A Moderate Proposal

[Marv21]

I think the mods mind themselves well, I have had one or two complaints by noting that a flame wars was going to commence, which I find to be kind of unfair, but now more mature, I realize that a probation was a fair and just punishment, but all the times I have seen the banhammer used it has been used on the side of Justice, and not on the side of Lulz(if you will)....our mods are responsible and I will go out of my way like I am now to tell them that they are doing a GREAT job!

 

[SimuLord]

My general reaction to getting modded has been "Oh, for fucksakes, you've got to be kidding me. THAT was moddable?"

But then again those moments have been thankfully few and far between---I can count them on one hand. And the outpouring of "that was bullshit" PMs I get from the rest of the community when I get nailed warms my very heart and soul (and in one case was the only reason I didn't ragequit the forum after a suspension).

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I haven't really had a problem with what the mods do except for a few times and that was when I was put on probation for the exact same thing the other person in the argument was doing to me which I found unfair. One time I proceeded to call someone a dick back after he called me one and I only got probation. Then during Zynga thing I got put on probation for flaming Zynga users for a post that was nothing to do with Zynga users in an argument when I just flaming Zynga. Other than that I haven't had a problem with mod action and even with that they were only probations so it's not that big of deal. I used to be an admin for a CoD 2 server back when I was playing with my old clan so I know it is not an easy job and I can't say they are doing a bad job.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

And of course we can?t leave the Mods out of the discussion, so if you are reading this let me ask you a couple questions. Why do you do it? Do you ever find yourself unable to do something for the forums or communities that you would love to do? How would you change the way Moderation is done?

Personally, I kinda have a soft-spot for the community here. I've been on the forums for over two years now, so I've grown pretty partial to the people here, by and large. Modding, in it's own way, helps them in a way I wouldn't be able to. Similar to [user]Aylaine[/user]'s Community Spotlight, I think helping is one of those things I could really do to make a positive impact. If I didn't really see it that way, I definitely wouldn't do it. Before anything else, though, I kinda do it for you folks.

Surprisingly, I'm seeing lots of little things I could've done better without needing to be a mod now that I am one. As a Mod, it becomes a question of what one has time for, and how one appears while doing what one has time for. Every couple of minutes I spend on these posts is several minutes I'm not sitting on reports, or using my free time to play a game, or anything like that. I don't have a report quota or anything, but I have a personal goal to try to shorten the number of unhandled reports at any given moment. It's not perfect, as I'm sometimes on the computer for only a few minutes at a time, but I still like to get some work done.

If I could change anything about moderation, I'd actually like some of the things said in this thread fixed a little. I'd prefer it if reports had text boxes where users could write what bothered them about the post, and why they felt it deserved reports. Also a place to put in their username - if they wanted - so that there could be discussions if anything was unclear, or needed addressing specifically. Sometimes, a digit of the number of times it was reported doesn't help me at all. I've seen posts reported in droves, but couldn't figure out why. I'd think, at some point, that could be fixed.

So, by extension of that, I'd like to ask some of the users here. If you have a problem with a particular thread or post, PM me about it. In terms of moderation, I am your personal army, and you're welcome to ask for my help. Granted, I work within the Guidelines, but if I can help in any way, I likely will.

One more thing before I go, and I know this is a little futile. "Report and move on," is the second best advice you can follow in any given action. Don't post in a bad thread, even if it's to warn everyone else in the thread about it. Just hit the report button. If it's from an older poster, or a friend, or something like that, feel free to shoot them a PM asking them to relax a little on the reportable offenses. Politely asking, especially as a user, has a much better effect on a person than a system message informing them they've been banned. Sometimes, a friendly word of advice is all that's needed, not a swift hit with a hammer. You guys have more power, in that way, than you think.

Mods can only kick down doors when it's needed. The users, on the other hand, really have the power to knock. It's surprising how much better received one is than the other.

 

[Hashime]

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of the mods out there who keep the forums a clean and civil place to spend my time. Thanks.

 

[Death_Korps_Kommissar]

Three cheers for the mods!
Hip,Hip!

 

[Ironic Pirate]

I love the mods here, although they sometimes delete the posts that got someone banned, which makes me physically shudder with curiosity. Right now I've been trying to find out why No more sanity and Max the Reaper were banned...

Anyway, the mods here may occasionally overreact, but overall they're awesome.

 

[tomtom94]

I've never seen anything on this forum banned/suspended that I disagreed with.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

The mods don't work like that. The mods decide what is right and what punishment best fits the crime. If you and your friends are reporting a guy none stop in hopes to get him trouble, he will only be punished if he broke one of the rules specified in the forum guidelines.

Once again, you're over analyzing the mod's actions. They don't ban or punish a user for a simple opinion, however, if that person made said opinion in hopes of attracting attention and to spark a flamewar, that is trolling and WILL be dealt with.

You're wishing for a lot more then is to be expected of the common user. The internet is mostly inhabited by teenagers and young adults, as such, you can expect immaturity. All communities need laws and a force to enforce those laws. I think the common man should be above violence in this world, but that doesn't mean violence will not occur.

Finally
You can love your Lolcats all you want...just keep them out of here, I can't stand the little vermin.

The problem is the only way the moderators know an infarction has taken place is that little report button.

The immaturity you cynically alluded to (which is a particular type that rubs me the wrong way), means every post gets reported at least once. Every single one. This one, that one, every one. Which means the vast majority of "reports" become little more than white noise actual infarctions must rise above. Which means, combined with a community demographic, moderator action becomes determined by "popularity."

Also, the problem with cynically expecting immaturity from anyone is you cannot expect something without automatically generating a level of tolerance for it. Its not so far as the simple act of prediction enables excuse, but something like genocide is only a horror when no one expects it. Its only a crime against humanity when it appears from the blue. Suicides aren't reported by the media because they're not news. As much as it shames me, yes, I am pretty much quoting the villain's rant from that superhero movie that was so popular a couple years ago... but that wasn't exactly on purpose.

Anyway, I was never that immature and that level of immaturity was never tolerated of me. Some people just need a good slap upside the head. Damned kids, on my lawn. *shakes cane*

They also scan the forums every now and again and as I said before, it doesn't matter how many reports a post gets. That simply means the masses don't like the post. It happens quite a bit actually. Moderators get the final say, not the people who report them. They are the judge and jury and executioner, not us. If there is something wrong with the post, if they truly feel that it breaks a forum rule, then they will punish that user or at the least give them a warning.

The reporting system does not work like that. 2 reports (All from different users might I add, so for those of you refreshing your page and reporting multiple times, it doesn't do anything.) to push it into the mod queue, all reports get looked at. Yes, that means the posts that are reported 500 times, get looked at at the same rate as the posts that was reported 5 times.

Right, and Immaturity from the younger generation that we see around us is to be expected. It doesn't come off as a surprise that we didn't see coming. I'm quite surprised how you used Genocide as an example as well. No amount of expecting something can wipe the horror from something. Everyone 'expected,' nuclear war during the Cuba Missile Crisis, that doesn't mean they weren't gonna start panicking.

As for the immaturity, it doesn't matter how mature or immature you were, but how mature or immature the general population is. And thank yous are in order. I've never been called a Cynic from someone who is a Cynical and a Skeptic.