GAYTORRENT SHOWS NO RESPECT
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and I dont have a problem and I havent fallen into the categories of their RUDE demands, but I feel I need to vent in a public forum manner. I ALWAYS see on the main page and really ANY page with YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELTED AND BANNED IF YOU DONT (fill in the blank RULE)! I feel like this place is a Nazi dictatorship. Dont get me wrong, I think the website as a forum for gay people is great and perfect for exchanging information, but the manner and guide lines are a bit TOO MUCH! Because it is all demands and not worded with any consideration or respect for the people using this website. Its sad, because people have to use this website for the service it provides, but I feel like a much more NORMAL (well mannered) website would be MUCH BETTER suited to show respect to the people. And there are many regular torrent sites that do not threaten their users and members. This site needs to step back and realize that being gay comes with a lot of issues and problems and often people being rude to homosexuals in general, that a site run for gay people should not be negative to its audience. At the end of the day I dont want to be using a site that is talking down to me and threatening me because really, in any given day homosexuals dont want to have to deal with ANOTHER issue or 'guide line'.
Treat people with respect. -
well… there are a few "agrees" and "disagrees" with your statement. I don't know who is the author of all the "threatening texts" and it's not important for now, I admit that some of them really lack the "diplomatic language", but hey, don't worry. the fact itself, that you have least read them, says for all - you are a caring person, really don't take all the texts too personal. consider also the fact that the author(s) were/are not skilled/educated in empathic or diplomatic formulations. various people come from various "social environments" which can strongly influence their speach as well as their behavior and it doesn't mean that they need to be "nazi-like", I personally know lots of believers who behave more than badly (and "in the name of God"), so this is more about people themselves... but I agree with you that this "site presentation" could be (perhaps also should be) changed... but it needs some time to reformulate all the texts and this site is not our regular job, we all have our own lives...
I'm sure that most Staff members don't follow all these texts so strictly as you may suppose and if there are some "exceptions", we (Staff) are also people and people can behave different, as we actually are different in our natures. everyone can freely choose if he wants to use this site or not. the sad fact is that lots of users have a deep lack of EN language and though there are some texts and rules translated into other languages, most users even don't bother to read them, as well as this Forum (you would be surprised how "many" users really read it). and another sad fact is, though there are these rules, be them anyhow "nazi-like" worded, there are lots of users continually trespassing them, just an example: a common rule "don't register more accounts"...
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Personally I agree that the way the rules under the "Rules" tap are formulated in a way that does not sound friendly.
However:
A/ They merit to be rather clear and simple, so that non-native English readers (like me) will understand them
B/ If you look to the real content, you will realize that it is not different to other torrent sites or forums including the threads of warning and banning.On the other hand, this "sound" made me feel a little uncomfortable here, not welcome as a user. This I assume is not intended by the staff, administrators and owner of this place. It may be a reason of why the forum is not very active, in opposite to the well working torrents.
Nevertheless, IMHO, the Rules are even not well enough organized. I mean the topics about allowed (respectively forbidden) content in terms of studios, underage etc… are spread over different topics with links left and right. In addition one of them is disturbed by a discussion on what is underage . This should be added to the Rules, to have a single clear place to understand what to respect.
Saying it is "Nazi" like is to much, having a non smooth and friendly language style is not to be compared by a system which put much of the efforts into the execution of an genocide.
Sincerely yours'
Uwe -
The rules were written by non English as first language people. Some languages are spoken in very blunt manners and it's acceptable to them as a culture. They aren't being offensive, as that is just how they speak in normal terms. When this translates into other languages, they still carry the tone with them.
I ALWAYS see on the main page and really ANY page with YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELTED AND BANNED IF YOU DONT (fill in the blank RULE)!
On the main page, the message is about duplicate accounts, which we ban as does every site I know of. We have the problem of most new accounts being duplicates. I can't remember if it's 2:1 or 3:1, regardless that number is way too high.
And there are many regular torrent sites that do not threaten their users and members.
