CDZ A Word About "Mods".

[Fishlore]

How are mods chosen? Who does the choosing? Is this information available somewhere on the board?

You know I don't honestly know how it is done here. I'm sure most sites owners have ways to do it though. At mine I pick the Bosses aka admins and the Bosses pick the Under Bosses aka Mods.

But that is just speaking for me NO others.

A board with a private owner is a private business and, I suppose, has no obligation to disclose who owns the board , who administers it and who moderates. There is also no obligation to be "fair and balanced". He who pays the piper calls the tune. If you don't like it, don't dance there.

I think I would like to see a non-profit coop board with transparency about administration and a democratic approach to posts and mods. There must be some such on the Interwebs. I don't know how to find them. They may actually be worse than proprietary boards such as this one. I just don't know; but as an American, I am predisposed to like transparency and democracy in the exercise of my First Amendment rights.

 

[DarkFury]

How are mods chosen? Who does the choosing? Is this information available somewhere on the board?

You know I don't honestly know how it is done here. I'm sure most sites owners have ways to do it though. At mine I pick the Bosses aka admins and the Bosses pick the Under Bosses aka Mods.

But that is just speaking for me NO others.

A board with a private owner is a private business and, I suppose, has no obligation to disclose who owns the board , who administers it and who moderates. There is also no obligation to be "fair and balanced". He who pays the piper calls the tune. If you don't like it, don't dance there.

I think I would like to see a non-profit coop board with transparency about administration and a democratic approach to posts and mods. There must be some such on the Interwebs. I don't know how to find them. They may actually be worse than proprietary boards such as this one. I just don't know; but as an American, I am predisposed to like transparency and democracy in the exercise of my First Amendment rights.

Boards are like stores you can post their or not. As to democratic approach? That approach is often where you lose your rights IF the board is slanted the other way from your view. If posters here voted every month on which 10 posters should be banned at the end of the year you would only have ten posters.

"Trimming" takes place all the time per TOA/TOS rules. That is where the equality is and by those who enforce those rules.

 

[Coyote]

Mods volunteer because they have no life and need validation.

Qualifications = always being available ( again due to having no life). That's it.

That definitely applies to a lot of mods. It makes them feel important and powerful. I knew one who gave the owner of the site money in exchange for making him an administrator. As soon as she did, he started over-moderating the site. Pissed everybody off. He started banning members he didn't like or who questioned his authority. He threatened everyone who argued with him in debates. People started leaving the site or just stopped posting anything. They finally got rid of him but the damage was already done. Last time I visited the site there were about a dozen people left and most of the threads were started by the owner with the same two or three people chatting about really stupid topics. The guy ruined what was once a good site.

That's new. Usually the mods and admin hit the owners and members up for money.

They keep telling me the check's in the mail...damn it

 

[BlueGin]

lets me think..is that sadist alan1 still a mod and how many times has he been a mod.....or changed his name.....
the admins have an odd sense of humor when it comes to mods....

Yes they do.

 

[April]

Mods volunteer because they have no life and need validation.

Qualifications = always being available ( again due to having no life). That's it.

Posters don't "volunteer" to be mods - posters are asked to be mods by the admin.

And "availability" has little to do with the choice.

Yip. I was approached and asked by Admin out of nowhere, I was a little surprised...I declined at first, but they assured me I could change my mind and leave at any time...well...here I am. Still.

 

[Coyote]

Same here, though periodically my sanity comes into question

 

[April]

Same here, though periodically my sanity comes into question

With ya on that, girl...

 

[hortysir]

Guys...this thread is in CDZ....let's keep it that way ok?

Daaaannnngg



A thread, basically about the awesomness of our current staff of Moderators had to be "Moderated"



How dysfunctional can we be?

 

[April]

Guys...this thread is in CDZ....let's keep it that way ok?

Daaaannnngg



A thread, basically about the awesomness of our current staff of Moderators had to be "Moderated"



How dysfunctional can we be?

