Moderators

[bobs nob]

no, for your information, other trolls are not banned therefore you would be banned.

Hugh, the only reason I have brought this up was because of the inconsistency of Bala, due to him targeting me out. Maybe he is suffering depression from his Doper boy getting busted.

When I have posted, I will 98% of the time will post on topic. Others go off track all the time.

acf, forums have generally accepted truths/point of view ie:la is a fraud. those who differ from that paradigm get very little slack. just know that.

I have seen moderators engage in banning offenses and THEY are MODERATORS!

 

[Martin318is]

Wow another moderator will make major differences. How often is the poster on here. He posts 0.63 posts per day.

Fair question.

Whilst I was not online for much of this weekend due to family reasons, I am here on a rough average for a spread of around 35-50 hrs a week depending upon what racing is on etc.

It continually astounds me that forum members (on any site around the world - including those I moderate) seem to equate post count with actually being someone worth listening to..... or worthy of being a moderator.

I read through these threads very often and try to only post when I have something actually worth saying (in my subjective opinion). Before anyone comments, I DO know that a lot of my posts may appear worthless to someone else's point of view. Welcome to the internet.

I fully intend to respond as quickly as possible to reported posts, or others that I recognise as being at issue, moderate according the existing rules of engagement WITHOUT favouring any poster regardless of time served or opinion relative to mine. I also have a few ideas that I will be discussing with other mods over the next few weeks.

If you feel that you are being mistreated, please feel free to PM me at any time and I will address the ENTIRE situation in an as appropriate manner as I am able.

regards,
Martin

 

[Anonymous]

this place is improving.. the first thread ive had to report in ages is this one for a mod and acf spitting at each other publicly.

 

[Hugh Januss]

this place is improving.. the first thread ive had to report in ages is this one for a mod and acf spitting at each other publicly.

Yeah, but that is only because you are smart enough to stay out of the clinic.
If you ask me (and I admit, no one did) the perfect moderator would be one who reads often but posts seldom. I think Martin BMW is a good choice (and will continue to think so until he hands me an infraction that I don't feel I deserved, at which point I'll go all ACF on his azz).

 

[auscyclefan94]

acf, forums have generally accepted truths/point of view ie:la is a fraud. those who differ from that paradigm get very little slack. just know that.

I have seen moderators engage in banning offenses and THEY are MODERATORS!

Exactly, even though i agree with the points people who shoot down la fans bring forward, the way the do it is not inviting to new members as it is a forum and people including myself sometimes need to recognise that.

this place is improving.. the first thread ive had to report in ages is this one for a mod and acf spitting at each other publicly.

Yes a mod. I agree that I need to tone it down a bit but others need to take some blame and stop pointing the finger at me as there are 3 other fingers pointing back at them.

Dim, you were not happy at all with the way things were on this forum so I am surprised with your attitude especailly after the way brodeal "supposedly" treated you.

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly, even though i agree with the points people who shoot down la fans bring forward, the way the do it is not inviting to new members as it is a forum and people including myself sometimes need to recognise that.



Yes a mod. I agree that I need to tone it down a bit but others need to take some blame and stop pointing the finger at me as there are 3 other fingers pointing back at them.

Dim, you were not happy at all with the way things were on this forum so I am surprised with your attitude especailly after the way brodeal "supposedly" treated you.

i still think the place is a fiasco, but i have learnt how to ignore it

 

[auscyclefan94]

i still think the place is a fiasco, but i have learnt how to ignore it

Thank you, At least you can admit this place out of control.


It ain't just me!

 

[bobs nob]

Thank you, At least you can admit this place out of control.


It ain't just me!

No, it's not just you. If you think your perception on that score is accurate, well it is. Yes, it's a one way street. This doesn't excuse anyone's behavior, forums are places where generally pleasant and civil people feel safe stepping over the 'naughty' line.

But you have got to know that sanctions do not get issued for stepping out evenhandedly. Other posters WILL do worse and face no comment from the mods whatsoever, while some will be sanctioned for far less.

Your options are deal with it or leave.

 

[ElChingon]

I just find it peculiar that if you hit a nerve with a Moderators historical past its offensive/derogatory/etc. but if you hit a nerve with anyone else its all OK!

As usual one statement can be read by all and interpreted so many ways and you will never know which way it will go till its posted. As a poster we can use statements that will make one group laugh out loud, another cringe and call for the hounds to get you, another will sit there puzzled wondering where you're going with that statement, and yet another who it hits dead center and is a meaningful statement yielding more discussion/debate. That is what makes forums really, the wide diversity of its posters/readers.

Chopping one post just reduces it to a narrow channel for a few, some smart editing is really what is needed and possibly a PM to the poster to maybe clarify their statement. The quick removeal of a post that's not outright in the wrong thread, touching the edges of the rules, adds more debate/discussion should be re-evaluated. Its a learning curve and requires people (posters and moderators) to at least state their concern/points. At the same time its a big forum but really its still small and not a big issue to re-evaluate a possible bad post.

