Reality
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This sticky thread will hopefully answer some questions and avoid causing some users to have their accounts benched (suspended).
Why are threads moved from the Fan Zone to other forums?
We have a lot of new threads posted each day and a lot of really good threads get pushed off the front page of the Fan Zone and rarely return because so many users fail to go beyond the first page when reading our primary forum. To help prevent this, we have occasionally created new forums for discussions about specific topics or areas that are regularly found among several new threads posted in the Fan Zone. We do this to avoid having to merge threads that have the same core topic, but not the same aspect or focus while trying to help keep the Fan Zone filled with a variety of topics.
Why was my thread moved to the Coaches/Front Office Zone?
When your favorite team loses games, it is quite common to question the owners, the coaching staff and the coaching decisions made in those games. We are all armchair quarterbacks, coaches, owners, etc. and we all have our opinions on how things should have been done or which decisions should have been made. The problem is that so many fans are opinionated and create threads on these topics that they can easily flood the Fan Zone pushing many other more fan-wide topics off its front page where they rarely recover.
In the past, rather than mega-merging Jerry, Garrett, Linehan, etc. threads, or worse, deleting them, we started moving them to the Rant Zone. Many of those threads were not rants though as they contained good discussions on the actions, decisions, etc. of the front office and coaching staff. Because there were enough new threads being created in this area, we decided to create a new forum specifically for it. We even gave it a high priority by making it the third forum listed on the home page. That way, users who want to discuss ownership or the coaching staff can do so as much as they want and in topics focusing on many different areas and aspects.
Why was my thread moved to the Rant Zone?
Before the Rant Zone forum was created, all threads that were complaining about the same things people have been complaining about for years were just deleted. The reason the Rant Zone forum was created was to avoid deleting threads that some of the users here have an interest in discussing. It was a good alternative to simply removing the threads from the site.
My thread was not a rant, so why was it moved to the Rant Zone?
Sometimes thread starters can have the best intentions when they create a new thread, but the direction of the thread can deteriorate quite quickly, especially after losses. It sucks, but it happens. Our staff has a lot of experience with various types of threads and we have learned to recognize when threads are going down that path. Unfortunately, if you make a post about a sore topic to fans at the moment, it can easily turn into a rant thread whether you intended it to or not.
The staff will sometimes try to save the thread by deleting posts, banning users from that specific thread, etc., but in some cases it would require non-stop moderation of the thread and that's not something the staff will ever have the time nor desire to do while trying to moderate the rest of the site. Remember, just because you're being objective or level-headed about a sore topic of the moment does not mean other fans will do the same, even when you ask them to do so.
So we can't say anything bad about Jerry, Garrett or the team now?
Of course you can. The policies in regards to the Coaches/Front Office Zone and the Rant Zone have been in place for years. We are not enforcing them any more today than we did years ago. That said, there is a difference between constructive criticism of the team, staff, ownership, etc. and simply posting (spamming) negative comments just to gain attention or LIKE's or to harass other members.
Why is the staff so pro-Jerry and/or pro-Garrett?
Actually, we are not. While some of the staff may like one or both of them, some of the staff do not like one or both as well. The staff enforces our posting policies as consistently as possible and sometimes that means we have to move or delete posts that we actually agree with. In some situations the staff discusses a thread prior to it being moved or deleted and every staff member knows any decision by a single staff member can be questioned at any time by one or more other staff members.
Why was my post deleted?
If your post was deleted and you did not receive an official warning, you should take that as you got off lucky because it means it likely violated the forum rules or was nothing more than negative spam.
What if a moderator doesn't like me?
It's human nature for some individuals to not get along or agree on topics. It's amplified when one or more of the people involved are emotionally attached to their opinions. Even though we have a really good staff, we are not immune to this either. That said, there are two things you need to understand.
The first is that a lot of times, when a staff member who has a known issue with a specific user sees that user do something he/she feels is a rule violation, they will ask the staff about it first rather than act on it immediately. There are exceptions of course because sometimes rule violations are rather obvious.
