Why Threads is being removed?

[chenkingdom]

Hi Moderators,

I need to check with you guys, firstly is why some of my post is being removed? Secondly why my thread in aquarium market place is being removed without any form of notice at all? i am really angry by the fact that i have put in so much effort to start the thread and now is being deleted for no reason...

I am getting abit disappointed with this forum now...

Bro, if you are kind enough to help, pls give me some answer...

The topic of my missing thread is WTS: 1.5 Red Arowana c(17inch)

Thanks!

[chenkingdom]

This is the reply from admin@aquaticquotient:

I believe you didn't post in the correct sub forumn, therefore it was
removed. Plus, you do not have sufficient post count (min. 10) for
create a thread in the market place, hence, you couldn't have posted in the
correct sub forum and that is way, one of the moderators have
moved/closed/deleted your thread
***************

[chenkingdom]

Dear admin,

I am trying to sell my arowana and i posted under
aquarium market place.. isnt this the correct sub
forum??

And i am very very sure i have the min 10 post count
to start the new thread..if not, i will not be able to
start at all... someone must have removed my posting.

But dont you agree that the moderator should at least
send me a mail to let me know any violation that i
have made. this is just pure rude!

There must be someone with the right frame of mind out
there to simply assist me on this issue..

Thanks for your reply anyway.

[benny]

Is there a need to be impatient, rude and condescending? Doesn't reflect well on you really...

Anyway, I'll take the trouble to explain the circumstances leading to why I removed some of your posts yesterday night as the previous reply sent to you may not have been clear enough.

1. On the 19th July, we have discovered a member (basically you) sneaking a Want To Sell thread inside another member's post, effectively hijacking the other member's thread. Under normal circumstances, an infraction would have been given and your account could have been in moderation for up to 30 days. However, I felt that it was not necessary to be so harsh, so I just removed the offending posts and let the matter slide on the account that you have been a longstanding member.

2. As of 19th July 2007, you have 3 valid post counts to your account. Upon my removal of your offending thread, you tried to chalk up enough posts between 1920 hrs to 1946 hrs to gain access to the marketplace. To be honest, I don't have any problem with that. After all, why have a marketplace and then try to restrict access? We have much better things to do. The problem lies with members posting inaccurate/wrong/irrelevant information that could mislead other aquarists. Instead of embarassing you by correcting you in public, I chose to remove the post. The other post that were removed was on the basis of improper language abbreviation, just like the one in the first posts here. In total, 2 posts were affected. Total post count dropped from 11 to 9.

Your WTS thread also contained inappropriate SMS abbreivation and was removed on the basis of language and insufficient membership privileges.

As there was quite a few issues on hand, I had the intention of calling you on 96236852 today to explain and help you along with our marketplace system, as I normally would with some of our other members. It's much easier to explain over the phone (at my expenses too) than have lengthy PM exchanges. I thought it might have been too late to call you last night at 2348 hrs. Obviously, coming back from my Saturday errands, only to discover a din being kicked up here and here already.

Do spare a thought for those of us administering the site. We have lives to live too and can't be online all the time to explain every single thing, although we do try. If you do look through our threads and posts on a regular basis, you will know what to do and not to do, even if you didn't read our rules and guidelines. AQ is a free resource and we are trying to keep it up to standard for a long time to come. As valued members of our community, we expect help, not hassle, from folks like you to maintain this standard. But if your interest is just to use the marketplace, then www.arofanatics.com is one of the best arowana forums around and they have a very active marketplace. Alternatively you can try to hawk your arowana at www.arowanaclub.com or www.petfrd.com as well. They are also excellent free local online resources.

If I'm in my right frame of mind, I would normally have suspended any account that have insulted or challenged our moderating team, either directly or implied. In fact, we won't even have entertained this thread. Obviously, I believe you must have also been just as tired at 0331 hrs last night as I still am (having just got off a long flight last night before deleting your threads).

chenkingdom, I hope the above shed some light as to why certain actions were taken. I have chosed to reply here instead of just calling you now since the issue was raised in the forum. I'll be more than happy to discuss this further with you over the phone if you like to better understand our operating protocol. Do let me know if you would like me to call you.

I look foward to your reply.

Cheers,

[chenkingdom]

Impatient? rude? what dont you reflect on yourself? have you put yourself in someone else shoes? you got to be more professional in a way.

let me get it straight:
1) on the 19th july, i notice that one of our member commented that he had sold his arowana. All i post to him is a question on how he manage to sell his fish! SNEAKING, HIJACKING? are you alittle over-the top?
To be fair, this is what i have posted on his thread just in case you have misread it or misinterpreted to the rest of the members:
(Bro, just curious, how do you sell your arowana? im trying to sell mine as well as going into planted tanks...)

2)If i am just trying to chalk up the minimum of 10 post count, do you think i will spend the effort to read through the threads and reply to those that requires help?
What do you mean by supplying wrong or inaccurate information? Do you mean that i have to get consent from others with my point of view before posting? I think that we should have the rights to post our comments or views or experienced no matter is it right or wrong. Dont tell me a newbie cant post his comments because most likely his comment will be inaccurate???? in a forum, we should have the space for us to discuss and learn from one another.

I think that you guys should be more accepting in unintentional sms abbreviation. it is not as if the whole chunk of comments is in short forms/abbreviations. do we have to be so inflexible?