I do agree with the removal of the non-thread topic posts where two posters are just getting a shot in on each other, but remove/edit both not just one side.

 

[Potomac]

The moderation at CN is extreme.

 

[Martin318is]

Reading just this thread - let alone the rest of the forum its abundantly clear that there are some utterly conflicting opinions about how the site should be moderated. I would just hope that everyone could try to appreciate how difficult it actually is to apply a "moderate" view when determining what to do with posters and individual posts.

For instance, this thread resulted in several reports over the weekend. When I came here late last night I found some pretty poor behaviour by more than one person. However, the conversation is directly criticising the moderators.

So as a Mod, do I:
1) Carry out the wishes of those that reported it (as I normally would given the nature of the posts)?

OR

2) Leave them in place because as a moderator I have to recognise the conflict of interest in deleting a post that criticises a moderator - and as a consequence therefore I have to leave another moderator their right to reply (but at the same time disappoint those that complained and frankly leave the forum in a poorer state overall)?

What I am trying to say is that moderators face these challenges in just about every situation with the exception of outright spamming or swearing. In all other cases there is more than one point of view and the difficulty is finding the mid-point. Beyond direct rules such as swearing however, the "mid-point" is a subjective and personal thing that cannot easily be set for all moderators.

In other words, different moderators WILL react in different ways to any given post. Expecting impersonal uniform behaviour by all moderators is actually asking for the kind of dictatorial state that some of you are at the same time complaining already exists?...

 

[trompe le monde]

People should realize that off topic posting isn't as problematic as some make it out to be. Off-topic posts aren't really, or for that matter, shouldn't be a black or white issue in which no person should trespass. To expect a thread to act nothing like a conversation, in which the occasional digression for an example that may be loosely related to the topic is warranted at times, would be much too stifling.

I suppose part of determining which off-topic posts are kosher lies somewhere between the intention of the post, knowing the intention of the poster for doing so, and also knowing a little bit about the poster's history.

Also, the nature of each thread in a way determines the limits/degree of how much off topic people can stray. Race day threads should be pretty narrowly confined. I've never reported anyone, but the closest I've come to doing so was on a few occasions during the Giro race day threads where a small group of posters persisted in doing so despite being asked to refrain from continuing on their off-topic rambling. Clinic based threads I think allow a bit more leeway for off topic speculation because doping isn't done in isolation, in much the same way people don't learn language on their own, they learn it from others who have already done so, so speculate away.

I think if people expect a hard rule on what and when off-topic posts are forbidden they will wait a long time because it will never arrive. A little application of common sense suggests that the nature of a thread and where that thread is located should determine its limits and how flexible it is, not a strict 'no off-topic' posting rule.

That's my two cents. Apologies for the lack of brevity, if you know, that's your thing.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Reading just this thread - let alone the rest of the forum its abundantly clear that there are some utterly conflicting opinions about how the site should be moderated. I would just hope that everyone could try to appreciate how difficult it actually is to apply a "moderate" view when determining what to do with posters and individual posts.

For instance, this thread resulted in several reports over the weekend. When I came here late last night I found some pretty poor behaviour by more than one person. However, the conversation is directly criticising the moderators.

So as a Mod, do I:
1) Carry out the wishes of those that reported it (as I normally would given the nature of the posts)?

OR

2) Leave them in place because as a moderator I have to recognise the conflict of interest in deleting a post that criticises a moderator - and as a consequence therefore I have to leave another moderator their right to reply (but at the same time disappoint those that complained and frankly leave the forum in a poorer state overall)?

What I am trying to say is that moderators face these challenges in just about every situation with the exception of outright spamming or swearing. In all other cases there is more than one point of view and the difficulty is finding the mid-point. Beyond direct rules such as swearing however, the "mid-point" is a subjective and personal thing that cannot easily be set for all moderators.

In other words, different moderators WILL react in different ways to any given post. Expecting impersonal uniform behaviour by all moderators is actually asking for the kind of dictatorial state that some of you are at the same time complaining already exists?...

An idea would be to set some guidlines and rules which must be followed. Then set certain punishments for those who don't follow those rules to fit the crime. At least that will eliminate some sort of inconsistencies, set boundaries and keep this fourm board in a better state than it is.

I understand I have some blame in the way this place has come to be.

 

[Martin318is]

A lot of that is in fact in place and is being expanded as we speak. But how can you apply a rule around the example I gave regarding this thread?

The point is that at some stage as a moderator you are going to hit situations that cannot be resolved by applying rule D or whatever. As an example, as Tromp le Monde highlights - the question of Off topic posting is possibly the trickiest. Deciding where a post has stepped off the reservation is often difficult.

