Shut a thread down why! - ECN Electrical Forums

Be careful the thought police are everywhere!
Don't say anything that might provoke discussion.Amazing simply, amazing!

Kain this is an electrical forum.

I did not see you post but I know it did not have to do with electrical issues.

There are plenty of places on the Internet where you can say whatever you want....this is not one of them.

Don't try to make it sound like a crime that the moderators are keeping things on track here.

Bob

This forum is not provided by the government, it is a public service provided by private individuals, the moderators have the right to control content on the forum in any way they please, and seeing as this is an electrical forum NOT a political I believe that they're just doing what they should and keeping the forum on-topic, there are a thousand political discussion forums out there, you can voice your opinion on one of those, too many forums go to pot because of offensive, stupid, uncontrolled content, and I for one am glad the mods at ECN are not allowing that to happen, unless you'd like to be called a "******* **** ****" every time you post a question

JMO- Will

kain10
I removed your post because it was just exactly what the Webmaster warned against doing.
Your post had nothing to do with the original question anyway.

We're not "Thought Police".....THINK whatever you want,

This is a community, and just like any other community, there are rules and someone has to enforce them.

"this is an electrical forum"

Sooooo true. Politics are one of those things we just can't get into here, without the fabric of the universe gone frayed.

Truthfully, we can't even get into "Electrical Politics" without things getting bad..... Union/non-Union, Licensing Laws.

Even Ground pin "Up vs. Down" gets silly. [Linked Image]

We try to play nice, is what it comes down to........

[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 05-01-2006).]

That poses a question. Why is this thread here? [Linked Image]

Ctardi, where it stands right now, it is simply for explanatory reasons.

Roger

It is often forgot that this is not our form as we do not fund it.
The owners have invited us to post here and, as such, we are their guests as you woulld have "guests" in your home.
If there are those who have a problem with that it is their option to either go somewhere else or start their own forum which they can own and run as their choose.
This is not an issue of "free speech."

My "post" had nothing to do with politics or union vs. non-union.It was about business and business practices by some in the construction industry and these practices will affect all tradesmen, just not electricians.My mistake was assuming that business questions and comments were within the scope of this forum, but you know what they say about assuming.

I think that e57 identified an important point:

We _do_ have political discussions, about _electrical_ politics, and these discussions are allowed to remain up. These discussions get quite heated at times, and get moderated for things like language and politeness, but the _actual concepts_ are not censored or moderated (as far as I can tell as a reader).

If Bill and the moderators were censoring ideas which were _on topic_ but which they _disagreed with_, then that would be their right but I would simply leave, because this would tremendously reduce the value of the discussions here.

-Jon

Edited to add: _Discussions_ of what is on topic or not are generally considered _not on topic_ in just about every discussion group that I've participated in, not just here, but on a diverse set of discussion forums over the past 15 years. If you feel that a particular topic really is directly related to the mission of a particular board, I strongly suggest private e-mail with the moderator of that board.

[This message has been edited by winnie (edited 05-02-2006).]

Whether the Webmaster or any of the moderators disagree or agree with someone's opinion has nothing to do with the way that this Forum is moderated, and never has.

kain10, if you need any further explanation feel free to email me and I can help you.
Just click on my email address in my profile
.
I see your profile lists no email address.

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 05-02-2006).]

My personal (and very simplistic) take on this matter:

I am constantly bombarded by things of a political nature, via radio, TV, print, and the spoken word at places where I meet with others - church, the fire hall, the theater, EMS station, as well as the local hardware store and barber shop (although the hair-cutting profession around here is usually accompanied by a vigorous discussion about fishing [Linked Image]

).

The good people who frequent ECN do so primarily because they share an interest (and love) for matters electrical, hence my reason for being here.

Thanks.

Mike (mamills)

I'd like to send a message to our moderators. They've done an excellent job of keeping these forums on track; keep up the good work.

I've left many other forums because the topics strayed and ended up getting insulting or worse.

Nobody knows better how a comment of "I don't like this" devolves into attacks on politicians, parties, individuals, ethnicities, and more. I was on a forum last year where almost a week went by that weren't any posts other than personal attacks between 4 of the members...what a waste!

I've been quite grateful since I've been a member of this forum that there are some folks who are so quick to nip a problem in the bid, instead of allowing it to grow to multiple pages and get REALLY ugly.

Many thanks, moderators...

i agree with the rest of the guys. the moderators only take steps to keep things from getting out of hand.i think they do an excellent job at what they do.sometimes we may not understand why they delete some things ,but i belive it's for the best. my hat's off to all of the moderators!keep up the good work!

