Zero Tolerance of Rudeness/Attacks/Inflammatory Posts

[rescue99]

One more thing, I honestly think that unless there is blindingly obvious fighting that gets the thread shut down, infractions shouldn't be issued on the principal that someone MIGHT be offended by another post. I think in order for there to be a violation there should be an actual complaining victim.

Taking some ribbing in jest or a tongue trashing for making a mistake is one thing. Being down right belligerent and rude only serves to promote the unfortunate views of many.....That EMS is made up of a bunch of dysfunctional bone heads incapable of doing a job he/she is educated and trained to do.

It is very difficult to hold in high regard anyone so insecure that he/she feels a need to strut all over another EMS comrade. Sadly, an awful lot of people believe being called stupid and ignorant is a confidence builder or gives someone a boost. A boost? I for one am terribly confused as to how ripping a new student or EMT to shreds teaches, mentors, leads by example, shows what a better education can do, displays professionalism or even resembles camaraderie. There needs to be a happy middle ground on a fairly consistent basis. Just my .02 cents

 

[HotelCo]

If you don't want all the junk then why not delete the repeat posts that the new people like to post because they don't like to rummage through the search results?

There's a blurry area here. On one hand, you get members getting yelled at for posting a topic that has been posted before. On the other, you get members being yelled at for resurrecting an old thread.

I think there has to be some standardization. There have been times when on moderator allows one thing and another gives a warning for it. There are also times when you will get a warning for something one day and not the next. It's nuts, I am very cautious to post, and i am sure a lot of others are as well. We don't know what will get an infraction and what wont becuase it's all open to interpertation.

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Pudge40]

I second this post. There has been times in chat where I have been told that it was ok by the mod currently in there, but warned that some other mod might take 'offense' over something.

All in favor say I or is it aye or eye? Whichever way I!

 

[Sasha]

Taking some ribbing in jest or a tongue trashing for making a mistake is one thing. Being down right belligerent and rude only serves to promote the unfortunate views of many.....That EMS is made up of a bunch of dysfunctional bone heads incapable of doing a job he/she is educated and trained to do.

It is very difficult to hold in high regard anyone so insecure that he/she feels a need to strut all over another EMS comrade. Sadly, an awful lot of people believe being called stupid and ignorant is a confidence builder or gives someone a boost. A boost? I for one am terribly confused as to how ripping a new student or EMT to shreds teaches, mentors, leads by example, shows what a better education can do, displays professionalism or even resembles camaraderie. There needs to be a happy middle ground on a fairly consistent basis. Just my .02 cents

Change does not come about without adversity. If you continually reward bad behaviors with a pat on the back, what motivation do they have to change? And yes, there ARE bad behaviors that are discussed here.

However I do agree some people take it too far

 

[daedalus]

MMiz,

Of course you have my gratitude for providing the website for us to come to and share our collective knowledge and teach each other. I however fear that your logic may be failing you right now. When I signed up on this forum, I had just finished EMT school. I thought I was the "shizz" so to speak. I thought I could handle anything, and that I should be able to push more drugs and use a pulse ox and glucometer because why not? Even a patient can use those things at home. Than, I got the poop kicked out of me by some people here on the forum in numerous debates. I thank these people in my head all the time now. Sure, it was rude and felt insulting. But I came out enlightened to the problems facing EMS, and doing my own research and studying, I found their statements to be more true than I had ever thought they could be.

You have created a community. A community is the sum of its members, not the server or the software for the board. I find it strange that you mention your resentment towards highly contributory members who feel a little bit entitled. An internet forum is useless without its members, who provide the content. We are very lucky that some professionals come here and impart knowledge for us. Punishing prolific members for throwing some wisdom into new people will turn this forum into a place where new EMTs come to pat themselves on the back for putting that new siren in the truck or for hugs after royally screwing up a call. I do not find such a site worth much time.

Over the past few months I have had numerous posts of mine deleted or otherwise altered/edited. Most of the time, I was not the offending party, but just a poster in a thread that turned ugly. Now when I look at a thread, I cannot even trust that the content is original or altered. Not a good thing.

