Chat room update

[Tabs]

Just caught up with this thread. I seem to remember that the lovely pregnant lady (whose name, unfortunately, I can't remember ) who tried to keep the chat on the topic of 'bling' in the very early days of RocksTV, was vilified by 'outraged' customers. I believe she was sent on early maternity leave because of the dreadful kerfuffle, she certainly disappeared very quickly. I thought she was right at the time, and now it seems Steve agrees. I hope she gets an apology.

If i remember Sherridan may have been correct in trying to "soothe a situation" but the words used and the way she handled it left something to be desired. Just my opinion.

 

[Keisha S]

Wouldn't take many regular chatters to moderate that room given the fact it's only on air between 12 pm and midnight. I use rooms where there's over 600 chatters and at times there's one mod who manages to keep it under control.

Also though I never participate in the chat I notice the same names there and appears they're in and out the majority of the day, so I've no doubt they'd be willing to give the modding a go. If mods are visible in the room anyone logging in specifically to disrupt the chat, argue with other chatters or basically act immaturely might think twice if they knew a ban would be winging their way in seconds. Then again the buyers are supposed to be adults so they shouldn't need a babysitter(s).

 

[gemdreamer]

the problem with having customers moderating the chat is the fairness aspect. 1. is it fair for rocks tv to decide that some customers have the right to have any ammount of power/control over others? as i don't chat on rockstv, just somethimes read it it wouldn't bother me personally, but i am sure there would be plenty of people it would bother. There would be favoritism issues etc, and generally i think it would just open a can of worms and poor steve and co would prob get emails galore complaining!
I think its best to keep customers as just that, customers only.

 

[argeybargey]

The system seems to work well here, moderators take part and shut us up, but haven't seen anybody take offence, not publicly anyway? As long as "grown-ups" are selected, I can't see it being a problem.

 

[Beading Belle]

I agree argeybargey.

Sorry gemdreamer I think customers who want to be moderators should be given a chance and see how it all goes.

As had been said many times in this thread, it's the Bennett's business and their decision as to how to handle the situation. Why should anyone in the chatbox, be they moderator or user, abuse the situation? Once clear guidelines have been established and accepted by all, anyone not complying will be aware of the consequences and have no excuse or reason to complain.

I am sure peeps would respect the moderators. Sazza/Fraggle do a fab. job here!

 

[jacky]

the problem with having customers moderating the chat is the fairness aspect. 1. is it fair for rocks tv to decide that some customers have the right to have any ammount of power/control over others? as i don't chat on rockstv, just somethimes read it it wouldn't bother me personally, but i am sure there would be plenty of people it would bother. There would be favoritism issues etc, and generally i think it would just open a can of worms and poor steve and co would prob get emails galore complaining!
I think its best to keep customers as just that, customers only.

I see what you're getting at gemd, but most forums are modded by members of its community and as a democratic structure it seems to work..."Power to the people" lol...And presumaby mods would be those who have offered, not been "chosen".

Question is, what would the mods have the power to do? Deleting posts willy nilly isn't on, unless it was a blatantly abusive or offensive one, and then there should be an explanation of why it was deleted. I'd suggest mods could follow the chat, and if a convo seemed to be getting abusive, or veered into medical or intimate details, gently intervene with a request to keep it nice - this happens anyway already. Then if this was ignored or abused, there'd be a warning, maybe two, and a ban if it kept on. Of course, what some people think is abusive, doesn't bother others...You'd also get people shouting "Where's the moderator?" if things got heated...That's why more than one at a time is needed - we all need to go to the loo!

That said, a bit of cheeky banter is a good thing isn't it? And if someone's got a rotten cold they should be allowed to say so...

Re anonymity - perhaps the mods could be able to join in the chat with their usual usernames, then if they need to put their mod hat on, they can post anonymously as "moderator" - that way, no-one can be accused of unfairness...

 

[Beady Belle]

Re anonymity - perhaps the mods could be able to join in the chat with their usual usernames, then if they need to put their mod hat on, they can post anonymously as "moderator" - that way, no-one can be accused of unfairness...

This is exactly what I had in mind Jacky!!!

:doggie:

 

[argeybargey]

This is exactly what I had in mind Jacky!!!

:doggie:

I really don't like the idea of anonimity. If you feel something is out of order, you should be brave enough to stand up and be counted. If I knew the person who was ticking me off, I'd have a better understanding of why if I had some idea of their own nature. This way most reasonable peeps would either quietly accept or speak discreetly to the moderator in question. If someone does react in a childish or abusive manner, then the moderator should have the power to nuke 'em.

Argey xx <a href="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.smileycentral.com%252F%253Fpartner%253DZSzeb008%255FZNxpt484YYGB%2526i%253D12%252F12%255F9%255F11%2526feat%253Dprof/page.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_9_11.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D12%252F12_9_11%2526uiv%253D3.0/image.gif"></a>
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[jacky]

True argey, but if it was someone you were friends with and you had to mod them, it could be awkward...:1: Hopefully one's friends wouln't need modding...

