Seriously..this NON-chatter is very eeerie...is someone taking down posts/discussions/threads or are you being threatened?

Normally on a friday afternoon this site should be buzzing and all....it sure is NOT.


Any explanations?


Everybody migrated South?

I also noticed that the overall activity is way less than before, not sure why though.

I'm new to this and thought, to quote Jack Nicholson from that movie, that this was "as good as it gets."

Competition.

^ If by competition you mean 'SS' then you sure made a big joke. Those clowns have done nothing more then create a site where they each have multiple ID's and they all pretend to be the boss and all pretend they will take over the world in a week or two. They all say the opposite to what they publically say on this site, AND I notice they all still visit here. In fact from what I saw and hear about that site, it is a poor mans fluffy site that will soon get blocked by the GFW unless they clean up their act.

I thought this was going to be a thread about Bjork!

Suzy_Xu wrote:^ If by competition you mean 'SS' then you sure made a big joke. Those clowns have done nothing more then create a site where they each have multiple ID's and they all pretend to be the boss and all pretend they will take over the world in a week or two. They all say the opposite to what they publically say on this site, AND I notice they all still visit here. In fact from what I saw and hear about that site, it is a poor mans fluffy site that will soon get blocked by the GFW unless they clean up their act.

Someone there got on your nerve I see. Either way a lot of active SE ppl 'disapeared', that explains lower trafic.

Suzy_Xu wrote:In fact from what I saw and hear about that site, it is a poor mans fluffy site that will soon get blocked by the GFW unless they clean up their act.

Well there's an endorsement if ever there was one!

MadeInPoland wrote:

Suzy_Xu wrote:Someone there got on your nerve I see. Either way a lot of active SE ppl 'disapeared', that explains lower trafic.

Traffic is not lower.

All you are seeing is some of the forums not being filled with off-topic posts.

Haha

Bye

Mod4 wrote:Traffic is not lower.

All you are seeing is some of the forums not being filled with off-topic posts.

And who decides what's on-topic and what's off-topic?

For instance, this post of mine. Is it off-topic? Will it be deleted?

And if it is deleted, will that be because it's off-topic? Or for some other reason?

Hmm?





If you over-moderate this forum, you will kill it. Your choice. A vibrant forum full of interesting characters posting stuff some mods may find vaguely offensive...or an endless rehash of visa enquiries, baby stroller adverts and language exchange requests.

tylerdurden wrote:

Mod4 wrote:Traffic is not lower.

All you are seeing is some of the forums not being filled with off-topic posts.

And who decides what's on-topic and what's off-topic?

For instance, this post of mine. Is it off-topic? Will it be deleted?

And if it is deleted, will that be because it's off-topic? Or for some other reason?

Hmm?





If you over-moderate this forum, you will kill it. Your choice. A vibrant forum full of interesting characters posting stuff some mods may find vaguely offensive...or an endless rehash of visa enquiries, baby stroller adverts and language exchange requests.

And who decides what's on-topic and what's off-topic?

Usually the OP annoyed that their thread has been hijacked and therefore reported it! Open Chat, The Pit and probably to a lesser extent, Dating, have always been the forums where there is freedom to mess about and have fun. The problems arise when this type of posting frequently creeps into the other forums where people are either trying to find something out or have what they consider to be a reasonable discussion about something.

Also, potential advertisers and users considering attending events are influenced by the content of the forums and in the case of those wanting to attend events, the other users posting in the forums. That's FACT.

What may surprise you is that there very little being moderated at the moment, yes we have had problems here in the last six months but there has been every attempt to fix that, both in the removal of some posters and also moderators.

Thre is a cycle to all this and although some "regulars" have left, new ones will arrive. I also suspect that some of the current regulars will still make regular appearance.

Happy Posting

'Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests'

Bit scary if you ask me...

Scary, indeed.
As this site tells me neither registered users nor guests are currently online, I can only conclude that I must be a figment of my own imagination.

