Should site staff be held to a higher standard in fora? (Staff: Andrew is a participant too) Thread poster: Erik Freitag
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Erik Freitag 
Germany
Local time: 06:40
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Dear all,
I've been a member of this site for 13 years now, and I have always admired proz staff for their calm, civilized and matter-of-factly way of participating in the fora.
This seems to have changed significantly with a new staff member whose postings, if they had come from regular site users, I would expect to be subject to serious intervention by forum moderators.
While some postings from regular site members in the relevant threads leave a lot to b... See more Dear all,
I've been a member of this site for 13 years now, and I have always admired proz staff for their calm, civilized and matter-of-factly way of participating in the fora.
This seems to have changed significantly with a new staff member whose postings, if they had come from regular site users, I would expect to be subject to serious intervention by forum moderators.
While some postings from regular site members in the relevant threads leave a lot to be desired as well, I think that staff members should be held to a higher standard. Do you agree?
And, as a side note, a related factual question: Does forum moderation distinguish between posts from proz users and site staff?
Looking forward to hear your thoughts!
Erik
[Edited for typos]
[Edited at 2019-05-10 14:26 GMT]
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2019-05-13 15:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Interesting question | May 10, 2019 |
No, we are all human beings, and should all have the same standards of behaviour on the forum.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:40
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Erik Freitag wrote:
.....I think that staff member should be held to a higher standard. Do you agree?
I am concerned about how that person was ever able to become a staff member. There seems to be an underlying problem at Proz.
| | | | | One thing I've noticed | May 10, 2019 |
People will tolerate all sorts of rudeness and aggression from "regular site members", but woe betide anyone who defends themselves against those remarks. A staff member should just stand there and politely accept any crap thrown at him/her.
That attitude sucks.
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Helen Shiner
France
Local time: 06:40
Member (2008)
German to English
+ ...
| Public forum | May 10, 2019 |
If members choose to behave rudely on this site, they do so at cost to their own reputations. When a member of staff does so, it also brings the reputation of the site (such as it is) into question. It really is making me consider whether I wish any longer to be associated with Proz. I fail to see what it is achieving in any positive sense.
| | | | | One thing I've noticed | May 10, 2019 |
Elizabeth Tamblin wrote:
People will tolerate all sorts of rudeness and aggression from "regular site members", but woe betide anyone who defends themselves against those remarks. A staff member should just stand there and politely accept any crap thrown at him/her.
That attitude sucks.
Edited to add: I'm surprised (or maybe not) that zillions of people have agreed with the original post that regular forum members should not adhere to the same standards as staff.
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Revoked by poster. | | I'll reply to this shortly | May 10, 2019 |
Hi all,
Thanks for using ProZ.com and for sharing thoughts / questions on this issue. I'll reply shortly. In the meantime, I am closing the thread.
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| Andrew is a participant in these forums. Let's try to be more welcoming of each other. | May 13, 2019 |
Hey all,
This topic is similar to a recent one questioning Andrew's role. I replied by video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwMuaKoq6Pw
The video is 13 minutes, and I ramble a bit, so to spare those who don't want to watch here is a summary... try to follow the logic:
* ProZ.com adapted its mission statement in January. Up to now, ProZ.com has "provided... See more Hey all,
This topic is similar to a recent one questioning Andrew's role. I replied by video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwMuaKoq6Pw
The video is 13 minutes, and I ramble a bit, so to spare those who don't want to watch here is a summary... try to follow the logic:
* ProZ.com adapted its mission statement in January. Up to now, ProZ.com has "provided access" to "tools and opportunities". In other words, our target customer was the established professional and do-it-yourself-er. Now, we are taking it as our mission to "partner for success" with members (both individual and business), including those who may benefit from assistance. I don't expect the implications of this to immediately be clear. I touch on that in the video a bit.
* In connection with this shift, we are hiring new people. Andrew is one of those hired (for an initial 3-month engagement.) He is not a forum moderator, and this is part of why he may be coming across differently here. He has been hired to do, among the ProZ.com community, what he has done elsewhere: share his experiences and viewpoints in a such a way that others may benefit.
* The forums here can be uncomfortable at times, especially when the topic is ProZ.com or new initiatives from ProZ.com. I'd like to see that change. In the case of Andrew, I feel like he is being made to feel unwelcome, which is unfortunate. I see that he is giving it back a bit, a bit more than I would advise, and I've talked to him about that. But he is a participant here and doesn't need to be made to feel unwelcome.
To put it differently, Andrew is trying to talk about translation and translation-related topics. Threads are being taken astray, and discussion is veering, so that it winds up being a discussion of whether or not Andrew should be allowed to talk about these topics. (And then it gets into the back-and-forth.)
Andrew is not the only one to have experienced this. So my request to everyone: please be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Let's make the forums a more welcoming, more forgiving place.
Can we do that? Click "agree" if you would like the forums here to be friendly. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 21:40
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
+ ...
| Agree with this too | May 13, 2019 |
Erik Freitag wrote:
... I have always admired proz staff for their calm, civilized and matter-of-factly way of participating in the fora.
This seems to have changed significantly with a new staff member whose postings, if they had come from regular site users, I would expect to be subject to serious intervention by forum moderators.
Hope this changes now.
[Edited at 2019-05-13 18:25 GMT]
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Henry Dotterer wrote:
Click "agree" if you would like the forums here to be friendly.
I don't think anyone would argue they want "unfriendly" forums.
Henry Dotterer wrote:
But he is a participant here and doesn't need to be made to feel unwelcome.
At the risk of being tarred as one of the "negative group" of posters, why do you think Andrew is being "made to feel unwelcome", if that is the case?
I've been a member here since 2004, and this is the first time something like this has struck our sleepy little community.
Has some sort of collective psychosis gripped the "negative core" of forum posters, who feel some sort of insuppressible need to make a Proz.com staff member feel unwelcome?
Nearly all threads launched by the person concerned have "sailed into unproductive waters".
A thirteen-minute video produced by the site's president to calm the baying crowd.
More and more intriguing by the day.
| | | | | Let's keep it simple, Fiona | May 13, 2019 |
Thanks, Fiona, but I'm going to take a pass on analyzing. My request would be that the next time there is a topic posted by Andrew or anyone on, say, techniques for meeting end clients, we just stick to that as a topic and not get into any intrigue of this sort.
There is enough hassle to be found elsewhere in life...
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