Netserk said:
Then why not inform people who reported something that something has been done? Would that hurt?
Dear member, thank you for reporting this post. We have sent that person a pm/ we will contact the poster about that issue/ we believe there is nothing wrong with the issue but thanks for contacting us.
How is Zam supposed to know you did anything? Oh right, its not for zam to know because he isn't a "moderator". Well considering its a forum for and by posters and that the only difference between you and him is you pmd someone saying "i want to be a mod", I don't see why not. If something bothered him enough to report it then presumably he has an interest in finding out how it went so whats the harm in telling him?
While I'm on the subject, it seems to me some of you are digging yourselves into holes by not even bothering with the little things. Being respectful doesn't cost. It would get people a lot less riled up.
For instance Eshnar is a friend poster of mine on here, but I was surprised to see in that list of pm's he tells Dr M "I have no need to threat you. No tribunal will question me for banning you." Even if Eshnar felt Dr Mas deserved it, surely the interest should be in reaching a solution at some point, whereas that reads very much like a put down and is only going to make the poster less willing to cooperate, in this case and in future ones, because the wording is designed to deflate someone's ego and confidence.
If you look at the Gold Standard of moderating on this forum- Francois the Postman, he was always respectful, discussed issues not just with the people who were at fault, and often sacrificed himself to let a controversy die down. For example I remember 1 poster told him to **** off and Francois didnt even ban them, in the interests of letting things calm down.
While im not saying mods should take it that far, on the other hand the current attitude could hardly be more different and the perception is, whether earned or not, that some of you now became mods simply for the power kick. I certainly felt that way after I got a
1 week ban for what was at worst a very very minor insult (the word in question was "idiot", which in this country hasn't been a swear word since about the 12th century), and at best, friendly banter (the poster had asked "am I an idiot"). 1 week, couldn't help but laugh when I saw it. **** em if they cant take a joke seemed to be the message.
And that is especially clear in the case of moderator parullo who deletes threads or posts and refuses to even answer pm's or questions in here about it.
And that often there is no respect.
You in particular Netserk like to be a **** a lot of the time, as you were for example in the post with miburo 2 days ago.
Not that I have anything against that, I like banter and the heat of the discussion, but other people do mind that and as a moderator you should take all posters into account and understand that not all posters will enjoy reading verbal ***** slaps from the people tasked with ensuring civility on the forum.
You explain this away by arguing that your poster personality is different from your mod personality and insist that it is the prerogative of everyone else to learn to adapt to that.
But do you want to know how your explanation reads to everyone else?
More like, " I want all the power and perks of being a moderator without any of the responsibility".
As a mod on here you wear the moderator badge on here all the time. Its there next to your name everytime you post.
People will not have an on off button in their heads to switch once they learn to differentiate between what posts you intend as a mod and which ones you intend as a non mod. So long as you are a moderator people will read your posts as that of a moderator.
You needlessly put miburo down. Not like its the only example, others have complained before, but I use it as its fresh in my mind. It wasn't against the rules but still the little things matter. If it ever comes to dealing with miburo from a moderator standpoint, will you recuse yourself from his case? If not have you thought about how he might feel, a person who needlessly put him down over total BS, now being on the jury for his case?
Please and thank yous go a long way. And sometimes turning the other cheek to calm down a discussion. Its not like you dont still have the power to ban a person if they don't follow your lead and calm down themselves.
I suspect a lot more people would apply for the moderator position if they thought it was just a way of getting to ban people, delete posts, without informing anyone, getting access to the info regular posters aren't shown, without any sacrifice whatsoever. But from my experience most people think being a moderator involves a lot more than that. Certainly people like Francois the Postman, Peddaling Squares, Martin318is, 180crank, Red Flanders in the previous generation of mods saw it that way, and many of them posted a lot less after becoming mods, especially on controversial subjects.
I do remember that during that era there was a rule that no one who had previously been banned could apply for being a moderator. i see by the identity of some mods that rule must have now been dropped. As clearly have the standards.