Forum Moderation - Best Practices

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Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Edward Ng

ces
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Forum Moderation - Best Practices

Post by ces » Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:47 am

Listener wrote:
Ralf Hutter wrote:
Listener wrote: Are you the moderator or do you just play one?Bill
No, he's not, but I AM. And I'd suggest that if this thread doesn't get/stay on topic very soon it will be locked or deleted.
I posted a link to information I considered good. Talk to Pappnaas who thread crapped. Bill
Bill I agree with you.

I think the moderators need to hold themselves to higher standards of politeness and civility than those whom they moderate.

"Pox on all of you" moderation, in my opinion, is crude and inappropriate... and in some ways even more offensive than most of the excesses it is intended to control. Doing it in RED, is even more so.

Moderation should not be about showing off one's muscle or power. It should be directing the conversation away from non-productive exchanges... and doing so with a minimum of overt "tough guy" intervention.

Just my opinion. I guess others could differ with it.
Last edited by ces on Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by Das_Saunamies » Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:35 pm

Stopped reading the referenced thread in depth as soon as things got personal, and what to me read like sabre-rattling on all sides.

When I returned to it today, the moderator response seemed straightforward and appropriate in context, considering the thread in general and the style of response to the person suggesting Off Topic. The colour highlight just looks like a highlight, and a good visual aid for anyone (me) browsing through to see if anything meaningful was actually being said or done. It was an effective "stop" indicator to the foolishness, red being the obvious colour to signal "stopping", even if it may also suggest danger or anger. I did not interpret the mention of locking or deleting, or any other part of the message, as "crude muscle-flexing" - it was a short statement with a highlight, and locking and deleting are what moderators do when threads go bad.

I like a smoother moderating style too, especially on a nice forum like SPCR's, but sometimes a swift and stern response is justified (in place of trying to referee things). In this thread, going nowhere fast despite attempts to readjust, I felt it was appropriate.

ces
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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:43 pm

Das_Saunamies wrote:I like a smoother moderating style too, especially on a nice forum like SPCR's,
I do as well. And if you are going to use muscle, you shouldn't use it unfairly.

In the above instance, the original poster who started the thread was... in my opinion treated rather shabbily. That left a real real bad taste in my mouth.

See:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=64665

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:04 pm

The way this was handled encourages this poster to continue to do what he does:
m0002a wrote:Without speaking to the "quality" of the descriptions or tests referenced on the link above, it is obvious that it is not geared to quiet computing, so this entire thread should be moved to the Off Topic section. No one ever claimed that quiet computing is cheap.
m0002a comes in out of nowhere to pick a fight with the original poster about what???? Here is the original post:
Listener wrote:http://www.anandtech.com/show/6013/3504 ... cheap-psus The Corsiar and FSP units look interesting. It is good that the power supplies were tested at 5% and 10% load levels. Bill
The m0002a in my personal opinion should have sent his post by private message (which then should have been disregarded). Instead he engaged in the very behavior he was complaining about of others. And in a back handed manner this behavior was rewarded and reinforced by the way the moderator handled the situation.

And if it was m0002a who clicked the red ! complaint button, the way this was handled encourages even more of that behavior in the future. I don't know who clicked the red ! complaint button, or can even be certain whether it was clicked.... but to my observation, it always seems like when it appears to me to have been clicked, m0002a is often involved in the discussion... generating contention.... and not doing so well.
Last edited by ces on Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by Pappnaas » Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:27 pm

As being one to have posted in the mentioned thread, i'm not sure if it's wise to post here, but i'll take the risk:

Everyone has the right to have his own opinion. Everyone has the right to disagree. Everyone has the right to tell me, i'm wrong.

But if you start insulting and disrespecting me before actually pointing out where someone might disagree, you turn old JohnWayne-style und shoot first and talk second.

English is a foreign language for me. I even inquired if i misunderstood, but the answer was: I wanted to offend!. No "sorry, i didn't mean to insult you" no "sorry, you misinterpreted" no nothing.

Would you want to spend your time with someone not being able to follow some basic manners of communication and reasoning?

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by m0002a » Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:08 am

The thread in question deteriorated long before I made my comments. I did not report the thread to the moderators.

Personally, I think there are too many non-quiet computing threads/posts that are off-subject. In most cases, one can give the benefit of the doubt, but by the time I made that comment a fist-fight had already broken out, and then the discussion obviously became off-topic.