Just some food for thought.

 

[mycrofft]

My bro in law runs a website. Some observations in common:

1. Moderators shold not be editing. It's in or it's out. If it has enough merit, PM the poster with suggestions. I've never experienced it here, only heard rumors.

2. This is the moderator's site, we "come here" (there is no "here" here, actually), and we post and read at their pleasure. It is their task to balance between a dried mummified BBD and a "free-for-all" which degenerates into offensive anarchy, to provide balance and "safety" so people can share and fulfill the site's intended purpose. Not our house, not our rules.

3. There are some basic rules of thumb which apply. Refering to members as pieces of feminine hygeine equipment or other inanimate objects generally signals a departure from "the Dream". In fact, the use of the words "I think you..." should be a flag to examine more closely in many (not a majority) of instances. How about referring to practices and incidents, not posters? What about referring to ourselves and not to others (i.e., "I feel that..." or "I should have..", instead of "Yoyo-head over there ought to...").


And just a personal observation? Fergoshsakes lighten up a little, especially new folks. This isn't a solemn annointed sister/brotherhood, this is a bunch of anonymous people most of whom will not be associated with EMS (whatever THAT actually is) for long; if they are, they will come to recognize how small this branch of the pond is, in the big picture, and try to bring something back to contribute, not browbeat newbies. Have a life outside EMTLIFE and apply the Golden Rule.

I need to go feed the Brontosaurus. Let's have a good one.B)

 

[ffemt8978]

We try really hard not to edit posts unless they violate one of our rules, preferring instead to remove the post(s) in question.

However, we will edit posts for reasons like fixing the HTML code, removing links that violate our rules, or if a quoted post was edited/removed.

 

[mycrofft]

Oh, thanks!

Good deal.
(Is there a fee for that?.....)

 

[Guardian]

Thank goodness we are finally cracking down on these people. Maybe I'll start posting more now.

 

[Meursault]

Maybe I'll start posting more now.

# Total Posts: 977
# Posts Per Day: 0.81

I was worried, too.

 

[wolfwyndd]

Over the past few months, and likely for much longer, members have contacted me and said that they're not posting out of fear of the EMTLife lynch mob that has taken over almost every thread in the community. [snip]

:beerchug::beerchug::beerchug:
Yah!! I'm glad to see that someone else, particularly a moderator, pretty much feels the same way I do. I may actually have to start coming back here because for the longest time, I HAVEN'T posted for that very reason. There are a select few members who seem to think that they know everything that anyone needs to know and will be more then happy to tell everyone all they need to know and frequently then belittle someone because they didn't know that to begin with.

 

[daedalus]

That this forum and some of its staff (read: Chimpie) want this place to be a censored dictatorship where no real information exchange or debate can take place. We have now lost many valuable members, some of whom I have learned a lot from and so have many of you.

So look forward to no more good information, now you all can pat yourselfs on the back for putting that new siren in your ford or asking which trauma bag should you buy for personal use.

I was hear to learn about the medicine. There is no medicine here.

 

[medic417]

That this forum and some of its staff (read: Chimpie) want this place to be a censored dictatorship where no real information exchange or debate can take place. We have now lost many valuable members, some of whom I have learned a lot from and so have many of you.

So look forward to no more good information, now you all can pat yourselfs on the back for putting that new siren in your ford or asking which trauma bag should you buy for personal use.

I was hear to learn about the medicine. There is no medicine here.

It really has gone down hill on educational content. Usually in the fights we had some of the best educational material provided to back their view. I think most are to scared to post their opinions for fear of getting banned. It is sad really.

 

[rescue99]

It really has gone down hill on educational content. Usually in the fights we had some of the best educational material provided to back their view. I think most are to scared to post their opinions for fear of getting banned. It is sad really.

Don't miss the crude outbursts one bit. "Education" does not benefit from them. What is sad is too many think that unless a post is nasty, no one is listening.

 

[Summit]

I can say that I've gained gobs of knowledge here when the debates rage and the intelligent, the educated, and the experienced contributors post up long posts detailing the evidence and the experience behind their points. And they don't always agree! That lead to the most informative threads of all!

