# Reporting Moderators. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 24, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218 "2007-06-24T16:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/61 "2007-06-28T02:52:28Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] So what _exactly_ leads you to assume the latter and not the former? [/QUOTE] Comments made in this thread (even accounting for the understandable defensiveness given how the thread began) and “too much extra work” doesn’t fly when we’re talking about simple text processing on a computer. I would not be terribly surprised if a workable solution already exists as a vB add-on. [QUOTE=rayh] Now that my life has been immeasurably enriched by this piece of information, what am I supposed to do with it? [/QUOTE] Get a warm fuzzy feeling about how hard the mods work to keep it safe to go out at night, a chicken in every pot, and a dependable automobile in every garage. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/62 "2007-06-28T07:41:45Z")
You left out how we also refute entropy, that’s an all-day gig by itself. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/63 "2007-06-28T12:25:21Z")
As I thought, the underlying point to all this thread is that the OP has a grudge against how the Board is Moderated, and wants to use the information in order to “out” the moderators for their bad behavior. This being the case, I’ll drop the discussion. An agenda like that will not be overcome with logic or reason. Suffice it to say that the OP appears to fail to understand that he/she, like everyone else here, is not entitled to some sort of “due process”, and this isn’t some form of democracy. If you don’t like what happens here, simply find something else to do. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [June 28, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/64 "2007-06-28T13:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=1010011010] Comments made in this thread (even accounting for the understandable defensiveness given how the thread began) and “too much extra work” doesn’t fly when we’re talking about simple text processing on a computer. [/QUOTE] You forget that li’l extra step about how we need to respect confidentiality. So I can’t just record, “Warned Fred Smith about recording song lyrics,” I’ve got to anonymize it. And we certainly do NOT want to say, “Old Betsy, who was banned for soliciting a few months ago, has tried to sneak back in again for her fourth try and was kicked out again.” We don’t want to give publicity to such people. We do keep track of warnings, but they’re pretty much public record already, anyhow. We do not keep track of the spambots, and we don’t want to. What you’re suggesting would be (a) an enormous amount of additional work, and (b) a violation of privacy issues, which were a big deal on this board a couple years back, and (c) completely uninteresting to anyone with any sort of life. Finally, I agree with **DSYoung** ’s assessment. If you’ve got a specific gripe, please air it. If you want to track what a single moderator does, search on their username and you’ll see their posts; no, you won’t be able to see all the spam they’ve deleted or all the threads they’ve moved, but that’s life. If you unhappy because you’re not able to see every detail of every day of what moderators do, learn to live with it. When you’re a student in elementary school, you’re not able to see every detail of every day of what your teacher does, either. (And I prefer the teacher-on-the-playground analogy over the police analogy.) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/65 "2007-06-28T13:28:38Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] (And I prefer the teacher-on-the-playground analogy over the police analogy.) [/QUOTE] Have I ever mentioned what nice knees you have, **Dex**? ---
**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:** [June 28, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/66 "2007-06-28T18:59:39Z")
Bee’s knees, natch. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/67 "2007-06-28T19:46:17Z")
[QUOTE=TubaDiva] You left out how we also refute entropy, that’s an all-day gig by itself. [/QUOTE] When the universe is slowly expanding into nothingness, " all-day" takes on epic proportions. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/68 "2007-06-28T21:36:24Z")
I like what **Sailboat** wrote, and I’d like to chime in on the same terms. I’ve never had any affiliation with SDMB or the _Reader_ other than as a paying member of this board, but I’ve moderated a number of other boards, including everything from BBSs back in the 1980s to CompuServe forums in the 1990s to Web boards and Yahoo! groups in the 2000s. Here’s my perspective: We all have a vote on how this board is run. It’s a $15 vote and we renew it every year. We all have the right to make suggestions, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, our vote is either “yes” (we pays our dues and renews our membership) or “no” (we hits the road and keeps our money). The SDMB is a business, and we’re the customers, not the owners. This board is not a democracy. There is a management structure in place, and they’ve