# Mod Notes Adding Up
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [April 4, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840 "2024-04-04T22:20:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/1 "2024-04-04T22:20:17Z")
In a recent suspension announcement mention was made about the number of mod notes a poster had received.
Sometimes a poster will come to ATMB and complain about a mod note, and the general response is:
Hey don’t worry about that, it’s just a note. It doesn’t count against you, and it’s not a big deal. They don’t add up.
I request that if mod notes don’t add up, that we don’t add them up.
Thanks. Peace. Party. Alright.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/2 "2024-04-04T22:31:39Z")
Flags that get modnotes for repeated behaviors are indicative of behaviors not getting better. So I will give the mea culpa, sometimes they do add up, but far more vaguely than warnings, that’s for sure.
Thanks, Peace, Party, OK?
* * *
* * *
Honestly, it means that collectively the Mod Team needs to somehow do a better job with repeat offenders. But as this is the exception and not the norm, I would hate to start recording modnotes. I can only think of 3 exceptions to the general rule of thumb that modnotes don’t add up. 1 user is banned, two have served one or more suspensions.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/3 "2024-04-04T22:47:33Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> I user
I read that as _I [the first person singular pronoun], user_ and thought, “Damn, that’s a great username; too bad they’re banned”.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/4 "2024-04-04T22:51:17Z")
Fixed thank you.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/5 "2024-04-04T22:55:30Z")
Fix it back! 😃
I thought it was great.
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### Author:  [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/6 "2024-04-04T23:36:02Z")
Never mind; it was stupid.
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### Author:  [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/7 "2024-04-05T05:25:30Z")
> [@bobot](#):
>
> I request that if mod notes don’t add up, that we don’t add them up.
I agree. Maybe the ‘new’ software lets mod see the number of flags that were accepted. That sounds like a neat feature to help catch low profile repeat offenders. But if it isn’t a factor in the decision to suspend, why post the number mixed in with the no. of warnings?
If you have someone who keeps getting mod notes even after a formal warning then it seems appropriate to issue a second formal warning for recidivism. Then the suspension could be based on the two warnings.
I have nothing against, “you have like fifty mod notes, and I’m sick and tired of dealing with you” or similar. But make it clear whether that is the reason for the warning/suspension or just a parting shot.
~Max
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/8 "2024-04-05T06:24:47Z")
> [@bobot](#):
>
> It doesn’t count against you
Have Mods ever said that? What they’ve said is that they don’t permanently record them. But a poster that gets noted a lot for the same thing by a mod in a particular forum is going to stick in that mod’s memory regardless. This has _always_ been the case - how many warnings start “I’ve given you mod notes for this before, now I’m escalating it to a warning…”?
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/9 "2024-04-05T17:27:01Z")
> [@bobot](#):
>
> Sometimes a poster will come to ATMB and complain about a mod note, and the general response is:
> Hey don’t worry about that, it’s just a note. It doesn’t count against you, and it’s not a big deal. They don’t add up.
It’s true that people will often say that you shouldn’t freak out over a _single_ note, because in isolation it’s just a guidance. (By people I mean both mods and non-mods.)
But clearly they can add up, and of course if you get a note and continue doing it you will get a warning. The only time I ever got a warning was for not following a note. So notes obviously _can_ count against you, otherwise there wouldn’t be any point to them.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/10 "2024-04-05T17:28:25Z")
Spoiler alert: it was Alan Parsons.
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/11 "2024-04-05T19:16:29Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> The only time I ever got a warning was for not following a note.
> …
Well sure, that’s kind of a different infraction.
But I’m satisfied with what I’ve heard. It was my (mistaken) impression that notes did not accumulate into something bigger.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/12 "2024-04-05T20:44:59Z")
Individual notes mean very little. A pattern of notes is potentially a problem.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/13 "2024-04-05T20:47:05Z")
This sums it up pretty nicely.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2024, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/14 "2024-04-08T11:51:52Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> Individual notes mean very little. A pattern of notes is potentially a problem.
Right. This is the case with problematic behavior anywhere. If you don’t record the _pattern_ of behavior, you don’t have a leg to stand on when you try to do something about it.
Some posters treat modnotes as if they’re the equivalent of getting pilloried and beaten: this is an overreaction. Some posters get noted and seemingly pretend they never happened at all: this is an underreaction.
Both reactions come from the same place, though: a deep-seated certainty that the mods are not “real” authority figures and have no place policing behavior.
If you get noted and **correct your behavior,** the note isn’t a big deal and won’t be held against you. Easy peasy don’t be a huge jerk…sy.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/15 "2024-04-09T19:41:08Z")
But here is the problem if they do “add up”. We often tell people here “why are you complaining, it’s just a Mod Note”. But that argument is no longer valid. A Note has become a lesser warning in effect.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/16 "2024-04-09T19:50:42Z")
See my mea culpa above, but you are one of the 3 I was talking about also.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/17 "2024-04-09T20:42:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> But that argument is no longer valid. A Note has become a lesser warning in effect.
The validity of the argument hasn’t changed, because nothing about how we moderate has changed. We don’t track mod notes - there’s no mechanism to see how many mod notes a particular poster has accrued. Not even searching the name and “mod note” works reliably. On the other hand, moderators still have _memories_. If we’ve handed the same mod note to the same poster three times, it’s going to stick in our mind, and if the same situation comes up a fourth time, we’re likely to make it a warning instead of another note.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/18 "2024-04-09T20:57:50Z")
Show me a poster who gets ten mod notes for the same behavior and I’ll show you a mod who’s been nicer than they had to be on at least seven occasions.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/19 "2024-04-09T20:58:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> Show me a poster who gets ten mod notes for the same behavior and I’ll show you a mod who’s been nicer than they had to be on at least seven occasions
I’ll say it again, this sums it up pretty nicely.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mod-notes-adding-up/999840/20 "2024-04-09T21:10:11Z")
How practical would it be _to_ keep score of mod notes? If Discourse can’t do it, how tedious would a networked spreadsheet or equivalent be?
Memories can be faulty, and – at the risk of volunteering already selfless volunteers for even more work – it seems like a part of the process that might have the appearance of even more fairness if quantification was a possibility.
When I was a young driver, the PoPo could give you a verbal warning. At some point later on, they switched to written warnings (not everywhere, AFAIK) for just that reason.
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