Lads ye need to start advertising for mods

The fact of the matter is moderators are given certain access that posters aren't. They have the ability to ban, shut down threads, issue warnings etc. They have access to administrators to find out if a poster is a rereg of someone else, has previous history etc. As a moderator you are given privileges and information that posters don't have.

So like it or not, consideration has to be given to who is given that background access. I know it has been suggested here to just add a load of moderators and then remove them if it turns out they're no good. That's all well and good, but randomly giving many people privileged access and just crossing fingers and hoping it works out isn't the best idea. Indeed when a poster is considered, their posting background looked into, discussion as to if they'd be a good mod or not and eventually approved it can still turn out to be a bad decision with the moderators "abusing their power" as is a regular complaint here.

Life and society has drastically changed in the past 20 years. There is a general level of hostility, anger, entitlement and bitterness across all of society. Boards.ie is contending with all of these attitudes too. And oftentimes the people who feel all of the above feel entitled to come on to an internet forum and spill it all out. The moderators then have to try decipher what's a valid point and what's just pure bile.

Most often the ones spilling all the hostility, anger, entitlement and bitterness get very offended when asked to tone it down. Being a moderator on Boards.ie is a difficult and thankless job. Anyone on here who does it, does it with the belief that they are helping to keep what was once a fantastic space going. You can't please everyone, all of the time. The vast majority of posters just want to engage in discussion. Have a bit of craic, debate, whatever, as a spot of entertainment while the telly is on in the background. But a sizeable minority want to fight, argue, accuse, be offended and horrified by every day modern society and then accuse the mods of "abusing their powers" if they ask them to tone it down and understand and acknowledge why they are being pulled up on it.

As I always say to posters who vehemently argue about how terrible the site is, or how awful the moderators, or how it's such a hole of a place... Nobody forces anybody to log in. Nobody is forcing anyone to be here. It's a privately run forum with rules. Like any other group or organisation to be a member you are expected to abide by the rules. If you come in to any group and decide that you are going to insist on your own rules then it's likely you are going to be pulled up on it. If you agree you overstepped the mark, and agree to be more aware of your behaviour in future then it's likely everyone just moves on and forgets it. If you insist on being a dick and insisting you're right and everyone else is wrong, you're likely going to be asked to not come back to the group.

It's really not that difficult. And it always seems to only be the people who insist on being difficult are the ones complaining about the "abuse of power".

The dispute resolution forum is there for everyone to avail of. Personally, I think my rate of overturning warnings and infractions or bans is about 50/50.. I have overturned probably as many as I have upheld. I have overturned warnings from posters who had "previous" sometimes to the annoyance of the moderators who issued the warning.

Of course previous warnings and infractions have to be considered. If you have caused trouble in a forum and have been asked to amend your posting style, but don't, and cause trouble again then of course previous warnings and discussions need to be brought into it. Otherwise you just have moderators repeating the same warning to the same people who repeatedly ignore it.

It's no secret that warnings and bans are incremental. If you've had a 1 point warning in a forum and come to the mods attention again then you can expect a 2 point warning etc.

For anyone who finds it difficult bringing it back to "don't be a dick" should focus the mind.