Every site I belong to tells it's members what will get them banned. Like those, we don't always ban for the things that are in the rules.
Sure, the wording of the rules section could be worded better.
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I get where you're coming from it may well seem a little Orwellian when you first join up. This is the 2nd torrent site I ever visited and the 1st I joined. I was a little overwhelmed with all of the rules and regulations. I took the time to read the big hitting list of rules and can't say I understood much… HOWEVER after nearly a year of loyalty I do think the approach must be one that is easy to keep to having had no problems so far.
I can imagine a large part of the language choice you mention is language related - this isn't a .com/.co.uk website after all and you do have to take this into account. I imagine if I was translating into a second language some of my choices might be a bit skewed too!
I'm glad though that this has been your only problem as I am having a moment of real love for this site right now which I want to express most sincerely. Having even been through a month and a bit without the net and still managing to keep membership during this time was great. I have the perfect net connection wherever I am to keep a good ratio and can really see the hassle it must cause the mods and all the admin staff with all the duplicates etc. for which there really seems no need - why do you need to do it? Unless you're running some supremely amazing connection its a little pointless crossing prescribed limits and after a relatively short time loyalty really is rewarded in terms of what is permitted. I for one look forward to a day when I can donate something to the cost of running the servers as I really appreciate the obvious hard work that has gone into the creation maintenance etc. etc. of this site and from the bottom of my man-loving heart I thank all those who created it!
(Yes Nazi is the wrong word entirely in fact that is a word which I fear may cause distress to some - but hey we all make language errors at some point and should be forgiven for doing so).
Much love and peace to all,
Yours in a hippy way,
CAFLT lad x
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In my opinion, the very nature of this website puts it at risk for, less than legal activities. By making the rules clear and obvious, they are simply making the intentions of the site known. This way, people who might break the rules cam't say, "What? That's a rule? Where does it say that on the site?" It's all about keeping the site, not clean, but ummm… I don't really think there is a word in the English language to describe the idea I'm thinking of. Nevertheless, the rules are for the community's benefit. That's what I thank, anyway. I could be entirely wrong.
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hmmm??…this is written text..some may take offense others may not..
at times people think I'm sarcastic...when posting..but I'm not...its all how you take it...
but lets say the rules are a bit rude...have you ever consider why?...more ofthen than not..the users are rude and abuse the site...its not fair for the good user...but thats how it is...
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Well, since my position on this is going to be slightly different from the previous responses – and probably a bit unpopular -- I'll just start with a disclaimer. My comments to follow are strictly and exclusively my own, as an active and long-standing gaytorrents.ru member who has no affiliation with the site or any of its admins. My views in no way represent those of the gaytorrents.ru staff, and in fact are things I'm quite certain they'd never say (or even agree with).
That out of the way, I'd like to state that I'm gay. I'm out and have been for the better part of 2 decades, and I'm unashamedly open about my sexual orientation, when it's relevant to the situation. (And sometimes even when it isn't.)
And as a gay man, you know what I've experienced? EVERYBODY has to deal with "issues and problems and often people being rude". EVERYBODY. I don't care if you're straight, gay, transsubstantiated, or Norwegian. (Those poor Norwegians!) I vehemently reject the notion that my life is somehow made more difficult or unbearable because of my sexual orientation, and find the "gay frailty" argument completely distasteful. Gay people are big boys and girls, just like the rest of us, and they can be expected to deal with things without needing lots of special coddling, hand-holding, or babying. The ones who can't, that's their own personal failure. It has nothing to do with the majority of the community.
Second, I think a reality check is in order. Grow up and stop whining! Boo-hoo, all those rules make me feel like I'm less important than the site admins, like they think they're better than me!
Surprise: this site IS a dictatorship! The admins ARE superior to you, in terms of relative importance on this site! Plain and simple, that's how it works. We all enjoy the privilege of using this site thanks to the generosity of the admins (and the members who donate to keep it running), and we are all their guests. They don't HAVE to listen to anything we say (though they are in fact quite accessible and attentive), they don't HAVE to take our opinions or input into account in making decisions (but they often react to user input in a positive and accomodating manner), hell they don't even HAVE to follow any sort of set administrative policy or explain to us what that policy is (nevertheless they have chosen to very clearly and explicitly define a concrete policy, so that users may understand what's expected of them and the reasons behind any disciplinary actions or penalties).
