Kudos to M2 and the People Who Make This Website/Forum Go

[Vox]

First off, I'd like to give my thanks to M2, all the forum moderators, news contributors, lyric decipherers, etcetera, etcetera, for making this the PREMIER U2 website.  Much better than the official U2 website, in my opinion.  I've gone to @U2 as my first place for U2 news and discussion since, hmmmm..... the early 00's, myself.  Many thoughtful articles, opinions, and the forum is always a great place to connect to other people who like U2.  Because for me, everyday people in my life don't want to talk about U2 like I do.  Especially my wife....  She's had enough U2 talk for the past 15 years...  And my friends all think U2 are horrendous (dirty, hipsters).  I always thought my passion for U2 was abnormal.  Probably is, but like any addiction or affliction, it's good to go where the people are like you.   They dig it the most.

I feel that we, as forum participants, don't give M2 or moderators the props they deserve.  We're like bad houseguests who trample in with muddy foot, drink all the beer in the fridge, and pi*s all around the toilet bowl without so much of a "thanks for having me over." 

I just really admire this website -- what M2 has built and sustained for, what, nearly two decades?  I feel ashamed that, for whatever reason, M2 had to step away from this forum.  I'd love to hear his input on this new phase of U2, especially since the "weekly Off the Records" are now "sometimes Off the Records." 

There's so much dissent and senseless arguments in the world.  If we're on this website, it's presumably because we're fairly avid U2 fans.  If U2 fans can't treat each other with respect, following a band whose moderus operandi is bringing people with differences together, then it's a bit of a sad thing.  Personally, I love the U2 of Achtung Baby and Pop much more than then U2 of All That You Can't Leave Behind or How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.  But I can still respect those people who like those other albums the best.  Who am I to say my version of U2 is better than theirs?  Earlier this week in the forum I saw somebody disparage somebody who liked Taylor Swift by saying since that person liked Taylor Swift, their musical opinion was invalid.  Really?  My Dad likes country music and played in country music bands.  Is his opinion of music to be dismissed, because I can't stand country music?  No -- he knows more about music in one hand than I know in my entire body.  Because he likes country music, his musical opinion isn't invalid.  That's f****** ridiculous.  When people argue like that on here, it makes whatever else they may say ridiculously invalid.  We all have our own opinions and like our own things.  But discussion can be respectful and adult and sincere.  Even though we can't see each other, doesn't mean that we're not there. 

I usually don't say thank you enough to people who do nice things.  So thank you M2.  Thank you to the @U2 staff.  I hope you know how great it is for me to have an outlet such as this.  This is such a good thing, and it means a lot to a lot of people.  Though I'm sure it ain't easy at times.  I appreciate it greatly, even if I may have leave behind a bit of a sticky floor afterwards, myself.

[riffraff]

Excellent post. Agreed.

[aviastar]

I love the updates, news articles, and podcasts.  Good stuff.  This is my go-to.  My hub for U2 info.

[miryclay]

Yup great work lately. Keep it it up team.

[Hawkmoon2e]

Thanks guys.

[singnomore]

Really appreciate that

[tigerfan41]

Totally agree. We appreciate all the hard work you guys do! 

[shineinthesummernight]

Thanks for doing a hard job with panache.

[briscoetheque]

Careful guys, commenting on moderators is frowned upon...

[riffraff]

Careful guys, commenting on moderators is frowned upon...

[lorijane]

I was just thinking yesterday about how atU2 led to me getting to know, in real life and virtually, some of the nicest people. I first started lurking here for information, started posting a little, connected with like minded posters, got to know them better through the lounge, then met them for reals and have gone to multiple show with some of them. I'm sure I'm not alone, and I think the friendly and respectful vibe of this place helped.

So I will echo the thanks expressed to m2 and the mods. Well done!

[il_capo]

This seems to be the thread in which to show appreciation to the mod team here, so thanks to vox for starting this off.  I think we have a great team of hard-working and dedicated mods and I say thanks to all of you.  I will add that I was also a big fan of m2 and much saddened when he decided to take time out to focus on other things.  I hope he is well and happy and that he will return to moderating at some time in the future if he finds the will and the time.  He was top draw – always great at sending PMs to advise users on their behaviour and taking a light touch but effective approach to moderating.
 
I join in the others here in giving my kudos to the @u2 mod team for their hard work in keeping the community running smoothly.  They are personable and approachable people.  Special words in particular to Hawkmoon who has even taken the time and trouble to write to me personally and tell me about his U2 concert experiences, which made me feel very much valued as a member of this community.
 
