Mod Sponsored Community Poll - Your Input is Requested

[JSt0rm]

We shouldn't know who the moderators are. Where is the ananadtech moderator account with the sexy cop face?

 

[Infohawk]

We shouldn't know who the moderators are. Where is the ananadtech moderator account with the sexy cop face?

Didn't everyone complain about conspiracies back when they were hidden? I think it's important that they are identifiable.

I don't see anyway around the fact that leaders have to hold themselves up to higher standards when posting. The only alternatives are hiding the fact that they're acting ridiculously or saying "do as I say not as I do."

 

[DominionSeraph]

Generally speaking, it's pretty strange that a mod can simply take his mod hat off and get dirty. How can the average poster ignore that? It's like an off-duty cop stealing or selling drugs except it's worse because everyone knows exactly who the off-duty cop is. People expect the enforcers to maintain a high standard, even in their off time. When they do whatever they want, it suggests a dysfunctional regime.

??
When has an off-duty mod gotten away with more than possible for a regular poster? I can say that I've never needed to use the "mod" field to explain what I was seeing in an off-duty post. They all operate within the bounds of shit that I've done without incident.

 

[umbrella39]

We are all adults and personal attacks that don't cross the line are fine, you post here, you get scrutinized. It's that simple.

The tactic that abhors me is the blanket insult of ALL "fill in the blank" some employ as a way around attacking the person they are quoting. IMO, that's even worse, it gets a little bit of poop on everyone who reads it rather than the person it was flung at.

 

[Infohawk]

??
When has an off-duty mod gotten away with more than possible for a regular poster? I can say that I've never needed to use the "mod" field to explain what I was seeing in an off-duty post. They all operate within the bounds of shit that I've done without incident.

I'm going to trust that you're not trying to bait me into calling out a specific mod which is specifically against the rules.

I didn't say that they get away with MORE than possible for a regular poster. I said I've seen them engage in pissing matches and personal attacks. It's pretty silly to begin with but if there's now serious discussion about cleaning up this place I can think of at least one moderator who's behavior would have to change plenty.

 

[Infohawk]

The tactic that abhors me is the blanket insult of ALL "fill in the blank" some employ as a way around attacking the person they are quoting.

Honest question. Are you talking about when people say things like "loliberals" or similar things about conservatives? Or something else?

 

[Infohawk]

My understanding that P&N is "supposed to be" a sewage system so that other areas are not derailed by P&N. I don't think it was every supposed to be a formal debating club. Even if that would be nice, I don't think there is the manpower to turn it into that.

Your understanding is incorrect on both points. It was never meant to be sewage system. That is the third-hand put-down meme of P&N promulgated primarily in OT by those OT posters who feel they've finally found another forum they can look down on.

Okay so I can accept that I bought into the put-down about P&N (which I can't blame the off-topic people for starting) but what is the second point I'm incorrect about? That P&N was meant to be a formal debate forum? Or that there is not enough manpower to have a formal debate forum?

I've only seen one online formal debate forum. It had things like an official agreed-upon topic, rounds, selective participation between two posters and active moderation. P&N is miles away from that.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Didn't everyone complain about conspiracies back when they were hidden? I think it's important that they are identifiable.

I don't see anyway around the fact that leaders have to hold themselves up to higher standards when posting. The only alternatives are hiding the fact that they're acting ridiculously or saying "do as I say not as I do."

No Mods are people too! They have opinions are when they post as a member of these forums they should ONLY be held to the same standards as we are.

Mods have opinions just like we do.....
I think you have issues with a certain mod who perhaps has a different view point.
I submit that you need to deal with it.
I have never seen a mod do anything worse than anyone of us has done.
I have never seen a mod post and then attack another person using their mod title....

In fact this is only an issue cause you choose to make it an issue.

 

[Infohawk]

I think you have issues with a certain mod who perhaps has a different view point.
I submit that you need to deal with it.

There is no real way to "deal" with mods on this forum. Check my sig to see what happens to posters who try to. And by "issues" you mean I think a certain mod engages in pissing matches and personal attacks with the best of them, then yeah I do have "issues."

I have never seen a mod do anything worse than anyone of us has done.

How many times do I need to repeat that I didn't say that they had done WORSE? My point is they get just as low as many of the posters that are being criticized and targeted for correction.

In fact this is only an issue cause you choose to make it an issue.

Huh?

 

[JSt0rm]

Well from the spread it looks like we will get some light moderation in here. Luckily they can just say all post are noise. Boom. Moderated.

