Admin no more

[Colin Manson]

Hi,

I'm thought I'd let you all know that I've handed in my notice to Bill, due many factors I can no longer dedicate the time required to admin the forum.

My final act was altering my own account to become a .Orger, with that in mind please don't contact me regarding account or moderator issues because I wont be able to help.

In a small effort to make the task easier for Bill and Niall I'd like to suggest a few things that users could do to ease the burden.

A large number or PMs/emails are sent to the admin account which don't really need to be. If you have any questions make sure that you've read the FAQ first. I've lost count of the number of times I get asked Password questions etc

http://forum.caithness.org/faq.php?faq=vb_user_maintain#faq_vb_lost_password

If the answer isn't in the FAQ try asking in the General forum, you are almost certain to receive the answer and much more quickly than PM'ing an Admin.

Most of the serious issues that I've had to deal with have been caused by people openly discussing issues that have affected a local person/persons, it's important to consider the real life implications of what you are posting, how it could upset the family of an accident for example.

All too often we see people asking for information or discussing things about crimes/accidents and other matters which always leads to speculation and can easily upset the relatives of those involved. It's easy to hide behind an anonymous username and say something that you would never openly say to the relatives in such a situation.

I'm glad to say that the majority of threads never cause any issues and indeed they bring joy to many, for those times when delicate issues are being discussed please consider what you post and if it's even necessary to post at all.

Hopefully I'll be around for a long time to come but enjoying the forum as a User :D I know how much work is involved and how busy the good folks are so I'll continue to upgrade the forum and chat room when required.

Cheers
Colin

p.s. It would be nice if a mod or admin could make this sticky for a wee while :)

[Anne x]

Good Luck Colin in your just orger status Im sure you will enjoy it just like the chat today and hope you got those jobs done

[Rheghead]

May I wish you a happy retirement from admin and I look forward to seeing you more on the discussional side of things. You've worked very hard for the org and I really appreciate it.

[highlander]

I would like to thank you colin for all your hard work you have put into this website im sure you will be missed by Bill and Niall, look forward to your posts and see you in the chatroom.

[Moira]

I'm sorry you've resigned from the Admin Team Colin :( but glad you're staying around. Thanks for all the hard work you've put in behind the scenes since the beginning of the Forums here. I know there's are a lot more to it than meets the eye. I also know just how important the smooth running of the forums are for a lot of people here.

Best Wishes & happy posting :D

[sassylass]

You've been a mainstay for many years and I'm sorry to hear this news, however I'm sure you did not make a hasty decision. Thank you for everything you have done to make this site so wonderful. See you around.

[Oddquine]

Now, now, Colin.......you're surely not trying to tell us that there's more to life than the org! [lol]

Sorry to see you giving up the admin job, but I know it is a lot of work, even without other things to do as well........but I'm glad you are staying around.

Thanks for bearing with our complaints for so long.

[htwood]

Thank you Colin, for many years of hard work, and everything you've done to put Caithness on the world map via this website. I'm so glad you'll stay as an .Orger and look forward to seeing you in the chat room.
Best, Helen

[Metalattakk]

All too often we see people asking for information or discussing things about crimes/accidents and other matters which always leads to speculation and can easily upset the relatives of those involved. It's easy to hide behind an anonymous username and say something that you would never openly say to the relatives in such a situation.

I'm glad to say that the majority of threads never cause any issues and indeed they bring joy to many, for those times when delicate issues are being discussed please consider what you post and if it's even necessary to post at all.

Isn't that what the Moderators are for? Remove the offending posts, close the thread (note: not delete) with a valid reason so that transparency is paramount, and all is well.

It works everywhere else, why not here?

[Margaret M.]

Thanks for all your hard work, Colin.

[hotrod4]

Good to see you on the Light side, dont go back to the dark side my son!! :)
Thanks for all the work, colin hope everyone appreciates the work that we dont see.

[Ricco]

Colin, a big, BIG thank you for all that you have done to keep the org afloat. It has, no doubt, been a long and trying stint but we all have to retire sometime. I am glad that you are staying around and that we can enjoy your company for years to come.

No doubt you will occasionally offer wisdom, advice and support for those who need it but this will inevitably be on a pm scale.

I think that you are correct in your summing up of ways in which to lighten the load of the administrators - reading the FAQs is something that too few do. Also, other orgers are able to (and keen to) offer advice and assitance wherever they can.

Good luck and enjoy your 'retirement'.:cool:

[Bill Fernie]

I would like to publicly add my thanks to Colin for the huge contribution he has made to the web site and in particular on the forum. It is not possible to quantify the actual amount of time he and Niall have devoted to it over the years since we started but it is considerable. Anyone who has run a web site or a forum will be well aware of the many hours of research and time taken to make improvements and try out ideas whilst at the same time dealing with ever growing correspondence via email and pm's.

Caithness.org has evolved and is now a very large web site with sections on many topics but the forum is the really live bit with its possibility of almost instant responses. The flow of answers to questions and the rate at which they come in never ceases to amaze me.

The Admin and technical side of the web site owes everything to Colin and Niall's collaboration and without it I would have never been able to add it to the web site. So thanks Colin, and I will try not to pm you too often with techy queries.

cheers

Bill

[Niall Fernie]

I'd also like to thank Colin for the huge amount of work he has put into making the forum what it is today. Without Colin, the forum would have been a very different fish altogether.

[Angela]

Look forward to you having more time to post and chat, Colin. :D

[wifie]

Thank you from someone not at all techy - I'm sure you must have done loads to make the Org what it is.

[Liz]

I would like to add my thanks to you Colin for all the hard work you have put in to make the org what it is today.
Enjoy your 'retirement' and enjoy being an Orger!:lol:

[Torvaig]

All the best Colin; I'm sure you have made the right decision for you and yours. There IS more to life than the org; albeit it is very important in a lot of people's lives.

However, as you said, it is not intended as a place for the abuse of others just because we can hide behind a user name. I think maybe if more people ignored some of the more blatant posts that are made, it soons sends the poster off with his/her tail between their legs.

There is nothing more "downputting" than being ignored!;)

Look forward to seeing you on the boards in your new position as one of us. Enjoy the rest from looking after us all.

Torvaig

[Thumper]

Yeah I agree with Torvaig if we all ignored the ones who try to "annoy" they wouldn't get very far would they [lol] Anyway good Luck Colin and welcome back to the real world :) x

[paris]

Agree with everything said above, good luck in your new life as "just an orger " lol jan xx

[cuddlepop]

wishing you all the best and thank you for all that you have done .

Happy posting Colin :)

[scorrie]

Thanks very much for your time and effort over the years Colin. Your work is the unseen type that can be so easy to overlook and take for granted. Next time I'm in Spoons I'll leave a pint in the tap for you!! Cheers!!

[canuck]

Colin, I want to join in this parade of well wishers. You have been a font of knowledge and a person of extreme patience. You got me going in the right direction those first shaking attempts I made at posting on caithness.org.

More than that, you were one of two org rocks who got me through my first months of living in Caithness. Thank you for the chatter and support all those years ago.

I doubt that there is any such thing as just a 'plain' orger. We are all pretty unique! Welcome to our midst whatever we are. :D

[JAWS]

Sorry to see you go, Colin, but at the end of the day your private life has to come first.

[Sporran]

Thanks so much for your years of hard work on the CCWS, Colin! Enjoy spending more time with your family, and contributing to the forums as an Orger! :)

[MadPict]

Sad to see one of the mainstays of the Org decide to hang up his hat.

Thanks for all the time and effort you have devoted to the site.