You May Have Noticed...

Doc Bernard

Doc Bernard

Indie Arms Member
I am no longer a mod here. And I completely agree with the decision by the other mods. Being a mod was hard work, more so on the emotional level. I am extemely passionate about film, and wanted to give my opinion on every post.

But as a mod, I know you cannot do that. You must maintain a middle ground. And remain objective. My opinions were too strong to do that. I will not hide that fact, film is a major passion of mine.....

So, I failed to do that and I failed the membership by not maintaining my objectivity. I give kudos and credit to the mods here for seeing that I could not maintain that at all times. It really does speak to the level of admin we have here. Not only do they moderate all posts....they DO look after their own.........and make decisions to benefit all members here. I couldn't bring myself to recuse myself as a mod, despite knowing my heart was conflicted.

Believe it or not..........I give them absolute thanks for seeing how I wasn't mod material......I felt so constrained in my online presence because of my previous mod status here.

I mean this 100%....

This is not snarky or being sarcastic. I give huge kudos to every mod here.....your patience with me and what you have had to deal with everyday here.....is seriously a credit to your ability and dedication.

Which puts me in a fairly unique position.......intimately knowing the rules/guidelines here balanced with my being a just a regular member.....I will maintain the mod outlook as best I can....but not constrained to hold back my opinion, as long as I am polite and constructive. As each and every member here should do.

This I promise to every member here.
 
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I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of here. As I previously stated, the DVXuser veterans will know you for who you were (and still are). So you failed to maintain neutrality. I'm a mod on another filmmaking forum and I can tell you right now that, if that's the case, each and every mod on there (including myself) would have his modship quite some time ago.

-Personal rhetoric intended :grin:
 
Glad you're taking it well doc. You might have jumped on people prematurely a couple of times but you were never mean-spirited about it and clearly were acting on the rules as you saw them. Never personal vendettas. Don't be down on yourself. The points you raise about other mods are what make this the best moderated forum on the internet. Welcome back to general membership. Look forward to you cutting loose. :)
 
Egg Born Son said:
Glad you're taking it well doc. You might have jumped on people prematurely a couple of times but you were never mean-spirited about it and clearly were acting on the rules as you saw them. Never personal vendettas. Don't be down on yourself. The points you raise about other mods are what make this the best moderated forum on the internet. Welcome back to general membership. Look forward to you cutting loose. :)
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Was never intended to be a "premature Jump".... any authority is tenuous at best..... I did call it as I saw it......may have been completely off base (and probably was). But as in baseball refereeing, I went with the gut feeling.........I was never perfect....and never claimed to be....but fully accept my mistakes I made. I did let all of you down, and for that I apologize, and hope you will accept me as just.....well.......Doc, another film-maker...who loves everything related to film-making and making dreams a reality. Despite my being an opinionated south side of a northbound donkey.
 
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I don't want to raise specific instances, I only ever saw two cases where I thought, whoa there. Even then the offender's responses were so out of line further action was warranted. These instances may not have even been the reason, I don't know. The point I was clumsily making is that you weren't the bad guy and you shouldn't feel this to be a judgement of your character. You've always struck me as a top bloke trying to do the right thing at all times. I don't feel let down in the slightest and I'm sure pretty much everyone feels the same way. It takes a big man to deal with it the way you have. If anything you have risen in my esteem. Your love and commitment to filmmaking is self-evident and your character unquestioned. Pull up the bottom lip, stroll back into the ranks and enjoy the freedom to express yourself. Welcome back to the cheap seats! :)
 
Hi Doc. I was a mod on the Panasonic3CCDuser.com site for 5 years and yes it is hard work.

It's an (unpaid) job and you always try to do the right thing by everyone. You let some new members get away with blue murder till you warn them,
warn them again, then again .. then maybe ban them. It's a democratic free speech arrangement .. up to a point.

I learnt not to get personally aquainted with any members, because after this guy contacted me, I met him and his sexy girlfriend
and they wanted to start up a production. Then the warning signals started flashing and I ducked out.

Not long after that we had an attempted house breakin, and about a week later another one.
Didn't lose anything, but some self esteem thinking how could I let that happen.

But once a mod always a mod, easy to get in, harder to get out.

Cheers.
 
aww shucks! that means no more infractions for me. declawed.

