What Is the Topic?

[Sheriff Uling 3]

Call me crazy, but off topic information is permitted as long as it is specific to that region. As far as I'm concerned and understand, everything else is getting moved.

Cheers...

~Sheriff Uling

[rebeccajo 14]

Call me crazy, but off topic information is permitted as long as it is specific to that region. As far as I'm concerned and understand, everything else is getting moved.

Cheers...

~Sheriff Uling

There's just something about this whole debacle that I find REALLY .................... comedic.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Clearly defined, the regionals are not

Is this the Yoda thread?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Confusing, this is yessss

[mox 298]

There's just something about this whole debacle that I find REALLY .................... comedic.

Why? (he asks without sarcasm...seriously.)

[rebeccajo 14]

There's just something about this whole debacle that I find REALLY .................... comedic.

Why? (he asks without sarcasm...seriously.)

Oh, I don't know. Long story, I guess.

Basically, you have 3 moderators for ....what....every 12000 members?

You have members who wouldn't come out of their Regional Forum and talk to the rest of the community if their life depended on it.

You have members creating even smaller communities within forums - monthly filer threads.

I just think this is what you get when you have basically an absent Adminstrator.

[mox 298]

Ah...so tragic comedy.

I'm not as wide-traveled on VJ as I used to be...I tend to only post in a single (regional) forum these days, but I still skim the main forums, and for the most part I see little need for moderation. If there is more need for moderation, I haven't seen it in my admittedly close circles. And that's after going through a pretty bad situation where I did feel the mods dropped the ball, but to their great credit they eventually picked it back up and fixed the problem.

Carpet bombing the regional forums with what looks to be pretty subjective moves seems to me to be more indicative of a moderator with an excess of time on their hands, rather than an overworked mod.

[rebeccajo 14]

Ah...so tragic comedy.

I'm not as wide-traveled on VJ as I used to be...I tend to only post in a single (regional) forum these days, but I still skim the main forums, and for the most part I see little need for moderation. If there is more need for moderation, I haven't seen it in my admittedly close circles. And that's after going through a pretty bad situation where I did feel the mods dropped the ball, but to their great credit they eventually picked it back up and fixed the problem.

Carpet bombing the regional forums with what looks to be pretty subjective moves seems to me to be more indicative of a moderator with an excess of time on their hands, rather than an overworked mod.

Mebbe. Mebbe so.

[tedjen 0]

yeah I thought the regional forum was for talking about country specific things that really didn't have anything specifically to do with immigration...

it should also be about things that have to specifically with immigration issues. procedures can vary at different country Embassies. If a Philippine Member we're to post in The Embassy Forum a question about CFO, members going thru other embassies might ask, what the heck is that, etc... such a question would best be asked in The Philippine sub forum.

the issue seems to be why non immigration threads are not being allowed in the open Philippine Forum, just in the pinned threads.

I agree to this... to add, the what they call packet 3 (is this correct?)... in PI there's no packet 3 anymore... only the letter from embassy in manila and the forms to bring during the interview should be downloaded....

At first, when i was reading the K3 section, I was confused with these packets....

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

I am going to re-post the "Moving Guide" (already in the Pinned Thread in this forum). I will also then at the bottom of it add information for the regional forums (both here and in the main pinned thread). Please let me know if I am not detailed enough (so we can avoid confusion).

Moving Guide

When Not to Move:

There will always be overlap between forums so often a topic may fit equally well in both. If this is the case the topic should remain in the original forum it was posted in.

If a topic contains issues that are related to more than one forum(s) theme but however the initial AND primary topic relates to the Forum it is currently in then the topic should not be moved.

If a topic seems out of place but does not have a clear forum it could be moved to, then it should be left where it was posted.

Example: Person A discusses a general K1 question but then also talks about Adjustment of Status and other issues. In this case the topic should remain in the K1 forum since their initial and primary topic was K1 related but then they also discussed other issues.

When to move:

The initial AND primary theme of a topic does not fit the description of the Forum it was posted in and another forum's description fits the thread's theme MUCH better. In this case the topic should be moved to the correct Forum.

General Rule:

--o If the initial and primary theme of a topic does not relate to the forum it is in and another forum is MUCH more applicable then it can be moved.

