New Moderators

[180mmCrank]

Just curious with both new mods and old mods following this thread

Is there a possibility to upgrade the forum software to V-bulletin version 4?

I'm not sure what version CN currently runs here but the new version has more features..etc..

Thank you for considering...

Looks like we are running 3rd rather than 4th generation to me... but as Francois said earlier this is a CN thing and we don't control software.

 

[nickel999]

Got it. Thanks for checking

 

[Francois the Postman]

Looks like we are running 3rd rather than 4th generation to me... but as Francois said earlier this is a CN thing and we don't control software.

Version 3.8.1 to be precise.

 

[180mmCrank]

Version 3.8.1 to be precise.

I wasn't going to give the exact version in case there was some advantage to be had by spammers or trolls trying to infiltrate or blow up the site some how? But probably not very likely

 

[auscyclefan94]

What, in your opinion, ACF, would solve the real problems? You led the call to arms for new moderators, and now you have no fewer than six of them, and your first reaction is to roll your eyes and say it will be ineffective?

What WILL be effective?

Consistent and impartial moderators. Things have changed since I made the request for new moderators...

 

[AussieGoddess]

Good Luck Guys .....

and thanks for taking on the job

 

[jaylew]

Could be because Flanders isnt far from Denmark and there is a poster here called "Redhead Dane" with a yellow avatar as well.

Yeah, you're right Hitch. I was also confusing red_flanders with Redhead Dane.

Great volunteering/selection! One thing I would like to say though is that all of you have been interesting and insightful posters to date, so I hope that you'll be able to continue doing that in the same manner, in addition to your new responsibilities.

Thanks, I certainly don't plan on changing the way I post, but we'll see what happens.

Consistent and impartial moderators. Things have changed since I made the request for new moderators...

That's my plan.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

all that is needed is moderators who can be absolutely free of opinions and subjectively look at peoples accumulative posts. me i state my thoughts and feelings i do not troll ever(i actually race and have a life)my thoughts are just that my views regarding cycling and what goes on in my eyes regarding individual riders. recently i received 2 infractions which never happened before since 2009 or so and i felt it was somewhat based on my views this is not acceptable on a true fee forum. i feel moderators need to be very open or put simply freedom of speech is not upheld. my thoughts for what it is worth

Ok - you do realise you said that you don't troll ever - and then trolled?

Then there are the comments in Red - you want Mods (who are volunteers) to uphold Freedom of Speech by giving up their Freedom of Speech.

Great volunteering/selection! One thing I would like to say though is that all of you have been interesting and insightful posters to date, so I hope that you'll be able to continue doing that in the same manner, in addition to your new responsibilities.

+1.

It is great to see many new Mods and all are excellent posters - I too hope that their new roles don't curtail them from offering their opinions in other threads.

 

[Granville57]

For some reason, I was under the impression that CN was only looking for ONE new Mod. I didn't realize you were assembling a whole team (is there a TTT in the making?). Excellent work!

Being relatively new here myself, I'm most familiar with Ferminal and Pedaling Squares, and have always enjoyed both of their contributions. Plus, IMO Pedaling Squares has one of the best screen names and avatars on this forum—what more could you ask for?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd85Qim_Z6A

Good luck to everyone!
Thanks for the efforts.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Consistent and impartial moderators. Things have changed since I made the request for new moderators...

Two problems with that:

1) Total impartiality is almost impossible if you are to contribute to a forum;
2) Everybody's idea of what is truly impartial is slightly different.

 

[The Hitch]

Two problems with that:

1) Total impartiality is almost impossible if you are to contribute to a forum;
2) Everybody's idea of what is truly impartial is slightly different.

Francois is pretty impartial. He didnt even ban a guy who told him to "***k off" but told me in a pm that he would have had the slant been directed against someone else..

 

[thirteen]

Francois is pretty impartial. He didnt even ban a guy who told him to "***k off" but told me in a pm that he would have had the slant been directed against someone else..

so he's the mama bear?

 

[Martin318is]

Consistent and impartial moderators. Things have changed since I made the request for new moderators...

Strange - I have been consistent and impartial since I became a mod and that was well before you (as you put it) made a request for new moderators. (Others tend to remember that episode a little differently....)

What most of us really want is consistent moderaTION. As in all the mods do pretty much the same thing in the same circumstances - as much as possible.

You are still not going to get that because we all have lives outside this forum and those lives can impact the amount of time we have to deliberate on an issue. Sometimes we can give up the time to go and do deep investigation on a problem but other times we have to take the early action. The addition of the new moderators is designed to help to take that problem away a bit.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Strange - I have been consistent and impartial since I became a mod and that was well before you (as you put it) made a request for new moderators. (Others tend to remember that episode a little differently....)

What most of us really want is consistent moderaTION. As in all the mods do pretty much the same thing in the same circumstances - as much as possible.

