# What is the time expectation for seeing moderator instructions? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 23, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453 "2022-11-23T20:11:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/21 "2022-11-23T22:03:01Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > If I had received a green bubble for a moderator note, I would have checked it out just because I’d never seen one before. That’s definitely weird _and_ unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/22 "2022-11-23T22:08:38Z")
It’s not weird. Bubbles are different colors depending on what skin you use on the Board. I use Vincent. Blue bubbles in both my skin and Wrenching\_Spanners indicate someone has quoted me in a post. Green bubbles in both my skin and Wrenching\_Spanners indicate someone has sent me a direct PM. My advice is to not ignore _any_ bubbles, irrespective of what color they are, even if all you do is check the drop-down menu to see who either quoted you or sent you a direct PM. And it is always a good practice to scroll up and down in a thread before posting a long post to see if things have happened since you last checked, as others have mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/23 "2022-11-23T22:17:15Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > > > I also multi-task with other things I’m interested in online, and also real life non-online interests and responsibilities. > > I don’t do this, ever. Because if I do, then I end up posting something sloppy. If I can’t give it my proper attention, I wait until I can. I sometimes do this in order to give a post proper attention. I’ll start a reply, then realize I need to check a point in the reply, or somebody’s at the door, or whoops it’s later than I thought and I’m going to be late for something if I take time to finish the post properly. So I’ll leave it and come back to it later; specifically in order to avoid making a sloppy post. But I’ll also do my best to remember to recheck what’s happened in the thread while I was gone. And if, after I post, I realize there were other posts in the interval, I’ll check them while I’m still in the edit window – glad to have 15 minutes to do that, 5 minutes often wasn’t long enough. I think it is sloppy to fail to check intervening posts in the thread – aside from the possiblilty that there’s been a moderator instruction, someone else might have posted the same link I was about to post; or essentially the same argument; or for that matter something that appears to clearly refute the argument I was about to post, in which case I’d want to either check and possibly remove my claim, or refute the refutation. All of those things (as well as the occasional moderator instruction to drop the entire line of conversation I was replying to) happen to me from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/24 "2022-11-23T22:22:44Z")
It would be nice to see a thread have a symbol next to it if it has been officially modded in the way discussed in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/25 "2022-11-23T22:27:07Z")
Good idea for the wishlist, but I sincerely doubt we’ll ever see it. We have very limited control over the software. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/26 "2022-11-24T02:01:23Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > I looked at the thread. It wasn’t a warning, as the OP stated. > > > > I think the warning was warranted. > > I was warned for not following a moderator instruction that I didn’t see until after I had received the warning. Apparently, I need to check the thread I’m posting in to make sure I haven’t received a moderator instruction after I make a post for during the time I was composing the post. That seems quite authoritarian, but I’ll try to follow that procedure in the future. Well, not really. Your next post was immediately following someone who’d retracted theirs because of the instruction. I thought that was a good opportunity to see the instruction. It’s not feasible to expect all of us to scroll through the entire thread to see if any mod instructions were left. But I thought you had good opportunity to see it. And I’m not saying that you purposefully avoided it, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/27 "2022-11-24T02:01:52Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > It would be nice to see a thread have a symbol next to it if it has been officially modded in the way discussed in the OP. Good suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/28 "2022-11-24T04:13:17Z")
Or maybe mods could use a font color no one is allowed to. I can scroll and if I see a post in hot pink, i need to read it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/29 "2022-11-24T04:15:25Z")
We already use a special color. Background though. You do see this post is highlighted I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/30 "2022-11-24T04:28:20Z")
But I’m saying a special color for We are managing this thread. Ignore this post at your own peril. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/31 "2022-11-24T04:45:12Z")
All mod instructions should have the staff coloring. Typically the yellow background. I don’t follow how that is different. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/32 "2022-11-24T07:07:38Z")
Yeah! A different color for each level of infraction! Nope, the first time a mod posts a _warning_ in _note_ color the rules lawyers won’t be all ‘A warning in note color is clearly a note and not a warning!!1!’, nope that wouldn’t happen ever. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/33 "2022-11-24T13:24:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > All mod instructions should have the staff coloring. Typically the yellow background. > > I don’t follow how that is different. Because there is a difference between a mod note like “Hey Saint Cad settle down. Friendly reminder given.” which I see as a reply and know to look for and only I need to worry about as opposed to “EVERYONE HEED THIS POST UNDER THREAT OF WARNING OR WORSE!” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/34 "2022-11-24T13:44:08Z")
So you want a special color for instructions to everyone on the thread? It’s unfortunately very difficult to use colored font in Discourse. I know you can do it with mathjax, but i think that’s more than i can manage, especially since i mostly moderate on my phone. It’s a good idea, but i don’t think we can implement it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/35 "2022-11-24T14:05:12Z")
When I return to a thread, it shows where new posts start. Especially if I’ve been active in the thread, I start there and read new posts. Mod posts are on a yellow background. If you’re actively engaged in a thread, why not start with the new posts divider rather than jumping to someone replying to your previous post? I don’t get why this wouldn’t be the default action. If the argument is that there are too many new posts or you don’t have time to scroll up from a reply to your post, would the 10 seconds of scrolling up take too much time? And maybe some of those other new posts are also relevant to read before jumping back in. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/36 "2022-11-24T14:22:17Z")
It doesn’t really work that way if you were composing a post when you stepped away. I run into this all the time. If I’m on a PC, and it’s been a long time, i sometimes start a new browser to check what’s happened, but even that is annoying with the interface. On a phone, i don’t bother. I usually make my post, then quickly back-read to see if i need to edit my post on light of what’s happened. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/37 "2022-11-24T16:02:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > It doesn’t really work that way if you were composing a post when you stepped away. I run into this all the time. If I’m on a PC I don’t know what goes on if posting from a phone; but on a desktop, I just scroll back up till I see my last post, if I’ve posted before relatively recently in a thread, or until I see what I started replying to. The last visit line can be helpful, also. I’ve learned, if I get a popup box asking me what thread I want to respond in, to just click “this one” and not worry about it further. This seems to be caused by having multiple tabs open to the same thread; or maybe sometimes by having closed and then reopened a tab to that thread while I had a post started in it, I haven’t taken the trouble to pin down which. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/38 "2022-11-24T16:04:50Z")
Scrolling up even on a phone is pretty easy. Probably should be considered a normal thing in P&E and GD especially after posting. You do have 15 minutes after posting to edit your post. Even after that, flag your own post to have it corrected if you’re worried you might get a flag. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/39 "2022-11-24T17:18:55Z")
Scrolling up while composing a post on a phone is certainly possible, but it’s awkward. I mean, i do it to quote other posts all the time. But I’ve missed intervening posts enough times under those circumstances that i can’t support a hard-line, “we expect you to always do this”. I think scrolling up after you’ve safely submitted your post, to check what happened in the interim (and to edit if appropriate) is good enough. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453/40 "2022-11-24T17:20:04Z")
Right after you post, it is a good idea to scroll back up to see what you missed. That is why I was talking about editing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-time-expectation-for-seeing-moderator-instructions/975453.md?page=3)