Moderation

[Greywolf2375]

I feel bad when I have to be modded. I am a bad bad girl. Will you spank me now? Please?

Line starts behind me folks.

[Renasko]

Damn. Oh well, I'm second in line. :lol:

[Lord Mord]

I am unaware of a spike in asshole-ishness, either on the part of non-mods in the form of, you know, just general being-a-dickery, or on the part of mods in the form of ham-fisted pre-emptivery.

But I would say that the most reasoned, thoughtful boarders of my acquaintance who've had the slightest grounds for contesting bans and deletions have generally had only that: the slightest grounds.

On the strength of their having grounds at all, I say ... well, I'm no good with slogans, but you know, insert-something-anarchistic-here. But I've yet to know of the case where what the mods did was really just bias-codddling interference or could even be reasonably assumed so.

ETA: Oh, and naturally I'll take third place.

[delete this account pls]

I've never been banned, and I haven't been FG'ed in months. So I have much love for the mods right now.

I have noticed the Board in general has been a lot more antagonistic and hostile of late. That would explain an increase in post deletions and stuff.

[Werthead]

I have noticed the Board in general has been a lot more antagonistic and hostile of late. That would explain an increase in post deletions and stuff.

There's definitely been more antagonism than normal recently, and also a lot more combativeness and personal insults in Entertainment and Lit which has led to more moderation being necessary.

But that said, I think overall the board's behaviour is pretty good and we've never really had to intervene and moderate as much as other boards do in the first place, and even deleting a couple of posts is fairly unusual for us.

[Renasko]

I'll admit to being quite 'cheesed off' when I've had posts deleted, especially ones I've found fairly harmless, but I can live with it, I guess. Life goes on.

[The_BlauerDragon]

I've never been banned, and I haven't been FG'ed in months. So I have much love for the mods right now.

Been there, done that... (a few times) Long, Long Ago... Trust me, it's not fun. Not going to discuss it. Just be happy knowing that you haven't missed out on anything.

I have noticed the Board in general has been a lot more antagonistic and hostile of late. That would explain an increase in post deletions and stuff.

I haven't noticed that. Of course, certain forums (such as General) have always been fairly hostile and antagonistic feeling to me. I really don't mind though. I like seeing what people have to say, even when they aren't saying it very nicely. To be honest, the Moderation seems a lot more fair and balanced as of late (from my perspective). I haven't had any posts get abducted in a very long time, and I haven't seen any threads closed for reasons that I could not totally agree with (or at least see the logic of the decision).

I'll admit to being quite 'cheesed off' when I've had posts deleted, especially ones I've found fairly harmless, but I can live with it, I guess. Life goes on.

Yeah, it's a bit frustrating when you put together a really good post, with several very good points... and then ***POOF*** It's gone! I've had that happen more than a few times, but life goes on (and it's usually my own fault for not being more careful with how I worded one little sentence somewhere anyway). That being said, either I am becoming a more responsible poster, or the Mods have joined the list of people that have put me on "ignore"... because as I said above, it hasn't happened to me in quite a while.

[Lord O' Bones]

Since this thread is still going, I'll mention a recent example that bothered me.

The killing a person thread. Yes, it was a macabre subject, but people were thoughtfully engaging in the conversation. Some oldtimers came in to the thread and bashed it, and it was closed.

1. If you don't like a subject, why can you not just not read it?

2. Why is this grounds for thread closure?

I'm not a fan of the board "protecting me" in this fashion.

[Datepalm]

I have never been modded at, that I can recall. :( Not so much as a "keep it civil." I don't have anyone on ignore either.

Right, what am I doing wrong?

[Guest Ro_]

I have never been modded at, that I can recall. :( Not so much as a "keep it civil." I don't have anyone on ignore either.

Right, what am I doing wrong?

You are a delightful person and are refreshingly nonoffensive. I aspire to that.

