I realize that some of you will find this hard to believe, but because of automated moderation techniques, the site is actually less strict than it was a year ago - and Mike is considering additional tools to improve feedback to you when something is shuffled around the site to a more appropriate location. Have you noticed the lack of spam on this site? Sometimes something will still slip through, but its a rare event now thanks to some powerful moderation tools. Sometimes our efforts to improve the site are not always apparent to the casual User.

Recently I shared some of my thoughts with the other site officials and I see no reason why these cannot be shared with you. Don't be offended if you happen to 'recognize' yourself. It is not my intent to 'slam' anybody - it is simply to share information and provide you with some things to evaluate:

"Today I went back and read 5 years worth of incoming PMs and for every complaint there was someone who was grateful that we haven't allowed the site to go downhill with garbage posts. We now have 4000 registered Users although nowhere near that number that are really active posters. Some folks haven't visited the site in years, but thats quite normal - as new members join, others lose interest and drop out.

In a large population of Users there will always be a 'fringe' group that will always consider their post to be the most important and want their post right at the top of the action - and they will pay no attention to the rules, no matter how strict or how lax those rules are. In business, 'management by consensus' ultimately produces a product of inferior quality. If you bend to every whim, the chances for success are slim. For an effort to be successful, somebody has to take the lead and set the tone, i.e., establish the rules of engagement and make sure that they are followed. Its not much different here. This is Mike's 'business' and he sets the tone for the site and we attempt to keep everybody that visits the site on an equal and fair footing - and we do that by enforcing his rules. So far it seems to have worked rather well. We still grow every year and the site is respected and appreciated by almost everyone (novice and professional).

I find it interesting that unregistered Users are often more familiar with all of the various aspects of the site than the registered Users are. If you want to check that for yourself, just check the 'Who's Online.

That same 'fringe' element wants a free-for-all anything goes chat - which is the ultimate downfall of formerly good sites. CFHC is a 'mind your manners' site - rather rare on the internet these days.

It is a tough site to moderate because good manners seem to be in decline. I'll admit that I'm rather strict, but I don't mind being the 'bad' guy - weathermen tend to have a tough skin - I think that its called 'survival' .

Regarding the so-called complexity of the site, many of the newer Forums were started because of requests from the User community. Some were started in order to clear up the mixed bag of posts on the Main Page. Sometimes the changes worked and sometimes they really didn't - and you'll always have to contend with that 'fringe' element - and outright crackpots during the busiest times (which will always be a Moderator nightmare)."

Some specific feedback:
For Lesli - I concur regarding the Graveyard - my personal preference is to simply delete unwarranted posts and move on - but you'd be amazed (well maybe not) at how many PMs I get from someone wondering what happened to their 'perfectly good post'. If I have time, I'll send an explanation but if I don't, don't take it personal, because it isn't.

For Lamar-Plant City: You have made 32 posts since joining the site around the first of May. None of them have been deleted, although a few of them may have been relocated to a more suitable Forum. Hit the 'SEARCH' button and plug in your User name and you should be able to find them all.

For a few of you: Note that not all one-liners are deleted. If it contains information useful to others, the Mods will usually leave it alone. However, if it says something like "It seems to be moving southwest in the past hour", you can probably kiss it goodbye. Hurricanes often 'wobble' along on their path over several hours, so a one-hour movement can be misleading to other readers - and please remember that this is not a 'chat room' - it is a Forum oriented site.

Some 'Don'ts':
You can disagree with another posters rationale (by stating why you disagree) but you can't 'slam' the poster.

If you 'just know' that a post is going to be moved, don't reply to it. Instead, reply to the post prior to it (or to the leadoff post in the thread). If you reply to the off-topic post, your post is going to go off to never-never land with it.

Don't mix and match the comments in your post. Off-topic material will get stripped from the post. While discussing a tropical cyclone, the weather during your recent vacation is probably not of much interest to most viewers.

Don't try to turn every cloud puff in the Atlantic into a Cat III Hurricane. Wave mongering is frowned upon - remember, only about one in ten easterly waves develop into a tropical cyclone. Based on posts from past seasons, some of you have anticipated over 50 storms in a season - a little self-discipline goes a long way. Wait and see how the situation is developing and don't get too hung up on model projections - for a new expected system the models can also (depending on the model) have a reliability of about one in ten.

Some 'Do's':
Please use the PM capability to thank someone for their post or their help in answering a question.

Do attempt to put your post in the proper Forum. Read the various Forum Descriptions before you start and you'll probably identify the correct place to put your comments.

Do attempt to keep your post 'on-topic' - it helps to maintain the continuity of the thread that you are posting in.

Do read and follow the site rules and respect the guidance from the Moderators.

Finally, thank you for all of your inputs - all of them are appreciated, both pro and con. Remember that all of the Mods are volunteers and that your help will allow them to enjoy this site as well.
Cheers,
ED