And I thought I was dumb! Why don't you all remember how here you can sign in and first check the box that does not show you as online?

There are so many who supposedly left here for the other place, that still lurk around here and they just don't like it known they still prefer to be here. Many still drop posts here, even the ones supposedly runing THAT place. How else can they come here and try and steal all the customers away?

NorthernLights wrote:

Suzy_Xu wrote:In fact from what I saw and hear about that site, it is a poor mans fluffy site that will soon get blocked by the GFW unless they clean up their act.

Well there's an endorsement if ever there was one!

If only it was as good as that! SS, unfortunately, isn't worth wasting your time over. Nerdy 14-year-olds might find some amusement there but that's about it.

I'm not aware of anyone trying to "steal" . . . "customers" . . . away from Shexpat. And how can anyone "steal" customers? I get paid just as much per post on Shexpat as I do at SS. Anyway, I personally refused to sign the 10-page agreement that contained the fine print saying "I promise never to read or post to any other forum with the word "Shanghai" in the name".

What is wrong with posting in both places? I think they're quite different. I don't find either one to be exclusive. I'm aware of a few bannings on Shexpat, and a few at SS.

So far, SS seems to be a good place to kibbutz and align. There aren't many topical threads yet, but there's a lot of good-natured banter, and there are groups for people who share and post about common interests like photography, for example. And a fluffy site? I really have to laugh that you, Suzy, of all people, would call it that. Or don't you remember your avatars showing as much of your own personal skin as you could get away with?

Shexpat, on the other hand, seems to be more suitable for discussions with a little more weight, particularly in the News and Opinion forum. Vive la difference. I like them both.

In the end, the result will be Darwinian - the fitting will survive. If you don't like one or the other, don't read or post. If you like both, you can riff in one place and discuss seriously in the other.

On the subject of thread-jacking, I think complaining about it on Shexpat is nothing but over-wrought immaturity. It's not as if this is some "alt.vampire.flonk.flonk" forum from usenet where having a discussion is impossible. Sure, it's free flowing. And sure, some threads have been overtaken by merriment. But I can't recall many threads that were interesting to enough people that got overrun with people goofing around.

I can't help thinking that those who complain that "their" thread was highjacked don't understand the sins they committed - and they are 1. thinking they "own" any thread, 2. taking themselves far too seriously, and 3. boring people. If nobody wants to talk about what you want to talk about, change channels or move on. Nobody is your captive audience.

Good luck to both Shexpat and SS. I like them both.

Mod4 wrote:What may surprise you is that there very little being moderated at the moment, yes we have had problems here in the last six months but there has been every attempt to fix that, both in the removal of some posters and also moderators.

I've noticed a few posters abruptly disappear in the past several months. Sometimes they were bullies who deserved to be turfed, and a few rabid racists have disappeared, too. I think some people were given entirely too much rope over the past couple of years.

But some of the character has gone with them. I don't know who left voluntarily and who was banned, but at least some of the defections/bannings have been for the better, and some have been losses as far as I'm concerned. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Suzy, why so much hate?

I never took you for a hater...

Michael had a better understanding of degree of moderation.

Maybe it is usual for people to get bored with sites after a time because the same topic go around and around and when you see that over a year or so it's just not so much fun to comment.

People get a life outside this forum, move on.

What Suzy says about the other site is just not the case. It's a work in progress and different to Shex.
I'm a member of about four different Shanghai websites for information or fun.

^ this

The other site is more fluid imo, more like a chat site, the nature of the content is more transient. They are different beasts. The "forum" is probably the least utilized section.

I wonder how much of the traffic here is generated from people such as myself hitting the "view new posts" button in the hope that someone has come up with a topic that doesn't make me feel like I want to hang myself. The problem with this forum is the pure repetition of banal crap. How many "my visa is expiring, can I swim to Hong Kong?" topics do we need? To be honest I think that that is one area where there should be more moderation. USE THE DAMN SEARCH FUNCTION BEFORE POSTING! The better "information" forums I visit adhere to this rule quite strongly. Any repeat topic is locked and people are forced to search and read. But then that would probably reduce traffic I guess...