The second thing you need to know is that every staff member receives alerts for every warning issued by the rest of the staff. Meaning, not a single official warning given out sneaks by the staff and that includes warnings I, @WoodysGirl or @BrAinPaiNt give out as well. Even we as admins are not above being questioned by the rest of the staff about an action we have taken against a user, thread, post, etc.
*** VERY IMPORTANT ***
While the staff will usually remain consistent in our actions, there are times and extenuating circumstances where we make decisions we feel are in the best interest of the site. We understand and respect that the user(s) affected may not feel that way, and it is very likely if we were in their place, we would feel the same exact way. However, we have to think about a much larger picture and sometimes that means making decisions that will upset users. We ask that you understand that we are not perfect, but we do our best to keep CowboysZone an enjoyable site for all Cowboys fans!
*** IMPORTANT ***
Other general things you should know ..
1) If you publicly question the moderation of the site, your account will be benched (suspended). If you have a question about moderation, ask a staff member privately via conversation (PM).
2) We manually review and approve new accounts on the site so if your account is benched, do not think you can just make a new account and return.
3) Only about 30% of new accounts are approved. Yes, you read that right. It is very hard to get an account on CowboysZone. I never put this site online to be the most popular site. I put it online to give Cowboys fans a safe place to spend their time discussing the Cowboys. I do not care how many users we have nor do I care how many pageviews CowboysZone receives. I never have. My only priority is keeping this site free from trolls, spammers and drive-by advertising posts. Most of you have no idea how bad spammers attack forums these days and how aggressive they are at trying to gain access.
4) The staff does a lot of work for this site and most users never show any appreciation for it. The internet is filled with vile, disgusting, offensive and hateful discussions and yet our staff works endlessly to keep this site not only free of that but also as family-friendly as possible. It wouldn't hurt for everyone to think about that and let them know, even if it is only the staff members you like, how much you appreciate the time and effort they put in to make this site a place where you enjoy spending your time each day.
Hopefully, this has helped to clear up some misunderstandings about how this site is run and what is expected of you as posters.
/reality
Why are threads moved from the Fan Zone to other forums?
We have a lot of new threads posted each day and a lot of really good threads get pushed off the front page of the Fan Zone and rarely return because so many users fail to go beyond the first page when reading our primary forum. To help prevent this, we have occasionally created new forums for discussions about specific topics or areas that are regularly found among several new threads posted in the Fan Zone. We do this to avoid having to merge threads that have the same core topic, but not the same aspect or focus while trying to help keep the Fan Zone filled with a variety of topics.
Why was my thread moved to the Coaches/Front Office Zone?
When your favorite team loses games, it is quite common to question the owners, the coaching staff and the coaching decisions made in those games. We are all armchair quarterbacks, coaches, owners, etc. and we all have our opinions on how things should have been done or which decisions should have been made. The problem is that so many fans are opinionated and create threads on these topics that they can easily flood the Fan Zone pushing many other more fan-wide topics off its front page where they rarely recover.
In the past, rather than mega-merging Jerry, Garrett, Linehan, etc. threads, or worse, deleting them, we started moving them to the Rant Zone. Many of those threads were not rants though as they contained good discussions on the actions, decisions, etc. of the front office and coaching staff. Because there were enough new threads being created in this area, we decided to create a new forum specifically for it. We even gave it a high priority by making it the third forum listed on the home page. That way, users who want to discuss ownership or the coaching staff can do so as much as they want and in topics focusing on many different areas and aspects.
Why was my thread moved to the Rant Zone?
Before the Rant Zone forum was created, all threads that were complaining about the same things people have been complaining about for years were just deleted. The reason the Rant Zone forum was created was to avoid deleting threads that some of the users here have an interest in discussing. It was a good alternative to simply removing the threads from the site.
My thread was not a rant, so why was it moved to the Rant Zone?
