Its the same old story seen in every office,workplace,building site I have worked in or visited both here and around the world so I hope everyone can draw the analogy......
On the one hand we have the'Management' and on the other hand we have the 'Workers'.....The Managment have the job of getting the best from the Workers,keeping things on an even keel,making sure the workplace runs smoothly and the Workers who think they can run the company better than those who actually do so(for the shareholders usually)and wonder why some(if not all)of those at the'top'have a job of any sort!!
Some of the problems in this relationship are caused by either side(and'sides'in all companies most definitely exist!)not fully realising what the other does.....Management fails,occasionally,to see,or care about the Workers lot(unless its Christmas when pressies or small bonuses such as free turkeys are handed out etc)and most definitely fail to see why,with a bit of thought(that if they were to adjust attitudes slightly)inter- relationships could be improved...Workers on the other hand see Management as'Big Brother'in many cases-all they see are (free)lunches,big cars,nice suits etc etc,and never,for one minute stop to think of how the company runs,why it is successful or the number of extra hours put in(usually at the weekend when the workers are relaxing!)to make the company run(generally)like clockwork.....
....and God help you if,as a Worker you are asked to'go upstairs'and join Management-likely as not you will never really be accepted as a true part of'the boys who run things'nor will you be able to maintain that good ol'one of the boys'thing that existed downstairs......
......and maybe this is(some)of the problem-do'we',(the general posters)who pop onto the site for a quick look-see fully realise just what the Moderators do,how much time they put in(that we take for granted)what constraints they work under(following and interpretating what comes down from the'top'management)and always making sure(as far as possible)that everything runs smoothly and that general Law or decency is not breached.............
I have to say that it seems(to me)to be a thankless task...whatever you do as Moderator you will never please everyone and invariably you will be blamed for all ills or,much,much worse,have to deal with comments from some that defy belief........some, it seems,said just to keep up a general'slagging off'of the Mods and much said under the disguise of 'humour'....the later sometimes in very poor taste..
The Moderators also have a case to answer though-in my case(on this thread)a post was'amended'by a Mod without,it seemed to me,any justifiable reason I can understand and,even more annoying without any explanation!....I asked why this was done and recieved an answer which,to be honest I still don't really understand but I cannot be bothered to persue it.
However,it makes me feel I have to consider,and reconsider everything I write which for me makes posting become a chore rather than an enjoyment....
Fairly recently(some weeks ago)I posted a short,seemingly amusing'add-on'reply to another post which had lots of Ha! Ha! Ha! contained within it.I said something like"that also caused me to s****** as well"(or words to that effect) only to find the word'S******'had been erased from my post(possibly automatically,possibly not,)and I was absolutely furious and considered leaving FM!!
I took great exception to the fact that a word from the English language,found in all dictionaries was being removed without explanation.....for the life of me I could not(at the time)understand why and even now the only explanation I can come up with is that if the letter 's' is removed we end up with a word totally unacceptable and unlawful.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD(THAT HAS BEEN ERASED) IS 'TO LAUGH IN A HALF SUPRESSED WAY'
If this is the case I am absolutely staggered and words fail me BUT I DO realise that others might read the post and make some 'play' on the word which could cause offence so I had a rethink and let the subject drop.....
All I'm trying to say is that a 'gap' can(and does)develop between Mods and general posters IF explanations are not given for actions taken-that is when offence comes to the fore....we ALL need to know WHY this,or that is being done.....................NO different to the 'Workers and Management' scenario given above...
Anyway I think FM is great and long may it continue,improving as it goes along!
The Mods do a good job and the Posts are always great....JUST NOT ALWAYS!!!!