 

[Infohawk]

Well from the spread it looks like we will get some light moderation in here. Luckily they can just say all post are noise. Boom. Moderated.

The way it's going we're going to have another crazy thread on the #3 issues. I just hope the terms are properly defined and that posters even know what they're voting on.

 

[JSt0rm]

Shades of grey. It's politics.

 

[dmcowen674]

One statistic leaps out at me here. As of the first 166 posts, fully 72 of them were made by but 3 posters;

dmcowen674 -- 31 posts
cybrsage --22posts
JSt0rm --19 posts

That's right, more than 43% of all the posts in this thread were made by the above three gentlemen alone.

Read them, these 72 posts, and I believe you will conclude as I have that their collective noise to signal ratio is unacceptably unproductive and non-contributory to any rational, measured discourse.

This has long been a problem in P&N.

Posting more non-contributory "noise" than substance in P&N, for whatever reason, is a pestilence that should be confronted and eradicated.

Once everyone agreed that simply my adding the word Around, About or ~ is all they wanted in my posts I stopped posting in this thread.

 

[Doppel]

Once everyone agreed that simply my adding the word Around, About or ~ is all they wanted in my posts I stopped posting in this thread.

You stopped posting in this thread not because of that but because you knew you were about to get banned. If you would actually listen to people instead of being dragged like a stubborn horse to water, it wouldn't continually have to come to that. Case in point, when I told you your sig would be changing but you had to wait until a moderator forced you to change it. You're not fooling anybody.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I'm going to trust that you're not trying to bait me into calling out a specific mod which is specifically against the rules.

I didn't say that they get away with MORE than possible for a regular poster. I said I've seen them engage in pissing matches and personal attacks. It's pretty silly to begin with but if there's now serious discussion about cleaning up this place I can think of at least one moderator who's behavior would have to change plenty.

Cleanup is not going to happen
Behavior change is not going to happen.

To much push back and lack of support from the head shed

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Mods really shouldn't be immune to the ignore function if they are going to post as regular users.

 

[Idontcare]

Generally speaking, it's pretty strange that a mod can simply take his mod hat off and get dirty. How can the average poster ignore that? It's like an off-duty cop stealing or selling drugs except it's worse because everyone knows exactly who the off-duty cop is. People expect the enforcers to maintain a high standard, even in their off time. When they do whatever they want, it suggests a dysfunctional regime.

One little extra question, if a mod is posting as a standard member and they violate a rule (let us assume the rules against personal attacks are being enforced, just as an example) should the post be reported like any other standard member's posts?

I have to admit, I have never seen a forum where the mods take off the mod hat and turn into standard members...interesting idea. I will go back and edit out the parts where I mention he is a mod, since he took off the mod hat.

That works in real-life because in real-life there is financial incentive in the mix to compensate the individual for losing their freedom of expression 24x7. Judges, teachers, law enforcement, etc.

We can set the highest of standards for members who are volunteering some of their time as moderators. And when we are left with just one or two moderators left who are willing to volunteer their time for zero compensation and be an automaton for 100% of their interactions with the forums we'll have one or two subforums that get coverage, and total anarchy everywhere else.

There has to be a balance, letting mods be members on their off-time is the least we can do when we expect those members to be moderators on their own time and their own coin - they pay their own electricity, depreciation on their rigs, and expend freetime doing mod work instead of other stuff in their personal lives.

This is a very different environment which requires some compromise on the expectations of personal conduct versus what can be expected for an individual who is compensated and motivated to make that personal sacrifice 24x7.

As for what to do if you suspect a moderator's member post violates the rules, you report them using the reported post feature, the same as you would treat any other member's post that is suspected of violating the rules.

We have, and continue to, infract member posts of moderators. They are not above the laws of the land. Censure does occur, thankfully it is not necessary all that often. You would be surprised how few mods are interested in wasting their time being a mod just to get themselves censured over their member posting activities. It is usually self-limiting.

EDIT EDIT: Is there a timeframe yet decided for any changes to how moderation is done/rules we are to follow is to start, if any changes are to be made?

No robust timeline as of yet. The current poll doesn't close until this Friday at midnight EST. There is no set agenda here on behalf of the moderators, so there is no set timeline.

We are interested in improving the decorum in the forum, but we want to have our priorities set for maximum benefit, hence the poll and open mic threads.


