Exactly.
We’ve secretly replaced inkleberry’s usual decaf with triple strength espresso. Let’s see if she notices.
Because some people are drama queens.
She threw the money on the counter instead of placing it in** VCO3’s ** hand?!
I agree. I do think the whole “NOBODY even bothered to let me know*” deal is a wee bit over the top though. Since A. I didn’t email, because I didn’t know we had to (apparently at least four previous exchange organizers weren’t in the loop either) and B. How was anyone who did know the rule supposed to know that I hadn’t all ready asked permission? I say post the rule somewhere that everyone can find it, re-open the thread if possible so that people only have one thread to look at instead of two, then lets all move on with our lives.
*I meant to note that this is NOT a direct quote.
It would probably be a good idea if, for the protection of The Chicago Reader, all posts are pre-read and edited (or deleted) by a trusted entity prior to appearing on the message board for all to see. It’s the only way to ensure that us irresponsible subscribers don’t fuck up a good thing.
More Modding Now!
Seriously, the boards have a lot to offer, but it does seem like the modding is turning into a weird joke. In the years I’ve been here, I’ve been able to at least see the mod’s side in disputes (mostly, there was that one big to-do…), but this is just pathetic. Admit you were wrong and reopen the thread. Anything else looks idiotic.
So, if I read this correctly;
It is not an expressed rule, as in, listed amongst the rules.
Many precedents have been set wherein this, let’s say, ‘courtesy’ was not observed, without incident.
Although requested repeatedly we have yet to hear any explanation on what purpose such a rule would serve. Noting that there is a disclaimer that should negate the reasons why such a rule might be needed.
They want us to seek permission, but we’re supposed to wait up to two weeks to receive it? Duh, two weeks from now will be the 18th of December a little late for a seasonal exchange, don’t you think?
I think this stinks. It smells of exerting power because you’ve got it. Nobody’s being ‘protected’ from anything, there is no slippery slope. It’s the ultimate in arogance, as I see in.
And when a mod finally deigns to respond it’s nothing but condescension. And I loathe that.
Reup? I don’t think so, things get worse here with each passing day. I have always been totally supportive of the moderation of this board for the greater good, never had an issue, always found myself on the mods side. My opinion has changed radically over the last several months. And I know I am not alone.
Like all the rest of us on staff here at the Straight Dope, Cajun Man is doing his most and best as a moderator here on the board. We make many choices in the course of the day and not everyone agrees with what we do.
We’re more than willing to listen to constructive criticism, but attack helps nothing.
To ascribe ill motive and intent where none exists is mean – it’s truly heartwarming to see kindness and Christmas spirit where a fellow board member is concerned.
(Moderators are also people too, ya know.)
The community has grown quite a bit over the years and it’s obvious that we don’t always see everything that we should. We’ve always asked that whenever someone wanted to do something out of the everyday here involving interaction with other members beyond making posts and running threads, we’d like to be apprised of it in advance. This includes activities from gift giving to charity work to petitions to research projects. We have no intention of supervising or giving imprimatur; we simply want to know what’s going on. That’s not an unreasonable request to make of you.
Usually we allow what you ask for and step out of it from that point on. In a few instances we have had to ask people to desist, mostly for legal problems that we could foresee that the querent could not.
Our work involves oversight of everything going on here. Help us do a better job of it.
Happy Holidays to you all.
TubaDiva
PS I have it on excellent authority that Cajun Man is actually on Santa’s Goodest Boy list, so fat lot you know. (Be good for goodness’ sake, the rest of you.)
I’ve been here five years and I’ve never heard anything about apprising staff in advance before implementing group activities, with the exception of the clearly posted and sticky email campaigns on the boards thread, which went up some five years after the boards started. I still have yet to see anything that specifically addresses the issue of gift exchanges, prior to the closed thread. Is this a “rule,” as in there’s something posted somewhere, or is this perhaps a “custom”?
OK, so which is it, do group activity threads need permission or not? Cajun Man said in closing the thread that staff clearance was required, and in directing that a new thread be opened required that it be noted that staff approval was given. You repeat earlier in this thread that clearance is required for group activity threads. Now you’re saying that your intention is not official sanction or approval.