I am not trying to make life difficult to you or any other moderators. in fact i am very accepting to any advice or comments and follow with it. I know that everyone have their life to lives. is just that if people is more polite and courteous, today we wouldnt have been arguing over this. and i wont be posting this at 2am on a sunday night!

Anyway, i thank you for the related forum links that you have listed above. but i dont think i will be selling my arowana after all these things that i have went through. I know that after i post this reply, most likely my account will be suspended. but i dont really bothered anymore and i will not miss a thing if the administator are having such a "great attitude" and "welcoming" behaviour.

Anyway i believe we are all adults here and i dont see the need to argue over this anymore. Disappointment is the only word to describe how i feel.

Regards,

[benny]

Kris,

A very dissapointing reply indeed (at least we all have something in agreement! ). But nevertheless, it's your point of view and I will respect it.

For the record, you seem to have conveniently left out this other post..

I have a 1.5 red, about 18inches now.. this is a higher grade 1.5 than the normal.. if i can get back my cost, will be more than happy.

Trying to sneakily hawk your arowana on someone else's sales thread just because you have not enough post count. That's hijacking. I won't allow you to do it any other members' thread, just as I will not allow any other members to do it to your marketplace threads. Nothing personal. Just regular housekeeping duties. And it might be something you will appreciate if you are a more active member of our community.

As for the deleted posts, I shall not embarass you further by dragging up examples like "aquatic plants must be bought fresh" amongst others. As for as language is concern, we do adopt a certain degree of flexibility, however, that factor should not overshadow fact that you do not have enough posting privileges and was hijacking another member's sale thread. As I have explained, with several issues on hand, I was hoping to explain it to your over the phone and guide you along our marketplace system. Regrettably, you made such a mountain of the molehill issue in less than 3 hours. Obviously with the thread out in the open, it's difficult to back up even if I have given you a proper explaination. I'm sure the situation would have been different if we had talked. (Reminds me of a movie "Changing Lanes" starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson)

I am also not an unreasonable fellow and as high handed and you might think I might be. I believe members who have meet me can vouch for that as well. Seems like these late night session aren't doing any of us any good. I personally prefer to focus on fish keeping than to spend time on unproductive things like this.

By the way kris, I don't consider this an argument, just a clarification of a misunderstanding. I am still more than happy to give you a call to help you along if need be. Just let me know.

Since your comments are directed at me, not the team, I reserve the right NOT suspend your account on the grounds of miscommunication. I believe all the circumstances leading to the said event has been address and clarified. I would consider the case closed if you have no further queries.

Hope you get over your "dissapointment" soon and get back into fish keeping. A planted arowana tank can be a sight to behold. If you chose not to hang around in AQ anymore because of this issue, I wish you best of luck and a successful planted aquarium. If you should decided that AQ is still worth your time, I would say "Welcome back!"

Cheers,

[vinz]

Kris,

It's unfortunate that this matter has escalated to this level.

We don't make rules for fun... if nothing else, it takes effort and time to 'patrol' the forums and enforce the rules. We all have full-time jobs or studies and we certainly have no intention to make our work on AQ and harder.

Our marketplace restrictions are to discourage people who sign up to forums mainly to exploit the buy/sell forums. We would like our membership to be based on a strong spirit of knowledge and information sharing.

Perhaps it was a mis-understanding, but a hijack whether intentional or otherwise will be subject to our rules and actions. In most cases, we don't even bother to 'punish' the infringement unless it's an obvious and repeated case.

I did not see your posts, but I would say that if any moderators (including Benny) had felt all of them had no content and were purely to chalk up postcounts, they would have deleted ALL of them and not just 2 (and leave you at the border of 10 postcount).

Lastly, if people go to your home, you would expect that they follow your house rules, correct? Similarly, if you went to your friend's house, you would follow their house rules, correct?

I think this has just been a case of mis-understanding. Had you waited, Benny would have given you a call and explained everything.

[chenkingdom]

Alright benny,

Maybe on my part, i maybe alittle harsh with words and i will take note of that next time. But i hope that in the future, no matter is it me or any other members who have unintentionally violate any rules, i think that you guys should pm the person before removing the posting. this is to prevent further misunderstanding and it also helps us to understand why our post is being removed. This is just a suggestion..

As for your reply above, especially on me hijacking others' thread. i shall not comment further, as most of the original thread has been removed and there is no point for me to explain. All i can say is that i have no intention to use this member thread to sell my arowana. (believed it or not..)

As for Vincz, thanks for your comments and i accept your stance in the rules and regulation. I have no problem with that. I wish that by PM the offender and letting him know the reason will not only educate the user but also reflect a professional approach by your moderating team.

Last but not the least, i thanked benny for offering to call me to explain further. But i dont see it necessary now as we are done with this "misunderstanding" issue.

By the way, you guys will still see me "Hawking" around in AQ.. Winkz**

Cheers

[benny]

Hi Kris,

Thanks for your suggestion. We will take note of it and keep that in mind. In fact, we are trying to restructure our marketplace so that it will require less effort by the moderating team and does not give rise to any opportunities for members' abuse. It's still a new concept in discussion at the moment and I'm not sure if members will be used to it. Do watch out for further developments, probably in a few months.

Take care and "see" you around.

Cheers,