It is well-known that CES has a personal vendetta against me, so his never-ending personal attacks against me are obviously skewed.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by NeilBlanchard » Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:54 am

Disagreement |=| Vendetta

As long as there is an off topic area, then off topic threads there are fine.

If in your opinion the thread has already deteriorated -- that does not make it okay for you to be uncivil.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by m0002a » Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:58 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Disagreement |=| Vendetta

As long as there is an off topic area, then off topic threads there are fine.

If in your opinion the thread has already deteriorated -- that does not make it okay for you to be uncivil.
I was not uncivil. I merely suggested that the discussion was getting off topic and should be moved to off topic section.

The above comments about me from CES are not just disagreements about the PSU thread in question, they are personal attacks against me based other disagreements in other threads.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:00 am

Pappnaas wrote:As being one to have posted in the mentioned thread, i'm not sure if it's wise to post here, but i'll take the risk: Everyone has the right to have his own opinion. Everyone has the right to disagree. Everyone has the right to tell me, i'm wrong. But if you start insulting and disrespecting me before actually pointing out where someone might disagree, you turn old JohnWayne-style und shoot first and talk second. English is a foreign language for me. I even inquired if i misunderstood, but the answer was: I wanted to offend!. No "sorry, i didn't mean to insult you" no "sorry, you misinterpreted" no nothing. Would you want to spend your time with someone not being able to follow some basic manners of communication and reasoning?

Thank you for taking the risk. I personally did think you were throwing a "mini-tantrum" :) But so what. There was substance to your complaint... (in fact I basically agreed with you) and there was substance to Bill's responses.

I personally thought the dialog between you and Listener was not out of bounds. First language, second language... you seemed to be handling yourself just fine.

What I thought was out of bounds was m0002a coming in and involving himself and escalating things, and then Ralf coming in as a tough guy enforcer. There are times when a tough guy enforcer has been needed... and Ralf has been missing in action. This was not, in my opinion, one of them.

(if you translate this into anything negative, ill mannered or non-logical, please let me know so I can restate it better)
Last edited by ces on Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:02 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Disagreement |=| Vendetta
Neil, please explain. Your posting was more than a little cryptic. But I think it was addressing an important topic... especially given that you are a moderator.
Last edited by ces on Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:03 am

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

I see that there was a posting in this thread from m0002a.

In order to avoid any confusion in the event that any of my postings on this thread appear as if I didn't read the content of any of m0002a's postings on this thread, that is because I didn't. :)

I am using the SPCR Ignore Function with respect to m0002a. I can see that he has posted something, but I can't read what he has posted unless I disable the Ignore Function.

I commend the use of this function to others. If you predictably don't like what others say, you really really can avoid reading it. See:
viewtopic.php?p=556502#p556502

By the way, if anyone doesn't like what I have to say in any predictable manner I would heartily encourage them to use the SPCR Ignore Function to exclude my postings from their purview. I would like to think I from time to time am able to make valuable contributions to this forum, but if you disagree, you are so most welcome to use the SPCR Ignore Function. For instructions, see the link above.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:51 am

I think the rules of posting in this forums are clear. Other people's posts, or one's perception of what others have posted, cannot be used to justify breaking the rules.

Playing the victim doesn't help one's credibility. Assuming that disagreement with one's opinions is a personal attack is not a justification for anything.

As a volunteer and a long time participant on these forums (same as all of our moderators), I always work toward a useful and civil "place". I've been called many uncivil things by people who seem to think they know my mind and my motivations. Sometimes they hurt, but most of the time they are water off of a duck's back. I take the good with the bad, and when I am a moderator, I have to do what I think is needed. I cannot ignore anything, though I certainly don't see everything.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by tim851 » Fri Jul 13, 2012 6:42 am

Pappnaas wrote:As being one to have posted in the mentioned thread, i'm not sure if it's wise to post here, but i'll take the risk:

Everyone has the right to have his own opinion. Everyone has the right to disagree. Everyone has the right to tell me, i'm wrong.

But if you start insulting and disrespecting me before actually pointing out where someone might disagree, you turn old JohnWayne-style und shoot first and talk second.

English is a foreign language for me. I even inquired if i misunderstood, but the answer was: I wanted to offend!. No "sorry, i didn't mean to insult you" no "sorry, you misinterpreted" no nothing.

