Nelson Vergel
Founder, ExcelMale.com
Since the first of the year, there have been some threads here at Excelmale critical of one or more of our advertisers. In all of these instances, the threads were either closed or deleted. In some cases, this has created confusion, causing some to accuse Excelmale, and me personally, of shilling for medical clinics or pharmacies. I want to take a moment to address these charges. Excelmale values every advertiser. I believe they represent the best in medical and pharmaceutical care. Nonetheless, we are independent of every one of them. They manage their business as they see fit, and they certainly do not dictate editorial and content decisions here at ExcelMale.
When threads appear criticizing an advertiser, it raises some issues. Criticism may well be legitimate, or it may be uninformed. But even if it is the former, Excelmale cannot solve the problem. In all honesty, I don't enjoy reading a long thread composed of grumbling. A month or so ago a new process was put in place. When an advertiser-related, customer service thread appeared, a moderator intervenes, contacts the advertiser and asks that the complaint be dealt with offline. The thread would be closed or deleted.
This was my decision, arrived at only after discussing the issue with one of my senior moderators, our system administrator, and advertiser representatives. It was not put in place to protect or shield advertisers; it was designed to keep the focus of our discussion on questions of male health.
Editorial decisions of this sort always require that multiple balancing tests be conducted. What is fair to the member posting the initial thread? What is fair to the advertiser? What is fair to the community at large? What is fair to me, for - after all - this is one of my professional undertakings? Decisions to delete or lock a thread are never taken lightly, but I believe that minimizing customer-service complaints while working to connect the posting member with the advertiser offline, is the right course to follow.
Not all of you will agree with this, and I respect that. Nonetheless, it's the course of action we will continue to follow. Excelmale delivers, day in and day out, content you can use to improve your health and your life. I will do my very best, supported by my moderators, system support staff, and each of you, to make sure we meet that goal.
When threads appear criticizing an advertiser, it raises some issues. Criticism may well be legitimate, or it may be uninformed. But even if it is the former, Excelmale cannot solve the problem. In all honesty, I don't enjoy reading a long thread composed of grumbling. A month or so ago a new process was put in place. When an advertiser-related, customer service thread appeared, a moderator intervenes, contacts the advertiser and asks that the complaint be dealt with offline. The thread would be closed or deleted.
This was my decision, arrived at only after discussing the issue with one of my senior moderators, our system administrator, and advertiser representatives. It was not put in place to protect or shield advertisers; it was designed to keep the focus of our discussion on questions of male health.
Editorial decisions of this sort always require that multiple balancing tests be conducted. What is fair to the member posting the initial thread? What is fair to the advertiser? What is fair to the community at large? What is fair to me, for - after all - this is one of my professional undertakings? Decisions to delete or lock a thread are never taken lightly, but I believe that minimizing customer-service complaints while working to connect the posting member with the advertiser offline, is the right course to follow.
Not all of you will agree with this, and I respect that. Nonetheless, it's the course of action we will continue to follow. Excelmale delivers, day in and day out, content you can use to improve your health and your life. I will do my very best, supported by my moderators, system support staff, and each of you, to make sure we meet that goal.
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