Effing right???

 

[BlueGin]

Mods volunteer because they have no life and need validation.

Qualifications = always being available ( again due to having no life). That's it.

That definitely applies to a lot of mods. It makes them feel important and powerful. I knew one who gave the owner of the site money in exchange for making him an administrator. As soon as she did, he started over-moderating the site. Pissed everybody off. He started banning members he didn't like or who questioned his authority. He threatened everyone who argued with him in debates. People started leaving the site or just stopped posting anything. They finally got rid of him but the damage was already done. Last time I visited the site there were about a dozen people left and most of the threads were started by the owner with the same two or three people chatting about really stupid topics. The guy ruined what was once a good site.

That's new. Usually the mods and admin hit the owners and members up for money.

They keep telling me the check's in the mail...damn it

You must not have had a winning sob story. Sorry

 

[Coyote]

Mods volunteer because they have no life and need validation.

Qualifications = always being available ( again due to having no life). That's it.

That definitely applies to a lot of mods. It makes them feel important and powerful. I knew one who gave the owner of the site money in exchange for making him an administrator. As soon as she did, he started over-moderating the site. Pissed everybody off. He started banning members he didn't like or who questioned his authority. He threatened everyone who argued with him in debates. People started leaving the site or just stopped posting anything. They finally got rid of him but the damage was already done. Last time I visited the site there were about a dozen people left and most of the threads were started by the owner with the same two or three people chatting about really stupid topics. The guy ruined what was once a good site.

That's new. Usually the mods and admin hit the owners and members up for money.

They keep telling me the check's in the mail...damn it

You must not have had a winning sob story. Sorry

I threw in the teenage mother bit, the unwanted litters, the fleabite dermititus, my horrible spelling skills and halitosis. Didn't work

 

[BlueGin]

Mods volunteer because they have no life and need validation.

Qualifications = always being available ( again due to having no life). That's it.

That definitely applies to a lot of mods. It makes them feel important and powerful. I knew one who gave the owner of the site money in exchange for making him an administrator. As soon as she did, he started over-moderating the site. Pissed everybody off. He started banning members he didn't like or who questioned his authority. He threatened everyone who argued with him in debates. People started leaving the site or just stopped posting anything. They finally got rid of him but the damage was already done. Last time I visited the site there were about a dozen people left and most of the threads were started by the owner with the same two or three people chatting about really stupid topics. The guy ruined what was once a good site.

That's new. Usually the mods and admin hit the owners and members up for money.

They keep telling me the check's in the mail...damn it

You must not have had a winning sob story. Sorry

I threw in the teenage mother bit, the unwanted litters, the fleabite dermititus, my horrible spelling skills and halitosis. Didn't work

No one died or was maimed?

 

[westwall]

What would be the point of being a moderator here if we couldn't "interact"? Who would do that?

You know we're not paid, right?

You know what I'm talking about. Interacting as in engaging in debates. Obviously you have to interact from time to time relating to the board.

I understand what you're saying. I'm asking why anyone would be a mod if it meant that they were no longer allowed to enjoy the site.

I had my own site for a while and I stayed away from debates because I noticed people were reluctant to argue with me and often left the thread if I engaged in the debate. I didn't think it was good for the site.

Here's the thing - this isn't my site. Like all the other mods here, I'm a volunteer - and the only reason I agreed to be a mod here is because I enjoy the site. If I wasn't allowed to enjoy the site, why would I waste my time moderating it?

If you were paid, but not allowed to post, would you do it?

No.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Mods should not be allowed to interact. It's a conflict of interest. If they want to engage in debates they should resign as a mod.

^^^ That.

 

[LoneLaugher]

This is serious business.

 

[longknife]

I had my own site for a while and I stayed away from debates because I noticed people were reluctant to argue with me and often left the thread if I engaged in the debate. I didn't think it was good for the site.

