MikeD Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Personally, I'm pretty libertarian so yes, I'd rather see self-restraint triumph over regulation. I don't like typing this knowing that one of several people could delete it just because they don't agree with it. I haven't seen thread deleted over content disagreements. Heck, none of mine have been deleted...and my opinions are in the very distinct minorithy here. I'd like to see some restrictions placed on the moderators' authority. I'd like to see some code of conduct for the mods that says "you should close/delete posts under these specific circumstances................, all others MUST be left alone" I'd also like there to be some way to appeal a moderator's decision. I'd definitely like to stop the "drive-by" closing of threads, you know, where the moderator has the last word on the subject and then closes the thread. I think Mike New understood the hypocrisy of that behavior.I think the qualifications of the moderators should also be spelled out. For the most part, I've got no gripe with the mods who are fairly mature (both chronilogically and emotionally) and have been involved in some capacity with the activity over a period of years. The issues I see tend to happen with the younger and/or non-drum corps mods. As far as I know..we mods only delete threads and posts that go against the posted decency/trolling guidelines. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cainan Posted November 29, 2005 Author Share Posted November 29, 2005 MiamiSun76... I think I can speak for all the mods here on this one... We are human and we DO make mistakes. I personally have NEVER, nor would I EVER close a thread because I "dont agree with" its content. I think that the other mods would be in agreement with me on this one. We do have a very clear outline as to which threads and or posts are to be moderated, edited, removed and closed. They are called the forum guidelines. In case you have never seen them, they can be found at the top of every single page within these forums. That said, I will save you the trouble and provide you with this link. I can see however how it would seem that mods close threads and have the last word. We do and will continue to do so, close threads that have clearly run their course. Once a thread strays so off topic that it is no longer a viable topic of discussion, we close them to conserve bandwidth. With the impending sale of DCP, George has spelled out quite clearly that we do have a limit on bandwidth. The financial coffers at DCP are not endless and as such, we simply cannot have a free for all site. I have closed threads and then reopened them before. SHould these threads have been closed in the first place? Mabey. Mabey not. But, that is why we have an open line of communication with the membership of the site. If I (or another mod) close a thread, and you dont agree with the decision, PM me. I will always reconsider opening it. If it is viable and I can do so, normally I will. That said, I take that on a case by case basis. If you still disagree with my (or any other mods) decision, that is what Rich is for. If this is abuse of "power" then I simply dont know what else can possibly be done to appease you. If you want to discuss this further, PM or AIM me and I will be more than happy to carry on this discussion with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 There is a way to appeal moderator decisions; that's what Rich is for. Yes, this is very true. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Personally, I'm pretty libertarian so yes, I'd rather see self-restraint triumph over regulation. I don't like typing this knowing that one of several people could delete it just because they don't agree with it. Could you point to a specific example where a mod has closed a thread because they disagreed on the content? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiamiSun76 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Could you point to a specific example where a mod has closed a thread because they disagreed on the content? No. There are no specific instances that immediately come to mind. Since I'd have to know what the moderator's thoughts and feelings were that's a pretty impossible task. All we can do is go back through history and look at closed threads that had no disparaging comments, threats, obscenities, or other violations of the "guidelines" and ask why they were closed. If, as Cainan says, all threads that are closed are for violations of the guidelines why have several threads been closed AFTER postings in those threads by other moderators? If one or more moderators participate in a discussion and find no reason to close it, how can a peer come along after one or two more harmless posts and decide that it's suddenly become a violation? Kind of like being waved through a traffic light by one cop then arrested by another for running the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScribeToo Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Are they going to fire the mods when soemone new buys DCP? There's no indication of that.. but who knows? Truthfully, finding mods who are willing and able to do the job they do has been difficult at best -- and I'm talking about since the beginning four years ago when we started the site.. The team we have in place right now works well together, they cooperate and communicate effectively AND they manage to keep the board pretty well managed in a not-so-obvious kind of way. There's a lot to be said for that kind of dedication to something