I hope this will be the last of this sort of entry for a good, long time

[bunniewabbit.livejournal.com]

The goal of this community is to give people the tools and knowledge they need to seek out images and news about Elijah Wood, and to provide a place for them to post those items to share with the rest of the community. It is not and never has been a place to debate any aspect of his personal life. There are other and more appropriate forums for that.

Having a negative opinion is not against the rules. Making an occasional negative comment isn't even against the rules (as long as it's politely put). However, stating that negative opinion at every possible opportunity, over and over again and in a negative fashion, and seeking (whether intentional or not) to provoke reactions and arguments from others is against the rules.

If you can't see the harm being done to the community by such behavior, and its potential for ruining a pretty darn good thing that we've got here, then I'm sorry, but you don't belong here. If your comments, by their nature or tone, are making those who are contributing content to the comm either want to delete their entries or not post at all, then they are not welcome here. Fair or unfair, I can't allow anything that is interfering with the goal of the community; if there is something that is making people wary of posting their "finds" here, then the community can't succeed and I need to try to find a way to repair it so that it can.

The rules are there for a reason. You may not like them, but if you can't follow them, then you can't be a part of this community.

I know there are those of you out there with opinions that differ from the majority of people here, and I appreciate that you have been taking them elsewhere to discuss them rather than putting them here where they are likely to spark conflict. I know it's hard to hold them in check, and it isn't fair to you, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for following the rules in order to keep the community running as smoothly as possible.

It really is impossible to be fair to everyone, without either disallowing comments entirely or letting them run rampant, and I believe both of those options would ultimately harm the community. All I can really do is try to keep the disruptive elements to a minimum, and I'm taking steps toward that end. A few people have been banned from commenting (membership hasn't been removed -- yet*), and a few others are on probation. I'm sorry that it's come to this, but there you are.

* Turns out I did accidentally remove you from membership (I think -- I'm new at this), and I have no way of reinstating you on my own. If you would like to request membership again, I will add you back in. Terribly sorry about that!

Comments

[bunniewabbit.livejournal.com]

The only people who have been banned so far are those who seem to repeatedly disregard the rules and can't seem to see the effect that they're having on the community. I'm not going to go back and ban people for isolated incidents, and I haven't been very consistent about warning people when they've crossed the line in some manner. At the moment, I'm mostly concerned with trying to get the comm back on an even keel, and that means dealing with the people who cause most of the problems most often.

All I can say is that I'll try to be more consistent about warning people in the future, but I do have a tendency toward leniency when people push the rules. Probably what got me here in the first place.

[maddeningpadme.livejournal.com]

"I haven't been very consistent about warning people when they've crossed the line in some manner.
All I can say is that I'll try to be more consistent about warning people in the future, but I do have a tendency toward leniency when people push the rules. Probably what got me here in the first place."

hey, I just want to say that I really appreciate the fact that you said this ^ about yourself. it takes a big person to admit that :) I'm just very glad that you are aware of this, because I have felt for a long time that your inconsistency with enforcing your rules & your leniency with your own rules has been the very thing that the trouble making repeat offenders (who hopefully you banned, because they were only here to start trouble) can *hide* behind, when people try to call them out on their ways. they try to test your limits; don't let them. at the same time, your inconsistency also makes it hard to figure out just what *is* ok to post, and what is close to crossing the line, but not quite there yet. this must be especially hard for newbie members to try to figure out what you consider the grey areas (members who aren't trying to start trouble at all but honestly just don't know where you think those areas lie). I think you just need to be a tough enforcer hardcore moderator sometimes. sometimes that's for the best (even if it might hurt a few), because otherwise... all this madness ensues.

I must admit I did not expect the pam issue to get even more heated than it did last year.

btw I sent you a msg privately. please get back to me when you feel up to it. thanks again because I am really happy that you are keen on what you just said up there :)

[starlit-woods.livejournal.com]

Oh I wasn't meaning that you should go back and ban anyone at all, as I said that's all been settled and apoligised for etc so no worries there! I was just trying to offer a friendly suggestion in case a similar thing happened in the future, though hopefully it won't, because sometimes it can be hard to see things as infringements when it's our friends doing it. We're all only human and probably most of us would give a bit more leeway when it's someone we know doing something wrong and I just thought sometimes it's a bit hard to see a problem when you're too close to it, if you know what I mean, and that sometimes can lead to others feeling ostracised. But no complaints here on how you're handling this situation, I think you're doing a great job and my comments weren't meant as a criticism but as a friendly suggestion :)