So i just wanted to say this, cause i just can't believe it, I will not say the name or where it was, cause usually owners of sites get in a tizzy about it. So here's what i got: I have made many wallpapers, backgrounds, whichever you choose to call them, and had forum owners label me a liar or so forth. I have never stolen a thing, and i would never go that low, So here's what was said when i posted a custom wallpaper on one of their sites to show it off, "Is this really yours? Cause if you lie to us, you will be banned." I'm just like this: This was the first time any admin doubted me and said that, it really offended me. I had worked 12 solid hours on that, if you're curious, here's the link to said image: http://dcdavid28.deviantart.com/art/MLP-OC-Wallpaper-updated-530081288 So i replied to them, "Why would i steal from anyone? If you wish to do a backtrace be my guest." So they do just that. The next day i come back and find that i got banned for plagiarism That was not the case with my wallpaper, it was never stolen, i swear they had no idea what plagiarism was. So i decided to fight them for that charge, and won that one after a mod did it themselves and found that the admin had lied about it, she had been doing this to members without even doing a backtrace at all. Since then i have quit that forum and never went back, so i came here in hopes that maybe it won't repeat that problem. I suppose it was my fault too since i forgot to include the watermark, but have any of you ever had this happen to you?
I've had worse situations, but now i only show my work to friends, cause they won't act in such a way.
You pretty much just described all of the administrators and moderators, except one, from the MLP: FiM forum I got kicked out of. Plus, they never did anything about the way I was being treated on there. So yeah, I've encountered it plenty of times.
The MLP Forum admins can get petty at times, and the Derpibooru staff is definitely immature, but I've been treated fairly for the most part on forums.
I suppose the worst I've dealt with is back around 2008-2009 I was part of a forum where some of the staff were very homophobic and transphobic - including the admin. I got annoyed with it... There was one mod who was a terrible arguer and would come into the same-sex marriage topic and try to argue against it, when her arguments got taken down, she'd claim that she's being bullied and that everyone was ganging up on her. And her husband who was another mod would lock the topic. They also locked LGBT support topics because "If straight people don't need one, you all don't need one either". Worse, later I got notification that they (the admin and others) were all making fun of me on the chat and calling me slurs. Thankfully, the community is no more. The admin has tried to revive it a couple of times, but has failed. Lol.
I've seen some strange behaviors from admins only twice. Both times, it wasn't directed at me and it has been a while, so I don't know all the details, but witnessing the public posts was interesting enough. The first time, what happened was something I can only describe as a mental breakdown of sorts. He used to be a cool and even respected guy, until one day, he just sort of snapped. He was removed from the position of admin by the forum's actual owner before he could do any real damage though and has since mellowed out a bit to my knowledge. The other time, in another forum... I have to mention that this one used to have a ridiculously lengthy rules section written in a language that could only be deciphered by lawyers. No abridged version for laymen whatsoever (and no, this wasn't a law forum). Then one day, a new user introduced themselves and made the mistake of mentioning how they had problems understanding some of the rules but that they got the basic gist of it and promised to be on their best behavior. The admin's response was... not particularly pretty. Full of name calling and insults, you could almost hear the admin foaming and screaming at their screen just from reading their post. Other users quickly came in defense of the hapless newbie, calling the admin out on their horrible behavior and a big argument ensued that I'm surprised didn't result in immediate bans left and right. Not sure how it all ended as I left the forum in disgust after this, but from what I know, the forum was closed not too long after that, so yeah.
Actually yes, it was some other forum. The staff there really don't like me that much because of my behavior there, of course I kinda got in a ridiculous argument with them and they banned me. They basically thought I was 'aggressive and rude' but that's not true. I was kinda glad I got banned from there, because I didn't like it that much. That's when I basically found this place like a month later or so and I was hoping this community was better and I was right, the staff here seem more friendly to me.
Wow...sounds like that admin had no clue what he or she was even doing. I didn't realize there was this much drama in the world of MLP forums. I'm glad I have not come across this here yet.
There's a saying I like: "When humans have power, they seek to use it.", which means that when given power, an admin or mod will more than likely abuse it. But then again, there are those who don't abuse it, and they're okay in my book.
Ech...yeah. Yeah. Heard many horror stories. I butted heads with a forum mod at WoE. It was stupid. I've talked to quite a few people that agree that he is a bit...over-sensitive. You come to him with a problem and he has this, "Why are you complaining" attitude. Defensive, is the word I'd use to describe him, when he doesn't really have to be. I made the mistake of pointing that out...he denied and got sassy. Didn't like my blunt attitude. I could have saved myself if I just hadn't made that one troll post in response to his defensiveness. Should have let it go. He was bout to give me that chance but when he found my post he kicked me. Bout right there I really, really should have stopped, but my anger made me do something stupid (attempted an alt on my phone I forgot I used to log in before) and I just made myself look bad from there on. Some mods are cool, and I just click with. Others...there's something not right about their personality. But in that situation I think I acted more childish than him. I expected better taste and sense out of myself anyways. Funny thing is, my troll post was actually a heads up to the moderators. A funny macro pic about the crap mods see. He took it the wrong way. It wasn't meant to really be a malevolent troll post, but whatevs. Just sorta poking fun at him in a sporting way...I dunno. He didn't share my humor. Bottom-line is this. I don't like him. I don't like his attitude. He is over-sensitive and over defensive. He does not understand the impression he leaves on people. But it was his site. He made it for a reason. You don't go into a man's house and make yourself an ass even if they guy unpleasant. You don't make alts. Even if you know its gonna be deleted anyways and you're just doin in to get some info or whatever, you don't do it cause it makes you look like an ass that guarantees permaban and leaves a dark black taint on your reputation that never goes away, haunting in your dreams like some kind of creepy pasta phantom... You remember the Scarlet Letter? It didn't stand for Adultery. It stood for Alt. Don't do alts...or meth. I've done both. No bueno.
I got that feeling from the staff there too, all I got was, "Just get over it and move on." If it were that easy I would have, but some people just don't have the ability to communicate well.
Ever have an administrator ask for suggestions on how to improve a barely active forum - then hold a grudge against you for making a suggestion?
Admins and staff are people too. It's disappointing but should not be surprising when sometimes they act in a way you would hope they wouldn't. I'm not saying it's okay to act poorly, or that they have any more or less of an excuse than anyone else. I'm just saying, they aren't always mature and they don't always have everything together. They're not gods among men, they're just people who are in charge of a website. Everyone's got faults.
The one thing they must remember is to take others feelings into consideration, just hope one of these days they will learn a good lesson.
Well, yes, that is something everybody should remember, not just admins and staff. Unfortunately sometimes people don't. :C
I try to keep in mind that admins and mods are people. Shoot, I'm friends with a couple on skype. At the same time, it also encourages my 'respond to stupid with stupider' response when I realize I'm dealing with a dolt. But then who's the bigger dolt in that situation?
I left some because most never knew how to run a proper forum, nobody truly does. Its really up to luck if you become successful or not, but in the end, it won't matter. All good things come to an end at some point.