Dear Tom, I finally stumbeled upon the tirade on a subsequently locked forum by Mr. Roach re the CS 767. My question and I have followed these forums since I got back into MSFS when FSX was released, is this: How do you pick and what qualifications do you see as necessary for an administrator? At what point do you draw the line on abuse by an administrator? I realize we are a diverse lot from around the world( thank you internet) and I've been around 70 years with time in the B-52, 707, etc.which qualifies me as an old f..., but am amazed at what I sometimes read as comments that get out of hand on BOTH sides of the equation. Just curious, but I suspect I will not be banned for this inquiry? Jack Sciutti Viet Nam Vet (yes, I'm proud of my service). PS Tim Caps is doing a fine job.

Hi Jack,I was glad to see you inquire about the qualifications for admin. I hope that means you're looking to join the team, we sure could use the help. Until Tom shows up with the full list, here's a few things for you.You have to have some real thick skin and a lot more experience than you will ever even dream of having. You've been around for 70+ years, time in the B52, 707, etc, etc, etc. Sorry Jack, but that's not good enough. You see, one of the first things that will happen to you as a moderator is that you are going to be criticized for not being experienced enough for the job. Sometime around next October I will cross my 20,000 hour mark, which includes my time in the P-3C in my Navy days, the A319 with Skybus and another airline, Lear 35, every Cessna and Piper in the fleet, two Barons, and more, but there will always be some forumer out there ready to call me a 14 year old kid who doesn't know anything about anything the first time he disagrees with me. Of course you will not likely get to see that confrontation because people like David will be there to hide or delete those personal attacks so as to provide a welcoming environment here in the forums. You will also need a good attorney for all the lawsuits. That's right Jack, you will be threatened with lawsuits, usually because you've banned a spammer, or warned someone to watch there language, or maybe even just because there signature is over the size limit and you had to advise them of such. So maybe you don't actually need an attorney, but you will need to be prepared for all of the ignorance that comes from those who seem to think that the AVSIM forums are an open invitation to say and do as you please without any guidelines or rules to follow. Fortunately we have people like David who are willing to come into the forums every day and keep people like this in check.You should also be prepared to give up a good portion of your free time, especially right before bedtime when some spammer keeps attacking the X-Plane forum with there free movie downloads and Viagra pills. Perhaps the spammer will give you a short break so you can tend to a commercial member using the forums for advertising or someone wanting to pick a fight about who caused 9/11. Didn't you know that these types of things occur daily, usually more times in a single day than you would ever have the time to read? Nope, you probably didn't know that because we have people like David who are willing to devote there free time to keeping the forums free of this garbage. Don't forget to keep your eye out for the ninja spammers, as I like to call them. Those are the ones who will post a link that takes you to a website just waiting to attack your computer with a virus, malware, or maybe just redirect you to free emoticons for your MySpace page. You'll have to quickly learn how to identify legit members from those who create an account just to spam, advertise, or even harm your computer. Fortunately, AVSIM members don't have anything to worry about because we're lucky enough to have people like David who are here to remove these posts and ban the spammer before they can do any harm.And finally, be prepared for someone to throw a fit and accuse you of being mean, unfair, disrespectful, biased, rude, abusive, cruel, racist, sexist, any other "ist" you can think of, etc, etc, etc. After a long day of cleaning up the forums and providing an environment welcoming for all, you may just find yourself getting a little frustrated with someone who refuses to abide by the AVSIM forums terms of use that they agreed to when they signed up. You might just find out that you have a human side too. Be prepared for the violator of the rules to criticise you instead of themselves for not following the guidelines they agreed to. Few are going to realize that what you are actually responding to may be a post, or several posts that had to be hidden/removed because of blatant violations and ruthless attacks, but will instead jump on you as the moderator. Few will understand that it is not just that one post which has drawn your ire, but rather a history of such violations from said member. But after putting up with the abuse you will receive as a moderator you can still go to bed assured the forums will be in order when you wake up thanks to people like David stepping in to take over while you're gone.I look forward to you joining the team and giving up your time for this thankless job to give something back to the community and help to keep the AVSIM forums a welcoming place for all to enjoy. Feel free to contact me or any other moderator after your very first day on the job, which is just about the time you'll get your first threat, or be accused of being abusive or unfair. By your second day someone is going to call you every name in the book for deleting there curse filled post attacking another member, and others will join in the tirade despite having no idea whatsover about the history of this forum troll, but don't worry about it, just PM David and ask him how he's managed to overcome the constant barrage of attacks he receives for doing his job and upholding the rules of the forums. P.S. No Jack, you won't be banned for your inquiry. In fact, contrary to popular belief it takes a lot to get banned here at AVSIM. I've yet to see anyone get banned who didn't clearly, knowingly, and willfully violate the rules with vigor, often on several occasions. The only exception being spammers, who do not get a second strike. If I were to ban you for nearly any reason, you can rest assured that David would be the first to oppose my decision and vigorously fight me on your behalf.

