I’ve spent quite a bit of time in an unmoderated forum, and can’t help but contrast it to this forum, which is moderated, to some degree, but still seems pretty hands-off.
I’ve noticed, and been pleased by, the lack of spam and gratitous stupidity, and the way that moderators can move threads to more appropriate forums. Moderators often provide links to columns, previous threads, etc., but in the absence of moderators I’m sure posters could take on that duty–though having someone dedicated to that task assures that it’s done promptly. At unmoderated boards, I’ve often been irritated when posters snap, “Who made you the police?” whenever someone tries to encourage polite behavior, so I confess that I also kind of like the idea there are police.
As a newbie, I wonder what the SDMB regulars think. Obviously you don’t have huge problems with the moderators, or you would have voted with your feet a while ago, or been booted off the boards.
Have you ever felt that you’ve been stopped from communicating something important due to the interference of the moderators? Have you generally been pleased when disruptive posters were banned? Or are you too afraid of the moderators’ wrath to comment?
All the mods on this board are former/current posters, so everyone already knew them before they hit the big time. Also, it’s not a paid position, so it’s more like a labor of love for them. AND, they’re the most wonderful people in the world, bar none! (How was that?)
You might also notice that this board is pretty good at policing itself, even with the moderators. There seems to be a pretty tangible community feeling here (a lot of boards I scan seem to be more like the bulletin boards at gorcery stores, with lots of random posts and no real sense of group). For better or worse (and I feel for better) there are invisible lines of conduct that, when crossed, can make this place really inhospitable for the offender, even before a mod steps in.
I’ve never felt like moderators interfere. I rather feel like there’s a partnership between the mods and the members, and we all cooperate to make this place what we want it. I certainly never feel afraid to speak my mind. There’s plenty of evidence in the archives to show that the mods have a history of being extremely open-minded and approachable, sometimes to a fault. I feel like if an issue about something I did ever arose, I could engage in dialog with the mods about it rather than just get booted with no explanation.
You folk make it so simple to moderate.
You seem to care about each other for the most part, and you care about the appearance of your posts. I could go through and correct what spelling and grammatical errors there might be, but nine times out of ten y’all beat me to the punch.
Thank you.
-slythe
I gotta say slythe has made IMHO into a fine-running machine.
He’s tried to set standards, and been flexible when people debated them, about what goes in here and what gets shipped to the more serious forums (or the ~shudder~ Pit).
I think overall they’re a pretty great bunch. I especially like the fact that some of them can be bribed with chocolate or completely throw away every shread of dignity for a dollar.
It would take more than a mere Hershey bar or a greenback to influence our opinions. We pride ourselves on our high standards here, and anything less than Godiva chocolate would be sneered at. If you’re gonna offer a bribe, try to give us what we’re worth, o.k.?