Generally speaking, the moderators here don't have to do much, which really is a credit to everyone here, not just the moderators. [Linked Image]

I have to add:
I've been here as a "guest" of Bill, and a "friend" of what I think is quite a few 'members' for quite a while.

This is a trade type forum, for people (professionals) engaged in the electrical trades, and basically anyone who cares to drop-in.

IMHO, Mr. Bill, and the Moderators do what they have to to keep things 'under control' & orderly. (period)

John

We learn by posting and reading. I have learned much about the business practice, and as a new business owner, the advice I get is priceless. Thank You All!

I am also learning what not to address on this forum. The subjects of Uni ns, Il lgal elec rical empl yees, and Dr g t sting of employees , and licen ed elec ricians is taboo. Probably more also, but I won't know until I stumble over them. I am not upset that threads are being deleated as long as I can still learn what I need to know to run a sucessful business.

I would like to echo Ryan's post.

Overall the moderators don't do much more than participate the same as all of you. [Linked Image]

Thank you all.

Roger

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Overall the moderators don't do much more than participate the same as all of you.

Very true. [Linked Image]

My hat is off ot our moderators. They do a superb job at keeping things on track. I'm a nightly reader and have learned a lot from this forum. Keep up the good work!

I'm going to state Ryan, Roger & Bob's sentiments as well. It's a piece of cake.

The moderators are just participants that have been around here a long time and have been trusted by Bill with the "keys to the safe".
I question my own judgement continually.

None of us enjoy deleting or editing out content, but it's a very small price to pay for the happiness and enjoyment we get from ECN.

It's the members of ECN that make it what it is, and I'd like to thank all of you for giving us mods an easy job, and letting us enjoy and learn.

Thanks Again

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 05-02-2006).]

"Ctardi, where it stands right now, it is simply for explanatory reasons.

Roger"

Sarcastic question. [Linked Image]

But, as the owner of 2, and moderating, 2 or 3 other sites with forums, I wish all groups of people were as well behaved as you guys are! My hat is off to the members, mods, admins, and owners!

But I'm just a lurker here, I'll go back to my little private corner. [Linked Image]

ctardi
"well behaved as you guys are"

Unfortunately, it is soon to get ugly on another ECN forum.

Oh, the good old days!

Thanks Ryan , And yes the members here make it really easy to Moderate. Thanks guys

Ctardi, welcome to the forum, and don't just lurk, join in.

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Sarcastic question. [Linked Image]

That was quite obvious, hence my short reply. [Linked Image]

Please don't retreat to "your private corner", become more active, we are truly a hospitable bunch. [Linked Image]

Roger

I love the job that the moderators do on this forum!!!

I'll have to suppress that other, deep, forbidden, love for our moderators, for some other fomum.

Joe

For what it's worth... this site has a chat room, which is occupied most nights. Very often, several moderators will be there.

The chat room is a lot more free-wheeling than the permanent forums, and we often bounce ideas off each other.

If you feel your post was censored, or locked... well, maybe you could drop in and discuss it with some of us. While I'm not about to make any promises.. you might come away with a bit more of an understanding of why the action was taken.

Roger,
I'm not an electrical contractor, just finishing high school in hopes to go on to become a Millwright. Found you guys on Google, seemed like a nice place for some serious reading. Been in chat a couple of times, but not sure what your bounds are in terms of me asking questions, as I can see people not wanting to answer, due to it being basically a DIY situation. [Linked Image]

Folks,
The original reason behind the "not wanting to answer DIY questions", comes down to a question of liability, should a person mis-interpret what is said here.
It is quite true that this place is NOT a public forum, NOR is it a Private Forum.
However, it should be treated as if it were both.
It has been said here, over the time that I have been here, that this site has a PG rating.
When you folks signed up to this site, you agreed to that same rating, as we did.
As far as Moderators go, I think we do a reasonably good job here, put yourself in our position, we don't like deleting anyone's posts or threads, but if there is any thing posted here that is of a derogatory nature or the like it will be got rid of.
People don't come here to look at that.
Just my opinion. [Linked Image]

In case you missed it in your haste to get in here, here is the agreement:

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If you agree to abide by our rules below, you should press the "Agree" button, which will enable you to register. If you do not agree, press the "Cancel" button.
*** Please understand that this Discussion Forum is meant for the benefit of those in the Electrical Trade and other related persons. Although related discussion by others may sometimes be permitted, questions of a How-To nature by untrained people (or DIYers) are not within the scope of this Forum and may be removed at our discretion. ***

Considering the real-time nature of this bulletin board, it is impossible for us to review messages or confirm the validity of information posted. Please remember that we do not actively monitor the contents of and are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this BB or any entity associated with this BB. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.