You are still not going to get that because we all have lives outside this forum and those lives can impact the amount of time we have to deliberate on an issue. Sometimes we can give up the time to go and do deep investigation on a problem but other times we have to take the early action. The addition of the new moderators is designed to help to take that problem away a bit.

Another point I have to make is the reporting system. How does that work? Is it easy for mods to find the reported posts because I partially made the comment you quoted because when reporting is done nothing seems to really happen.

I am not saying your are partial, but are you going to trust a poster like myself who goes against the general trend of opinions who initiates some heated debates or someone who goes with the general flow of debates and goes with the majority who doesn't really stand out? You may not consciously be partial when observing who is right but subconsciously when a debate becomes heated, subconsciously any moderator would become at s least slightly partial based on their opnions of the the posters character and where they stand on general issues in comparison to myself for example.

 

[Francois the Postman]

Another point I have to make is the reporting system. How does that work? Is it easy for mods to find the reported posts because I partially made the comment you quoted because when reporting is done nothing seems to really happen.

I am not saying your are partial, but are you going to trust a poster like myself who goes against the general trend of opinions who initiates some heated debates or someone who goes with the general flow of debates and goes with the majority who doesn't really stand out? You may not consciously be partial when observing who is right but subconsciously when a debate becomes heated, subconsciously any moderator would become at s least slightly partial based on their opnions of the the posters character and where they stand on general issues in comparison to myself for example.

"Reporting a post" means all mods get an email in their inbox. Mods go online to check the post in question, and assess it. These days that happens usually within minutes of the claim made, if mods are unavailable it can take a bit longer. The first mod on the scene tends to deal with it, or consults other mods if the situation warrants it.

The vast majority of complaints result in some action. Edited posts, deleted posts, public warnings, PMs. Sometimes no action is taken, either because we didn't think the claim was valid, or the situation wasn't severe enough. In the last case, it does stay in the back of our minds though, as we monitor and asses future posts by the same people.

I have frequently given you feedback on reports you made, even if it was simply to say thanks you for reports, whenever I had time to do so, and especially if immediate action wasn't easily visible. Many people can attest that I get back to them after a report has been made, although the system we have to work with makes that a very labour intensive process. I think it is important, I try my best to do it when I can.

I even have contacted you a few times before you made any reports, just to see how certain posts appeared to you. Over the last few weeks time has been in short supply for the mods, as you will be aware of, so the reporting back has been a bit less than I'd like it to be. We have new mods now, so hopefully the time to do more aftercare is back as well.

So "nothing seems to happen" is a pretty outlandish claim, from where I am standing ACF.

What you might not like, is that we don't always take your pov about a situation as the one to run with. We do make up our own minds if you are right or not, and if a situation or a single posts warrants the action you called for. Our judgement is sometimes in agreement with you, at times we disagree. We are not in a position to spend half our lives arguing each and every judgement call.

So there will be times when a report by you will appear to you as being ignored, especially when we also don't have time to give you feedback. I am sure some of your reports are ignored as "not being bad enough to go become all formal about". To say that "nothing seems to happen", after the totality of direct actions by the mods that I can trace to a report by you -heck, even the sheer number of interactions that you and I have had over the last months-, is a bit surprising to hear.

In reality, just all mods who were online around the time of the report will have had a look at your reports. We do that regardless of who makes the complaint, as we cannot tell what is happening without checking it out further. We tend to assume the worst when we go in. Several of us put day jobs and family to the side to log in and have a quick look, within minutes, whenever we can.

I have no idea where you get the impression from that we would treat you with less sympathy than others. If anything, given the times I have jumped in and made a case for you and your grievances, I would say the opposite is actually much much easier to argue.

To be frank, I have a hard time rhyming your accusations of partiality regarding you and your posts with the time and attention I, and other mods, have given them.

In all honesty, if you are this unappreciative of the time and ears I have given you, do you think posts like this are persuaders to keep doing that? [and no, that doesn't mean i will ignore your reports from now on, I don't tick that way].

There have also been plenty of long backroom discussions about issues you raised here or through posts.

A small side note, if you think that the new mods are here as an answer to a call initiated by you, you are dead wrong. Nor are you the rebel we have problems with, and wish folk were less animated, or whatever it is. You are a valued and prolific contributor, we were even discussing if your 10,000th post should be marked in some way.

I suspect we are a hell of a lot more appreciative, impartial and egalitarian than some people have in their heads.

 

[Granville57]

I'm curious, roughly (or exactly) how many people applied for the Mod squad?

 

[Francois the Postman]

Just over 20, top of my head.

-edit - 28.

 

[auscyclefan94]

"Reporting a post" means all mods get an email in their inbox. Mods go online to check the post in question, and assess it. These days that happens usually within minutes of the claim made, if mods are unavailable it can take a bit longer. The first mod on the scene tends to deal with it, or consults other mods if the situation warrants it.

The vast majority of complaints result in some action. Edited posts, deleted posts, public warnings, PMs. Sometimes no action is taken, either because we didn't think the claim was valid, or the situation wasn't severe enough. In the last case, it does stay in the back of our minds though, as we monitor and asses future posts by the same people.