Administrator Idontcare

 

[cybrsage]

That works in real-life because in real-life there is financial incentive in the mix to compensate the individual for losing their freedom of expression 24x7. Judges, teachers, law enforcement, etc.

We can set the highest of standards for members who are volunteering some of their time as moderators. And when we are left with just one or two moderators left who are willing to volunteer their time for zero compensation and be an automaton for 100% of their interactions with the forums we'll have one or two subforums that get coverage, and total anarchy everywhere else.

There has to be a balance, letting mods be members on their off-time is the least we can do when we expect those members to be moderators on their own time and their own coin - they pay their own electricity, depreciation on their rigs, and expend freetime doing mod work instead of other stuff in their personal lives.

This is a very different environment which requires some compromise on the expectations of personal conduct versus what can be expected for an individual who is compensated and motivated to make that personal sacrifice 24x7.

As for what to do if you suspect a moderator's member post violates the rules, you report them using the reported post feature, the same as you would treat any other member's post that is suspected of violating the rules.

We have, and continue to, infract member posts of moderators. They are not above the laws of the land. Censure does occur, thankfully it is not necessary all that often. You would be surprised how few mods are interested in wasting their time being a mod just to get themselves censured over their member posting activities. It is usually self-limiting.

Thanks. I figured this was what you would say, but it is good for everyone to see it. It is a balancing act, and I agree with your position. Not that it really matters if I disagreed with it.

 

[cybrsage]

I'm going to trust that you're not trying to bait me into calling out a specific mod which is specifically against the rules.

I didn't say that they get away with MORE than possible for a regular poster. I said I've seen them engage in pissing matches and personal attacks. It's pretty silly to begin with but if there's now serious discussion about cleaning up this place I can think of at least one moderator who's behavior would have to change plenty.

If his mod hat is off, he is not a mod and you can call him out without repercussions.

 

[cybrsage]

Well from the spread it looks like we will get some light moderation in here. Luckily they can just say all post are noise. Boom. Moderated.

How dare you say his vague post was not specific enough to understand what he meant by signal and noise when he said all your posts were noise!

You are a [insert personal attack here] who must be silenced!!!! [spittle flying from mouth and coating monitor as I scream at my PC]

 

[cybrsage]

We are all adults and personal attacks that don't cross the line are fine, you post here, you get scrutinized. It's that simple.

I think this is a core, and important, issue to discuss. How will we know where the line is set? Is saying "you are an idiot" ok? How about "you are a co..-sucking whore who should die"? Obviously, the latter should not be allowed, but there are a million shades between those two points. One person may consider the first point already across the line while another may find the last point to be perfectly acceptable.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally Posted by dmcowen674
Once everyone agreed that simply my adding the word Around, About or ~ is all they wanted in my posts I stopped posting in this thread.

You stopped posting in this thread not because of that but because you knew you were about to get banned. If you would actually listen to people instead of being dragged like a stubborn horse to water, it wouldn't continually have to come to that. Case in point, when I told you your sig would be changing but you had to wait until a moderator forced you to change it. You're not fooling anybody.

You are still up to your talking out of your ass and posting your shit right after my posts.

No Mod said they were going to ban me. No Mod said a fucking thing about my sig.

I really wish all the fucking Mods and whatever titles they call themselves looking at this thread see your shit and do something about it.

 

[cybrsage]

Just a friendly note, watch the language. There is a fine line in its use for getting an infraction or not. Best to not use profanity at all if you think some mods are gunning for you.

Not a slam, just a friendly note.

 

[manimal]

I personally like the fact that mods stay part of the community. They are not cops, they are cool peeps that add value to the community.

If perk and drpizza stopped posting we all would be diminished.

 

[Perknose]

One statistic leaps out at me here. As of the first 166 posts, fully 72 of them were made by but 3 posters;

dmcowen674 -- 31 posts
cybrsage --22posts
JSt0rm --19 posts

That's right, more than 43% of all the posts in this thread were made by the above three gentlemen alone.

Read them, these 72 posts, and I believe you will conclude as I have that their collective noise to signal ratio is unacceptably unproductive and non-contributory to any rational, measured discourse.

This has long been a problem in P&N.

Posting more non-contributory "noise" than substance in P&N, for whatever reason, is a pestilence that should be confronted and eradicated.

Updated posting predominance stats. We have a new leader:

cybrsage -- 34 posts
dmcowen674 --32 posts
JSt0rm -- 25 posts

At the 224 post mark, these three posters above have now accounted for 91 of them, or 40.6% of all the posts in this long, long thread.