Dear Tom, I finally stumbeled upon the tirade on a subsequently locked forum by Mr. Roach re the CS 767. My question and I have followed these forums since I got back into MSFS when FSX was released, is this: How do you pick and what qualifications do you see as necessary for an administrator? At what point do you draw the line on abuse by an administrator? I realize we are a diverse lot from around the world( thank you internet) and I've been around 70 years with time in the B-52, 707, etc.which qualifies me as an old f..., but am amazed at what I sometimes read as comments that get out of hand on BOTH sides of the equation. Just curious, but I suspect I will not be banned for this inquiry? Jack Sciutti Viet Nam Vet (yes, I'm proud of my service). PS Tim Caps is doing a fine job.

I think all the AVSIM Forum moderators are doing a great job under very difficult and sometimes thankless circumstances. I do not think your criticism in this case is fair or called for (this is my personal opinion). I would like to thank the AVSIM forum moderators for the good work they are doing and for maintaining this forum to a high standard.

Jeremy , Whoa!!!! That is a very thoughtful answer to what I thought was a 'simple' inquiry. As to thick skin, I do believe mine has grown thicker over the years working as a ORACLE DBA,software developer/integrator; the DoD was a handful at times.Much easier, perhaps depending on your perspective, to fly combat or push a TWA 707 around. I never made it beyond FE due to furloughs( hope you haven't experienced that!), so went back to school and spent 20+ in IT. My son is a FO with an airline based in Atlanta and is on the 757/767( lucky man).Now, I do have time as I'm retired and a fan of FSX and numerous add-ons and spent too much $ on systems to handle both FSX and IL2.I suspect I could be of help, but don't know exactly where you would need me: reviewer with pilot experience and coding experience, cop, watchdog, gofer, some published articles a long time ago (AAHS Journal/IPMS Journal - I still build scale models).Anyway, thanks for the insightful answer.My $ resources are somewhat limited but perhaps I can make my first annual AVSIM bash next year.Jack SciuttiMr. Momtchil Dobrev - Guetov, Actually. I agree now that I have more information and I was not trying to be critical. Enough said. Jack Sciutti

"Reviewer"You just said the magic word! Quack!AVSIM can always use more Reviewers! Of course we can use more volunteers elsewhere as well. If it's Reviewing you would like to do, though, you will need to contact our Editor, Robert Whitwell. You will also need to "try out" by writing a review on spec. Pick a product you already have and write a review on it. Try to follow the current AVSIM Reviews as a guideline. Robert can tell you more. Good luck, and have fun!Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

Well Jeremy, all I can say is........ :( :( :( :(

Well Jeremy, all I can say is........ :( :( :( :(

Ditto -though he did fail to mention that the high salary is what attracts us all.... :( A brilliant post from rightseater-I think we should have it on hand for future use..

