# Moderators Moderating Versus Just Posting **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913 "2009-07-04T17:46:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/1 "2009-07-04T17:46:17Z")
Given the recent to-do over the ambiguity that sometimes creeps up when a moderator is merely posting versus moderating and how we sometimes don’t know which hat it is they’re wearing, particularly when they do both in a single post, is it much of a strain to require of them to (try to) preface their remarks with something to indicate which roll it is under which they’re posting? I know sometimes that I’m not sure if a moderator is posting, or moderating. I’ve noted that some moderators end with [/modding] or something similar. But not all do. I think that could serve to reduce the ambiguity, and it doesn’t seem a great undertaking to have it in there. _N’est pas ?_ ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/2 "2009-07-04T18:19:01Z")
Can you show us where it was ambiguous? ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/3 "2009-07-04T18:30:33Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Can you show us where it was ambiguous? Do you actually read the board? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/4 "2009-07-04T18:34:15Z")
Yeah, in my experience the mods are rarely if ever ambiguous when they switch into official mode. I think they’re all conscious of the need to separate their actions as a mod and as a normal member. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/5 "2009-07-04T18:38:17Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Can you show us where it was ambiguous? I suppose it’s worth noting that [an administrator is aware that the ambiguity does exist.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=523068&page=2) ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/6 "2009-07-04T21:56:01Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > Do you actually read the board? Huh. From someone who just registered last month? Unless you’re a long time lurker, I think there’s a difference in seeing it over a few years then seeing it over a few days/weeks. That being the case with me, I have no idea what you’re talking about either. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/7 "2009-07-04T21:58:36Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Huh. From someone who just registered last month? Unless you’re a long time lurker, I think there’s a difference in seeing it over a few years then seeing it over a few days/weeks. > That being the case with me, I have no idea what you’re talking about either. Then merely read the post above you. It has a pretty little hyperlink you can click. There might be relevant information behind it\*. \*or not. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/8 "2009-07-04T22:10:43Z")
Uh huh. Methinks you have too big of a vested interest in stuff like that with your registery date. Just my opinion. One might think you just registered to start complaining about this place and the people who run it. : p ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/9 "2009-07-04T22:31:03Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Uh huh. > Methinks you have too big of a vested interest in stuff like that with your registery date. Just my opinion. > > One might think you just registered to start complaining about this place and the people who run it. : p Or one might think that I read a lot. I suppose your canard would fly were it true that the past posts in this board aren’t viewable by newer people. But they are, and I’m more than fully capable of reading a couple of words per minute. But even if it that weren’t true, in the topic which led way to this thread, it isn’t hard to follow. That I’m new here doesn’t somehow mean that I’m retarded and incapable of thought. Indeed, since I don’t really know anyone here, I have nothing to go on but the words actually written. I suppose if I’d been here for years, my views would be colored by knowing people. Since I don’t, they aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/10 "2009-07-04T23:30:00Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > Given the recent to-do over the ambiguity that sometimes creeps up when a moderator is merely posting versus moderating and how we sometimes don’t know which hat it is they’re wearing, particularly when they do both in a single post, is it much of a strain to require of them to (try to) preface their remarks with something to indicate which roll it is under which they’re posting? > > I know sometimes that I’m not sure if a moderator is posting, or moderating. I’ve noted that some moderators end with [/modding] or something similar. But not all do. I think that could serve to reduce the ambiguity, and it doesn’t seem a great undertaking to have it in there. _N’est pas ?_ I think you have a good point. In defense of the Mods and Admins here, over a 10 year period, I think that 95+ % of the time it’s rather clear in which mode they are posting. And, I think that in over 90% of the time, they _do_ indicate by some device that they are posting as a moderator/Administrator. But, your point is well taken. I think if you assume that there is NO mention of any hint of official pronouncement, you can assume posting as a private poster. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/11 "2009-07-05T00:01:01Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I think you have a good point. > > In defense of the Mods and Admins here, over a 10 year period, I think that 95+ % of the time it’s rather clear in which mode they are posting. And, I think that in over 90% of the time, they _do_ indicate by some device that they are posting as a moderator/Administrator. > > But, your point is well taken. > > I think if you assume that there is NO mention of any hint of official pronouncement, you can assume posting as a private poster. No defense is required. I’m not saying that failing to do makes one a dick or anything. It’s just a way to mitigate the confusion on both sides. I’m just saying that it’s difficult sometimes for us posters to know if they’re speaking as a representative of SDMB, or just talking like the rest of us. While I make it a point not to be a dick to people (even in the BBQ Pit), I have seen instances in which a moderator is one second engaged in, what I’d consider anyway, the same level of discourse as another poster. And in the next, the moderator is deriding and _formally_ warning someone for engaging in the same behavior. What’s sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. If a poster can’t call another a dick, or a jerk, why can a moderator? Ya know, it just makes sense to have a unilateral rule. And if a moderator does it, then they should be as publicly reprimanded as any other poster. More so actually, because to be a moderator should carry with it a greater expectation of propriety. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/12 "2009-07-05T00:14:54Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > What’s sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. If a poster can’t call another a dick, or a jerk, why can a moderator? Ya know, it just makes sense to have a unilateral rule. And if a moderator does it, then they should be as publicly reprimanded as any other poster. More so actually, because to be a moderator should carry with it a greater expectation of propriety. That is, in fact, the rule – mods aren’t allowed to be rude or insulting any more than any other poster. If you see a mod behaving in such a manner, bring the post in which he or she is doing so to the attention of the (other) mods in that forum plus the administrators ( **TubaDiva, Dex, SkipMagic, gaudere** ). ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/13 "2009-07-05T02:28:13Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > Do you actually read the board? Personal insults are not permitted in this forum. Please REFRAIN. Also, I think there’s a bit of making a mountain out of a molehill here. In most situations, there is no ambiguity whatsoever about whether a moderator is posting as a poster or as a moderator. The post is about the topic of the thread; the moderating is about violations of rules or etiquette. There are a few RARE instances where the explanation of WHY something is a rules violation can (SOMETIMES) be questionable as to whether it’s a poster’s opinion or a moderator’s ruling. One simple case (where it’s happened, I think, twice in the last three or four years) is ruling that something is a hijack. Again, some tangents are clearly “hijacks” that should be stopped. Some are legitimate side issues, worthy of discussion. Usually it’s clear, but sometimes it’s not. The person who started (or participated in) the tangent almost always feels that it’s not a “hijack” but a justified aside, of course. So the moderator’s opinion is (rarely, but sometimes) just that – an opinion. There’s no way of measuring the degree of hijack vs the degree of legitmate tangent. The moderator makes a decision based on circumstances, and if the moderator is also a participant in the thread, there is a possibility of confusion or of a biased opinion. In such a case, as in any moderator decision, the appeal process is either (a) private email asking the mod to reconsider or (b) public discussion in ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/14 "2009-07-05T11:01:31Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum. Please REFRAIN. > > Also, I think there’s a bit of making a mountain out of a molehill here. In most situations, there is no ambiguity whatsoever about whether a moderator is posting as a poster or as a moderator. The post is about the topic of the thread; the moderating is about violations of rules or etiquette. > > There are a few RARE instances where the explanation of WHY something is a rules violation can (SOMETIMES) be questionable as to whether it’s a poster’s opinion or a moderator’s ruling. One simple case (where it’s happened, I think, twice in the last three or four years) is ruling that something is a hijack. > > Again, some tangents are clearly “hijacks” that should be stopped. Some are legitimate side issues, worthy of discussion. Usually it’s clear, but sometimes it’s not. The person who started (or participated in) the tangent almost always feels that it’s not a “hijack” but a justified aside, of course. So the moderator’s opinion is (rarely, but sometimes) just that – an opinion. There’s no way of measuring the degree of hijack vs the degree of legitmate tangent. The moderator makes a decision based on circumstances, and if the moderator is also a participant in the thread, there is a possibility of confusion or of a biased opinion. > > In such a case, as in any moderator decision, the appeal process is either (a) private email asking the mod to reconsider or (b) public discussion in ATMB. I’m curious how “do you actually read the board” is a person insult. His question was ridiculous so I pointed out the obvious using a rhetorical question. I don’t think I’m a big deal out of anything. My point is that there are extant circumstance sin which it’s sometimes difficult to tell. You seem to agree. I’m just proposing a rather elegant solution which, if followed, would remove all ambiguity. I think it’s a more reasonable decision than just having the mod be barred from modding in a threat in which he’s also a poster. **Twickster** I specifically asked the mod in question why it’s acceptable for him to warn someone for name-calling in the same post within which he called the person whom he was warning a jerk. There was, unsurprisingly, no response. But thanks for the tip; I’ll be sure to follow that in the future! ---
