Keeping the Forum A Friendly Place

[zeta1454]

Just a reminder that the Forum is here for people to share experience, information and advice and for members to ask questions re their schnauzers without feeling they are going to instigate an inflammatory argument or be a target for personal criticism.

We all have strongly held views on a number of issues where our dogs are concerned and want to defend them, of course. However, it is easy to slip into a confrontation which becomes a fiery topic in its own right and is unlikely to be helpful to the OP or anyone following the thread as well as giving a bad impression to those who may be browsing the Forum with the intention of joining.

By all means state your point of view on any topic but please do not let your arguments take on a life of their own and dominate a post by someone else. If you feel there is a serious issue on someone's post that should be addressed independently then you can start a new topic to discuss this or to express your views and feelings.

The Forum is one of the most friendly and helpful places to discuss our schnauzers that I have found, compared to many social media sites, and there are a growing number of members here with useful advice and information to share - please let's keep it that way

[Schnauzer Sam]

I think this is a helpful reminder from Leigh.

I love visiting this forum and have found it to be very helpful, informative and supportive. That said, I did notice some edgy responses on a few recent posts from members that I have found to be very knowledgeable and helpful to me, and the forum at large, and I appreciated all of them being willing to share their experiences and knowledge with me so I could have a clearer understanding of my schnauzers and how to care for them.

Let's try and move on, leave the scabs unpicked to heal quicker, and celebrate our shared love for the beard; after all, that's why we're here

[Riesen16]

I feel that a member should be allowed to state what he/she feels.

If this is not an option, then ok, but i find the posts have some relation to my posts. I would prefer if they were addressed directly.

[zeta1454]

Hi Gillian, there is no problem with anyone stating their view or opinion but it occasionally and unintentionally happens that a post on a particular topic can be overwhelmed with arguments that are not the intended focus of that original post. However, it is certainly open to any member to raise a topic of their own to discuss an issue which is important to them (and may have been triggered by a statement on a different thread) and that way the focus of the original post is not lost and the new issue can be discussed separately and with shared respect for any differences of opinion

[Dawnspell]

I think sometimes the problem is we only ever know each other through typing which is totally different to speaking face to face. People can read the same sentence in a different way, some will think its funny other be offended, others indifferent.

The forum has been really quiet this past few years but as Leigh and myself know there have been some very heated threads which have literally got out of hand in a matter of hours just because of a simple comment that to be honest sometimes I've read back through the threads to see where it started and thought, Hmmm bit of an over reaction.

That's humans for you. So much easier if we were dogs, one quick bum sniff

[Riesen16]

That's humans for you. So much easier if we were dogs, one quick bum sniff

So true

[jacdales]

lol. Be more dog, I like that. sniff like and walk away or have a friendly tussle. I'm not growing a beard though lol

[Riesen16]

I agree, this forum should be kept friendly, but if someone finds it abusive, if a non-native user regards his dog as "it", I had no option but to retaliate.

A moderator could have intervened in the first place???

[zeta1454]

A moderator could have intervened in the first place???

I can only speak for myself as moderator on this but, as I see it, any member can express their view on an issue or state their reaction to a comment or stance by another as long as they are not being personally abusive or using language intended to abuse or offend. I do not consider my role is to limit members from expressing their views including those which others may take exception to in their own right, as long as they do not contravene Forum rules. The distinctions may be blurry at times but, if someone feels offended by a post / views expressed on a topic they should be at liberty to state that even if there may be others who disagree with that reaction. I did try to intervene on the topic you refer to when I saw that the debate over the interpretation of language used by a non-native speaker was taking over the original post and diverting attention from the OP's request for advice re her puppy's health issue but my attempt failed and the argument between several Forum members escalated to the point where I felt the best option was to remove all unrelated posts and restore the topic to its original purpose. Although the statement that offended you was also removed this was simply to avoid the issue recurring on this particular thread - it may have been interpreted as confrontational but it was not personally abusive and, as an expression of how a member felt about the words used by the OP (and they were not the only one to express concern on this), it did not contravene Forum rules or require moderator intervention at that point.

The topic of the use of language itself may be raised as a separate issue if anyone wants to debate this under a general heading and misunderstandings over words or phrases used are definitely not confined to those posting from a non-English speaking country so I do agree that it is important for members to be aware of this when posting a topic or replying to one. It is also important to recognise that once a point has been made and comprehensively replied to it is better to stand back from further diversionary debate on another member's topic.

The joy of being a moderator Encouraging debate but trying to keep everyone happy is not an easy task!

[mikegoodson1]

Hi Leigh

I like the way the forum moderators take a 'stand back' approach to posts unless there is a blatant flouting of forum rules, like you said, this ensures open and honest debate. And being a member for only a short time, I know there are topics where we all have different thoughts/opinions - this should be encouraged (as you do) because (and please excuse the English term), there is "more than one way to skin a cat".

In terms of that post from the chap referring to his dog as "it", I was also one of the original people to suggest to him we get the puppies name, however at the time, I don't recall him ever replying to that request. I appreciate he had serious concerns over the welfare of his puppy and that these should take priority above everything else but also expecting a bit of common courtesy from all members shouldn't be too much to ask

You all (moderators) do a great job and we are very lucky to have this forum.

Thank you to all the moderators who put up with us

Kind regards
Mike