As a long-term sometime Avsim user,wanted to add my tuppence worth of Highest Praise and Compliments to the splendid team around you who have finally resurrected Avsim to the status it was worldwide before that unbelievable act of sabotage.The Phoenix Flies Again(sorry about that but could not think of a better analogy tied to our hobby)Well Done to all concerned.Rick

Very, very good reply, Jeremy. Every word is so true!Don

Ya know, some people have thanked the team that got AVSIM back online since May. Some have criticized us, some have told us we flat out lied. Regardless, I think the resurrection team had an EASY job compared to what the mods do in the forums.I haven't said it enough but I applaud the mods and ALL the people that keep the forums what they are. It's the drive and motivation that made me realize I NEED to be a part of this team; not because of anything other then wanting to be a part of the best damn team I have ever worked with.If you've never been around a FanCon, a meeting, a social, or just sat down with a team member; Tom, Bob, or any of the "old dudes" I highly recommend it. If I can ever keep my mouth shut long enough I KNOW I have learned more around them then any school could teach.But, back to my original topic here....the mods are doing a GREAT job. Thanks again for being here all.

Very, very good reply, Jeremy. Every word is so true!Don

Rightseater;Thanks for the overview of what an administrator goes through in these forums. I've learned a lot about flying in these forums.One minor point I would like to point out though, and it is very common, is the difference between the word "there" and "their". Unfortunatly you used the incorrect word in your response several times. Here is an example taken from you post: "or maybe even just because there signature is over the size limit and you had to advise them of such." This should have been 'their'.I hope this is taken in the spirit intended, to improve our use of the English language. It saddens me to read posts that are so poorly written, some almost immpossible to understand. I realize we all make mistakes, and there are members whose first language is not English, and I give them credit for attempting and give them leeway, but I would hope that all posters READ their post before clicking the response button.Jim D.

Rightseater; some almost immpossible to understand. I realize we all make mistakes, and there are members whose first language is not English, and I give them credit for attempting and give them leeway, but I would hope that all posters READ their post before clicking the response button.Jim D.

Jim'immpossible'??We all make mistakes, though I agree, the 'their/there' 'your/you're' thing drives me crazy too ;-)

I realize we all make mistakes, and there are members whose first language is not English...

Mischievous Mode On.Isn't 'realize' spelt with an s in the English language? Of course if you meant American English then I take it back! :( Mischievous Mode Off.

Rightseater;Thanks for the overview of what an administrator goes through in these forums. I've learned a lot about flying in these forums.One minor point I would like to point out though, and it is very common, is the difference between the word "there" and "their". Unfortunatly you used the incorrect word in your response several times. Here is an example taken from you post: "or maybe even just because there signature is over the size limit and you had to advise them of such." This should have been 'their'.I hope this is taken in the spirit intended, to improve our use of the English language. It saddens me to read posts that are so poorly written, some almost immpossible to understand. I realize we all make mistakes, and there are members whose first language is not English, and I give them credit for attempting and give them leeway, but I would hope that all posters READ their post before clicking the response button.Jim D.

In the same spirit intended, hopefully your post will show why improving my grammar is not on the top of my list. If someone with such interest makes as many notable mistakes as you did, I don't have much hope for myself. For example you misspelled "Unfortunately" and "impossible", and said "Here is an example taken from you post", which of course should be "your" post. Setting aside the irony of those three errors just prior to you saying "but I would hope that all posters READ their post before clicking the response button", it is not likely that I will put forth much effort focusing on there, their, or they're anytime in the immediate future.

In the same spirit intended, hopefully your post will show why improving my grammar is not on the top of my list. If someone with such interest makes as many notable mistakes as you did, I don't have much hope for myself. For example you misspelled "Unfortunately" and "impossible", and said "Here is an example taken from you post", which of course should be "your" post. Setting aside the irony of those three errors just prior to you saying "but I would hope that all posters READ their post before clicking the response button", it is not likely that I will put forth much effort focusing on there, their, or they're anytime in the immediate future.

Well taken. I do need to read more carefully as well. No offense taken on my part, and thanks for the noted corrections. I will try to be more careful in the future. Maybe this is a wakeup call for a lot of us. Jim D.[Edit] Some time ago I received an email that had each words' letters jumbled except for the first and last letters. These were in the correct location. Amazingly, one could read the entire message correctly. It was explained that the brain focuses mainly on the first and last letter of the word. Who said that the English language was easy. What really is diffilcult is when the message is incoherent, or so badly written, almost 'IMPOSSIBLE' (correct spelling) to understand. Again, I'm not referring to our friends with a different first language.If you note some errors here, please let me know.