PDA

View Full Version : Should reports meet minimum Posting Guidelines?



Admin
01-23-04, 07:07
Greetings everyone,

A few months ago I proposed a relatively limited set of minimum posting requirements, which after a period of public comment, were made a part of this Forum's operating policies.

These Posting Guidelines may be reviewed by selecting the "Posting Guidelines" link in the left side menu bar, but they essentially encourage Forum Members to use standard capitalization and punctuation. Chat room format is specifically discouraged. The Posting Guidelines do not require good grammer, good writing, or correct spelling.

Since these Guidelines were enacted, I have noticed an appreciable improvement in the quality of the contributions to the Forum. However, I have also observed that a number of Senior Members are completely ignoring these minimum requirements, and also that a very small number of formerly active regular members have quit posting altogether.

Personally, I believe that the tradeoff in the loss of a small handful of member's reports is greatly offset by the improved readability of the current reporting, but now that I have activated the Forums survey function, I though I'd bring the subject up for debate again and perhaps benefit from a more statistical analysis of the membership's opinions on the subject.

Thanks,

Jackson

Lucky888
01-23-04, 08:15
Good formatting, punctuation, etc. leads to higher caliber reports and forum content. Chat-like formatting will lead to chat-like content, personal attacks and other less-useful topics.

My belief is this: if you have time to contribute useful information or ask a question not previously addressed in the forums, then you have the time to make it readable.

Also, I personally am not nearly as likely to respond to a post that is formatted or written poorly, even if I'm nearly an expert when it comes to answering their question.

Jackson, I'd like to say I truly appreicate the time you take to review and correct posts which do not follow the guidelines.

SeniorCitizen
01-23-04, 14:05
There is enough to do in this world without having to struggle through a semi-comprehensible report. That said I'm not a great typist and am subject to typos; spell check was invented with me in mind, and a spell checker would be helpful to me. I think we also need to cut some slack where English is not the poster's first language; I would hate to lose the information in the non U.S postings.

Hi Senior Citizen,

I agree with your point about the need to relax the guidelines where English is the poster's second language, and that's why I have incorporated this concept into the Posting Guidelines from the beginning. Of course, I also recognize that all Latin based languages share the same fundamental concepts of capitalization and punctuation.

Thanks,

Jackson

Toxic
01-24-04, 01:14
I like the guidelines. I also think it helps keep kids off this site, which could be some of the regular members who aren't posting. I also know my reports have not been perfect, and I have never had a problem posting here before. So I know the rules are reasonable and some mistakes can be over looked. Plus a lot of people don't go to chat rooms, so they have no clue what someone using all the chat slang is talking about. I can see making some mistakes, as a lot of us are posting late at night or early in the mornings, maybe after a long night at the bars looking for some action, mongering, or ( we hope ) just left the hotel room.

Anyway, Thanks for running an above par site!

Dick for Brains
01-24-04, 01:30
I very much support the guidelines. I would hope that in the future, those senior members who were grandfathered in, but do not subscribe to the guidelines, be demoted to regular membership until their report are up to par.

Cali Monger
01-24-04, 09:02
I was a bit surprised when I started reading this board about the emphasis on proprer grammer. I'm one of those that used to get A's on creativity and D's on grammer and general behavior. I tend to want to write down a more rambling stream of thoughts. While I am 'cool' with organizing my writing into a more proper style, I do think it might put off some of the English as a 2nd (or 3rd or 6th) language posters. I could see how some of them might know enough English to post some good info, but might not post because of the grammer situation. I do want to say that I am not complaing and enjoy this board very much. Thanks.

Again, just to reiderate the current policy. I do not "punish" anybody for not adhering to the mininum requirements, and I do not simply delete the substandard reports. What I do is personally edit them to meet the Posting Guidelines. Therefor, I do not believe that someone for whom English is a 2nd language should feel intimitated. In fact, quite the opposite, because they know that I'm going to clean up their report before anybody sees it.

Of course, the basic rules of capitalization and puncutation are essentially the same across all Latin languages, so asking posters whose native language is not English to adhere to the minimum Posting Guidelines is not really asking a lot.

When I'm confronted with a situation where it's obvious that I'm editing a report submitted by someone who is not writing in their native language (and believe me I can tell), I generally do not add the "Editor's Note" at the bottom of the report.

I want to be clear here: I believe that the reports submitted by nationals living in their own countries are a valuable asset and represent this Forum's primary advantage over the pay sites. Thus I would never do anythng to discourage their participation.

Thanks,

Jackson

OttoGraham
01-24-04, 13:40
I think Jackson recognizes that nobody's language and grammar are PERFECT. However, when reading internet bulletin boards, what does grate on my nerves is the "chat room" or "SMS" style of posting, without any capitalization, with run-on sentences, and without punctuation. Write at least like the style you read in USA Today - you don't have to try to win any awards from the William Faulkner Foundation for high-falutin' language.

-Uncle Otto

NY Monger
01-24-04, 14:47
FWIW, I think some basic rules, and what Jackson posted are BASIC rules, is great and makes a huge difference. Without the rules, WSG faces the problem of 'shoot from the hip' posters who throw in poorly written, hard to understand comments that would detract from the board.

Toxic
01-25-04, 06:09
I want to add one more thing. I think Jackson does more then any other site provider! Most other sites would just delete anything that did not meet their rules. I personally don't see how he finds time to do it, but I'm glad he does.

I've always been nervous to post things on sites like this, I have been nervous to post on this one to, but after reading everything on this site from the hate mail to the letters to the editor, I feel a lot safer here. I even feel safe enough to start posting some people I know personally ( friends ) who provide services. I just have to make sure I follow the rules on that. I don't want people to think I'm advertising for a buisness.

Thanks for everyones time,

Toxic

Tbird
01-25-04, 07:15
I have no problem with the guidelines. I do not think it is too much to ask. An adult male who has reached a position in society that allows him to travel and monger internationally should be able to write in complete sentences, and express his ideas clearly.

Sporadic
01-26-04, 12:57
Keep the present guidelines, they tend to improve the signal to noise ratio. The allowances made for Nth language posters is both correct and well applied IMHO.

There is also the "give a damn" factor involved. The guidelines are no effort for a reasonable person, and I for one am not interested in sharing contacts / assistance with people who are not reasonable.

Cheers,

Sporadic

Devlin
01-30-04, 16:30
Don't change the guidelines! The rules are reasonable and help to keep order in the WSG.

Also, I appreciate all of Jackson's hardwork, the forum and its contributing members.

NC Blacksnake
01-30-04, 16:32
Without some minimal rules, we would have difficulty carrying on our conversations here. No one is expected to be a Pulitzer prize winning English major when they post here. But there should be some expectation of familiarity with grammar and punctuation.

Additionally, many people seem to forget that there isn't a RIGHT to a site like this. It is a privilege. If we can not follow the minimal guidelines that have been established, then we can find another site to frequent.

Just my two cents.

Country John
01-30-04, 19:09
I think it's important for us to be able to read through posts without having to do our own translating. Basics like simple punctuation are universal in amost any language so it shouldn't matter if you have trouble with the English Language, just observe the liberal punctuation rules and we'll all get the most out of every post.