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
 
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I know where you are coming from. In the early 00's I ran an indie filmmaking board. Nothing nearly as large or complex as DVX user, only about 800 members and 10K posts or so. But as admin it was difficult to be yourself. Anything you say comes with a lot more weight to it. I never had a lot of rules "just be civil to one another" was the only real rule. But even so, I had a couple members leave the board just because I disagreed with them. Had I been a regular member they would not have gone that far. It makes sense, if you're at a dinner party and have a disagreement with another guest that's one thing, but if you have a disagreement with the host, you're more likely to feel uncomfortable and want to leave.

It's a difficult line, because the true job of a moderator/admin is to promote conversation and keep civility. Not to be a tyrant throwing around a million draconian rules and laying the smack down constantly. Unless absolutely necessary. It's hard not to be so heavily biased and opinionated as to make members feel uncomfortable when you do in fact have have your own perspectives as a member yourself. Even though you have the power, you have to almost walk on eggshells so as not to abuse it.

I've always enjoyed DVXuser because they do it the right way. They seem to pick moderators that understand these basic principles and i think it's really helped this community thrive over the years.
 
Funny. I never wanted to be a mod (not that anyone would offer me the position :)) - "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve".

1)It's a lot of work.

2)It's unpaid.

3)You get attacked for any decision no matter which way. If you go "yes" you get attacked by one side, if you go "no", by the other - no win situation.

4)As a mod, your freedom of expression suffers. You have to hold back in ways you didn't have to before, you must keep re-evaluating what you're gonna say about other non-mod things, in an argument you must constantly think about how you're a mod and so on.

5)It's a time sink.

Now, I take my hat off to most mods here - they do an incredible job, a job I would not want to do. But it's not the only way to contribute. Being a good member and speaking from the heart and giving 100% honest feedback (sometimes more honest than a mod can afford!) also contributes to a board being a good and informative place. It's like a bee-hive - everyone has a role, and both the mods are important as well as the ordinary members... just because they have different roles doesn't mean one is worse than the other - just that they can be best at slightly different things.

Of course, not everyone is suited to be a mod. And even if you were theoretically suited, you may not want the position. I salute anyone who has a clear enough vision of themselves that they can gracefully fulfill as important a role as a mod.

So - thank you mods... I may not always agree 100% with the decisions, but then again, I'm not a mod and can afford to disagree :) :) :)
 
OldCorpse said:
Funny. I never wanted to be a mod (not that anyone would offer me the position :)) - "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve".

1)It's a lot of work.

2)It's unpaid.

3)You get attacked for any decision no matter which way. If you go "yes" you get attacked by one side, if you go "no", by the other - no win situation.

4)As a mod, your freedom of expression suffers. You have to hold back in ways you didn't have to before, you must keep re-evaluating what you're gonna say about other non-mod things, in an argument you must constantly think about how you're a mod and so on.

5)It's a time sink.

Now, I take my hat off to most mods here - they do an incredible job, a job I would not want to do. But it's not the only way to contribute. Being a good member and speaking from the heart and giving 100% honest feedback (sometimes more honest than a mod can afford!) also contributes to a board being a good and informative place. It's like a bee-hive - everyone has a role, and both the mods are important as well as the ordinary members... just because they have different roles doesn't mean one is worse than the other - just that they can be best at slightly different things.

Of course, not everyone is suited to be a mod. And even if you were theoretically suited, you may not want the position. I salute anyone who has a clear enough vision of themselves that they can gracefully fulfill as important a role as a mod.

So - thank you mods... I may not always agree 100% with the decisions, but then again, I'm not a mod and can afford to disagree :) :) :)
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Thanks for the kind words, OldCorpse.


But I'm considering giving you an infraction, just because I can. :evil:
 
Ahh the life of a mod .. here's another scam which surfaced on the Pana site 10years ago, but seems basic now..

A member posts, 'Is anyone here living in Buttcrack Kansas? The reason I ask is, my camera caught fire last week
and I have an important job in the next few days.'

Good Samaritan Sam helps out, replies and later posts, 'my gear got ripped off'

It happens here, I have a PM from a guy I tried to help in Europe, now he wants to be 'my friend'

Probably nothing wrong with that except at a recent 50th TV anniversary here, one of the original staff had later,
joined a 16th century based religious outfit and if anyone replied to his email, he could expect a flood of spam and a knock on his door from the Sydney chapter.

Cheers.
 
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