I don’t get this phenomenon, but I see it every day on these boards. Someone posts a thread in a board that may or may not be the right board. Almost inevitably, one of the first 3 posts is some non-mod saying, “This post doesn’t belong here.” Usually these posts don’t even add anything to the question being asked. What’s wrong with you people?! You waste the board’s bandwidth with these pointless posts. You aren’t the ones appointed to regulate these boards. Why do you feel the need/right to tell people that they’re in the wrong board. Can’t you just trust the well-proven ability of the mods to make these calls on their own?
The most outrageous example of this that I’ve seen is from a long time ago (I think the post was lost when the board went down a while back.) I posted a question in GQ because I feared someone I knew was at risk of suicide and I didn’t know what to do. Someone soon posted to tell me that my post was in the wrong board. What the fuck? First, where the hell else should I put that? Second, when (in my opinion at the time, at least) a person’s life was on the line, was it really so important whether or not it was in the right forum?
Anyway, now that that gripe is out of my system, I’d seriously like to hear from the people who do this. Why do you do it?
(And I bet the first response to this post will be, “This post is in the wrong forum” or something along those lines.)
I know what you mean, I’m not saying that people should just post wherever they want. But when someone does (usually by accident or ignorance) post in the wrong forum, why do people feel the compulsion to point it out themselves when they’re powerless to do anything about it, the mods almost always catch these things anyway, and its really not their call anyway.
Well, it IS a learning aide. We the staff can’t be everywhere at once. As long as it’s not done in a snarky or negative manner, we are OK with it. It’s even better if the person who says that it’s in the wrong forum will report it, so that a mod CAN move it as soon as possible.
The tone of voice means a lot. Some people just come across as very officious, and seem to raise people’s hackles.
Back under the old system, a post saying “This is in the wrong forum” was a REAL help, because when we moved a thread then, it didn’t leave a “Moved Thread” note in the original forum, and the original poster was left wondering where his/her thread had gone.
So what I’m saying here is that we’re unlikely to warn someone who makes a post noting that a thread is in the wrong forum, unless it seems to be a compulsion with that poster.
I’m so sorry but this really belongs in GQ. (kidding!)
I think the reason IS that THEY (the people who do it) want to respond BUT don’t want to be affiliated with or share the blame with someone who’s posted in the wrong forum and mar their perfect record.
I can’t even Mod myself and still am pleasantly surprised when I get warned.
AwSnappity makes a point that I should have made myself. It seems to me like if you’re so offended by a post being in the wrong forum, it would be prudent to report it and leave it at that. If you have something to say about the thread, answer it and then maybe, as a secondary concern, there’s nothing wrong with pointing out that the thread is misplaced. But to reply with the main point being “This is the wrong forum” seems obnoxious and unnecessary, especially since these people are making a judgement call that sometimes isn’t theirs to make.
What the OP talks about is pretty lightweight stuff. IRL, I got into in the wrong place, the wrong line, the wrong bus, etc., I would want someone to tell me, as long as they don’t do it offensively.
I thought the post was going to be about the members who love to call people trolls or make similar snarky comments. Seems to me that used to be more common around here than it is now.
FWIW, whenever I express an opinion as to whether a thread is in the wrong forum, or whatever, I try to make it very clear that it’s my own personal *opinion * I’m expressing, and I’m not attempting to play moderator or dictate board policy. This has not saved me from accusations of junior modding, but it’s saved me from *valid * accusations of junior modding.
I think that’s a stretch. I’ve done it myself a couple times, and I did it to be helpful, not superior. When it’s obvious the newbie hasn’t gone beyond GQ and posts some thread about, for example, their cat’s adorable fuzzy ears, I think it’s important that someone point out to them the proper place to share such mundane, pointless things.
It helps that poster learn our setup, it alerts the mod to the need for a move, and maybe it even informs another newbie who happens along the thread. While we’d hope that everyone reads the forum descriptions before posting, I think everyone knows that that isn’t always the case.
While I can’t argue your other points, I must disagree with the “alerts the mod” point. As I said earlier, the “report this post to a moderator” button alerts the mod. Reading the thread title and OP alerts the mod. The mod does not need a “this thread should be moved” post to be alerted.
It’s not like a mod clicks on a thread in GQ titled “My cat’s ears are fuzzy and adorable!”, reads the OP, and then he’ll say to himself, “Well belladonna says this is in the wrong forum, so I’ll listen to her!” I’d like to give the mods more credit than that. If a mod needs to read through the title, OP, first couple of posts, and then isn’t convinced until (s)he reads a “this thread should be moved” post, then I would question their overall ability to moderate effectively.
