XPOST: Yes, it IS quiet around here!

Bette B.
on 2/12/12 11:08 pm

Those of you who just came back after some time away from OH have noticed that things are really, really quiet - eerily quiet on the boards.
For a number of reasons, most brought about by changes to the Terms of Service (TOS) quite a few people left OH altogether. Several people have pulled far, far back from posting (Kate from Britain being one of them) but are still PART of OH and can be messaged if need be.

Most of the rest of us are reluctant to post because it seems like the TOS change daily, and what is allowable as a post one day will not be the next. Seemingly innocuous (even positive and supportive) posts have been taken down completely or moved over to another OH Board. (I can't even NAME that board, because it would be a reason to have this post moderated and moved there.)

Sometimes, posters have received messages from OH moderators saying that their post is unacceptable, yet the TOS show to reason why it would be.

[As an example, I had a post moderated last week, because I had posted TWO things about poetry, and I was asked to move the second one into the first post. The second was summarily deleted by OH. This was a post about POETRY, and it was found unacceptable. I re-read the TOS and couldn't find any reason why it was offensive to OH.]

Many people have been put on moderation, meaning that every post will be reviewed by the mods prior to it appearing on the board(s). Sometimes, the moderation is justified, but a lot of times it seems like it isn't.

I think there are many more people still on OH than it appears, but they are reluctant to post for fear of saying whatever today's "wrong thing " might be. A lot of us - especially us old-timers - are still optimistic that OH can bounce back to the supportive place it was meant to be, but also a place where people can hang out, chat with friends, and just have FUN. The FUN part has been lost in the past few weeks.

So, if you were wondering where everyone went, and why OH seems like a ghost town - that's the story. Now, let's see if THIS post stays or goes . . .

Banded 10 years & maintaining my weight loss!! Any questions, message me.

AnneGG
on 2/12/12 11:22 pm

RNY on 07/15/10

I do think this is part of the process of change, and things will certainly liven up again once people realize there is now some safety on the Main Board.

I wish those who are no longer here could have done the contribution without the other stuff. Their contributions were valuable; the way they were often made wasn't.

I think the mods are learning to walk- there are falls at first before balance is obtained.

You do the best posts!

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly." Richard Bach

"Support fosters your growth. If you are getting enough of the right support, you will experience a major transformation in yourself. You will discover a sense of empowerment and peace you have never before experienced. You will come to believe you can overcome your challenges and find some joy in this world." Katie Jay

BuckeyeGirl
on 2/13/12 9:56 pm - TN

VSG on 12/01/10

I am one of those that haven't been posting lately, for various reasons, but I saw this comment in response to the OP who mentioned Kate specifically in her post:

"I wish those who are no longer here could have done the contribution without the other stuff. Their contributions were valuable; the way they were often made wasn't."

I just have to say that I have never seen Kate be anything less than valuable/kind/supportive/honest on OH even in the times when she and I may have disagreed on a topic. I think her contributions are sorely missed by many.

Lindsey

MyLady Heidi
on 2/13/12 12:46 am

They went from *****y to boring. I wonder if getting no hits was the intention, if so I think they are winning.

Amy Farrah Fowler
on 2/13/12 1:02 am

There are reasons such things could be intentional..

Aasect .org
on 2/13/12 12:51 am

RNY on 12/10/07

You would think that OH is sponsoring censorship as a way of killing themselves. There's no even-handedness in the moderation. People who were consistently helpful and nice, like ragamuffinb and slim shady, are gone.Kate is gone, many others are gone. OH likes to think that it's some other board system poaching members, but I don't think so. I think their uneven, draconian censorship is driving people away.

Poetry? Really? Poetry was moderated?

Bette B.
on 2/13/12 3:07 am

Lap Band on 12/02/03

Yep. Poetry. A damned good, inspirational one, too.

As for Kate, she has reduced her presence because she does not have a Facebook page and did not want to see anything she might post disseminated on FB.

Banded 10 years & maintaining my weight loss!! Any questions, message me.

Bette B.
on 2/13/12 3:11 am

Lap Band on 12/02/03

This was the message:

Moderated Post (Username:Cre8tv, Topic:Sharing poetry: MY favorite!)

A moderator has moderated your post.

The moderator left these comments:
We ask you to keep all poems in one thread. Please add these to your other poem thread. Thank you, Member Services

Your post is currently unapproved.

And this was the poem:

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of cir****tance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

~~ William Ernest Henley

Banded 10 years & maintaining my weight loss!! Any questions, message me.