YOUR BUILDER!

Michelle · Jan 23, 2008 9:18 pm

I have been a member of this forum now for just over a year and a half.

I realise how much we like to use the forum as a “sounding post” for all our building problems. I have seen it over and over again.

BUT…in the interest of mainly yourself, you might like to refrain from actually saying your builder’s name!

I myself have made comments that were very unprofessional of me, and I apologise for doing so.

It is very important that you stress your concerns; we want to help everyone on the forum and answer your questions among each other. That’s what this forum is for. But to protect yourself and the forum owners it’s wise to leave out the builders or companies name.

I’m all for having a moan about things that are wrong and not to standard, that’s no secret here. BUT……for your own protection please do not mention names.

As a moderator and long time member of the forum, I am happy to answer questions relating to my post.

VJ · Jan 23, 2008 9:36 pm

How about the links to our builder's website?
Is it best to remove them?
Isn't that some kind of free promotion for them?

How about photos from their display homes.. can we include them on our blog? :roll:

Michelle · Jan 23, 2008 9:42 pm

I’m not talking about your blogs.
That’s your own concern.

It’s what’s said directly on the forum.

Your builder could only be happy that you have promoted his website and photos of their work.
Problem there if he isn’t, his not the forums.

PhoenixStar · Jan 23, 2008 9:51 pm

I have to admit, my builder is well aware of what i say on the forum AND on my blog...their staff and management read both regularly....

We have an agreement as to what can be said and what can't.....within reason. We signed a confidentiality agreement, but our builder has let us put information on both mediums to tell our story....and we appreciate that.

When they asked for something to be removed in the past (and they have), there has been a good enough reason behind it.

I am only willing to accommodate my builder and in return, they accommodate me/us and my rants..... :wink:

I think it is a fine line and ultimately it comes down to good communication between both parties....

They should have nothing to fear if all is done as it is supposed to... but i still say if you are not sure, then err on the side of caution and leave the names out.... because everyones circumstances are different....

Michelle · Jan 23, 2008 10:01 pm

**Phoenix**

When they asked for something to be removed in the past (and they have), there has been a good enough reason behind it.

I am only willing to accommodate my builder and in return, they accommodate me/us and my rants..... :wink:

I think it is a fine line and ultimately it comes down to good communication between both parties....

This is a very important statement P…..

Good communication… before you use the forum as the place to put your grievance, speak to your builder first. If he doesn’t come good with solving the issue then you might like to state the problem here.

Without using their name of course.

SouthBris · Jan 23, 2008 10:19 pm

If someone is ranting on here then there is probably a good reason for it... If its bad enough that they want it removed from a forum then you probably have a very nice story that the media would love to hear about.

I think it's good that ******* builders get their name shunned when they do the wrong thing. If they rip you off for $1000 and you post it here then they may lose a contract worth $50000 in profit. While I agree that it may put you at some risk, I would hate people to feel too intimidated to share their experience.

Michelle · Jan 23, 2008 10:26 pm

SouthBris….I totally agree!

But the owners of the forum and the person doing the ranting could be up for more than they bargained for thanks to the internet and who’s watching!

As I have said on another post….so much for freedom of speech!

DeeElle · Jan 23, 2008 11:42 pm

Michelle

SouthBris….I totally agree!

But the owners of the forum and the person doing the ranting could be up for more than they bargained for thanks to the internet and who’s watching!

As I have said on another post….so much for freedom of speech!

Its a sad indictment of the Australian way of life if we cant express ourselves on a forum when we have experienced something negative with a builder. I agree that if a builder has nothing to be ashamed of ... then they shouldn't be too concerned about what is said. :evil:

Maybe they havent heard of the saying ... 'any press is good press'!

We work in human services and some ppl like you and others don't. You cant please everyone. But we would never take away someones right to complain ... sometimes its the only power that consumers have in redressing the power imbalance :shock:

.

AND After all... we are spending an awful lot of money to get a quality product when we are building.

I'd like to see this taken to the Courts ... I'm sure the builder would get nowhere particularly if the complaint could be substantiated. It is scare tactics and the builder responsible should be ashamed of him/herself.

