A request to the moderators

[drumgerry]

I'd like to ask if it'd be possible to have new subscribers to the forum fill in some profile information before being allowed access to the forum. A number of forums I'm a member of make this requirement. Information such as location and full name and maybe even a little bit of info about their interest in bees/beekeeping before being allowed access. That way anyone wanting to use this forum as a platform for their campaigning would be blocked before they get chance to spam us all with their point of view.

[The Drone Ranger]

I don't like to see things get nasty but I don't mind a good to and fro argument
I sometimes check in at another forum but seldom post there because one or two people are allowed free rein and they are frankly rabid.

I don't like to see people get banned here but sometimes it's better than the alternative where it gets ruined completely for everyone
Occasionally some posters have been goaded into a fury it seems and in that instance maybe a while in the cooler or sin bin would suffice.
If its not either a bit of fun or about beekeeping then it doesn't belong and could be censored or removed with admin note
Nasty stuff gets you banned here and posters know that now


I sympathise with your intention Drumgerry but when someone registers how would you check the details?

[drumgerry]

DR - I think the effort of just having to do it would put most casual spammers off. Especially the bit where you have to give the mods a wee story about why you want to join the forum.

For genuine beekeepers or people with a genuine interest who have joined the forum and want to have a "heated debate" fair enough as long as it's civilised - which it generally is on SBAi. But people who just join to push an agenda I have no patience with and if it was up to me they would be gone in a heartbeat.

[gavin]

It is often something that people feel strongly about that drives them to sign up in the first place. I've no issue with people coming on to discuss a topic dear to their hearts as long as they are beekeepers and are here to talk about beekeeping issues.

If we make it harder for people to contribute, then we make it harder for the average beekeeper to join in and I don't think that is sensible. The more timid beekeeper might be put off contributing if they had to reveal details about themselves. Occasionally we may have someone joining up with an agenda specifically to make trouble, but I don't see any reason for suspecting that HRH is in that category. Bear in mind that I get to know a little bit more about forum members as they register than is obvious to others.

[drumgerry]

So maybe not the "wee story" bit Gavin. But I don't think it's unreasonable to ask people to fill in certain parts of their profile. Even if it's just their location. On certain forums if you don't do that your membership gets deleted. It's not very personally revealing to put a location in and am I right in saying that a person's IP address gives a general location to the mods? If so and if someone's lying about where they are then it can be spotted.

I think complete anonymity is not a good idea on a forum and eases the path of the keyboard warrior. I think we've been generally lucky on SBAi in that the members with an obvious agenda have not used any subterfuge to conduct their affairs. But I think there's a danger that without a couple of precautions in place we are leaving ourselves open to spammers/campaigners/etc. It's been the death of some forums and I'd hate to see the end of SBAi.

If you have the inside track on HRH fair enough Gavin.

[gavin]

From what I can see HRH is likely to be a genuine beekeeper. Just someone fired up about stuff he or she has read, and that's fair enough. Come and discuss it here - that should be the message. There will be other views around, and if we all debate it constructively, everybody wins.

OK there might occasionally be someone coming on here with strife in mind. That's OK - in time the members of the forum will criticise them, and if they go too far (goading, insulting, abusing, that kind of thing) they'll be removed.

I'm sitting here in a living room in Bristol discussing this with a moderator of the forum, and I suspect that the whole team would agree. We want to be as welcoming as possible to beekeepers, especially Scottish beekeepers but everyone really. For some people anonymity will help them take the leap to be active on the forum. As far as spotting previous troublemakers goes, there are tools available to help us, and often there is something about their posting style that makes more certain any doubtful cases. Hence me naming Eric the other day. He is the one person I've outed on the forum, which seems fair enough given the abuse I receive in my personal email inbox from him sometimes.

[drumgerry]

I know my question is important Gavin but there was no need to travel to Bristol to discuss it. I find the PM system works very well!

Anyway...fair enough guys. I just hope things can continue along as they have been. But I still think anyone wanting to join wouldn't mind having to put a little info into their profile and their anonymity would not be compromised hugely.

And I'm all for the forum being a welcoming and approachable place to come and discuss things. I have accused beekeepingforum of being the opposite so I guess maybe the dangers of being open to all just have to be accepted.

[Jon]

I know my question is important Gavin but there was no need to travel to Bristol to discuss it. I find the PM system works very well!

I heard he was on the run from Eric who has put a price on his head. (10 bags of sugar) The wee man will be a knockin' on Neil's door later on this evening.
Let's hope the pair of them do not have drink taken or there could be an ugly scene.
No refuge in Belfast. The last stand will have to be in Bristol.

[drumgerry]

The Butch and Sundance of beekeeping? Will they go out in a hail of neonic-treated seed?!

[Jon]

They are sitting there in Neil's living room like a pair of pirates with a booty of Gold Doubloons - only in their case it is neonic treated seed running through their fingers as they cackle incoherently, but there again, it might just be the drink making them cackle.