published rules. I really like the rule, “don’t be a jerk.” It’s clear, concise, and simple. If a member violates the rule, we can tell a mod. If a mod violates the rule, we can tell an administrator. If an administrator violates the rule, we can tell Ed Zotti. If Ed violates the rule, I suppose we could march on the _Reader_’s offices with placards, torches, pitchforks, and rubber dog poop. **1010011010** has every right to bitch about the mods. **DSYoungEsq** has every right to bitch about **1010011010**. **C K Dexter Haven** has every right to stop explaining himself and move on to something else (but I appreciate the fact that hasn’t). The rest of us have the right to go read a different thread, or put whomever we don’t like on our ignore lists. It all seems to be working pretty well. I really, really don’t see the big deal about your warnings, **1010011010**. Just suck it up, grumble to yourself, burn the hemp effigy you made of **Dex** , and move on. [QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] What you’re suggesting would be (a) an enormous amount of additional work, and (b) a violation of privacy issues, which were a big deal on this board a couple years back, and (c) completely uninteresting to anyone with any sort of life. [/QUOTE] Wait. Wait! There are dopers with “any sort of life”? ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/69 "2007-06-29T04:10:21Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] I really, really don’t see the big deal about your warnings, **1010011010**. [/QUOTE] What are my warnings? Please, no one else message me about this thread or how you feel about this or that mod. Chances are good I don’t know anything about you or the mod, and simply won’t care. I’ll try to figure out what my specific gripe is and pit whoever/whatever is responsible. Until then, there doesn’t seem to be much point in trying to engage any discussion of the benefits or problems with creating an unbiased archive of moderator activity. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/70 "2007-06-29T04:25:28Z")
[QUOTE=1010011010] Until then, there doesn’t seem to be much point in trying to engage any discussion of the benefits or problems with creating an unbiased archive of moderator activity. [/QUOTE] I think the problem is that you haven’t demonstrated that an out-of-context post in a sticky of moderator activity is a benefit. What would you gain by my copying and pasting to a sticky [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=8726892): > [@Frank](#): > > You’ve been here long enough to know that calling posters a troll is forbidden outside the Pit. This was damn near a warning. Or #110 from the same thread: > [@Frank](#): > > You were not referring to someone in this thead? In this forum? > > Then what, precisely, did you mean? Was this a random response to a Pit thread to be named later? Or #112 > [@Frank](#): > > I shall only get mildly bent out of shape. > > Please, if you wish to participate further in this thread, or on the SDMB in general, acquire your own membership. We have many husband/wive, boyfriend/girlfriend (alter genders as appropriate), roommate combinations posting from the same location. We do, however, strongly discourage two people sharing the same membership. Just a heads-up. > > You can join as a guest to participate in this thread, and - well - if you find after spending time on the board that you’re not interested in joining, I guess that’s our loss. Or #114 > [@Frank](#): > > Nevertheless. What do you, what does any member of the SDMB gain? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/71 "2007-06-29T04:32:10Z")
[QUOTE=1010011010] What are my warnings? Please, no one else message me about this thread or how you feel about this or that mod. Chances are good I don’t know anything about you or the mod, and simply won’t care. [/QUOTE] (a) I thought you had been warned by the mods. If not, I apologize for the insinuation, but it makes me wonder even more why you’re making such a big deal out of it. (b) I’ve never messaged you, and I don’t intend to. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/72 "2007-06-29T05:00:31Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] What do you, what does any member of the SDMB gain? [/QUOTE] An unbiased record? Or at least minimally biased… As it is, all that’s available are hamster-death-causing forum searches and web shrines to mod evil. However, it’s in my court to reveal my _real_ motive, which pretty effectively ends the discussion since there’s no where for me to go with that. If a comprehensive record was available, would I read it with an eye for problems? Sure! And hopefully the board could be improved by whatever was discovered. While I think the level of resistance to the idea is interesting, I don’t really care what your deep dark secrets actually are, and neither will anyone else (because a) they already know and have it exhaustively documented in their web shrine b) saw the pit thread the first time around and didn’t care then, either c) are hanging out in one of the SBDM refuges [Hi Opal!] d) aren’t the type that would read the logbook). If anyone wants to talk about it without this assumption that I’m out to get you, it would be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/73 "2007-06-29T05:07:04Z")
