Mod or Poster?

5starpool

I thought I'd post this in feedback so anyone can have their say, but in general do the mods of this site feel that on their forums they are:

a) Moderators first, posters second

or

b) Posters first, Moderators second.

Personally I think as an option b on this one, but sometimes standard posters seem to think that you should not be able to voice your opinion as freely as others. At least that's the impression I get.

Also, I don't really care what these type of people think, I just wanted to see if other people have thought about this. If nothing else, there may be some cracking cat pics that express peoples feelings.

Tar.Aldarion

I don't think one should come before an other. A mod is just a poster that is a janitor too.

gandalf

I know I post less on Politics as a moderator than I would as a user.

I would say I aspire to being B and would hope I succeed most of the time.

uberwolf

I think posting on a thread, and then having to moderate someone whose opinion happens to diverge from your own is leaving you in a troublesome spot.

I don't post in politics for the best part.

tbh

I think people have a overestimation as to what mods can actually do. I've hardly done any modding - deleted one or two posts which were reported, merged a couple of threads and banned one user. That's the majority of it, I mean I can't see IP addresses or real names or anything that anyone else can't see - and that's in the forum I mod. In other forums, there is nothing to distinguish me from any other poster - I don't have a secret way to talk to the mods, and I don't know anything about the way they mod their own fora - if there are a group of mods discussing, it'll be in their own private fora. So, in reality, being a mod is just like being the kid who stayed behind after school to clean the blackboard. It doesn't give you any significant advantage, and if you walk into another classroom and tried to push your weight around, you'd get a clatter.

Tar.Aldarion

He is just referring to fora that you moderate personally, I woiuld see myself as a normal user in a forum I moderate, and it's fairly clear what posts I put on a moderator hat for. I don't think you should feel that you can't post in your forum because you may be seen to be acting in your own interests. If you act fairly it will be clear to others.

Beruthiel

Tar wrote:

I don't think one should come before an other. A mod is just a poster that is a janitor too.

What she said

tbh

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

He is just referring to fora that you moderate personally, I woiuld see myself as a normal user in a forum I moderate, and it's fairly clear what posts I put on a moderator hat for. I don't think you should feel that you can't post in your forum because you may be seen to be acting in your own interests. If you act fairly it will be clear to others.

sorry - so he was. I'm deffo. A, pretty much everyone else who posts in the forum I mod knows more about the subject than me

Marksie

I post if i have an opinion, keep the two separate.
My posts would have been the same regardless.

smashey

I just post away as normal. Every now and again I have to move/delete/merge threads and issue the odd warning and/or ban or two.

Raphael

B here. If I need to put my mod hat on, I do. But I would think of myself as a regular poster on roleplaying who mods more than a mod who posts.

Asiaprod

Posters first, Moderators second. Occasionally get to move/delete/merge threads. Have issued a handful of warning and made a ban or two. Tis a labour of love and I am getting real good at cleaning the blackboard after the class has gone home:)

Anti

We are all the same at the end of the day. No difference between us.

r3nu4l

Raphael wrote:

B here. If I need to put my mod hat on, I do. But I would think of myself as a regular poster on roleplaying who mods more than a mod who posts.

Substitute Bowling for Role Playing and you have my answer

/Visits role playing forum!

ecksor

Eat moderation, sleep moderation, breathe moderation. Post bollox.

GuanYin

In retrospect, there is far too much pink in that Reading banner than is healthy for a heterosexual man.....

I'm just saying is all

Beruthiel

psi
Change the skin to minimalist, it's all grey and manly

ecksor wrote:

Eat moderation, sleep moderation, breathe moderation. Post bollox.

That's just you though eck, drop over to PI for suggestions on how to get a life

Gordon

I think he needs a doctor, Bru.

Seth Brundle

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

I don't think one should come before an other. A mod is just a poster that is a janitor too.

I agree.
And I know because being a mod my opinion is more valid than normal posters!

Anti wrote:

We are all the same at the end of the day. No difference between us.

So fingerprint and DNA technology are all myths? :eek:

cson

Anti wrote:

We are all the same at the end of the day. No difference between us.

You damn well know thats not true! What about the 5 fingers and the 7 toes?

Victor

Gordon wrote:

I think he needs a doctor, Bru.

Doctor?

Ruu_Old

After Hours turned me into the twisted monster you see before you (that and Oil of Olay) but it did make me stronger but was time to move onwards. Action isn't required a whole lot in the other forums I moderate now so more of a poster once again.

Zambia

I think modding and posting works well ... as long as the two dont merge in the one post or post immediatly after their standard comment.

i.e I think your pionts are wrong because x y z ... oh and now you are banned because they where also off charter.

Someone else will always pick up on the pionts they inputted.

Without the mods Boards would be a sad place

Zaph

It's all a conspiracy by the mods to make us think that A is B and B is A. They'll only be happy when they manage to get Sesame Street to change their alphabet song.

I think in general it's pretty easy to spot when a mod posts as a mod or a poster, and only those really looking to pick a fight would argue that the mods are abusing their position when they post as a regular user. There may be the odd time where the lines are a bit blurred, but mods are only human and can get p*ssed off with other users at times, just like the rest of us, without it being a mod issue, e.g. someone contradicting an earlier post of your's or calling you an idiot. I suppose the trick is not to be seen as being over-sensitive about your own posts when you're a mod.

nesf

If my post isn't warning somebody or banning somebody then I'm just posting as a regular user. It's pretty clear when I'm acting as a moderator and as a normal user imho.

nesf

Zambia232 wrote:

i.e I think your pionts are wrong because x y z ... oh and now you are banned because they where also off charter.

Generally in most cases, in my opinion, if you are going to ban somebody you shouldn't also argue against their post in the same post. That said, if someone posts something particularly idiotic then it's fair enough.

BrianCalgary

Poster first.

But with the job of moderating.

great bunch on the Christianity board. No one creates any real problems. Moderation is pretty easy.

OTK

moderators are very prominent on this site. I think they are more likely to know each other and have some community thing going on than your average poster. they do sterling work though and it makes them very happy and gives them a little role in the grand scheme of things.

oh wait you missed a bit. could one of you get a mop & clean up the spam in aisle 17? thanks.

Mr Magnolia

Even in the forum i moderate I'm a poster, the only time moderation is required is when there's a bit of editing or deleting.

Mr. Presentable

Out of curiosity, are there any mods who are not subscribers?

RoundyMooney

Yes. A few of us.

A lot of mods are, or have subscribe(d) at one time or another though.