While we tend to check most new threads, we don’t follow most threads unless they’re of interest to us.
If a problematic post is not flagged, we won’t end up seeing it most likely. The moderation of this board relies heavily on flags. In no way do we even attempt to read every post.
If you want to discuss a post with the moderators, please report it, and use the “something else” tag. It is enormously easier for us to click on the link the report generates than it is to find a post from a description like “it’s about x”. And “something else” allowed you to write whatever it is was you wanted to say to start the discussion. ETA: from @puzzlegal
Maybe this will help clear up some confusion. We all try to be objective. We all probably have to overcome some personal biases.
I’d like to comment how much I like the tone as of late from the SDMB moderation team.
When we first migrated over here from AOLsylvania, Tuba and Lynn and the first-generation mods were as much children in the new sandbox as any of the rest of us. I mean, yes, they shut down the use of HTML code in posts when it was shown to be capable of wreaking real havoc (at least in the wrong hands, which sooner or later was gonna happen, even though the display of proof-of-concept was benign) and they put their foot down when they deemed it necessary, but the spirit was all “yay, out from under the rule of the despotic overlords! we can say ‘ass’ in our posts if we want!”
Then over time it felt like the wagons were being circled and the moderation staff felt like underpaid overworked 8th grade teachers in a violent and dangerous innner city school district, and our input was not needed or wanted and the average teeming millionth seemed to be viewed as not much different from the worst trolls and problem children.
Now, you folks show a general willingness to reevaluate your decisions or consider suggestions, the moderation feels more even-handed while at the same time you’re stepping in more often to stop mistreatment when it occurs. Doing all that while not interfering with the general spirit of the place is a real accomplishment and y’all deserve a lot of credit.
I know every mod tries hard to do the work with integrity and in an evenhanded way. As the newest mod, it’s really nice to hear your view. But I do try to take criticism with an equally open posture, and the others, do, too. We know we don’t always get it right. Hearing we get it mostly right makes me smile.
Don’t ever hesitate to report something. We would much rather have too many flags than too few.
They depend on us to find problems, just as we depend on them to mitigate them.
At least for me, I come to this site to learn and to teach. This is a great site! But, some posters have other priorities and can rapidly reduce the value of being here. Thank the mods for maintaining it and thank all the posters who help.
For the record, I want to throw a ‘Thank you’ at W_E specifically, as well as the mods in general.
It must suck to have to bounce between endless ATMB threads about why Person A shouldn’t have been noted/warned for behavior, and then get smacked with another about why Person B DIDN’T get noted / warned.
Sadly, the mods can’t jump into a nearby time machine to escape us all… I think.
Being a mod here is definitely a higher calling, higher than I could ever conceive of doing. Thanks to all you mods and former mods. If you’re in my neighborhood, stop by for cheese and maple syrup snacks.
Retired now. I dealt with medical and governmental bureaucracy for over 4 decades, and dealt with hiring and monitoring and managing and firing physicians, the court system (local, state, and federal), convicted felon sociopaths, psychopaths, and serial killers along with all the lost souls and jailhouse lawyers for over 2 decades.
I found all that work far less daunting than even the thought of being a moderator here. (Full disclosure: I was offered modhood twice in the 23 years I’ve been here. I knew I was NOT up to that task. Great respect to those who do the job!)
Completely agreed. I’d go nuts within a week of becoming a mod. I appreciate all of our moderators tremendously.
I do submit quite a few flags, typically either for topics which seem to be in the wrong forum, or posts which seem (to my eyes, anyway) to go over the line of what’s acceptable. Sometimes, I do wind up flagging something that isn’t an issue, but I appreciate the mods both (a) taking the time to evaluate it, and (b) letting me know if they don’t think it needs moderation.
For example, I flagged a post the other night, where someone had made a joke in a serious/factual thread, which I felt might’ve been in poor taste and/or offensive to some. Two mods replied to the flag quickly, said that they didn’t think the post was offensive, and I thanked them for taking a look – it was likely just a joke that struck me the wrong way.
As someone who’s been here a long time and only occasionally subjected to the jackbooted thuggery of the mods, I just want to say that I’ve rarely found anything to complain about, and none of it was major.
I think all of you (singularly and collectively) have done a great job keeping this place on a relatively even keel Thanks to all of you.
The modding here is the best thing about this board and the key to its longevity and functionality. Lack of good modding is what makes other boards crash and burn.
