Moderator abuse.

Deliverance

Some of the mods on this forum have taken it upon themselves to impose opinions which are their own. Thereby bringing down the general feeling of the forum as a result. I for one feel 'obliged' in some way to cajole them at times. And that just does not feel right.

The admin of this site should really question those that are on a power trip and let them know that besides their merits as so called mods that they actually have a resposibity which promotes opinions. So far from what I can see they / some of them are being complete dicks.

sidneykidney

In before thread locked by those power crazy mods :DG

RuailleBuaille

Take it to Feedback you renegade!

Krieg

meh.. I've seen worse

aidan_walsh

Stop abusing the moderators if you're not happy with it.

AlmightyCushion

A few links would be helpful here. Otherwise the admins would have to read every single post of the 7 or 8 million posts on here to know what possible moderators you are referring to.

Adam

Deliverance wrote: »

Some of the mods on this forum have taken it upon themselves to impose opinions which are their own. Thereby bringing down the general feeling of the forum as a result. I for one feel 'obliged' in some way to cajole them at times. And that just does not feel right.

The admin of this site should really question those that are on a power trip and let them know that besides their merits as so called mods that they actually have a resposibity which promotes opinions. So far from what I can see they / some of them are being complete dicks.

Links or it never happened.

Xavi6

Fight da powah!!!!!1111!!!zomg!!111!!

nesf

Moved from AH.

Please enlighten us as to which dastardly mod has sunk so low...

Sparky

Oh noes.

Adam

And while we're on the subject (sort of), who's the new mod? It hasn't shown up yet on the list of AH mods...

aidan_walsh

Mirror wrote: »

And while we're on the subject (sort of), who's the new mod? It hasn't shown up yet on the list of AH mods...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055256101

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

I thought this was something to do with abusing moderators. :mad:

Oh well. Perhaps we could set up a charity? Comething along the lines of the ISPCM? Rattle a few boxers outside shopping centres?

Zaph

nesf wrote: »

Moved from AH.

Please enlighten us as to which dastardly mod has sunk so low...

It's obvious to me that moving this thread from AH is a clear abuse of mod power, so that narrows the field down a bit.

dr.bollocko

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

Oh well. Perhaps we could set up a charity? Comething along the lines of the ISPCM? Rattle a few boxers outside shopping centres?

:eek::eek:
Ikky.... Actually never mind.

:pac:.....................

Sarky

It's that nesf, I tell you. Comin' round our forums, lockin' our threads, he thinks he's sooooo great. Well he didn't bet on the return of the pac smilie!

:pac: at you, nesf, you scallywag!

Rb

Deliverance wrote: »

Some of the mods on this forum have taken it upon themselves to impose opinions which are their own.

OH GOD NO! People are expressing their own opinions! To the gas chambers with them at once!

OP wrote:

Thereby bringing down the general feeling of the forum as a result. I for one feel 'obliged' in some way to cajole them at times. And that just does not feel right.

Bringing down the general feeling of the forum?How so? If their opinions bother you so much, then put them on ignore. Others may value their opinions.

OP wrote:

The admin of this site should really question those that are on a power trip and let them know that besides their merits as so called mods that they actually have a resposibity which promotes opinions.

No, they don't have a responsibility to promote any of the admins opinions. They moderate their designated forums, they keep them spam free and ensure people stay civil to eachother. That's their role on Boards.

OP wrote:

So far from what I can see they / some of them are being complete dicks.

Name and shame!


In seriousness though, you're being ridiculous. No moderator has any responsibility to promote the opinions of the site owners, only the responsibility to ensure the forums follow the rules set by the owners (no personal abuse, spam, porn etc). When they're posting outside a forum they don't mod, they're the exact same as any other user, subject to the same rules and have the same responsibilites as any other user (i.e obey the site rules). That's it.

Rb

Sarky wrote: »

It's that nesf, I tell you. Comin' round our forums, lockin' our threads, he thinks he's sooooo great.

At least he didn't steal our wimminz or jurbs.

