Do us all a favour!

[James McLauchlan]

Guys,

It’s taken years and a lot of hard work to get this site to the level where agencies feel it’s worth adding job vacancies here and I, for one (there are others too) an not happy to see those posted vacancies then take a bashing for no real reason.

I have just deleted a pile of posts off a vacancy for a job in Angola and locked the thread. Yes it’s a crappy place and not a place people should head off to, too lightly, but please air those views elsewhere in the Forum not in the job vacancies section.

If an agency posts jobs and gets nothing but snide remarks in response then they will stop posting. For those of you well established in the game that might be fine but, for some, those jobs could help pay their mortgage or feed the kids that month. So, a bit of thought for others might not go amiss here.

We have already had one agency discuss with us (directly) the fact that when they have posted all that seems to happens is just what I mentioned above. They stopped posting for that very reason. So how clever does that make all the snide remarks then?

Responses on a postcard to: snide.remarks@rovworld.com

or simply reply to this post…..

[ROVRatt]

Hi James

I was not being snide or sarcastic but honest. The agency posted an advert for a supervisor off Angola on the same day they wanted him to leave for Angola.

I stand by my question of how they think he could enter the country without a visa which takes minimum two working days to organise by experienced agents within Angola.

If he was to arrive in Angola without the required visa he would have been locked up. A not too nice fate in Angola.

We need to look after our fellow ROV mates as well and this is also the purpose of this forum.

[James McLauchlan]

I’m not digging at you in particular, but the thread degenerated into a piss taking session about the job which is not a positive way to go.

What I was trying to highlight was that agency job bashing, in general, is not in the best interest of the Forum or the people that use it.

I agree that West Africa has it’s drawback s and people should know about them therefore I have started a new thread up on West Africa so that these things can be discussed. This will enable people to air their views and bring up the potential problems that guys may encounter.

[digitellus]

James,
Thank you for probably one of the most significant posts I have read on this site in ages. Your site was a great discovery for me initially a few years back now with lots of great information and news (it still has this ). But in the last year a few individuals have dragged it down into the gutter by posting stupid replies to genuine requests and flaming people who just want help or advice. If I didnt know anything about the subject of this forum and by reading the stupid posts it would be quite easy to conclude that a bunch of silly children are posting these stupid comments. I have been in the company of others who would like to post on the site but are afraid of the backlash that seems to come with too much ease, also a lot of operations folks read this site and find it very concerning. I was hounded with emails and abuse over a simple request last year which required the police to get involved in to stop the nutter. Its too easy to sit at a keyboard and type something nasty and send it and hide behind a nickname. You are putting people off joining the business because you are giving them the impression it is full of immature people with huge egos. You are convincing some employers that some ROV crew are not really the full shilling, not proffessional and not responsible enough…. If you disagree then please read some of the junk of late and then ask yourself honestly would you want this guy to be your pt / supervisor? In charge of a job? Responsible?

This is a great site with a very respected team behind it providing valuable information and help for a very unique industry that has just in the last 10 years started gain real credibility. I can assure this is a career that many would gladly swap jobs for, it has its ups and downs but ultimately it is a good career that can pay well.

Sorry if I am too cutting but I know I am not alone on this and I am concerned for the reputation of this site and our business.

Wait!! Give the girls a minute to get their beards on…..ok start throwing the rocks.

[Anonymous]

HI digitellus
Can i ask why you did not come up with this before?

[James McLauchlan]

Sorry if I am too cutting but I know I am not alone on this and I am concerned for the reputation of this site and our business.

It’s not too cutting but is definitely a constructive post. I agree with your comments and it was an element of that which prompted me to start the thread.

[James McLauchlan]

HI digitellus
Can i ask why you did not come up with this before?

I’m sure digitellus will respond, so I am not answering for him, but giving it some thought I can imagine why…. probably for the reason hinted at in the very last paragraph of his post.

The comments being initiated by a Forum admin may have had something behind them which not quite so many people might question with… ‘who the F**k do you think you are saying that?’.

I lead with the notion and digitellus followed up, in effect agreeing with the reasoning behind my post. Disagree by all means, but I feel he is quite correct in his point about some individuals making stupid posts and giving the impression through this forum that people in this game are:

convincing some employers that some ROV crew are not really the full shilling, not proffessional and not responsible enough

Please tell me if that is an incorrect assumption based on half of what we see posted around here.

This website is a minefield of information brought about and maintained through the hard work of a few people. Over the last 6 years those people have given their time setting it up and running it purely for the benefit of others. Yes, it now makes some money through advertising (that covers cost without a problems which is one reason why the PayPal sponsorship has been removed now) but make no mistake the site did not come about, nor exist today, for that reason.
Years ago it was a few static pages and a very active forum. These days it is the full blown Content Management System with Gina and I as admin’s maintaining and running the site behind the scenes along with a few other key players.. Ron from RON’s ROV Links, being a notable contributor by adding just about all the industry news which probably many of you read.

So, if the rest of the site contains useful constructively presented information then why the hell should the forum not be the same?

More often that not bashing peoples posts seems to be the norm these days. It wasn’t like that when we first started and I am somewhat jacked off that it is rapidly degenerating into a kiddies playground.

Personally I would rather we had just 10 constructive posts a month than that 200 that are average or pure crap. But somewhere in there is a balance that would be nice to see.