Would you want to spend your time with someone not being able to follow some basic manners of communication and reasoning?
1. The user Listener didn't OFFEND you. He let you know that he thought you threw a tantrum.

2. It's not his fault, that your English isn't good enough for you to understand his jab.

3. You DID throw a tantrum. A little one.

4. You're throwing a bigger tantrum by making these wild accusations of Listerner being "insulting and disrespecting", "old JohnWayne-style und shoot first and talk second" and "not being able to follow some basic manners of communication and reasoning".
When all he did was take a little jab at you. You should learn to not take everything overly serious. That goes for this situation as well as the quality of a free review.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:30 am

tim851 wrote:
Pappnaas wrote:As being one to have posted in the mentioned thread, i'm not sure if it's wise to post here, but i'll take the risk:
1. The user Listener didn't OFFEND you.
4. You're throwing a bigger tantrum by making these wild accusations of Listerner being "insulting and disrespecting"...
When all he did was take a little jab at you. You should learn to not take everything overly serious. That goes for this situation as well as the quality of a free review.
Actually Pappnaas was offended. The issue being whether he should have been. Probably not.

But the illustrative problem in this particular instance, was that others, including a moderator, needlessly came in and threw fire on a minor kerflouffle. The end result is that both Pappnaas and listener (a) feel they have been unfairly treated, and (b) are now reluctant to make contributions to this forum.

My recollection is that in the past Pappnaas has been a very valuable contributor to these forums. It would be a loss if he went away and stopped contributing. Listener is newer, but he was just starting to contribute and we now may lose that.

That is not good for the health of the silentpcreview forums nor for or SPCR's advertising revenue.
Last edited by ces on Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:02 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:I think the rules of posting in this forums are clear.
The rules are in fact not clear. And this is not about the rules.... it is about how they are being applied. It is about the exercise of good judgment in applying those rules.

As an example, by the very nature of their role, law enforcement personnel have a great deal of discretion in how they enforce the law. All too frequently they operate within the ambit of that discretion... yet exercise that discretion with poor judgment. Often not so poorly as to be disciplined... but still poorly. Sometimes they do get in trouble for poor judgment in the exercise of their police powers.

Not long ago the police in a nearby suburb decided to engage in a high speed chase of a minor speeding violator.... risking the lives of bystanders. They chased the speeders into the City. The City cops response was to arrest the suburban police for reckless endangerment. The assessment of the City cops was that the suburban police were just using this as an excuse for a high speed joy ride... that they should have instead been using their radio as opposed to their police cruiser.

But generally law enforcement officials are able to exercise poor judgment while staying well within the confines of their discretionary powers. For example, the next time to you a cop turn on their lights without turning on their siren, and then run a red light, you are witnessing what I am talking about. That they can do it, doesn't mean that they should do it.

I submit that the proper role of the SPCR moderators is to apply the rules in a manner that leaves all the parties felling good about themselves, about SPCR, wanting to return, and wanting to contribute.

Right now each of the participants, in the specific thread that originated this one, feel that SPCR has treated them unfairly. That didn't need to be.

I would submit that moderators should lead by example. Is that in the rules? No. Is that in the interest of SPCR, and the SPCR community? Yes. I don't believe that happened here.

Do you disagree?

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by Pappnaas » Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:44 am

i will not commend on moderation or moderators in/of SPCR. Simply because i have not had enough experience with both :)


I took the hint(s) and can now see that i probably overreacted. In my experience i like contributing here because i like spending time in here. Wouldn't do this if i didn't like it here.

So don't worry, i'm shure everyone has a bad day or gets something sorted wrong from time to time. If we all would stay away as soon as we get a little carried away by emotions, we'd need some vulcans around to teach us

in the end we are all here to learn and to discover, aren't we? :)

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by NeilBlanchard » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:27 am

I plead ignorance of the specifics in the situation(s?) that led to this thread.

And I just noticed that it probably would be more appropriate in the Site Feedback section?

I'll ask for your help -- all of you reading this -- to act toward others exactly as you would want them to act toward you. Apply the Golden Rule using your best judgment. Speaking personally, I don't want to have to moderate things any more than any of you can also do -- post things that help maintain good process.

Please make my work here as easy as possible -- I'm not lazy (if I say so myself) but please do what you can to make moderating SPCR almost unnecessary!