Adam

I get sarcasm. It's funny cos he couldn't. Right? :pac:

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

dr.bollocko wrote: »

:eek::eek:
Ikky.... Actually never mind.

:pac:.....................

You know where it is, you know what to do (and that's pretty much why it's there!)
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Stargal

Deliverance wrote: »

I for one feel 'obliged' in some way to cajole them at times. And that just does not feel right.

I wish more users felt 'obliged' to cajole me. Even a pat on the head every now and then would be nice.

Syke

Stargal wrote: »

I wish more users felt 'obliged' to cajole me. Even a pat on the head every now and then would be nice.

I'd be very careful what you wish for.....

Overheal

So.. no mod has been called out yet?

I for one assume its about Terry again. What a lovable badass.

Sangre

I remember when I was mod, banning someone gave me a massive erection.

The Hill Billy

Sangre wrote: »

a massive erection.

Bleedin' ex-mods & their damn lies. Any fool knows that a forum ban gives you a semi & only a siteban gives you real wood.

Kur4mA

Stargal wrote: »

I wish more users felt 'obliged' to cajole me. Even a pat on the head every now and then would be nice.

*cajoles* HAR!!!:pac:

irlrobins

Stargal wrote: »

Even a pat on the head every now and then would be nice.

Settle for a pat on the bum?

keystone

rb_ie wrote: »

In seriousness though, you're being ridiculous. No moderator has any responsibility to promote the opinions of the site owners, only the responsibility to ensure the forums follow the rules set by the owners (no personal abuse, spam, porn etc). When they're posting outside a forum they don't mod, they're the exact same as any other user, subject to the same rules and have the same responsibilites as any other user (i.e obey the site rules). That's it.

Ridiculous....I have to disagree with that but agree with the role of the mods. They have a responsibility to keep a level of professionalism as a mod on all forums though.

I have to agree in part with the OP. I have modded on many forums and chatrooms in a previous life so I feel I can give an opinion here without being hammered.

Being a mod is a tough position to be in. What happens on every site with mods is that there are issues with promoting their own personal opinions. This is normal unfortunately. It is up to the more senior mods/admins to ensure that personal opinions do not form part of their moderation.

On boards, this is more often than not the norm, too many mods using their own opinion/beliefs and so on when moderating. This actually causes issue, morale issue on a forum. Being overly pedantic about who posts where and so on is not the way to moderate. I mean if you post a question or query in the wrong place, you should not be vilified for it. Heavens forbid someone makes a mistake. Surely if a post is in the wrong place, move it, full stop. Is there a need for a snotty comment. The answer is no. Unfortunately this is the normal operating procedure for a lot of mods on this site.

As for posting examples, I've seen this on this site, only to have the thread closed immediately. If that practice can be stopped, I'm sure feedback will be presented in a more positive manner,

I do not participate on the site too much. The reason being is that I find the moderation is over the top in its deliverance. Remember mods, you are here to moderate, not push you own personal opinions or insult people in the process.

RuggieBear

lol

Mena

Feedback's gone to the dogs, page two already and not one cat pic.

For shame.

AnimalRights

Mods on Boards are the most zealous I've ever seen on any boards.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=loOBinr8Ft4
:cool:

Dades

Why do you keep posting that crap video?

cornbb

keystone wrote: »

Ridiculous....I have to disagree with that but agree with the role of the mods. They have a responsibility to keep a level of professionalism as a mod on all forums though.

The notion that mods should be "professional" is laughable, we do not get paid, we do not get a B.Mod. degree.

Being a mod is a tough position to be in. What happens on every site with mods is that there are issues with promoting their own personal opinions. This is normal unfortunately. It is up to the more senior mods/admins to ensure that personal opinions do not form part of their moderation.

On boards, this is more often than not the norm, too many mods using their own opinion/beliefs and so on when moderating. This actually causes issue, morale issue on a forum. Being overly pedantic about who posts where and so on is not the way to moderate. I mean if you post a question or query in the wrong place, you should not be vilified for it. Heavens forbid someone makes a mistake. Surely if a post is in the wrong place, move it, full stop. Is there a need for a snotty comment. The answer is no. Unfortunately this is the normal operating procedure for a lot of mods on this site.