If those rules are stated in a brusque or unfriendly manner, it's so that they're expressed as clearly, concisely, and absolutely as possible, avoiding any confusion or ambiguity. The rules are fair, if anything quite liberal and generous to the membership, and should be extremely easy for anyone to follow who's willing to participate in maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with the site – giving just a little something back in exchange for the benefits they receive as a member.
In the past, when the administrative voice of the site was a little too relaxed and "friendly", I requested that the official notices be MORE clear and direct, because there were very real problems with many members not understanding the information being presented to them. The official administrative voice of the site isn't supposed to be friendly, and it's not responsible for holding your hand or being "nice" to you so that you feel good and don't cry because the mean smutty website was rude to you! It's meant to convey information clearly.
I, for one, appreciate the RESPECT shown by treating me like an adult who doesn't need to be coddled. Thank you, everyone who helps keep gaytorrents.ru running smoothly, so that all of us can benefit. IMHO you're doing just fine.
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A "newbie's" angle:
I registered firstwith delight over the resources that would be available to me. Then I read the rules and faqsand thought - oh no what did I get myself into? Armed with very little knowledge of the technology, terminology etc. I very quickly and all too easily mismanaged things and found myself in the doghouse. I can't begin to accurately describe the tension and terror (yes terror) I experienced realizing that I was becoming one of "those" people those nazi-like pronouncements were referring to. Then, to see it written in the forum that the boss was eyeing me especially me! Well things are getting better as I crack the books. My instincts tell me that any coldness or borderline rudeness from the higher ups is probably a restrained reaction to a seemingly endless supply of knuckleheads (yes like me) who gum up the works. I wonder- would it save a lot of trouble for all concerned if there were a brief indoctrination for newbies to get up to snuff? Or is it easier to be cold and stern. Sweep away the bodies of the ones who weren't fit enough to survive and move on? -
Personally I can agree with what was said by nypup2train and feel with fresnopuo, except:
- I do think rules must be dense, straight forward and clear, but still as "friendly" formulated as possible without soften. the message.
- Using the "nazi" term is not appropriate for a free website, you can join and leave. No one is put here in a concentration camp nor killed
and one will get helped here, especially ratio issues (unless visibly intentionally violating important rules, besides the ("rude") rules and warnings and I don't mean about ratio)
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Oh guys - now you got me to utter also a personal statement - not an admin statement.
Please all of you who can't or won't to differentiate between these two positions: Please skip this posting!
At first: thank you Uwe for
@Uwe:
…
- Using the "nazi" term is not appropriate for a free website ...
[off-topic]Might be at least some of our younger members can't understand that the expression "Nazi Rules" is quite offending for a German who was born shortly after WW II and whose parents had to endure those terrible times. Might be these remarks are not intended to be hurting, I'll grant that, - nonetheless: they are. That is my personal reason to usually keep myself away from answering this kind of comments.
[/off-topic]Like Uwe I can't agree that our rules are some kind of "incarnation of evil", especially when I have a look at our helpdesk. or the number of times our offered help has been viewed in the past. I still can't understand why 47 % of our users answer our poll on the home page with "What the F**K is Rationator 2.0 ?" and don't care about their ratio?
How often do we (all of our staff members) have to spell out (and now read my lips:) This is not rapidshare!
Next topic:
As raphjd correctly pointed out:
The rules were written by non English as first language people. Some languages are spoken in very blunt manners and it's acceptable to them as a culture. They aren't being offensive, as that is just how they speak in normal terms. When this translates into other languages, they still carry the tone with them.
