Heathens, Pagans and Witches discussion

Read for Free

I've always thought it would be nice if people joined the group, and participated in at least a few discussions, before they told us about their latest publications, rather than diving in to several groups, and posting their adverts separate from areas dedicated to such purposes, for example, these threads:

Free Books; or
Tells us about your non-fiction work.

Of course, active, participating members are (most likely) very aware of the preference to contain such posts; thus avoiding the group becoming one large, self-promotion, dump site.

Then again, perhaps things have changed since I was a moderator? Certainly, my tolerance has!

Ancestral wrote: "I've always thought it would be nice if people joined the group, and participated in at least a few discussions, before they told us about their latest publications, rather than diving in to severa..."

My personal feelings align with yours, Ancestral. I'm new to the whole moderator biz and not sure where the boundaries lie, what steps could/should be taken, what my responsibility is, but I would hate to see this forum turn into a marketing bazaar. I suppose it's a fine line between being welcoming and being taken advantage of, but posts like this one definitely seem to me to be in the latter category. This is a community first and a marketing venue second. That's my personal opinion.

I would very much like to hear the thoughts on this from past/present moderators and members alike. What should the future of this community be? What are we willing to put up with?

Thanks for bringing this up, Ancestral.

Excellent point, Ancestral. I certainly understand the need for marketing to like-minded people, however I 100% agree that it would be nice if those choosing to do so had participated in the rich conversations here. I also much prefer that they keep their marketing efforts to the topics designed for such matters.

Congrats on becoming a moderator, PeeJay. I must have missed the announcement. I know you'll do a wonderful job at a mostly thankless task. :-)

Thank you, Sara. I have trouble moderating myself sometimes. We'll see if I do better in a forum. :-)

I generally prefer to see discussions about books that members have read and found inspirational or informative. I think that marketing posts should be confined to specific well-labelled threads that members can read or ignore as they choose.

Yes. Traditionally that's been in the "Tell us about your fiction/nonfiction book" threads. Sometimes other posts leak through. I and the other mods will try to stay on top of that. I appreciate when other members point out something we've missed.

Moderators have a tough job: trying to accommodate the feelings of the majority of the group; putting aside their personal feelings on how a group should develop/be managed; keeping a group active by bringing new ideas; keeping out spammers. Moderators cannot be expected to police every aspect of a group. This group certainly has its own challenges covering a diverse range of faiths, beliefs, and tastes.

Peejay: In this case, I would suggest contacting the original poster, and suggesting that they delete the post, and/or move it to the appropriate place. I would also ask them if they have any intention of being a productive member of the group, or are merely here to flog to their product in which case perhaps they would be happier leaving, and going elsewhere?

But, as I said earlier, I have lost a lot of my tolerance for such behaviour; I'm sure others would behave differently. I just don't have the patience for time-wasters any more.

At least my response provoked some discussion. :D I'm with Ruth on this one. I want to know what others are reading, found helpful, inspirational (preferably). I definitely never intended (when I took over from the creator) for this to be a marketing bazaar aimed at the pagan community.

Ancestral wrote: "Moderators have a tough job: trying to accommodate the feelings of the majority of the group; putting aside their personal feelings on how a group should develop/be managed; keeping a group active ..."

Thanks, Ancestral. I appreciate the input. I've changed the topic name to something obvious and hard to misinterpret and I hope others will contribute their opinions on this thread. I've contacted the original poster about where to post information about her book.

I'm with Saint Bill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_VWX...

Too harsh?

I hate adverts. Of the groups I'm active in, HPW has the least problem with unwanted advertising, so, whatever you're doing you're doing right. Intros in those threads 'Tell us about your book' are fine. Not elsewhere. Even there, 'tell us' suggests once only, rather than frequent 'latest news on my book' ads, such as you get in other groups. I have a very low threshold tolerance for ads.

Old-Barbarossa wrote: "Too harsh?"

Never, OB, never.

Bryn wrote: "I hate adverts. Of the groups I'm active in, HPW has the least problem with unwanted advertising, so, whatever you're doing you're doing right. Intros in those threads 'Tell us about your book' are..."

Oh, I've just started. There's a line of people before and a couple of others besides me who have done and are doing an excellent job.

Basically book flogging should be contained to the two threads Ancestral mentioned, with the exception of books which may be pertinent to a particular discussion.

On an emotional level, I'm firmly with Ancestral, and to some extent Bill Hicks. It is a little irksome if promotion is the only contribution someone makes to the group, but it's not technically forbidden, as long as they don't bleed over into the other threads.

I've always hated it when the peas are touching the mashed potatoes!

Aaron wrote: "I've always hated it when the peas are touching the mashed potatoes!"

:)

Ancestral wrote: "Then again, perhaps things have changed since I was a moderator? "

Not as far as I know Ancestral, except for the fact that I'm very very blonde, and I think Gina has a lot going on. Peejay's been great about staying on top of things. But do feel free to message me if you catch anything irksome.

Goodreads is for book lovers- some of whom are reading them, some are writing them, and some are doing both! It becomes irritating to read promotional material in discussion areas, and some groups have had a lot of trouble with this. As long as there are separate places for authors to post, then this keeps everyone happy, and can maintain a vibrant and dynamic online interaction between readers who share common interests.

Carol wrote: "Goodreads is for book lovers- some of whom are reading them, some are writing them, and some are doing both! It becomes irritating to read promotional material in discussion areas, and some groups..."

I totally agree Carol. That would be my preferred option too. It would also make the Auther's blog more acceptable to Readers as we would know that our research for new books could be found amongst a promotional site if we so desired.

In agreement with Ancestral. Let us get to know you before you dump. I'll add that I'm a GR author too and this is my private profile. I'm here to discuss and to learn, not to promote. As for members who join merely to dump then disappear without further posts, it's not a good look.

Also I'm back now and have more time, just was busy getting life into order and getting over last year's drama. xg