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sat Jul 14, 2012 6:04 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:I plead ignorance of the specifics in the situation(s?) that led to this thread.
Well let's just talk about hypotheticals. Let's say you have an original poster who engages with a responding poster with something claimed to be "off topic" by a third poster... then that third poster clicks the red exclamation complaint button. Lets ad one more thing to the hypothetical. Let's assume that the "off topic" messages are in large part the poster attempting to moderate his own thread.

In your opinion, what would represent best practice moderation in such a hypothetical situation?

1. Placing an off topic message in the thread, warning the participants that the thread might be arbitrarily and capriciously locked or deleted, and doing it in red just to make sure that the participants know that the moderator may be in a foul mood? And making it clear that the moderator believes (a) all the participants are equally at fault, (b) the moderator is a better and superior person to them, and (c) that regardless of what the participants think, that they are unimportant and inconsequential... especially the original poster who was trying to moderate his own thread.

2. Placing an off topic message in the thread, warning about others placing off topic messages in the thread (do what I say, not what I do).

3. Sending a private message to each of the transgressors implying to each recipient that he is at fault, but that the others may or may not be at fault... letting each recipient use his imagination to assume that the recipient is unfairly being held to a higher standard than the other participants and that others are being shown some kind of favoritism. And of course making sure that each of the participants gets that very same negative message so they all feel the others are being treated better than they are.

4. Sending an individual private message to each participant, telling that person that
(a) the moderator understands that the recipient is well meaning,
(b) that the others are more at fault than that recipient, (is that not always the case? :) )
(c) that the recipient is a valued member of the SPCR community, and
(d) gently encouraging each such recipient to start a new thread on the subject they would like to discuss. ("Lions don't need to roar")

Which of these approaches would you consider best practice moderation?

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sat Jul 14, 2012 6:06 am

I would submit that a moderator littering a thread with an off topic message, complaining to others of their off topic messages, is unlikely to be engaged in best practice moderation.

I would also submit that the rules for this forum are not clear. That what constitutes inappropriate behavior is exceedingly broad... and that such broad rules are highly appropriate for a forum such as SPCR. That is good. That is best practice.

The secret ingredient is how the rules are enforced. I submit they should be enforced with the goal of encouraging more and better forum content and participation.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sat Jul 14, 2012 6:11 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:And I just noticed that it probably would be more appropriate in the Site Feedback section?
Personally I think the subject is a bit broader than that.

While it probably is of no great consequence if you moved it there, doing so right now might be too easily misinterpreted in a negative light... and could even discourage participation in this thread. Just my unsubstantiated opinion.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by nutball » Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:17 am

ces wrote:I would also submit that the rules for this forum are not clear.
I would submit that anybody and everybody who frequents this place has an inalienable human right to go somewhere else if they don't like the moderation here.

One could argue that if the moderation is bad, and people leave in droves, then the forum will die. The forum has been healthy for many years, and is just as healthy now. I've been here nine years or so and have never had any issue with moderation whatsoever.

There are some grumpy people here, but that's life.

Just my £0.02.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:09 am

nutball wrote:I would submit that anybody and everybody who frequents this place has an inalienable human right to go somewhere else if they don't like the moderation here.
I hope I don't surprise you by heartily agreeing.

MikeC is certainly the final arbiter of what the role and function of moderation should be, who gets access to SPCR, and even whether or not it continues to exist.
See: Mike's final sign-off - POSTPONED viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62491

Still, SPCR depends on traffic to sustain itself economically. It's advertiser base, the desktop computer industry, is facing economic decline. SPCR is not strong enough to sustain a subscription model to support itself without that advertising revenue.

There appear to be two general categories of moderation philosophy.
1. The "Green Thumb" philosophy. You are attempting to grow vegetables in a garden. Growing a bounty of edible and healthy vegetables is the goal. The weeding of the garden is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
2. The "Round Up" philosophy. You see a weed in the garden, you lay the Round Up herbicide on it... heavy... wide... and thick... regardless of the collateral damage to the vegetables you are trying to grow.

As the center of gravity of the computer industry shifts away from desktops and towards tablets and mobile devices, we all have an interest in the sustainment of SPCR's ecosystem. Good moderation of the forums can strengthen the site (economically) and bad moderation can weaken it.

