# About the Moderators and Moderation. (From my perspective at least) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 5, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214 "2023-04-05T18:54:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/21 "2023-04-06T05:21:12Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > current group is outstanding and very appreciated This. I can think of a couple of occasions when I have disagreed with comments by current moderators (once when I got a mod note, another time when a mod was just posting as a poster and the comment made was rather personal). That is so trivial that I only mention it as an illustration of how we tend to have long memories for perceived slights on the internet. In the greater scheme of things, both occasions were ridiculously unimportant. I have been a moderator for a different board for the past 8 years or so. While it is calm now, due to the general trend away from message boards toward other forms of social media, for a good 5 years while I moderated, it was HELL ON EARTH. And it was a far less complex ecosystem than here at the SDMB. Being a moderator is like being a parent: before you personally have the experience, you may _think_ you know what it’s like. But really, you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/22 "2023-04-06T07:16:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > This isn’t completely out of the blue. Sort of guessed that. 🙂 And I will add my thanks. Being a mod here cannot be easy, and it means that the Dope can be even more of a time suck. All of the mods are a big plus (🇨🇭) to this site. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/23 "2023-04-06T11:38:57Z")
…they’re even bigger than that :- 🇨🇭 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/24 "2023-04-06T11:53:26Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > 1. This isn’t a job, we’re unpaid **volunteers**. > 2. While we tend to check most new threads, we don’t follow most threads unless they’re of interest to us. > 3. 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.** > > 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 add a fourth point, which I’ve recently learned isn’t completely obvious. 1. 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. Another option, if you want to discuss multiple posts together, is to send a DM to [@moderators](https://boards.straightdope.com/groups/moderators) and include links to the multiple posts you want to discuss. But that’s a lot more work, and if you report a couple of posts and explain how they are related, we’ll figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/25 "2023-04-06T12:09:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Another option, if you want to discuss multiple posts together, is to send a DM to [@moderators](https://boards.straightdope.com/groups/moderators) and include links to the multiple posts you want to discuss. But what if they don’t play D&D? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/26 "2023-04-06T12:15:01Z")
Added to the OP. Good addition. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/27 "2023-04-06T12:33:37Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > But what if they don’t play D&D? Then we are mindlessly prejudiced against them, of course. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/28 "2023-04-06T18:55:51Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > (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!) **Tuba** approached me at least once to join the SDMB staff. It’s possible that I subconsciously torpedoed my chances by acting like an ass. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/29 "2023-04-06T20:16:18Z")
It was leaked to me that my name came up in early discussions at one point believe it or not. One of the other staffers quickly (and probably wisely) blackballed me so it never got close to me getting an offer. Now that I think about it, none of the people in this story are around anymore. It was some years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/30 "2023-04-06T20:31:37Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It was some years ago. 2013, according to my old emails. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/31 "2023-04-06T20:33:13Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The modding here is the best thing about this board and the key to its longevity and functionality. I agree completely, and that’s why it’s always funny when an Aggrieved Asshole\* flounces into ATMB and predicts that this is definitely absolutely the end of times for these boards because **this time** the moderation has gone too far. \*band name? topical cream? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/32 "2023-04-06T20:39:31Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > 2013, according to my old emails. Damn. Lol. I didn’t think there would still be records. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/33 "2023-04-06T20:43:35Z")
Well, we delete the secret videos after six months, but the satellite photos we keep around for longer. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/34 "2023-04-06T20:48:29Z")
In that case, for the record, I am still unavailable. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/35 "2023-04-08T19:34:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > \*band name? topical cream? But wait! It’s both! Seriously, I want to add yet another voice in the chorus of praise for our tireless mods. I try to close most of my flag reports with a sentence close to this. Which I think hits pretty well. > Thanks for all that all of you do for all of us every day. It does not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. So I’ll say it again here and now in front of everyone: Thanks for all that all of you do for all of us every day. It does not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/36 "2023-04-08T19:50:55Z")
As Winston Churchill put it :- “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/37 "2023-04-08T20:06:12Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > This isn’t a job, we’re unpaid **volunteers**. Well, there’s your first mistake… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214/38 "2023-04-08T20:08:30Z")
First thing we were taught in the NAVY but it never took. **N** ever **A** gain **V** olunteer **Y** ourself [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-moderators-and-moderation-from-my-perspective-at-least/982214.md?page=1)