I am glad that the mods are considering how to take things forward from here on in because as much as I think this is a smooth running forum there is always scope for improvement in any organisation.  For what my opinions are worth I think that the strict approach taken to political debates was both necessary and effective in massively improving the tone and atmosphere of the forum.  I didn’t enjoy coming here a year ago but once people stopped using threads to debate the merits of any particular politician or creed I felt much better here.  However, I think now would be a good time to attempt a slightly less severe form of dealing with posts that fall foul of other guidelines.  I would very much like long-term users to receive advice and warnings when they say or do the wrong thing because I think we’re pretty much all middle-aged people here, open to reason and discussion.  Personally I would feel much more comfortable here if I didn’t have to perpetually worry that if I say the “wrong” thing  I could get a perm ban for it.  I know that other friends here are worried about speaking on threads for fear of making a mistake and being punished with a perm ban.  I am uneasy seeing active and well-intentioned members of the community who have posted hundreds and thousands of times receiving permanent bans when there are much less severe and arguably more effective ways to resolve the problem.   
 
I do appreciate the work involved for an already over-stretched mod-team in PM-ing and talking to users who breach the guidelines but I think it’d be great for the health of the community if this was to be the approach taken in future.  In the meantime a slightly less arduous form of moderating would be to delete offensive posts to ensure good tone in the threads.  I was saddened to see my friend, an tha’s, thread shut down due to a post that fell foul of the rules and felt it would have been better for the community if the thread had been kept open but the offending post removed by a mod. 
 
The forum is a happier place for me than it was 12 months ago due to a very effective moderation policy regarding political commentary – thanks again mods!  Now I think there is scope to allow for the long-term members of this community to speak with a greater sense of freedom, and yes be allowed to make the odd inadvertent mistake, without fear of permanent exclusion from the community.  If that doesn’t work out a stricter approach can always be adopted again.  The guiding principle should be that a community is only as good as the people within it, and when we lose people from the community when maybe it could be avoided, we only succeed in making ourselves poorer.

[riffraff]

Very well said, il_capo. I must admit, from a personal point of view, that I am one of those who is a bit nervous about posting much anymore...it's often difficult to know what is "right" or "wrong" in the eyes of our hard-working mods. I haven't been posting much at all lately, for fear of losing my spot on the forum. Even writing this is making me nervous. Yep, I'm done...see ya!

[Hawkmoon2e]

Well, here we are again. So first of all, il_capo, I again appreciate your words - whether they’re words of praise, or words of constructive criticism. Your approach has been great.

So let’s get down to it…

I’ve been called a straight shooter by a few members (an tha being one of them). So here’s me shooting straight:

Some of you need to stop acting like freaking martyrs. You lost someone you liked and respected, and now you’re upset about it. You might also be wondering: “If I’m that outspoken, that challenging, that much of a pain in the ar*e, will I get banned, too?” And my answer isn’t an easy “yes” or “no” across the board. It all depends on your history and approach with the forum and moderation team.

Riffraff, you said yesterday that you really don’t understand why. I know you removed that post, but nevertheless, if you really don’t understand why, at this point, then you’re not paying attention.

In the last two days, the  mods have been called “too heavy handed,” and also “not heavy handed enough.” Well, I’d say we're in quite the quagmire.

It’s also apparent that many miss m2, and his light touch with moderation. Well, as much as I didn’t want to get into specifics, one of the last things m2 did before he left was to warn an tha that he needed to change his approach, or he'd be banned for good. Approach is the key word here. An tha’s approach was only nice when he needed something, but when he was told that we didn’t agree with his assessment, then he always got challenging and nasty. (And only a bit of this is for public view.) But I can count in hours the amount of time we’ve spent on an tha, and dealing with his need to make the forum the way he wanted it to be. So for every member asking "why?", there are plenty more asking "why do you put up with certain members for so long?"

So in short, get over it, or go somewhere else. (I actually learne that line from m2.)

There are more changes coming…

All we want is for members to discuss U2 in an honest and respectful way. Closing the RW section helped that for a short time, but now we see the same crap in other sections. If this doesn’t apply to you, then thank you. But if it does, then we might have a problem. However, we’re not going to just sit here and do nothing.

I’m going to leave this thread open, and yes, I want to hear from you. But please consider a few things:

a.   None of you have all the info on what we call “destructive actions” on the forum.
b.   We don’t warn people in a harsh way when they put stuff in the wrong section. (Someone accused us of that in another thread.)
c.   We put the “Don’t be a d**k” rule in a while ago, and it seems that a lot of members don’t know what that means. d**k means: Ungreatful, a sense of entitlement and really just an ar*e.

So let’s put this to bed and move on.

[JTNash]

And I might add this is volunteer you have people taking time away from their family to make sure things go smooth.  Just try to be a decent person it all you do, you are not likely to have problems