Suzy's English level has suddenly skyrocketed, along with her passion to protect SHExpat...

and her level of clothing...

what gives?

I really like Suzy's new avatar - seriously, no joke. It's by far the best one she's used.

This poster was banned under many other names.
edited by moderator.

Fewer posters like the one above would be good.

Suzy_Xu wrote:And I thought I was dumb! Why don't you all remember how here you can sign in and first check the box that does not show you as online?

There are so many who supposedly left here for the other place, that still lurk around here and they just don't like it known they still prefer to be here. Many still drop posts here, even the ones supposedly runing THAT place. How else can they come here and try and steal all the customers away?

Relax your little britches and let's see some skin

^with the amount of totally rude pics you posted, why would you want to see more of me? There is tastefull and there is disgusting.

In reply to VK - is there some unwritten rules that say I can't check my writing or can't improve?

To the others that wonder what is wrong with me and if someone upset me - no, I just don't like places where the people running the site refuse (or delay) to moderate what was obviously disgusting materials being posted for all and sundry to see (hope Keif is reading and taking the himts) as well as the rude and racist as well as hateful comments being posted in blogs, on walls etc where anyone coming past can see all without having to even log in. When I commented I was told all sites (including here) were as bad or worse. Sorry, total ignorance by people over there that are running the place.

Seems to me that there is a select group of "boys" who can run wild there and do as they please, but others can be deleted/banned because of rumours or else things that happened on this site. Where is the fair-play etc that the same people are demanding from here?

Am I sticking up for this site? Not really. I'm pointing out how the ones complaining over there the loudest, are as much to blame for doing the same things here.

Thanks for all the feedback

anter wrote:Michael had a better understanding of degree of moderation.

Maybe it is usual for people to get bored with sites after a time because the same topic go around and around and when you see that over a year or so it's just not so much fun to comment.

People get a life outside this forum, move on.

What Suzy says about the other site is just not the case. It's a work in progress and different to Shex.
I'm a member of about four different Shanghai websites for information or fun.

Michael did have a better understanding of the moderating required primarily because it was his site and he was very clear about what he wanted from it and what he wanted others to get from it. I knew Michael personally and i've came back in to try and help get the moderating and forums back on track. I never always agreed with Michael regarding some moderating issues but having previously moderated here for six years I have a good understanding of how he wanted things to be.

On the subject of Michael, he never wanted the forums to be whiter than white. He wanted them to be a place where regulars could come in and chat, where there was a database of information and where newbies could come in and post the most benign of questions that may have been asked about a hundred time before, but ask them without fear of attack. The latter was his pet hate here. Not everyone is as internet savvy as other users here and it takes a lot for them to post and countless people have never used the forums again because of the "attacks" on them. And BTW, sometimes these attack are from people who's Chinese experience has consisted of taxi from Airport to hotel, being vastly overcharged for their apartment, getting taxis everywhere but still having to show business cards for the destination, shopping in Carrefour, eating in the same restaurants as when they arrived the year before. Some people want more from living and working in China and see these forums as the place to ask questions, make friends, etc.

To put something into context with moderating sites like these, I'll use SS as an example. It looks like the long term aim is to provide a platform for groups like bloggers, photographers, artists, etc. At the moment the site is in development, there is few moderators and traffic is important. At some point they will make a decision as to whether or not they feel that the very people they are trying to attract for the groups are being put off by the content in the forums. For someone to have spent time writing an article and then to have it ripped to pieces by childish one-liners is from our experience here, a negative, and they take their work elsewhere.

And to reiterate something, non of the regular posters here have been banned. As I've said, there is a cycle to all this and at this time of year the forums are normally quieter.

If anyone has any issues, gripes, questions of feedback, feel free to contact me.

Cheers