Locking of important threads

[Jason762 2]

I am wondering why this site has gotten hypersensitive with the topics that are discussed. Recently whenever a member would pose a question regarding anything involving paid and vol firfighters some moderators would threaten to close the thread. And now a topic was brought up about an incident that happened on a NJ highway and it was locked. It was also stated by a moderator that this was an isolated incident in NJ. While I'm here to say that this is NOT an isolated incident. Things like this happen all over the country. It has happened in the city I work in and I've heard of it happening in many other locations. They don't usually end with a fire officer being placed in cuffs, but it is still a problem none the less. And as far as I could see the thread was not overly negative or bashing so why was it closed down? Could nothing constructive have come from discussing the issue? How about we talk about rig placement at a scene? If the moderators want to steer the thread in a certain direction, thats fine, but why shut it down? I understand the moderators have a job but there should be some allowance for an open discussion on these forums

[EMTbravo 312]

We encoruage open discussion, and any member is welcomed to start a spin off thread regarding rig safety or placement.....but what would members rather do...yup, that's right....complain.

This thread was locked because more posts end up being like "That Cop was a dick", "pig", and various other comments that contribute nothing to the discussion.

After speaking with someone in the affected area, there's more to this story then is being reported. Many members commenting don't have all the facts, therefore we feel that the BASHING of the state trooper and immediate defense of the fire chief, just because he is a fire chief, was unwarranted. This is also an internal policy issue with this FD and the NJSP, and nothing is accomplished by speculating on this forum.

There is a lot you don't see with the moderation of this forum. For instance, the comments that were deleted from that thread accusing the officer of being a "pig", etc. Or us making calls to various contacts in the area departments to find out whats really going on.

Fire and Police both have roles to play in this business, and jobs to do, and supervisors to answer to. It's a shame theres tension between the two roles sometimes, and we won't allow this forum to breed that tension.

I understand the seriousness of this situation, and that it has happened before. If you truly feel strongly on this issue, feel free to start a neutral topic on this issue, but not this specific case. However, we won't allow a thread that is going to openly bash a police officer, especially when many members dont have the complete set of facts. This forum will be maintained as a constructive place to communicate.

I will try and make myself perfectly clear here. Posting on this forum is a privledge, not a right. We WILL NOT allow this forum to become a rantfest or open forum to bash anyone. We DO NOT just simply "lock" important threads.

One thing both sides agreed on was how unusual the situation was.

"This is the first time that it's come up; it was a unique situation for all of us," Mason said. "We work with them all the time."

Della Fave, who has been a spokesperson with the department for 13 years, said it is the first time he has seen anything like this. He said following the incident that State Police Lt. Kenneth Villano spoke with Mason about the incident.

"Those two individuals are committed to talking in the future to make sure something like this won't happen again," Della Fave said.

While Mason said it might be premature to set up a meeting with the state police, he does believe an open dialogue will help improve interaction in the future.

"I think a little better communication between the police and the fire department would help," he said. "We are looking forward to working in the future with the New Jersey State Police. We have had a good rapport and hope this was an isolated incident."

[res6cue 67]

There is a lot you don't see with the moderation of this forum. For instance, the comments that were deleted from that thread accusing the officer of being a "pig", etc.

Many times, you guys only see the "sanitized" version of a thread after offensive posts have been removed, which might make you wonder why warnings were posted or a thread was ultimately locked or removed. Just like the Transformers...there's "more than meets the eye" around here.

[x635 4,066]

While I'm here to say that this is NOT an isolated incident.  Things like this happen all over the country.  It has happened in the city I work in and I've heard of it happening in many other locations.  They don't usually end with a fire officer being placed in cuffs, but it is still a problem none the less.

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See this thread:

http://emtbravo.net/index.php?showtopic=14954

[AFS1970 504]

Now I may risk getting this thread locked by saying this but here goes. EMTBravo, like just about every other internet forum has rules, rules that we as members agree to follow when we join as members. Many of the remarks that get made and cause a thread to be locked, as violations of those rules. Why should a few people be able to prevent the vast majority of memebrs from participating in a valid discussion on a topic?

As I write this, I missed the ability to post in a contoversial topic, by about 4 minutes. Is my opinion unwelcome? It seems that unless I constantly keep this site up looking for topics, I very likely will not have the chance to be heard. Wouldn't it be better to deal with individual troublesome posts as individuals? If a member of this forums breaks a rule, I don't think anyone would have a problem with the forum staff taking action, as long as it is against that member.

