I would like to start in saying that this message is regrettably overdue. It has been days since many members have started having genuine fears about having their OT threads closed or even deleted. You should know that
no threads will be closed or deleted in OT for the time being. If any such action occurs, it is the action of someone who is going against orders from
Igor. They DO NOT represent the AF moderating staff. When their identity is unearthed, they will likely lose their moderating position, and perhaps even be banned from AF.
We are very disconcerted with the degraded member-moderator relationship of late. Contrary to common belief (
), we are not “Nazis,” as a couple of us have been referred to as. Additionally, the negativity around the boards has definitely not been going unnoticed by the AF moderators. It is a tough time. And it seems that the source of all the trouble is
post whoring.
This is a problem that has affected all large-population on-line communities at one time or another. But it is no small task to defeat. The problem with it is that it eats up bandwidth and disables the server from being able to support the userbase that AF is capable of handling. Additionally, it creates long, dragged-out threads that are meaningless to all, save for the few involved in the post whoring itself.
We ask you for your discretion. To communicate with friends, a message slipped in here or there will cause no harm, but the endless strings of messages exchanged in threads are a plague. Remember that.
We now try to balance the subtle art of moderating. Keeping order, preventing problems like this from destroying our site (make no mistake that tensions rippling out from this issue have sadly incited some members to leave AF, and many, many more to consider it, including moderators
), and maintaining a positive working relationship with a great userbase. WE ARE HERE TO HELP. Any one of us will gladly do whatever is necessary to put the pieces back together, and are happy to work with members to make this restoration effective.
This has previously been the best automotive on-line community around, and we must now take steps to restore that. Since AF has been above and beyond most other boards in handling other issues previously, it stands to reason that as we have done with other issues before, we will prevail! I am not one for making promises I can’t guarantee to keep, but AF will get through this, and return to being the board that you all signed up to be a part of.
I know this is what we all really want. If we work together, this is what we shall have. The AF moderating staff asks for your patience, compassion, and even assistance in combating this problem that affects everybody. We thank you for your time and energy.
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JD