Read before you post again in the Miami forum, from moderator (quality of life, living in)

[mbmouse]

This is primarily for the "regular" posters in the Miami forum.
City-Data was designed for information sharing by people for people who are looking to move to an area. It is a place to gain personal perceptions of a city/town. It is NOT a chat room/blog spot and it it certainly is not a place for those who are frustrated with their life/city/town to vent.

If you are going to post a new thread with a question of information about Miami, make sure it has a distinct topic or question. It should be information and not a vent or complaint.
If you are answering a thread/post, stay on topic. If a post changes the subject, it will be deleted.
Any posts that are not informational will be deleted.
Any posts that are "rants" will be deleted.
Cross posting (saying the same thing in numerous posts) will be deleted.
Warnings will be given, then infractions, then baning will happen.
This is a privately owned site with it's own rules and can offer or deny membership to whom they choose for their own reasons.

This does not mean any non positive comments about a city/town will be deleted, it means that this is a site that requires a polite decorum. You can post a negative about a place politely.

Everyone needs to read the Terms of Service before posting again as well.
Terms of Service - City-Data Forum

People who are looking to move to Miami for what ever reason should be able to post their questions here without being attacked with "Miami is awful, don't move here" in every thread and this type of posting needs to stop.

[compelled to reply]

Thank you for taking a stance, mbmouse. I think what is often misunderstood is the difference between "negativity" and just using a relocation forum as a place to blame your geography on personal problems. I'm sometimes "negative". I'm sometimes "positive". I get involved with the chat room antics sometimes but ultimately what we all need to do is just tell the truth. I respect some of the "negative" posters because in some cases nothing they say is untrue.

[Sunandsand]

This is great news.

[backtofla]

most of it is true, whether negative or not. miami isnt a desirable place to live. this is just the truth

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by backtofla

most of it is true, whether negative or not. miami isnt a desirable place to live. this is just the truth

And here is one of my points. That very well may be YOUR truth, but not to others. Hence, it is an opinion. If you want to post a statement like that, back it up with some facts. Blanket statements such as this one "Miami isn't a desirable place to live. This is just the truth" in threads where someone has asked a question regarding Miami, it will be deleted.

[Floridabound09]

I agree.....

Sure everyone has an opinion but for me I was able to sort out the people who post nothing but negatives and never a positives, people who come here are relying on others opinions and hopefully facts and when they are somewhat tainted with nothing but negative it can impact their lives in some way.

Prime Example, the post about how bad the hurricanes are and Florida is going to have the worst season ever for Hurricanes, well..... How many people stayed away from Florida for a vacation or to move there just because of that post? which turned out to be totally wrong.
Someones opinion that had an impact on someone else I am sure.

[Motörhead]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

And here is one of my points. That very well may be YOUR truth, but not to others. Hence, it is an opinion. If you want to post a statement like that, back it up with some facts. Blanket statements such as this one "Miami isn't a desirable place to live. This is just the truth" in threads where someone has asked a question regarding Miami, it will be deleted.

I appreciate that you don't want to see a million negative posts in here, but heck, if I'm considering relocating to a place, I want to hear BOTH sides of the story, not just the positive sides. I don't want to hear a bunch of what amounts to sugar-coated lies about a place, e.g. "Miami is paradise, Miami is the greatest place on earth", in the same way that I don't want to only hear "Miami is hell on earth". For instance, I am considering moving to the NE and I posted something in the Vermont forum to find out how it is living in Vermont. I got mixed feedback, which is what I expected. I consider myself smart enough to take ALL opinions on board (positive and negative) in order to help me make my OWN decision.

As for Miami, I WISH I'd have had this forum to read some of the more negative points, because I would have had a better idea as to what I ended up getting myself into. Like many who had not been to Miami before, I thought this place was a nice place to live...almost a tropical paradise, full of culture, great beaches and things to do. I didn't know that people down here were so rude, or that drivers are so dangerous.

In short, anyone moving here should be warned of the negatives of this place, because it's really not for everyone and I can understand why/how there are a lot of very miserable/trapped people here. Hell, I wouldn't want anyone to end up getting stuck here, like I did (along with countless others).

As a moderator, of course you're free to delete/censor posts. I noticed that you deleted my thread about Miami drivers, which was partly meant as a sort of tongue-in-cheek approach to what I consider to be a very serious problem down here.

You can't just expect people not to post negative things, or even rants, considering that the quality of life down here for many has taken a tumble. I'm sure that the majority of negative posters aren't here to disrupt, but more to warn any potential newbies, and to share their personal experiences.