I think that the administrators and moderators do a great job with this forum. But we all need to calm down and realize that sometimes the fire service is controversial, and sometimes we like (and need) to hash things out among out among our members. It does not matter if it is Fire vs. Police, or Career vs. Volunteer, or even Management vs. Labor, anytime there is a topic which people feel strongly about, there will be strongly worder posts. That's why there are moderators, to moderate such discussions, not prevent them.

We really do all Emergency Services as disservice, by ignoring issues and pretending that they no longer exist or never existed in the first place. In one thread it was locked after someone posted that we should all get along like brothers. Boy we really need to nip that in the bud, don't we?

[gpdexplorer 46]

I know an not a moderator and you can delete this post if you would like, but it wasnt the get along like brothers comment that caused the thread to be locked, it was people making negative comments about the fire service.

[EMTbravo 312]

We really do all Emergency Services as disservice, by ignoring issues and pretending that they no longer exist or never existed in the first place. In one thread it was locked after someone posted that we should all get along like brothers. Boy we really need to nip that in the bud, don't we?

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You're absoluetly right. I was wrong to lock the sticker thread.

You have to understand where I am coming from though. No matter what I do, I can't win. I have people crying to me that the thread is out of hand, and needs to be locked. I review it, lock the thread, and people complain that I lock it. And a lot of the times, we delete posts, and we do deal with the problems on a individual basis.

I want everyone to come on and use this forum. I'm afraid of offending people since I want to attract as many people as possible to post. But I'm learning that some people just don't play well with others, and they can't spoil it for the rest of us who can use this forum constructively.

I get accused of being pro-career, pro-volunteer, anti-volunteer, anti-paid, called thin skinned, called a dicatator, facist, crybaby, and all kinds of other accusations and false stories and rumors made up about myself and the moderation of this forum. People have threatend to "get this website shut down". I've even been threatened with physical violence towards me, and with the somebody threatening to "sick the ACLU on you". Many of you know that I get a lot of hate mail for the operation of this forum, and that's just a small glimpse. People are fanatical about this site.

I do get a lot of positive feedback too, and to see the results of this site and the good it has done, as well as getting kind emails from members from time to time, is what keeps me going.

All I am trying to do is maintain this forum as a constructive place to learn from and exchange information. I'm hoping some of these more conterversial threads will spark at least some thought or give each other a better understanding of the issues. It disheartens me greatly to hear people say this forum is all bullshit, that they are tired of the "rhetoric", that it is propaganda, that all people do is bash each other, etc etc and whatever other biased and unfounded stuff they make up as an excuse. Many of these people don't even post....hmmmm?

However, by letting these discussions go on....people AUTOMATICALLY get defensive, completly disregard the people have opinions that may differ from theirs, and then think this board is going to crap or it's improper to let these discussions go on.

I think, no I believe that these discussions, if discussed maturely and constructively, will benefit us all, whether or not we can see it now. I find it good that the two "sides' can at least talk, though it's a shame some want to just be defensive and not contribute to the discussion at hand.

So I will tolerate the discssions of the more "sensitive issues", as long as no one bashes any specific department or person, or gets into a war with another member. This is also not the forum to rant or air your grievances, rather a place to discuss, understand, and learn...whether you agree or not. And we will still moderate this forum as we see fit.

Please also note there's a lot you don't see with the moderation of this forum, and myself and Truck4 take a great deal of heat for this forum, but as mentioned in Truck4's thread, there's a reason why we do what we do. We provide this forum for you guys and girls to use for free and try to keep the format open and civil.

As for me personally, I actually hate running this site, I wish I could just be a member sometimes.

As a reminder, posting on this forum is a privledge, not a right. And the views expressed on here are those of the individual member and in no way represent the views of the moderation of this forum.

[Guest]

The moderators here walk a tightrope. Of a few sites, they seem the most liberal about keeping threads open and fostering discussion. Its certain individuals who have nothing constructive to say and would rather hear themselves bloviate that cause topics to be closed.d

[27east 19]

as EMTBravo said, posting her is a privledge not a right.

People need to allow the man who PAYS FOR THE WEBSITE, and therefore allows us to post here and discuss important topics FOR FREE, to lock topics he chooses.

EMTBravo does an amazing job with this site, and that's why there are over 5000 members and more join everyday. We've all seen other boards out there that people take over and it becomes impossible to have a constructive discussion on. No one wants to see that happen here. The site is too valuable.