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I am leaving Think Tank

“There as many truths as there are places to stand and look at it from”. Every walk of the industry can be a huge asset here. I would hate seeing the place subdivided out. The Driver forum was an attempt to solve one set of issues, but it is not a great way to handle all of the stuff. Active moderation will help, some guidance and occasional support to the moderators from the corporate structure is good.

In all honesty, several of us have been sending messages about the recent persons of concern for more than a few months. The one guy should be no surprise . . . a new forum was even popped open to try to sequester the problem. I I say this with as much gentleness as I can possibly intend . . . if we speak and cry out in the darkness, we want to think we will be heard.

I am still poking around now and again . . . may get back to “must see” status if there is a surge of owners involved and taking some more time on here. I am cautiously optimistic. Thank you for working a solution, Liz and company.
 
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This is a pattern that has repeated itself. There aren’t a lot of long term contributors who remember Dale: Da314man, but he was a moderator and went through the same frustrations with PMQ.
 
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Yeah I wasn’t thinking of subdividing the TT… everyone(owners, drivers, vendors, ect.) would still be able to post and read from the main TT forum but I was envisioning a vendor specific area where the vendors could post their promotions and whatnot and everyone who wanted to check these promotions would be able to view the information if they chose to do so. I was just feeling for ideas. ^.^

On another note, with me being prior military, I am all about a chain of command but if you feel like anything needs to be worked on in the forum area… don’t hesitate to message me! I definitely will try to assist.

Mike
 
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I had a long talk with Liz and Steve about this whole situation and have decided my exodus may have been a bit hasty. There are a number of things that pushed me to the brink
.
The first was a perceived lack of support from PMQ when it came to moderating the forum. As a moderator I was never given any guidelines as to what to do with various types of problems that come up on the forum. I took it upon myself to do what I deemed correct at the time.

I am of the opinion this forum was established to better the pizza industry as a whole. By allowing things to get out of hand, on a number of occasions, the results were more divisive than constructive. I had on a number of occasions contacted Hunter, Liz, Mike, and/or Steve with concerns. I often felt these concerns had fallen on deaf ears.

I have tried to be just when it came to how I handled each situation and of course faced the criticism of the poster that had been moderated. No one likes to be told their opinion is out of line and I understand this however, I do not believe anyone has the right to go beyond voicing their dissatisfaction to the point of slander. This happened on more than one occasion.

There were a number of times where I just delete posts that were only there to egg on a confrontation that would only further degrade the value of what many of us have given countless hours to build. I was criticized for deleting the post, so I started to edit the posts to read “Edited by a moderator because the post was off topic or did not contribute is a positive way.†This method was also criticized.

My experience in the pizza industry started as a delivery driver so I have no agenda against that sector of the industry. I would not be able to run my business without them anymore than I would without a prep cook or a dishwasher. I would not want to see this forum as an “owners only†place. We all need a place where rational people can discuss the issues that we face on a daily basis. I do have a problem when anyone is unjustly accusing others of breaking the law or repeatedly posting the same thing to further their own agenda.

I appreciate the kind words from everyone. I have likely taken more from Think Tank than I have given. I had no idea of the ripple effect my leaving would cause. I would encourage those who are disillusioned with the state of the forum to give PMQ and Think Tank the benefit of the doubt and a fresh start.

There is something that each of you can do to help make the job of the moderators easier. If you will notice there is a triangle with an exclamation mark ( ! ) in it, beside the “QUOTEâ€, in the upper right portion of each post. The purpose of this is to alert the moderators to a post that may be off topic, spam, illegal, or whatever the case may be. Simply click on the triangle and it will generate a report for the moderators. If everyone is willing to assist it would make the task of moderating the forum much easier and more consistent.
 
