Below are my thoughts as written on bandhead.org as of today:
I've been very lenient with my moderating of the things here on bandhead.org due to past complaints. I've added moderators over the years to assist me in making things better. The way I see things is, It could be worse. The dance forum has been our strongest asset, but it's also one of the reasons the band community isn't here.
I moderate on basic forum etiquette, conduct, and appropriation but since 2012, I made a decision to let you all have your freedom. The Moderators have come and gone, the ones I have now are okay. I'm unsure how they do their duties because we have no rules to moderating. Generally, I've asked our moderators to be the judge. It's Them who decide what's appropriate for bandhead.org.
We haven't had any major issues beyond personal attacks. Arguments get that heated, but of course, there are limitations, we can't allow those to remain, Whether we do or don't members complain about what the moderators are doing. Personally, I am a fan of the images, smack talk, clap-backs, etc. but there's a point where it gets distracting. That's when we have to shut it down.
These days, Nobody follows the standards of netiquette/forum etiquette/ we treat everything as a blog post with a comment section, rather than a mass discussion. What we fail to realize there is, as members, we are contributors. We contribute to this site's image and perception.In my opinion, going back to the using old standards of etiquette on forums would be a great thing from a member and moderating stance. Do I have that kind of time? No, but I can make It work.
We've had recent highlights in two publications. One of them was the Smithsonian magazine. The other highlight was an NPR article which highlighted member commentary from a post regarding Talladega's decision to march the inauguration. Although this is great, It's a clear reminder that we have an influence in our online presence. We also an audience, and we shouldn't ignore them. We represent The HBCU marching band community both internally and externally.
Ultimately, I ask of you all be mindful of the things you share. Also, please be sure to cite your sources. It's important for reference purposes.
It is fair to say that we need to reevaluate how we post, This is a forum full of opinion, but we as members do have a responsibility, It's to make this site a community worthy of visiting, and joining. We don't want to scare people away by trolling them etc. Our goal has never been to be the most credible source, but, to be a reliable source of information and for entertainment for our band community.
The many groups on other social media platforms don't equate to bandhead.org. We view this site as a service to the community. We greatly value your membership. It's up to you to make this site great again.
Book,
Bandhead.org Administrator.
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