# Please could Mods tell us if they're out or in **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 20, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090 "2008-12-20T18:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/1 "2008-12-20T18:10:36Z")
I PM’d **Marley23** to ask whether a thread I am proposing to write would break any SD rules. He responded by saying that it was something that \*\*Gaudere \*\*should deal with, so I forwarded it to her. I haven’t heard back from her. I’m not in any hurry and I’ve got no problems, but I’m concerned that Gaudere may not have received it. As, I believe, most Mods switch their in/out things off permanently, we have no idea if the mod you want to contact has seen your comunication and thought ‘Sod it - he’s not worth dealing with’, or has gone for a three week holiday to the Seychelles, or is just too blind drunk to see straight…or something. Please could Mods use their toilet ‘vacant’/‘engaged’ thing? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/2 "2008-12-20T19:03:13Z")
Only three or four of us use the ‘invisible’ function, I think. Most are just in our out. The reason I sent the PMs to **Gaudere** specifically is that she was online at the time. She may be discussing them with the other Great Debates mods now, and if you are not sure if we’re online, you can reach any of us by email. Please be patient. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/3 "2008-12-20T19:06:12Z")
Thanks. No problems. I would have PM’d you this, but you were out last time I looked. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/4 "2008-12-20T19:19:39Z")
I would just say in general that if you want to contact a moderator it is usually more reliable to use e-mail rather than a PM. At least in my case, I receive lots of e-mails related to the board every day, so I check my e-mails frequently when I am on line. I receive at best only a few PMs a month, so I may not notice I have a new one for several days. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/5 "2008-12-20T19:32:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I would just say in general that if you want to contact a moderator it is usually more reliable to use e-mail rather than a PM. At least in my case, I receive lots of e-mails related to the board every day, so I check my e-mails frequently when I am on line. I receive at best only a few PMs a month, so I may not notice I have a new one for several days. OK - I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/6 "2008-12-20T19:39:34Z")
Also, if it’s a question about a thread in a particular forum, feel free to contact all of the mods for that forum. No one will mind, and you’ll stand a better chance of a quicker response. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/7 "2008-12-20T19:47:42Z")
After all this, if I’m given the go ahead, it’ll need to be a bloody good thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/8 "2008-12-24T02:07:16Z")
Yeah, email please and contact all mods. It doesn’t pop up alerts or anything when I get a PM, so I’d have to notice the wee notification in the upper right. I’ll try to remember to check that but obviously this time it took several days. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-could-mods-tell-us-if-theyre-out-or-in/478090/9 "2008-12-25T10:02:24Z")
> [@Gaudere](#): > > Yeah, email please and contact all mods. It doesn’t pop up alerts or anything when I get a PM, so I’d have to notice the wee notification in the upper right. I’ll try to remember to check that but obviously this time it took several days. That’s funny. I get an email notification when I get a PM. You can set it up in your profile, you know. If you click on User CP and…only joking 🙂