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😃 Glad to see you back Daddio… On a lighter note… what can we do about those dang Austrailians? 😉
 
qcfmike:
😃 Glad to see you back Daddio… On a lighter note… what can we do about those dang Austrailians? 😉
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Read our posts carefully and learn from them. If not hit the triangle as Daddio suggested and you get yourself banned 😛

Dave
 
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Fine Dave… Glad to see Daddio back… ( The rest of my original post has been edited by the original poster so not to offend any Austrailians ) How’s that? :roll:
 
Yeah great to see you back Richard. I was going to miss your input here on the forum.
Sanity has prevailed and I guess we ahave all, including me, have learnt that we must be professional in our comments and not personalise adverse comments to others.
I don’t really mind though as we hard tough hides here and a really warped sense of humour … I think it goes over some peoples heads at times and gets mis construed, so I may have to adjust some of my comments so as not to offend.
That’s excluding any made to qcfmike and Nick … sorry guys but with you two I just can’t help myself :lol:

Dave
 
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The good point being made is that we can talk to each other and we do make comments that are to be taken as jokes and not seriously and for the most part everyone that reads the posts follows them when they are made. The issue that just came to light about some of the direct insults towards people and wanting to only cause problems and not offer support and assistance as this forum is here for was the problem. It’s just good to see the level heads have come out on top and Liz said she was taking us all out for pizza. I hope that includes airfare. 😉

Note: Liz really did not say she was taking us out for pizza 😦
 
qcfmike:
The good point being made is that we can talk to each other and we do make comments that are to be taken as jokes and not seriously and for the most part everyone that reads the posts follows them when they are made. The issue that just came to light about some of the direct insults towards people and wanting to only cause problems and not offer support and assistance as this forum is here for was the problem. It’s just good to see the level heads have come out on top and Liz said she was taking us all out for pizza. I hope that includes airfare. 😉

Note: Liz really did not say she was taking us out for pizza 😦
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I found it kind of refreshing coming to this post last night and seeing the good-humor banter going back on (even if it was typed in Austrailian :lol: )
I don’t think most posters on here ever mean to publicly insult or offend their fellow posters, unless they have a personal agenda or going up against someone with a personal agenda, but since sarcasm is my second language I know somethings don’t come across written as well as they do when said.

I think we should make an effort to moderate ourselves, if you find something personally offensive or insulting PM the poster with your concerns. I am sure most of us, will go back and edit our statements so it doesn’t come across that way on the forum. And maybe take some of the pressure off the moderators for why something is being moderated

Mike–I think you misunderstood, Liz said she was buying us all tickets for the PMQ Pizza CRUISE, not pizza 😛

Welcome back Daddio!!!
 
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Just Remember,

We might as well look at life with a smile and learn to enjoy what we have,
cause we’re not getting out alive.

Bubba
 
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First of all, I’m glad to see that Richard (Daddio) is back in the forum and we can start to get things back on track. We depend on our moderators for a lot, and we are extremely appreciative for the time they willingly volunteer to keep the Think Tank running smoothly. Our recent discussion with Richard was very productive, and we plan to have the same type of interaction with our other moderators in the coming weeks as we move toward improving the Think Tank experience.

I’d like to reiterate that it is important for all offensive/slanderous/advertorial materials to be reported immediately to myself or our webmaster. Here at the home office we don’t have the ability to be in all places at all times, so we depend on you to report what you come across. We can’t control what is said in outside forums, but I don’t believe that anyone running a successful business wants to waste their time on a slanderous website anyway.

As for past offenders and offensive websites, please stop referencing them in your posts. Now that they are gone, there is no reason to continue to give them free press. (If we find future references to them, don’t be surprised if they are edited/deleted.)

It’s true that the Think Tank was started for owners/operators, but everyone in a pizzeria potentially has a voice in the forum. I think we can all agree that your pizza chefs have some great ideas at times, as do your marketing managers. Let’s not let a couple of bad apples ruin it for everyone. Keep an open mind and welcome new members as you’ve always done in the past. I think the general consensus is that everyone is OK keeping the driver forum as long as the comments are constructive and helpful. Let me know if this changes at any point.

Again, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here for you and do our best to handle issues in a timely manner.

As for the Pizza Cruise tickets, yes! Please come, ALL OF YOU! (www.pizzacruise.com) I can’t guarantee I can pay for all of you out of my own pocket, however… Now taking you out for pizza, that I might be able to swing, just not all on the same day.

Liz Barrett, editor-in-chief
PMQ Pizza Magazine
www.pmq.com
662-234-5481, ext. 126
 
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