There will always be newbies asking inane questions. Good self moderation as well as moderator action can help these newbies integrate into the community with little disruption to the community and themselves. Turnover is inherent to EMS at the moment, though we would like that to change. Shouldn't that change be on the forum too?

Or do the "community leaders" want a forum that consists mainly of people who stick around for a few weeks and move on.

This place has run the gamut in my time here. It's gone from a sleepy and touchy feely place to an extremely informative and lively community and is now headed towards stagnant mediocrity and blandness all in the name of civility.

There will always be newbies who get their feelings scuffed. There will always be newbies who come here with an attitude that they are not willing to change. YOU CANNOT ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE and keep the place interesting. So decide. What is better? A padded rubber room where we ban people for not saying please and thank you? Nothing but "I just enrolled in an EMT class. Should I buy a $300 stethascope and $50 diamond studded trauma shears?" style threads?

Will that sustain a good community atmosphere and generate the content to keep people coming back?

What is more worrysome?
People afraid to disagree with others? <-What the intelligent and veteran content creators are feeling
Or people afraid that someone might disagree with them? <-What the mods worry about

The primacy of the latter concern will ensure that good content stays away and the only new members are those new to EMS who will only stay a few months until they realize that there is nothing deeper here than the threads they posted upon arrival.

 

[Chimpie]

That this forum and some of its staff (read: Chimpie) want this place to be a censored dictatorship where no real information exchange or debate can take place. We have now lost many valuable members, some of whom I have learned a lot from and so have many of you.

So look forward to no more good information, now you all can pat yourselfs on the back for putting that new siren in your ford or asking which trauma bag should you buy for personal use.

I was hear to learn about the medicine. There is no medicine here.

(This was actually sent via PM to daedalus, but since I seem to be the target of a few members' complaints, I'll post it here as well.)

Completely inaccurate. We strive for information exchange and debate. It's the only way to improve EMS.

However, taking the recent asthma thread for example, the thread was taken off topic, actually, way off topic after just a few posts. This is the ongoing problem with the forum.

If a thread can stay on topic and the posts follow the rules then the CL team, myself included, pretty much stay out of it.

Going back to the asthma thread, if members want to debate what should be allowed by BLS providers, then start a thread discussing that. Don't jump in and hijack a thread asking what they can or can't do.

It really has gone down hill on educational content. Usually in the fights we had some of the best educational material provided to back their view. I think most are to scared to post their opinions for fear of getting banned. It is sad really.

I concur with this. It's a shame we have to take action when it gets rude or name calling begins.

I can say that I've gained gobs of knowledge here when the debates rage and the intelligent, the educated, and the experienced contributors post up long posts detailing the evidence and the experience behind their points. And they don't always agree! That lead to the most informative threads of all!

I agree.

There will always be newbies asking inane questions. Good self moderation as well as moderator action can help these newbies integrate into the community with little disruption to the community and themselves. Turnover is inherent to EMS at the moment, though we would like that to change. Shouldn't that change be on the forum too?

Or do the "community leaders" want a forum that consists mainly of people who stick around for a few weeks and move on.

EMTLife was created so that those in EMS have an open forum for discussions. We hope our members stay with us for a long time. We hope our EMS veterans find this as a place to consult and console each other, as well as help those new to the field.

This place has run the gamut in my time here. It's gone from a sleepy and touchy feely place to an extremely informative and lively community and is now headed towards stagnant mediocrity and blandness all in the name of civility.

There will always be newbies who get their feelings scuffed. There will always be newbies who come here with an attitude that they are not willing to change. YOU CANNOT ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE and keep the place interesting. So decide. What is better? A padded rubber room where we ban people for not saying please and thank you? Nothing but "I just enrolled in an EMT class. Should I buy a $300 stethascope and $50 diamond studded trauma shears?" style threads?

Will that sustain a good community atmosphere and generate the content to keep people coming back?