--o If there is any ambiguity or the topic seems vague and clearly does not have another forum that fits MUCH better then leave it where it is.

Special Rules

Topics in the Regional Forums area can contain the following (without being moved):

--o General discussion on issues relating to that relevant region

--o Immigration Discussion of topics specific to that region (ex: special embassy procedures, help on finding local doctors, etc)

--o Off Topic Discussion intended to be of interest to the specific regional forum participants (cultural discussion, local food, travel, etc)

Topics in the Regional Forums area should be moved to the proper forums for

--o Discussions on general immigration steps (especially those steps before and after embassy processing) Note: Do not move topics unless you have read them to be sure they are "general" in nature. Some times they may contain regional issues that may not appear in the topic title. If in doubt, do not move the topic.

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

I would like to remind everyone of the Unofficial Moderation and Moving Guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=322

This thread discusses what is a TOS violation (and the moderation actions) as well as when things will be moved, locked, removed, etc.. Useful for both Mods, Members and Myself to consult when needed.

[Jenn! 918]

Topics in the Regional Forums area can contain the following (without being moved):

--o General discussion on issues relating to that relevant region

--o Immigration Discussion of topics specific to that region (ex: special embassy procedures, help on finding local doctors, etc)

--o Off Topic Discussion intended to be of interest to the specific regional forum participants (cultural discussion, local food, travel, etc)

Topics in the Regional Forums area should be moved to the proper forums for

--o Discussions on general immigration steps (especially those steps before and after embassy processing) Note: Do not move topics unless you have read them to be sure they are "general" in nature. Some times they may contain regional issues that may not appear in the topic title. If in doubt, do not move the topic.

Thanks for that, Captain.

I think regardless of any organizer's personal opinions on the matter, the above guidelines need to be followed by all until there happens to be a change in the policy.

[mox 298]

I think regardless of any organizer's personal opinions on the matter, the above guidelines need to be followed by all until there happens to be a change in the policy.

I agree. And I just want to reiterate that even after reading the rules, if you (generic you) can justify moving a thread out of a regional forum...is it really necessary? I think in 99% of the cases it's a solution with no problem.

The regional forums are really just a subset of the rest of the site, condensed down into groups of people with a common regional interest. We don't have an off-topic sub-forum, we have off-topic threads. We don't have a "Case status" sub-forum, we have threads with case status. It's a system that just works. We resent somebody who has never even given us the courtesy of finding out how things are done in our forum, coming in and making arbitrary decisions about content we ourselves generated, even if you are just "enforcing" the rules. If we need enforcement, we will call you.

Anyway, I know the problem has been addressed, and I appreciate everyone's help in clearing things up. I just want to make the point that just because you CAN move a thread, even under the rules, doesn't mean you necessarily should.

[rebeccajo 14]

I think regardless of any organizer's personal opinions on the matter, the above guidelines need to be followed by all until there happens to be a change in the policy.

I agree. And I just want to reiterate that even after reading the rules, if you (generic you) can justify moving a thread out of a regional forum...is it really necessary? I think in 99% of the cases it's a solution with no problem.

The regional forums are really just a subset of the rest of the site, condensed down into groups of people with a common regional interest. We don't have an off-topic sub-forum, we have off-topic threads. We don't have a "Case status" sub-forum, we have threads with case status. It's a system that just works. We resent somebody who has never even given us the courtesy of finding out how things are done in our forum, coming in and making arbitrary decisions about content we ourselves generated, even if you are just "enforcing" the rules. If we need enforcement, we will call you.

Anyway, I know the problem has been addressed, and I appreciate everyone's help in clearing things up. I just want to make the point that just because you CAN move a thread, even under the rules, doesn't mean you necessarily should.

It might be a system that works for those using the particular forum, but it really doesn't work very well for the whole of the site. New and infrequent users of the site don't use the Regionals - they look for information in the upper forums.

I would wager a guess that if we could see the data for the number of users in a particular regional forum vs. upper category forums, you'd find those users to be a much lower number. Information needs to be where the greatest number of users can find it.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

rebecca is right.

remove the regionals now!

i may just have to go on a hunger strike.

[LaL 418]

rebecca is right.

remove the regionals now!

i may just have to go on a hunger strike.