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| | | Services Director
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| Ladies and Gentlemen, with the new system I think it might be time to address something that I've heard come up regardless of who's in charge of what department. Folks seem to think that if things don't happen to go exactly their way that the person addressing the problem (be it Lee, myself, Careless Whisper, Trinna, peasant woman, or any of the other volunteers) is somehow biased against them.
So I tried a little experiment earlier. I saw some flaming on the forums (nothing new on the discussion boards, particularly the political ones) and moderated the threads exactly as they should be. I copied the post, pasted it to the individuals involved along with a warning for them to stop or that their discussion board priveleges might be suspended.
I chose (due both to time restraints and for the purposes of proving the point) only to address two posts specifically, one from each "side" of the political debate. The messages that were sent are exactly as follows (with names and posts edited out so as not to "out" the posters):
Pager Message to person 1: (asterisks indicate edited content)
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Services
Posted Yesterday @ 2:27 AM
Services Director
***[name edited out], this is a first official warning for the new boards. You won't get many. Flaming is not allowed (a direct attack on another member in a moderated forum). Your post:
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***[post edited out]
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Not acceptable. In the new system, we have the wonderful ability to let people keep using the chat rooms, but disallow them to use the discussion boards. Please don't continue with this sort of posting, or you will no longer have the discussion board privelege.
Thank you.
-CM
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Pager Message to person 2: (asterisks indicate edited content)
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Flaming. Discussion Boards. Stop it.
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***[their post edited out]
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We have a great new ability to let people still chat but take away their discussion board priveleges. Please refrain from flaming on the boards.
Thank you.
-CM
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BOTH of these individuals replied with pager messages complaining about how I was being sooooo unfair, and why was I only moderating THEM, and why was I so biased, and so on and so forth.
Folks, please understand this: we don't bother playing favorites. You're all a lot of work, and we don't really have favorite kinds of work. If Lee, myself, Trinna, pw, or CW, or whomever makes some kind of ruling, or moderates you, or does whatever, rather than complain about how no one ELSE is getting this treatment, just listen and address YOUR situation. Odds are the others are also getting the same private messages or pager messages, but guess what: we don't tell you about what we do with -them-.
And just to address some of the no-doubt knee-jerk concerns that will arise, no: Lee and I and the other volunteers don't always have time to scan through every single topic that gets posted. I personally moderate threads that happen to catch my attention for whatever reason. I don't follow anyone in particular in their posts, nor do I even read the threads with any regularity (with rare exceptions).
With the new site, let's try and have some new attitudes, particularly in how we all handle problems that arise. If you're abusing the forums, stop it. If a volunteer reminds you that you're doing it, don't give the volunteer a hard time. Just check yourself. If you disagree with what a volunteer is saying to you, shoot us a letter at either admin@the-pork.com or services@the-pork.com .
-CM |
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| | | | I have given this topic a great deal of thought. I can not speak for any of the others, for me
moderating is a major event. It is not something done on a whim, for my own pleasure or because of
how I feel about someone.
I have said more than once, if I never have to moderate someone I would be a happy camper.
I do not moderate without being given the opportunity to do so.
There are several things people can do to avoid being moderated.
Read the guidelines and rules and realize no one is above them, including me. I was banned from NHB
for 8 days. We all have the same basic set of things to follow here. I crossed the line, I knew it
and I took what I earned.
When you are banned or moderated before blaming the moderator, take a moment to try and figure out
why the action was taken in the first place. I can guarantee, with me, it has nothing to do with
how I feel about you, the past (unless you are repeating something you have been warned about
already) or my mood. It has every thing to do with what is happening at the moment.
Threatening some one is a moderateable offence. I recently learn it is to go eyond me. That means I
have to report it to security. So don't do it and I will not moderate you for it.
Disrupting a room can be a moderated offence.
Read the TOS and then stay with in it. It is that simple.
Flaming will get you moderated, whether on the boards or in the Chamber. I did learn a good lesson
with the help of a chatter that wished I had done some thing differently. She came to me to have a
conversation and she got just that. By the end of the conversation we both understood the other. I
also learned a new skill.
Moderating yourself is the best thing. Conversation is the key to understanding.
I do not know of any staff member that jumps the gun and bans or moderates
just because they can. I do not know of any staff member or volunteer that
seeks to have power or control over any one. What I do see are people trying to make
a great chat site the best it can be
for as many as possible. |
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