Please Keep in Mind ....

[Rachel]

With the nook about to hit release date, we will get a bit busier around here.  I am sure that some of the reviews will be good, and some not so good.  I will not prevent people from talking about the not-so-good things so long as people stay civil and don't take it to a personal level.

The mods and I may have to do some cuts, so please do not be offended if one of your posts gets cut.  We are not singling you out, and we are not even saying that what you posted is wrong, but sometimes we don't know how people will react to the things we post.  A seemingly harmless post can turn ugly quickly when other members misinterpret the meaning of the post.  It is our jobs as mods to try to see when a post may cause this sort of reaction and nip it in the bud early on.  This is to protect you from an unintended backlash more than anything else.  If you are unsure of how a post might be interpreted, a good rule of thumb is to make sure to not address someone directly in sarcasm or anger.  These are usually the types of posts that get misinterpreted the most.  We will do our best to let you know if we are deleting something you posted, but please do not take it personally.  We are trying to keep a certain tone with this board, and trust me, this is not an easy task.  We are doing our best, but we are by no means perfect.

Thank you for being such a great group of members, and I look forward to experiencing the Barnes & Noble nook with all of you!

Cheers!
Rachel

Update:  Please read the Forum Etiquette to see our guidelines for this forum.

[PeteEaston]

no problem, sound reasonable. 

[Anne]

I do not have a problem with that.

[RoxieRavenclaw]

Me either. And I want to say, too: I'm sorry for the tone of some of my other posts. I know that I'm not the only one who's gotten snarky, sarcastic or otherwise negative at times, but yes--I know that I've written those kinds of posts, too, so I'm sorry that I've done my bit to contribute to that negativity. I'm going to try harder and do my best to contribute to the *positive* environment that we all want to have around here. :D

I'd like to say this, too: This is a great forum. These forums are the first place I go to catch up on the latest nook-related news. It's very refreshing to see an open-minded crowd gathering to talk about nook--or any electronic device, for that matter. One thing I'm not liking about some of the tech blogs I've visited, or B&N's own help forums for ebooks/nook, is the way that commenters will want to one-up each other and create this environment where nothing's ever good enough to please anyone, and everyone's so quick to snap at each other with everything, so nobody has anything particularly positive to say. I've been very happy about the fact that folks aren't like that here. And I've loved the fact that for the most part, folks are very willing to reach out and help others. I know that for myself, I'd like to continue seeing the positive, helpful, optimistic environment I've seen here, so I'll work harder to do my part to help maintain this here.

--Roxie

[mfaine]

Personally, I don't think you should censor anything, with a few exceptions such as  blatant hate speech or anything that could get the administrators or moderators in legal trouble.  In other words, it would have to be really bad and completely justified to any rational observer.  Having said that, it is your board and you can do as you please.

-Mark

[CaliMar]

Having been an admin and mod on internet boards for several years I have a good idea of what it takes to run one of these sites. 

Unless something violates the TERMS OF SERVICE for the site, nothing should be "cut". Among other things, it makes conversations/threads difficult to follow.  Someone on staff deleting posts because you don't know they're going to be interpreted is a pretty slippery slope.  I could wish everyone a Merry Christmas and someone could interpret it as me pushing my religion.  There'd be no reason to delete my post since it doesn't violate the terms of service but maybe you should since it might offend someone.

Sorry, not a fan of this idea.

[Rachel]

I think I did not explain myself well, re-reading what I posted it does sound like I am just going to willy-nilly decide what may or may not piss someone off.  That is not what I mean at all.  I am sorry for the confusion. 

Trust me I anticipate that there will be very limited cuts made, and only then when they do violate my "Forum Etiquette" found here.  Cuts would fall under One, Two, Three or Four.  I do not like making cuts any more than anyone likes having them done, but unfortunately in order to keep the atmosphere we have here it has to be done sometimes.  Judging by the character of the people we have so far though, I do not see that this would be happening a lot.  I just wanted to put this post up more for anyone new we may have joining us in the coming days, so they know what kind of atmosphere we expect here.

If you have any issues with this and want to talk to me about it, you can always feel free to PM or email (nookboards@hotmail.com) me as well.  I am new to this whole board thing and I am always open to suggestions.

Rachel

[McWarren]

I think this is an excellent policy.  I've all but stopped going to the eBooks blog or the eBooks forum at B&N because of the tone. I'd really hate it if the same thing happened here.

[jennifermcb]

I think it only reasonable that the mods here have some authority to make decisions concerning posts here.  I have every confidence that power will not be abused and that good judgment will be used:)

[Klaatu]

I want to assure everyone that I have no intention of deleting posts willy-nilly. I am inclined to let people discuss things until they are done. If it looks like things might get out of hand then I will drop a hint to let things cool off, or I might even lock a thread. But only the most egregious posts might cause to me to delete it.

Regards,
Michael

[Angela]

Rachel, I'm delighted that you're taking the responsibility to do this. I can't imagine how hard it must be to protect a civil atmosphere, but having read the B&N posts, I'm so happy I found these boards. If I'd only seen the other board, I probably would have cancelled my nook order; this board is more like a beacon of hope! (Yeah, I can be melodramtic at times!)

Thanks for all your work with this.

[Selcien]

I just want to add in my experience on another board known for it's good environment.

You can have two posters that are generally good posters but if one poster deems that the other poster was personally targeting him/her then things can get very nasty very quickly, especially if it's moved to PM's. It's of the utmost importance to take care when quoting someone you disagree with and keep in mind that it's quite possible to run into a poster that you get along with as well as oil and water.

I was the one that did the quoting and the other poster refused to believe that I didn't intend to do what he thought I was trying to do. I never thought that I could get angry from posting on a message board but I swear that my blood was boiling in my veins by the time we were through as I was so angry, I quite literally hated him after our exchange (I even ranted how I hated him in a thread on the board before finally requesting the thread be locked.  )

We could have caused quite a mess on that board without ever meaning to just because of how poorly we got along, but it seems that we each decided to ignore the other after that.

[inkonvelvet]

I am brand new here, but may I just say "thank you"? Because it's the uncivil and aggressive atmosphere on other boards that has made me leery of boards in general. There's something to be said for a civilized environment and I am delighted that you are doing what you can to create that here.

[Rachel]

Welcome to the boards inkonvelvet!!  We are always happy to see a new face, and I am glad you enjoy our atmosphere as much as we do!!  Our members are rgeat, and i can't thank them enough for making this a great place to hang out.

Rachel

[inkonvelvet]

Thanks for the kind welcome, Rachel. I am waiting for my nook, but I decided to join this message board to keep abreast of nook issues so I will be a smarter nook owner when it finally does arrive. This will be my very first ebook experience.

[akfloyd]

I am brand new here, but may I just say "thank you"? Because it's the uncivil and aggressive atmosphere on other boards that has made me leery of boards in general. There's something to be said for a civilized environment and I am delighted that you are doing what you can to create that here.

i just want to second this post! i love it here already and am impressed by the helpfulness and upbeat atmosphere. i think many people need a place where negativity is kept at bay because that kind of thing can grow very easily and ruin a perfectly good thing. honesty, respect, quirky personalities/sense of humor and courtesy can all go hand in hand when posting but sometimes internet communications can get out of hand quickly. thanks for creating this board and thanks for caring enough to keep it positive.

[arne_bue]

Like akfloyd, I am for a positive board.  In my opinion, this board is friendly and a great place to be.  Thanks
to all of you working so hard on this board.
ARNE L. BUE