**Author:** ![Polyperchon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Polyperchon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyperchon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/15 "2009-07-05T11:23:32Z")
I’m also wondering how “do you actually read the board” is a personal insult but Idle Thought’s: > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Uh huh. > Methinks you have too big of a vested interest in stuff like that with your registery date. Just my opinion. > > One might think you just registered to start complaining about this place and the people who run it. : p isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/16 "2009-07-05T12:09:42Z")
Sorry, but I think that \*\*Dex \*\*has completely lost the plot as a mod. As others have said “do you actually read the board” is \*supposedly \*a personal insult, but this > [@Suggestion: rescind the rule forbidding mod/rule complaints in the Pit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-rescind-the-rule-forbidding-mod-rule-complaints-in-the-pit/501094/3): > > It’s not like there aren’t other boards they can post on. The OP of the closed thread in fact was a poster early on on one of the new boards, where he took a few opportunities to flame the SDMB Moderation to show what a, um, brave soul he was. I’m sure his helper monkey can direct him right back there if he asks nicely. “MOJO - SAVE ME FROM THE SDMB!” :rolleyes: is simply “grey-fuzzy”?? > [@Suggestion: rescind the rule forbidding mod/rule complaints in the Pit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-rescind-the-rule-forbidding-mod-rule-complaints-in-the-pit/501094/15): > > I’d take Una’s post above (#3 in this thread) to be a case in point. The first paragraph is sort of border-line, since it’s personal insults directed at a group of un-named posters.So, in the grey-fuzzy area, but on the OK side of the line. The second paragraph, however, is pretty clearly directed at one individual – not named, but clearly identified. I think that’s in the grey-fuzzy area but on the wrong side of the line. > > **Una** , it is grey-fuzzy, so I’m not going to formally warn, but I am going to suggest (firmly) that such things belong in the Pit and not here. Perhaps it’s time you took an extended leave of absence **Dex**. Something doesn’t really seem right here. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/17 "2009-07-06T07:44:37Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Personal insults are not permitted in this forum. Please REFRAIN. > > Also, I think there’s a bit of making a mountain out of a molehill here. In most situations, there is no ambiguity whatsoever about whether a moderator is posting as a poster or as a moderator. The post is about the topic of the thread; the moderating is about violations of rules or etiquette. > > There are a few RARE instances where the explanation of WHY something is a rules violation can (SOMETIMES) be questionable as to whether it’s a poster’s opinion or a moderator’s ruling. One simple case (where it’s happened, I think, twice in the last three or four years) is ruling that something is a hijack. > > Again, some tangents are clearly “hijacks” that should be stopped. Some are legitimate side issues, worthy of discussion. Usually it’s clear, but sometimes it’s not. The person who started (or participated in) the tangent almost always feels that it’s not a “hijack” but a justified aside, of course. So the moderator’s opinion is (rarely, but sometimes) just that – an opinion. There’s no way of measuring the degree of hijack vs the degree of legitmate tangent. The moderator makes a decision based on circumstances, and if the moderator is also a participant in the thread, there is a possibility of confusion or of a biased opinion. > > In such a case, as in any moderator decision, the appeal process is either (a) private email asking the mod to reconsider or (b) public discussion in ATMB. You kinda just demonstrated the point of this thread. Are you acting as a moderator/administrator here, or as a regular poster? I could see the bulk of your post going either way. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/18 "2009-07-06T07:56:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You kinda just demonstrated the point of this thread. Are you acting as a moderator/administrator here, or as a regular poster? I could see the bulk of your post going either way. QED ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/19 "2009-07-06T09:30:55Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > QED What about him? He isn’t a mod. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913/20 "2009-07-06T09:34:23Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > What about him? He isn’t a mod. I’m going to assume that’s a joke. It’s a joke, right? I meant _quod erat demonstrandum_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderators-moderating-versus-just-posting/501913.md?page=2)