The "too many moderators" myth.

Time Magazine

Overheal wrote: »

I just am pretty sure the criteria changes over time, its not exactly like playing The Game now is it?

I think the process has always been "We need a mod for forum X, who'd be good at that?"

Nevyn

Overheal wrote: »

Sexual?

That is one of the oldest injokes tbh

Overheal wrote: »

Sure thaed i dont pretend to 'know' the process, no need to get holier than thou. I just am pretty sure the criteria changes over time, its not exactly like playing The Game now is it?

What makes you think that it has changed ?

Overheal wrote: »

PS I just lost the game (and so did you)

Nope I don't play it.
I have my own far more fun ones to play.

Nerin

Overheal wrote: »

Sexual?

No. But not from lack of trying

DeVore

I dont look at postcounts or join dates when appointing mods. In fact I really dont look at them, ever.

I look for an even handed person, preferably with a knowledge of the topic and a capacity to communicate clearly.

After that we try and teach them how to mod and how to build a community and a lot of other things. Its hard work for the mods to be honest and the users can sometimes make things harder. All it takes is one "uppity" user who thinks THEY should have been mod and who becomes passive aggressive as a result, to force the mod to slap them and tear their hair out.

Are mods all saints? By no means but they are human and we have a duty to try and guide them as best as possible, but there arent any Dummies Guide To Running a Community Website. We're making this up as we go!



DeV.

GoneShootin

DeVore wrote: »

but there arent any Dummies Guide To Running a Community Website

How could you forget the ZOTM!

John Mason

i guarantee you i could have 30,000+ post and never be made mod of any forum

i have seen loads of people join and be made mods after a few months with very low posts counts and i say fair play to them.

people just need to out a bit more and stop getting their knickers in a twist.

this place some times just reminds me of the playground, everyone is best friends and then one person get made head girl/boy and then everyone hates them and goes out of their way to make their hell

grow up, i say

i have a problem with 2 mods (actually i think one stepped down) but i just dont post in their forums anymore, its easy (not for them though, they lost some with brilliant knowledge and insight):cool:

humberklog

pink fluffy bunny wrote: »

i have a problem with 2 mods (actually i think one stepped down) but i just dont post in their forums anymore

Name and shame or we start guessing and that could be mental!


Mods SchhhMods I say. 4 stars doesn't mean we can't troll. I have noticed that my sh!t has stopped smelling since though. which is nice.

Time Magazine

DeVore wrote: »

Its a question of matrixes. We are trying to cut DOWN the number of cross references the servers do when forming a thread (its most common act).

If we have to check each post to see if it comes from a mod, then check if that thread is CURRENTLY in a forum that that person mods or doesnt mod and then write or not write the mod link....

Okay I know very little about databases, but are you sure it's that hard? I know you're an admin so you're a mod everywhere, so you may not have noticed this... but whenever I click on a username on a forum I mod I get extra options (Ban this user, etc.) So obviously Boards "knows" I'm a mod there. Obviously it's checking if I'm of a certain user-class on that forum when it offers the drop down. Could it do something similar as I'm making a post?

DeVore

There are ways and means of mitigating this problem (the easiest being a reminder of the reach of authority, above the modded list) but I really dont think this is a huge issue. I'd rather spend Cults time on fixes and development and the CM's time on organising the education of n00bs, which would assist this problem and a load of others.

DeV.

Overheal

And you would pay someone money to do that?

Well I guess its a dublin position, so :rolleyes:

Time Magazine

DeVore wrote: »

I'd rather spend Cults time on fixes and development and the CM's time on organising the education of n00bs, which would assist this problem and a load of others.

As fair a point as ever.

Thought dropped into my head so before I forget, how's about if a noobie has just been banned from a forum then before they can proceed further a page comes up and says "Before you continue using this site, you must read this." And then up comes a nice explanatory note along the lines of the original post of this thread explaining the rules a little bit. It'd save the "Look I know you're new, but..." PMs I (and I'm sure other mods) send every now and again.

corkstudent

Most of my friends on boards (kaimera, Petee, rmacm, sceptre, 440Hz) are mods. I have zero interest in being one, from talking to them. I respect what they do, but know I don't have the patience or will power to do it.

Where does patience or willpower come into it?

Mods are likely chosen based on how much time they spend on boards. This is mostly because boards does not want legal issues and having moderators that can clean up such things on sight is of preference.

Either way, moderators have no qualifications and often little restraint. The disposition of a moderator often seems civil on the front, but that's simple, you just pick faux-civil people to be moderators to begin with. Most mods are all too quick with the ban hammer, 2 week bans for first offenders, things like that. Very, very few forums outside of boards are this strict, and I wish people would realise this; and that includes very very active forums.

There are no admirable qualities of the boards mods. As much as most internet forums are bad, boards mods are still distinctly below average. If people got out a bit more and realised how much better things can be, they wouldn't be amazingly impressed at a moderator staff that have several memebrs that ban for stated reasons like "your posts suck" "calling someone a racist".

The moderators on this board AREN'T moderators, just rule mongerers. Moderators actually moderate, mediate a discussion. Locking threads and banning people is not what a moderator, ideally, is meant to do.

Some of the best forums I've seen have no rules to begin with.

Silverfish

Maybe stick to those forums then.

I hate eggs. So I don't eat eggs.

What I would be doing if I was you is eat eggs, then bitching and crying and moaning about it.

Kiera

Forum moderator, a person given special powers to enforce the rules on an Internet forum or newsgroup. Boards is a private site. There are rules. The mods are here to enforce the rules. They mod this site for "free" and do a bloody good job too.