I did have one post deleted and I was all WTF because I wasn't nasty, but it turns out I wasn't clear and someone could have read it as I tried to date someone here who was a pedophile. Actually, the pedophile I almost e-dated was at a different board.

[Lightning Lord]

I got half-modded a few years back when having a discussion with Scot, don't remember what it was about exactly.

And I think I was obliquely warned a few days ago in Lit, but that was more just for being off topic. And it might not have been aimed at me.

Basically, I need to start pissing people off. :tantrum:

What was the killing person thread? I missed that one.

[Tyrellius]

I cant believe my naughty nun outfit and crotchless randy vicar pants comment was deleted :(

(its so very Carry on!)

[TheEvilKing]

There is very negligible misbehaviour on this message board compared to pretty much every other internet forum I have ever been on. Probably due to the nature of the board itself. It requires very light modding and most intervention I see here is pretty unnecessary. I think it's more to do with the mods having nothing to do but feeling the need to actually do something, rather than anything else, so they pipe up with warning every now and then when anything remotely offensive or antagonistic is posted.

Just my opinion though - not really my style of modding and I'm not saying that the mods here do a bad job or anything. Please don't ban me.

[Guest Ro_]

Well, the board has changed quite a bit. Back in the day, a lot of moderation was done by board members - by telling the offender exactly how stupid or rude they were. Goodness, I used to get flamed down to my PUBES over my poor spelling! Now its exceedingly difficult to express a differing opinion because dissent is deleted unless its phrased in a kindergarten nice sort of way. Nor may you dissent in PM. When you think about it, its amazing how different things are now.

Perhaps its time to become more creative. Not just using a spoiler box to call someone a lack-witted knob jockey, but in code. As in, Mandy, you know I love you but I can't get over my jealously of your Wholesome Hours Of Random Evolution.

[mormont]

Of course, certain forums (such as General) have always been fairly hostile and antagonistic feeling to me.

This thread is a general discussion of moderation on the board, not an excuse to grind personal axes or play 'no one loves me, I don't care'. Please don't do that sort of thing or the thread will have to go.

Since this thread is still going, I'll mention a recent example that bothered me.

The killing a person thread. Yes, it was a macabre subject, but people were thoughtfully engaging in the conversation. Some oldtimers came in to the thread and bashed it, and it was closed.

1. If you don't like a subject, why can you not just not read it?

2. Why is this grounds for thread closure?

I'm not a fan of the board "protecting me" in this fashion.

What you should have done was PM a mod about this. But in this case, I'm willing to explain, because it does have relevance to a wider point.

The point was made that killing, like rape, is something that many people on the board have personal, traumatic experience of. That was a good point with which I agree. Who made it is irrelevant.

It's important to remember that the board is public - it's not just us regular posters talking to each other. When topics like rape, killing, etc. come up they're being read by we-don't-know-how-many-people who might be upset by it.

You, personally, might be happy with the discussion. That's fine. You only have to consider how you feel. The mods have to consider the imponderable question of how these other people might feel, too.

Now sure, those people can just not read the topic. Generally that's the rule we apply. But we do vary from it where the topic is particularly sensitive, in our opinion. In those cases, the rule becomes 'if we're going to talk about this, it has to be done with consideration for other boarders'. Trying to ensure consideration for other boarders is one of the major reasons why you need mods, after all. It wasn't happening in that thread, in my opinion. I certainly saw nothing I'd call 'thoughtful engagement'.

A lot of the above is of course 'in my opinion'. But ultimately, a lot of the time we have to make judgment calls, which means that it is our opinion that we have to use. It's fine if people disagree with it, and I don't pretend our opinions are always right.

Moving on to another topic: it always perplexes me when people talk about having threads moved to Forum Games as if it were a punishment. It just isn't. The mods just don't see it that way. To us it's no different than moving a thread from GC to Entertainment. So if you perceive it as a punishment, sorry, but I really don't understand that.