I admit: my personal knowledge of the English language is limited. Even if I'm allowed to flatter myself that I think I have a working understanding of English - some times I'm lost - like just now: for the German expression "sich selbst schmeicheln" my online dictionary offered "to adulate so., to bootlick (Amer.), to cajole, to caress, to coax, to flatter, to palaver, to schmooze so. chiefly (Amer.) [coll.], to cater to so. [fig.], to play up to so. all translated with the same (or presumably near) German meaning "schmeicheln". I'm rather sure there are differences between all those possibilities - sorry, I don't know them so I use to flatter - at least I do now that verb. Same thing is with our rules. They were formulated in German from the start - after our user base grew we tried to establish English as our site language because we assumed it would be understood around the world (and we really have members around the world). Now we try to do our best according to our knowledge of English.
Let me apologize for some expressions which don't sound nice - nobody (and I repeat nobody) tries to intimidate our members, nobody! But there is as an example this very rule since the site went online: do not create duplicate accounts. Why, do you think, we implemented our invite-only system? Because we don't want to have new users? ROTFLMAO (you can find this abbreviation explained in our chat rules btw.). Is it impolite to tell you what will happen when you break this rule? Sorry - I don't think so. In case we set rules we should also be allowed to explain what will happen if you don't follow the rules.
–--- End of Personal statement -----
And now another remark from my position as an admin on this site:
There is a lot of help available on this site - not the least is our help desk. I can't remember a single case that no help was given there or in followinf PMs since I was a moderator here myself. Just keep in mind: all of our staff members have work to do on this site, all of us (yep, also admins) are volunteers who are doing this site work in their spare time. No - this is not whining but pure fact.
And a last remark to
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I, for one, appreciate the RESPECT shown by treating me like an adult who doesn't need to be coddled. …Thank you nyup2tran. not only for my short quote but for opinion. I just ask myself, is our (staff team) expectation too far fetched when we also wish to be treated with the same respect people ask from us?
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@mgr:
I still can't understand why 47 % of our users answer our poll on the home page with "What the F**K is Rationator 2.0 ?"
Umm I did because I didn't know it's name.
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In my experience (as Admin on some other gay torrent site) I can say that it is often necessary to use strong language for the warnings and rules. It is the only way to get the attention of some people. Sure, it also means being rude to those users who do take the time to read and learn, but they usually don't mind and understand why it is done this way.
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and I dont have a problem and I havent fallen into the categories of their RUDE demands, but I feel I need to vent in a public forum manner. I ALWAYS see on the main page and really ANY page with YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELTED AND BANNED IF YOU DONT (fill in the blank RULE)! I feel like this place is a Nazi dictatorship. Dont get me wrong, I think the website as a forum for gay people is great and perfect for exchanging information, but the manner and guide lines are a bit TOO MUCH! Because it is all demands and not worded with any consideration or respect for the people using this website. Its sad, because people have to use this website for the service it provides, but I feel like a much more NORMAL (well mannered) website would be MUCH BETTER suited to show respect to the people. And there are many regular torrent sites that do not threaten their users and members. This site needs to step back and realize that being gay comes with a lot of issues and problems and often people being rude to homosexuals in general, that a site run for gay people should not be negative to its audience. At the end of the day I dont want to be using a site that is talking down to me and threatening me because really, in any given day homosexuals dont want to have to deal with ANOTHER issue or 'guide line'.
Treat people with respect.The staff here are the MOST helpful I have seen…and there are some who break the rules..after so many incidences of rule breaking what else do you expect? This is a gay website...so we shouldn't be surprised about the bitchiness!!!
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I'm bringing this topic back up after a few month gone just to say:
nypup2train luv what you wrote/said…we are grown ups...and there are many ways to get help if you have not clue on what you are doing...
torrents was a foreign word to me when i first found out about it...now i know enough to survive and everyday i'm learning someting new...
is the wanting to know more that will make anyone a good user here or at any other torrent site...
but most get so excited about all the porn..they are to quick to download and not take the time to read...even the rude rules...
