Have you ever been accused of having - or maybe do have - "favourite" members who you appear to be more lenient with when the rules get broken. It's human nature to have preferences - be it online or offline - where people are concerned, but do you allow it to spill over into the way you deal with your members on your site?
Nope, I hate everyone equally OK, seriously, I've never been accused of this, everyone (regarding the rules) has been treated the same. Everyone gets the same respect and if rules have been breached, the same consideration and discussion via PM
I love everyone equally but I guess there are just some members that know me better and I feel like I can have a joke with. Someone new could come to my site and get a <333 from me. It's how I roll lol. I don't have favourites on my site, my site is my baby if my mother broke the rules shed be dealt with the same way as a newbie. Man I sound so bad now.
Depends on the infraction. Yes, some will be dealt with a more lenient hand than someone who just signed up. I have members who have been with the site for over 10 years now. They'll definitely be treated differently than some crass noob who can't be bothered to even acquaint themselves with the rules. But there are infractions that will result in an immediate reaction, regardless of who commits it. Usually the infraction being something that would be ban worthy.
I've never been accused of favouritism but I have quite often been told I'm a pain in the neck because I do try and treat all members equally which often leaves me playing devil's advocate. As an example, a highly regarded member started a forum topic which made broad generalisations about a particular group of people. Everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Along comes Mr Grumpy who complains in no uncertain terms that the thread is racist and everyone taking part in it is racist and should be ashamed. The thread degenerates... The general consensus among the admins and mods was that Mr Grumpy had yet again created a 'shit storm', was already on a warning and therefore must be hit with the ban stick. I on the other hand felt that Mr Grumpy had made a perfectly valid point and that in actual fact it was the other participants who where in breach of the forum rules for promoting racism. Unfortunately I'm not the owner of that particular board and I had to abide by the majority rule, bye bye Mr Grumpy. I lost that one but I'll always stick my neck on the line if I think someone is in the right no matter who they are or how well they are regarded.
Yep, in fact that is what has caused some recent drama on a forum I have. A very active member (second highest poster beside me) was defending the fact that people who make modifications for software have every right to charge for them and choose their price even if other users of the mod doesn't like the rates. I liked a topic where he said that and a staff member removed himself from staff and left the forum after writing a huge dramatic post about me favoring the active member over him... :-\ The active member felt that he caused drama and left as well... It was a lose lose situation... So much for having an opinion about something...
But wouldn't it more sensible to harshly deal with the person who has been there 10 years and actually knows the rules vs someone who doesn't?
When dealing with certain subjects, especially politics and religion, tempers can get very heated. And we have some members who would try the patience of Job. So yes, there will be times when a quiet PM to the member will be sent rather than smacking them with an infraction. On the other hand, someone who signs up, doesn't even bother to read the posting rules and starts tearing up the site, I'm going to deal with them a lot harsher than I would a long time member.
Anyone who says I treat everyone equally is telling a lie (forgive me). Almost all forums have a set of members who get lenience with rules. Leave their own blog link, use an affiliate link and even flaming to a certain extent coz they are really contributing to the existence of forum.
I do my best to treat everyone equally and fairly it is hard not to take sides especially when you agree with someone, say if someone gets to someone that much they blow their lid, I can understand why they have but I still have to treat them the same was everyone else, I might not want to but I feel I have to keep things equal for everyone.
Well, people will find 'abuse' in any place, if they like their drama. I try to be similarly 'tough' with most my members, so they shouldn't complain about me taking sides, since it's not the case. Abide by my rules and you'll only see the friendly side of me
