[abhorredlife]

"*moderator - Regarding posts that single out one specific race, gender, religion, sexual preference, group, etc...Until the forum can reach a point where we have a policy regarding these types of threads/posts, existing and future threads will be closed. Please refrain from posting similar threads until further notice from the staff.Sincerely,The Moderation Team"


This is a HUGE slap in the face! As a gay man I felt like there is a lack of representation for LGBT people. Which is why I posted the "LGBT CrackBerry users" thread. (I can't speak for the girl's thread "CrackBerry gals" but I assume the reason was similar.) I started the thread for people to ask questions and hopefully learn form other's experiences and grow as human beings. The fact that the mods closed the thread really upsets me. I was not "singling out" anybody or group. The thread was not exclusive to one group of people, any one could post. I feel like many voices were silenced. We choose to tell others what gender, race, sex, or sexual orientation we are. So I don't see who gets hurt if we say what we are and what we represent. I would understand if the threads were closed for negative or offensive comments. But that was not the reason. It was closed simply because people told everyone here at CrackBerry what we are and that we are willing to share experiences and ideas. But we are apparently not allowed to. I feel like the CrackBerry mods made a HUGE mistake. I am not the only one. I LOVE CrackBerry I feel like I'm part of a family. But now I feel like I'm being forced back into the closet. NO! Mods, please resolve this issue.

Thank you all

-abhorredlife (Will)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kasperapd]

Will,

I will tell you that this was a big deal yesterday between all mods, and I'm honestly not sure why the threads were closed as they were staying within the boundaries we had given to the members. Hopefully Kevin will chime in here and give you a better reason.

We have closed some chat thread in the past because they had turned in to nothing more than a personal dating service. I did not see any of the recent threads do that.

Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

[cant live witout my bb]

Will, I missed everything yesterday because I was bogged down at work. I was filled in later from some of my bb buddies. If cb.com doesn't have a policy on this yet, this may only be temporary. I posted in the cb gals thread and the cb playas club thread. Btw, I did enjoy reading your daily comments, very funny, they actually put a smile on my face while I was sitting in bumber to bumper traffic on 75.I'm digressing, I love cb.com and I too felt like I was apart of a family; the site is filled with wonderful people. Have you read yeager's thread (Yeager takes the blame) yet? One of the mods replied that this may be temporary. I hope so, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. I don't think they're trying to force you back into the closet, I think they're trying to preserve the integrity of cb.com. It doesn't matter if your black, white, spanish, gay strait, etc... All that matters here is you're a bb owner. Btw congrats on your 1yr anniversary & your new job. I can't wait to hear what goes on in that salon. Lol. Sorry I'm off the topic again.....

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[CrackBerry Kevin]

Here's the scoop:

- Our goal for the forums since day one has always been to create and foster an environment where people can gain and share knowledge about their blackberrys in a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. I don't think anyone would disagree that the CB moderators and CB member community at large have done a great job so far in achieving this.

- As part of "encouraging" a friendly atmosphere, we included in the forums an Off-Topic/CrackBerry Chat forum. From observing other community forums, one can quickly conclude that threads will tend to run off topic (people like to socialize, myself included!), so by providing a specific forum for this chat to occur in, we can more strictly/tightly moderate the information/help forums (Device Forums for example) so they stay on topic and are 100% value-added to the initial thread post, without killing the friendly atmosphere of the site, as people still have a place to do their off-topic/chat discussion in.

- I do think the approach we have chosen works, but having a CrackBerry Chat/Off-Topic forum does make for specific challenges to both the moderation team and members:
a) it takes up a lot moderation time - though its a chat/off-topic forum, it still needs to abide by the Posting Rules. Content should always be PG (I use the rule that you should never use language or say anything in the forums that you wouldn't say to your grandmother!), and as yeager points out in his post, there may be CrackBerrys of all ages (including young ages) viewing this content, and the site should be suitable for such. Because of the nature of the Chat forum, its easier to "unintentionally" stray from the Posting Rules, which then requires time/attention from the site's moderators.

b) figuring out what's allowed/not allowed - With specific forums like "8300 Curve" it's easy for members and moderators to know what can be posted there. With a CrackBerry Chat/Off-Topic forum, it is much more open to intepretation, which causes a "grey area" for both members and moderators when it comes to what is allowed and what isn't allowed. The site does need to maintain its integrity and core focus. The description for the forum says "BlackBerry talk that may wander off topic", which again is a bit "grey" for both members in creating posts, and moderators in making sure posts stay within the Posting Rules.

- The reason the Gals/Guys/LGBT threads have been temporarily closed was not due to any one of the thread topics or posts in these threads thus far, but because of the "grey area" that they fall into. For the moderators, these three threads brought up the issue of what's allowed/not allowed in CrackBerry Chat forum. Because these threads were all started in close succession of each other, it was safe to assume more threads of this nature would be started (what happens once will never happen again, what happens twice will surely happen a third time!). So the question then became "what will the next thread of this nature be?" which then leads back to the issue of determining what's allowed vs. not allowed in this "grey" area. It should be clear to both members and moderators what is allowed vs. not allowed, and currently this is not the case, so until we get this policy 100% figured out, the course of action taken was to close these threads for now, and ask for no other threads of this nature to be created until we have a policy in place that is clear to both members and moderators.

