Concerns about this message board

[Scarletkat]

My husband and I are on our third trip to CSS. On a previous trip (2007) we celebrated a family wedding where 5 other couples joined the bride and groom (my son). The bride posted a question on the board about wedding wear and then at the end of the message said she was excited to be coming to Jamaica although she never dreamed she'd be getting married there someday. She received 2 really helpful replies and two uncalled for replies to the tune of "do you think you are too good to be married in Jamaica? If so by all means go somewhere else. WE appreciate Jamaica." Well not very many brides grow up planning to wed in a foreign country so most readers understood her meaning. We checked other posts by the two rude folks (one was female and one was male) and quite frankly, they replied to lots of questions and were sarcastic and elitist to others too. None of us have ever posted since then although many read the MB. (BTW, the wedding was as wonderful as we expected!)
However, I believe there are many like us who enjoy reading the board, but don't post. And yes....one of the two still posts now and then. But nothing or no on will ever be able to take away our love of Jamaica, its wonderful people, and especially the peace and serenity that we find at the Sans Souci...that is why we encouraged our son and now daughter-in-law to get married there.

[Sue and Randy]

while not wanting to be a pita, these subjects have been brought forth before too.

isn't it great that Couples gives everyone this resource for all to use?

i thank all the moderators for their tireless work maintaining the board for all the visitors to Couples.

Randy

[RDYJMJM]

Seandymon

One option would be to only approve the first correct response to the question. What do you all think about that?

IMHO

I think that anyone who takes the time to sit down and type their thoughts, feelings, impressions and yes even their likes and dislikes should be allowed to have their post go thru.

I fully agree if that post attacks/slanders or is overly rude or contains items that are not allowed then it should be omitted or deleted. To limit the posting of only certain responses or the first correct one I feel would be the downfall of this M/B.

I fully understand the time and effort that is required to monitor and moderate a message board and I applaud everyones efforts to keep this board moving. Yes! There are times when we may ruffle or catch someone on a bad day with an email complaining of activities or lack thereof but you know where our heart is.

Just my .5 cents worth.

[greanjac]

Enjoy the board for what it is and what it allows us to do. Relax and enjoy, everything be irie

[sunlovers]

I agree, leave the board as it is. People won't be happy if their responses aren't posted, even if they are repetitious. It is fun to hear what others are thinking even if you have heard it before.
Just a thought.

[Bkhiattky]

Personally, I like the message board AS IS. It shows everyone's personality and you get to know people by their responses. While I have seen some "snide" comments, I have never read anything to bad, or to off color. Things do get asked over and over, but typically the poster is new to MB, and they WANT a personal response from someone that has been there. I read just about everything on this MB, and my personal feeling is if the thread doesn't interest you or you are sick of reading that post over and over again, don't open it. Sail on by.
The message board lets us reach out to others who are within our "other" family. If someone chooses to let us, a little further, into their lives, so be it. I would never be one to tell someone that their personal struggle isn't welcome to be shared with a group that truly cares about each other. We may be all they have to talk to, and feel like venting to someone other than their own family of friends. We celebrate births, surviving cancer, our first trip and our 30th trip. We mourn each other's losses and empathize with each others personal struggles.

I love the message board and thank all who post and all who moderate it.

[Cubismo]

The limiting of "correct" responses to a question would be like censoring the people who did not "ring in " first. Not irie, imho. I do think there should be some effort put into steering people who ask the ten most common questions towards a FAQ of some kind. But let's face it, people are generally lazy and no doubt they will still repeat those same basic questions on the message board without searching the FAQ. Perhaps in those cases, instead of answering them we should just post a link to the FAQ.

I don't think the rudness factor is as bad as it used to be, I remember a few regular posters on the old board who used to "tee up" the ocassional bad reviews for their equally rude friends to attack - "Oh boy, I'll let so and so respond to this one." Anyone who spoke against the hive mind was severely ridiculed by them. Luckily, most of those people seem to have moved on and stopped posting on the board.

[Papa_Smoke]

I think it is GREAT that we even HAVE a board! Thank you, Couples!

[Jahnadian]

I have been a MB member since 2003 and like all changes, most I view as positive and a few as negative. I really like that there are more posters than 6 years back. The timing of the posts is fine, and love the Meet up threads when we are on the countdown.

As to people's snarky comments and opinions, sometimes they are over the edge and not in the spirit of the Board, but do not blame the Moderators but the MB Member who posted. All that said negativity, and certain MB comments towards me have really made me view the Board in a different light. I too am an opinionated person but you can share opinions with respect, even if you do think you know what is best for a total stranger. Couples does a great job with the MB. Irie vibes to all.

