Dmoz editor bullying and discrimination

This may be the last post I make on this site. And it's slightly off topic, I do apologise.

But after being harrassed and picked mainly by one certain person here as a newbie, I decided to look up some informative sites on what it's like to be bullied online ,as a newbie in any genure, and one of the first sites on the list was Minstrel's ( thumbs up for the serps BTW). I had an entertaining hour reading through all his advice to parent's against 'cyber-bullying' online , and person's bullied in general in fact, feel free to check it out through his sig and the huge section he has there dealing with the subject. (Bullying, Fighting & Interpersonal Violence).

I've been online nearly 6 years now ( so my first ebay feedback says ) and without doubt I have never in any forum in any field came across such a complete out and out bully such as Minstrel. And believe me I've survived the ebay forums, I also , as admitted to in various PM's here, went 20 pages worth of threads in another forum ( WMW ) against the likes of Hutcheson, Cpb and co as a DMOZ doubter like lots here before I was an editor. I've seen both sides of the coin. Boy I so wanted to tear them and Dmoz to shreds because they 'apparently' were ignoring the mom's forum I mod on.

And for what it's worth I've never in all my 5 years modding and admining on 8 or so forums, all still going strong and 2 rivalling this one in size,.. I've never once been accused of being an AI retard, my being disabled has never been an issue. ( Minstrel did apologise but continued to harrass in the nest thread I posted in).

But, unlike others, I decided to put up or shut up. And I applied to Dmoz to see what it is really like inside. I was fully honest in my connections modding ( none of which are anywhere near where I applied or edit now and I own and make money from none of them ). I was also honest about my doubts. I even pointed them in the direction of the thread afore-mentioned.

Well didn't I just eat humble pie ! I was welcomed, encouraged and mentored and never once ridiculed for my previous doubts. I saw no evidence of anything I'd thrown at them ( and I personally went as far back as to Gnuhoo/Newhoo in order to prove MY Dmoz points and arguments ).
I've seen folks dismissed as editors, but it's never been made public why they were. So reading constant 'well it's cause they are corrupt' stuff cuts no ice with 99% of editors. We are not privvy to the reasons why anyone is booted, we as editors as well as webmasters here can only speculate, they'll never tell.
Which is probably right.
Anyone who has ever been sacked, the last thing you want is the entire workforce knowing why ? There are probs with Dmoz, no one is denying the fact. But as I tried to point out earlier, there is a fine balance between Dmoz entry being to strict (as in editor applictions ) and too lax, as in those who think that 100% of editors are corrupt).

Then I discovered this forum. I've got to say, I've never been treated as a newbie anywhere ( And I am NO newbie to forums)...with such discourtesy and outright discrimination by certain members, with one as the ring leader being cheered on. I was astounded.
My crime ? I'm a dmoz editor. What the hell have I ever done to you Minstel et al, personally, to be treated with such out and out virtrol and hatred ??? I don't even know you so I can only conclude from reading up on 'Cyber bullies' :

and I quote from Minstrel's own section on bullying personalities :

Do replace game with forum if you will.


I've read them all and in the words of Tim Field ( recommended ! )

and

I've pointed out before that Minstrel has no actual exprience within Dmoz (EVER). Which is why I personally as a newbie here find it tough to take that people take his word as 'gospel'. And I find it hard to beleive that other editors here even give him the time of day with his opinions. Obviously some of the older editors regard him as part of the furniture and 'good old Minstrel with his agressive but somehow reassuring he's still here to argue with posts'

However, they are based on nothing but HIS personal opinions. Whereas, the rest of us here in the main as webmasters or as editors have some sort of personal experience to contribute.

Minstrel in his own words in his own site is a bully. So for any editor or webmaster here who thinks he's 'the big man' ... just have a quick look over his own site. Remember that he has never and by his own admission has no compuction or wants to make an effort in any way shape or form even try to see how things work from the inside in order to form a balanced view.

And he bullys and picks on people based on personal lifestyle choices, and that's wrong. I'm surprised no-one has ever cottoned on to his predjudice before ? But that's what it is.

Now, on any one of the forums I'm involved with I'd delete this asap.

But I'm just a newbie here... And I urge any other new editor here posting to take his posts for what they are, complete speculation. Nothing more. Don't feel intimidated he knows nothing really. . But don't ever give in to bullies, he says so himself.

( Ps he will cry 'utter nonsense' and make some sarcastic remark after this post.. but that's what bullies do believe me ).

 

Minstrel perhaps have a bad day ... :-o
or
Minstrel knows a lot of bullying method and then he decide to experiment with you ... :-o

If Minstrel was rude with you i think that he must to say that he was a rude person : it is only an education question ...