Be Safe and BE NICE

Country John

Otter Trax
01-30-04, 20:47
I notice compared to the archives there are majority of posts asking for all take and no give. There used to be alot more hard information coming from posts rather than what we have now:

Which is "where are the best girl friendly hotels" and "where do you find all the hotties for bbbj's".

Now that private messaging is enable (a good thing), posters (senoir members) have to use the boards to send messages requesting someone to check their pm's. I notice that some people get by with mild flamming, unpoliced. I notice some posters can get by with posting unintelligible compositions like they were written under the influence.

Often I am frustrated that as a regular member, my info is often outdated or off topic by the time it appears on the board, if in fact it appears at all.

Otter

Hi Otter,

I appreciate your comments, but I'd like to make a few observations:

1. It's your responsibility as a Forum Member to use the "Report this post to a Moderator" function to report any flaming and/or "unintelligible compositions" in the Forum.

2. New reports by Regular Members are reviewed and apprived every 24 hours. Is this really creating a situation where your reports are "outdated or off topic by the time it appears on the board"?

Of course, as an alternative, I could just quit moderating the Forum, but then it would only take about 30 days for the place to be overrun with spammers, thus reducing it to a complete wasteland. Would you prefer this?

Thanks,

Jackson

Rocky Mtn Man
01-31-04, 02:03
It does not take much longer to write well. I like the guidlines the way they are. I think a bit more enforcment in the photo sections would be good. I do not like to go to a photo section and see response after response with nothing but opions when what I want to see is women.

Randy Farang
01-31-04, 03:30
Jackson,

I, for one, fully support your guidelines. A report that is merely a stream of consciousness drivel is difficult to digest, and tends to miss the critical points. From a Journalism class of long ago I recall that every report shoud include Who, What, When, Where, and since we all know Why I suppose we should substitute How.

After all, the purpose of this board was, I thought, to share important information with our fellow mongers. A good report will tell me what I probably want to try, or to avoid, by giving me enough information to make an informed decision. I strongly support any guideline that furthers that goal.

And, if I can make a further suggestion, I notice that the Photo Galleries of many nations are quickly being over-run with posters who neither post new pictures, nor confine their postings to discussion of the photos already there. I am sure that I am not Solomon enough to suggest a hard and fast rule/guideline in this area, but we are rapidly reaching the point where there may be as little as a single photo on each page of the gallery. Perhaphs someone might have a suggestion on how to get us back to a photo gallery actually being mostly interesting (or VERY interesting) photos.

Thanks again for all of your great work on the Forum.

Randy

One Man
01-31-04, 17:42
I support the current guidelines, although some allowance should be made for those from other countries whose english is not up to par.

TrashMan
01-31-04, 21:20
I have read most of the comments here regarding posting guidelines preferences and it's obvious that a rather clear majority of the poll takers and responders are on the same page with respect to the current guidelines being just fine. Furthermore, I do see Jackson spending a lot of time editing posts that must have been pretty bad. As he says, he takes into account those whose posts indicate that English may not be a native language and in fact refrains from adding his edited line on those. What about some of these total morons that keep doing it over and over and over again ad nauseum? At what point should they be prohibited from posting unless they can adhere to basic guidelines? Just curious on your thoughts on this. I know that posters are banned for spamming and other offenses that are clearly intentional, but this falls into a gray area I think.

Orientalovers
02-01-04, 08:06
I always, definitely support the present posting guideline preferences for this forum. As a regular member, I always like to stay at the forum and enjoy reading fellow members field report. Also, sometime I do post my field reports for other. The activating private message indeed make me feel very comfortable and convenient to discuss some related topics and events with fellow members directly.

Recently I found out that the forum has been missed use by members, especially new members. They try to ask repeating questions that had been posted regularly and lack of enthusiasm to use forum search services. Also, I hope English should be used in this forum. If other languages have to be use in between the sentences, at least a English translation word to be follow. That's why I always try my best to post my forum in English, although English is my second language.

In fact, the effort contributing by Jackson is very much appreciated. Thanks, Jackson. Keep it up.

As a regular member, my posting always delay for posting in the forum. Most of the time, my report/discussion/information will off topic or outdated. I understand that it is a necessary deterrent to serial spammers. Can we have a better idea to post our forum more on time and advance? I am puzzling about this!

Thanks for all of you try hard to keep this forum with me - FIRST CHOICE to log on.

Best regards from Beijing,

Octopussy

Hi,

I generally review and approve reports from Regular Members every 24 hours, so I'm somewhat mystified by comments that the delay of less than 24 hours is somehow throwing off the flow of the conversation.

Of course, there is the mistaken belief by some Members that the Forum is a chat room, which it isn't. To set the record straight, the Forum is an archive of Travel Reports, not a chat room.

Thanks,

Jackson

Anonymouse
02-01-04, 14:03
I for one tend to agree with Trahman regarding the guidlines in the forum. I would also like to point out that Its Jackson's money, time and effort that goes into making this such a useful forum. Its therefore his football and he gets to make the rules.
With that said perhaps a gallery discusion topic and restricting photo galleries to requiring an attachment would work to reduce the continued "chatter" that Jackson has already tried to control in various places

Doctor_Skank
02-01-04, 19:01
I am of the opinion that maintaining posting guidelines is essential to keeping the forum "legible"... it would be a shame if it would devolve into a chatroom.

I also think that some of the ideas posted below regarding an attachment requirement in the photo gallery sections are worthy of consideration. A few of the photo galleries in particular are frustratingly cluttered with useless posts.

I agree with everyone about the clutter in the Photo Gallerys, but I'm going to tackle one problem at a time.

Thanks,

Jackson

Stravinsky
02-01-04, 20:22
Jackson,

I fully support the posting guidelines as they are written and believe that they should be diligently applied. My thanks to you for the time and the effort that you invest in this process. As you have pointed out, without your diligence on our behalf, the WSG would soon become a wasteland.

However, I do have a bone to pick with you regarding the posting guidelines in so far as they relate to Senior Memership Status and the relation between the two.

It seems that after a member has posted for several months, and demonstrated their willingness and abilitiy to adhere to the posting guidelines, then Senior status should be pretty much automatic. However, there are pages and pages of members who have requested Senior status over the last 2 months, including this humble correspondent, who seem to be languishing in a sort of "Posting Guideline Purguratory".

I agree with Otter Trax, and I disagree with your assertion that posts can be made in a timely fashion every 24 to 48 hours. If you're talking about a board that hasn't been posted to in weeks, or even months, that may be true. On an active board, however, such as Moscow or Buenos Aires, a lot can happen in 24 hours. Entire conversations can be initiated, discussed, bantered about and concluded within that time frame. It tends to make the contributions of regular members superfluous.

I know you're busy, but... regular members who have adhered to the posting guidelines should be upgraded in a timely manner and allowed to participate freely in the process. You can always rein them in later on, if necessary.

IMHO

Stravinsky

I agree that I have been behind in making the Senior Member upgrades. The problem is that I'm here in the USA right now using a dial up connection, and it's just too slow to allow me to review reports in rapid succession. When I retun to BA in a few days, I will have my cable connection again, and making the Senior Membership upgrades will be my first priority.

