Hey Folks,
2008 is winding down and man oh man has it be a crazy good year for the BlackBerry world and especially CrackBerry.com. We've seen the site grow by leaps and bounds. We've truly grown from CrackBerry village to CrackBerry community to CRACKBERRY NATION!
With this growth and size come huge benefits and also challenges. Looking at benefits, we have a huge knowledge base, a vibrant and diverse community and a lot of fun!
On the other side of the equation, we have an emerging challenge that seems to be on a bit of a slippery slope as of late and it's something we need to resolve to fix as a community - a lack of patience! In pretty much every BIG forum community I have ever visited or participated in, there always seems to be the same issue... As the site grows, the tone of the board changes a bit. Because we are such a big and active community, we are comprised of members from all parts of the BlackBerry life cycle - complete newbies, old pros and everything in between. We have members who have been here a week and members who have been here since day one. This mix causes the challenge... it's
been noted in this thread and I received an email from a member just yesterday who words it so well I'm simply going to cut and paste it in here to explain:
Let me preface this by saying I enjoy the site and will continue to...
but... I gotta say that while there is an obvious problem with people
posting topics before they search (or search WELL, which is part of it
because a search only works well depending on your search-terms), I am
having a much bigger problem reading post after post of taunting or
chastising people for failing to use the search (well).
While a poster might post one misplaced topic, the thread then keeps
getting new life as poster after poster appoints themselves in charge
of explaining how that topic has already been discussed and/or making
fun of the poster for being so moronic (sometimes actually calling
them a moron) for not doing research before excitedly posting. It's
not merely a waste of time to see these posts--it's offputing from a
tone-of-the-site perspective.
So here's our resolution CrackBerry Forum Nation......
As a community, let's keep it helpful and friendly in the forums for 2009.
At CrackBerry.com we take pride in keeping these forums very open. If you've been here a while you've probably noticed this yourself. We don't want the forums to be a police state where you need to be scared to post something for fear of getting banned by a moderator.
At the same time, posting on this forum is not a right... it's a privilege that's granted when you register here and agree to the terms and conditions, which include following the forum rules and guidelines, including our rules for
General Member Conduct, which I'll post right here:
Play Nice, Be Helpful, and have Respect!
This means keep the language clean, keep your posts polite, and don’t get into arguments over dumb things. If somebody responds to a thread you posted in poor fashion, ignore it, and the moderation team will quickly clean it up (you can always use the Report Post function - exclamation mark inside a triangle at the top right corner of every post - to report something to the mod team that you think is offside). Think back to what your parentals and teachers used to lecture - if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Always remember that we are all unique and at different levels here - some of us are experienced BlackBerry users and forum junkies, while others are just starting out. If you’re on the experienced side, have patience for those just joining in on the fun and be helpful. With a little patience and a little help they won’t be newbies for long. Also remember that it is our differences that keeps this place interesting. If everyone was from the same place and at the same experience level it would be boring. This is a worldwide community united by a common interest - our love, or addiction as some would call it, for the BlackBerry!
When it comes to this forum resolution for 2009, it's going to take the whole community to see make it happen. We *could* put down the moderation hammer and clean things up, but honestly, that's the last thing I'd ever want to see happen here and it would be worse on the forum as a whole. We need to police our own actions and the problem will take care of itself. It really is simple. If you can't be nice in the response you're about to post, then just don't post it. The community is big and somebody who's willing to respond in a more positive tone is likely just around the corner and will step in.
Let's make it happen CrackBerry Nation! As I said above, this is an issue that all big community forums tend to run into, but I know this forum is a cut above the rest. We can continue to make this THE place to be for all things BlackBerry and do it in a friendly and fun manner.
Have a safe and happy holiday season and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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CrackBerry Forums' New Year's Resolution! 
Life is full of surprises!
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