Why......

On the other hand fewer members means better and detailed answers to peoples questions. therefore happier members therefore a good reputation starts, and thus the board is re-invented.
 
Fewer members = less total knowledge.

It will take longer for people to get answers to questions as there will be less chance of someone knowing these answers being logged on to post them.

Also if newbies join and see lots of members logged on and chatting about (even random stuff) they'll think

"Ah, busy board, i'll hang around and join in, or post some questions as it looks like theres lots of people to help me here"

If newbie joins and see's it near dead, no banter cause its out of season and all the random banter posts have been deleted or banned, no-one logged on/chatting then they'll think

"Hhhhmmm, dead board, nothing going on here, no one chatting, no reason to stay and chat (to myself) or not much chance of people answering any questions i may have"

So they leave without joining.

The fact that a message board has a lot of people logged on makes a massive difference to whether someone joins when they visit.
 
Robo said:
On the other hand fewer members means better and detailed answers to peoples questions. therefore happier members therefore a good reputation starts, and thus the board is re-invented.
Click to expand...

So is that the board owners intentions?

The cyber equivalent of Pacha's desire to turn the island into Monte Carlo or whatever? :rolleyes:

At last a bit of honesty then...
 
^ Thats what i've been saying/asking for a few weeks now.

At least now we have some honesty.
 
Well, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in the board and the quality of posts now as well. I got a bit caught up in my duties after returning from Ibiza but when I retured to the board it was just not the same. I don't think that random posts or discussions that might have a controversial tone are bad for this board. They keep people coming back. When everything turns generic people leave. I find myself logging on much much less often now.

I don't understand the concern with what people say on here, unless its talk of illegal substances or something in that vein. Why not let people be people and just talk about what's on their mind?
 
Well, if everyone's giving their two cents...

I stumbled across this board back in July 2002 when I had decided to book for Ibiza for the very first time. I found it to be easilly the best source of information on the island, ranging from the more hedonistic side to the more subdued pursuits. I learnt a lot off people from here when I was only an Ibiza and Spotlight newbie and will always be eternally grateful for that. I carried on using the board for the latest Ibiza news; to hear what was happening on the island from the residents along with the clubbing rumours. Whilst I've not had the pleasure of meeting anyone from here personally, I've had some good (and heated!) coversations and have remained on here to offer advice in the same way I was given when I first came on.

I liked the balance between the Ibiza news and views along with the more eclectic posts about what people's favourite this, that and the other were. Ok, some people don't like those more random posts, but that's what made this board so special - the wonderful mix of posts and posters which reflected the vibrancy of the island. Plus, if you don't like the posts about seemingly 'trivial' topics, then you didn't have to read them.

Then members started about a year ago and the whole board changed. It did become more cliquey and a few people's noses were put out of joint, myself included at times but it was good to have that output for randomness since it had been banned from the Open Chat section. Now Members is gone (and we could debate for hours whether or not this is a good or bad thing) and there are clearly people who want to discuss other things apart from Ibiza 24/7.

Pretty much every board I've ever been on has a general chat section and that's exactly what it says on the tin - ANYTHING can be discussed as long as it doesn't start getting offensive (ie racist, homophobic...).

So why is this board so different? If anything, you'd think an Ibiza board would want to celebrate diversity not censor it. I can understand the posts about drugs being removed (and I've been guilty of adding to those myself) but why things about soaps, etc? What on earth are we supposed to discuss? Plus why don't the moderators PM the culprits to let them know why the posts aren't considered suitable first?

I just feel that the moderators aren't showing the posters who have made this board the success it is today (which is recognised in so many newsppaers and magazines) enough respect. Why call a section open chat and then decide to remove anything non-Ibiza?

I'm afraid that if this continues, a lot of posters will leave and the site will crumble making it harder for Ibiza virgins to find out about this great island.

I hope the moderators respond to this and don't just delete it!
 
First and foremost this board was originally set up as a source for extra information, where people could come and ask questions and get a good friendly response. Whether it was in clubs, music, resturants, whatever. This lasted well for the first 2 years or soo, but then the numbers of people joining exploded, and the service that the board provided i.e. good answers, went down hill.

Then as was expected the cliquiness happened. And yes although james was happy with the board expanding in a such a way he wasn't happy with how some newbies weren't getting there questions answered respectivly. it was sometimes a very hostile (word of the week ;) ) answer, such as....do a search, this has already been posted. After all, these newbies where the 'future' of the board. It was easy to say back then that we don't need new members joining cos the board is doing fine as it is. in one way yes that was correct but what happens when the same members stop posting here, and go elsewhere (cos that would have happened) then where stuck with no members cos the regulars wouldn't be posting and there wouldn't be any new members cos they got a hostile (there's that word again) ;) and un-friendly welcome.

