Moderators

[Big GMaC]

Dim, you realise BPC is going to hold this one against you.

"TeamSkyFans admitted to making an account after he was banned and yet is still allowed here, moderators are selective in their actions".

And the Hog as well.

But that is One account.

Not 50.

 

[Martin318is]

....is there any difference between insulting a mod and insulting a regular forum poster? I dont believe, mods should not get any special privileges, Insulting a mod should be treated no differently to insulting another member.

There is (for me) no difference in severity between treating a moderator a certain way and treating a fellow forum member in that same way.
(see exception below)

If a moderator views the event as a breach of the forum rules then they will apply the same response regardless of who you are or who the victim is.

So can I assume that all members calling another member anything equal to or worse than a sarcastic ***, will receive a ban.

No, I don't think you can assume that. This is because there is no way to enact that level of consistency of operation on a site like this without replacing the moderators with bots (and that would fail). As we have seen from the efforts of some here the AI requied for that would be very very complex indeed.

THE KEY EXCEPTION: A moderator has to have actually SEEN the offending post in order to do something about it.

As things stand, there is more than one moderator and they are operating in different timezones and have had different levels of frustrations in their day prior to logging on here on any particular occassion. There is such a high posting volume that most of us are unable to review every single post that was written since we last logged on. We therefore also rely on the efforts of members of the forum willing to report unacceptable posts.

I can tell you this - I consistently apply the same open attitude to all posts whether they were reported by someone else or I have found them myself. I have no favourites on this site in that regard AND I have NO animosities to anyone here either. I don't automatically act on a post just because it was reported though as I apply my own judgement in each case.

 

[Big GMaC]

There is such a high posting volume that most of us are unable to review every single post that was written since we last logged on.

Solution = More Mods. Surely

 

[Hugh Januss]

I was not here when the clinic was formed so can not speak to how things were before, but in all seriousness how can you separate pro cycling talk and doping talk in the first place. It would be like a pro basketball forum where you had to go to a different room to mention bad foul calls. And if it is going to be that way then a clear idea of what is and what is not allowed needs to be provided.
If you ask me (and once again I realize no one did, but tough titties) Dim's initial post was not anything that should have garnered a warning or an infraction, but he is dead wrong when he says mods should not be treated any differently than any other posters, at the same time they must act differently than other posters.
Francois take it easy on poor ACF I am sure he will learn how to behave more like an adult once he actually becomes one.

 

[workingclasshero]

I was not here when the clinic was formed so can not speak to how things were before, but in all seriousness how can you separate pro cycling talk and doping talk in the first place. It would be like a pro basketball forum where you had to go to a different room to mention bad foul calls. And if it is going to be that way then a clear idea of what is and what is not allowed needs to be provided.

i quite like having a clinic subforum as it keeps a lot of apologisers away, they don't bother going in there, if they did see some of the stuff said, you can only imagine how much outrage there would be (and quite a few of the 'why do even follow cycling' type posts already find their way to the clinic)

 

[Martin318is]

Solution = More Mods. Surely

Haven't you seen the multiple calls for volunteers any time someone makes this suggestion?

How do you think I became a Mod? Random act of Deity?

 

[Big GMaC]

Haven't you seen the multiple calls for volunteers any time someone makes this suggestion?

How do you think I became a Mod? Random act of Deity?

I know, I have.

But one more is a plaster (band-aid) on a bullet wound

 

[The Hitch]

could i ask why there is a character requirment on posts?
Sometimes posts will have less than 10 characters and all it does is make people write words like bla bla bla or dots, at the end of their posts to meet the requirment

 

[Martin318is]

I believe its because for most people it reduces the inclination to go around posting pointless "Me too" posts etc

 

[Dr. Maserati]

i believe its because for most people it reduces the inclination to go around posting pointless "me too" posts etc

+ 1 ............

 

[Ferminal]

+ 1 ............

Well played Sir.

 

[Martin318is]

+ 1 ............

As can be seen, it reduces the number of people who will take the effort to mock up a post to the correct length.

And we are then left with only the small subset of posts which eminate from a certain type of individual

Nice one doctor

 

[Hugh Januss]

+ 1 ............

Me too.......

 

[Hugh Januss]

I would have no problem with there being harsher penalties for insulting a moderator that for insulting a regular poster. Mods are like the policemen of the forum (and mostly volunteer at that I think) and as such they may make somebody mad in the normal application of their duty. If they do they should absolutely not have to take any sort of abuse for it. If you have a beef with a mod take it to PM, if you want to argue it in public and you become insulting then automatically you are wrong and they are right. On the other hand there should be a kind of appeals system for someone who is banned (and there may be, I haven't been banned yet so I don't know) where you can communicate with the mod who banned you, without getting another user name, and maybe reach an agreement. For obvious reasons this should have a limit as to how many times any individual can use it (I would set it at well under 50).

 

[Martin318is]

Me too.......

and then of course there is the secondary wave of those that witnessed a great joke and then repeat it as though they came up with it.

