Trad Gang

I had a conversation today that lead me to this post.

I've posted about this before, but figured I'd take the time to post again as I'm not sure how long it would take me to find what I posted.

When you get an email from an Admin from Trad Gang....PLEASE remember to read the email in a FRIENDLY manner instead of a chastising one. It is WAY to easy to assume that we/TradGang are typing down at folks when we are not.

Once someone thinks we are typing that way, they respond in the same manner and it is obvious that their email has an edge to it....and depending on our day and frustration factor, we sometimes fall on our face and then DO type back in a negative tone.  Then, things get out of hand and its not good for the member or Trad Gang.

We aren't perfect, and sometimes may not type in the correct way to make SURE you know we are not negative...most times we are in a hurry as we have real jobs and families to tend to also....so we could easily not carry out our duties in the correct manner to avoid misunderstandings.

This occurrence I dealt with today was a total misunderstanding of the typed word by an Admin, and this lead us to temporarily lose a member.

The email contained the phrase " NO NO NO,...you can't do that"...to be read in a manner of a kid sticking a bobby pin into an outlet....NOT 'NO NO NO' with a finger in the members face like the member read it.

So, please remember, we are not out to 'piss folks off' in we feel there is an infraction, we are trying to inform you of the rules and what we go through here to keep the site on course.

It saddens me to think how many of these correspondence have gone wrong and caused folks to have left the site.

If you think you might have been in the middle of a miss understanding some time in the past  between an admin....please feel free to contact me so we can get it ironed out.

Thanks for listening..........        :campfire:

:campfire:

:campfire:

Some folks just have thin skin and get defensive too easily. As a person who's had a question pulled for being "off topic" I say thanks to the Mods for the work you do in keeping us all on the same track, if it weren't for yall this site would wander off like soo many others have.

We're all human and subject to a little "Oh yeah, well then" mentality now and then.

No problem, Boss! Good reminder that it goes both ways and I'm sure y'all get worn out seeing the same infractions over and over.

Bisch

Thanks for taking the time to write this post!   :thumbsup:     :clapper:I for one, can be a negative typer. Have learned to try and keep my mouth shut and listen. Amazing how much I've learned!

Got it Terry.
A couple years ago I engaged in a discussion where I sort of got heated and represented myself in a less then favorable manner.

I received a pm from Rob that I initially took wrong. After cooling off and rereading it I realized that he was actually being quite diplomatic.

It's very difficult to convey the nuances of effective communication with the written word. The mods here need a couple new fonts:

The STERN font.
The FORGIVING font.  And the most needed;
The SARCASTIC font.

Seriously, thanks for all you do Terry, Rob and all the rest!

Definitely need the sarcastic font!

Terry, We appreciate your patience. While I have not had the pleasure of being chastised like that, I can imagine how I would respond if I were a moderator and on a bad day got fed up with the folks who simply cannot follow or comprehend simple directions. How do you keep it in check?
Thanks for the great site

Very well put Terry. That's the bad thing about computer talk. Can't express emotions. I think it would help emensly if folks just read the rules and followed them. If they're uncertain about something just ask. Thank you for this place!

Matt

Well put Terry! I know it must be hard on yall to keep this site up and running not to mention keeping it on track.  :clapper:    :clapper:    :clapper:

Yeah....its like I told the guy....when you go watch a play, and you enjoy it...you have no idea what all is going on back stage....nor how many folks are back there.  In that instance, there can be MORE folks behind the scenes than on the stage.

In our case, there's some 30,000 folks on the stage with only 6 or so behind the stage!!!....and it does get chaotic at times let me tell ya.

Emails and PM's are the worst way to communicate. The giver and receiver can't add the personal part which conveys the intent of the message. I had the same problem once. My wife and I were on vacation in Oregon having a great time and I got a message from my boss with something I took very badly. Needless to say it ruined the remainder of our trip. When I got back I confronted my boss and of course I took it as nothing close to what he meant.

:campfire:

I always try to remember to take things with a grain of salt. Usually it works pretty fine!

Keep up the great work!   :thumbsup:    :campfire:

All this X2.  Email/text is a terrible way to discuss anything unfortunately. No way to tell intent but to guess.

Keep an open mind and think.

When things seem too serious.....and I can come across that way...I am very thankful to have the "instant gremlins" to take the edge off.  

This is a tough way to get points across sometimes.  But I have to say the folks and the admin here do an outstanding job altogether.

Good advice, Terry!

I just don't read any emails the admin sends me anymore, that seems to clear up any misunderstandings on my end   :D    :p

Seriously well put Terry...lots of frustration can be saved buy just taking a breath, re-reading the email/PM, and giving it a little thought before responding, rather than just giving a knee-jerk reaction based on our first formed opinion of what we just read.

