The Tao of the Dictator Webmaster
Nov 25, 2022 10:11:26 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Nov 25, 2022 10:11:26 GMT -5
The Tao of the Dictator Webmaster
First, these days, anybody can be a webmaster, as Proboards clearly demonstrates. So it's really no big deal. Especially since Twitter and YouTube have greatly replaced the once very popular discussion forums. However, there are websites that still draw participants because they appear to offer something unique to members. So it is in these websites that a dictator-webmaster can still enjoy the sense of dominance that ruling over others in diverse ways can bring.
No, I am not referring to the webmaster's expectations of decent behavior. That expectation is totally justifiable since in order to maintain some kind of order, rules must be followed. What I am referring to goes beyond that. It refers to a webmaster maliciously preventing certain forum members from enjoying the same rights as other members because the webmaster is motivated by the following:
1. Dislikes a member's race or ethnicity
2. Strongly disagrees with the member's religious views.
3. Strongly disagrees with the member's political views.
4. Was deeply offended by the member's criticizing some administrative flaw.
In such cases, the dictatorial, offended webmaster, unfortunately, has many ways to persecute the member besides just banning him. Here are two of them:
For example, the webmaster can render the member's posts invisible to everyone else but himself. thus preventing feedback to any of that members posts. This makes it appear as if he is being snubbed or is being deemed as unworthy of any response.
That happened to me when one webmaster said:
"Who do you think you are speaking to?"
That snide remark explained the total silence from other members to my posts that I had been experiencing for a month. Needless to say, I left. After all, why stick around a situation where you are a prime target for whatever the reason might be? Continuing to post only serves to feed the beast, and in this case, unfortunately, the beast is insatiable. The more frustration this webmaster type of beast inflicts, the more ravenous it becomes. So feeding the beast is really encouraging the beast.
Another method is to respond to a member's post via insulting remarks in order to publicly humiliate him instead of simply deleting the member's post and informing him via email. Or else to camouflage hostility via offering feedback to a member's post albeit laced with very personal insults. This might include categorizing the members post as being diabolical.
Or else, the dictatorial webmaster might choose to challenge the members qualifications in reference to his post. Of course, whether this might be against forum rules is totally irrelevant, since there is nobody above the Webmaster, he gets away with it.
No, I am not referring to the webmaster's expectations of decent behavior. That expectation is totally justifiable since in order to maintain some kind of order, rules must be followed. What I am referring to goes beyond that. It refers to a webmaster maliciously preventing certain forum members from enjoying the same rights as other members because the webmaster is motivated by the following:
1. Dislikes a member's race or ethnicity
2. Strongly disagrees with the member's religious views.
3. Strongly disagrees with the member's political views.
4. Was deeply offended by the member's criticizing some administrative flaw.
Two Methods Dictatorial Webmaster Use
In such cases, the dictatorial, offended webmaster, unfortunately, has many ways to persecute the member besides just banning him. Here are two of them:
Make the member invisible
For example, the webmaster can render the member's posts invisible to everyone else but himself. thus preventing feedback to any of that members posts. This makes it appear as if he is being snubbed or is being deemed as unworthy of any response.
That happened to me when one webmaster said:
"Who do you think you are speaking to?"
That snide remark explained the total silence from other members to my posts that I had been experiencing for a month. Needless to say, I left. After all, why stick around a situation where you are a prime target for whatever the reason might be? Continuing to post only serves to feed the beast, and in this case, unfortunately, the beast is insatiable. The more frustration this webmaster type of beast inflicts, the more ravenous it becomes. So feeding the beast is really encouraging the beast.
Public Humiliation
Another method is to respond to a member's post via insulting remarks in order to publicly humiliate him instead of simply deleting the member's post and informing him via email. Or else to camouflage hostility via offering feedback to a member's post albeit laced with very personal insults. This might include categorizing the members post as being diabolical.
Or else, the dictatorial webmaster might choose to challenge the members qualifications in reference to his post. Of course, whether this might be against forum rules is totally irrelevant, since there is nobody above the Webmaster, he gets away with it.