Well, it’s slightly unreasonable, in that it’s silly. And considering that the thread which started all this brouhaha was spotted by a Mod ten hours after it was opened, how can you claim that staff didn’t know what was going on? If SkipMagic didn’t follow through on spotting a group activity thread by making sure that it was cleared, that indicates that there are communications problems behind the scenes that need to be addressed.
And you have yet really to explain the reasoning behind this rule or custom or whatever it is. If it’s truly nothing beyond “we simply want to know what’s going on,” then it’s a completely nonsensical rule and should be abolished. If you and your staff aren’t capable of keeping yourselves apprised of what’s going on by reading the boards, then you need more or different staff.
Try formulating rules that have some rational basis and you will no doubt have people falling over themselves to help.
How many members does a Mod have to alienate to the point of not renewing their membership to make the list?
And again I say,
Though requested repeatedly no explanation on why we need Mommy’s permission has yet been offered.
No one said this was Cajun Man’s fault, telling us he’s a good boy is condescending and disingenius.
Yeah, we get it, you’re all gonna stick up for each other. How about you defend your position instead?
“Well we can’t see everything”, is your chosen expanation for why it’s okay sometimes but not others? When, exactly did it become acceptable to treat us like fifth graders?
I believe people, (y’know, for the most part), have been respectful in this thread. They want some answers. I don’t see any being offered. Just more equally offensive nonsense.
I’d like to see an example outside of the current situation.
Like others, this is the first I’ve ever heard of it, and I’ve been here for something like 5 years. I know approval was needed for charity campaigns, but not things like Secret Santa, White Elephant exchange, card exchanges, fests, or anything else.
Ditto.
I have, so far, generally stayed out of the Mod pile-ons, and taken with something of a grain of salt the periodic laments about the downward slide in moderating standards on these boards.
But lately some of the decisions by the moderators and administrators seem to verge on the merely capricious, tending to downright self-righteousness and condescension whenever a decision is questioned.
The closing of the thread in question was plain ridiculous, and the contortions that Cajun Man and TubaDiva are now displaying in an attempt to defend the decision are really quite silly.
Oh fuck off, you dopey bint.
Virtually everyone in this thread seems willing to concede that Cajun Man’s decision to close the thread could be explained as a lapse in judgement, a slight case of excessive moderation applied to a type of activity that obviously has had the ongoing sanction of the SDMB administration.
I certainly didn’t ascribe it to “ill motive and intent,” or at least i didn’t until your belaboured and tortuous rationalizations, which are starting to make me think that maybe something more nefarious really was going on.
This is pretty fucking rich, given the development of this thread.
Even people who have conceded that maybe permission should have been asked before opening the Secret Santa thread have also pointed out that closing a two-week-old thread with 80+ posts was stupid.
Why not, as some of them suggested, simply go into that thread with an admonition to contact the Admins and Mods in future cases, rather than close the whole fucking thread only to allow another one to be immediately reopened?
You want help doing a better job? Don’t make jackass decisions like this that smack more of busywork and stupidity than of actually doing anything to improve the quality of these boards. You lot are starting to look, more and more every day, like those morons from the TSA who confiscate nail clippers and make mothers drink their own breast milk just so they appear to be “doing something.”
O_o? When? Where? Why?
Dear Otto:
I’m more than willing to explain why we do what we do (and I did so above, sorry if you didn’t get it, I’ll try again in a minute here), but being hostile in return for a reasonable explanation is not useful and only exacerbates the situation.
That does seem to be a trend around here lately. Dislike what you see? Yell about it and be an ass. Assume the worst about a situation and think the worst about the poster and dial it up from there, that sorry sonofabitch. Civility and consideration are not frequent visitors here these days.
I’m not here to yell at you, Otto . . . not you or anyone else. I do ask for courtesy though, as I would extend the same to you.
I’m surprised that you’ve been here five years and never seen any thread where someone refer to the fac that they asked and received permission from management to start something. It’s been our preferred way of doing things going back to the AOL days.
While we do not want to be your nanny and you are responsible for what you do here and elsewhere, we do want to know what’s going on using the board. This is especially true where you’re being asked to participate in something that is run on the board – gift exchanges, charity donations, research projects, etc.