BTW which builder/s are we talking about :wink:

<joking

:>

ahuang · Jan 24, 2008 12:05 am

**Phoenix**

I have to admit, my builder is well aware of what i say on the forum AND on my blog...their staff and management read both regularly....

We have an agreement as to what can be said and what can't.....within reason. We signed a confidentiality agreement, but our builder has let us put information on both mediums to tell our story....and we appreciate that.

Hi Phoenix,

Would you mind reveal a bit of what are the things you can and can't say, if it doesn't violates your agreement? I am quite interested to know a bit more on that.

If it's inconvenient to say that publicly, please PM me. Thanks a lot!

Jet79 · Jan 24, 2008 7:23 am

I totally understand that in this age of "let's sue everyone" it is becoming harder and harder to find information on the web. I originally started on this forum to see if the builder I was considering was a bad builder and if others were having the same issues that I was. I wouldn't have been able to do it if there was no names.

I find it really interesting when people ask "what do you think of *******?" They are the posts that helped me a lot to choose a builder and also when friends have chosen a builder I can come back on to the forum and search what people say about them. I really think the building companies need to grow up and see that most of the gripes people have are little ones and if they are major THERE IS A REASON FOR IT!!! and the builders should be happy to take notes and improve their business.

Jet

Justin · Jan 24, 2008 10:18 pm

I feel that the increasing reluctance of users, moderators and owners of this forum to name builders and businesses is truly sad to see.

There is an enormous difference between defamation, and stating an actual fact. It's unfortunate that a lot of posts start off in the vein of reporting a fact (e.g the carpenter didn't turn up until 3 days after he said he would), but then they diverge into defamation territory that is opinon based rather than fact based (e.g the carpenter was late again, he's always late, so unprofessional, etc etc etc).

I feel that this board is unique and incredibly empowering for the average person (who is usually completely at the mercy of their builders) PROVIDED it is used in an appropriate way. By appropriate I mean not slanderous or defamatory. As far as I'm aware (and I'd love to hear from any lawyers on this), comments cannot be construed or proven as defamatory, slanderous or libelous if they are statements of fact and you have evidence to prove that they are indeed a fact.

I feel that the sticky on forum behaviour should be expanded to mention that people must be careful of naming names, as there are significant potential legal issues if what is written cannot be proven as fact. Overall, I feel that people should be encouraged to tell the truth. Not an opinion or a partial version of the truth, but the hard, cold, light of day reality. I also feel that this forum would lose much of it's relevance if business names are never included in these posts. Where does it stop - if builder's names are removed, what about product names ? If only positive comments are allowed, does this board then become an "advertorial" mouthpiece for the building industry ?

I hope my post generates a storm of commentary, because this is a worthy topic to debate. Building a house is such a stressful situation, it effects a huge part of your life. I'm sure others feel the same way that I do, in that this forum is from time to time a like beacon of light, in times when you feel like you're in a pretty deep, dark hole. I hope that this beacon doesn't deliberately dim itself.

Respectfully,

Justin.

Michelle · Jan 25, 2008 9:14 am

Good post Justin!

Jet79 · Jan 25, 2008 9:21 am

I second that!!! Good post Justin

Casa2 · Jan 25, 2008 9:27 am

I'll third that. If we all did as Justin suggested this forum would be an even better source of information for us.

I, like many others, keep coming to this forum to learn, find out what great products are out there, hear about people's experiences and find out which builders are performing and which are lacking.

Cheers,
Casa

Toast · Jan 25, 2008 11:07 am

As a relative n00b to this forum, I find it a bit disheartening to read this policy. For folks like me who know nothing about building, we rely heavily on the information found in places like this.

Reading a post that says, "AVOID **** AT ALL COSTS" is obviously going to get someone in trouble. But a warts and all post containing the truths of a situation should not attract any unwarranted legal attention, purely because it's not slanderous or libellous if it is true!

Of course, the threat of legal action is all that is required to silence those who want to speak the truth.... in this day and age it doesn't matter who is right or wrong, it's just who has the better lawyer.

Michelle · Jan 25, 2008 11:25 am

You know people……there are ways to get around it!

You just have to be creative! :shock:

SouthBris · Jan 29, 2008 1:00 am

I edited my previous posts to be **Creative**

https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=4505
https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=4950