In addition, a few questions to clarify something we read instead of assuming we know what was meant.....can do wonders for the communication.

When correction is needed, it is needed but that doesn't mean that it should be taken as a personal affront.

Parents know this better than anyone.

I'm not saying we are children but... sometimes I act like one.

I love you folks!

God bless,Mudd

PS: Thank you T and the whole host of moderators for the thankless job you do so well.

I hear ya Mudd....thanks....we get labeled as 'butt holes' by folks that have never met us....and that's a shame...since we are all 'fun and games' pretty much.

If you think we are 'out to get ya'...just come on a hunt with us once and you'll think differently.

  :campfire:

So whats that supposed to mean, Huh    :mad:      :dunno:    

Its easy to leave out one small word or punctuation mark which could change the meaning of your typed words.

Its very easy to jump to conclusions, we have been programmed to pass judgement for survival.

Whats difficult is to try not to judge, and not take things personally.  sometimes I have to go back and remember my own advice.

I think most arguments come from misunderstandings.

I agree with Jake, sometimes sitting back and re-reading a sentence and trying to understand different ways it could come across could save frustration.

You guys have been really good to me regarding my recent infractions and so my respect for you has grown as a result.  I hold you in the highest regard....


Ken Campbell
Ferndale, Montana

Engines run better when they get tune ups!

And so does this site... keep up the great work Mods!  :)

Terry very good post and it is releveant in all instances concerning email/pms.

this is a good lesson for all typed communication, as even in day to day occupations, people can mis-understand an email.

Unfortunately, it is now far too easy to hammer a few keys, without the personal inflection and verbal comm

Terry I thank you for sending this post out .. and for the wonderful job you and the hidden 5 do to keep this site going  :)

QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:
I hear ya Mudd....thanks....we get labeled as 'butt holes' by folks that have never met us....and that's a shame...since we are all 'fun and games' pretty much.

If you think we are 'out to get ya'...just come on a hunt with us once and you'll think differently.

    :campfire:  

"Butt Hole is what my wife calls me when we are gettin along good"...  :laughing:

A very good point with much of business being conducted by email.

It is worth rereading type correspondence from the intended recipients perspective. Too many times, I type whats in my head and it could be interpreted all wrong.

Not a bad idea to do it for posts on internet sites too.....grin

Ahh the English language where one word can have 5 different meanings with just a wink of an eye, a raise of an eyebrow, a smile, a frown or just a tip of the head and none of the above can be seen in the typed word. I have learned to be careful how i read or type something and no matter how careful i am i still screw it up from time to time.

Just got back from a rather "trying" board meeting at our shooting club. "Thin skinned", "obnoxious", and "obstructionist" would be useful to describe some of the participants.

It's the same in every club and, I would imagine every forum. A handful of people do 99% of the work that never gets noticed until someone else gets his feelings hurt. Then, all the hard work you've been doing has been all wrong.

Quite frankly, I don't know how you manage to stay so calm. And slap me down when I need it. We all do once in a while. Promise you there won't be any hard feelings on my part.

Terry, far be it for me to applaud you, being nothing much here, but mano y mano, I can't help but hold you in high esteem!

I think it takes a pretty big man to step out and share what you did!  Like you said, folks aren't paid to do what you all do, but out of respect for the site and what it accomplishes...and folks will never be perfect...only ever was ONE of those and we didn't treat that one too well.

Thank God for Grace!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this...

I've got a few folks I know who either got booted or left in a huff I'd like to send this too...

Something I remember (poorly) from High School of English Literature: "The moving finger writes and having writ, moves on and all the pain and anguish cannot remove one wit of it"

Keyboards make it just too easy to "fire from the hip" or mis-read and fire back.

Thank you!

:thumbsup:     :)

:campfire:

Quote"Butt Hole is what my wife calls me when we are gettin along good"...

I think am married to her sister.
  ;)

QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:

In our case, there's some 30,000 folks on the stage with only 6 or so behind the stage!!!....and it does get chaotic at times let me tell ya.

30,000 man how about that.
Terry I remember you called me right after stickbow, when tradgang was forming up, and I got signed up right away, and still was number 668, LOL.

Timely stuff for me, Terry, glad you posted it.  Earlier this week I posted on a thread in the morning and when I checked back in that evening after work, it was gone.  Not locked up, but deleted.

I shot a PM to Rob to see if it was something I'd posted.  He got back to me within minutes and let me know that although it wasn't him that pulled the post, he checked it and didn't feel like I'd added something inappropriate.

