Mods, friends and reporting posts

Iwannahurl

Does the Friends feature inevitably signify a real-life or virtual connection between members?

If the connection is a genuine one, does it imply loyalty?

If there is a loyalty factor, would it be unreasonable to imagine a situation in which a Mod favours someone on their friends list if any dispute or other conflict arises, eg in the case of a post being reported?

OutlawPete

Vast majority of mods can be objective and impartial, but unfortunately you will inevitably get some that can not.

Such is life.

Zaph

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Does the Friends feature inevitably signify a real-life or virtual connection between members?

I'd say it depends on the person, there's no way of knowing or even making a sweeping generalisation with any certainty. I have 28 friends, exactly half of whom I've met in real life, and several of them only briefly at beers. Some, on the other hand, I would consider close personal friends.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

If the connection is a genuine one, does it imply loyalty?

I'd imagine everyone is loyal to their actual, as opposed to virtual friends. However that's not to say they can't be loyal to all.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

If there is a loyalty factor, would it be unreasonable to imagine a situation in which a Mod favours someone on their friends list if any dispute or other conflict arises, eg in the case of a post being reported?

Honestly? Who knows? I'd say yes, it's possible, but equally possible is that they'd favour someone who's a close personal friend but for whatever reason isn't on their Boards list of friends. I'd like to think that where a mod is a friend of one party to a dispute that they'd stand aside and ask a co-mod or CMod to intervene. But mods are only human and we have the same flaws and failings as everyone else, so it is possible that some would not. However we do expect that a mod can stand over and justify any decisions they make should one end up being challenged in the Dispute Resolution Forum, for example. That's not to say we get it right all the time and a decision could be overturned, but at least there'll have been a proper thought process behind it and not just "I banned you because you slagged my mate off" or whatever.

Iwannahurl

Thanks for those insights.

My general difficulty is knowing how seriously to take these things, it being the Interweb and all!

On the one hand, it's all just a bit of virtual jousting.

On the other hand, doing the wrong kind of jousting can get you banned, which indicates that Mods do take things seriously when they want to.

Pursue a perceived grievance through the formal channels and you risk being (seen as) obsessive, as well as putting perhaps unwelcome pressure on Boards resources.

Respond in like manner to a perceived aggressor in-thread and you risk being banned by a Mod who may actually be defending someone on their friends list...

Zaph

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Pursue a perceived grievance through the formal channels and you risk being (seen as) obsessive, as well as putting perhaps unwelcome pressure on Boards resources.

If it's a genuine grievance, then you will not be criticised for appealing. Where problems arise is when someone refuses to accept the final CMod or admin ruling and persists with their complaint, or where the appeal is purely vexatious and the appellant knows they have no chance of having it overturned but still want to get a dig in.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Respond in like manner to a perceived aggressor in-thread and you risk being banned by a Mod who may actually be defending someone on their friends list...

They may be defending a friend, but it's just as likely, in fact more likely given the numbers on Boards, that they'll be defending someone who isn't a friend. Abuse is not permitted under any circumstances, and if you have a problem with a post you report it rather than taking matters into your own hands. That way you don't get into trouble as a result of someone else's mischief.

Iwannahurl

Zaph wrote: »

Abuse is not permitted under any circumstances, and if you have a problem with a post you report it rather than taking matters into your own hands. That way you don't get into trouble as a result of someone else's mischief.

I reported the post, which was annoying and IMO personal but hardly in the top echelon of abuse seen on Boards.

My dissatisfaction has now to do with the (IMO) glib, dismissive and disingenuous response from one Mod, and the complete silence and inaction of another.

The former mod is on the latter's friends list, as is the author of the post that I reported.

Zaph

I'd suggest you PM the appropriate CMods and ask them to have a look at it for you.

Overheal

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Does the Friends feature inevitably signify a real-life or virtual connection between members?

If the connection is a genuine one, does it imply loyalty?

If there is a loyalty factor, would it be unreasonable to imagine a situation in which a Mod favours someone on their friends list if any dispute or other conflict arises, eg in the case of a post being reported?

