If You Were A Moderator

[theag]

 

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[Vigilante]

If you were a moderator, or if you owned the forum...

What would you do differently to make this forum better?

Anything goes. Great answers/suggestions/ideas will get you rep$$.

Suggesting MJ fire me might get your IP address banned.

Go.

 

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[IceCreamKid]

Bring back INSIDERS Calls.

Remove penis contest threads such as the ubermensch race. Zero value in threads discussing who has the biggest penis.

Find a way to limit the newbie noise. I get it, we all started out as newbies...but there has to be some kind of process to limit the noise.

 

[Jake]

Some sort of filter for the INSIDERS area besides $.

Time/Rep/personal credentials or other means to keep spies and lurkers out. Maybe an updated list of who's on the inside. It could be members are invited in by other members that they've personally met.

Maybe a 2nd tier of insidership that I probably won't be invited to lol (maybe it already exists?)

Cut down on the amount of forums. It's not always easy deciding where to place a new topic. The only way I view the forum is by new posts.

Besides that..great place. Great set of Mods.

 

[biophase]

How about letting users know how many other members are ignoring them. This would give them an idea that something is wrong or they aren't being received well.

I always wonder if some of the people i ignore have any idea how bad their posts are.

 

[Andy Black]

If You Were A Moderator

​

• ... you'd wonder WTF a lot of drive-by spammers are thinking when they drop their thinly veiled value adding POS content that ends in a signup to their low value POS offer.
  
  
• ... you'd happily swing the ban hammer whilst singing "First post spam? Delete and ban!"
  
  
• ... you'd be sooo thankful for the community that reports spam posts so the mods can remove them without having to spend hours trawling the place finding them (@jon.a in particular - thanks Jon!).
  
  
• ... you'd know that one mod spends his time volunteering for the Red Cross, another mod spent his time volunteering to mentor young first time offenders, and another spends an inexplicable amount of time railing against the stoopidity of the masses when he probably often just wants to throw his hands in the air and leave us to our own devices.
  
  
• ... you'd ROFL at the some of the behind the scenes comments coming from the other mods
  
  ...... which are sometimes: ,
  
  ...... but more often: , , , , ,
  
  
• ... you'd realise that being a "moderator" means just that. You're there to moderate the more unruly, not to force your opinions, values, or agenda on anyone else.
  
  
• ... you'd be EVEN MORE THANKFUL for what the other mods have done to make this place the safe haven online that it is.
  
  
• ... you'd realise that when cynical and jaded guys hit middle age, then just a plain old "Thank You" is totally unexpected and therefore incredibly appreciated.

Thank you mods.

Thank you MJ.

And thank you forum members for making this the best forum online.

 

[Kingmaker]

Maybe add a dislike/neg rep or even just a warning level to help track/weed out toxic members.

On forums where you can 'neg' people it quickly becomes a "whoever has more rep is always right" game. I think the rep system is fine as is. Putting someone on ignore works well for the toxic people.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I quit contributing to this forum because you "Liked" every attack on me by Waisech and others.

Sorry to hear this. A shame really.

All us have to learn how to have thicker skins. It's almost a skill that must be practiced, like copy writing, sales, playing tennis.

Had I quit contributing because some other member "liked" a comment or attack in which I disagreed with, I would have quit contributing about 8 days after I created the forum. If everyone stops contributing because not everyone agrees, we'd cease to exist.

Not any one person on this forum represents a forum consensus.

In fact, any contributing user who is not in a banned status, is an opinion we value. We may not agree with it, but it doesn't mean it's not welcome, regardless of likes, comments, etc. If your opinion is problematic (threatening, trolling, spamming) you are simply removed. There is no gray area. You're appreciated here, or you're not.

I don't want to derail this thread but allow me to interject.

I would highly recommend reading "Thick Face, Black Heart". If you allow it, it will change your life.

Here's the basic essence of Thick Face, Black Heart - The Shield and The Spear...