 

[WonderLance]

I believe that there is a solution to the moderation problem. I am starting up a special campaign to make me a moderator. This forum needs my special skills at being able to call out the pro-cancer trolls. Mr and Mrs moderator are very good most times they let people say bad things about lance, like he cannot eat 32 gels while pedaling at 200rpm and that he was only doing ashley Olsen to get at Bob Saget.

I have lots of post and am a very good spelller and a nice guy, you would like me if you got to know me, Im not spanish.

people pick on me a lot because I like Lance and Evens but i think i could help this problem by becoming a moderator.

I have a lot of support from powerful people both within the forum and outside and will not rest until I am a mod or the tour de lance is over

 

[Hugh Januss]

and then of course there is the secondary wave of those that witnessed a great joke and then repeat it as though they came up with it.

Please disregard what I said previously about insulting mods being bad, because I think that Martin BMW guy is a horse's ____ and I say this with all due respect.

Edit: Funny as it might be, I have to say that I think making Wonder Lance a mod would be as good an idea as making me a mod.

 

[WonderLance]

Banned.....

 

[Martin318is]

Banned.....

Who is Banned? Hugh?

No, he isn't banned and if you are referring to the post above, he won't be either and there are a few simple reasons why:
* Its clearly a joke (although a tad weaker than his usual efforts...)
* It has been moderated to bring it into line with what is a bit more acceptable
* I AM a horse's ____ so its essentially on topic AND factual

 

[boredone]

On the other hand there should be a kind of appeals system for someone who is banned (and there may be, I haven't been banned yet so I don't know) where you can communicate with the mod who banned you, without getting another user name, and maybe reach an agreement..

No there isnt, once you are banned you cannot even view the forum when logged on. This is another issue. You receive a ban you beleive is unfair from a moderator and you can do nothing about it except setting up a second account and arguing your case. Or just accepting it, which isnt always the easiest thing to do when you beleive you have been wronged. THen again, if banned members can PM BPC will have a field day.

My other question is what do bans acheive. In the case of a poster who trolls, or disrupts threads, yes, it will get them out of the way, and hopefully on their return it will make them think about their actions. A poster who repeatedly posts spoilers in race threads etc, it will make them think about their actions and not do it again. If a poster has been repeatedly warned about something and not learnt it serves to show them that they most listen to warnings.

A poster who does not cause any particular trouble around the forum, who just called someone a name, what does banning them achieve apart from ****ing them off. Has the member learnt anything? Will the ban achieve anything? no, not really. They just learn that if they wish to insult a moderator in future they do it in pm, and that everytime they see doping mentioned in threads outside the clinic or abuse to other members to report it. Counter productive if you ask me.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

and then of course there is the secondary wave of those that witnessed a great joke and then repeat it as though they came up with it.

+1 ...........

 

[ThaiPanda]

Who is this boredone guy?

 

[Martin318is]

(In the following I use the pronoun "You" - this is not referring to Dim, it is the general usage of the word, meaning anybody in the situation described; people in general.)

Personally as an internet user and moderator of OTHER forums (and not speaking as a moderator of this forum) I think if you are banned you are banned. If you believe you were "wronged" then you can always go and frequent a different site - or contact the site admin directly via the contacts page and register a complaint. If I have been banned, and I believe the moderators of the site generally appear to act fairly, then I would sit and take the punishment because I would have done something to deserve it.

Generally speaking, you should fairly expect to receive a warning for behaviour that is likely to lead to a banning if it continues. These are events that are at the fringe of the forum rules and at risk of stepping over them. It is at this point that you have the opportunity to explain/discuss/reverse that behaviour and you will then be assessed upon the reaction to that warning. the warning will be one record and will be taken into account in future situations.

However, where the behaviour blatantly breaks the rules of the forum, a warning is not necessary and should not be expected/demanded. You read the rules when you signed up and so you will know that what you have done has broken them and you will know that a punishment is appropriate. In these cases, I really, truly, deeply, do not care how many supposedly 'nice' posts someone has put up in their time on a site. when someone completely breaks the forum rules regarding offensive behaviour etc they should be assessed on the act itself. The rules should not be biased against Noobs who don't know better. If anything they should be biased AGAINST long term members. After all, they have been on the site long enough to get a very good feel for what is appropriate and what is not.

I have much higher expectations of good behaviour for my 5 year old than I do of my 18month old.

If that annoys the member and they choose not to learn something from it then that implies that they are likely to re-offend or engage in larger infractions rather than just getting on with it and going back to being a good member of the discussion. In which case their further punishment should once again not come as a surprise.

 

[WonderLance]

Who is Banned? Hugh?

No, he isn't banned and if you are referring to the post above, he won't be either and there are a few simple reasons why:
* Its clearly a joke (although a tad weaker than his usual efforts...)
* It has been moderated to bring it into line with what is a bit more acceptable
* I AM a horse's ____ so its essentially on topic AND factual

Are you OK mr BMW moderator?

You sound confused, i think you should sit down with a copy of 'we might as well win' or 'its not about the bike' that always cheers me up.

 

[Martin318is]

Are you OK mr BMW moderator?

You sound confused, i think you should sit down with a copy of 'we might as well win' or 'its not about the bike' that always cheers me up.

Please don't take this thread off topic.