Thanks,

Jackson

Admin
02-01-04, 22:17
FYI, here's a good example of the kind of "report" that I have to fix several times every day:

hey gpiper my bad is true the girl at remington charge 2000 pesos
wish is now about $40 us dollars....
but the dollars went up to 50 pesos for 1 us dollars about 2 month ago ....and 2 month ago when the dollars was 16 pesos
for 1 dollars they was still charging 1500 to 2000 pesos whis was about 80 to 100 dollars you understand what i'm saying
but now the situation is way better for us ...we get more for our money....but i bet you by the summer those girl gonna star charging ways more than that you will see....

Here's what it looks like after I edited it, which is what you see in the Forum:

Hey Gpiper,

My bad. It is true that the girls at Remington charge 2000 pesos, which is now about $40 USD. When the rate was 16 pesos per dollar, they were still charging 1500 to 2000 pesos, which was about 80 to 100 dollars. Do you understand what I'm saying?

But now the situation is way better for us. We get more for our money, but I'll bet you that by the summer those girls are going to start charging way more than that, you'll see.

Here's a couple more examples from today's queue:

hiii jsf and other member of the forum just back from dubai i was in dxb 26 27 28 and am really very thanksfull to jsf he gave me the no, of firoza i called her and ask her to send some one in my hotel she send christina but i wait for her 2 houres any way i was in crown plaza and i think this hotel is very girlfriendly no probs there she directly knock my door good bbbj and play she is really good but one problem is there she did not speak english next day i was bit busy with my work on 28 again called firoza to send some one in my hotel she sad i will send goola today she knock the door at 10 p.m. and i will tell you she is really amizing totly g/f expiriance very goooood bbbbj very goood on bad on talk she make me feeel so good n happy she is really very friendly and she speak o.k. english to i really had very goood time with her but this my short trip to dubai so can not enjoy more may be next time i do and jsf next time i wanna meet you to you are really a very nice guy buddy u help me allot tell me one thing why i can't login to wsg in dxb i went to cyber cafe try to logon but i can't why like that jsf any way thanks for everything mat if you need anything from bombay ask me anytime i will do my best to you buddy o.k. everybody take care bye bye see you all ppl soon i will keep in touch bye

And also:

hey all, i need some help. i have gone to ecuador for the last 3 weeks and have been going to salinas. i have a gf there. i love the area and the beach is nice. but i need to know where the action is. my gf said that there is a place where men go in the area. (of course i did not ask her where) i have gone 3 times to salinas in the last month. i had found imperium and gatos on a previous trip to guyaquil, but i need to figure out how to get there. it is 1 and a half hours from salinas to guyaquil. please help, my gf is great, but she is normal, and thinks i am sex crazed as it is. i am going back in two weeks.

I guess I just don't understand why people have to write like children, or even worse, why they so carelessly cause me to spend my time editing their reports because they're just too f***ing lazy to write like an adult. I mean, you would think that I, the guy who pays the server bill every month and otherwise provides this FREE service, would be the LAST person that anyone who uses this FREE service would want to create extra work for.

Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest. This is what happens when you go for an abnormally long three weeks without any pussy. It's a good thing I'll be back in BA in a couple of days.

Anyway, this is why the Forum has Posting Guidelines.

Jackson

Warpig2000
02-01-04, 23:06
Jackson:

I think I might have a solution for your editing problem (might work, might not).

Rather than wasting your limited time editting posts, move the offending messages in a forum of their own, each with an identifier for the forum it initially was posted on. Posts on the 'illegible messages' forum would stay on for a maximum of 45 days and be deleted if they weren't fixed in that time.

It would be up to the poster to edit his post and make it presentable to you before it gets put back on the board it was intended for.

Hypothetically there could be an Illegible Messages- Regular Member and an Illegible Messages-Senior Member forum as well, if needed messages from Senior Members that continue to violate posting guidlines would be put in the later (work, I know). These Forums could be put in the same section as the Banned User Hall of Shame- I think that would send a message to users about your concern for grammer.

Ideally moving a post to either of these messages would trigger an automessage script to the author of the 'illegible' post, saving you the need to message them or posting to the original forum.

Organicgrowth
02-02-04, 01:59
Jackson,

Sorry to hear you’ve not tasted pussy in three weeks (that’s what I call discipline!).

I now fully understand the little blue messages (from Admin) which appear at the foot of some reports.

Listen, your time is valuable and I for one REALLY appreciate the service you host and indeed pay for, so I should like to suggest a possible solution.

I like Warpig2000’s idea. There is a real chance of building a vast reserve of clutter, for a rolling 45 days at a time, so I should recommend 14 days. In general people will want to see their posts “active” online (and not want to risk deletion), so they will be more than willing to edit them.

Along with the “quarantined” report, and highlighted in BIG BOLD RED an email or PM may be sent to the reporter suggesting that they use a simple text editor, and repost or risk deletion. This way your work might get cut in half, saving your editing time.

Just a thought.

Regards, Havanaman

PS. Say hola to Madahos for me!

Randy Farang
02-02-04, 03:55
Jackson,

Once again, sincere thanks for all you do for us in both time and effort and in coin of the realm. Without your efforts we would all live in a far unkinder place.

Enjoy your trip back to BA and recharge your batteries by soaking your muscle in something warm and friendly.

Randy

Warpig2000
02-02-04, 04:00
Quarentine.

I like that word Havanaman. Thanks for improving on the idea.

# of days a message could stay in quarentine before deletion is of course at Jacksons discression assuming he adopts the idea. I think feedback like this can only improve the suggestion... keep it coming.

Inlander
02-02-04, 05:18
Hi Mr. Jackson,

I for one appreciate the guidelines you have in place.

When everyone follows the rules, it makes for a quick and enjoyable reading experience.

I don't understand why you do this free of charge, but a big 'Thank You' for doing it. I will do my best to comply with all guidelines to make your job as easy as possible.

Thanks again for the site,

Inlander

Redneck3565
02-02-04, 06:46
i wish there was as much focus on arranging the posts in a better geographic order, as there is about them being grammatically correct, relevant, etc. then again i am only a resident of ca, which has the most posts in it, in the most areas, rep001tered over thousands of miles, etc. is jackson sensitive at all to the geogrphic relevance of our mongering??

IntotheMuck
02-02-04, 08:07
It is great that there is a standard set so that reading new posts are at least readable. Thanks

Orientalovers
02-02-04, 10:00
Jackson,
Instead of spending more efforts and precious time to editing those 'outformat' and 'chatroom' style postings, why not just return it to those members via private message and ask them to follow the posting guidelines, otherwise their posting will not posted in the forum. If they really want to post their posting, they have to follow our rules. This will definitely save a lot of time.

One of my suggestions is that since you have selected whom to be a senior members for the forum. Could it possible to 'appoint' senior members to incharge of each forum. Senior members will reviewing each posting in their area/region incharge, then let admin to confirm for posting. Let us help to reduce your work load?

Woody66062
02-02-04, 18:48
I like the standards you presently have set up. I would much rather read a report that doesn't look like it was written by a grade schooler.
The posts that don't meet the guidlines should be returned to the poster or just deleted.
Thank you for having such a great avenue here to share information. It's the best on the net.