It is occasionally difficult to switch off and make a moderating decision without letting your own biases kick in, but only very rarely. The vast majority of modding decisions I see are fair and impartial, on the rare occasion a mod does make a mistake s/he is usually big enough to admit it.

Whether or not moderators are overzealous is a completely different matter...

I do not participate on the site too much. The reason being is that I find the moderation is over the top in its deliverance. Remember mods, you are here to moderate, not push you own personal opinions or insult people in the process.

Most mods put on a "mod hat" when they need to step in somewhere and just post away like everyone else for the rest of the time. Moderators like me, who look after one or two smaller forums, spend maybe 1% of their time on boards with this mod hat on, and that time is mostly taken up with quietly cleaning up spam, moving threads, generally keeping an eye on things.

The vast majority of mod work is gone unnoticed - occasional unfair bannings or overblown feedback threads can give the casual user the impression that all mods are rabid, power-crazy fiends with nothing better to do than ban all day long.

boards.ie is a tightly-run ship. There are plenty of places on the internet where spamming, shilling, moronic flamewars (YouTube comments anyone?), pop-ups, flashy adverts etc etc are all the norm. boards.ie has none of this things, largely thanks to the relatively strict rules applied by the mods. The same rules apply to everyone however.

cornbb

Dades wrote: »

Why do you keep posting that crap video?

Looks like spam to me.

Terry

Overheal wrote: »

So.. no mod has been called out yet?

I for one assume its about Terry again. What a lovable badass.

Probably. (Insert roll eyes smilie here)

OP, do you have any links?
I'm actually interested in what you have to say here and I'd like if others would refrain from the usual crap until at least the OP has had a chance to reply.

The Black Oil

Do mods play Wii?

seamus

36 posts and not a single example of where a moderator has allowed their own opinion to influence the moderation of a topic. For shame. I usually expect better of feedback.

Terry

The Black Oil wrote: »

Do mods play Wii?

I will be playing Wii most of next week.
Why do you ask?

keystone

cornbb wrote: »

The notion that mods should be "professional" is laughable, we do not get paid, we do not get a B.Mod. degree.

boards.ie is a tightly-run ship. There are plenty of places on the internet where spamming, shilling, moronic flamewars (YouTube comments anyone?), pop-ups, flashy adverts etc etc are all the norm. boards.ie has none of this things, largely thanks to the relatively strict rules applied by the mods. The same rules apply to everyone however.

The fact that there is no pay involved is not the point, as I have moderated before for no pay, I understand the frustrations you have. A "B.Mod degree", I'm not surprised with that comment, indicative of the general mod attitude, which is not the positive. Professionalism is non existent as demonstrated with that comment and does not kick in once pay is involved.

I have to say that the moderation of spam, phishing, advertising, etc on boards is very good. The varying amount of discussions threads available is also impressive. The public face of moderation is a skill in itself. All too often on boards, this skill is not used or is igniored.

keystone

Dades wrote: »

Why do you keep posting that crap video?

Is this not an example of bad moderation?

Yes, the video has no place here but what is that comment meant to achieve.

Mr. Incognito

Deliverance Lord says Mods are evil.

Amen.

Wazdakka

keystone wrote: »

Yes, the video has no place here but what is that comment meant to achieve.

HA!!

randylonghorn

keystone wrote: »

Is this not an example of bad moderation?

Yes, the video has no place here but what is that comment meant to achieve.

Why do you think it is an example of "moderation" at all?

Dades moderates one forum, Atheism & Agnosticism.

This is not it.

keystone

You expect a mod to act accordingly irrespective of what thread or forum they are in.

Maybe I'm mistaken. It seems the boards model of public moderation is different to any other model of moderation I have ever witnessed or been involved in.

cornbb

keystone wrote: »

You expect a mod to act accordingly irrespective of what thread or forum they are in.

Maybe I'm mistaken. It seems the boards model of public moderation is different to any other model of moderation I have ever witnessed or been involved in.