One could argue back and forth whether this was the best course of action to take (vs. leaving the threads open), but a course of action had to be taken while we get these policies in place and as this was the chosen action I ask you to please accept it and have patience for the time being. No ill-intent was meant to anyone by closing the threads.

While it was kind of yeager to take the blame on this, the fault lies with the admins, so I apologize to the members and moderators. Our goal has always been to keep the forums as open as possible, but at the same time it has to be 100% clear to members and moderators what is allowed or not allowed in the CrackBerry Chat/Off-Topic forum. In not having a clear policy on this, it was the admins (myself included) that created the "grey" area and the situation at hand.

We have scheduled a meeting for Monday morning to address the Forum Rules & Policies. CrackBerry.com has been amazingly successful since its launch earlier this year, and we want to ensure we have the structure in place that will continue to foster the forum's ongoing growth and friendly atmosphere, yet do so in a manner that is clear to all members and moderators.

I believe all of the members, moderators, and administrators have the same ultimate goal - to make CrackBerry.com the best BlackBerry website in exsistence. And I know we are all doing our best to make this happen! Slight hiccups on the way can be expected, but I know the mutual respect and positive intent all CrackBerrys have for each other will let us get passed this issue and back to what this site is all about!

Keep Crack'n,

Kevin

[Trevor]

I would just like to say, this move was not to punish one particular group. That is why all the threads were closed. The closing may not be permanent. It depends on the policy that the CrackBerry.com Owners come up with.

But, it has been my understanding that CrackBerry.com was made to unite BlackBerry addicts. Not divide them up into separate categories. Therefore, I personally see no reason to represent only certain people with special threads. ("UK only", "US only", "LGBT", "Gals", "CrackBerry Players"). When it comes to these "groups, they all share a same common interest, the BlackBerry.

[yeager4130]

Thanks Kevin for taking the time to let everyone know what's up.For the record so no single person group or new crackberry user gets it twisted.I wrote that I took the blame 3hr's before these post got shut down.Not after not during.Now The lgb what ever post I never saw a point in that one.most of the people here dont really care whether your gay straight or bent sideways If you have a crackberry and a working thumb Great.Ladies I'm still sorry you had to lose your post.As far as the guys fella's come on we run 75% of the board anyways there really wasn't a need for it in the first place.
I'm glad we have had a huge growth of new members on this site I didn't really mean to say We Cause im not a Mod a admin or a worker for the site but I am a addict like the rest of you.I you all want to keep up your addiction, Keep everything going smooth.Kevin is a great guy and without him we would't have a place to come everyday all day,As far as the spot for hookin up if thats what your here for go to Myspace and search blackberry users there.Here at crackberry.com We act like adults.I'm done if you want to come down on my one cup of coffee rant pin me 24038240 I here for everyone's input.Peace love and Shaqberry

[Trevor]

Threads relating to this issue:

http://forums.crackberry.com/f51/mod...t-thread-3144/

http://forums.crackberry.com/f36/thread-uk-users-2971/
http://forums.crackberry.com/f36/crackberry-gals-3450/
http://forums.crackberry.com/f36/cra...ers-club-3511/
http://forums.crackberry.com/f36/lgb...ry-users-3558/
http://forums.crackberry.com/f51/how...have-bbs-2901/

Also, I believe somewhere there was a US only thread, but I can't seem to find it.

[cant live witout my bb]

Kevin, I can't speak for the rest of the members, but I really appreciate your response. I believe this site is a reflection of your demeanor and dedication to crackberry.com. I agree with Yeager in regards to people's race, sex, or preference. I said it before, the only thing that matters here is that you're a bb owner and you need a place to feed your addiction. This site has accomplished something world leaders couldn't do; bring people from all different walks of life together with one common denominator. An addiction to bb. Thanks again for taking the time out and communicating the reasons for your actions.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Bla1ze]

Kevin, my grandmother is 60, smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and swears like a sailor lol..the analogy dont work in MY case...

lol sorry just trying to lighten up the situation, but all of what I said is true lmao

[abhorredlife]

I specifically said I was NOT making a LGBT ONLY thread! All were welcome! I wanted to make a thread that helped people with issues and made them feel like the were not the only ones. I specifically asked to keep it pg and keep it from being a dating site. I still feel like the mods dropped the ball. I feel as if they just don't want to do their job and moderate the offensive and potentially hurtful posts here on CrackBerry, while still letting people voice their opinions and thoughts. I appreciate the explanation and I trust on monday morning you will do the right thing.

Thanks
-abhorredlife (will)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kasperapd]

Be careful lumping together all the Mods as "we dropped the ball". Not all Mods were involved here, and this was a decision by the Admin, not the Mods.

