Give some respect to the Moderators.

[valentine 10]

At the risk of been accused of crawling, I think the Mods do a good job, I haven't been a member very long but from what I have seen they do appear to be fair.

 

With the amount of members on SF it is obvious that a some point they will upset/offend somebody.

 

If the rules are so bad and the Mods so tough why are there so many members. It is a lot better than some forums I have been on.

 

On a slightly different note I have noticed that some members can be a lot more abrupt and off hand when it comes to some posts (especially with newbies).

 

And if wasn't for the mods there wouldn't be a forum

[JoeP 11]

Madowl - I don't know the postings in question, but sometimes something that a poster may regard as sarcastic might be read as offensive or even abusive by someone else, who then reports the post. And if the Mod who picks the report up isn't sure, he or she is most likely to pull it.

 

Most people manage to put up a fair amount of sarcasm in their threads without problems.

 

Owdlad - if you find something offensive, report the posting through channels and soemone will look at it.

 

Jamie - why do I moderate - because for me personally it's a means of helping build a community here, online. If people think I get off on teh power trip, that's OK - I can live with myself about it and I dare to think that most folks don't have that view of me.

 

Most Mods have to be almost nagged in to taking the job on.

 

Ban length, etc. does tend to be reasonably consistent amongst Mods because quite often we'll review a ban length before applying it. If someone thinks that a Mod has it in for them, then let Tony or I know through the Helpdesk. If you think Tony or I have it in for you, contact Geoff.

 

There is a list of users for each Moderator that they feel they would prefer not to moderate. The reasons may be friendship or emnity, and if a thread pops up requiring some attention, then another Mod. will pick up the thread.

 

To be frank, Jamie, we do what we can. We're not perfect.

 

Joe

[owdlad 10]

Originally posted by max

Not easy being a mod is it? We have to make these judgement calls all the time.

 

I wouldn't do it max, and I certainly wouldn't put up with all the abuse you lot get. and just for the record I agree with some of the decisions and disagree with others.

 

My main gripe is the inconsistency between one mod and the next, but that's surely down to training.

[Tony 10]

Originally posted by Jamie

I have some points and questions, directed to the mods and co-admins.

 

---

 

1. What, if any, mechanisms or guidelines do you have in place to ensure that all SF users, are treated the same, when it comes to reprimands and bans etc?

 

Such that any decision to ban, length of ban etc, is consistent with number of previous warnings, severity of crime etc, and not just because you personally dislike or don't see eye to eye with any given user.

 

I think consistency is very important here.

There are no hard and facts guidelines because it would be impossible to legislate for every situation. Most things like bans are discussed between the mods in a part of the website set aside for our use. In addition, Joe and myself discuss things in another part that the even the Mods don't see - in order to keep an overview. We tend to let the mod team get on with things unless there is a need for our input.

 

Most action does come around as a result of reports though.

 

The vast majority of bans are for 24 or 48 hours, and are usually used to encourage people to reflect on the reason for getting the ban.

 

Obviously, 'repeat and persistent offenders' attract more attention and are kept a closer eye on. If we need to take further action it's often the case that any ban is longer than the last one to try to get the persons attention that we mean it! Anyone that gets a ban of a week or more has to be trying really hard!

 

Originally posted by Jamie

2. Why do you moderate?

 

What's in it for you personally? Do you 'get off' on having power over the rest of us? Do you get 'miffed' about suggestions that you're only in it for the power trip?

Why not moderate? From a personal point of view it's really an extension of contributing. After being a member for such a long time you kind of run out of having so many things to say and helping to run the site is really just an extension of being a member. So, to answer by pointing your question back at you - for the same reasons as you.

 

Power trip? Hardly. I have enough to worry about and keep myself busy with. Miffed? Of course, but that's human nature - to criticise and to not enjoy being criticised,

[owdlad 10]

Originally posted by JoeP

 

Owdlad - if you find something offensive, report the posting through channels and soemone will look at it.

