DISCLAIMER: I am posting a rant about the forums. I do not intend to insult anyone at all, or even really argue for a different method. I know/understand that this is Tricia's board, and I am grateful that she has provided this forum. I do not plan to buck the rules, and I hope it's clear that I mean no disrespect or insult.
Another poster said earlier that she has reached the point that she's afraid to post anything, since there is such a strict adherence to keeping all subjects to related posts. On the one hand, I do understand the desire to make sure that whatever you want to discuss has not already been said, but on the other hand, I feel like it's nit-picky to an extreme degree.
Yes, I do realize that a search is easy to do. I understand how to search. I agree that it's silly to have umpteen threads on the same subject. I also agree that for certain threads, there shouldn't be any frivolous discussion or anything off-topic.
This case is an emotional case with more twists and turns being exposed every day. The number of members who concentrate on this case is huge. Posts are quick and fluid. With these numbers, posts are bound to be sometimes repeated.
I do not feel comfortable posting around here anymore. If a thread reminds me or inspires an idea, I hesitate to post or respond because I am concerned that it will be considered off-topic (since it seems to me sometimes that the distance required to be "off-topic" is always changing), or else that someone has already posted before, even if a search did not show anything up.
One thing that really offends me is when warnings are given in the large red letters, with lots of exclamation points and berating. I feel that the admin team could reproach us more tactfully than that. I've worked at home for many years as a quality assurance editor for transcription, and usually the only contact I have with my coworkers and management is through email. Therefore I may be more sensitive to the tone that shows through written communication, but I just really feel like we are being treated like children who have been naughty or stupid.
I really do understand the frustration that the admin team must be feeling. I don't expect to change anything with this post, and again, I'm not trying to offend. But this is a rant thread, and that's what I am doing.
This is Tricia's house and therefore Tricia's rulebook, and I plan on following it as consciously as possible. I appreciate the time and work that Tricia puts into these boards. I just wanted to say how I feel, which is condescended. If we were all in the same room talking in person rather than via forums, I really don't think that interaction would be this way. If a person walked through the door and innocently asked a question that someone in the room had already asked, no one would snap at them. If we were all working together and the mods were our supervisors, they would not constantly nitpick berate us like children who need to be spanked.
That's all--I don't feel that I am expressing the way I have been feeling, at least not clearly enough. It's hard to put into words, but the bottom line is that I have become wary of posting anything or joining discussions, and I think that many others feel the same way. On the home page of WebSleuths, Tricia has a note claiming that everyne has something to offer. Unfortunately, I am starting to feel like whatever I offer would be deemed out of place, inappropriate, or a number of other things.
lisha