[QUOTE=1010011010] An unbiased record? Or at least minimally biased… [/QUOTE] What makes my copying and pasting my posts any more biased or unbiased than my posts themselves? Seriously, you haven’t answered my question. What would my verbatim quotes above, were you reading them in a moderator sticky, do for you? > [@](#): > > If anyone wants to talk about it without this assumption that I’m out to get you, it would be much appreciated. In what way does this question appear to be assuming that you are out to get me? ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/74 "2007-06-29T05:08:03Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] (a) I thought you had been warned by the mods. If not, I apologize for the insinuation, but it makes me wonder even more why you’re making such a big deal out of it. [/QUOTE] I haven’t had much interaction with the mods at all, in my recollection. Shocking though this may be, I might be “making a big deal out of it” because I think it’s a good idea. > [@](#): > > (b) I’ve never messaged you, and I don’t intend to. In hindsight, probably should have put in a divider to clarify that wasn’t a response to you. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/75 "2007-06-29T05:17:14Z")
> [@1010011010](#): > > While I think the level of resistance to the idea is interesting, What is particularly interesting about people not wanting to do extra work for no real purpose? ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/76 "2007-06-29T05:20:29Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] What makes my copying and pasting my posts any more biased or unbiased than my posts themselves? Seriously, you haven’t answered my question. What would my verbatim quotes above, were you reading them in a moderator sticky, do for you? [/QUOTE] Here’s the part you cut out: “As it is, all that’s available are hamster-death-causing forum searches and web shrines to mod evil.” Please, think of the hamsters. [QUOTE=Frank] In what way does this question appear to be assuming that you are out to get me? [/QUOTE] They need an \ UBB tag and I need to sleep. Wasn’t directed specifically to you. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/77 "2007-06-29T11:24:44Z")
As a non-mod person who’s “resisting” this idea, let’s see if I can clarify this “resistance.” The mods have a job, which they do without being paid for it. The reason I’m happy to pay $7.48 a year to hang out here is that the boards are moderated, which means that spam disappears almost instantaneously, and that when this member or that starts to act like a jerk, he or she is told to knock it off. Lack of spam and lack of jerkishness both enhance my enjoyment of being here. I don’t need to know every instance of spam-banishing or poster-admonishment. I see the end results of the mods doing their jobs, and it is good. I can relax and trust them to do their jobs, _because I have no reason to doubt that they are not doing their jobs properly._ It’s like any other service I utilize or business I patronize – I operate at a certain level of trust that the employees are doing their jobs, and don’t demand to know that the kid who wrapped my burger at McD’s has washed her hands recently, or that the clerk in the supermarket didn’t just take six hits of acid, or that the nurse drawing my blood has been trained to do so. We all go through life taking a certain amount of competence in those around us for granted. Which of course doesn’t mean that we don’t encounter inompetence or malfeasance – but in general, the starting place for suspecting that someone is an idiot, a crook, or an asshole is some specific behavior. Most of us haven’t seen any evidence that the mods are incompetent, or that any particular mod has a hardon for some poster or group of posters, or the like. Your asking that they “explain themselves” would seem to indicated that you have seen such behaviors, and we’re asking what the behavior is that leads you to want to see documentation of their every activity. It’s the equivalent of my walking into McDonald’s and demanding a hand-washing log of every person working there. If I don’t think that McDonald’s is clean, I might do so – or, more likely, I’d just take my business elsewhere. So – is there some reason you’re assuming the mods aren’t doing a good job? If so, share that reason and they can address it. If not … well, you’re welcome to take your business elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218/78 "2007-09-20T03:04:58Z")
[QUOTE=Omegaman] You’re such a sweetheart. Don’t you worry. I am only one of two men in Las Vegas who have my particular skill and although I don’t think a lot of myself as a person I _do_ know my job. You guys (mods, admins) have it tough. Every thing you say is picked apart like buzzard on a gut wagon. You people have “moxy”. I hope I’m using that word right. I wouldn’t want to be insulting as I’ve done too much of that already. [/QUOTE] Wait, Liberace is dead. So you’re the only one left. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporting-moderators/409218.md?page=3)