[izzyandbella]

I am addicted to this board. I have to get my fix at least once a day. I dont read all posts. Some just dont sound interesting to me or don't pertain to me at all so I skip them. I love finding new posts daily that I haven't read. Makes my day!!! If someone finds a post they think is silly or irrelevant, skip it. Someone else might think that post is meant just for them. I think IMHO that we should be able to post anything pertaining to Couples that we want. No one should be rude and if they are, that's what the moderators are for. Delete them!! I love this board just the way it is!!

[Brownsfans]

Part of the beauty of the MB is the sense of community and unity felt here, what a sad world it would be if we could not ask for the support and prayers of others. I recently experienced a trauma in my life and in the darkest hour my sorrow was turned to joy by the people on this message board as they shared words of encouragement, warm wishes and prayers. All points are truly understood but let's not cease to be compassionate towards one another, who knows the power warm wishes have on the lives of those who post here! You may even be giving hope to the hopeless!
Dolly

[leoconnor]

I'm okay with issue #1

For issue #2, I use the "ignore" feature. Just have to remember to log in for it to work.

[tammye]

Seandymon,

I have been seeing only 1 or 2 updates per day during the week and maybe 1 or 2 all weekend. During the week (this week) I see one about 8:00 AM CDT where "hundreds" of posts hit the board. So many that the same question in answered 15 or 20 times all in one shot. Some of the new ones are shoved so far down the page that they probably don't get seen by very many people. Maybe you guys are updating more often than that, but they are not hitting the message board. When I get up in the mornings and check the board (about 7:30 AM CDT), there have been no new updates since before 1:00 PM the day before. Do you guys actually look at the message board to see if the updates are being done? Or do you just process the emails from the message board and then submit the upload process? The old message board used to update several times per day!

Wally

This is what I've been seeing as well, as far as the frequency of new posts. Tammy

[Chris]

What the...? How'd this silly looking shell get in my hand?

Well, anyway, I'm one of the two or three people here who can honestly say we showed up before there was a "real" message board... I'm talking MSNgroups here, folks, and many of you don't even know what that means.

Ok, having shown my grey hair, an observation or two...

MB posting speed... I've got two words for you... Soon Come...

Repeat questions... I love 'em! If we didn't have 'em, there'd be no need for the MB. Believe me... everything has been asked, and probably more than once.

Personal, repeat, or "irrelevent" postings. Simple suggestion... don't read 'em. Move on to the next one. Its a big board.

'Nuff said... here's your darn shell....

[bobndeanne]

Since I am a "newbie" and only on the MB since 2007, I have to say, my thoughts echo those who exclaim - IT'S PERFECT! Yes, we wish there would be those who would read their "tone" before hitting the submit button but it won't happen....yes, there are those questions that are oftentimes asked over and over again.....I for one read them again and again because in doing so, I discover new and exciting information about our precious home. Good discussion.

[NJ_Bride]

I have been on this board since starting to plan my CSA wedding in 2007. When I first found the board, it was a god-send since I was getting married in a country/resort I had never been to. I loved asking fellow Couples Brides as well as repeat guests questions. Posters were always reassuring and helpful. I received many well wishes and felt very welcomed.

This all being said, in the last couple of months I log in and see posts from new people inquiring about Couples and getting ripped apart by repeaters. I think it is wonderful you have spent so many vacations at Couples but why make potentials feel unwelcome? It is a public resort, not a time share, if you love it so much why tell people to go to other resorts? If some says they are are looking for XYZ in a vacation is Couples like this? just answer honestly and politely don't say let me know when your coming so I can cancel my trip.

My husband and I are returning to CSA this year because it really is the best AI we have ever been to. The staff, the beach, the other guests are great. What saddens me is that if I had never been there and checked out this message board I probably wouldn't go, it seems very elitist lately.

As for the speed issue, it doesn't bother me. Personal topics are welcome in my book.

Just trying to give an outside perspective, I personally love Couples and recommend it to anyone!

[rls]

Of course, I have to chime in on this regarding posts of a personal nature...

Quite honestly, our lives would be quite different without this MB. Not only did the friends here give us strength and courage throughout our journey with Jana's cancer which helped her be a SURVIVOR. We have personally connected with many of them and have made lifelong friends. This is about as personal as you can get...and quite priceless. I will be forever grateful to Couples for this gift in our lives.

Regarding rude and disrespectful responses to posts...(as I tell my girls)...If you can't say it to someone's face--don't say it in writing.