They are not always as easy to judge as someone posting about Lance in the Babes on Bikes thread....

 

[auscyclefan94]

A lot of that is in fact in place and is being expanded as we speak. But how can you apply a rule around the example I gave regarding this thread?

The point is that at some stage as a moderator you are going to hit situations that cannot be resolved by applying rule D or whatever. As an example, as Tromp le Monde highlights - the question of Off topic posting is possibly the trickiest. Deciding where a post has stepped off the reservation is often difficult.

They are not always as easy to judge as someone posting about Lance in the Babes on Bikes thread....

Yes you can. Name any situation.

 

[trompe le monde]

Yes you can. Name any situation.

Oh? How about this thread?

I still find it funny that you are calling for more consistent standards when you yourself fail to even abide by the rules and even admit to flaunting them as a form of misguided protest. Someone crosses the line in that thread and you even stand up for the individual by accusing someone else of being too precious for trying to uphold the standards of the forum.

If you're not even willing to regulate yourself ACF, what hope is there in you asking for better forum moderation? Do you honestly need better standards placed upon you like some kind of straight jacket before you start toeing the norms of what is acceptable on the forum?

This appeal of yours is done completely out of selfish reasons rather then for the good of the forum itself. If you want a pro-Evans soap box where everyone will agree with you, start your own forum.

 

[Martin318is]

Yes you can. Name any situation.

I have done so. Twice.

 

[BroDeal]

This appeal of yours is done completely out of selfish reasons rather then for the good of the forum itself. If you want a pro-Evans soap box where everyone will agree with you, start your own forum.

This could be the birth of TeamBMCFans. I wonder if ACF has any web skillz.

 

[Anonymous]

off topic posting is like trolls, its not the posting thats the problem. 9 times out of 10 its peoples reaction to it. If you ignore off topic posting, it goes away, if you bite, thats when the "fun" starts.

Although some of the f1 spoilers in race threads the other week were worth killing people over

off topic posting depends on the situation. In a "lance thread", or "is andy shleck good" thread, then the thread should be kept on topic. On things like race stage threads where people are watching the stage live, there is bound to be a bit of diversion over the course of the day. I liken it to watching the race on tv with your mates, you are going to get distracted at times, or the riders may go over a certain climb and you may remember that climb a couple of years ago, conversation gets sidetracked, but as soon as something interesting happens in the race the conversation soon gets back on track.

So in threads with specific titles.. keep on topic. But on race threads where people are following it live I see no reason why things cant go off track a bit as long as everyone is polite.

 

[Anonymous]

This could be the birth of TeamBMCFans. I wonder if ACF has any web skillz.

He'd have to buy new domains fairly regularly when evans discovers bmc is the wrong team to be on.

please acf take that in the humour it was intended

 

[Hugh Januss]

He'd have to buy new domains fairly regularly when evans discovers bmc is the wrong team to be on.

please acf take that in the humour it was intended

Just like he always does.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Oh? How about this thread?

I still find it funny that you are calling for more consistent standards when you yourself fail to even abide by the rules and even admit to flaunting them as a form of misguided protest. Someone crosses the line in that thread and you even stand up for the individual by accusing someone else of being too precious for trying to uphold the standards of the forum.

If you're not even willing to regulate yourself ACF, what hope is there in you asking for better forum moderation? Do you honestly need better standards placed upon you like some kind of straight jacket before you start toeing the norms of what is acceptable on the forum?

This appeal of yours is done completely out of selfish reasons rather then for the good of the forum itself. If you want a pro-Evans soap box where everyone will agree with you, start your own forum.

I still find it funny that you will continually point the finger at me when there are many other examples. If you red my prior posts I agreed that sometimes I act like an idiot when it comes to Cadel racing and winning. That night of that thread was not as bad as others were praising to a bit of a lower level of evans.

 

[auscyclefan94]

He'd have to buy new domains fairly regularly when evans discovers bmc is the wrong team to be on.

please acf take that in the humour it was intended

Just like bro and others comments in the Wigans thread!
I have little to no web skills like you!

TOUCHE!

 

[Anonymous]

Just like bro and others comments in the Wigans thread!
I have little to no web skills like you!

TOUCHE!

fine.. i was going to buy it for you for your birthday

 

[trompe le monde]

I still find it funny that you will continually point the finger at me when there are many other examples. If you red my prior posts I agreed that sometimes I act like an idiot when it comes to Cadel racing and winning. That night of that thread was not as bad as others were praising to a bit of a lower level of evans.

No, you're skirting the issue entirely. I quoted that thread because you defended someone who contravened forum rules and not because of your Evans appreciation.

And yes, there are other offenders as well but none of them have bothered to make a thread complaining about moderators. You have, hence the target.