Back when I was a mod, there was a discussion in the mod loop about how posters were supposed to distinguish when a mod was posting officially, and when as a poster. The consensus, without disagreement, was that mods should always declare by some means, whether in the title (Mod Note, and similar) or in the post (Mod Hat on, and similar) that they were speaking as a mod. If no such title or note was included in the post, the assumption was that the mod was speaking as a poster.
I would like to strongly suggest that this past consensus should not be considered obsolete, and that all mods should always, without exception, note when they are speaking as a mod.
I thought that’s what was happening too - are you seeing exceptions to that? (and in particular, cases where, aside from labelling, it isn’t really obvious whether the moderator is in facto moderating?)
By which I mean:
If a mod says “You probably shouldn’t have said that”, it may not be clear whether they are moderating, but if a mod says “Do that again and I will ban you”, it’s pretty clear they are, even if they don’t prefix it with “Hey, watch me moderate!”
I personally put an indication at the top of the post that this is some sort of moderator action. I was under the impression that, while our individual styles vary, we all do it in some way or another.
I thought so, too. I always see “Mod hat on,” “Moderator note,” “Moderating,” “The Moderator clears his throat,” etc. Do you have any specific examples, Frank?
My particular complaint today is here. tomndebb is, to be fair, most likely posting as a moderator. He gives no indication of such though, and in post #20 of the thread Marley23 has warned the rest of us posters not to comment on moderator actions in the thread.
I expect moderators, without exception, to notify us when they are posting as moderators. Maybe it’s clear from context, maybe it’s not. The one and only way to ensure that it is clear is for moderators to state that it is so.
I think it’s usually pretty clear whether I’m posting as a Mod or as a Poster. I mean, if I’m discussing ThE HOBBIT, I’m a poster; if I’m telling someone to stop the personal insults, I’m a moderator. It’s not usually tough.
When I’m being Official, I do tend to start with something like “Moderator Comment” just so any newbies reading are clear. But I’m not consistent. The only time I am consistent is when I’m posting from two different hats in the same post, then I make it clear which is which.
Quite honestly, I expect you to be consistent too. You were one of the mods who agreed that being consistent making it clear that we were posting as mods was the way to go. Of course, in those days, mods could be Pitted–maybe it doesn’t matter to you now that things have changed.
It mattered to me then; it matters to me now; I firmly believe that all mods should always make it clear when they are speaking as a mod. Always.
You weren’t a mod when the conversation I recall took place. Do you believe that mods should not always state when they are being a mod? What is the current consensus?
If that’s the only example you’ve seen, I don’t think there’s much call to think that the practice has changed.
I pretty much always either head the post with a “Moderator” tag, or sign off as such, or both. Occasionally I may overlook it slide if all I’m doing is a thread move or closure.
The mods all agree we should make it clear when we are moderating. That’s been the case as long as I’ve been a mod. I’m saying tomndebb probably just forgot.
Yeah. I should have noted my Moderator status on that one and do not recall making a choice to refrain.
I would guess that since I had already tagged my Mod action, and since I was simply adding an explanation after the OP challenged my action, I forgot to tag it.
I was not taking any additional Moderator action in that post.
On a side note - why are you letting that poster get away with arguing with a mod in the manner he is? I would have expected several warnings based on the content of that thread alone.