Thanks Jordan for posting that. The thread was heading towards "have a moan about RMweb" and, like I'm sure many others, I'm here to make stuff and broaden my knowledge base. Please leave all baggage of experiences of other forums at the door.
Given the volume of abuse and general unpleasantness that can be directed in a mods direction, I think a very thick skin would be essential. I'm not surprised at times that responses need to be robust. My view is that what you get out of a forum is linked to what you put in to it.
There's no way on earth I'd take a job as a forum moderator, particularly on a large forum, it's a thankless task. There's hardly an action you can take that won't upset someone. Add to that being held responsible for the actions of your employer and web hosts... Nope definitely not for me.
The human element is oft forgotten regarding any forum. However we shouldn't lose sight that in very simplistic terms, we go to our chosen forum and there it is, day in, day out.
When it's not, for some it's a real drama as a forum can play a huge part in someone's well-being, depending on their personal circumstances. For a few, it was a catastrophe when Rmweb disappeared.
When it returned, sans photos, for those with photo heavy threads, it was somewhat demotivating. I have all my photos saved in various places but to repopulate the thread was a considerable, time consuming task. In my case 7 years of sometimes daily images. For many of the posts, context was lost without supporting images.
Some members were genuinely heartbroken . For them the social interaction built up over years of building their threads was undermined, memories lost. You could sense their sadness in their questions, the whole essence of their threads seemingly gone for good.
I have now dropped in most of mine from the last 12 months and await the return of those outside this period. However many yhat may be.
The work that must have gone into the transfer of data and the rebuild must have been considerable and I can't begin to imagine the stress involved for all concerned. The reaction of most and the support offered was heartening but there were a number of whingers who couldn't see past their own needs and expectations.
Some sought to hold those responsible for managing Rmweb. For what ? There were months of issues being addressed with the web host/ providers. No one sat back and let this happen from Rmweb's point of view. To suggest this was a particular invidual's fault was frankly loathsome and unwelcome.
It's back now, a touch battered and shell shocked but it's back...........
Rob
