Get Yer Ya-Yas Out [FR Moderating Gripe Thread]

[I Am Not A Mod]

LM here.

It's been a while since we had a thread along these lines.

I can tell from comments I am seeing in threads, on abuse reports, and in Freepmail that some people are unhappy with various policies and their implementations by the staff here.

I've seen allegations that certain factions are picked on. I've seen allegations that the moderators have killed activism. I've heard rumors that we killed Kenny, and even that we killed the radio star. I see certain personality conflicts acting up, and know that one (or both) sides in it feel that we aren't doing what we should.

So let's open this can of worms.

This thread is for making your grievances heard. If you think something stinks or is wrong, make your case here. Back it up with facts. Let the audience at large weigh in on your evidence.

I'll read the thread. Jim will too in all likelihood. So will the other moderators. Depending upon how well you make your point, and depending on if you can convince Jim, me, the other moderators, and/or the world, maybe you can change things. And if you don't, then it might make you feel better to have vented, so it won't make this thread a total loss.

I'm not going to reply to this thread for quite a while. Rather, I am going to sit back and watch to try and get a feel for the general tenor. I encourage those who are both happy and unhappy with things to particpate in this thread.

Let's rock.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

I think I kind of agree with that. Let them stay. And we're nicer than DU. It's fun for the kitties to bat the rats around a little.

Is there some sort of "I agree to these rules" form new members have to sign before being allowed to post?(I forget- I've been here a few years so I can't remember) If new members had to check each rule - such as "I agree not to use profane language" then they would at least have to read the user agreement rather than just scroll down and hit the "I agree" button to register

Just my two cents -- I think the moderators do a wonderful job, and THANK YOU JIM ROB for establishing this forum.

[Lead Moderator]

To answer your question, I would actually have to go to a Starbucks.

Do I hafta?

[dennisw]

You're an idiot and I'll tell you why. You are only posting about 5 times per week and which is not very much. Yet you have concerns about mod policies? This is bizarre!

Why are you wasting peoples time with this troll thread?

[Admin Moderator]

You having a tough time with #55?

-Or-

Just pretending it dosen't exist?

From the posted article:

z' I'm not going to reply to this thread for quite a while. Rather, I am going to sit back and watch to try and get a feel for the general tenor. I encourage those who are both happy and unhappy with things to particpate in this thread."

______________________________

Because of the nature of the comments and questions so far, we are answering some of the technical questions right away

[FourtySeven]

A meek Mr. S bump in the face of so much moderation power.

bump

[optimistically_conservative]

Why are you wasting peoples time with this troll thread?

Heh.

10 ... 9 ... 8 ...

[Admin Moderator]

Admin Mods can spell better than Sidebar Mods, so the Sidebar Mods need you to point out the mistakes :-}

[pax_et_bonum]

Fierece Allegiance wrote: I do have a small gripe. Why are Mr Silverback's caption-a-rama threads thrown to chat where i can't see them. I think they at least qualify as extended news.

Any Caption-A-Rama Fans want to come over and second that?

I second it.

I think they're excellent editorial material and should be in a place where the most people can find them.

[Moose4]

I tend to agree. I think they should stay in News/Activism, even if they aren't in any of the sidebars, because they're comments on the news of the day (or week).

That, and the fact that I think more people should have the opportunity to see the phrase "state-sanctioned humpty-hump" used intelligently.

}:-)4

[Ichneumon]

Overall, I think you guys are doing a great job, especially in recent months when you've been giving more feedback on the issues of moderation. I also like the new tactic of posting "knock it off" posts when needed instead of waiting until things have risen to the point of post-nuking/poster-banning. Finally, I'm glad you're less prone to removing/locking controversial threads, since the old practice punished more than just the troublemakers, and in many cases actually rewarded the troublemakers (because often their actual goal was to censor threads they didn't want people to see).

My only two (minor) suggestions for improvement:

1. When a post gets removed, the poster should receive some sort of automatic notification in FreepMail. Currently it's too easy for people to never even know that their post(s) were over the line. Since removed posts still show up in the "My Comments" page, the only way someone will notice is if they actually go back and reread the earlier parts of the thread and spot a "removed by moderator" notice, and correlate it with the spot that their own post used to occupy.

2. I think it would help if moderators would apply short "time-out" suspensions on an as-needed basis. There currently seems to be a "severity gap" in the range of responses, between the mild "your post has been removed", and the severe "you're outa here". I know some folks have been suspended for several weeks at a time, but I'm talking more about something like a 2-3 day suspension, just long enough to let tempers cool and a hot-headed thread to wind down. Being a somewhat mild response, moderators could use it more liberally (no pun intended) as needed -- a few days in the "penalty box" wouldn't kill anyone. Perhaps there could even be a system for "repeat offenders", whereby the first offense (for less than outright bannable offenses) would merit one day in the "penalty box", second offense would receive two days, etc.

[HairOfTheDog]

You're an idiot and I'll tell you why....

~snickering....

[Constitution Day]

NC bump at ya.

[bc2]

I think you guys do a good job but you delete too much stuff. Some things should be left for the record. If someone is banned or whatever, I don't think their comments should also be removed. Let them stand for the record.

For instance, I was posting last week on an old thread about abortion protesters on campus, and the girl who wrote the posted article in the U of Kansas paper showed up to blather on her pro-abortion mantra. She was banned and all of her comments removed. It would probably be better to let that sort of thing stand for the record.

All-in-all, I think that you guys do a pretty fair job, you just delete FAR too much stuff.

[Dec31,1999]

HECK NO!!!

Good. Because if you don't know by now, the shock would probably kill you.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I agree. Caption-A-Rama ia essential FReepin' content. Everybody should be able to easily find the weekly Useful Idiot thread without digging through Chat.

Anybody that disagrees can, with all due respect, pull my finger.

[nutmeg]

ping

[Admin Moderator]

Your points are well taken.

Point 1 would require software changes and I do not know if anything like it is currently in John Robinson's 'to do' list

Point 2. We have such system, and use it as appropriate

[optimistically_conservative]

As the the specifics, you would have to ask John Robinson. He does the FR sofware

OK, the suggestion about "deleting" and "searching" on 'My Comments' came up enough times and perhaps JR will look over the thread and decide.

I think it could also make the 'New Post to You' more effective. Only the New Posts would show up instead of all the posts from 'My Comments'.

In effect, it would be more like the FReepmail section for posts.

[Lead Moderator]

The simple, non controversial questions that are just asking about things I am answering right away.

The more substantive ones, I am letting people debate for a while and am deliberately skipping for the time being, as I said I would in the original post. I want to get a feel for what the forum as a whole thinks.

Thanks, LM

[LibWhacker]

Actually, I've been meaning to compliment whomever it is I should compliment for putting an end to all that DUmmy Freepmail spam some of us were getting a couple of weeks ago. I haven't gotten any more of it since you blocked the DUmmy. Good job and thank you!