Thick Face (Shield) is having such a positive self-image that the criticism of others have no effect on you in any way.

Black Heart (Spear) is the ability to take action without regard to how the consequences will affect others. Ruthlessness (non-destructive) but not evil.

"Thick Face and Black Heart are two sides of the same coin. When one possesses the strength of Thick Face, one can ignore the criticism and disapproval of the masses. This same strength is also the source of the Black Heart; it allows one to effectively use the spear to cut through the ignorant and preconceived ideas of the masses."

Thank you, a better way of saying it. And yes, Thick Face/Black Heart is a recommended forum read for building our immunity to attack, either directly or indirectly. The forum definitely strengthens this muscle.

 

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[LightHouse]

I'd ban MJ and rename this place The Billionaire Jestlane and ban everyone but Ubermench and RichFace and then sell it off to Bravo Tv.


I get the idea of wanting to constantly improve, but this is the best kept business forum out there. I contribute more on very very private forums because i'm mostly pretty private, (or a private part).. but really, this is the only "forum" I am even apart of anymore. Only because MJ laughs at my jokes.

The forum is cleared of spam constantly, threads that are removed are removed, threads that seem like they need to be locked but don't, don't. All of the moderators do a pretty outstanding job... besides Vig, he is too busy trying to brush sand off his feet to make anything happen anymore.

Just keep on keepin on boys (and girls), y'all got business' to run.

 

[jon.a]

A new member title...

"Rare Contributor"

I just read the 4th ever post by someone who has been here for 3 years.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

A drip system for filtering new users before they gain the ability to post in the main forum.

Start with a forum for new member introductions & questions. Sticky common question answers. Allow only moderators, or perhaps those with enough time/rep etc. to respond to this forum to ensure it doesn't get cluttered with nonsense and negativity.

Also sticky instructions for the next steps to take to gain full access. Maybe a short course on Fastlane ideology. Or maybe something as simple as a hand-written, username signed copy of the rules emailed to a moderator for approval. If they aren't willing to take some kind of action from the get go they may not be right for this community.

Before Asking a Question

Maybe add a pop-up before new threads are created with a simple reminder of places to check for answers before posting a question that's been posted a hundred times.

Here's an example from Elegant Theme support.

 

[Dwee]

I think profanity directed towards other members of the forum should be grounds for a serious warning and potentially be grounds for banning. It seems like it's on the rise lately. It's one thing to critically assess someone's ideas and to call them "S___", but to straight up say "F___ you, F__ yourself, you're a B_____ etc" or something of that nature to the other members is simply childish and troll like behavior.

It doesn't personally offend me (Heck I've fished commercially for years and it's true what they say about sailors!), but I think it could send a bad message to newcomers that come here looking for insight and guidance. Or who knows maybe it shows them they need to develop a thick skin.....

My two cents.

 

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[Vigilante]

It's not a business forum so the comparison might be a bit off but it has a larger amount of members and they are much more "wild" and the warning system helps mods keep track of unruly posters.

We just ban 'em. "Zero F*cks given."

 

[RHL]

So much good stuff. I want to echo the request for more tool-kit like threads, especially inside. Everybody knows that a lot of the pain of breaking into a new business or getting started isn't the novel aspect, it's doing the crap a zillion people have done a zillion times before but nobody taught you in school. It's tough because I know with our limited resources (the mods aren't experts in every area, neither are the members) producing a consistent pot of these is tough. Andy Black's threads would be some of the gold-standard ones in this area.

Also, randomly, you know what else would really give this forum a boost?

If MJ could finish that next book.

Wink wink nudge nudge.

 

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[theag]

Two demerits

You wish you had that negative button now, right?

 

[AllenCrawley]

I don't want to derail this thread but allow me to interject.

Vigilante, I quit contributing to this forum because you "Liked" every attack on me by Waisech and others. I went from looking forward to contributing, to never wanting to add value to it. If you want to make this forum better, I suggest you start with yourself.