[digitellus]

Hi Deepdown,
The reason I have taken so long to say this is the same reason that some people wont or are reluctant to post. You sort of take a big deep breath then push submit waiting for the stupid comments to start flying at you. James is the first and only one i have read saying "enough"

[James McLauchlan]

James is the first and only one i have read saying "enough"

I am a great believer in freedom of speech which is why this Forum has had so much leaway in the past. I knew things were getting a little off beat when I had to shut down a few accounts and delete a number of posts in the last 12 months. Many of those actions related to abuse directed towards individuals. It the 5 or so years prior to that, if I remember correctly, we deleted one or two posts and one account. We then had to add forum rules. I then had to start sending people PM’s to ask them to not be such a prat.

So, as I said things have most obviously changed and something need to be done in an attempt to rectify the situation.

The house is going to be cleaned up gradually.
One thing that will be implemented, shortly, is removal of a tiered forum rank system for normal members.
Number of posts will also be removed from the forum post area. It will still show in the members list next to their username but you would need to go and check that as a separate action.

Very shortly there will be only be three positions in this Forum:

1) ROVworld Admin
2) ROVworld Webteam
3) Member.

That will be it.
The ‘Admin’ and ‘Webteam’ positions remain so that it will be obvious to some who is behind the scenes running the site.

The ‘number of posts’ removal is being introduced to cut out the temptation for people to post inane comments to each and very post for the sake of post numbers. Which of late has also been getting out of hand.

[Andy Shiers]

But half the people in the ROV industry are short of a shilling , Not proffessional and not responsibe !
This does not necessarily mean the Workers ( Offshore people ) but the Orifice personnnel as well .
I agree that some of the comments ( And I may have contributed to it myself in a light hearted way ) on here are childish , But a lot of the comments were actually to the point and voiced on the forum where they were supposed to be voiced.
In other words Keep your subjects where they are supposed to be kept.
All you newbies wanting to get into the proffesion , Read where you are supposed to read ( The links are quite idiot proof ) Before asking stupid questions which invariably get stupid remarks back.
I also find the Private message service on here ideal for keeping in touch with work collegues and mates :).
I am not posting this to go into a slagging match or a debate , just voicing my concerns the same as you !
The ROV ( And Survey ) Industry is growing at a ridiculous rate ! More and more people think this is the quick and easy way to big bucks !
It’s the people who think Big Bucks and don’t necessarily like what we do or DO NOT Have the experience Or WILL NEVER have the right mentality to work in this type of industry that is screwing up the rates Big TIME !
Alot of countries are heading for a resesion due to what we are affiliated with and the Bubble WILL Burst 😯
There will be A LOT of people made redundant ! They will then want or need to go Freelance to stay in the industry That will then put pressure on Me as I am a Mercenary More people Less jobs Creates a drop in day rate.
How do I know ! Because it has happened twice before since I came in to the industry.
To ALL newbies , Good luck in getting a job , READ the FAQ’s before asking Stupid questions , PM people is better.
Agencies , Post your jobs and by all means leave the rate out but put all Other relevant info on the post , If you don’t People get suspicious and think you are trying to screw them ! As most of the ROV/Survey Agencies have done in the past ! And yes I have worked for most of you so I DO know what I mean !
Don’t Bullshit a Bullshitter 🙂 This field is too small to not get noticed ! There are not that many Bulls in it 😀

[liddelljohn]

In fairness to the agency concerned ,perhaps the job was a last minute panic, we all know these things happen for the best of reasons , and with an African country involved its even more likely .

[James McLauchlan]

In fairness to the agency concerned ,perhaps the job was a last minute panic, we all know these things happen for the best of reasons , and with an African country involved its even more likely .

Exactly. The jobs are posted to bring the agency and the ROV tech together. No matter if it’s short notice, plenty of notice or a hell hole location on offer.. the decision to contact the agency is down to the individual. Of course that person can be helped to reach the correct decision by taking onto account what they read on this site.. or they can ask a question if they are in doubt, but what needs to be curbed is the incessant bashing of posted jobs. I think the point has been made now. Lets see how things progress.

[TEAMJBR]

The one problem that this thread does not address is that on here an agency has to be a little bit vague only to deter the dispirit from gaining a direct phone call advantage circumventing them! I have previous been on both sides of the fence needing bodies and also then ringing the manager direct with my own Ltd company and after getting off the phone with the full details offering my services under their rate etc. bla bla same same merry go round (18 years in). So treat the jobs on offer here within the forum as ones that ARE HARD TO FILL!! any takers please, pretty please.
Most of the people in the know, know the inside scoop so make a decision then leave the rest of you to ask stupid questions about it. Its nice to see Lostboy reminding James with a serious post for a change who are the people in the industry and that if you moderate too much people will leave as in the Labour Party, nobody likes the guy in charge if he just doesn’t quite get the current mood?
If all the newbies training involved us old guys giving you a greet on a website before you went offshore please class that as a let off. The amount of mental vitriol you will receive when you do, will funnily enough make you rant off posts like this at the Slightest Victor Meldrew moment after some years in!

James our Moderator (Big site or not) start telling these whingers to grow some nuts for Gods sake before they get offshore PLEASE.

[Author]

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