What is more worrysome?
People afraid to disagree with others? <-What the intelligent and veteran content creators are feeling
Or people afraid that someone might disagree with them? <-What the mods worry about

The primacy of the latter concern will ensure that good content stays away and the only new members are those new to EMS who will only stay a few months until they realize that there is nothing deeper here than the threads they posted upon arrival.

Administrating a forum comes with responsibilities. We have to protect our members, our CL Team, and the forum owner. While we hope the decisions we make are understood by everyone, we don't take it personally when people disagree with us. We have a job to do and we will do it to the best of our efforts.

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

(This was actually sent via PM to daedalus, but since I seem to be the target of a few members' complaints, I'll post it here as well.)

Completely inaccurate. We strive for information exchange and debate. It's the only way to improve EMS.

However, taking the recent asthma thread for example, the thread was taken off topic, actually, way off topic after just a few posts. This is the ongoing problem with the forum.

If a thread can stay on topic and the posts follow the rules then the CL team, myself included, pretty much stay out of it.

Going back to the asthma thread, if members want to debate what should be allowed by BLS providers, then start a thread discussing that. Don't jump in and hijack a thread asking what they can or can't do.



I concur with this. It's a shame we have to take action when it gets rude or name calling begins.



I agree.

EMTLife was created so that those in EMS have an open forum for discussions. We hope our members stay with us for a long time. We hope our EMS veterans find this as a place to consult and console each other, as well as help those new to the field.

Administrating a forum comes with responsibilities. We have to protect our members, our CL Team, and the forum owner. While we hope the decisions we make are understood by everyone, we don't take it personally when people disagree with us. We have a job to do and we will do it to the best of our efforts.

not that i am blaming (most) members or any moderators, I feel there has been a strong and hard felt loss of educational or intellectually stimulating material, that I can learn from. I have recently often felt a lack of educated debate and an abundance of stethoscope threads, opinions on individual schools and advice for people who start EMT school in january.
I and others have now posted threads that at one point would of thoroughly been explained, maybe some educated debate, now... not so much.
I also fully do not understand why some of the threads have been deleted. I may be misunderstanding what i am reading, but i am also concerned as to why a moderator felt it necessary to post another members PM, whether that moderator was subject in that PM or not.

 

[Chimpie]

but i am also concerned as to why a moderator felt it necessary to post another members PM, whether that moderator was subject in that PM or not.

It was my PM to him, so it was my choice to post it in this thread.

The reason I posted it was because it had meaningful information to the whole group, not just him.

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

It was my PM to him, so it was my choice to post it in this thread.

The reason I posted it was because it had meaningful information to the whole group, not just him.

I apologize. I misinterpreted, believed that to be a message sent to D by another member.

 

[VentMedic]

Going back to the asthma thread, if members want to debate what should be allowed by BLS providers, then start a thread discussing that. Don't jump in and hijack a thread asking what they can or can't do.

I am going to try to lay this out for you as gently as I can Chimpie.

That thread and those questions may not have made sense to you because you still are working under the protocols of a MFR.

Asking an EMT or even a Paramedic what they can and can not do is very relevant to the information that is posted for the answer. No two states, no two counties or two ambulance services may have the same protocols for the EMT-B or Paramedic. Nor do they have the same equipment.

Now, even at the BLS level there comes an issue with education. One should know how their equipment works, the benefits and the compllications as well as some information about the disease process. Yes, knowing what the poster knows about the disease process is important to see what needs to be clarified further. Just "doing a skill" because you can should NOT be acceptable. Yet, you deleted every post on that thread by myself, MrBrown, daedalus and others about pathophysiology, equipment use and medications. What did you expect? A one word answer or a simple recipe? I hate to tell you but even at the "BLS" level medicine is much more than that. It is also up for debate on many levels which is why we have medical journals full of fact finding missions and those searching for more knowledge or a better way.

The ranting and disagreements came when another member believed there is no need for more than a recipe to follow consisting of blanket statements.

You do this forum a great disservice when you want this forum to remain at what you perceive to be a "BLS" level.

And, you banned JPINFV, an intelligent clinician and future doctor who brought a lot to this forum.