It is their judgement call to make, not ours, and I would like to trust that they know what they are doing 99.98% of the time. If you feel that the thread must be moved and the mods should be notified, I think it would be best to click the “report this post to a moderator” button. While I’ve never used this function, it seems to me that the mod would be alerted more quickly than if we relied on him/her to wade through all the other threads in that particular forum and then read the OP etc. (Please correct me if that is not the case.)
[sub]Due to external circumstances (me being tired), it is entirely possible that the above post is not completely coherent, which I apologize for. If needed, I will come back and try to explain more.[/sub]
That’s the preferred way. First, it notifies several of us so odds are somebody will be on-line to handle it. Second, it helps save the OP’s face. Many are either a newbie’s innocent mistake or a brain fart moment. Third, it leaves the judgment up to us.
Expanding on the third point, there’s plenty of gray area for threads. Some are pretty clear cut but plenty can go several ways, especially among IMHO, MPSIMS, GD and the Pit. (Witness a recent thread that Cajun Man and I unwittingly ping-ponged between MPSIMS and IMHO three separate times. Fortunately the OP was a good sport and we all got the giggles over it. That was one of the .02% of the time. -->grins<–)
We really don’t mind if the Teemsters point it out with a modicum of tact in the thread however, as Lynn said. It can even be done in a welcoming manner for newbies, as well as providing some gentle guidance. Everybody flubs up sometimes, especially when new at something. It just isn’t that big a deal, unless it becomes a constant practice. No reason for anybody to get too cranked up over it, y’know?
Can’t speak for anyone else, but when I post something like “this belongs in [other forum]”, I also click Report This Post. I dunno if it would be seen as junior modding to make a note about why I personally (as opposed to In An Official Capacity) feel it belonged in another forum, though ISTR doing that more’n once.
My reasoning is that sometimes mods don’t post what in particular it is about a thread or OP that makes it better suited to being in another forum. They do that most of the time, but occasionally you’ll simply see a note like “Moved to IMHO” or somesuch (my personal feeling about this is that, in the few instances where I can remember it happening - and I don’t have any threads bookmarked as examples - folks have already explained why it belonged elsewhere), and to a newbie that can be confusing if you don’t see a specific reason for having it moved.
Again, most of the time you’ll see something like “This is a poll, so I’ll move it to IMHO for you” or “This is a question with no factual answer, so I’ll shuttle it along to GD” or “Moved to the Pit at the request of the OP” … sometimes, though, the reason might not be quite so clear to a newbie if a mod doesn’t say something. And hey, their time is a lot more valuable than mine is:)
There are many, many, many, many other things that waste bandwidth here. I don’t think that alerting a person to a mistake they made is nearly as bad as some of the more egregious wastes of bandwidth/time/electrons.
Now, if someone simply posts “this is in the wrong forum” and doesn’t alert a mod, they’re just textually masturbating. That would be very stupid, I agree. If they make a comment on the correct forum and reply to the OP, they’re fighting ignorance on two fronts IMO.
'Sides I thought this thread was going to be about the people who say things like “haven’t you been warned about…” or “It is strictly forbidden to…” Isn’t that worse? Either way, that sort of stuff really doesn’t bother me. Now some things…
It’s not extremely common, but there have been a lot of new posters who, after getting their thread moved, get very huffy, and start a Pit thread about it. I see telling someone “this may not be in the right forum” as a way to let new posters know that there’s a standard procedure here, and it’s not just the mods who prefer it that way. The rest of us enjoy the Dope because it’s such a well structured environment, and we like to try to keep it that way.
Depends on tone. If I see a post in ATMB asking about the origins of marsupials from someone who joined in May 2004 and whose post count is a whopping 4, I figure it’s a courtesy to them to point out that this is really a GQ item – and to do so in a helpful rather than snide manner. Advising him or her to e-mail a couple of Mods. to get it moved is also a useful part of that. If Guinastasia (to use her as an example of a high-post-count longtime member) should start a rant in MPSIMS that really belongs in the Pit – well, that’s when a report to the Mods. of misplaced OP is appropriate.
There’s also the other point – if someone is actually looking for advice on how to deal with a suicidal individual, as the OP described, I don’t care what forum he/she posts in – the important point is to provide the right answers, and fast. Anyone recall a Pit thread where Siege, No Clue Boy, and two or three other people worked with a depressed and suicidal teenage boy (whose name I’m carefully not mentioning) and Lynn policed that thread very carefully to ensure that no Pitticisms got into it? Best bit of support for a crisis I’ve seen anywhere on the Internet – it alone justified the existence of this board to anyone with any questions about its value!