Which is sadly what has happened.
 
everything i could say has been said really... the regulars/gurus/now statusless people :lol: who come on here all the time (ie. the top 30-60 posters) have a vast knowledge of the island that could never all be put into the main site. the way things are going these people are going to go away. i'm not gonna waste my time answering questions to help people if my other posts are disrespectfully deleted willy nilly.

Open Chat
about anything you want...

DONT SAY THINGS YOU DON'T MEAN... LAY IT ON THE LINE AND TELL US HOW IT IS.
 
Holy Cow :!: ....sorry non-holy, totally unrelated to relegion cow! :spank:

Things have got a little heated round these here parts since I've been away it seems. From my perspective and having only posted a few times recently, the boards don't seem that much different from the "good old days", maybe it's me being a bit nostalgic I dunno. It's still THE first place I look if I want reviews or info on anything music wise and It's the best resource for Ibiza without a doubt that I've seen on the web. You can't beat the views of the punters in my opinion and on here I always find out what I need to know one way or the other. I guess it all boils down to what you want from the site at the end of the day......personally, I think Clara was bang on with her analysis of Spotlight, well said.
 
I was away for about a year, and I feel the mood, spirit, and maturity level of this board has gone downhill... not the board itself.

I am 100% for a great little debate on a possibly touchy issue, and feel that hearing other's opinions about certain topics helps to expand the mind. Especially since most of you are from a different country than me... AWESOME. Totally educational. But it seemed impossible to make a donation to the board without my statements being shredded to bits or misinterpreted rather than analyzed and discussed. I started to stay away from some of the more controversial issues that people were posting because, as I was composing my responses, I could almost FEEL everyone poising to POUNCE and devour my words the instant I clicked "submit." I noticed this attitude happening to posters that offered objective and non-confrontational responses AND accusational/angry ones alike.

I was shocked and saddened when people started being SO hostile and downright RUDE to each other on here. Getting a little passionate is one thing (I like that, it is fun).... but calling me an "idiot American," belittling me for my political views, and referring to my country's leader as "Hitler" are all unacceptable in my eyes.

OF COURSE everyone is entitled to their opinion!! Give it to me, I am all ears!! But it is STILL possible to get all your points across while preserving the utmost in tact and respect. Just takes a little more thought sometimes!!

My feeling is that when people start getting cuthroat, it only contributes to the same madness in the world we are all trying to ease. Afterall, I think most of us come to this board to GET AWAY from all that.

I love this board and always look forward to learning, meeting new people, and seeing some improvements in the future.

-xoxo PachaGirl
 
When members was closed down for being 'cliquey' mods said move the banter to open chat, presumably so as not to alienate any one, now open chat is not even allowed on open chat?!?! It's ridiculos. the spark that made me stick around and enjoy the board is being firmly and purposly extinguished. I fear i for one will be off to pastures new soon, the ethos seems to be anti- regulars, pro- newbies but how do you get new members with a non- existant atmosphere.
Why not just embrace everyone?
The words cutting off nose to spite face come to mind.
 
Oops, I didnt mean to re-open a big debate, I just couldnt understand why my post was deleted for being random when there are other random posts around. Having been offline for 2 weeks, it's obvious the goalposts have been shifted and i'll know better next time. It IS a shame because lots of us have made real good friends on here, and to not be able to banter with these people will probabally mean that some will loose touch. I for one know that Ibiza wouldnt have been even half as special this year without the 10 or so people off the board that we spent the best part of 2 weeks with, and I see that not happening next year if we're not in touch on here. This was a common ground for us all, and yes we can stay in touch via other methods, but how many will bother? There is very little to discuss about Ibiza over the winter months, not because nothing goes on, (wait for the barrage of abuse lol) but because very few of us go there at this time. If people are off the board for the best part of 4 months are they as likely to come back when there are more relevant things to discuss? Im not having a go, just asking the questions and voicing concerns. It is after all the mod's board, and up to them to run it as they see fit, and whatever they did, not everyone was going to be happy because as the saying goes, you can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all the time
 
one of the main reasons why we couldn't keep the members forum as a 'secret' forum, but open to anybody who wanted to join in was the fact that so many people had been 'dissed' on it. so because of the cries of inequality from people who were not members of that forum and growing unrest we deleted it.

the purpose of ibiza spotlight and this forum is to publicise and give useful information about ibiza to everybody. we have nearly 6500 registered members on the info/clubbing forums yet we only have 20 or 30 regular posters who use the site as their own chat room. every time i log on it reminds me of the time i went to someone else's office party - so goodness knows what it's like for anyone new logging on. Take a long hard look at some of your posts and the overriding impression is that anybody who isn't like you isn't as good as you. (ie clothes, music, recreational activities etc)

we don't measure the success of spotlight by the number of posts made on the forum and we don't mind the majority of posts in open chat and i admit that i have deleted posts such as the soup one, the you're up early one, and jtm's here's a picture of a lorry one. i think with good reason as the only impression this creates is that this board is for just a few people with not much to do.