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I've only been a member for 8 days. In that short amount of time, I went from having no knowledge of bittorrent to having learned how to download existing and upload newly created torrents thanks almost exclusively to the documentation and assistance provided by the staff of this site. Also, I participated in chat on a couple of occasions, and the moderators were incredibly friendly and helpful. I like that the rules are, shall we say, stated in a straightforward fashion. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, so very clear statements are good for dopes like me. Thanks.
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I suppose if one isn't familiar with the ways people can misbehave, it can seem a bit harsh to read when first starting. But after time dealing with others on the net, one learns how badly some of our own can be to each other, selfishly downloading but never contributing.
While I am still a bit new to the torrent forums (not torrents in general however) I have seen the worst in other areas such as Yahoo and Google groups, several of which I moderate. The ones who bitch the most about what is posted are the lurkers that never post anything of their own, never say thank your, and as we've discovered, can be the first to have a Rapidshare file deleted by reporting it. I no longer wreck my brain trying to figure out why they act that way. I just root them out when I can to make a better experience for the other members who should not have to be subject to such abuse.
But as Sophia from "The Golden Girls" said, "I digress".
When reading the rules, I simply followed the links to learn what they were.
Some are perfectly reasonable as in the case of banned movies.
I think everyone here knows and appreciates that the easiest way for this site to close is for one dit-wad to post child porn. That hurts us all and definitely does nothing good for the Gay Cause once the details hit the news media.I do (at the risk of sounding like a "boot-licker") want to thank the Admins for taking the time to show me how to upload a new torrent. After a year of being an active leecher/passive seeder, it's nice to go up a peg in status.
Just my "two cents". ::)
~Movieboy
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the language may be a bit harsh, but i guess since ive been using the net for the past 12+ years ive learned not to let anything said online affect me negatively in any way. things said online are said by people you will 99.9999999% never meet in real life so shrug it off.
on the flipside TBH i have a tough time understanding some things on here as well. i have a poor share ratio simply because until very recently i didnt know how to raise it (and yes i read the forums describing how to raise my ratio) i even donated cash sadly it dropped yet again. finally i realized the reason my ratio was so low was because i downloaded the files on one PC then transferred them to my external on another pc. once i learned how to "reattach" the torrents to their new locations (stricly through trial and error) i fixed the problem and the ratio is SLOWLY raising itself.
not sure what im trying to express except saying it bluntly wont always make sense to everyone as some people are "that dumb" when it comes to networking and such, but on the other side, man up and dont take it like a personal kick in the nuts.
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The "harsh words" comments are about the rules and the way they are posted.
Did you ask for help? If you did, I'm sure the moderator would have directed you to the relevant guide and if you still had questions then he would have given you more help.
As a general response to everyone;
I can't tell you how often I get PMs asking for help with just "Help me" or some such. Then I have to drag it out of the person what they need help with. A few people have taken 7 or 8 PMs to find out what they need help with. That's crap. Give us as much info as possible to help you, so we can get your issues solved and move on to the next person having problems.
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I have abstained from this conversation for a bit now but…..
No matter where you live in this world there have to be laws, rules, regulations etc to govern those that can not and will not govern their own behavior. Without these folks we would need no such laws , rules , regulations etc.
I have been a member of other sites and let me tell you this: It is much easier to be a member in good standing here at GT.ru than other sites because of these rules, Harsh or not. If you are not a "Member in good standing" here then it is either your fault( not obeying the rules) or due to issues beyond your control ( whatever that may be). But if there is any way to make an exception provided you are honest and upfront about these issues to the staff here and not a repeat offender then one will be made.
If you have trouble with a rules meaning ask the staff first: bitching first is never an answer to understanding anything, ever.
When you ask a question here of staff,the answer will be based on our rules not an opinion of them. For me this works because I do not want to be in a "GREY AREA" based on an opinion given by a staff member who should have checked with higher ups due to lack of a rule or precedent being set. Trust me I have been a "member not in good standing " in just this situation at another site.Given an opinion by a staff member and then find out later he was wrong as all hell to advise me in that way.
Rules, like them or not make things the best for the largest segment of any group being governed and are necessary only because some people just can not be trusted to behave in a manner that best suits what is fair for all.
Michael
