muffler wrote: » If you dont like the place then close the door gently on your way out.
Esel wrote: » I could be wrong, but to me "Thank you for your contribution" in the context of this thread comes across as being sarcastic and passive-aggressive.
Tom Mann Centuria wrote: » I don't like the word retard, I don't particularly like the way one thread on AH has indeed become sleazy but I don't think either is an indication of any particular problem on boards. I don't think it's any different from any other website, in fact it's considerably less problematic for the reasons you outline op, than most other sites I can think of.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » Thank you for your contribution and for reinforcing my point.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » Thank you for your contribution. That's a really good word to describe the thread. This is my second run in with a moderator and the other time it was ignored when i criticised what I see as bias in the mods. Maybe posters are right. Maybe the site is not for me. I hate, honestly hate, seeing that thread on the opening page consistently and the, as you said, sleazy content, it's upsetting and I am not trans I can't imagine what it's like to be trans or the family of a trans person who has to see that. I come here to talk about Aldi products, i know boring, maybe it's not my place as a moderator has suggested to pose suggestions but perhaps the constant questioning of minorities can be relegated to a forum where they don't appear on the opening page.
Fr_Dougal wrote: » It feels like you might be part of the problem. You’re assuming gender of posters and mods alike.
Tom Mann Centuria wrote: » But what site would you feel happy on, because if you go to Reddit, it's worse, Twitter it's worse. General sites are always going to have something you might want to avoid. I like reddit, but search new on the front page and it can be a sewer. Twitter is as good/bad as who you follow, but also who they follow or interact with, who you might object to, can appear on your timeline. Follow the forums you like and just click straight on that tab, then hopefully you'll enjoy the site more.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » Thank you for your contribution and advice. I think because this is Boards the self-proclaimed largest online community in Ireland i expect more. Maybe my life has been to sheltered.
hullaballoo wrote: » It's funny. In all the years I've been an admin and in all the mods I have been involved in appointing and of all of the questions I have asked of mods, never have I even thought to ask what their sexuality, gender or race was. And now that I start down the long road of thinking about it, I am struggling to find any reason whatsoever why I ever would consider asking those questions. I suppose those aspects of moderators' lives will have to remain a mystery to me, unless of course these things have some kind of fundamental relevance to my consideration of their judgment or character, which seems to be the inevitable conclusion on this path.
Beasty wrote: » There's a place on this site for pretty much everyone except for those who simply want to stir things The site caters for probably close to a complete range of topics, and posters often find personal "gems" among particularly some of the less active forums When it comes to the larger forums there is much more of a tendency to consider posts in light of forum specific rules. Two particular forums that immediately come to mind are Politics and Soccer - two very different forums but for very good reason having quite strict rules and typically very experienced mods Others like AH and Current Affairs cater for discussion in a more "laid back" form. Yes civility is expected and there is more of a tendency for some posters to troll in such forums When it comes to choosing mods, there are several hundred already in place. Some very experienced, some less so, and with some of those "smaller" forums they may hardly ever have to deal with issues within the relevant forums. That highlights there is no "one size fits all" in terms of the characteristics of moderation and indeed moderators One thing we will never ask a prospective mod is anything about their sex/sexuality, religion, race, age etc. All posters on this site are entitled to their anonymity and that applies equally to moderators. If posters and or mods choose to reveal such personal information that is entirely up to them. However we are not in a position (nor would ever want to) "verify" such statements As is stated repeatedly, particularly in Feedback, we are all unpaid volunteers. There are 2 "verified" staff, Niamh and Mark, who you will see on occasion along with some of the site developers. They are the only people who "work" on the site and get paid for doing so So OP, in suggesting more diversity, and given the parameters I've set out, firstly you (and we) can never "know" what backgrounds moderators come from (although we may be able to make educated guesses) and given we all do this for no personal reward, it's also a case of "beggars cannot be choosers" to some extent. We will look for certain characteristics in posts and posting styles, but have no other meaningful "data" to go on
cdeb wrote: » I think you come across a bit racist by suggesting that, say, black people would make better moderators than white people. (And similarly with your other labels) This kind of categorising of people is deeply unhelpful. Would it not be better to see everyone as people rather than focusing on the colour of their skin? Because to focus purely on skin colour isn't diversity, it's literally the definition of racism. I don't think the skin colour/gender/sexual orientation of moderators is any of your business to be quite honest.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » Thank you for your contribution. I just feel if a man told me how to speak or how to respond to him in the real world before I retired I’d have a case with HR. Would these men speak to their colleagues like this in work? It’s intimidating. For a place that has so many topics about the above, there is a distinct lack of voices from such, and if a woman gets a bit uppity she's shot down.