It can be hard to call sometimes whether a thread belongs in one forum or another. I don't think we're 100% consistent on that, I'll admit it. Maybe that's where this perception comes from. None the less, all forums are equal in the eyes of the mods. ;)

Final point: I agree there's considerably less self-policing than there used to be. My feeling is that this is because the board has changed. There are more members, more casual readers, fewer people who remember the eesite days or even the ezboard days. It's entirely likely, particularly if the HBO series gets picked up, that the board will grow further still. It would be futile IMO to try to apply the sort of policies that worked with a board that had maybe a hundred regular members to the board as it is now, which probably has closer to a thousand, many of whom spend the majority of their time in one forum only. There are people on the board with post counts in four figures who I bet most of the people who've posted here have never heard of. Self-policing is something the mods wholly approve of - less work for us ;) - but we need to be realistic. It works less well on a bigger board.

[Mya Stone]

A lot of really well thought out mormont-stuff

But, but, but...

Listen, I don't think that moderating has gotten completely out of control. Have I disagreed with a couple of thread closings and post deletions in the past? Of course. I think we all have. I have noticed a trend of posters not understanding, or not caring about, self-policing? Yes, and yes, it makes for a less fun experience here. I would hope that as the board continues to grow, there be more of a style FAQ to follow so that new members understand how our community operates. I may be asking for too much, and holding onto the past, and whatnot, but the thing is, this board is unlike any other I've ever been to in that it does allow members to self-police, and it does allow somewhat unlikeable topics to be discussed (within reason, ofc). I just don't want to see that standard change because we happen to be growing because George's fandom is growing, too.

In closing - I respect that you guys are coming in here and explaining what you are, as well as allowing this thread to remain open.

[Guest Ro_]

Oh Ian, being forum gamed is like being put in the stocks rather than a few days of incarceration. Its humiliating to be put there, where things are so worthless as to not even count toward post count (which I TOTALLY agree with).

And if people have a hard on for hating you, you are doing something wrong. I have been trying to (heh heh) moderate my language due to a timely warning (which I totally took to heart) and due to not wanting to look like a crazy lady anymore.

[KAH]

Yeah, it's a bit frustrating when you put together a really good post, with several very good points... and then ***POOF*** It's gone! I've had that happen more than a few times, but life goes on (and it's usually my own fault for not being more careful with how I worded one little sentence somewhere anyway). That being said, either I am becoming a more responsible poster, or the Mods have joined the list of people that have put me on "ignore"... because as I said above, it hasn't happened to me in quite a while.

FWIW, my personal experience of your posting style is that it has improved markedly. Not that I've relentlessly pursued your posting contributions while sticking needles in a small blue lizardy doll, just sayin'.

Regarding the self-policing argument made later in the thread, I have an aside commentary on that.

None of us here are unbiased, poster or moderator, and we should not pretend that we are (or can become completely so). That said, the moderator group does try to 'self-police' itself. The exposure of any one moderator to any one poster will differ a good deal, and in some cases you tend to develop a history with certain posters. If it gets to the point where one of our team's objectivity reaches the "If he opens his mouth one more time, I'll drown him in a fucking vat of stale gazpacho!" level, he or she often decide it's useful to request other moderators to handle the poster.

In the vast majority of cases, such a development is not a good sign for said poster's future ban status.

[mormont]

Mya: actually we have had a discussion just last week about amending the FAQ and other docs. I don't think any of us have had the time to do it yet though. See, that's another problem: modding can become a terrible timesink if you let it. ;)

Ro: wrt FG, I understand that some people share that attitude. I'm just saying the mods don't. (Posts in FG don't count because you could earn a custom title very quickly just through participating in games, by the way. It's not about worth, it's about the fact that most games require numerous short posts.)

[Lord O' Bones]

What you should have done was PM a mod about this.

I wasn't personally invested in it, just sort of following along until I couldn't. But it was fresh in my mind. And you know I'm not shy about PMing you guys. (Sorry about that btw.)

As to the rest...

I respect that you guys are coming in here and explaining what you are, as well as allowing this thread to remain open.

Word.