The thread was “zombied” after a whopping three days, while the thread creator (me) was offline. No admins commented on the situation, and it seems that only one other moderator was paying any attention to the thread at all, so as far as I’m concerned it was still open for further discussion.
Would you like to comment on whether or not you feel it’s appropriate for a moderator to lock an on-topic thread when they’ve already indicated that they are emotionally involved in the topic to the point of breaking cardinal board rules? Or for the moderator to insist that an on-topic discussion be taken to another thread because they don’t like what’s being said, even though it breaks no board rules?
If the SDMB policy in this case is going to be “we do whatever the hell we want, and if you don’t like it, you can leave,” that’s fine, but I’d like to hear you actually say it instead of just letting us come to that conclusion on our own.
The thread was a problem and they found justification to close it?
Don’t worry mods, I got this one! You can close it.
But seriously, once again throwing my support in with the OP. I thought the thread was still alive but the mod seemed eager to close it. The issue that the thread was attempting to address hadn’t been adequately resolved yet.
What is your mission here, anyway? When did it become your job to constantly harangue the staff here?
Why should the community be expected to put up with it?
Why should the moderators?
We get bouquets and brickbats around here and we handle problems as they arise. We’re not perfect and sometimes we make mistakes. When that happens we undo and make amends.
I was mildly interested by this thread and wondered what the rationale for the thread-closing was. Saw that TubaDiva had responded and opened the thread to find out said rationale. And then saw this instead. Dude?
I appreciate that you are taking an interest in making this place work better, as you can tell, those efforts aren’t typically appreciated.
I used to be a paying member, back when I thought my voice mattered. When it became clear to me that I was a guest, and guests don’t get to bitch about how a host runs their house, I stopped paying. I assume you are still paying and are still expecting to be treated like a consumer. I suggest you give that up and accept what is going on. You will contribute your money and time and you will not complain.
It just pains me to see someone going through the same struggle with this place that I did. Damn shame too. A place I came to religiously and paid for happily, has turned into a place I visit rarely.
In ATMB, to keep the board I enjoy posting on a board I enjoy posting on. On the SDMB, to post on a board I enjoy posting on.
When did you decide that occasional threads about moderator actions that I see as being in conflict with the rules of this boards were “harangu[ing]”? Is it also haranguing when I’m posting to someone else’s thread to agree with the action the moderator took, or just when I’m saying something you find inconvenient?
Many members of the community agree with my objections. Some of them post in the threads to show their support; some PM; some email; I can only assume others remain silent.
Everyone benefits from a site that has rules that are enforced consistently.
Because you, hopefully, love this board as much as I do, and you want it to remain a fun place for people to post. That means being open to criticism.
And, again, everyone benefits from a site that has rules that are enforced consistently.
Yes, you do undo and make amends. Sometimes on your own; sometimes when someone else points out that you did something that wasn’t in line with the board rules. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have been in your shoes, moderating a large, active online community (bigger than the Dope, I’m fairly sure–over 500k when I was there). I will *never *bring up something in ATMB for the sake of frivolity or poking the mods. I *will *do it because I think it’s important to enforce rules consistently and maintain at least a veneer of impartiality on the part of the staff.
Do you *really *want me to link threads where a mod or admin only admitted that something was wrong after a bunch of regular board members repeatedly kept at them about it?
Why do you think I want more than that?
ETA:
Actually, my membership was a gift from another poster on the board. Hahaha, as a direct result of one of these other “haranguing” threads, too (you know, that the rest of the community doesn’t appreciate). The title I paid for myself, though.
There are about eighty ATMB threads active in the last 30 days, most of which remain open despite the fact that no one has posted to them in the past few days. (The ones that have been locked are categorically lockable–queries about specific bannings, mostly.) But this one got locked, mostly because it was slightly embarrassing to the Mods, who were rightfully being called out here for poor behavior, poor mannners and poor modding. And people wonder why the phrase 'circling the wagons" is sometimes employed. This is an example of circling the wagons and destroying the evidence.
Perhaps you should step away and get some rest. Seriously, this is an over-the-top reaction to an OP that was polite and reasonable. Your reaction was overkill upon overkill and you honestly ought to apologize to her for acting insane.
IT just looks like the classic “Mod taking things too personally” bit again.
Yeah, SfG is not the least abrasive poster here. And I have no problem with you pointing that out as a poster. But please don’t use your moderating powers to try and shut her up. If she breaks a rule, warn her for it.
As long as you have a forum for pointing out mod mistakes, you should expect that your moderating will be scrutinized. If you have a legitimate reason for closing the thread, then articulate it. If you don’t. then don’t close it.
I’ll even help you guys out: You were already addressing the problem, and you’ve seen how easily ATMB threads go off the rails after that point. You wanted to discourage this, so you locked the thread.
My response would be:
The problem with locking a thread, though, is that it means it will fall down the page, as it can’t be bumped. So it does look like trying to hide your mistakes. I’d suggest that the appearance of impropriety that is a bigger concern, and thus, while your action was understandable, it was a bit of a mistake. If the offtopic stuff is inevitable–just wait for it to happen, then you can close the thread with impunity.
I do have a suggestion for SfG, though. You can help matters by phrasing things in a less confrontational manner–just as much as they could. The best way to make sure you aren’t misperceived as haranguing is to be as kind as you can. Save the confrontational rhetoric for the big guns.
Og knows I need to learn this, too, so don’t think I’m picking on either of you.
ETA: And, please, let’s not turn this into a Tuba bashing thread–or they’ll have a legitimate reason to close, as well as suspect that was SfG’s intention. She made a big mistake in her response in this thread, but rubbing it in will not accomplish anything but making her more upset.
Tuba, I like you. You’ve always been pleasant when dealing with me on board and off. I appreciate that.
In this instance, though, your response is completely over the top. I get that some of the mods feel like they get more than their share of abuse. Having been a mod elsewhere, I’m sympathetic. But when one of you does something like this, you may as well pour gasoline on a fire.
The fact that it spills out into ATMB, and the fact that mods can’t pit posters in ours. If they had a Pit, you’d expect their rants to have to be posted there.
This is the most unprofessional, ridiculous, bullshit post I have ever read on this forum. TubaDiva should be stripped of her mod/admin position immediately.
I’m sure they have more than one. They added the 2010 Election forum not too long ago, and it’s numbered 34. There are quite a few hidden/inactive forums here.
