why so strict?

[tnj8222]

i dont get why ifish edits everything i do evem personal messages... i cant even send a buddy here a link in a pm whithout getting a whoopsy.. really dumb if you ask me!!

[Seefood Man]

I don't think the mods read personal messages. That is what makes them personal messages.

[STGRule]

There are words and phrases that are in the word filter. The program does the editing, not us. Personal messages are just that. Personal.

[GSD]

Maybe you should read the AUP that you agreed to when you became a member of Ifish?

Foul Language
"Contrary to popular belief, this is not a public board. You are all guests here. We have the right to edit posts that violate our acceptable use policy, or remove members at any time. Nothing should ever be posted here that you would not say in front of a crowd of strangers. Don't post anything distasteful or anything you feel might offend someone else. PG-13 type language in ALL forums, including Off -Topic."

[HOOKUP]

its the AUP that makes ifish so nice!

[3riversBob]

So far all good and acurate information.

Bob

[JustCallMeDave]

Maybe you should read the AUP that you agreed to when you became a member of Ifish?

We have an AUP?

[RiverMan]

I have always found this very odd too....nearly every other forum I visit allows the posting of other links....

RM

[1bigfish]

tnj8222 and RM,

Not sure what kind of links you are trying to post or PM, but I have put up links before and have never had a problem.

If you are trying to PM a buddy why not just email them?

Just a thought.

[JustCallMeDave]

I have always found this very odd too....nearly every other forum I visit allows the posting of other links....

RM

How big are the other forums? This is a VERY busy forum that requires a sizable amount of money and resources to run, more than shared space on a server out somewhere can handle. This forum requires SEVERAL dedicated servers to process the requests that come down the pipeline from the several hundred users concurrently viewing the site.

Now, I've been to Jennie's place and while there were trees all over I can say with certainty that none of them had money growing on them. So, she has to sell advertising to pay for her monthly bill to keep this place running. If you'd like to price it out, go see how much it'd cost to co-locate four servers somewhere and serve the kind of bandwidth that this place takes. Then figure in the cost of having techs on call to take care of the hiccups. Then quit your job, because running this shop isn't a part time gig, and the mods can only help so much.

With that laid out there you can see how Jennie has to sell advertising to pay for it all. However, if we allowed links to competitors of our current advertisers or even potential advertisors, then what is the incentive to buy advertising on ifish? None, zero, zilch. Imagine what this place would look like if the largest fishing-related discussion forum in the Northwest allowed everyone to link to their commercial site. It'd make NASCAR rides look pedestrian in their advertising.

I know that us moderators can seem like ogres sometimes with the editing of commercial links and the censoring of foul langauge, but this place got big for a reason and it has a lot to do with how it's run. Trust me when I say that while the idea of letting a bunch of grown men and women belch and swear in the forums sounds like the good times we have on the river, in the end what it turns into is a very ugly scene. I have been around long enough to know this as fact, much longer than my reg date implies. This place is run how it should be run, and many, many folks seem to agree.

[isaacfu]

I like the forum filter and would like to thank ifish for a great site. Thank you for allowing me to be a guest here.

Isaac

[1bigfish]

This place is run how it should be run, and many, many folks seem to agree.

[troutski]

Quote: I like the forum filter and would like to thank ifish for a great site. Thank you for allowing me to be a guest here.
Couldn't have said it better myself.....

[Radke]

There was a time that I felt as you do, this board had become to PC.

Then I joined another board, one dealing with Archery.

Sheese, now I understand why IFISH is as it is, and am thankful it is. Some of the crap that I see on the other board makes me wonder why I even go there.

Believe me, I've had postings here removed, and been requested to edit quite a few, so it isn't like I've ducked the moderators.

[flapbreaker]

i dont get why ifish edits everything i do evem personal messages... i cant even send a buddy here a link in a pm whithout getting a whoopsy.. really dumb if you ask me!!

It's just you. Watch out for the black helicopters. They are after your [petunias]. :grin: Just messin. I know sometimes it seems like we can't say things we want and it does seem lame but in the long run it's probably a good thing.

[CMallardDrake]

"...Then I joined another board, one dealing with Archery..."

Radke...