Creole Hottie
02-02-04, 21:27
Jackson:

I feel that the rules regarding posts are beneficial to all of us. I mean, who wants to stumble through a post for several minutes trying to decipher what the person is attempting to say?

Keep up the good work.

Kaila

Stoner
02-03-04, 01:10
Setup Senior members who are up for the job to do some editting regionally.

IMO, if a post is illegible, I would almost say trash it completely. Yet, there is value in it, I suppose.

Damn shame.

To eliminate chat, would you be up for setting a General discussion forum for "problem" regions and one main central one for the site, non-region specific.

Space wise, don't archive the general discussion stuff.


Lastly...I would like it stressed (even if I must play devil's advocate on this) that some banter and discussion is critical to the reports. All the reports are travel indeed, but its the locals comparing notes that makes these things happen.

Mongers describe spots they find and share them, no matter how transient these spots are. Or they recommend escorts and incall spots for others to sample in their wake.

Even if its reports simply stating a good time can be had at XY or Z, its of real value. I would hate to see the pendulum swing and see a bunch of sterile reports saying jack. Your "competing" websites do that and suck all ass compared to WSG for value.

Pacific Creek
02-03-04, 04:40
Jackson,

I personally would like to see the amount of posts required to be a Senior Member upgraded to at least 25. These posts should only count the number of actual reports they have made. Questions asked should not be counted as a report because they aren't.

I also agree that reliable proven Senior Members should be asked to help you with reviewing posts in their area. Then you would be free to do the things an administrator should do. This would allow the number of posts required to be a Senior Member to be increased without overburdening yourself.

I would recommend a Senior Member or maybe more than one in each city (depending on the amount of posts received in that area) should be allowed to review posts of regular members to assist you. Being a Senior Member should carry some degree of responsibility to go along with the ability to post your reports unchecked.

While illiterate posts may not always be easily translated or corrected (based on the country's words and semantics), they do contain information that other's may find important so I am against trashing those posts. People's understanding of english is different based upon their background, education and experience. After all, who speaks english better,someone from the deep south or someone from the coasts of Maine. lol

It is no secret that LE is using this board for info like some members in my area and others think. I would like to suggest that members be required to sign some type of electronic statement that verifies they are not affiliated with LE in any way shape or size. Their unique number would then be captured upon signing it. That would allow you to know if they are LE or not.

As far as costs go, I would like to see you post how much it costs you each month to run this wonderful informative service that we have access to.

An idea would be that to request an upgrade to Senior Member would have a fee and a signed electronic statement that you are again not affiliated with any type of LE in any way shape or size.

I disagree that you should have to pay to run this service yourself. We as members who get the most information and benefit out of it should be expected to share in the costs as well.

Have you started eliminating those members who haven't posted?

Again, I would like to thank you for providing this site and the amount of information that is on it.

Pacific Creek
02-03-04, 04:48
Jackson,

After reading some of the previous posts, I would like to agree that photo gallery's are also becoming a continuation of discussion.

I'm not sure what program you use to allow posting of photo's. However, I'm sure there would be a way to modify the photo gallery's so that a post could only be allowed if there is an attachment along with it.

That would eliminate the constant discussion in the photo gallery's.

Skinless
02-03-04, 04:59
Jackson: I think some of the discussions in the Photo section, like elsewhere, can be useful. One can only look at so many naked hookers. And, on that point, I have just looked at Saint's posts in the CR photo section. I am disappointed as I thought he was more upmarket. Though I might be interested in his reply, I am only interested in looking at so many naked peasant women. Living in Japan, I see plenty of big bellies (I like sumo - male sumo that is). If I ever need some women to do heavy physical work, I now know where to look.

Why post photos if no one can comment? So, as long as the guidelines are met, let us critically evaluate the merchandise on display by the happy customers.

Peace and love to all!

(Rev) JTS

Bysshe
02-03-04, 16:03
It is no secret that LE is using this board for info like some members in my area and others think. I would like to suggest that members be required to sign some type of electronic statement that verifies they are not affiliated with LE in any way shape or size. Their unique number would then be captured upon signing it. That would allow you to know if they are LE or not.


Yes, because everyone knows that LE isn't allowed to lie.

I wouldn't mind seeing Senior Membership quals be raised to 25 posts. There is, after all, very little functional difference between regular and senior members. It doesn't hurt the member if his post is not instantly displayed. Either he's posting a report, in which case he already knows the information... or (far more likely) he's posting a question, in which case the board is under no obligation to get him instant feedback. (Indeed, it's much more likely that the answer to the question already exists in the previous posts on the thread, and that replies to the question will mention that fact.)

Bysshe

My Alias
02-03-04, 17:05
While I work as an editor and I'm picky when it comes to spelling and grammar, my biggest complaint about some of the posts on this board has to do with the occasional ethnic slur. For example, I recently read a post where someone said he tried to "Jew" (actually, he spelled it ju) an adult service provider's price down. I'm not Jewish, but I have several friends who are and the term "to Jew down" is highly offensive to them. I've seen other slurs appear in posts, not often but enough to tick me off a little. Someone suggested making the minimum requirement of posts for senior members be raised from 10 to 25. I think that would be a good idea, just so you can get a better feel for a member's language and potential to offend.

Turbolover
02-03-04, 21:59
Thoughts on various issues:
Photos-
Disallow any posts from the photo section that do not contain a photolink somewhere in the posts. It sometimes is rare to see photos in the photo section. People can find discussions elsewhere.
Standard English-
Regarding grammar, perhaps local nationals giving us the heads up can be given some leeway or editing( as I am sure is already done), but obvious or suspected English speakers should be made to click a few buttons for a spell and grammar check. I notice some senior members still think it is cute to use typical email slang mentioned earlier, such as "b4" etc. Perhaps they can get bounced back to regular membership for awhile until they stop wearing down the source of this great service.
The obvious benefits of readability really help those of us planning a foray into a new territory. Readability especially helps members that are intelligent enough to use the archives and the Search Forum function to review earlier posts.
Since reminders on using standard conventions have been used I have seen a decrease in posts like this "I am going to Thailand, what is mongering scene like?"
Email and privacy-
I really like eliminating email address postings too. A member here posted a personal email of mine with identifying information on this forum without my permission, (before email addresses eliminated)althought he rescinded that email post. I hope privacy issues are maintained with people posting Private Messaging on the forums. Also, I hope that privacy and anonymity remain a prime consideration for the basic driver of integrity of the forum to meet its purposes.
Senior Membership-
Increase min Senior member postings from 10 to 25.
Self-Policing vs Derogation-
It seems like you have a nice line of letting forum members self-police boards. Although its not good to see guys go off on each other infinitely because of dislikes, it is vital for the integrity of the board to remove a degree of political correctness, and allow guys to call "Bullshit" on each other!. I like how you allow board members to keep posts when these members call "Bullshit!" on other posters because of misinformatin, intentional or not, and other various misbehavior. I know there are lines, but, these bullshit calls help maintain the accuracy and validity of information on the forum.
Conclusion-
Overall, I really like your management style of this forum. I like where you are headed with this forum and because of this flexible and progressive style it remains a great source of information for us all.

Travis Bickle 2
02-03-04, 23:10
Jackson, Great job with the board. I strongly support the posting guidelines as they exist now and appreciate the work you do to make the board readable.

