A pattern has developed here and in my opinion, needs to stop...

[Decadancin]

So before everyone assumes they know who I am talking about, don’t. If you can identify with anything here you can hopefully get something from this post (this is not a rant, but an observation and a hope).

The social nature of the forums definitely allows for fun and interesting conversations. It allows for some controversial topics and this can sometimes lead to quality threads. Other times these discussions go off the rails and become filled with subtle personal attacks or things taken the wrong way. Some times we see people basically attack others with no care for anyone but themselves. It seems to come in waves and generally leads to reported posts that the site staff needs to deal with. Another major trend is threads being hijacked by off topic side conversations that can be fun, but tend to cause threads to get very long and less likely to be read by those needing information.

I enjoy the personalities here on the site, but I now feel like I can not reply to threads because I need to be watching for issues rather than commenting. I am constantly watching the same people trying to put threads back on track while others are getting their feelings hurt and going on the defensive. Some are driving the drama, perhaps intentionally, and it does not seem to be isolated. Still others have to take a break from the forums. Think about that for a minute. Should anyone feel like a chameleon forum should have enough drama or attacks that they need to step away from things? This used to happen here and there, but with the current active members on the forums it seems to be an almost daily occurrence. Some people have been banned for getting out of control and crossing many lines. This has actually led to tons of private jokes that appear in threads that are continuing to feed the problems. Others have been privately or even publicly warned about the behavior, but this has little to no effect.

The exact thing that Facebook has been called out for time and again has started to become commonplace here. I have asked for the community to consider new members, and also the veterans. There are many on here all the time who do not even post anymore because of these types of behaviors. That is a shame. The forums were better with their input.

In an electronic world it is far too easy to post things with no fear of consequences. I am asking for everyone to consider all audiences when posting. To quote Abe Lincoln, “Be excellent to each other!” It really will make this site better!

 

[Kaizen]

Yup, been guilty of going off topic myself. I’ll try to be more cognizant of the point of the thread.

 

[KobaOregonherper]

I agree. I'm personally responsible for being abnormally blunt and too the point. I can be quite careless in calling out an issue. I am, however, this way in person as well. I dont usually take into account how someone will react before I say something. The way my brain works is if its something thats true shouldnt they want to hear it lol? Obviously this leads to hurt feelings.

On the flip side of the same coin I like to think I keep things on topic. I try not to join in on the side conversation, especially since Ive been a victim of 5 page side conversations in a thread I was trying to enjoy. But I do apoligize for my part in this. Trying to keep things light, stay on topic and be friendly, whilst also trying to not be a robot is difficult at times.

I watched the facebook group attack an exotics vet last night to the point of the vet leaving the group, I sincerely hope we are not that bad...

Edit: we are that bad

 

[Decadancin]

Edit: we are that bad

No, we are not, but the problem seems to be that we are participating on numerous different platforms and the lines have become blurred. It has become more of a chat room environment recently, and there is a place for that, but not in every thread. For anyone who is new here it becomes chaotic and for others it becomes tiresome.

There is a reason we have the Lizard Lounge as a forum here. It keeps off topic and non-cham related things out of the other sections. We have Private Messaging and even had an almost never used chat room feature.

The true issue is that some feel that they are entitled to write whatever they want and it is OK if they just acknowledge that they shouldn't have done it. That just shows the community that respect for individuals and the forums does not apply for them and this will fuel the next debate.