I have frequently given you feedback on reports you made, even if it was simply to say thanks you for reports, whenever I had time to do so, and especially if immediate action wasn't easily visible. Many people can attest that I get back to them after a report has been made, although the system we have to work with makes that a very labour intensive process. I think it is important, I try my best to do it when I can.

I even have contacted you a few times before you made any reports, just to see how certain posts appeared to you. Over the last few weeks time has been in short supply for the mods, as you will be aware of, so the reporting back has been a bit less than I'd like it to be. We have new mods now, so hopefully the time to do more aftercare is back as well.

So "nothing seems to happen" is a pretty outlandish claim, from where I am standing ACF.

What you might not like, is that we don't always take your pov about a situation as the one to run with. We do make up our own minds if you are right or not, and if a situation or a single posts warrants the action you called for. Our judgement is sometimes in agreement with you, at times we disagree. We are not in a position to spend half our lives arguing each and every judgement call.

So there will be times when a report by you will appear to you as being ignored, especially when we also don't have time to give you feedback. I am sure some of your reports are ignored as "not being bad enough to go become all formal about". To say that "nothing seems to happen", after the totality of direct actions by the mods that I can trace to a report by you -heck, even the sheer number of interactions that you and I have had over the last months-, is a bit surprising to hear.

In reality, just all mods who were online around the time of the report will have had a look at your reports. We do that regardless of who makes the complaint, as we cannot tell what is happening without checking it out further. We tend to assume the worst when we go in. Several of us put day jobs and family to the side to log in and have a quick look, within minutes, whenever we can.

I have no idea where you get the impression from that we would treat you with less sympathy than others. If anything, given the times I have jumped in and made a case for you and your grievances, I would say the opposite is actually much much easier to argue.

To be frank, I have a hard time rhyming your accusations of partiality regarding you and your posts with the time and attention I, and other mods, have given them.

In all honesty, if you are this unappreciative of the time and ears I have given you, do you think posts like this are persuaders to keep doing that? [and no, that doesn't mean i will ignore your reports from now on, I don't tick that way].

There have also been plenty of long backroom discussions about issues you raised here or through posts.

A small side note, if you think that the new mods are here as an answer to a call initiated by you, you are dead wrong. Nor are you the rebel we have problems with, and wish folk were less animated, or whatever it is. You are a valued and prolific contributor, we were even discussing if your 10,000th post should be marked in some way.

I suspect we are a hell of a lot more appreciative, impartial and egalitarian than some people have in their heads.

Fair enough. I have appreciated the courtesy you have shown me. I guess it sometimes feels like that because I can be very outgoing and outlandish and I think that someone is less likely to take my side when I report a post. I guess my outlandishness is my personality and is my choice to be like that but otherwise I think it doesn't help me in some situations. This is partially why I feel a mod is less likely to take my side.

I think I should be told to get a life when I get to my 10,000th post! That's how it should be marked!

 

[The Hitch]

I think I should be told to get a life when I get to my 10,000th post!

So youve never read any of the replies to your posts then

 

[BroDeal]

Just over 20, top of my head.

-edit - 28.

That's disturbing. Never trust people who seek positions of power, especially those with low post counts.

 

[Granville57]

That's disturbing. Never trust people who seek positions of power, especially those with low post counts.

So JV1973 should definitely be off the list next time around?

 

[Francois the Postman]

Fair enough. I have appreciated the courtesy you have shown me. I guess it sometimes feels like that because I can be very outgoing and outlandish and I think that someone is less likely to take my side when I report a post. I guess my outlandishness is my personality and is my choice to be like that but otherwise I think it doesn't help me in some situations. This is partially why I feel a mod is less likely to take my side.

I think I should be told to get a life when I get to my 10,000th post! That's how it should be marked!

Measured responses like this are the single best reason why I have little problem with making time for your concerns ACF.

 

[Elagabalus]

Congratulations New Moderators!!

You have chosen a thankless task! Now, get busy!

...Oh ...And don't delete any posts!! Last week it took the usual plods one whole day to figure out that "Cheat or be Cheated" was BPC (this after BroDeal had called him out) and excise his remarks permanently, leaving the rest of us to figure out why Dr. Maserati was having a conversation with himself!

There. How's that for thankless ...

 

[Boeing]

if based on posts all appear to be reasonable and not bent on policing personalities or establishing their own moral code. unlike a few who have been here some time.

have at it

 

[Martin318is]

I guess it sometimes feels like that because I can be very outgoing and outlandish and I think that someone is less likely to take my side when I report a post. I guess my outlandishness is my personality and is my choice to be like that but otherwise I think it doesn't help me in some situations. This is partially why I feel a mod is less likely to take my side.

as the paraphrased quote roughly goes, "Honey, I get weirder things than you in my breakfast cereal" - Zaphod Beeblebrox (someone may want to confirm that but I think that is where I remember it from)