[abhorredlife]

I apoplogize to the mods then. I was wrong. The admins dropped the ball.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[cant live witout my bb]

Kevin, my grandmother is 60, smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and swears like a sailor lol..the analogy dont work in MY case...

lol sorry just trying to lighten up the situation, but all of what I said is true lmao

Now that's funny Bla1ze.....I've been enjoying that comment all day....

[Bla1ze]

Glad to see someone found the humor in it and made light with me

[Giavanna]

Thank you Kasperapd & Kevin for your feedback to this sensitive subject.

No matter what you decide, whether threads are re-opened or not, I think this forum is still exceptional and outstanding.

It speaks volumes when the founder of CrackBerry takes the time to explain what has transpired and the reasons the steps were taken. I still think this forum is priceless because of the vast knowledge that the Forum Moderators share with all of us and help us with all our questions and try to assist us on anything that we ask. The members in the forum for me have been warm, wonderful and informative as well.

I think we can still learn and have fun and abide by whatever rules the forum comes up with. Yes I will confess and admit that I loved Dubya El's Crackberry Gal Chat thread. It was like visiting a dear friend. We incorporated stuff about our BB and we were permitted to talk about our daily lives and that was awesome. I do hope they reconsider opening that thread but if not, we will resort to pinning or emailing the members that we hold dear and keep in touch that way.

Whatever the outcome, I have full confidence that it will be in the best interest of the forum and the members as well.

Sending a warm hug & a good morning to everyone,
Gia

[Click]

I specifically said I was NOT making a KGB ONLY thread! All were welcome! I wanted to make a thread that helped people with issues and made them feel like the were not the only ones. I specifically asked to keep it pg and keep it from being a dating site. I still feel like the mods dropped the ball. I feel as if they just don't want to do their job and moderate the offensive and potentially hurtful posts here on Crack Berry, while still letting people voice their opinions and thoughts. I appreciate the explanation and I trust on Monday morning you will do the right thing.

Thanks
-abhorred life (will)

Posted from my Crack Berry at wapforums.crackberry.com

My only question is why do you need to make a thread that helps people? If they have issues about there personal lives they need to consult a doctor. If they have problems with there BB they need to consult CB.com. Plain and simple... True or False?
Chad~

[DubyaEl]

I've been away from my computer and Hobson this weekend (imagine that? a life besides BB! ), but have been reading the responses.

Kevin - thank you for your comments and explanation regarding the background of why the threads got closed. It says a LOT for this site that the CEO is involved in the ongoing operations. As my friend Gia stated previously, no matter what you decide, I'll continue to post here, find info here, and (hopefully) be able to help others as many here have helped me in the brief time I've been here. I hope that you will carefully consider all the options tomorrow when clarifying the forum rules so ALL crackberry addicts can exchange info, ideas, laughs, information and support. That was my intent behind opening the "gals" thread. It's hard being a female techno-geek - you don't have many other women with the same interests, and I found some really fabulous gals thru the 2 'gals' threads that were here. That said, the "geek" in me isnt' the be-all-and-end-all of who I am, hence the "off-topics chat". I see that there are other chat threads here on other subjects - a bike race, fitness, etc. It was not opened to be "exclusionary", but a "gathering place".

Last, but not least, Chad writes: ((bolded by me))
-------------------------------
Quote:
Originally Posted by abhorredlife
I specifically said I was NOT making a KGB ONLY thread! All were welcome! I wanted to make a thread that helped people with issues and made them feel like the were not the only ones. I specifically asked to keep it pg and keep it from being a dating site. I still feel like the mods dropped the ball. I feel as if they just don't want to do their job and moderate the offensive and potentially hurtful posts here on Crack Berry, while still letting people voice their opinions and thoughts. I appreciate the explanation and I trust on Monday morning you will do the right thing.

Thanks
-abhorred life (will)

Posted from my Crack Berry at wapforums.crackberry.com


My only question is why do you need to make a thread that helps people? If they have issues about there personal lives they need to consult a doctor. If they have problems with there BB they need to consult CB.com. Plain and simple... True or False?
Chad~
------------------------------------------------------
yet will wrote:


I specifically said I was NOT making a LGBT ONLY thread! All were welcome! I wanted to make a thread that helped people with issues and made them feel like the were not the only ones. I specifically asked to keep it pg and keep it from being a dating site. I still feel like the mods dropped the ball. I feel as if they just don't want to do their job and moderate the offensive and potentially hurtful posts here on CrackBerry, while still letting people voice their opinions and thoughts. I appreciate the explanation and I trust on monday morning you will do the right thing.

Thanks
-abhorredlife (will)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Chad - I find it disconcerting that you mis-quoted Will. If you're going to change what someone posted, it is common professional courtesy to note what you changed from the original post.

[Click]

All I did was click on the quick quote button. But please show me what I "Changed"?? I read both and they looked the same.... Maybe I'm still learning how to read.... The only thing I see, is that there isnt a space in crackberry from what Will posted and I quoted...Hmmmm