Thank you for your contribution.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » I can't thank an All Lives Matter contribution. Asking for equality doesn't make me a racist.
Dravokivich wrote: » Don't you dare thank me for my contribution as its anything but! What do you think would change from a moderation perspective based on gender, orientation or race? What makes either of these any more likely to be sympathetic qualities? As this seems to be the basis of your OP.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » Most are open about their gender and sexuality.
Deleted User wrote: » I do think that a diverse team of mods isn't in itself an inherently bad concept But going about aiming for it, and how you ensure it, is- as always with these things- the kicker I also think that the suggestion is stronger made when not such an obvious swipe at the existing mods while in a sitewide tantrum tbh
Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: » Now, I have only come across you as a poster here yesterday so that's a plus in your favour, but the problem as I see it here is not your ideas or point of view but the way you choose to express those ideas and point of view. Your first sentence in the above post... is fine in itself. But posting it and variations of it 16 times so far in the thread is trolling, in this case posting for effect. There is a basic etiquette in posting that, thus far, I have not seen from you. Most posters is a new site or forum would spend some time reading and learning how the particular forum, its posters and mods operates before posting and adjusting their posting style to remain within the forum standards. All I have see is you trying to impose your views on other posters. This is a discussion site, we discuss events and ideas and posters viewpoints of those events and ideas. Sometimes viewpoints you have may not gather the acclaim you seek for them. It's up to you to convince others that your belief is the correct one and argue your point with civility. Sometimes you may win a discussion sometimes not but it's only through discussion that understanding the alternate viewpoint and reaching a common middle ground that progress can be made. As to your diversity claim, mods are chosen for their ability to maintain and uphold the charter and their ability to choose the correct course of action to remedy any issues that may appear in forums under their charge. Their sex, colour, creed, sexual preference or any other issue is far from our minds when asking posters if they would be interested in modding a forum. I don't even know any of the above about any poster or mod here until or unless they choose to reveal such about themselves. Why? Because it's largely immaterial in their ability to function as a mod or a poster. I certainly am not going to ask a poster what their sex, creed, colour, sexual orientation, hair colour or choice of holiday destination is as it has no place in an anonymous forum. It's tough on ginger sun-magnets like myself but there you go.
Sterling Worried Mackerel wrote: » Thank you for your contribution. I suppose it boils down to boards not being a welcoming place for some people as I've outlined. Has there been a week in the last however many years that transpeople haven't been off the main page? It's well and good to say these things don't matter but when they are a barrier then it's problematic. I want to say as openly and honesty as I can the way you lead your contribution with"There's a place on this site for pretty much everyone except for those who simply want to stir things". The implication is that I am a 'stirrer' and the people I disagree with who use the sleaziest of language, who name call me, aren't. That is a common theme I've noticed on the forum as I explore the site, I don't always contribute to the threads I read, I just want recommendations on Aldi products. Yet the pull to take a stand for voices that aren't here who are constantly reduced to their genitalia is strong. I'm sorry mods don't like my style, whatever that is, but respectfully I think mods should focus on content more and clean up the obsession with trans people and genitalia. A poster summed it up and understood my frustrations. It would be nice and reassuring that just once the mods, the active mods on these topics understood the frustration seeing such hateful, sleazy and spiteful things on the threads.
Gatling wrote: » I beginning to think we're looking at one of bigger wind ups on boards for a while , Look at the toxic masculinity but I'm a little old dear who's lived a sheltered , Suddenly I want mods based on their sexualities and race and ethnicity , beliefs. It's such a shame this is allowed to continue
banie01 wrote: » I want mods to include their photo, pro-nouns and qualifications!
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wb.vanillicon.com/v2/b1a8522b26abe4367117071263a70671.svg)
