The new face of on-line moderators?

[ravemtech 19]

In recent times with the uptake of Facebook and similar (recent for us oldies), it is well recognised that there is a darker side, namely the open verbal attacks and rude responses to those participating in the chats.  Sadly l feel this seems to be passing over to an increasing number of FlightSim product companies and their forums.

l don’t go on the FSUIPC forums to ask any questions as the replies to legitimate questions are often answered with some of the most rude insults l have ever read by a company and/or it’s developer. They are not nice to read and is a sad reflection on what is otherwise a great product. And we should not have to accept this poor behaviour just because it’s on-line.

Sadly this type of response is growing increasingly on other product sight forums that l have been following. And one in particular who is one of the largest FlightSim companies, and produces great products, namely Orbx.

For a long time l enjoyed the forums of Orbx, often using it as a learning tool. Moderators were often overstrict, but at least polite. Over the last couple of years, one of Orbx’s moderators has grown increasing abusive to many customers asking legitimate questions. At times these comments are defamatory to customers and are not pleasant to read even as a casual bystander.  As a result l have generally stayed away from the Orbx forums until recently when l had a problem with two products that others also had an issue with. The moderator was nothing less than rude on both occasions, and probably defamatory in his response to not only my questions, but others.  These were not the first time I had to put up with his blunt and rude responses, but they are far ruder than previously. Luckily it is limited to one moderator at present on the forum, but he also seems to be the most common moderator to answer questions. His personal attacks on these particular posts were not just limited to me, but to quite a number of people. And despite his increasingly rude replies to customers, Orbx does nothing.  Is Orbx condoning his behaviour, or simply unaware of how rude this moderator is to it’s customers. This moderator’s poor behaviour has been raised on a number of Facebook posts away from Orbx as customers are well aware that speaking out on the Orbx forums results in a ban.

As customers, why if we ask in a legitimate question in a polite civilised way, regarding a product issue that can be often easily resolved with a simple polite reply, have to endure the rath of these foul moderators or developers. I am not talking about rude customers, but customer who ask a simple question in a more than civilised manner.

If we want the a FlightSim industry to grow in the future, and potentially it will with the release of MSFS 2020, then companies need to ensure that customers with asking for help with legitimate questions about a product are not treated like garbage to throw insults at. But instead have their questions answered free of abuse. The future of the FlightSim industry,  is partially based on how the commercial industry treats it’s customer base.  If the future of company forums is to openly abuse customers, then the Flightsim industry has a poor future for bringing in new simmers.

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by ravemtech

[Penzoil3 480]

Welcome to my world. I was banned. I disrespected J.V. on another forum, not OrbX. I was always taught that respect was earned, not demanded.

 Sue

[Biggles2010 343]

I would certainly agree with you about the Orbx forums. They have been like that from the beginning, when they were populated by a group of Orbx word not allowed who took it on themselves to flame anyone who was not showing enough gushing enthusiasm for Orbx products. And beware anyone who dared to suggest there might be a problem with an Orbx product, or their customer service.  In fact John Venema would join in the flaming of customers, which gave a clear view of the Orbx attitude to customer service. I never use their forums now, so I cannot comment on the current situation, but there have been numerous Avsim members who were banned by Orbx for daring to question the attitude.

On the other hand I would disagree with your comments about the FSUIPC forum.  Peter Dowson has made an enormous personal contribution to flight simulation over many years. His work has allowed many people, including myself, with minimal programming skills, to develop workable home cockpits. He has always provided an enormous amount of help through the forum, often going to extraordinary lengths to resolve users problems. However, he has always expected users to read the very comprehensive documentation he has provided. The manuals cover most of the issues that are raised in the forum, and I can understand that he might find it irritating when users take the lazy option of posting questions he has already provided the answers to.      Peter's son has now taken on much of the workload, but in my opinion seems to have followed a similar style in providing help to users. But it is not unreasonable to expect users to Read The  Manual first.

 

 

 

[dal330200 216]

Personally, I loathe using them due to the toxicity that usually follows my posts or comments.  Even if I have an innocent question, I usually get some kind of snide comment about not knowing where to look for answers.  I hate it.  It's everywhere- from Facebook to here, and it's also commonplace on forums for both sims.  Sometimes I think to get my own channel and start using it as a platform to be able to share my experiences without being battered and muted by the peanut gallery, grammar police, know-it-alls and censors. 

[Mace 1,927]

How about, "the new face of on-line users" as your thread title instead?

I don't think the modern-day crassness we see is the sole province of moderators on a forum.  Rather, it's many people.

Plus you have to remember, some of the mods for various products are developers.  Developers do not usually have a degree in public relations, and in fact they usually are bad at that.  They tend to be rushed, terse, and straight-to-the-point.   Therefore, that's what you get on their forum.  Be prepared for that.  Or don't participate in their forums / or factor their support into your purchasing decision.

[glennav8r 20]

This has been my experience also and as a small business owner I find it incredible that this type of interaction with their respective customer bases occurs. I have to say though that Pete Dowson has been incredibly helpful to so many people over the years and given so much. I have never found him to be rude. And people should RTFM as I am sure  that he spends countless unpaid hours assisting many people. 

Glenn

Edited December 14, 2019 by glennav8r

[188AHC 2,138]

Members, we truly respect your comments about bad experiences with some 3rd party vendors but unfortunately we don't allow vendor bashing on Avsim. 

If you have a complaint about a vendor, you might try not using their name. I'm sure people will know who you are referring to. 

I also request that you not include our moderators in this category.