yes we will lose some members, we envisaged this months ago before we created the members forum, and we're prepared to lose some members now. life will go on and new members will join with more, less or equal knowledge of ibiza and maybe we'll get a bit of diversity here too!

hope this helps
 
Robo said:
First and foremost this board was originally set up as a source for extra information, where people could come and ask questions and get a good friendly response. Whether it was in clubs, music, resturants, whatever. This lasted well for the first 2 years or soo, but then the numbers of people joining exploded, and the service that the board provided i.e. good answers, went down hill.

Then as was expected the cliquiness happened. And yes although james was happy with the board expanding in a such a way he wasn't happy with how some newbies weren't getting there questions answered respectivly. it was sometimes a very hostile (word of the week ;) ) answer, such as....do a search, this has already been posted. After all, these newbies where the 'future' of the board. It was easy to say back then that we don't need new members joining cos the board is doing fine as it is. in one way yes that was correct but what happens when the same members stop posting here, and go elsewhere (cos that would have happened) then where stuck with no members cos the regulars wouldn't be posting and there wouldn't be any new members cos they got a hostile (there's that word again) ;) and un-friendly welcome.

Which is sadly what has happened.
Click to expand...

i agree robo ive seen people ask question like what is the westend like and people get slated for it and turns into 1 big argument !!

ive also seen poeple ask a question and people have been like for f*** sake how many times do i have to answer this !! blah blah blah !!

some members need to get the head out there arses and stop being stuck up ur not better than the rest of us we are all human beings and we all come to this site cause we love ibiza !!

if you dont like it im sure theres somwhere else for you to take you arrogance "im better than you " ATTITUDE !! (wont mention no names but could probably name a few)
 
well, i can't even log in on my day off without getting an earful from somewhere... ;-)

N8 - your thoughts are appreciated, but i still don't think you understand why this board is.

>> The fact that a message board has a lot of people logged on makes a massive difference to whether someone joins when they visit.

that's just not true. i have board stats to completely disprove that statement. sign up remains remarkable stable and has done for the last 18 months. don't generalise please.

>> deleting random posts.

i do apologise if the moderation sometimes seems a bit erratic. this is by no means intentional.

us mods discuss the rules for deleting regularly and keep each other informed as to what is happening. the problem is, it is very difficult to keep track of all the posts. even now in winter (let alone summer). my full time job is NOT the forum, it is the whole of 'spotlight'. i am lucky if i can find an hour a day to spend reading and moderating. stephen 'ditto' and robo and silvia are voluntary. how they find the time is beyond me, but is much appreciated.

stephen and i are however the main culprits behind the rigorous deleting.

>> political discussion

the remark about censorship of political discussion was a bit tongue in cheek n8 - it occured because ALL of the last political discussions turned nasty with people insulting each other.

THAT IS THE LAST THING i want on this board. and before we scare any potential new members away because they read insulting posts, i will ban all political discussion. that is the final word. i sincerely hope it won't come to that - but you bring it on yourselves.

this quote from pachagirl sums up everything better than i could ever say it

I could almost FEEL everyone poising to POUNCE and devour my words the instant I clicked "submit."
Click to expand...

everyone should read that and try to understand it.

Both robo and stephen have explained above (again) very clearly the ideas behind the recent changes and the board itself. i have to be honest, at the moment i think us mods sound like broken records ;-)

fronty, your last post is much appreciated, but the tone in which is written is so aggressive. be gentle with each other. i'd hate to be in a pub with some of these discussions, it would pistols at dawn most of the time!

***************
 
Have to agree with most of what's been written. My experience of the board is much like Clara's as well. Although I've been using the board much less in the last year or so, especially when members was introduced. The cliqueyness is pretty much unavoidable, just the way it is I suppose.

I hope it'll eventually get back to the good old days with the apparent filtering of members.
 
I finally took the time out to read this post!

Glad I did as it all makes sense after reading Stephens post... Think I'll stick around for a while and see how things go! :)
 
I don't post much anymore, nothing to do with any changes that have happened on here, but personal circumstances.

The past couple of weeks I have posted a few times, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what was different on here. Reading this post has just made me realise what the 'change' has been!

I will continue to use the boards and site generally, it is a shame things couldn't remain the same, but life go's on!
 
I can't believe there was talk of banning political discussions when on another thread some clown was posting pics of his gun collection. :confused:
 
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