I disagree with those who would like to raise from 10 to 25 the number of posts required to obtain senior membership. As it is now the member has to make ten informative posts (questions don't count) to make senior. I am under the impression that this was to prevent spamming -- not determine writing style.

Whereas it might not hurt the regular member to wait a day or two to have his writing posted, it could very well hurt the board. Regular members spot stings, LE activity, and direct us all to where the SW's are. I certainly don't want to wait an extra day or two to get this information. Especially from someone who has already proven themselves with ten informative posts written in accord with the rules of the board.

Again, this is a fantastic board you have, and it is due in large part to the posting guidelines which make the postings readable and understandable.

Thanks again.

Civ2K

BorderJumper
02-07-04, 19:31
I think posting guidelines are adequate as they stand. The only problem I am seeing is regular members using senior members login, albeit with permission, to circumvent the moderation que. This is a decidedly wrong thing to be allowed to occur here or anywhere else!

Number of reports should not be an issue as much as members comportment and contributions to the board as a whole. One good piece of advice is worth 10 reports IMHO if it keeps a member out of trouble or saves him a hassle somewhere down the line.

Keep up the good work Jackson. It is appreciated.

Actually, posting under somebody elses user name is a violation of the Forum Rules. I guess I'll have to articulate this in writing, and then terminate a couple of Regular Members and/or demote a couple of Senior Members before people will take me seriously.

Thanks,

Jackson

Traxx
02-08-04, 04:15
I fully support the current posting guidelines. Many fellow members forget that this is truly an international forum, a "United Nations" in many ways. As such, many members do not share English as their mother tongue. To these friends, I ask for your patience and understanding.

11Bravo
02-09-04, 20:00
i also agree with keeping the guidelines as is, and not relaxing them. i certainly understand the difficulty in writing in a 2nd language; i don't mind parsing through that post to extract the meaning. this is why the basic guidelines about punctuation, capitalization, etc. really help. chat room style, not adhering to these minimal standards, it just adds clutter. we're not back 30 years ago, where modem speeds dictated minimal key strokes.

and i believe it also helps the non-native english speaker to understand the posts.

in trying to read the sample post from page 2, admin, 02-02-04 00:17, i started to get a headache. indecipherable! if i had to wade through just a couple of those, not proofing, but just trying to read, i'd give up on the forum.

the only thing i might suggest is that rather than post by written date, post by when it is posted date. it's such a small thing to have to scroll back and forth on a page, trying to identify the new regular posts interspersed with senior members, then looking for the telltale blue ink of delayed posts. if the dates were when it was posted on the forum, not submitted to the review queue, then it would be easy to see where you stopped reading, and move up from there. as mr. jackson says, a chat room it's not; a travel report, it is. therefore, in very few cases would the written date be more important than the posted date.

one thing that is very helpful is the search function. i think it's great how it will take you to individual posts of someone. very useful, both to praise and to damn.

what i don't understand is how jackson can review all these posts. what a thankless task. i can only hope that secret cloning has been successful, and there are dozens of him working in an undisclosed location, laboring for the good of all.

Young Man
02-10-04, 05:53
As a geek, I would recommend that you put some guidelines for users in the Add Report Screen. Possibly a description telling users no caps, user proper grammer, spell check, and possibly a sample format.

In regards to a sample format, the who, what, where, when, and how much might be acceptable.

Will all that stuff being said, I love the format, and think you have a kick ass board, thanks Jackson for your gift to our common hobby!

YM

Me Crazy
02-10-04, 09:15
Dear Jackson,

Yes members should adhere to the posting guidelines as this makes it easier for those who want to read. It also keeps the forum clean.

Keep up the good work mate!

Me Crazy!

Redneck3565
02-12-04, 18:17
Is it possible (in the interest of "creating space", and not having some forums so muddled), that posts that are older then 90 days can be "archived" or even deleted (if they appear to be in a small, "non-active" community). Since the SW's out there are "hit and miss" anyway, it would seem that any post about SW's in an area that is older then 90 days is "ancient history". While I am sure there IS limitless space for posting in the forums, I do not see the point in having the boards clogged with "antiquated" posts, and about "one-time only" experiences in small communities.

Motorback
02-14-04, 20:18
I believe the posting rules should be kept as they are. We all speak to different levels and vocabs. Keeping the posting rules as they are now keeps everything and everyone on the same level. That said it also makes more work for Jackson and other moderators in the editing dept.

Philip
02-19-04, 17:19
I would like to see the size of photos increased to 800x600. This would have no effect on costs (your bandwidth use) if the size limit is not changed, but maybe if you drop it down to a lower figure it would be cheaper. There is plenty of good free software to reduce the file size.

Thanks

GoodEnough
02-21-04, 03:42
Jackson:

This is a unique site that provides valuable information for its members. The value of the site is only enhanced by imposing guidelines that make it easier to read posts written in standard English. The guinelines are onorous, they're necessary and reasonable.

World Traveler
02-22-04, 02:24
Jackson:

Please do not waste too much of your time on correcting minor typing, punctuation, or similar problems in written posts. Spend your time and energy on other things like EXPELLING those who don¡¯t follow the general rules and go off-topic. Believe me, when we are reading a report, our least concern is punctuation. Plus if you are reporting from a job-site, you don¡¯t have time to worry too much about punctuation and grammar. Your first priority is to send the message so that others wouldn¡¯t miss out ¡¦. and go back to punting.

Drogue
02-24-04, 20:53
I agree that minimum standards must be upheld, but at the same time it may take too much of your time to police them, time that could be spent on more worthwhile causes. Maybe, instead of correcting the minor infractions, label them in a way to discourage repeat offenses such as a star system or whatever for each post. Also if they are blatantly bad refuse the post and just list the offenders name and say it was impossible to post due to misspelling, grammar, etc.

Ballsy Siegel 2
02-28-04, 07:52
I disagree with Redneck. Small communities will by definition have fewer posts. So keeping the posts alive helps identify possible scouting grounds, which also reappear over time.

As to grammatical corrections, I appreciate the lack of gangsta rap. But it seems overboard to worry about spelling and grammar for all the reasons already stated.

And it can inhibit the free expression of horniness that one might want to convey.

Controversial and just a thought, not yet my opinion, might the writing style and ability of the reviewer help in our assessment of the similarity of our tastes to those of the author?

Organicgrowth
02-28-04, 17:25
Gentlemen,

The basic premise of the board, as I understand it, is to share mongering information. Off course “information” includes experiences. This board's information is divided broadly into three sections: General, specific “venue” report, and a photo gallery.

In order to share such information for any of the above three elements, communication must occur. That is, the reader must understand the contents of the report. Thus, the “style”, “flare”, “literary prose” indeed the “poetic” nature of the report seems irrelevant in the face of actually imparting the information.

General and specific “venue” reporting:

Basic Amer-English (American / English) is the boards native language. The use of “gangsta rap” (excellent description Happy Head!) is thus rightly frowned upon. Likewise with cell-text abbreviation styles. Spelling and grammar are basic etiquettes in any written language. The availability of FREE online word processors / text editors means no one has an excuse to misspell words. Thus for non-native Amer-English communicators, grammatical errors can be overlooked to varying degrees. Spelling can not.