Regarding questions asked again and again....love the idea of stickys or FAQ of the MB. It is difficult now because the old MB board is not searchable (or at least I haven't found a way). Of course, I encourage new readers to search the current board when looking for answers and opinions. But when I have a question--the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned!

Hugs,

[Bkhiattky]

This all being said, in the last couple of months I log in and see posts from new people inquiring about Couples and getting ripped apart by repeaters. I think it is wonderful you have spent so many vacations at Couples but why make potentials feel unwelcome? It is a public resort, not a time share, if you love it so much why tell people to go to other resorts? If some says they are are looking for XYZ in a vacation is Couples like this? just answer honestly and politely don't say let me know when your coming so I can cancel my trip.

The only time that was said, ( and I read everything LOL) was when a "ROWDY" group of 30-40 people were wanting to come to Couples, and even Randymon chimed in on that one.

[mjcape]

I've tried not to post to this thread but I feel I need to. We were married at CSA in March 2006 and it was because of this message board. This board is a great place to come to get excited about your upcoming visit and also a great way to stay connected while you are waiting to book your next vacation. I would come to the board often while anticipating our second trip in Oct. 2008 and my husband thought I was nuts, he didn't understand how much this board helps me in between our visits. With that said, I too started noticing a lot of negativity and I backed off from even visiting the message board for quite some time. If someone has a question that you don't like - don't answer it. It is that simple. There is no reason to make anyone feel uncomfortable for asking a question and absolutely no reason to make anyone less excited for their vacation, honeymoon, weddingmoon, etc.

I can't wait until we can book our 3rd trip home and the board helps me keep my eye on the prize. CSA, we will see you soon!

[jon1963]

All I want to say is if you can not answer the question nicely, then do not answer it, just go to the next posting.

It is a bad time for all the resorts, we as a Couples family need to do what ever we can to help new people and promote Couples for they will go to Couples. This is in our best interest to help keep the rates down and to allow Couples to grow.

I will answer the same question time and time again to promote Couples Resort for it will be their when we go.

[Cubismo]

If someone asks for something that is not available at Couples, I don't think it's being rude to tell them to look elsewhere. Couples is NOT a rowdy party resort. There's one of those down the street. Telling them it was an extreme party spot would be unfair to everyone, including the rowdy party people. If someone asked for a great family resort in Jamaica, I'd also advise them to look someplace else. If they want a quiet, relaxed, elegant, romantic getaway for two, then I'd say Couples is the right place for them.

[Mzambo]

Don't fix what ain't broke!

I agree with most of the posts that what makes this board special is all that it is. Couples is more than a resort chain to many of us, this message board is more than a source of information for many of us. It is a place to share experiences, memories, problems with a group of people we feel we have something special in common with. I could go on and on with my soapbox, but I will simply say again.

Don't fix what "ain't" broke!

[Smithl1028]

This could be a slippery slope.

My suggestion would be to see if you can find the VB widget that, at the start of a new post, pulls up threads with similar titles/content. I can get with our Admin on my board and check what version of VB is required, and how he implemented it...

this is a great idea!! my work has something similar with their membership data base, when you try to enter a "new person" a pop-up shows suggestions of already entered members so it can minimize duplicate entries. I am sure there is software that would help with the message board threads.

As for me, i tend to get overwhelmed reading all of them and just skip around alot now because of the amount of similar threads.

[Smithl1028]

[QUOTE=dirtleg;19780] I have to admit that I think I may have been responsible for this occuring once or twice over the years. I apologize to the moderators if this is a fact. But sometimes words can blur our judgement and we say things that probably did not need to be said, or written in this instance.

I too am guilty... I posted a comment back to someone a week ago or so and while I admit my comment should of been reworded, the barage of negative comments back made me feel like I was a piece of Chit... So I chose not comment any further.

[Smithl1028]

This all being said, in the last couple of months I log in and see posts from new people inquiring about Couples and getting ripped apart by repeaters. I think it is wonderful you have spent so many vacations at Couples but why make potentials feel unwelcome? It is a public resort, not a time share, if you love it so much why tell people to go to other resorts? If some says they are are looking for XYZ in a vacation is Couples like this? just answer honestly and politely don't say let me know when your coming so I can cancel my trip.

The only time that was said, ( and I read everything LOL) was when a "ROWDY" group of 30-40 people were wanting to come to Couples, and even Randymon chimed in on that one.

I AGREE, I know that thread well, and agreed with everyone's recommendations to go elsewhere. They were being honest and trying to protect the atmosphere of Couples