I would highly recommend reading "Thick Face, Black Heart". If you allow it, it will change your life.

Here's the basic essence of Thick Face, Black Heart - The Shield and The Spear...

Thick Face (Shield) is having such a positive self-image that the criticism of others have no effect on you in any way.

Black Heart (Spear) is the ability to take action without regard to how the consequences will affect others. Ruthlessness (non-destructive) but not evil.

"Thick Face and Black Heart are two sides of the same coin. When one possesses the strength of Thick Face, one can ignore the criticism and disapproval of the masses. This same strength is also the source of the Black Heart; it allows one to effectively use the spear to cut through the ignorant and preconceived ideas of the masses."

 

[marklov]

Maybe add a dislike/neg rep or even just a warning level to help track/weed out toxic members.

 

[Dami-B]

I want to thank all the moderators for the outstanding work they do, to whip this forum into shape.

Anything that fosters and improves our relationship and communication in the fastlane family, will contribute to the success of the forum.

We should have a Moderators day, where moderators get to do something creative for themselves.

Also Awards for outstanding individuals.

We can also increase the frequency of the guest AMA'S, the ones we had this year were very inspiring and informative, but if we can get more guest AMA'S in addition to the forum members invaluable AMA contributions, I think that will increase the quality of the forum.

And if we can bring back INSIDERS call, that will be nice.

 

[LightHouse]

I think the longer you hang out, the more you will start to see the forum self regulate. Posers tend to get exposed. The problem we have with any form of credential is :
1. the term fastlaner is subjective, and
2. there's nobody that can take the time to physically vet everyone (we get several hundred thousand visits per month)

So, from a formalized recognition standpoint, that's not going to happen. However, your sentiments have been echoed by many over the years, and the forum's best defense is to continue to call out bullshit and self regulate. The ignore feature is also a great tool to mitigate extra noise. We stop short of the Reddit type amateur sleuthing, but bullshit tends to rise to the top. We're pretty aggressive also in the back office about managing obvious manipulation or abuse of the good will of the posters at large.

We do what we can. Good idea, but it's not likely to be anything we can realistically implement.

Not to mention the inverse effect that could have. Just because your a "fastlaner" doesnt meant people should automatically trust you or that you are here just for goodwill. People would start to listen or read only those with tags, and lets be real, that's asking for issues.

The real world isn't tagged and vetted either, so spend sometime honing your bullshit meter here before you step out and you'll be ready for anything.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

i am fed up

I think this is the 5th time you announced your departure, not to mention a prior banning. I have no idea what prompted this (haven't been at the forum much today) but I'm guessing you hijacked another thread with more of your tangential rants that do nothing but derail the original topic.

Incidentally, the MODS perform their duties at the BEHEST of the members who report posts as nuisances or hijacks. So perhaps your gripe isn't with the MODS, but with the MEMBERS who continually report your posts as noise.

i am fed up with moderators's limited understanding of life and i quit posting on this forum

for ever.

and i am fed up with your limited understanding that not everyone here wants to hear your latest philosophical musings in an eCommerce thread.

And BTW, the last time you left "forever" it was 2 months. Some forever.

Incidentally, I thought your latest forum posts where more measured and appropriate hence why you were never re-banned (after your original ban and new account was discovered) so I have no clue what "mod action" prompted this. I haven't deleted any of your posts in months, and I see nothing in the mod logs recently either.

So perhaps you're hyperventilating over nothing, which wouldn't surprise me.

For someone so supposedly enlightened, you flip-and-snip whenever the wind blows the wrong way.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

I would

• Make the forum rules more visible on the front page, so people don't have to scroll down to see them. (We are lazy!!)

• Include this sentence from the About page in the popup, as a constant reminder:

"Look at this forum as a CEO boardroom composed of half women, half men."

• And maybe get an undercover mod, who specialices on shoving newcomers in the right direction.

