If a thread is going in an unwanted direction and a mod has asked people to stay focused, is it improper to quote that instruction later on if it happens again?
I’m not a moderator myself, but as a poster, I’d feel like that would count as junior modding if another poster (who wasn’t a mod) did so.
If done once and politely, we allow it. It can help.
We’ve had occasions were it was done snarkily or multiple times and that generally causes problems and is likely to draw mod action.
Thanks.
Were I a regular poster in this situation, I wouldn’t quote the moderator instruction. I would probably phrase it in the form of a question: “Hey, weren’t we instructed back on post such-and-such to not hijack this thread?”
Or you can always re-flag and let us know that a moderator’s instructions are being disregarded. This is probably the cleanest course of action and would be my personal preference. It keeps you from being accused of junior modding and allows us to consider additional steps to curtail ignoring a moderator’s prior instructions.
What if you reminded yourself. Respond to the post with something like, “I see what you’re saying here, but I’m trying to stay focused on the OP topic…”
Thanks, sounds good.
I like the apirit of this.
Particularly if I’ve been drawn into the tangent, I could phrase it in a way that talks about my desire to return to the main topic (and simultaneously providing a subtle and non-directive nudge to everyone else).