There are more persons that known about bullying and dont use it to others ... :-o

This is my personal opinion ... an the best thing for bullyng situations is to made it public ... :-o

I can support bullyng method too ... ( test or check me )

 

Do you even know who Minstrel is, or are you just butting in for no reason?

 

Yes I know who is Minstrel : I have reading this forum a year ago ... (English)
Si, yo conozco quien es Minstrel : Yo he estado leyendo este foro desde hace un año ... ( Mejicano )

 

Wow. I must have missed something.

 

Ahh Shygirl, what a shame. Now you have uncovered his whole plan.

Don't let the bully get you

 

shygirl,

While I agree that DMOZ editors get very little love just about anywhere other than within the confines of DMOZ of course you should realize the total and utter frustration many have towards anything DMOZ especially editors is pretty much self inflicted. DMOZ is percieved as some ultra secret society that holds a webmasters future in the palm of their hands (I know it's not true) and the many rumours and statements directed at DMOZ are allowed to flourish by DMOZ themselves because of the total lack of information given out by them. Whether these statements are real or not they are believed by many individuals. You even stated as such in your post of how frustrated you were with DMOZ before you became an editor.

If you are going to join a forum, especially one frequented by webmasters, and announce that you are an editor, you should be prepared for the consequenses and do not take things personally. Minstrel is well know for his views on DMOZ and while I am not familiar with the situation that has caused you to write this, his debates are well know by those of us that frequent this forum.

A suggestion would be that if you wish to participate in this or most webmaster forums is that you leave off your DMOZ editors hat or be prepared for what is sure to follow.

 

in fact, knowing that beyond a lot of honest editors there are children and people like shygirl editing doesn't provide much confidence.
Once more the simple question, what did you expect when you entered DP posting your weird opinions?

 

For the most part, editors who come here with an open mind aren't treated all that badly, with some exceptions <coughgworldcough> ...certainly no worse than some webmasters are treated at resource zone. I don't have much experience with forums like you say you do, but I know it's usually best to take the time to get the feel of a forum before you try to jump in and correct everyone.

Respect has to be mutual.

 

DMOZ editors don't mind that people have opposing views. We even accept that people are frustrated and don't understand why their sites aren't listed (yet). But we come to forums like DP to help people understand how DMOZ works. We don't come to forums to get humiliated by people like Minstrel. I am active in about 6 forums and DP is the only one were people are so rude against DMOZ editors. Not only are these people tolerated here (I know that a few of them have been kicked out of other forums) but it seems they are seen as gods and everything they say is seen as the truth and nothing buth the truth. And the strange thing is when we correct their misunderstandings we get overwelmed wit red remarks, some of them are so rude I can not even repeat them here.

 

Maybe I've been relatively lucky here. Maybe it's the avatar?

 

They didn't provide you with any information but you some how learned all your previous doubts were wrong.
People were dismissed and some how you assumed that bad editors were dismissed but you don't know why and they never told you the reason.
If we are just going to assume about things with out any proof, isn't as reasonable to assume that people who were dismissed were the honest editors fighting against the corruption and because corrupt editors have the power, they got rid of the honest ones?

Does this mean that if I want to fight KKK or neo-Nazi groups, first I have to join KKK and neo-Nazi party?
According to you I can not give an opinion that racism or Nazi dictatorship is wrong because I have never been a Ku Klux Klan or Nazi.

Well, at least something positive came out of what ever minstrel did.

 

You are either dull or killing naive, I do not care whether you are an editor or not, I just hate dumb postings.
By the way, how come you are using the pluralis majestatis over and over again, did you have a conference call with other editors before posting that crap, getting confirmation that they share your views? I doubt.

 

fryman;

a better one:

 

I think the opportunity to open a rapport with the editors of dmoz is an good thing. We should be welcoming you here. Being rude or inflamatory hurts us all. It is however, understandable that we (webmasters) can get quite frustrated. We work countless hours and often see little or no profit. And we are rarely given any explanation. To me an opportunity to converse with a dmoz editor is a rare chance to see the other side of the coin.

 

You should try the ignore feature. It works wonders. Putting most of the members in this thread on my ignore list will clean up the board significantly.

 

Thanks. I (and all other editors I know) are willing to discuss matters with you and other webmasters in a normal way. It just seems that a few people aren't interested in these answers and are doing anything to hurt the possibility we all have to understand each other.

 

I'm wondering. Is this and advice for the DMOZ editors? Or is it an advice to put all editors in the ignore list?
As I still believe most people are good. I will presume it is an advice for the editors.
I must be confused by the normal hostlity DMOZ editors encounter here.

 

whosoever is giving me red reps for posting on this thread with comments like e.g. dumb ass or moron, should have the guts to sign those, otherwise just f* off!
By the way thanks for the greens