 

[argeybargey]

True argey, but if it was someone you were friends with and you had to mod them, it could be awkward...:1: Hopefully one's friends wouln't need modding...

Think you raised and answered your own point there Jacky. True friends would have respect for your situation even if you did have to rap their knuckles. I'm simply concerned that secret moderating could be abused (we are all human after all), and if you are doing the right thing - why hide behind anonimity. I think I'd apply that to life in general.

Argey x

 

[Badlyworntoy]

Think you raised and answered your own point there Jacky. True friends would have respect for your situation even if you did have to rap their knuckles. I'm simply concerned that secret moderating could be abused (we are all human after all), and if you are doing the right thing - why hide behind anonimity. I think I'd apply that to life in general.

Argey x

I totally agree Argey, I don't think it's a good idea that mods can hide behind anonimity, if any chat begins to get heated the mod can remind people that they will be zapped and if it is a "friend" hopefully they would respect the intervention.

 

[catz]

Steve

I haven't read all of the above comments but I did read your post. May I suggest the following that would eliminate desirables whilst still having the interaction with the presenters?

You could have 2 buttons on screen as follows

Ask the presenter: If you pressed this, you could ask questions such as "how long is that bracelet" "what grade are those diamonds" "tell me more about that gemstone" etc. This could be moderated by your staff and only genuine jewellery related questions could be put through. Once the moderator decides which question should be shown it could appear on a screen (where chat is at the moment perhaps) so that people can see the question and who's asked it and the presenter can reply.

The second button would be:

Request an Item: If somebody wanted to request a piece to be shown, they could press this button and put in the item number. If there is only one left in stock an automated answer could be emailed back to them that they need to buy it on the CR website and it won't be shown live. If more than one item is in stock then they could get a generated email that says, "this item is in stock and wherever possible we will try to show it in the next XX hours".

You could then eliminate the chat rooms altogether.

For what it's worth, as you say, you've had the biggest problem with the chat rooms and just reading some of the chat is excrutiatingly awful and doesn't reflect well on your business. I stopped visiting RocksTV for exactly this reason and I'm not the only one.

Having 2 chat rooms will only make this worse. It will be an unwelcome distraction and will become more of a forum. I, as a customer, want to see jewellery and ask questions and find out about it. I don't want to see people bitching and no matter how well moderated a chat room is, it's not possible to have the talk all about jewellery. Much as I love my bling, even I'd struggle to do that!!!!

I understand that this would, in essence, change the RocksTV format BUT the interaction with the presenters will still be there. Perhaps, if you felt that you needed the Chat room it could be limited to one hour per day between the hours of X and Y. That way, regulars who feel the need to chat could log on at that time. It would be less time to moderate and for the majority of the time you could remain jewellery focussed.

I hope these suggestions have helped. Keep up the good work.

Meesh xxx

p.s. Email me if you want to discuss the above!

Although I do understand where you are coming from, it seems unnecessary to do away with chat - unless Steve decides it is not worth it and, from his email, it seems he would like to retain it. After all it is perfectly possible to use the Rocks site without ever turning on the Chat - as I did for the first month or so, as I didn't know what it is.

You can still ask questions by emailing or going into Chat Live if you do not wish to go into Chat.

I think the request button is a brilliant idea - it can be annoying at times to see people repeatedly shouting their requests in Chat despite being asked to email them or send them via Chat Live.

A question button is also a good idea as this would enable emphasis to be given to jewelery matters which, as you say, is Rocks business.

Doing away with Chat altogether at this stage seems to me to be overkill - even the presenters struggle to talk and enthuse about jewelery all the time and welcome interaction and even banter (within limits of course - and for Rocks to decide how wide or narrow those limits should be).

 

[tequila]

chat room

I agree with Mirabelle if you dont want to see chat you dont turn it on the problem at the moment is that a couple of people seem to have taken control of the chat room freezing out those not in the click which is wrong i enjoyed the chats with fellow blingsters but so many digs at other people have put me off all done in the little codes that have been made up and that is sad yes you want to ask questions about jewellery and get info from presenters but also its so boring just sat at computer hour after hour and not have general chat asking how people are?are they better etc if people are seen to cause problems or are rude to others then they should be asked to curtail it or leave the site and if it happens frequently then they should be banned when i first signed on one of the pulls to stay on line was the chat it was such a friendly site everyone was given such a warm welcome allayed the fears you hadfor buying on line its time we got back to that

Hi everyone... Happy Easter to all!!

"Has everyone who doesn't like to chat at all...remembered there is a turn off the chat button...It's always been there!

Mirabelle.

