I have an email notification of a new post made by SkipMagic to this thread in ATMB about the ad hijacking problem.
The email was sent at 1:25 a.m. As you can see from the thread, my post is the last one there.
I really can’t tell why it was deleted, as it addressed several of the points being named, and even named and gave links to some other message boards that deal with this issue. It seemed well-thought-out, wasn’t insulting and furthered the discussion.
The bigger question is whether mods are allowed to make replies as members, change their mind and then delete them. Are they?
(Yes, I am assuming that’s what happened. I suppose it could have been deleted accidentally or by another mod or administrator, but I haven’t heard of many posts being accidentally deleted around here.)
We have the ability to do so, yes. We can perform any moderation or administration abilities on ALL posts on the message board, including our own posts.
I’m not aware of any moderation rule that addresses this issue either way, though. Why wouldn’t they be allowed to do this?
I’m not aware of a rule specifically for or against, either, I just figured if someone is posting as a member, then he should follow the rules that members have to follow, which include only being able to edit the post for a certain amount of time, and rules on deleting posts (I can’t find a cite now, but it’s basically “We don’t. Think about what you say before you say it.”).
We have to stand by what we say as posters and can’t delete what has been written(outside the edit window). This would be seen as a possible avenue for abuse.
It may have been as innocuous as misposting in the wrong thread but appearances do matter.
Hey, listen, the Mods have a hard job to do, they take a lot of needless abuse from posters around here, they don’t paid for their efforts, and they deserve some perks for their service, so why shouldn’t they get some piddling privileges that other posters are denied? They are far better human beings than we are, and they deserve more than just a mug to show for their superiority.
However, with the effort that TPTB go in order to reinforce the poster-first, mod-second atmosphere around here (moderation takes place with a mod hat/mod tag, etc.), you’d think that maybe this wouldn’t be high on the list of things you’d want mods to be doing. It’s sort of the equivalent of seeing an off-duty cop speed by you on the highway going 80. It shouldn’t, but it could lead to a bit of resentment.
If SkipMagic was answering a technical question about the board I’d say he was acting as a staffer. He’s not on active duty but he’s an admin and helps out once in a while.
It wasn’t a technical answer about the board, really, it was a discussion of the linked article and other boards and Web sites that have an ad hijacking and malware problem. He barely mentioned the SDMB, and didn’t invoke “administrator hat on” or anything nearing that. He was joining the discussion as a poster.
I can’t read the post and it goes without saying I don’t know why SkipMagic deleted it. Maybe he can explain when he has a chance. As far as the original question goes - there’s no rule against mods and admins doing this. Our general preference is to keep our roles separate when possible but I’ve never seen an instruction not to delete a post made as a poster, for example.
I take full blame for that. It’s no excuse, but it was late, the post was (I thought) more combative than I intended it to be, and I had just come from a couple of other boards where we are allowed to remove personal posts. I don’t spend a lot of time here anymore, so I really wasn’t thinking about our board culture.
My intention was to repost something more neutral in tone; however, the kid woke up crying and I never got back to the computer. My apologies.
No problem, Skip. For what it’s worth, while I appreciate your taking notice of tone and trying to keep the conversation civil, I thought that post was within the bounds. Thanks for your explanation.
I was also genuinely curious as to whether there was a general prohibition on moderators/admins using moderator/admin powers on posts that aren’t made within official capacity.
Now that Marley has said there isn’t, I wonder if there should be.