OK, so why the hell did Cajun Man close the Xmas exchange thread?

[SmackFu]

Another mods vs. the users thread. If I were a mod, I’d be reconsidering what my purpose was.

[Martin_Hyde]

Getting off on a tangent now but a lot of people love to say, “There’s no way the mods are getting their jollies by abusing power, being a mod is a hard and thankless job, no one would do it just for kicks.”

Which is ridiculous. If the SDMB had a thread, “Apply to be a mod here” it’d be inundated with hundreds of posts, and a huge number of the people applying would be people who basically wanted the power to be a dick. Or to feel important. Or self-righteous, or whatever.

Are there good forum mods out there? Yeah, I’ve seen them. But in general what modding is, is management of highly trivial matters. So instantly you have a huge proportion of the “serious population” of the world that’s not interested in it. And I think there is a high correlation between the types of people that were little draconian hall monitors and the types of people that become mods on message boards ;).

T

[Harborwolf]

@inkleberry

This from a man who got all bent out of shape a few weeks ago and started a pit thread because he worried about what people might be thinking about him.

Yep. Hope that gives you some perspective on how overly dramatic you’re being.

Tuba & Cajun have yet, as far as I have seen, provide a credible cite of previous closings. However, we have seen a number of cites to the contrary.

And I’m not disagreeing with you. Closing the thread was a mistake.

This isn’t simply a one-time knee-jerk close issue. A pretty sizeable number of people have noticed in this thread and others that the moderating has gotten not only heavy-handed but fairly arbitrary recently, and threads regarding that issue have an odd habit of getting closed.

Heavy handed? No. I’d call it heavy handed if people were getting warned and banned arbitrarily. Closing threads is not being heavy handed, and isn’t a part of some grand mod conspiracy.

Now then, the moderators have a considerable amount of power on this board. Closing threads, editing posts, banning members, violating the TOS themselves without shame or guilt, and basically being able to run the board as an odd dictatorship by group. How fun can that be? You’d have to ask them. I don’t think kicking puppies is a good hobby, but plenty in this world get their jollies from it, it seems.

Where exactly is this coming from? When have the mods ever given anybody a reason to think this?

[Uvula_Donor]

@Harborwolf

Closing threads is not being heavy handed. . .

Closing a thread in such an arbitrary manner *is *being heavy-handed, actually. When a thread is closed, it’s a lot like being told to “shut up.” I’m surprised that doesn’t bother you.

[Harborwolf]

@Uvula Donor

Closing a thread in such an arbitrary manner *is *being heavy-handed, actually. When a thread is closed, it’s a lot like being told to “shut up.” I’m surprised that doesn’t bother you.

I think it depends on how you view the mods. I’ve never had a problem with them so I just figure that there was a reason for the closing. If there isn’t, then a thread will pop up here asking for an explanation. YMMV

[GingerOfTheNorth]

@Weirddave

Dear moderators and administrators,

Some four years ago, I met and fell in love with another poster on these boards. Three and a half years ago we were married, just over a year ago we had a son. I now realize that I neglected to get the permission of the moderating staff to do any of these things. Is it too late to get a belated permission slip? I would hate to have to ship my wife back to Canada, I’m rather fond of her and if she leaves I’ll have to do my own dishes again, a chore I detest. I look forward to reading your (hopefully affirmative) response soonest, and will be waiting on pins and needles. I remain,

Respectfully yours,
Weirddave

Does this mean the baby is illegitimate?

[AncientHumanoid]

@GingerOfTheNorth

Does this mean the baby is illegitimate?

I thought the bastard was the guy you married?
d&r

[Larry_Griffin-Kentzel]

Although I believed I was doing the right thing at the time, in retrospect, I should not have closed the thread.

My sincere apologies to Omega Glory, and anyone else I may have inconvenienced.

I’ve given the choice of whether to reopen the original thread to Omega Glory.

I regret that there isn’t more that I can do to rectify the situation.

Cajun Man
for the SDMB

[Omega_Glory]

Thanks. Just so everyone knows, I’ve asked that the original thread be re-opened, since the deadline to sign up is today, and the majority of people haven’t checked into the new one yet.

[Ice_Wolf]

Good on you, Cajun Man.

[Ethilrist]

@GingerOfTheNorth

Does this mean the baby is illegitimate?

Let’s just say the status is “Temporarily suspended.”

[Scissorjack]

An apology and a remedy. Nice one, Cajun Man.

[Anaamika]

I wanted to say thank you to Cajun Man. That was very big of you, to apologize, and I really appreciate it, and I’m glad to see the original thread was reopened.

Just one last question: is it a hard-and-fast rule, then, that we have to ask a mod every time? If so, please put it into a sticky or even better, in the board rules, so we know…I knew it was necessary if you were asking outright for money (charities, whatnot) but didn’t know at all that it was necessary for exchanges.

Other than that, this thread can be closed down at this point. Thanks again, Cajun Man.

[Miller]

Oh, I see how it is. First, the mods ruin a perfectly good Secret Santa by locking it, and now they go and ruin a perfectly good mod bitch sessions by re-opening it!

Fuckin’ mods.

[TubaDiva]

There is an upgrade to the Straight Dope rules of the road, which you may read here:

SDMB registration agreement as of 12/6/2005

The part that goes directly to this discussion is:

This message board is intended as a medium for public discussion. Do not post spam, including but not limited to advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, solicitations, **offers to trade or barter, charitable appeals, **or other messages primarily intended to promote a cause, venture, organization, event (except Straight Dope-related events), website, or other entity or activity, whether or not money is involved. We allow exceptions for worthy causes (in our sole opinion) if you obtain prior permission from a moderator or administrator. We do not require prior approval for non-commercial gift exchanges, e.g., “secret Santa” exchanges. The Chicago Reader, Inc., and its agents, including the administrators and moderators of the Straight Dope Message Board, make no representation that they have investigated or vetted charitable appeals, gift exchanges, and similar activities promoted on this board or groups or individuals associated with them. We do not vouch for, monitor, sponsor, endorse, or have any formal association with such activities. Proceed at your own risk.

Short form: It’s your nickel, Sidney, the user (that being you) assumes all risk; management is not responsible. Close cover before striking.

We will still require approval in advance for fundraising and all sorts of charitable requests, petition drives, or any other thread that solicits for your extended participation and/or possibly your support, financial and otherwise. You can contact any current moderator or administrator to obtain such permission.

TubaDiva

[Larry_Griffin-Kentzel]

Originally posted by Anaamika

Just one last question: is it a hard-and-fast rule, then, that we have to ask a mod every time? If so, please put it into a sticky or even better, in the board rules, so we know…I knew it was necessary if you were asking outright for money (charities, whatnot) but didn’t know at all that it was necessary for exchanges.

TubaDiva has answered your question in the above post (#115).

Cajun Man
for the SDMB

[Anaamika]

Thank you, TubaDiva.

[John_Stamos_Left_Ear]

@Cajun Man

Although I believed I was doing the right thing at the time, in retrospect, I should not have closed the thread.

My sincere apologies to Omega Glory, and anyone else I may have inconvenienced.

Group hug!

[Scissorjack]

That seems reasonable, and clear enough. Thanks, TubaDiva: all we really wanted was some clarity and consistency on this thing.

[Harborwolf]

Thanks Cajun and Tuba. Unfortunately, your actions will cost you your jack boots. You can drop them off at the Readers home offices.