Some people may not agree with the above, and others may not want to participate in this discussion. They then, as you put it, have the inalienable human right to read other threads and frequent other forums. Though I personally believe this is a subject of sufficient importance to the sustainment of SPCR's ecosystemthat it is worthy of an exchange of opinion and thought.
Last edited by ces on Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:49 am, edited 6 times in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:18 am

nutball wrote:The forum has been healthy for many years, and is just as healthy now.
I don't have access to the numbers, but it is not so clear to me that the SPCR's traffic numbers are as strong as they have been historically.

With advancing technology (components are getting quieter and quieter), and the drift of user interest to mobile and tablet platforms, the number of people interested in reducing Desktop PC noise, I suspect, has crested and is facing decline. All the more reason to tend carefully to the SPCR garden.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by m0002a » Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:13 pm

ces wrote:There appear to be two general categories of moderation philosophy.
1. The "Green Thumb" philosophy. You are attempting to grow vegetables in a garden. Growing a bounty of edible and healthy vegetables is the goal. The weeding of the garden is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
2. The "Round Up" philosophy. You see a weed in the garden, you lay the Round Up herbicide on it... heavy... wide... and thick... regardless of the collateral damage to the vegetables you are trying to grow.
Personally, I would prefer that all off-topic threads (especially when not even dealing with PC's at all) be plowed under, and limit all discussions on the forums to the purpose of Silent PC Review. Let those with other interests find a different outlet for their comments, where they can find like-minded persons who go to a particular website specifically because they want to discuss certain topics (such as politics, religion, philosophy, etc).

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by xan_user » Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:55 pm

its not the mods (unpaid)job to police us like school children, and the mods are only human just like the rest of us. there are more nonnative engerish speakers here than any other forum i frequent, which i imagine makes being a mod more challenging than on a more mono-linguistic site.

if you dont like a posters content or behavior, put them on ignore and be done with it. if you find the post(s) particularly offensive, report it...and then put them on ignore. if you dont like the mods reaction (or lack there of) to the content you reported, stop clicking/reading/posting on SPCR.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by m0002a » Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:21 am

xan_user wrote:its not the mods (unpaid)job to police us like school children...
It is the job of the moderators to do whatever the publisher decides is their job. If you don't like it, start your own website/forum.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:24 am

xan_user wrote:if you dont like a posters content or behavior, put them on ignore and be done with it.
Yes. That is so easy to do. See:
viewtopic.php?p=556502#p556502

Take for instance the messages being left by m0002a in this thread. I have not read them. If the past is any predictor of the future, should I have read them, m0002a and I would probably end up engaging in a non-productive exchange. I would not have felt good about, nor likely would he.

My technologically assisted blinders make my participation in this thread so much more pleasant. I hope that m0002a has reciprocated by putting me on ignore.
Last edited by ces on Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:43 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by ces » Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:35 am

xan_user wrote:if you find the post(s) if you dont like the mods reaction (or lack there of) to the content you reported, stop clicking/reading/posting on SPCR
There is much validity to what you say.

I think the situation this community faces is a bit more complex though. I have no doubt that over the years many people have taken the road of leaving. That isn't the optimal result of good moderation, nor should that be an excuse for bad moderation.

The more active members this forum has, the stronger the community and even more importantly the stronger the site. The goal of moderation should, in my opinion, be to herd the cats with the least loss of cats. And all the while to help grow content that attracts more members.

It is in the nature of people to bump into one another, have misunderstandings, and just plain give and receive offense. Good moderation dampens that down as opposed to exacerbate it.... and does it in a manner that ALL the parties feel good about themselves instead of vice versa.

It is an imperfect world. That doesn't always happen, but certainly that should be the goal.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by Mats » Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:32 pm

xan_user wrote:there are more nonnative engerish speakers here than any other forum i frequent, which i imagine makes being a mod more challenging than on a more mono-linguistic site.
Agreed, and besides that, people from different countries can have different senses of humor.
IMO, people from the USA are among the most easily offended I know of. No, I'm not trying to start a flame war here. Please.
Sometimes I've made Americans upset when I was just joking, and nowadays I choose my words more carefully.

Swedes can have a bit of a harsh sense of humor, something that doesn't work well in forums, even when smilies are used.
I think Swedish humor is pretty close to British humour.

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Re: Heavy Handed Moderation

Post by xan_user » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:27 am

ces wrote: Take for instance the messages being left by m0002a in this thread. I have not read them.
yeah, me either.

Code: Select all

This post was made by m0002a who is currently on your ignore list. 

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