Here's the thing - this isn't my site. Like all the other mods here, I'm a volunteer - and the only reason I agreed to be a mod here is because I enjoy the site. If I wasn't allowed to enjoy the site, why would I waste my time moderating it?

Do you feel your interaction is better or worse for it? Because if you feel its less then that backs my OP.

I feel that my "interaction" here is essentially the same now as it was before I was a mod.

I guess you should count yourself lucky because its not the general finding. Like I said I'm not just talking here bout MANY boards blogs and forums all over the net.

I think you're missing a key element. Mods/staff can participate however and wherever they want. They can spend their forum time however they want, no one is keeping track of how they spend their time here. That includes how much moderating they are doing. They have total freedom to do as they please (within the guidelines of course) just as you do.

I've always said the most important thing for the mods to do is have fun FIRST, second and third. If its stressful and not fun they are doing something wrong There's no pressure, no requirements, no hours they should put in, no nothing. Don't want to handle an issue? Don't. Feel like taking a month or two or year off? No problem..have fun!

Like Doc pointed out, his interaction is the same as before he was a mod, and that's the way it should be. I wouldn't want it any different for them. New mods often ask "What do I need to do?" My answer is always "just have fun" Of course handling issues, spam etc will play a role but that goes without saying.

In closing there are no time commitments mods must adhere to or special rules (outside of forum rules) they must adhere to. Just have fun

Maybe it's just me but when it comes to a thread I enjoy and I want to respond to a post, I seldom pay attention to the "credentials" of the poster.

It's only been in this thread that I've noticed who the Bosses are. If you're the Top Dog on here - you're doing a great job. Thanks.

 

[Fishlore]

How are mods chosen? Who does the choosing? Is this information available somewhere on the board?

You know I don't honestly know how it is done here. I'm sure most sites owners have ways to do it though. At mine I pick the Bosses aka admins and the Bosses pick the Under Bosses aka Mods.

But that is just speaking for me NO others.

A board with a private owner is a private business and, I suppose, has no obligation to disclose who owns the board , who administers it and who moderates. There is also no obligation to be "fair and balanced". He who pays the piper calls the tune. If you don't like it, don't dance there.

I think I would like to see a non-profit coop board with transparency about administration and a democratic approach to posts and mods. There must be some such on the Interwebs. I don't know how to find them. They may actually be worse than proprietary boards such as this one. I just don't know; but as an American, I am predisposed to like transparency and democracy in the exercise of my First Amendment rights.

Boards are like stores you can post their or not. As to democratic approach? That approach is often where you lose your rights IF the board is slanted the other way from your view. If posters here voted every month on which 10 posters should be banned at the end of the year you would only have ten posters.

"Trimming" takes place all the time per TOA/TOS rules. That is where the equality is and by those who enforce those rules.

Boards are NOT like stores, they don't sell anything and, in fact, ban the sale of products. It might be a better analogy to say that boards are like newspapers, if you don't like it, don't read it and don't write for it. I am not questioning the proprietary rights of the board owner, but engaging in debate etc. on a board is not quite the same as putting a classified ad in a shopper. The closest analogy I can think of are newspapers in the 18th century. Back then what we call "articles" now were in the form of letters and all contributors used a nom de plume.

Today's board is a vanity press for some rich man and his friends. Nothing wrong with that, at least not in the context of American culture in which everything is commoditized.

 

[Spinster]

Mods volunteer because they have no life and need validation.

Qualifications = always being available ( again due to having no life). That's it.

Posters don't "volunteer" to be mods - posters are asked to be mods by the admin.

And "availability" has little to do with the choice.

What exactly, in your opinion, does it have to do with?

 

[Billo_Really]

They need a staff member that is a night owl that can be here when assholes know nobody is around with spam and dick sucking animated gifs (yes, I saw that posted one time in the wee hours).

I'm a night owl. And I'm definitely an asshole. But they would have to erect a new set of rules, for me to be a staff's member.