 

Joe [/b]

 

I do Joe, and as you know I tend to try to sort any problems myself, without resorting to shouting for the mods to act on my behalf.

[DaBouncer 13]

Glad to see my thread getting a mention twice.

It's a genuin request rather than it being seedy.

 

I appreciate it being left by the mods for what it is, otherwise Madowl and Owdlad would have had a slap coming their way

[daverity 10]

Originally posted by kathythebean

 

You guys all sound ridiculous. This is an internet discussion forum, not the houses of parliament! Does it really matter?

 

I suggest if you're really upset by the moderating you're obviously a little too involved and should try to cut down on your forum time a little bit!

 

How dare you imply that we get ourselves a life! Right off to report this post! :hihi:

[kirky 10]

Originally posted by owdlad

but that's surely down to training.

 

:hihi: :hihi: ive heard it all now :hihi:

[mojoworking 10]

Originally posted by Tony

The vast majority of bans are for 24 or 48 hours, and are usually used to encourage people to reflect on the reason for getting the ban.

 

Obviously, 'repeat and persistent offenders' attract more attention and are kept a closer eye on. If we need to take further action it's often the case that any ban is longer than the last one to try to get the persons attention that we mean it! Anyone that gets a ban of a week or more has to be trying really hard!

 

What you say is not consistent with the 3 week ban you gave me for daring to question one of your decisions. It was my first (and, so far only) ban and came after just one warning. So I was hardly a "repeat offender".

 

Also, I feel there is sometimes a conflict of interest when you as a mod decide to delete, censor and edit posts in a thread you are also contributing to. Naturally, the posts you remove are usually those that don't fit in with your political views.

[JoeP 11]

Originally posted by mojoworking

What you say is not consistent with the 3 week ban you gave me for daring to question one of your decisions. It was my first (and, so far only) ban and came after just one warning. So I was hardly a "repeat offender".

 

Also, I feel there is sometimes a conflict of interest when you as a mod decide to delete, censor and edit posts in a thread you are also contributing to. Naturally, the posts you remove are usually those that don't fit in with your political views.

 

Again, I don't know the details BUT I seem to remember that it might have bene a situation where there had been warnings posted on teh thread that had been ignored as well as warnings to you in person. I can't remember the details - I do remember the banning.

 

One thing we also do, however, is to stop moderating a thread when we've posted more than a couple of times on it. I posted on a thread last night and reported myself to let the other Mods know that I wouldn't be moderating teh thread because I'd posted on it. This is done quite often by teh Mods, although there are occasions when due to lack of other Mods we may end up posting a warning.

 

In terms of censoring on politics - again, it shouldn't happen, despite there being numerous calls from Forum Users (not Moderators) to make the Forum have a 'No Platform' policy for certain political groups.

 

Joe

[kirky 10]

Originally posted by JoeP

Again, I don't know the details BUT I seem to remember that it might have bene a situation where there had been warnings posted on teh thread that had been ignored as well as warnings to you in person. I can't remember the details - I do remember the banning.

 

One thing we also do, however, is to stop moderating a thread when we've posted more than a couple of times on it. I posted on a thread last night and reported myself to let the other Mods know that I wouldn't be moderating teh thread because I'd posted on it. This is done quite often by teh Mods, although there are occasions when due to lack of other Mods we may end up posting a warning.

 

In terms of censoring on politics - again, it shouldn't happen, despite there being numerous calls from Forum Users (not Moderators) to make the Forum have a 'No Platform' policy for certain political groups.

 

Joe

 

politics is a load of balls if you ask me joe put it wouldn't be right to have a 'No Platform' policy for certain political groups.surley it should be for all groups if any at all.

[JoeP 11]

Originally posted by kirky

politics is a load of balls if you ask me joe put it wouldn't be right to have a 'No Platform' policy for certain political groups.surley it should be for all groups if any at all.

 

Exactly - it's soemthing that I personally wouldn't want to see. We may pull particular posts if those posts are offensive or abusive, but NOT because of the political persuasion of the poster.

 

We do what we can to keep political debate flowing.

 

Joe