Sometimes thread starters can have the best intentions when they create a new thread, but the direction of the thread can deteriorate quite quickly, especially after losses. It sucks, but it happens. Our staff has a lot of experience with various types of threads and we have learned to recognize when threads are going down that path. Unfortunately, if you make a post about a sore topic to fans at the moment, it can easily turn into a rant thread whether you intended it to or not.
The staff will sometimes try to save the thread by deleting posts, banning users from that specific thread, etc., but in some cases it would require non-stop moderation of the thread and that's not something the staff will ever have the time nor desire to do while trying to moderate the rest of the site. Remember, just because you're being objective or level-headed about a sore topic of the moment does not mean other fans will do the same, even when you ask them to do so.
So we can't say anything bad about Jerry, Garrett or the team now?
Of course you can. The policies in regards to the Coaches/Front Office Zone and the Rant Zone have been in place for years. We are not enforcing them any more today than we did years ago. That said, there is a difference between constructive criticism of the team, staff, ownership, etc. and simply posting (spamming) negative comments just to gain attention or LIKE's or to harass other members.
Why is the staff so pro-Jerry and/or pro-Garrett?
Actually, we are not. While some of the staff may like one or both of them, some of the staff do not like one or both as well. The staff enforces our posting policies as consistently as possible and sometimes that means we have to move or delete posts that we actually agree with. In some situations the staff discusses a thread prior to it being moved or deleted and every staff member knows any decision by a single staff member can be questioned at any time by one or more other staff members.
Why was my post deleted?
If your post was deleted and you did not receive an official warning, you should take that as you got off lucky because it means it likely violated the forum rules or was nothing more than negative spam.
What if a moderator doesn't like me?
It's human nature for some individuals to not get along or agree on topics. It's amplified when one or more of the people involved are emotionally attached to their opinions. Even though we have a really good staff, we are not immune to this either. That said, there are two things you need to understand.
The first is that a lot of times, when a staff member who has a known issue with a specific user sees that user do something he/she feels is a rule violation, they will ask the staff about it first rather than act on it immediately. There are exceptions of course because sometimes rule violations are rather obvious.
The second thing you need to know is that every staff member receives alerts for every warning issued by the rest of the staff. Meaning, not a single official warning given out sneaks by the staff and that includes warnings I, @WoodysGirl or @BrAinPaiNt give out as well. Even we as admins are not above being questioned by the rest of the staff about an action we have taken against a user, thread, post, etc.
*** VERY IMPORTANT ***
While the staff will usually remain consistent in our actions, there are times and extenuating circumstances where we make decisions we feel are in the best interest of the site. We understand and respect that the user(s) affected may not feel that way, and it is very likely if we were in their place, we would feel the same exact way. However, we have to think about a much larger picture and sometimes that means making decisions that will upset users. We ask that you understand that we are not perfect, but we do our best to keep CowboysZone an enjoyable site for all Cowboys fans!
*** IMPORTANT ***
Other general things you should know ..
1) If you publicly question the moderation of the site, your account will be benched (suspended). If you have a question about moderation, ask a staff member privately via conversation (PM).
2) We manually review and approve new accounts on the site so if your account is benched, do not think you can just make a new account and return.
3) Only about 30% of new accounts are approved. Yes, you read that right. It is very hard to get an account on CowboysZone. I never put this site online to be the most popular site. I put it online to give Cowboys fans a safe place to spend their time discussing the Cowboys. I do not care how many users we have nor do I care how many pageviews CowboysZone receives. I never have. My only priority is keeping this site free from trolls, spammers and drive-by advertising posts. Most of you have no idea how bad spammers attack forums these days and how aggressive they are at trying to gain access.
4) The staff does a lot of work for this site and most users never show any appreciation for it. The internet is filled with vile, disgusting, offensive and hateful discussions and yet our staff works endlessly to keep this site not only free of that but also as family-friendly as possible. It wouldn't hurt for everyone to think about that and let them know, even if it is only the staff members you like, how much you appreciate the time and effort they put in to make this site a place where you enjoy spending your time each day.
Hopefully, this has helped to clear up some misunderstandings about how this site is run and what is expected of you as posters.
/reality