What a Moderator Is and What Moderators Do:
Here's an apt analogy, we are umpires. We aren't here to stop the game, work best when we aren't noticed, settle disputes or end them, enforce the rules (which here is the AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) which is under the "Info / Support" tab at the top of your screen if you care to read it, and you should, and are here to answer your questions and help you with any issue that arises for you.
We don't like tossing folks, but just like in baseball when someone's conduct gets to the point that it interrupts the game for those playing (posters) or those spectating (readers and lurkers) we have to do something so the game can go on. Sometimes that tossing is for a certain length of time and sometimes when the disruptive behavior is constant, the person in question unrepentant or abusive, or where there have been personal threats, harassment, or other activity that might cross into the criminal realm then permanent tossing is a must.
Ad hominem attacks upon another poster (name calling, abusive remarks, threats, etc.) are a big no no. Reputation abuse is another no no. That would be continually neg repping another poster, or even continuing to inflate another posters rep. This is usually judged by the frequency of the repping. Obviously if you have been a long time poster here then you may well have liked and repped another poster a lot over say a half dozen years. That's not as big of a deal as dropping somebody's reputation 30 points in a month, or building somebody's reputation up by 30 points in a month. And 30 here is just a number chosen for the example it's a pretty obvious offense and the total varies. Moderators tend however to focus on what is destructive so attacking another poster by negative reputation is what we look for the most.
Note: Sometimes a poster deserves a negative. But if a poster is persistent in being a problem the best feature of this board to use is the FLASHLIGHT ICON it has the word Report on it. That alerts the moderators to look at a particular post. Describing to us what you saw as offensive also helps us to know what to look for in other posts of the offending poster.
PM'ing a moderator you know to be on the board is another useful way of drawing our attention to your issue. But beware, constantly crying foul gains you no favors. So make sure that what you report is a violation of Board AUP when you Report or PM us. If someone merely hurt your feelings, particularly with the truth, get over it.
Other violations of Board Etiquette which might/or will result in Moderator action include but are not limited to:
Spamming: Needless post unrelated to the Opening Post (OP) in the thread. Posting advertisements or needless extraneous information. Posting links to other chat boards where the poster is trying to steer people.
Language Offenses: Really hard line swearing, any kind of attack or use of inflammatory language which demeans others by ethnicity, gender, gender orientation, and politics or religion or lack thereof. We have a great board because you can talk about politics and religion, but only in one place, The Spin Room. You can talk about off topic subjects but not in the sports forums. The Lounge is the appropriate place for those topics. Heck if you really just want to talk Smack you have a forum for that as well, just not on any of the conference or open discussion forums where smack will be judged as a punishable offense.
Each board is moderated according to the etiquette of their forum. Team boards are more loosely moderated than Conference sites. Conference sites more loosely moderated than open forums where everyone congregates, like the CS/CR boards. If you visit another forum PM the mod and ask them the do and don'ts of that board. They should be happy to give you the heads up on what is expected there.
Trolling: From fishing parlance, not Shrek, means to toss out a baited remark in hopes of hooking someone or a group of people into an argument or confrontation. Mild trolling might be humorous or sarcastic (See Miko) and is not really an offense. Intentionally inciting others is a banning offense when it becomes a habit. If you find a person who pits others against each other or against him/herself then hit the report icon and PM a mod. Ribbing after a ball game is not trolling. It's merely a fact of life. Just don't take it too far.
Thread Hijacking: Is a pretty simple offense to understand. When a poster alters the focus of thread that the thread poster intended in his/her opening post the thread is hijacked. The attention then shifts to the hijacker and not to the topic of the poster. As with trolls when this becomes a habit in can result in banning.
Failure to Discuss Moderation in Private: It is what it is. If you question an action a moderator has taken, or hasn't taken put it in a PM and send it to multiple moderators on that forum. If the forum has only one moderator then send it to that forum's moderator and to a Super Mod. They will deal with it and include you in the discussion. Putting it out on the open forum will lead to a % warning and repeated behavior will result in a ban. Attacking a mod in front of the posters and readers will get you ejected just like bumping an umpire does in baseball. PM the mod and just like an umpire walking up to a conference on the mound we will hear you grievance and deal with it. I have been an umpire and I never tossed anyone for expressing themselves privately. If I got cursed in public they got tossed, but I tried to use humor even when doing that. One coach called me an S.O.B. and I tossed him for lack of originality and using a hackneyed expression. He started laughing and the temper was gone. PM's work the same way. Many times you find out you had no reason to be angry and that there was other stuff going on in the situation of which you were not aware. The mod has nothing against you and understands that you didn't have all of the information so the issue is explained and diffused when everybody gets on the same page.
But understand that we do have to honor confidentiality so complete explanations are sometimes not possible, but then neither are they in the work place, school, or any other part of life.
Distinctions between moderators:
There really isn't any. Super Mods can only do two things that Moderators can not:
1. We can moderate on any board, but are still assigned to ours. What we are is the equivalent of a substitute teacher. A Super Mod fills in or helps where there is a Mod shortage. We do not outrank or have special status in regard to other moderators. Our duties have not changed, and only in emergencies do we really have a presence beyond our board.
2. We can deal with reputation abuse.
That's it folks. Glamorous huh?
We all answer to georgia_tech_swagger. He's the boss.
Things you need to know about Moderation:
1. We are posters too.
2. We don't like having to get involved as it takes away from our posting and enjoyment of the board. But we do want a healthy site.
3. It's just a chat room. Don't get so wound around the cord!
If you think you might like to be a mod:
1. We are nominated by the board and selected by GTS. He will let you know when we have nominations for moderator. So treat your fellow posters well if you are interested and maybe they will nominate you.
2. It's not glamorous and you will be an object of hostility.
3. It's fun to be an anonymous poster in a chat room. It's not fun dealing with anonymous jerks.
4. Like an umpire your job is to keep things moving along in an orderly fashion, try to stay out of the way of those playing, and only be truly active when trying to deal with nasty situations.
So I hope this helps you to understand some of the more common violations, to realize that all mods are equals but some have slightly varying functions, and to encourage you to use that PM as much as is needed. And one day should your fellow posters nominate you, and should GTS approve you, then you too can find out how truly un-glamorous the position is. But it will help you to see the importance of congenial behavior and the kind of fun you can have when things run right.
Take care, JR
(This post was last modified: 08-23-2017 01:52 PM by JRsec.)
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