When I first read your quote above, I read "anarchy" instead of "archery" and I thought of course you're going to find an anything goes while posting messages attitude at a website like that.

It pays to re-read at times in my case...

I like the AUP of ifish and the mods do a great job and the filter does too.

.............. ............. ............. .............

[sandman]

Maybe you should read the AUP that you agreed to when you became a member of Ifish?

Foul Language
"Contrary to popular belief, this is not a public board. You are all guests here. We have the right to edit posts that violate our acceptable use policy, or remove members at any time. Nothing should ever be posted here that you would not say in front of a crowd of strangers. Don't post anything distasteful or anything you feel might offend someone else. PG-13 type language in ALL forums, including Off -Topic."

Thanks GSD,I hadn't read it in a while

[Chrome Bumper]

The editing is automated, when the computer see a word that looks bad to it, the computer edits it, not the mod. Even if the word is used in a way that is not foul. For instance, we could talk about a mule bred from a mare and a [petunia] or talk about the [whoopsy daisy] of a gun and the computer would think you were using foul language and edit it. Or even use a common first name like [leaping lizards] and the computer automatically changes it.

Its just the machine.

[MattPark]

Someone still sets up the "machine" for this site, it's not like it's an automatic editor for everyone on the internet.

[gottafish]

There was a time that I felt as you do, this board had become to PC.

Then I joined another board, one dealing with Archery.

Sheese, now I understand why IFISH is as it is, and am thankful it is. Some of the crap that I see on the other board makes me wonder why I even go there.

Believe me, I've had postings here removed, and been requested to edit quite a few, so it isn't like I've ducked the moderators.

Ever go to tradgang. That place sucks. Talk about to PC, to traditional, Lets just say this is a nice mix. Hey Ive been under the gun here A lot . I have a weird sense of humor I guess but its 4,000 times better than TG!

[Bill Monroe]

[quote
We have an AUP?

[/quote]

Ahhh-yUppppp!

[Jennie@ifish]

The word filter works like this:

Our current word ban list was freeware and the guy who wrote it gave us permission to use it a long time ago. There are a ton of words, and some words on it that shouldn't be there. (Too restrictive, even for us!) Every once and a while, I have to go remove some words that should never have been added.
People write me and say, "Why is THIS in the word filter?"
I just have to laugh. Some shouldn't be! So, off it goes!
The list is so long that there was no way I could read every one of them and say, "Oh, better take that out..." So, I just glanced through it and put it up.

There are words in it that I removed on purpose as ifish went along. I don't want it to be so invasive that it's offensive to all. (Even though, there is no way I can make it good for everyone, we just try for a balance..)

Anyhow, I removed things such as damn, hell, ass... you know, common words that I don't personally like on here, but the majority feels are so commonly used that I agreed to allow them.

Personal or private messages are just that, private. They are also encrypted. In order for admins of the site to have access to read them, they'd have to know the root password, and know how to run a program called "PHPmyadmin". When we hired someone to set up Threads, it was installed on ifish. It's not only for reading or decoding the database, but for managing and backing it up, if you don't understand mysql. I don't need that because I have someone do that for me.

One day, out of the blue, some hacker came along and posted on our admin board AS an admin! I'll never forget that day! That filled me with terror!

What a shock!!! Luckily, he was a 'nice' hacker, and only did it to warn us at ifish that we were currently unsecured. He was from Germany. Man, that panicked me because I had never used PHPmyadmin and had no idea where it was on my server or how to delete it or fix it. I hired my real admin to uninstall it for me. It either needed that, or to be updated with some patch. Since it wasn't used, we just took it down. We also have a guy who does our backups, so even if the hacker were to take down our site and delete it, (Which he could have!) we could have fixed it... but still!

All personal or private messages are encrypted so there is no way we can just open them up and read them. As if we had time or the interest to do that, anyhow. It is extremely immoral, but questionably illegal! I've seen other sites suffer or completely close down for doing it. Um... we don't want that! :smile:

We do have some hacks installed that help us find people that may have duplicate monikers. Sometimes when we find that out, people assume it's because we read private messages. That's not the case. We just have an IP tracker.