We don’t want to run it. We simply want to know about it. We don’t always see these things in the everyday course of doing business (which has been quite an unpleasant surprise, thought we had a better handle on things, better to learn now so we can do better in the future.
We’re not trying to rain on your parade, we’re not wanting to piss in your cornflakes and to say we are is untrue and unfair. To go from complaining about something we do to abusing the people that work here is likewise unfair.
We do want you to have fun here and we want to help that fun continue; if anything, we’re up for more fun.
Please help us make things more better for you on the board; work with us.
We are in the midst of redoing our basic rules of the road here; we had all this information in more of a FAQ-type of thing and it got wiped out in a system upgrade; we’ve had hit-and-miss stickies in forum areas since. That hasn’t worked so well either, but we’re trying.
It’s our intention to have a place where you can look this sort of thing over at a glance. We’re working on it and hope to have it up soonest.
I hope someone explains the concept of a “joke” to you someday.
TubaDiva
TubaDiva, your syrupy-sweet non-response served to do nothing but make me sick. Spare us the happy-horseshit customer service routine and just freakin’ admit that Cajun Man made a mistake! That’s all you have to do! Posts like the one quoted above do nothing except insult the intelligence of the Doper community, which is a BIG no-no in a community full of intellectuals.
There’s been far too many moderation issues on the board lately for you to plead, “We’re doing our best! Help us do it even better!” The board also has its share of administrative suck-ups that always scream “It’s a hard job, and an unpaid one!” in threads like this. If the job’s so damn hard, unsatisfying, and thankless, then quit. Don’t be a damn martyr and make it seem as if you’re doing some grand community service to the world.
This is a message board full of reasonable, intelligent adults who are capable of protecting themselves from any badness that comes with giving out their personal info over the internet. This kind of kindergarden modding does nothing but piss people off. If you’d “like to know what’s going on,” then read the damn thread. I can see no reason, legal, liability, or otherwise, for why you would need to know in advance.
As many others said, apologize, re-open the thread, and let us all be on our merry way.
Oh, stuff it.
Adam
Very nice but not really an answer as yet.
Why do you need to know everything that’s going on? What are you afraid will happen? You say on one hand you don’t want to be our nanny but that’s what this amounts to, and, apparently, no amount of politely requesting an explanation is going to prompt you to provide one.
I’m with Otto, I’ve been here many years and never been aware of this “rule”. You can go ahead and belittle us for it if you wish, but that doesn’t change that if you haven’t posted it amongst the ‘rules’ it isn’t one.
And now we’re being told we’re yelling and making an unneccessary fuss, all because we’d like an explanation of why this is required. How this jives with "help us to make it better’ I cannot imagine. We’re not children, we deserve to know why. Not prepared to say why? Just say so.
No one here is assuming the worst and purposely stirring up the muck. We are much frustrated by not being given an explanation that makes much sense. Notice a change in the hostility level? People are frustrated by not getting answers or expanations, just more of the same; ‘we want to be apprised, we want to know what’s going on’. Can you at least see how this makes you sound like a nanny? Can you really not recognise that this sort of reasoning is most usually applied by people on power trips?
Bolding mine. Nice job of proving your point there. What with all the hostility.
First things first. If you want to be treated like a grown up, act like one. That means being respectful to others. When something like this happens, be civil about it. Ask a question. If you don’t like the answer, ask another question to get a better answer. Don’t start frothing at the mouth over it. Drop the insults. Drop the hypersensitivity.
Elbows, same thing. You talk about being respectful and then use the terms “nanny” and “power trip.” And there are people here assuming the worst. I don’t know how you’ve missed their posts, but you should go back and re-read the thread. It’s rather over the top for what the original problem was.
Tubadiva, I have a few questions for you. Can we get the original thread re-opened. This was an oversight and no harm was meant by it. Everyone is aware of it by now.
Is there a specific reason why you want notification of exchange type threads or is it just wanting to know what is going on on the board?
Can we get this posted as a sticky somewhere or added to the board rules? I think it’ll put an end to all this horror. 