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{Message edited to highlight middle section}

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 05-04-2006).]

Liability issues aside, - generally speaking, answering questions from DIYers requires an extra amount of effort -

First, to correctly assess the situation from info given, then the skill and comprehension level of the person asking, and finally to include correct and all applicable information in a way they can understand it.

This is a tall order. We're not teachers here, and even if we were - quite honestly, doing this continually would become very tedious and annoying to many people here.

There are many websites that cater to the DIYer, this website is here to help people involved in, or somehow related to the Electrical Industry. This assumes that there is some basic understanding and/or skill level already reached, or in the case of apprentices (and others new to the field), that they also have other source(s) of instruction and information.

First off, a big thumbs up to the moderators for all of their hard work in keeping things under control here. [Linked Image]

There are many topics I have been involved in where the debate was quite lively, but never offensive or lowered to the level of personal insults or bashing. (Like the Shared neutrals and panels in bedrooms, for example.)

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Whether the Webmaster or any of the moderators disagree or agree with someone's opinion has nothing to do with the way that this Forum is moderated, and never has.

That is very true!! If it weren't, most of my posts in the threads I mentioned would have been deleted! [Linked Image]

We all have our methods and reasons and everyone here has shown nothing but respect for that fact, and a willingness to discuss the differences of opinion.

I have made a few mistakes in the past, one was using a slang word which here in the U.S. has no real meaning, but is vulgar elsewhere. My post was edited and I got a very polite email from the moderator letting me know that the word had an objectionable meaning. No problem and no offence taken.

In another thread I posed a reply in which I feel helped to start the replies down the wrong path, despite the intention of making up a new and funny acronym (which I didn't explain in the post, that was the biggest mistake.) Again, after looking things over, I would have done it differently given the chance to correct it.

To kain10, I respectfully suggest that you learn from all the information in this thread, and elsewhere on this site. There are a lot of good people here who are willing to help and would value your input to any of the discussions.

Keep in mind that when posting on any forum, we cannot see your face or hear your voice to be able to fully understand the meaning of what is said, so you (and I) must choose words carefully, using smilies when necessary [Linked Image]

to help make clear what we're trying to say.

So jump back in, share your experiences with us and you will learn a lot here. I sure have!!

Thanks everyone for putting up with this long post! [Linked Image]

edited for spelling (as usual) [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by mxslick (edited 05-04-2006).]

Good post Tony!, [Linked Image]

I'm a Moderator at a few sites around the world and I must say that ECN is one of the most smoothly run sites of the lot.
That is mainly because the members are aware of the rules.
To back the Moderators up here, we don't really have to do a great deal, please, lets keep it that way, it makes ECN all that more enjoyable for everyone.
kain10,
I agree with the comments of mxslick, you can learn a LOT here, we have built up a HEAP of collective knowledge here and it still keeps flowing on in.
Normal everyday life is hard enough, we are not trying to make life any more difficult, who needs that?.
Not me. [Linked Image]

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Liability issues aside, - generally speaking, answering questions from DIYers requires an extra amount of effort -

First, to correctly assess the situation from info given, then the skill and comprehension level of the person asking, and finally to include correct and all applicable information in a way they can understand it.

This is a tall order. We're not teachers here, and even if we were - quite honestly, doing this continually would become very tedious and annoying to many people here.

There are many websites that cater to the DIYer, this website is here to help people involved in, or somehow related to the Electrical Industry. This assumes that there is some basic understanding and/or skill level already reached, or in the case of apprentices (and others new to the field), that they also have other source(s) of instruction and information.

Which is why I will be going back to my corner. [Linked Image]

ctardi:

Please don't go off hiding in a corner. [Linked Image]

There are lots of areas of theoretical and practical discussions where you can participate. And you can always comment during existing threads at any time, keeping in mind the rules and guidelines of the forum.

And yes, there are some gray area questions where you may think it's a "DIY" type question, but I think the moderators will generally agree with me, you should ask anyways and if it's too far off track, you'll be notified.

As someone just finishing High School, you're to be commended for seeking out information in any form, that shows motivation and willingness to learn!!

The only really stupid question is often the unasked one. [Linked Image]

Best of luck to you!! [Linked Image]

I come to this board because I have a like the fact that the people here are friendly to one another. We don't get people flaming you for posting a "dumb" question. I have been to other sites where the people will jump you for any little thing that gets them mad. Then the discussion gets heated and out of hand. I hope all the good people will stay here, talk nice, and be courtious to one another.