I think I'll answer this. Should clarify my thinking and 'institutional history' on these questions. Feel free to chime in but let's not get too hung up on this.
Most importantly, it’s a revelation to me that moderating powers are so circumscribed. Knowing they are is comforting.
There should be a sticky explaining what moderators and administrators have the power to do, and not do.
No, I think I'll leave it to the reader to decide how much they want to know about the forum software and how much of their time and energy they want to spend learning it. SMF has very good documentation and support. If you have concerns about the back-end workings of the fora, take advantage of that.
these forums are mostly about the troubled parent industry, thought reform and such like topics.
This has always been a big point with me. There should be some expectations as users (customers) on how our posts will be handled and/or what the rules are.
Again, let the buyer be as wary as they feel the need to be. I'm not yo mama.
1. Private Messages carry an implied security that the posts will not end up on the open forum. This has been proven not to be true over and over again and was violated again today when a survivors personal information was reposted on the open forum by a fornits moderator because she didn’t agree with him.
See above, the privacy of your pms is only as good as the integrity of the person to whom you send them.
2. If you have a user name and cannot log in is it okay to post as a guest? Apparently not. I have been harassed all day because of this. I indicated that the moderator (psy) could tag my posts if he liked, but I was asked to leave the forum if I wasn’t logged in.
It's ok with me. It may annoy others. They're as free to be annoyed and to express it as you are to do it. Have lots of good fun!
I think there should be a set of rules for admins to follow and what we can expect as users of the fornits forum. There are many that do not want to post because they are not sure if they can speak openly and/or afraid to rock the boat with their opinions with fear their personal information will be exposed here.
Vote with your feet. I miss that li'll 'Boycott Fornits" smily guy. And please, people, don't give sensitive private information to strangers. What do I look like, yo mama?
Maybe a list of rules or assurances as we enter the individual forums would help, i.e. what are the admins and mods allowed or not allowed to do.... what personal information to they have access to.... can all admins and mods read the personal messages?...... Can they review these messages and make this information public if they like.
Again, do your own homework, make your own assessments, watch your own back yard and I mine. If you feel strongly that things should be done in the way you describe, well then by all means take some of the ample time you'll have on your hands now that you're not posting to Fornits to
run your own damned forum.