you don't get paid for. IMO it would be a mistake to replace everyone in one fell swoop -- and would put them at a disadvantage in dealing with the day to day operations of the site.. all the seamless stuff that most members never see. Stef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom&Phitch Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 There's no indication of that.. but who knows?Truthfully, finding mods who are willing and able to do the job they do has been difficult at best -- and I'm talking about since the beginning four years ago when we started the site.. IMO it would be a mistake to replace everyone in one fell swoop -- and would put them at a disadvantage in dealing with the day to day operations of the site.. all the seamless stuff that most members never see. Stef hey Stef, i'll just ask you since you seem to know a ton about all of this and i dont... but... do mods get paid? what all do you do? how do you do it? how do you become a mod? i'm kind of curious, bc ive always seen the need for moderators and webmasters on a lot of websites, but not really sure what they do or how they do it, or how ot become qualified to do so... any help or answers is greatly appreciated -john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomMoore Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Truthfully, finding mods who are willing and able to do the job they do has been difficult at best -- and I'm talking about since the beginning four years ago when we started the site.. The team we have in place right now works well together, they cooperate and communicate effectively AND they manage to keep the board pretty well managed in a not-so-obvious kind of way. There's a lot to be said for that kind of dedication to something you don't get paid for. I can only imagine. The last sentence says it all, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScribeToo Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 hey Stef, i'll just ask you since you seem to know a ton about all of this and i dont...but... do mods get paid? what all do you do? how do you do it? how do you become a mod? i'm kind of curious, bc ive always seen the need for moderators and webmasters on a lot of websites, but not really sure what they do or how they do it, or how ot become qualified to do so... any help or answers is greatly appreciated -john No problem, John. None of the DCP staff is paid. We are all volunteers. We have all always been volunteers. While they do deal with issues they, themselves witness, our moderators on this site are basically "on call" -- that means when you hit that report button to say something is wrong.. whether you witnessed a violation of the guidelines or there's a spelling error in the headline.. the report goes to the moderators listed on that forum and one of them reviews it and handles it. If the issue is "gray," they usually discuss it and come to a mutual decision that one of them will take action on. In general, they are all just members like you and me.. but they also have some other duties to perform. The Report Button was not always an option we had active on this site. Way back in the beginning, the word "rinky-dink" is the best descriptor for how we had to moderate the site.. but back then, we only had about 100 members and we didn't see 100,000 posts a day, either.. We put it in place in hopes that "self-moderation" would be the rule of the day -- and by and large, we were right. Most issues any of the mods deal with are a result of someone posting a report. The mechanics of moderation is just a function of the site. Moderators are all in a funtionality group -- with permissions to do things like split, move or edit posts. They also have other tools at their disposal for identifying trolls and multiple account abusers. Becoming a moderator has always been at will. We approached some people when we had a need. Others approached us and offered their services. In all cases, our Community Director -- is that even the right name for the position? I can't remember but currently, that's Rich Kleinmann aka, Blue Devil Legend -- interviews prospects and in some cases discusses their appointment with others on the administrative staff. Most of the time, we just let him run things because he's pretty good at it. The qualifications are pretty simple. You need time to do it. You need the desire to do it. You need the ability to make decisions that are sometimes tough and stick by them -- because (as you have seen) some of these people take a LOT of heat for the decisions they make. One of the main reasons I asked George to take me OFF the mod staff years ago is because it's a pitilessly thankless and difficult job to do day in and day out. If you have a hard time with criticism, being a moderator of ANY forum is definitely not for you! :) Hope that answers your questions. Feel free to let me know if you have any others. Stef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cainan Posted November 29, 2005 Author Share Posted November 29, 2005 And now I am gonna do one of those "moderator actions"... This was originally posted in this forum as this was the forum where we had the majority of the trolling problem. It was pinned here for several days to get people to see it. That said, this is now more appropriate for the DCP Customer Service Center as it is now off topic for this forum, and as such, I will move it there. I will however leave the link up in the General Forum. Topic moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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