Feuds between forums

Have you experienced this? What caused it, what did management do and how did it turn out?

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What prompted the question ...

This was the dumbest thing, imo. So a member posted a big enraged venting complaint about an unrelated forum on my forum. She described problems with the other forum's admin, her paid membership there ended up being messed up somehow. I saw the thread in an area where we had allowed a few things that were a little off-topic, and didn't really think about it.

Next day about 4 newly-minted members descended on the thread ... they were loyal members of the other forum, and the mud-slinging commenced. No mods were on for several hours while this went on, members know the forum is not modded 24/7 and normally don't need it. But this time the noobs raged that the op had broken the other forums rules and deserved what she had got there; my forum was a horrible forum to allow such denigration of their beloved site. My members inexplicably went into attack mode and not only challenged these new members as to their bona fides, they said they had read the other forum and thought it was a travesty and and and ... Good stalwart members began calling names and baiting the other-forum-noobs, racking up rules violations that they had never had before. All those descriptive thread-meltdown terms apply.

Only about 3 hours later mods were online. The mods were :speechless:. Where did all this come from? This didn't even have anything to do with us! :frown:

Got email from the admin of other forum threatening legal action if I didn't delete what he characterized as libel posted on my forum. (Legally it wasn't - I don't think.)

I took a look at the other forum and was able to read their commentary thread without registering there. It started as the bash of the member who posted her complaints on my forum . From there it went to bashing the discussion being posted on my forum, which those members could also read without registering, and denigrating my forum. A few of my forum members had registered and were defending my forum - I have to say their tone was a lot more reasonable on that site than it had been on mine.

All this because one person had gotten into difficulties on one forum and decided to trash that forum on another forum. That's all it was.

On my forum the mods closed the thread with a strong note about rules etc., and the sanctions commenced among those who had posted violations. :frown: The thread on the other forum is still open, but after last comments deploring my forum it is now inactive. I reply-emailed the other admin and kind of ignored his tone and "libel" demand. I suggested that in the spirit of goodwill each admin could post a brief statement on the other site, very generic, with the good qualities and expectations of their site - and let it go right there. Never heard back, that hasn't happened, life goes on for both forums.

So new rule ... no bashing other forums. Doesn't matter what the other forum topic is. That's not part of the purpose of my forum. Also mods are paying more attention to complaints about things unrelated to our forum's topic ... some general life things aren't an issue in the off-topic area, but especially transactional-type internet things that could bring responses from outsiders. We would be ok with that if all were reasoable and rules-abiding ... but really it is not the purpose of the forum and is a demand on mod time. Better not to go there.

We regretted adding one more rule, wouldn't it be nice if rules could be short and simple. But there's this thing some call human nature, I guess.

That's the story. :p

 

yeah ive been a part of this.

my rival forums admin, and my co-admin were once admins of another forum and then they fell out, the rival destroyed the forum by pretending it was hacked and both made their own forums.

i was invited to her private little forum because i was originally on both sides but i got banned cause i told her that i didnt like the way they talked about the members of my forum on hers, and how she posted the conversation i had with her about the constant bitching about our forum members on the forum with "I AM THE ADMIN AND I DO WHAT I WANT!!!!" (including capitals, bold, big red letters....). also she discussed intimate relationship details told to her by members of our side when they were all friends (and some who werent members of her forum, but she still acted like she liked) and then banned everyone who was a member of our forum.

theres still a lot of fighting and flaming on another forum we all post on, cause my rival and her friends think they are above the mods. they do everything they can to destroy this other forum, and also destroy our reputations

 

I had to do a lot of work reigning in the bashing of RPoL for a few years. I know a lot of people are bitter about being forced off, but Elliquiy exists now, as it were.

I consider additional rules to be a bane and tend to just enforce the measure using existing rules. You don't need - or want - a rule for every possible circumstance.