness to copy a deleted post to the Moderators Forum (so that it can be sent to the poster if he requests) and PM someone who repeatedly violates forum rules. Once we reach this point, the post is simply deleted without copying and without a PM to the poster.

When we have to edit profanity, pseudo-profanity, or abbreviated profanity, we also send a PM to the poster and politely remind them of the forum rules and ask that they re-read the Mission Statement, especially the 10 Year Old Daughter Rule. Repeat offenders are very few, but they do exist and they are treated the same way as described in the preceding paragraphs.

Off-topic posts and subject-matter editing or deleting: TexasCHLforum has grown far beyond anything I envisioned when I opened it in December, 2004. Early on, we were a good bit more conscientious about locking threads that were not directly on point with guns in general and CHL in particular. As the forum grew however, we became much more of an on-line family or community and to foster that atmosphere, we allow what would have once been considered off-topic posts, but for the most part, they still have to be reasonably related to guns, shooting, self-defense, legal issues, or current events bearing on gun owners. (Ironically, this issue has generated a great deal of discussion in the Moderators Forum as we grappled with trying to draw a not-so-bright-line without opening the doors to an anything goes philosophy.) This is one of the toughest calls to be made by the Moderators. If we are not going to strictly adhere to the original focus of the forum, i.e. Texas CHL issues, how and where do we limit the deviation from the original theme? When making this decision, we may very possibly offend someone whose post was deleted or edited and another similar post was not. Our only alternatives are to either go back to strict enforcement of off-topic posts (which we will not do), or try our best to get a consensus among the Moderators as to how far is too far. This is not an easy task, so please understand our dilemma and don’t think we are singling anyone out for preferential or harsh treatment.

There are times when a thread can be well within the rather loose boundary of being on-topic, but it will be locked. Such threads almost always deal with issues that are highly emotional and ripe for degenerating into personal attacks because of strong opinions held by different forum members. We’ve all seen them and you folks know exactly the type of thread I mean. They can turn bad so quickly, that people who would never violate the 10 Year Old Daughter Rule post a response with profanity, simply because it is an emotionally charged issue concerning which they have very strong opinions. (Sometimes a thread starts out fine, but an issue gets injected into the discussion that quickly sours it.)

Let me assure everyone, I will ever delete or edit a post because the opinion expressed differs from mine, nor will be Moderators do so. If it appears that way at first blush, then don’t hesitate to send PM to the Moderators or to me and get an explanation. (As previously mentioned, we don’t delete or moderate posts without sending an explanatory PM, unless we have had to do that repeatedly for a member.)

For those who actually read this entire post, thanks for sticking with me. I confess that I am troubled that some members feel they are not being treated fairly by the Moderators, because I know the level of their commitment to the Moderator Guidelines and the overall mission of the forum. While we may not always agree on every issue or administrative action, please understand that we are doing our best to preserve the very unique community everyone (members and Moderators) has created here at TexasCHLforum.

Chas.

Lucky45 wrote:

casselthief wrote:someone indiscriminantly deleting posts, again

Get used to it buddy. There is no free speech anymore. Only 2nd Amendment you can jump up and down about around here. But 1st.

You don't have the first clue what was behind the post deletion or what efforts have been made for several weeks prior to avoid continuing problems. Yet with no information whatsoever, you post this insult to the Moderators.

Chas.

casselthief wrote:someone indiscriminantly deleting posts, again

You know full well what the picture you posted inferred and it will not be tolerated. This is the last time we will delete just the post.

Chas.