It just seems to be that just like in real life, you're not allowed to say anything bad about Miami, which is very wrong, IMO.

Originally Posted by mbmouse

And here is one of my points. That very well may be YOUR truth, but not to others. Hence, it is an opinion. If you want to post a statement like that, back it up with some facts. Blanket statements such as this one "Miami isn't a desirable place to live. This is just the truth" in threads where someone has asked a question regarding Miami, it will be deleted.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. It *is* the truth for many, many people, including me, and I don't need facts to back that up (even though I'm sure I could find them with a few minutes worth of Googling). It is no less of a "truth" than someone posting a statement such as "Miami is a great place to live". At the end of the day, these are all opinions and no opinion should be discounted and many opinions can actually be backed up with facts.

[Chelito23]

I understand what the moderator is saying, but I think this is the problem too. First of all, the moderator lives in East TN, so it is easy to understand why he or she "doesn't get it". I am sure this forum DOES look scary and negative to outsiders, or people who just moved here. But someone who actually lives here would probably be the fairest moderator, because he or she would understand both sides better. Other than that, I agree that we all must play by the rules, but it does seem as if the moderator is focusing on the negative posts and not the people who post Miami is a world class city ad nauseum. I think the sticky comment should apply to all.

I agree that people don't need to post rants about how awful it is here, but 99% of the time when there is complaining going on, the posters DO in fact explain what they dislike, which is why the comment about rants with no background info perplexes me. Rarely do people merely state that this place sucks, or whatever. People gripe about rudeness, traffic, costs, economy, hurricanes etc. If the Miami forum posters are one thing, it is definantly descriptive and vocal.

A lot of the threads are similar because the same issues are asked in different forms. Same goes for the positive ones as well. So yes, there is repetition, but I don't see many people copying and pasting their responses across the board...but if they did, I would understand why they were deleted.

I think that there is a consistent group of posters that do not have flattering advice about Miami, but not becasue they are here to cause trouble or are just unhappy, they are trying to inform, and their perspectives are valid as well.

[backtofla]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

And here is one of my points. That very well may be YOUR truth, but not to others. Hence, it is an opinion. If you want to post a statement like that, back it up with some facts. Blanket statements such as this one "Miami isn't a desirable place to live. This is just the truth" in threads where someone has asked a question regarding Miami, it will be deleted.

i dont really need to back it up, i'll make it easy. anyone considering moving there, visit and drive around. observe. take it in. just trying to do ppl a favor. too many other nice places to live in florida

[Motörhead]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

I understand what the moderator is saying, but I think this is the problem too. First of all, the moderator lives in East TN, so it is easy to understand why he or she "doesn't get it". I am sure this forum DOES look scary and negative to outsiders, or people who just moved here. But someone who actually lives here would probably be the fairest moderator, because he or she would understand both sides better. Other than that, I agree that we all must play by the rules, but it does seem as if the moderator is focusing on the negative posts and not the people who post Miami is a world class city ad nauseum. I think the sticky comment should apply to all.

I agree that people don't need to post rants about how awful it is here, but 99% of the time when there is complaining going on, the posters DO in fact explain what they dislike, which is why the comment about rants with no background info perplexes me. Rarely do people merely state that this place sucks, or whatever. People gripe about rudeness, traffic, costs, economy, hurricanes etc. If the Miami forum posters are one thing, it is definantly descriptive and vocal.

A lot of the threads are similar because the same issues are asked in different forms. Same goes for the positive ones as well. So yes, there is repetition, but I don't see many people copying and pasting their responses across the board...but if they did, I would understand why they were deleted.

I think that there is a consistent group of posters that do not have flattering advice about Miami, but not becasue they are here to cause trouble or are just unhappy, they are trying to inform, and their perspectives are valid as well.

Like you, I could understand the moderator's gripe if I came in here and read a few (or even just one) "Miami Sucks" thread, with a bunch of immature/racist crap that I have seen before and don't care to read. However, I've read a lot of negative posts that I just happen to be able to relate to, and even my partner (who has lived here all of her life) would also relate to.

Like I said, if I happened to be someone from out of state looking to potentially relocate to Miami, I would want to hear all sides of the story. I wish I'd read this forum when I actually did move here, because I may have thought twice about it, or at least known what parts of South Florida to avoid, and how dangerously people drive, for example.

For instance, if I'd never been here before, I would not have known that despite its tropical climate, Miami is essentially devoid of parks. I would not have known that traffic was so bad, or that there's very little to do here (for someone of my tastes, but not for someone who enjoys clubbing, water sports, etc).