An Appeal for Civility

[Shane Adams]

Storm Track Members and Moderators,

I would like to thank Lanny Dean, Randy Cooper, Joey Ketchum and anyone else that stood up for me.

I would've but I was banned

 

[Connor McCrorey]

I would've but I was banned

What he said!

*miscellaneous text to meet the minimum length requirement*

 

[Jason Boggs]

One more thing I wanted to bring up. You all need to realize at some point, you will cross paths while chasing. So fighting in here might not bod well.

Personally, I wouldn't say anything on here that I wouldn't say to someones face out in the field. I'm not the type of person that hides behind a computer.

 

[Jason Foster]

See, the thing is...storm chasing in general was always about helping teach new folks the ropes....it came down to safety and the character of the people that started this hobby. As we see these days, there are a lot of unsafe situations, growing each year with the crowds.

There have always been chasers that don't want to teach anyone, whether it's because they wish to keep the action to themselves, don't have much patience, or recognize themselves as poor teachers. But these chasers have typically stayed off the mainstream and kept out of sight for the most part, recognizing that the attention will bring inquisitive minds.

Unfortunately, on this board and many others, there are folks with advanced knowledge that go out of the way to pester and dissuade newbies from joining in with those that are willing to teach. Sometimes it is for greed, sometimes it is just an elitist attitude they don't self-realize. For whatever reason they exist.

I think the first step in being civil and respectful, is just for each and every side to understand the differences between each other, that not every person is going to fit every ideal you (he/she) may have. After that, you build on the respect.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

With that said, I began looking around this place and seeing how posts and threads were/are handled. I seen some things that I personally didn't care for. I had some post that would suddenly vanish. They were non-inflammatory. So that got me thinking, what gives? Then I could see what looked like favoritism, of course I didn't want to make accusations that point. I would rather have all of my facts straight before I confront anyone. At this point, I still question this issue. I feel most people are afraid to do this, in fear of retribution of a MOD.

If there is ever a question regarding a moderator action, feel free to PM us. I am always open to trying to answer questions. I've received PMs about this kind of thing before, and I never hesitate to respond and help deal with the situation. Even if it wasn't me that took the action (due to being out-of-pocket or whatever), I will always accept a PM asking about the it, and I'll do my best to look into the matter.

I can count the number of times someone has PMed me about a moderator action on one hand. Instead, people will usually start a new thread or post in an existing one and come after the mods or take the flame war to a new level. IMHO, any discussion regarding any kind of action is between the moderator staff and the individual receiving the infractions. Some may disagree with me, but this is just what I think.

Remember the mod staff are human, too. That means that we are prone to mistakes and snap judgments just like anyone else. When several posts/threads are started by members going off on an infraction that just inflame the situation and literally dare the staff to thrown down a ban, I don't know why someone would really be surprised when that happens. It's simple human nature to respond when challenged. Sometimes the response is appropriate; sometimes it's too severe.

As far as posts "mysteriously vanishing," I guess in a perfect world, a PM would be sent every time we deleted someone's post. If an infraction or warning is sent, I think that serves as the notification. If we are trying to clean up a thread that has gotten out-of-hand but might not be infraction worthy, it's a lot easier to delete the posts rather than send individual PMs to 25 people. I suppose I could use the CC feature in PMs or post a bold-faced "MOD NOTE" in the thread, but sometimes I don't think of that.

One more thing I wanted to bring up. You all need to realize at some point, you will cross paths while chasing. So fighting in here might not bod well.

Chad brings up a good point. Most of us have never met each other. However, I can't remember how many times I've run across someone in the field, and after introductions, we both say, "Hey, aren't you on Stormtrack?"

Some people in here are members of other weather forums, while others are not. The internet has made the world much smaller, and in a hobby that is as small as ours, it's even more so. Reputations tend to spread like wildfire.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Bob while I commend you with this appeal. IMO that might be impossible. I am not sure how many members there are. A quick search showed 1,255. I could have sworn I seen a post saying 4,000 plus. Either way that's a lot of people. I agree with Tim, we are dealing with different backgrounds and cultures. You all might want to keep this in mind, including myself.

Thanks for the commendation, Chad. I have no idea what got you punted from the forum, but I appreciate your comments in your post here. And yeah, I had a sense from the start, when I wrote the initial post, that it probably wouldn't make a difference. But I'd finally gotten to the point where I felt I needed to say something regardless.

My initial entreaty to the storm chasing community was for civility towards each other--that is, to demonstrate mutual respect, precisely because everyone is different, has different levels of knowledge and experience, different outlooks and opinions, etc. I don't see that treating others the way we'd like to be treated ourselves threatens anyone's rugged individualism, free thinking, or machismo. If anything, it ought to encourage more people here to express their differences and to ask questions, knowing that the priority is to understand, clarify, grow, assist, and enrich each other even in our disagreements rather than to needlessly hammer on each other. Civility doesn't mean being a wimp. It just means expressing one's convictions in a way that's likelier to produce a more positive impact than bashing a person will accomplish.

Anyway, the discussion quickly moved off topic to the subject of individual rights--a different concern altogether, which belonged in a different thread. Forum threads take on a life of their own, though, and it seems to me that the discussion, while heated, may prove to have been profitable. That's my hope, anyway.

For the record, I've never reported anyone's post. Not ever. I think there were posts that deserved to get reported in that last foray; it's just not what I'm about. The reason I'm here isn't to play moral policeman--it's to share with the rest of you in our common passion for storm chasing. As for this thread, I've made my points, including my take on the rules of the Stormtrack forum versus the so-called rights of members. So, while I've said more than I anticipated saying, I'm probably done commenting at this point. Frankly, I hope so. I'm tired of the subject, and I wish like anything that another October 18, 2007, would come along and bring this poor, convectively malnourished Great Lakes chaser one last blast before the snows fly.

 

[Jim wyman]

Wow, what a thread!!!!

Made for some very interesting reading.

Bob, I commend you for you civility and respectful way you handle this topic. There soooooooooooooo much I could comment on but it has already been covered here probably....

But I will say this, I thank God I am living on the right side of the dirt!

What a great day!

Jim