In the end it comes down to fulfilling the basic premise of communication: clarity.

Photo gallery:

“Visual” is the most primeval of all the types of communication. Blurred photos of chicas, extreme distance shots and very large-photo posts are unacceptable. We must all agree with this. Are these examples of communication any different to confused, rambling, unpunctuated reports? I think not.

Regards,

Havanaman

Boxcc
03-03-04, 19:18
Jackson, Thank you very much for the work that you do. I think that we as members of the WSG have the obligation to at least attempt to follow your rules for posting. After all, it is your ball and you can take it and go home if you want too! lol. I would hate to see that, as I love this forum and truly appreciate all the work that you do.

However, might I make a suggestion. Instead of editing a post to make it acceptible, why not just delete it? You could set up an automatic notification to the offending party to receive a PM stating that a post was delete for whatever reason. That way you save yourself work and it teaches posters a hard lesson on proper etiquette. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks,
Box

Organicgrowth
03-03-04, 23:29
Boxcc,

Totally excellent idea.

Saves time for Jackson and teaches a real lesson.

Regards, Havanaman

Whitee
03-14-04, 13:11
I agree with Boxcc's suggestion. It is really irritating to see Jackson's blue editor's note requesting "..one period after the sentence.." and the likes.

His blue notes and reminders of editorial rules are the real clutterer of the forum, in fact, they have become a bigger irritant than whatever grammar mistakes from the posters.

Whitee,

I had to read your report twice to ascertain wether you were for or against the Posting Guidelines.

FYI, I tried the strategy of notifying posters when their reports failed to meet the minimum guidelines, but it proved ineffective given the large number of invalid email address in the membership database. It's also more time consuming than simply pasting the note at the bottom of the report.

I also considered deleting the reports, but that seemed rather harsh, especially considering the relatively minor nature of most mistakes. Of course, I do return the reports to the original poster in a very small number of instances, and I usually never hear from them again.

The "Editor's Note" system is effective in that most Forum Members quickly get the concept that the Guidelines are in effect, and they then revise their writing style accordingly, all to the betterment of the Forum.

Thanks,

Jackson

Snarf
03-28-04, 23:45
On the one hand, I agree with Jackson that simply deleting posts could be counterproductive to the purpose of the forum. OTOH, I hate to think of ANYONE having to spend time editing other people's posts to make them readable.

Ideally there would some way to simply flag a post or notify the poster that it is being held and is not viewable until they log in and correct the punctuation, capitalization, etc. It would encourage people to be more active participants in the quality control.

NorthSeattle
04-03-04, 03:37
I would like to recommend a suggestion to consider.

Would it be feasible to insist that ALL postings on the Photo sites be accompanied by a actual Photograph, this should not include maps, scenic views, signs or anything especially comments or opinions of photos.

Some siites are loaded with rhetoric. Possably there shoud bea site where comments, etc on this subject may be posted, but it does very little when this section is used like a "Chat Board" or basically for stroking posters or putting them down. Certainly since counts are shown about how many have viewed each photo, this could be adaquate.

North Seattle

Brownout
04-16-04, 03:23
I disagree with North Seattle about his proposal for photo requirements.

Photo guidelines, I think, should be relaxed to allow posting of photos that help people to recognise the neighbourhood of where the user's talking about. Street signs that are distinctive enough could be included in this category, but branches of well-known businesses, e.g. HSBC, McDonald's, are out if they're subjects of photos.

Lover Boy
05-05-04, 02:59
Please don't post picture from other escort service web sites. This will only help promote bigger pimp raising the prices on pussy hunters.

Look in S.A. Section, Some moron added same pic all over the board.

Who is the moron?

SIESTA

Tube Steak
05-28-04, 07:49
The only problem I have in the is in the punctuation department. The addition of extra periods can say so much, without actually saying it; exasperation, contempt, duplicity, etc. I reccomend reading Celine's " Du Nord" for example... TS

Whitee
05-30-04, 15:31
Jackson's interference is getting overboard. This is the latest of his irritating blue notes from hell at the formerly fun-to-read Malaysia's postings.

Jackson,I know you are vetting and delaying my posting because of my objections to your heavy handed editorial. Let's see if you allow this to be on the board.

Some samples of Jackson's grammar paranoid:

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to add a space after commas and after periods. To avoid delays in future reports, please include one blank space after commas and one blank space after the period at the end of sentences. Thanks!

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to remove the forced hard returns in the text.

For those of you who may not be familiar with this concept, a "hard return" is created when you press the "enter" key while typing, thus artificially shortening the length of the text by forcing it to begin on the next line. Hard returns are also caused by some word processing and email programs.

More preferable would be a "soft return" wherein the text is allowed to continue automatically on the next line when it reaches the right side of the screen thus automatically adjusting to the varying width of each viewer's screen.

If your reports are being composed in a word processing or email program that is artificially inserting hard returns in the text, then please consider composing your Forum reports in another program or in the Forum's "Add New Report" window.

To avoid delays in future reports, please consider composing your report in the Forum or in a word processing program that does not insert hard returns in the text. Thanks!

If you can't write like an intelligent person, then please don't post.

Thanks,

Jackson

Ljohnson
05-31-04, 01:20
Jackson is very lenient when it comes to spelling and content; even to the point of allowing posts which are difficult to decipher. I believe he does this out of respect for the Member doing the posting.

Issues which may seem petty to some; e.g., spelling, punctuation, format, control of spam, etc. make this Forum more readable and user-friendly than it otherwise would be.

Jackson is not holding us to an unreasonable standard. He is just preserving the integrity of HIS website.

LJ

Buffalo Bill
05-31-04, 02:29
The standards that Jackson insists upon have made this one of the finest sites on the net! I thank him for his efforts and express my admiration of his dilligence, intellegence, and tolerance.

Late Night
05-31-04, 03:52
Buffalo Bill,

YOU SAID >>>I thank him for his efforts and express my admiration of his dilligence, intellegence, and tolerance.<<<

"Intellegence" is misspelled! :)

BTW, I voted >>>No. I don't believe there should be any minimum posting requirements because I believe that they may intimidate some people from posting reports.<<<

Whitee
06-15-04, 05:00
Jackson, you still don't get it do you?

I m not against the rules, just those blue notes. It scars the whole forum.

Okay, now I understand, so let me explain (for the 10th time, not to you, but to other's in the past)

The "Editor's Notes" strategy has proven to be the only effective method for policing the Forum.

Originally, I tried just editing the reports, but I got tired of repeatedly editing reports from the same Forum Members who were consisently ignoring the Guidelines.

Then, I tried sending emails to the authors of the reports I was editing, advising them that I had edited their report and asking them to please follow the minimum requirements of the Posting Guidelines. This was quite time consuming, and in the end proved to be ineffective given the large percentage of email address in the Forum database that were either abandoned or rarely checked.

Finally, as a last resort, I adopted the Editors Notes concept, which has proven effective for several reasons, as follows:

1. Forum Members generally read their own reports, and thus there was a high probability that the author of an edited report would subsequently read my Editor's Note at the bottom of their own reports.

2. Other Forum Members would read the various Editor's Notes, and thus would be made aware the existence of the Posting Guidelines and govern themselves accordingly.