Mods only have mod powers in the forums they mod. Elsewhere, they are subject to the same rules and discipline as everyone else. Correspondingly, they are free to act the maggot elsewhere but face the same consequences as anyone else for doing so.

The boards model is perhaps unique, I believe the vbulletin code has been hacked quite a bit so moderators only have the power to ban from individual forums and not the whole site.

nesf

keystone wrote: »

Maybe I'm mistaken. It seems the boards model of public moderation is different to any other model of moderation I have ever witnessed or been involved in.

Perhaps it is, but the goal of boards.ie isn't to please everybody nor mimic moderation from other media. From observations made from being a moderator of the most active forum for a number of years, your average user here doesn't clash with the moderators. I fall more into the "moderators should be seen and not heard" camp for the most part, so I'm sympathetic to your viewpoint, but I don't think things are as bad as you paint them.

Dades

randylonghorn wrote: »

Why do you think it is an example of "moderation" at all?

Dades moderates one forum, Atheism & Agnosticism.

This is not it.

Indeed - and maybe therein lies the crux.

I like to think myself as a user foremost, a Mod second (and only in A&A). However if every post I make is perceived as coming from a Moderator's POV, a false air of oppression is inevitable.

Often you have to point out you're just expressing an opinion, rather than laying down the law, so to speak.

Rb

keystone wrote: »

You expect a mod to act accordingly irrespective of what thread or forum they are in.

Maybe I'm mistaken. It seems the boards model of public moderation is different to any other model of moderation I have ever witnessed or been involved in.

No, no you don't expect them to act accordingly in every single forum.

Once they do a good job moderating the forum they've been chosen to, that is all that's important. I really don't see what you're not getting here.

When Dades is posting outside his forum, he is a regular user and can post whatever the hell he likes, so long as it is in accordance with the site rules. Just because he is a moderator of one of the many, many fora on Boards, doesn't mean this should change his behaviour in every other forum, or impose new rules or repsonsibilities on him there either.

I use many forums, some more specialised than others, and the moderators act the exact same. Behaved in their own forum, regular user in others.

I don't see what the problem is here.

nesf

rb_ie wrote: »

I don't see what the problem is here.

There is a valid point in that (on a handful of controversial issues) it's inevitable that sides are taken and it's very hard for a moderator to participate in the discussion while staying "neutral" in both a perceived and more importantly, a real way.

Edit: Also, sometimes things get personal and a similar problem arises. What's important here is that either a) the moderator participates but becomes a user effectively in the thread and a co-mod or C-Mod or whatever takes over making moderation calls (which is what we do in AH, and it works well in my opinion) or b) the moderator exerts enough self control to not get involved and tries to remain neutral (which is where the mod forum comes in, occasionally a moderator will as other mods who are neutral in the discussion to look over their moderation and check that it is actually neutral).

There are ways to work around the problem of a moderator being a user. It needs to be recognised as a potential problem though.

Ron DMC

keystone wrote: »

You expect a mod to act accordingly irrespective of what thread or forum they are in.

That shouldn't be the case. Just because a mod has a different set of stars under their avatar, they should be treated as any other boardsie regardless. They should be subject to the same rules, bans etc when it comes to other forums. If they moderate Digital Arts or something they are still perfectly entitled to act like a plonker in AH if they like (Just an example, no one specific), but they can still be banned from AH. Their moderatorness won't protect them.

Maybe I'm mistaken. It seems the boards model of public moderation is different to any other model of moderation I have ever witnessed or been involved in.

Boards.ie is the most successful and wide-ranging message board in the country, if not anywhere. It works as it is, why fix something that ain't broke.

randylonghorn

keystone wrote: »

You expect a mod to act accordingly irrespective of what thread or forum they are in.

Personally, I don't.

Just because someone agrees to mod one or more forums doesn't mean they take some kind of holy orders (or atheist orders in Dades' case!). They're not meant to become saints, just volunteers who help to keep one or more rooms of a huge house tidy.

Nor do I actually see what was so terribly wrong with Dades original post anyway ...

EDIT; I agree, nesf, but you're talking about a mod in his / her own forum, or on an issue which is directly relevant to their role.