Not that I mod per se but I do report posts frequently. People on my friends list are mostly posters I've found interesting or agreeable. Putting them on the list is a good mnemonic for remembering familiar faces and names in thread but it wouldn't stop me from reporting an objectionable post, no. For instance if a post had content I agreed with but insulted another member I'd likely report it.

Hey Snow Monkey, wtf you been? I havent seen that lady post in like... years.

Gary ITR

When I was moderating I actually came down a little harder on people I know personally. I (rightly or wrongly) felt they should have known better and were letting me down. In one case I banned my housemate

So I think looking at the 'friends' list can be a little misleading

Raphael

Gary ITR wrote: »

When I was moderating I actually came down a little harder on people I know personally. I (rightly or wrongly) felt they should have known better and were letting me down. In one case I banned my housemate

So I think looking at the 'friends' list can be a little misleading

I do the same if someone I know ****s up in my forums - But more so because I don't want anyone to think I'm cutting friends slack then letting me down - Likewise if anything to do with the society I ran comes up. That or defer to a co-mod.

It's conceivable that a mod could let his mates away with whatever, but when a mod has that little regard for their job, there's much worse things they could do.

stovelid

Obviously not a mod nor have a I ever had a genuine conflict with one but I assume it must be the case sometimes on a site tis size.

As somebody said, such is life. Unless you can prove it, all you can reasonably hope for is that is doesn't happen a lot.

hondasam

It's good to see some mods here who are honest about it happening,it's human nature to want to defend your friends etc.
I don't think it happens much but it does happen. No one is perfect.

Chinafoot

The friends list is one feature I didn't think anyone paid any attention to. I certainly don't. I couldn't even tell you who is on mine without looking.

Its not like facebook where you would need to have the "friend" realtionship in order to contact each other so I certainly wouldn't assume that these connections indicate some sort of real life relationship, nor would I assume there is an implied loyalty.

coffee_cake

being bold is being bold, friend, OH, or otherwise :pac:

I have some people on my friendslist i might have just added just because, rather than because we're all best buddies.

warnings/infractions for all...

TheZohanS

I think having the reported posts going to a sub-forum of the moderator forum of a forum might be an idea...if that makes sense. It would certainly stop outside influence.

Steve

TheZohan wrote: »

I think having the reported posts going to a sub-forum of the moderator forum of a forum might be an idea...if that makes sense. It would certainly stop outside influence.

They already do - there is complete transparency there.

Personally, I've no issue with applying the same rules to anyone on my friends list as is not. What counts in my book is purely past contributions to the forum when considering what to do.

In any case, any mod worth his salt that is faced with a situation where a mate is causing trouble should back away and pass it to a co-mod or cmod to deal with.

TheZohanS

Steve wrote: »

They already do - there is complete transparency there.

Personally, I've no issue with applying the same rules to anyone on my friends list as is not. What counts in my book is purely past contributions to the forum when considering what to do.

In any case, any mod worth his salt that is faced with a situation where a mate is causing trouble should back away and pass it to a co-mod or cmod to deal with.

What I meant was that reported posts for AH, for example, go to a sub-forum of the AH Mod Forum and are dealt with there. Or has that already been implemented?

Steve

TheZohan wrote: »

What I meant was that reported posts for AH, for example, go to a sub-forum of the AH Mod Forum and are dealt with there. Or has that already been implemented?

No they all go the the same place.

Zaph

Only a handful of forums have their own mod forums, so it couldn't work without opening hundreds more.

Sharpshooter

Gary ITR wrote: »

When I was moderating I actually came down a little harder on people I know personally. I (rightly or wrongly) felt they should have known better and were letting me down. In one case I banned my housemate

So I think looking at the 'friends' list can be a little misleading

Straight down the middle.
Someone, *friend* thought they had free reign when I became an AHs mod.

Not so, if you break the charter/become a nuisance you will be treated like everyone else in the forum and if you take it badly, so be it.

By the book imo, whether the person is on your friend list or not, it's unfair to everyone else and if preferential treatment is given then the mod should step down.