3. The Editor's Note was much easier for me to implement because I could copy and paste a notes directly into the report on an "as needed" as I was performing the normal daily routine of moderating reports.

4. The Editor's Note, coupled with the downside of having their reports delayed, and the upside of potentially being upgraded to Senior Member, is effective, although I sincerely wish that more new Forum Members would read the Posting Guidelines first before they start posting, thus saving all of us from watching them go through the education process.

5. Finally, I did seek the input of the Forum Members regarding the concept of using the Editor's Notes in this survey section, and the overwhelming response was positive.

Anyway, that's why I currently employ the Editor's Notes concept, but if you have a better suggestion, then please let me know,

Thanks,

Jackson

Whitee
06-19-04, 06:58
Hello, Jackson,

OK, thanks for the explaination and patience ;). I have no better suggestion, so I will now shut up, grin and accept it. Thanks for the Forum :)

Raynman55
07-01-04, 13:25
Hello to all,

Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents.....
Jackson is providing an invaluable service to all of us skirts chasers in the world. This is his website and he does an admirable job managing a massive database. His house, his rules. You dont like it, go next door......and probably pay a membership fee....
So yall quit your bitchin and dont look a gift whorse in the mouth (pun intended :) )

Be safe and happy mongering!

WSJ3
07-01-04, 13:34
Good day to all:

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank Jackson for all his efforts in keeping the board up and running.

Keep up the great work Jackson.

Peace:
WSJ3
:)

The Tax Man
07-01-04, 20:05
The rules for this website are excellent. I get tired of trying to decipher chat room material. I find chat rooms intimidating because I dont understand all of their lingo. This site is easy for anyone to understand. There are many users here, in which English is not their first language. Our language is difficult without trying to figure out what someone is implying with their informal style. Besides all of the problems mentioned, as a society we are getting worse about our writing abilities. What happened to taking an extra second and following basic grammer and writing rules.

I understand that everybody here is an expert at writing. As you can tell, I am certainly not. But we should at least try to be effective communicators. After all, arent we all here to learn and share tips with each other?

Langsuan Man
07-03-04, 09:11
I am in total agreement with Jacksons minimum requirements for posting. Anyone posting should be using a Word processing program in the first place which should contain a spell checker and or a grammar checker. The grammar checker in Micro$oft's Word should be of assistance to posters who's native language is not English.

I use a word processing program first then paste and copy to the forum and then preview my post. Many times some of the punctuation, commas, semi-colons, periods etc. do not come out correctly during the copy / paste procedure so by previewing the post I can then make the necessary corrections.

It is obvious that most posters take pride in their posts and spend a lot of time preparing them. None of us are natural writers and sometime struggle to get the correct information out. I for one appreciate all of the information that I find in the posts and my way of paying back those who have educated me is to spend a little time getting it right.

For those of you that do not have a word processing program I might suggest downloading ie Spell which is a free spell checker that will work right in the Internet Explorer browser and will spell check your posts in the forum prior to submitting them.

The URL is: http://www.iespell.com/

Langsuan Man

Rush 2112
07-04-04, 16:00
Jackson,
I agree that the Editor's note feature is very good in explaining why some reports are delayed because of editing work performed by you.

Having said that, I have noticed that some of these blue notes are not short and to the point in explaining the errors. One example of this is the hard return/soft return error. Maybe it would be a good idea to use a shorter explanation at the bottom of the report itself, and post a URL link to a much broader explanation. This would take up less space in the post.

Just an idea,
K.J. Baltimonger

BayBoy
07-07-04, 08:21
I just want to say thank you to Jackson for a great website. Its given me many great hours of pleasure reading through all the reports from around the world.

Its also helped me make my travel plans alot easier knowing where all the "action" is at my destinations and not having to hunt around for where the ladies are.

Now the bad stuff. On the Panama site I still read alot of negative comments about other members and general belittling of other people, and also some very racist comments as well. It just doesn't belong on this site in my opinion.

Also this individual "Nibu" seems to break every rule that you have laid out for everyone else to follow. I'd appreciate it if you looked into it.

Thanks for the WSG.

Cienega32
07-18-04, 05:56
I posted a "MAYBE" vote for reasons that BayBoy mentioned. Sometimes there is a chat room/teenage style that presents itself with personal attacks and/or racial insults. I don't find this to be true within the forums that I frequent on a regular basis but I have seen a few messages of this type in other forums here.

Things said in a joking, friendly manner are fine but sometimes it gets a little bolder than that. I'm talking less than 1 percent of all messages that I've ever read but some of it is silly.

Overall this place is great and is managed in a much appreciated manner. The general posting guidelines are great. I know I don't want to read postings that are made with a street rapper chat room style. Let them learn the language or learn how to write. That I direct towards individuals who have English as their native language. Cheers to Jackson for trying to make literacy hip.

As far as postings that are not strictly defined as reports, I think the exchange of thoughts, practices, knowledge of the area, etc. are all good things as well as reports. Even the short "I scored a SW on (where ever) for $."

When I first came back to this site I was, and still am, impressed with all the information that I found available to me. Fantastic site! Great job by all!

Cat Scratch
08-06-04, 09:49
I voted Yes, YES, YES!

I refer to Whitee's comments particularly as they relate to the Malaysian board. I have lived in Malaysia for three years (and Indonesia before that) and I struggle through the Malaysian board as it is even after Jackson applying the rules! If Whitee had his way then the Malaysian board (and, by extension, all other boards) would end up an incomprehensible mess.

I am not a language Nazi but it seems to me that the purpose of appling a strong but flexible structure to a language is to preserve its accessibiity to the widest possible constituency otherwise it degenerates into some kind local patois that is incomprehensive outside the village boundaries.

In short, respect the World in WSG and leave the "homies in the 'hood"

Rock Dog
08-13-04, 02:45
I think it's a good idea to keep up a certain standard of writing for all posts. It's not a hard thing to do and it has the effect of making the posts easier to read.

On the flip side, there's some real dumbasses out there. Sometimes they make insults or uninformed statements about things. What if their posts were allowed to be exhibited in all their illiterate glory? Then their ignorance would be on display for all to see.

There are some really good examples of these in the banned users section. Personally, I've enjoyed a good laugh many times from reading them.

Rock

Rock Dog
08-13-04, 03:05
There was one other thing that I wanted to add. Minimum quality in a post is made up of more than just proper grmmar, spelling and punctuation. What about content?

I've seen so many guys who engage in endless "chit chat" style of posting. This seems to be particularly true of many so-called senior members. Once they get the ability to have their posts put up immediately, they start yacking back and forth at each other in many of the forums.

A good quality post should have at least one of the following:

A picture of a girl.
Some info on where to find some girls.
Some info on how much to pay for said girls.
Reasonable requests for information regarding the above.
A (true) story on one's experiences with a girl or girls.
A well formed opinion on a topic in it's respective forum.
A well reasoned rebuttal to someone else's opinion.

I realize that this would be almost impossible to monitor or enforce. However, I don't see any reason why there couldn't be a third category of membership. Highest would be a senior membership, with the privilege of immediate posting. Next would be Regular membership for those who make quality postings. Members who make frivolous postings could be placed into a lower category where their postings are delayed by a week.