 

[Vigilante]

Bring back INSIDERS Calls.

Remove penis contest threads such as the ubermensch race. Zero value in threads discussing who has the biggest penis.

Find a way to limit the newbie noise. I get it, we all started out as newbies...but there has to be some kind of process to limit the noise.

Agreed. In fairness to him, he didn't start that recent thread.

@AllenCrawley let's get the next INSIDERS call scheduled

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Reduce or limit the pointless or repeat threads. Maybe this can be done by flagging threads with certain words or phrases in them like "should i learn how to code" and refer them to the ONE post that covers that topic. One thing that I've seen over the past few years is a dip in overall quality of posts, and it's now to the point that I don't even read most of them. I remember years ago reading every post.

Create a sarcastic and degrading category called "Please answer my life questions for me" or "Can you Google this for me?" so people know to post their stupid questions in that category, while the category title alone kills over 50% of the posts due to public humiliation.

Already implemented... it's call the Landfill. Take a look at the noise for yourself!

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/forums/the-landfill.143/

Create a sarcastic and degrading category called "Please answer my life questions for me" or "Can you Google this for me?"

LOL, people can't even post in the right category right now. Think they will voluntary post there? Not a chance. Everyone thinks their "do I learn to code" and "do I go to college" situation is special and unique. If you spent the time I spend moving threads into their right categories, you'd see just how complicated a simple category selection is for most people.

 

[Andy Black]

As you can see @theag 's post above. 4 words yet takes up so much space. On my chromebook that's the entire screen.

Indeed, @theag doesn't need many words to take over.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this idea... how about a "gold post" function?

We have GOLD threads. Why not GOLD, specific, individual posts?

I would give the above quoted, posted by @biophase in another thread, an example of such a post.

The wisdom in the words "lies" in their double-meaning.

Get it?

Thanks, this has been on my wish list for some time. I just found a plugin that might do the trick.

Many times some threads suck, but have one GREAT post buried within it ... this would help expose such gold.

Stay tuned...

 

[Vigilante]

If I were a moderator, I would ban all of the jackasses.

Oh wait...

 

[SquatchMan]

I'd change MJ's badge to say:

Wrote the Millionaire Fastlane

 

[kph200]

I would highly appreciate if we can bookmark post and threads so it will be easy to search. Sometimes searching posts consumes lots of time.

P.S: I know it can be done if you have INSIDERS subscription, but non INSIDERS sometimes have heck of a time finding favorite post.

 

[adoredunchin]

Two things:

1. Ignore thread function
Some threads just make you bang your head to the wall after reading the first 3 posts. I don't need to see that thread ever again.

2. Invite-only INSIDERS-inside
jake already mentioned that. Alot of people are afraid of copycats and won't even post markets anymore (Not that it would matter often). But some kind of invite-only would make it a save area to talk about stuff you only tell people you know.
It could be even a invite by vote or something. So everyone knows who gets in and who not.

p.S to the guys talking about bookmarking thread/posts: INSIDERS can save each post and tag them.

 

[IGP]

How about a feature that measures your likes vs. posts and allows you certain privileges.

For example:
If your like to post ratio is less than 1:1 you are most likely providing no value and you would need to get your likes back up by helping people before you could have access to a certain forums, threads or be able to create new posts etc.

If your like to post ratio is 1:1 you are providing a little bit of value or at least breaking even and you can perform "X"

If your like to post ration is 2:1 you are providing some value and you can perform X, & Y

3:1 = X,Y,Z
4:1 = Almost Everything
5+:1 = Everything


This would take some programming logic, but at least we already have the like/post data. We would just need to define the rules of each tier and go from there.

This would also help to limit the mundane, ridiculous and silly questions/threads/responses people give since they know that the quality of their post will directly impact their status.

In theory, it should do 2 things:
1. Get rid of the worthless stuff
2. Increase the quality of the good stuff