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I see myself from now on, using the term ‘flagger’ for a certain type of person. It’s not a complementary term. It’s a term for a clique of people that prone to being offended by absolutely everything that isn’t in praise of their wonderfulness, instead of taking anything of benefit from it - such as a forum for sharing ideas is for, they flag it, and target a person who is more outspoken than the average PC person that is afraid to scratch their backside these days for fear of, well, encountering a flagger.
Despite the many likes I received for my posts, taking hours of my time to help new members and anyone that came seeking info, (and with over 150 likes, for someone that spent far less time than many here, I seemed to have provided quite a bit of help), a few flaggers that have been targeting me relentlessly for the last few weeks (I can even trace it back to one post in particular to an obviously highly vindictive member), I have been kicked out because of the relentless flagging by a few members.
One thing I will say, even though I am not taking any credit for it, is that before I came here and began sharing honest tales of hosting, that included a true side to the struggles and emotional difficulties we face, this forum was full to the brim of mainly advertisements for businesses trying to capitalize on Airbnb and make side lines out of it by marketing to hosts. There was little in the way of any real discussion. I am glad that has changed. It is just a great pity that this ridiculous flagging thing (something that I have never seen, or seen used anywhere near to this degree in any of the other forums I have been involved with) is such a joke. There is obviously no moderator involvement to even check if the flagged content is flaggable, or if it is just the figment of an overly sensitive or vindictive person or persons.
Well, if some are glad to see the back of me then great. I won’t be that upset to see the back of quite a few too. But I did want to share how pitiful the whole situation was. And say goodbye to the one or two folks I enjoyed sharing a post with.
Oh my…I hope a moderator does not remove you for others flagging. Yes, I have experienced this in other forums where peers can flag and after so many flags you are removed. That is not the way a forum should be moderated. You don’t count the number of flags, but the moderator needs to step up and see if people are just flagging posts to get people who they don’t like removed.
It’s not fair if one poster can say one thing and the next person can say the exact same thing…and then only one of the posters gets “punished” because they are a target of a few. Good for you Sandy for bringing attention to this. I hate forums where people flag for any little thing and the moderator allows it. We will all have different personalities and some of us will grate under each other’s skin - but we all must still practice tolerance.
this is ridiculous and a moderator ought to correct this asap. You are one of the few people who opened up an honest discourse about the challenges of hosting on AirBNB. These discussions are really crucial to our longevity as hosts – we need a place to vent as well as strategize to minimize the negative and emotionally draining aspects of this gig.
You’re absolutely right – the info on here before you started posting was about how much champagne, chocolates and flowers to leave our guests to make them happy. I mean, give me a fn break…
This is terrible! You give your honest opinions and unlike others (particularly Yana who apparently is one of the “flaggers”) don’t disparage people who disagree with you. I think people need to realize that different views make us stronger and should be encouraged.
I am definitely sorry to see the back of you. I so enjoyed reading your descriptions of your incredible house.
I didn’t start participating until a few months ago but really enjoy being able to be myself. You are correct that we need a place to vent and be supportive. If Sandy was crucial to being honest about guests and changing the previous format then I am so grateful. How long has this forum existed?
Hey cabin – I’m new myself but when I joined this Spring, the site was very rah-rah and sounded like corporate PR. The tenor of conversation has changed over the summer and there’s now much more discussion of hosting challenges (and how to get past them). Sandy was initially attacked when she first started posting about the negative experiences she’s had with guests but as a newbie, I really appreciated her longer-view perspective. It only took me a few months to encounter some of what she was describing - unappreciative & weirdly entitled guests whose attitude just really unsettled me. I was much better prepared to deal with it because of the conversations here, many of them initiated or facilitated by Sandy and Kona, to name just a couple of people.
Thanks so much for sharing Chicago. I love both Sandy and Kona for their brutal honesty. I dislike another forum that is not airbnb (many have a condescending attitude) - ex: how dare you complain and my guests are perfect.
This other forum is for whole home rentals. And I actually clean my whole home rental so I see the actual attitude some guests have. So some of these people just don’t know that guests sneak in others and housekeeping may not report much. So I was always accused that I was complaining, etc. That’s why I gravitated here. I knew I wasn’t crazy - even though I rent a whole home instead of a room it was nice to know it wasn’t my imagination that people will try to get over on you in this business. We all have to watch out for each other and not judge each other’s experiences.
Everyone can express their opinions , but … There is a difference . If you create hostile environment by attacking a person, disregard someone’s opinion n disrespectful manner expect to suffer consequences .