This might encourage WSG members to strive for quality postings. At the same time it would discourage much of the frivolous posting and flame wars that frequently occur in some forums.

You can slam me if you think it's dumb, but I thought the idea was worth mentioning.

Rock

Johnny Sax
08-17-04, 08:53
I see I am in the minority re the grammar issue here, but I'll post my comments anyway.

I am of the opinion that if something is totally unreadable or very difficult to read, fine, go ahead and make the person re-write it or you re-write it or whatever...

But I have a B.A. in English, and have written professionally for magazines. Yet, normally, when telling someone about something, in the case of a Report I would write here, I like to use these ...'s because it is my style of writing, especially on the net, as I write more of a stream-of-consciousness style, with run-on sentences and such. I would have put 3 dots after the such at the end of the last sentence, for example, were it not for this super-strict interpretation of the rules of grammar, here.

Okay, some people find it annoying, and some people don't like it. But it isn't hard to read, and I think it should be allowed.

Because I love the board and respect the right of the Moderator to run it the way he wants, I will write more straight-laced English. But I don't like having to do so.

Just my 2 colones.

Whitee
08-17-04, 14:31
Dear Cat Scratch,

Seems like writing in good English didn't help you in the comprehension department. I have clearly said that I have nothing against the rules, only the way Jackson showed his comments in the blue fonts. I have even agreed to that after realising the options Jackson has tried, and since I no better ideas.

So your comments that "If Whitee had his way then the Malaysian board (and, by extension, all other boards) would end up an incomprehensible mess" belongs to one whose retarded comprehension faculty is beyond the help of good grammar.

Have a good day. :)

Rolly Polly
08-17-04, 17:24
When I was a 'regular member' and my posts were first reviewed by Jackson, none of them were held back due to grammar. I am no the best with grammar, and even saw a mistake or two that slipped by.

Also, I have put "..." in some of my posts and I have never had them removed. Probably because it was in one sentence and truly used for emphasis. I never let the evil "......" run rampant throughout my posts.

It has always appeared to me that Jackson has let things go if the posts are very readable otherwise. I think that is about as fair as it should be.

Cat Scratch
09-07-04, 07:37
Dear Whitee (dear oh dear indeed)

To quote Jackson in his insightful appraisal of your inane correspondence:

“If you can’t write like an intelligent person, then please do not post”

I won’t bore you with my academic qualifications nor my publishing credits but it is obvious that you are punching well above your intellectual weight.

As for my comprehension skills I would suggest that any interested reader follow the thread of this discussion or click on the search function under your last post to decide who is challenged in the coherency department. Then again they don’t need to waste any further time in assessing your credentials than to read this typical quote from a previous post”

“Viper Z, aiya, not request but comment leh, and my PM to you request don't cover all la, just my FR. Other braders may still want you to paste leh...”

Although Whitee is an enthusiastic participant in class, he continues to struggle and is not yet ready to progress to the next level. As a result he will be required to repeat the current course and undertake remedial activities. D+

Whitee
09-20-04, 23:45
Dear Cat Scratch,

Still a long way to go, but not bad...you are improving ;)

Darealest1
10-02-04, 15:17
You would think that people who use the internet and computers would at least be able to express themselves in a manner that is intelligent, concise, and comprehendable by everyone who reads them so that they may benefit. If we didn't have the posting guidelines, the reports would diminish in their usefulness and effectiveness.

The new guys, especially who haven't been mongering for a long time really wouldn't know how to post an effective report if we didn't show them.

Fever
10-27-04, 18:05
While it is admirable to strive for literacy in any forum, I believe that the draconian way that posts are withheld, edited then posted has a chilling effect on forum participation. Also, the extreme delays in posts appearing on the forums have a significant negative impact on the usefulness and timeliness of the information provided in many cases.

I would suggest allowing the posts to appear right away, but then edit them after the fact if you must. This method wouldnt' tak any more time of resources than the current method, but it would allow for time-sensitive information to be enjoyed by members, even if the grammar was initially leaving something to be desired.

One last point is that I have seen several instances where rules of grammar were actually incorrectly applied. For example, 'South Carolina' is a proper noun, but 'South Nevada' is not. However, I've seen posts with wording like "I went to north Louisville" edited and 'corrected' to read "I went to North Louisville," which is actually incorrect. Also, the use of "..." is proper if it is applied correctly.

Ok, that's enough bitching for me. The good stuff outweighs the bad by far, and I think everyone agrees on that. The fact that Jackson cares so much about the forum is a triumph in and of itself. Also, the fact that a Senior Member can post un-edited is a large mitigating factor towards the posting guidelines. In general, I say "keep up the good work!"

Fever
10-28-04, 18:54
I apologize for the double post, but I forgot to address an issue in my previous one.

It's obvious that Jackson is not at all afraid to edit member's posts. With that in mind, I submit that we all could trust Jackson to simply nuke abusive posts rather than post them after eiting for grammar.

I am aware that he doesn't want to get into edit-for-content style moderating, but if the goal is to make the boards a great place to exchange ideas and information (and it's obvious that this is in fact the goal) then we can all agree that 'flames' and other personal insults are easily recognized, and as such are easily dealt with.

Oh, did I say one more thing? One MORE thing! Why can't we edit posts? I know that the code for this board allows the admin definition of limited time periods to allow users to edit. There doesn't seem to be a good reason not to be able to edit one's own posts within, say, 15 minutes of posting them. Of course, this would only matter if regular members were given real-time posting ability.

That's it. I said it before and I'll say it again. Keep up the good work!

The Traveler
08-23-05, 21:40
Fever,

I believe that we should have strict posting guidelines. This would dramatically increase the quality of this site. To much trash talk is done and it is often very time consuming to extract the real info from that trash.

It's a matter of fact that we can't trust Jackson of nuking abusive posts.

I am getting stalked by one of our fellow members for over two years now, have been called names, threatened and anything you can think of but Jackson did not interfere.

This member constantly violates several posting rules and had a whole section turned into turmoil again and again by his attacks against other members. Almost all members of that section are fed up to death by his constant flaming and insulting but Jackson still doesn't issue a warning or bans him.

Why ? I don't know.
I can only guess that he allows him to go on like that because he does know him in person.

The Traveler
09-19-05, 11:58
Fever,

correction.
Jackson finally encaged the violater. Might God and all other members thank him for doing so. The Thai section will hopefully be a much more peaceful place from now on and we can return to post infos about "how and where to find women" instead of bashing each other.

As the saying goes "good things need more time than bad ones"

Romano V
01-27-08, 22:12
With this posting guideline forum is more clear we can read easily, but I think there are a lot of reports for some threads and few for others threads. So people will be happy with more nice and new reports not only general discussion or theory on the country, cities or girls. We want to have adresses, links, photos and phone numbers by PM.

Johnny Maldiva
04-05-10, 13:57
I agree with the last poster. I think addresses should be given in very basic hints for those who don't have PM yet and are legit in wanting to monger. Actual addresses of establishments which may be "unethical" should be sent via PM to those genuinely interested, as Romano said.

KinkyKaran
10-09-11, 00:33
I voted for the strict Posting guidelines as it will keep the respective forums clean and will also help the real mongers.