_blank_

Before recent changes, I used to consider most of the Soccer Forum mods to be my friends, as in, I'd met them at least three or four times and had pints with them - some of them played for the football team at one stage or another.

If there was a post of mine that needed sanctioning, they'd sanction it, and I made a point of never discussing the moderation of me when I'd meet them in person, it wasn't a topic I'd want to discuss when out for pints or playing football, and it isn't fair on my friends to have to discuss Boards related stuff when out doing real life things.

Actually, just recently, I had the pleasure to meet one of the ex-Soccer Mods who started slagging me about something I'd posted, and I even asked him to leave it, we weren't there to talk about Boards.

Now, I'd expect the same treatment from my friends who are mods as they'd give to Joe Bloggs in the forums they mod, and I do think that has happened.

I also treat my friends the same in forums I mod. In fact, like others, I can sometimes be a little more harsh.

minidazzler

Gary ITR wrote: »

When I was moderating I actually came down a little harder on people I know personally. I (rightly or wrongly) felt they should have known better and were letting me down. In one case I banned my housemate

So I think looking at the 'friends' list can be a little misleading

Please tell me you went into their room and used a real life ban hammer, a soft one though, I don't want to know if you killed or seriously injured someone for a post.

LoLth

and we were doing so well.... post deleted.

I think it is possible to keep this discussion on topic without it desending into mod-bashing. Please try.

Malice

Personally I've got mostly people I know from real-life in my friends list plus a few others I would have interacted with through various forums on here. As a consequence of knowing them I would feel far more comfortable telling them to cop on should the need arise. Happily though I've never had to do that. I guess I must have mature friends .

looksee

Maybe I'm just a bof, but I don't get this 'friends' thing? If I knew people off-site possibly, but even then, why do you need to make a public announcement?

Malice

looksee wrote: »

Maybe I'm just a bof

A what?

tbh

Malice wrote: »

looksee wrote: »

Maybe I'm just a bof

A what?

boring old fart.

i think the friends thing is more so you can see who's online and search for posts more easily.

stupidusername

I don't normally get involved in this stuff in here, but this is something that comes to mind every so often for me.

There's a mod of a forum I post in that clearly has a problem with me which is nothing to do with any issues I've caused. The mod and I used to actually get on well before (PMing chat) but a poster that started posting in that forum kept making snipy remarks towards me, and she obviously had some problem with me. Now, the mod is friends with that poster on boards, and I would guess a little bit outside of boards too. Since the poster decided she had this problem, the mod also started getting bitchy with me on threads. there was a very obvious one that a number of posters pointed out on one thread, but I never reported it.

The thing is, this mod clearly took a disliking to me because of the new friend that he made, and so I will never report anything to him (especially because of the bitchiness he's had towards me). The unfortunate thing about that is he's one of the only active mods in that forum, and so if I had an issue it'd be pointless in PMing any other mod for it to be dealt with.

The other thing about this is, there are things here or there that were written that were about me, but hardly something you could report because well, it could be argued that it wasn't blatantly personal.

Anyway my point is yes it does happen, but when you can't prove the harassment is happening, well nothing is worth reporting. So there is at least one mod that is getting away with being a dick.

ETA, at one of the beers of this forum, this mod met one of my friends and told him to get out of the place. so no, it's really not just in my head.

Malice

stupidusername: have you reported any of this to their co-mod(s) and if there aren't any how about their Cat Mods?

Micky Dolenz

In my experience, there is no favouritism. In forums where there are a lot of mods, a person won't know them all. Worst case is a mod may decide not to mod a friend, but you can be sure if it's worthy of action another mod would pick it up.


If you think a particular mod has it in for you, a quiet PM to a Cmod linking to proof would be the best solution. If a mod is abusing their power it will be dealt with.

Steve

stupidusername wrote: »

Anyway my point is yes it does happen, but when you can't prove the harassment is happening, well nothing is worth reporting. So there is at least one mod that is getting away with being a dick.

The only way it can happen is through a mod either posting in public or by pm. Both can be reported and / or pm'd to a cmod or admin and dealt with - the mechanisms are there to deal with this if people want to avail of them .