I mention this only to illustrate one instance of a few that I could name where I've had interactions with one of the mods.  In EVERY case, the replies have always been prompt and respectful.  I know that those who moderate the site value it very much, respect us as members and sponsors, and try their best to make this environment what it is.

We're human, we error.  All of us, mods and members alike.  When we do our best to communicate (like you are doing with this thread   :thumbsup:  ) it seems like things tend to go so much smoother.

Thanks to each of you that dedicate your time to maintain this   :clapper:

Dang Terry! Have ya' been taking too much sensitivity training?   :bigsmyl:

Terry, I think you all do a great job here.  There are so many people joining here it is unreal I have only been here a little over a year and there are several thousand after me. I dont think anyone realizes what you have to deal with on a daily basis. The other problem is we live in a feel good society where no one wants to get told the truth or be held accountable for  what they say or do, no body wants to admit there wrong, they jump on the defensive as soon as they are confronted. Keep up the good work Terry and the rest of the Tradgang Admin group. Thank you for this site and all you do for it.

Thanks Terry

Thanks, Terry and all the Admins.
These little reminders help "keep 'er steady as she goes."

Thanks Terry!  one of these days I'll finanly envent the sarcastic font so things like this wouldn't happen.

Glad your looking out for us sensitive, emotional types Terry, we need that extra attention to allow us to prosper and go about our days with self esteem.   :bigsmyl:

I received an Admin note once when I asked about a post being pulled. I had no idea a certain bow,(BBD)wasn't tolerated much on the site. The entire communication was handled with the utmost respect.

How things can be misunderstood was pointed out to me lately.  I replied about something and I referred to someone here who I have tremendous respect and admiration for (not an Admin). The way I worded it created a question about the person I referred to that I did not intend. In fact, my opinion of that person is the absolute opposite.  He PMed me to get clarification and after getting over my being mortified, I cleared it up.

Great job guys! You have made this a great forum, and every time I have spoken with you (Admin) about anything I felt I was treated with respect. I appreciate all of your hard work.
Austin

Terry: Noone takes better care of their site than you and your admin. do. Thanks.

Good points all.  If I am going to write something that could be harsh, I try to let it sit a bit and re-read it before sending (this goes for all correspondence).  Certain words and phrases don't work well in emails and pms and can come off the wrong way.  Once it's sent it is part of the permanent record.

Terry I for one as well as the rest of the masses I'm sure appreciate all you guys do. I help moderate on the bowyers bench and even though that is a small part of all the goin on's here I can only imagine the headache and aggravation that comes with administrating.

I have learned more about trad archery and bowhunting in general since I have joined here and have had nothing but pleasant experiences. I'll be here till the end and willing to help in any way I can.

Thanks for all the hard work!

Ditto to all that has been said.  The admins do not only a great job of keep the masses in line and on topic, but set great examples.

Thanks for all the work you all put in this place! I love it here it's my favorite by far...

It is hard to show "tone" or "voice inflection" on the computer. We need to think before we respond...I can only assume admin has been told to think about the words they use as well? So we can avoid these set-backs.

Terry, thanks for the heads up. We need to do everythig we can do as members of this site to make the mods job easier. I, for one, appreciate all you do. Good communication and understanding is what separates this site from other traditional archery sites. Job well done.

I wasnt sure about donating to the site but you just cleared that up.Good man and you have 30,000 people to prove it.

You think this place is tough... Here's an actual exchange at my academic poetry forum within a couple of days of my first posts because my critiques were "not thoughtful enough":

Mod: "You are not equipped to be here."
Me: "I'll fry that up for you later."

Did too.

Gotta remember that one!

Telephones still work fine for resolving problems.  Often the typed word is misread or misunderstood.

I applaud you guys and comend you for this great forum,and the job you do.Thanks!!!

"In our case, there's some 30,000 folks on the stage with only 6 or so behind the stage!!!....and it does get chaotic at times let me tell ya."

Pretty amazing so few of you manage Tradgang, I wonder how you ever find time to relax and enjoy it.

Rusty

Terry,

I didn't read all of the other responses...only your first post.  I felt compelled to state that I feel that you are a mature "big" man to post such a humble and thoughtful post.  Like you implied or stated, we are all human.  We don't always communicate with our best foot forward, but I truly believe that the folks on this forum and the moderators and administrators here; are all a bunch of good folks that love "traditional archery and hunting".  Thanks for having the guts to offer out your virtual hand in friendship and guidance to this forum!
Sincerely,
Kevin

:thumbsup:    :campfire:

:campfire:

Well said Terry....