 

[the-valleygirl]

I agree with Mirabelle if you dont want to see chat you dont turn it on the problem at the moment is that a couple of people seem to have taken control of the chat room freezing out those not in the click which is wrong i enjoyed the chats with fellow blingsters but so many digs at other people have put me off all done in the little codes that have been made up and that is sad yes you want to ask questions about jewellery and get info from presenters but also its so boring just sat at computer hour after hour and not have general chat asking how people are?are they better etc if people are seen to cause problems or are rude to others then they should be asked to curtail it or leave the site and if it happens frequently then they should be banned when i first signed on one of the pulls to stay on line was the chat it was such a friendly site everyone was given such a warm welcome allayed the fears you hadfor buying on line its time we got back to that

I could not agree more! Personally I would like chat to stay, of course that is not my decision. However, I am not so sure I would stay watching for hours at a time if there was no chat. The request button is a great idea, and better than emailing or going into live chat.

Unfortunately there are always some people who want to spoil things. Agreed something has to be done. I personally don't mind the 2 rooms, only thing is I worry if I am missing something in the other room lol.

 

[Beady Belle]

I really don't like the idea of anonimity. If you feel something is out of order, you should be brave enough to stand up and be counted. If I knew the person who was ticking me off, I'd have a better understanding of why if I had some idea of their own nature. This way most reasonable peeps would either quietly accept or speak discreetly to the moderator in question. If someone does react in a childish or abusive manner, then the moderator should have the power to nuke 'em.

Argey xx

Hi Argey

I do see your point of view on this issue. It SHOULDN'T matter who the Mods are, guidelines should be respected, but unfortunately, I do think in reality that it may put people off volunteering to be Mods if they feel uncomfortable 'telling off' friends. As has been mentioned, at the moment there seems to be a lot of ill feeling between certain parties, and I can see the potential for people to say or feel "who does so and so think they are, telling me I can't say this or that".

If the Mods are anonymous, guidelines put in place, for both them and the chatters, any dissatisfaction over moderation (that is totally justified) can not then get personal.

Just my take on the situation of course, it's all a bit of an unknown quantity at Rocks, unlike here at ST where we all knew who the Mods were on here when we joined and accepted it.

:doggie:

 

[argeybargey]

Hi Mad4,

I do understand entirely what you say and why. I just have a big problem (personally) with people acting anonimously unless of course there is a question of securty/safety involved. Having said that, I'd have no problem coming in to chat if anonimity turned out to be the majority preference. I don't feel strongly enough (not for Rocks chat anyway) to be deterred.<a href="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.smileycentral.com%252F%253Fpartner%253DZSzeb008%255FZNxpt484YYGB%2526i%253D15%255F1%255F63%2526feat%253Dprof/page.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15_1_63.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D15_1_63%2526uiv%253D3.0/image.gif"></a>

Love
Argey xx

 

[Beady Belle]

It wouldn't matter to me either way Argey, but when we hear that people feel 'intimidated' just to enter chat, it just makes me wonder if they would feel less intimidated if 'personalities' were taken out of the equation.

I regularly have to deal with rather nasty, loud mouthed abusive truckers, and like you, am not easily intimidated, but then I suspect we're a pair of tough old birds!!!

:doggie:

 

[Mirabelle]

It wouldn't matter to me either way Argey, but when we hear that people feel 'intimidated' just to enter chat, it just makes me wonder if they would feel less intimidated if 'personalities' were taken out of the equation.



Hi M4G :1: I couldn't agree more well said!!!!


Mirabelle.

 

[JohnBennett]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for all your feedback on the chat.

I know that many have felt that the changes were poorly handled on our part, and for that I apologise.

We developed what we thought was a good solution to some of the issues and were keen to get it released as soon as it was ready. I must admit that I did not forsee at all that the changes would be so divisive.

One thing I must make clear is that interaction with the presenters is a key part of what the Rocks Chat is for. On reflection, I think that this was unclear in the way we worded the pop-up so I have changed the wording.

We are looking in to making a third option available which would show both rooms in one place, with the posts in different colours to make it easier to see which was which. You could then participate in both chats from one place. Any feedback you can give me on this idea would be great.

Kind regards

John Bennett

 

[gemdreamer]

It wouldn't matter to me either way Argey, but when we hear that people feel 'intimidated' just to enter chat, it just makes me wonder if they would feel less intimidated if 'personalities' were taken out of the equation.

I regularly have to deal with rather nasty, loud mouthed abusive truckers, and like you, am not easily intimidated, but then I suspect we're a pair of tough old birds!!!

:doggie:

I agree mad4gems, theres one person in particular i have noticed when i have read the chat in the last few days, they should be dealt with if they are causing intimidation.
But theres also the topics chatted about that has been said to put people off too, like all the health probs chat, and the cliqueyness(is that even a word?), which could be applied to alot of regulars who go on rocks most days(no offense meant).