You've got a bee in your bonnet cause you were banned from a forum and now you think by ranting in Feedback that you are going to make everyone leave? Grow up and stop this little temper dance you insist on doing.

Nevyn

corkstudent wrote: »

Either way, moderators have no qualifications and often little restraint. The disposition of a moderator often seems civil on the front, but that's simple, you just pick faux-civil people to be moderators to begin with. Most mods are all too quick with the ban hammer, 2 week bans for first offenders, things like that. Very, very few forums outside of boards are this strict, and I wish people would realise this; and that includes very very active forums.

There are no admirable qualities of the boards mods. As much as most internet forums are bad, boards mods are still distinctly below average.

Please present your data, statistics to back up your conclusion.
Have you even interacted with 30% of the 600 mods on this site ?

corkstudent wrote: »

The moderators on this board AREN'T moderators, just rule mongerers. Moderators actually moderate, mediate a discussion. Locking threads and banning people is not what a moderator, ideally, is meant to do.

Darling mods are not here to 'chair' the debate.

corkstudent wrote: »

Some of the best forums I've seen have no rules to begin with.

Just because 4chan is your cup of tea it's not everyone's.

Karl Hungus

Please cut out your infantile tantrums, Corkstudent. All you're doing is making yourself look foolish.

corkstudent wrote: »

The moderators on this board AREN'T moderators, just rule mongerers.

Yes. We sell rules. We're set up next to the fish mongers in the market. :rolleyes:

corkstudent wrote: »

Moderators actually moderate, mediate a discussion. Locking threads and banning people is not what a moderator, ideally, is meant to do.

Seriously, do you put any thought into what you're writing, or are you just using words you like the sound of?

Often, discussion is mediated by locking threads and/or banning people, or do you not believe that dissuading/removing people who wish to disrupt and impede said discussion mediates it?

corkstudent wrote: »

Some of the best forums I've seen have no rules to begin with.

Yeah, you go right ahead and try to start an actual discussion on /b/ and see how far you get before pictures of Joseph Fritzl telling you to get the **** out and pictures of some guy's anus.

And you're the same kind of person who gave out about the cat pics on feedback. I was very tempted to simply post this picture as a response to your post, showing you the irony of holding up a system without moderation while berating the the job the mods of this site do to make sure that discussion can continue unimpeded, but you wouldn't get it:

Overheal

If Mods were picked by how much time they spent on the site.... well then :rolleyes:

brendansmith

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Did you do this yourself?

Its very good!

--amadeus--

Wow someone's Mummy didn't warm thier milk last night...

corkstudent wrote: »

Where does patience or willpower come into it?

Mods are likely chosen based on how much time they spend on boards. This is mostly because boards does not want legal issues and having moderators that can clean up such things on sight is of preference.

I spend a fair amount of time here but not as much as lots of people who aren't mods. And you are so wide of the mark on how Mods are chosen it's not funny.

corkstudent wrote: »

Either way, moderators have no qualifications and often little restraint. The disposition of a moderator often seems civil on the front, but that's simple, you just pick faux-civil people to be moderators to begin with. Most mods are all too quick with the ban hammer, 2 week bans for first offenders, things like that. Very, very few forums outside of boards are this strict, and I wish people would realise this; and that includes very very active forums.

I have been a mod for a while now and I have issued 1 infraction, no bans and locked (I think) 1 thread. Outside the heavy traffic forums (PI, AH, Soccer) or the volatile ones (Politics, Christianity) I would imagine that most Mods are like me - but why let facts get in the way of a good old fashioned rant!

And very, very few forums outside boards are as popular. In fact in this country there aren't any. What you are doing is the equivalent of saying to Tescos "yes you sell a lot of stuff but I don't like the way you do it so ignore the other customers cos I'm right!". If you're not happy vote with your feet (or browser) and if you're right everyone wil follow. Please don't let the door hit you on the way out!

corkstudent wrote: »

There are no admirable qualities of the boards mods. As much as most internet forums are bad, boards mods are still distinctly below average. If people got out a bit more and realised how much better things can be, they wouldn't be amazingly impressed at a moderator staff that have several memebrs that ban for stated reasons like "your posts suck" "calling someone a racist".

The moderators on this board AREN'T moderators, just rule mongerers. Moderators actually moderate, mediate a discussion. Locking threads and banning people is not what a moderator, ideally, is meant to do.

Some of the best forums I've seen have no rules to begin with.

You've never seen my forum. You have never interacted with me in any way. Yet I am below average? There are between 400 - 600 Mods on here, have you interacted with every other mod, on all of teh specialist forums? Or are you just making rash and unfounded assumptions and accusations?

javaboy

--amadeus-- wrote:

You've never seen my forum. You have never interacted with me in any way. Yet I am below average? There are between 400 - 600 Mods on here, have you interacted with every other mod, on all of teh specialist forums? Or are you just making rash and unfounded assumptions and accusations?

Unfortunately corkstudent has gone the way of asbestos fire proofing, CFCs and that ad for Garnier Neutralia that showed a nipple, and will no longer be available to take your questions.

--amadeus--

javaboy wrote: »

Unfortunately corkstudent has gone the way of asbestos fire proofing, CFCs and that ad for Garnier Neutralia that showed a nipple, and will no longer be available to take your questions.

I LOVED that ad

I guessed he had, I was kind of being rhetorical... must go lurk in Prison and wait for him...

Beruthiel

corkstudent was a rereg.

Steve

How long did he get?
Seems banlist.php is broken or has been disabled.

Edit: thanks Beruthiel, permban then I assume.

tbh

SteveC wrote: »

How long did he get?
Seems banlist.php is broken or has been disabled.

Eternity.