You know, some admins do read them and find it necessary to look for folks who sign up for their site just to spam their board. I've had people do that, actually. Members join under a false name and want to take our ifish members to another site, sell books or other products, or just mess around.

If a legal order were to be made, or if we need to track down someone that is hurting the site, (I'd have to have someone else do the work,) but we would investigate, under those terms.

I have found that we can depend on ifish members to report them to us, and thank God, that's worked well for us so far. When it gets reported, then those sites are added to the ban list and the guilty party removed.

The best way for you to not get this spam is to never use your real e mail address on ifish. Fill out only the top area for e mails in MY HOME. That's for ifish purposes only. The bottom area is for public use. We tell folks to leave that area blank.

Please, if you get spammed like that, do report it to us. Each and every member has worked really hard to get the members that we have at ifish. That means you and I. People who like ifish and care about our community add our own friends to it's member base, thus creating a quality place for all of us! It's a bummer to see outsiders open up a new web forum and just feel free to take our members somewhere else. It's almost a compliment to us. Hey! It's a great list of folks! But, it's highly unethical and is frowned on in web circles to do so. Ifish has worked hard for nearly 8 years to build up our data base.

That said, we just try to make ifish the best that it can be so that people want to stay. It's kind of like a relationship... If you love the members, set them free. If they stay, they were meant to be ifishers. If not, blah blah blah... Whatever that saying says!

If people want to go someplace else, then ifish isn't for them in the first place, I guess!

I'm so sorry that you feel it is too invasive and too nit pickety. I'm simply not interested in running a messy ship. I like my decks swabbed clean and our members in neatly pressed uniforms.

I can't imagine running it any other way. I wouldn't be here, if it were! Too much work, and very little satisfaction!

It'll never be perfect... but I'm satisfied, for the most part. If you don't like it, here, I have a list of other fishing web sites that you might be interested in. Just contact me through the feedback forum. If you'd be happier somewhere else, that's where you should be... But, if you give it some time and visit some other sites, you might decide that you want to stay. We hope so!

And please, if you have any comments or suggestions for our beloved web site, please use the feedback form found on the bottom of this page. We try to keep discussion of administration decisions off the public forums, so that we can help you better.
Jen

[SeaSparrow]

Anyhow, I removed things such as damn, hell, ass...

Jeez Jennie, now go rinse your mouth out with soap!!! :grin:

[PapaHog]

Good Job Jennie. Nice explanation

[Chrome Bumper]

What a [whoopsie daisy] [petunia] [rosebud] of a [carnation]. An unbelievable [rhodedendron] and an [azelia]of a roughshod [perewinkle] to [forget-me-nots]. If these [gadiola] think it is OK to [american bud] a [flowering quince] then they should [flatulent elm]! How is it [dandilion] [morning glory] to [foxglove][dogwood] like this?? As a patriotic american I can only say [daffodils] to this most insidous use of this [anenomies]. In conclusion [lilac] [daylily] [camelia] a [lotus] [waterlily] then you can [sunflower] and go fish. Absolutely [hollyhock] [freesia] [pansy] [clematis]. And yes I said [clematis][camelia] and I'll say it again [babybreathes].

[Jennie@ifish]

I do have fun changing the cuss word. I do!

It's been in the past, Pansies, oh oh!, oopsy! and now whoopsydaisies!

My favorite thing to do is to personally replace nasty words with things that will really embarrass you. :smile:

Love,
Jennie

[Chrome Bumper]

Jennie has a wonderful board. Her sense of humor is witty and wry. I can't say how happy I am to be here.

(This post replaces my first post ever deleted [limping rude tree])

[Joe Schwab]

I dunno Jennie. There's just something lost in the translation when one of the Salty Dogs reports the bar was rougher than [primroses] today!

[Chrome Bumper]

Oh [primroses], I missed that one. Now where's George Carlon when you need him?

[seabass]

I appreciate the effort of Jennie and the mods keeping this a clean site. My kids read it and learn.

Keep it clean and be nice!

Thanks Jennie and Mods,

Seabass

[DF]

This is a great site, I have learned alot here.

So I think, if one dosen't like the way this place is ran, go find another board. But be warned, you'll spend too much time looking through the [blueberry-poptarts] to find the good info you want. :smile: