Those interested to know why I’m leaving can keep reading; the rest can just skip this part.It will probably create some bad blood amongst some and might get moderated, but I just want to explain in a clear way why I’m leaving. I’m also not posting this so that things might change, as it is my last post anyway and I don’t expect any changes (if Invelos wanted to change things, they could’ve done so a long time ago).
The reason I’m leaving these forums behind is because of two main reasons:
1. The general atmosphere here
2. The way Invelos chooses to deal with it
A bit more explanation:
1. I came into these forums with the honest intent to be a productive member by asking clarification where things weren’t clear for me and by giving my own opinions on matters still in development. Unfortunately, new forum users are often greeted here by demeaning, aggressive or ridiculising posts. This was also the case with me, as I was continuously harassed for no reason by Skip in my very first thread:
http://www.invelos.com/Forums.aspx?task=viewtopic&topicID=349767&PageNum=1In the months that followed, I’ve also had the pleasure to read posts that are direct personal attacks, simply because I had a different opinion or suggestion, again by Skip:
name-calling (idiot, bird brain, person with very limited comprehension, lack of understanding, etc),
bigotry (my opinion was said to be invalid because of my puny collection),
blatant racism or at the very least
xenophobia (in my case aimed at Japanese culture, which me and my wife take offense to), and generally unpleasant posts. It also doesn’t help that when he posts nasty things, it’s labeled ‘humor’ yet when we make a harmless joke, it’s called ‘highly offensive’ by him.
2. Invelos’ reaction to all of this: simply put, I can’t shake the feeling that
there are first and second rate users here.
I’m clearly a second-rate user as I was banned for going a bit off-topic (posting about usefulness of original title field in a thread I started about Terminator Salvation title) :
http://www.invelos.com/Forums.aspx?task=viewtopic&topicID=421218&PageNum=12I want to make it clear that
I don’t have a problem with the fact that I was banned. If Invelos wants to run a tight ship, that’s their right and I fully accept that in the strictest sense of the rules my post can get moderated or even lead to a ban. What I can’t accept, is that such a minor infraction gets moderated and leads to a ban, whereas much bigger transgressions (like the ones I’ve mentioned in point 1) sometimes aren’t even moderated, let alone are cause for a ban. The number of posts made by me that needed moderation in the past year, I can count on one hand. The number of moderated posts of other users, like Skip, go well into the double digits and occur on a regular basis … yet no ban is issued. To drive this point home, both my posts and Skips were moderated in the very same thread regarding Terminator Salvation, yet I was the only one banned. It clearly shows he can get away with much, much more than other users.
(I also noticed that before the ban I had a “Good Rating” and after the ban is lifted, I’m down to a “Normal Rating”. Doesn’t matter really but it seems Invelos wants to leave a permanent mark on people that have been banned.)
The problem, in my opinion, is that by treating users differently, Invelos says to the biggest offenders: “Go right ahead, we won’t stop you. In fact, if anyone stands up to you, we’ll ban them instead”.
I’ll be the first to admit that on occasions, when provoked I’ve answered in too harsh a way. I shouldn’t have done that and instead of trying to defend myself or my opinion, I should have been the bigger man and gracefully stepped out. But then again, if moderation here was fair, I wouldn’t need to step out.
I don’t feel comfortable in a forum where one user’s opinion is valued less than another one’s;
I don’t feel comfortable in a forum where moderators treat users unequally;
I don’t feel comfortable in a forum where bigotry and racism are accepted;
I don’t feel comfortable in a forum where offenders get excused because ‘that’s just how they are’ or because ‘they’ve been around here a long time’;
I don’t feel comfortable in a forum where western culture is considered the only valid one and when other cultures are brought up, people get slammed for it.
So I prefer to step out.
I noticed that I’m not the first one to leave because of these reasons and other, far more important members to the community than me have left because of this, among which Matthias (
http://www.invelos.com/Forums.aspx?task=viewtopic&topicID=399266&messageID=1067314). I’m only a tiny drop in a bucket and well aware of that. Invelos won’t even notice this message but I wanted to explain my reasons for all those members that meant well with me, so they know it has nothing to do with them and I will continue to contribute, in one way or another, just not in the forums anymore, which have turned into the private playground of a select few.
Also, I’m fully aware that I called one user by name: Skip. I know that some long-time members will probably post the same rhetoric we often see, namely that he isn’t the only offender in the forums. To that, I have this to say:
- You are right! He is not the only one and there are others who also post disruptive messages. However, when you tally up the number of aggressive or nasty posts, you cannot dance around the fact that he has the highest count of all current active members
- I have also taken the time to trace back all the nasty remarks made directly at me or my wife’s culture and every single one could be traced back to Skip. Since I’m writing the reason why I’m leaving, I’m calling a spade a spade. Had other users made nasty remarks, I would have added their names as well but I’m forced to come to the conclusion that in my specific case, he’s the only one.
- I also fully acknowledge that it’s not a black-white thing and Skip also tries to post helpful messages and submit contributions. Unfortunately, from my perspective the nasty remarks weigh too heavily against the positive actions.
Basically, the bigots and racists can have their little playground here. It simply isn’t worth my time anymore and instead I’ll try putting that time into good use by contributing. Too bad this forum wasn’t as welcoming as I had hoped it would be…