Moderation question

[Biscuit]

I've moderated forums, so I know how it goes. I know you can't read every post.

But it seems like slack is cut on wheeks and poos for new to slightly new posters who are just so obviously lacking in typing skills and concern. I can't tell you how many posters I've seen come in here already and post stuff with no punctuation, no caps, mispellings, chat speak, etc. They get warned in a post, not wheeked, not poo'd, nothing on record. I've even seen them get repeatedly warned, or people read the thread and just ignore it because the poster is so obviously a babbling, incoherent, drooling idiot.

Honestly it just seems like we wheek/poo the people who show promise of not being an idiot, while the obvious mouth breathers get slack.

[Ly&Pigs]

You are right, we may not read every post. I get notifications of new posts in most of the forum sections but not all of them. We mods do have a system that we use. If we see things wrong, we normally give a wheek first, then if the offense is repeated, we then give a poo.

I can't tell you how many posters I've seen come in here already and post stuff with no punctuation, no caps, mispellings, chat speak, etc. They get warned in a post, not wheeked, not poo'd, nothing on record.

Well, when you see this why not report the post if we are missing it. We aren't on here 24/7 so we do miss things. If I see a post, even days later than needs wheeked or poo'd then I will issue the appropriate impaction. We really seldom warn anyone in threads anymore. I warned one member about chat speak in a thread only because they seemed to ignore the warnings I issued. This member is from the Phillipines so I figure his/her first language isn't english so I wasn't sure if they understood my wheek to them about what they were doing wrong or just ignoring it. It's called trying to give people a chance.

If there is something minor in the post such as one or two uncapitalized letters or one sentence doesn't have punctuation at then end, then we let those things pretty much slide. That doesn't mean the posters get to continually do those things as we hope they will at least try to improve their posts but sometimes people do make mistakes.

Actually, I am tougher on newbies than I am on anyone else these days.

[VoodooJoint]

Gee Ly, don't you know that we can't win? If we are tough we get slammed for being bullies. If we are lenient we are accused of picking on the wrong people, not doing our jobs properly and anyone else on here can do the job better then we can.

Don't you know reporting posts doesn't work and is far too much trouble if you don't like what you are seeing? After all it's not like someone can report a member that they have an issue with and get anything done about it. That never happens, nope, never.

We are bad BAD mods and should all be sent to time out. Spankin's all around.

Editing to add - Since we apparently aren't doing our job properly then perhaps we should simply adhere to the "letter of the law". I have been lenient lately and I have noticed that the other mods have been as well. I thought everything was running rather smoothly but apparently they haven't been as we have one member willing to publicly air a grievance and several others happily thanking the post.

If that is the general consensus then perhaps it would be better if the staff infracts for every rule break, every time. That way no one will feel singled out.

No one will like it I can guarantee that but at least there will be less questions about the hows and whys when we issue infractions.

[steve_and_pigs]

I think Biscuit wants to be a mod and lay down the law.

[Percy's Mom]

I'm pretty sure we're not hiring.

[Ly&Pigs]

Yes VJ, I know we can't win.

Should we now start infracting every single little tiny mistake made by ANY poster (new or old)? That would include one single spelling mistake, one missed capital I, one missed period or question mark and all those other little tiny things we normally let slide. Then maybe we should take those posters who don't know our rules yet because they are new and just heavily infract them with poo points and no warnings or just toss them off the board because they don't deserve a chance to read the rules and be able to abide by them.

I agree, it's time to severely crack down again. I thought we were being pretty good these days since we were accused of being too harsh a few months ago.

[Toadies]

Dear Mods, I think you do a pretty darn good job, especially since you deal with a vast range of ages, languages and cultures. Just thought you'd like to know.

[hydrohoki]

I agree with Toadies.

Though I'm still on the fence about Percy's Mom. Sure, she listens to my woes and stays up late chatting with me but sometimes, she takes a few too many seconds to reply. I don't think she loves me anymore.

(HA! PM, things are going well in Virginia but I don't have AIM on either of the two laptops I brought here. I'm working in the Richmond office today. Next trip I'll have to meet the zoo.)

[Percy's Mom]

Toadies - Thanks for the kind comment. If you want to continue, here is a suck up to the mods thread. No one has posted on it in a while, but that thread amuses me.

hydrohoki - Glad you posted. When I saw you on, I checked to see if you were on AIM. Check out www.aimexpress.com. You don't have to download anything. Otherwise, pm or email me with what's going on when you have a chance.

I should hang my head in shame for taking so long to respond to some of your messages dear. I promise to work on that.

[Biscuit]

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

Gee Ly, don't you know that we can't win? If we are tough we get slammed for being bullies. If we are lenient we are accused of picking on the wrong people, not doing our jobs properly and anyone else on here can do the job better then we can.

I don't think I can do a better job. And, it's not a job, you aren't getting paid. It's volunteer work and you get nothing out of it.

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

Don't you know reporting posts doesn't work and is far too much trouble if you don't like what you are seeing? After all it's not like someone can report a member that they have an issue with and get anything done about it. That never happens, nope, never.

Eh, it just was a random thought that added up in my mind. Just a pattern I noticed...not a big deal...

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

We are bad BAD mods and should all be sent to time out. Spankin's all around.

I didn't say that. Nor do I think that.

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

Since we apparently aren't doing our job properly

I didn't say that, nor do I think that. Sorry if it came off that way. It was just something funny I had noticed. I actually thought it was amusing...

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

I thought everything was running rather smoothly but apparently they haven't been as we have one member willing to publicly air a grievance and several others happily thanking the post.

Grievance is strong wording. I was more...musing! I'm usually the last person to do the "why can't you do your volunteer job more perfectly and respond within 15 seconds and not miss a single post" thing. Really.

The people who thanked me, I doubt they even really got what my point was.

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

If that is the general consensus then perhaps it would be better if the staff infracts for every rule break, every time. That way no one will feel singled out.

I doubt it's the general consensus. I'm no rule nazi, but I like the rules here. It just crossed my mind that I see a lot of tard-buckets spewing forth AOL kidiot talk and not getting infractions. If I had never gotten one, I wouldn't have noticed probably. But because I did, and I'm a perfectionist, petty person who views getting outright banned for profanity better than a wheek for missing punctuation, I took notice.

I don't report because I feel like I'm bugging you guys. Not to mention, I'll see one of you posting on the thread and assume later I'll see a wheek on the post.

Letting things slide because a member obviously has a bad habit of typing like this is a text message is a very common thing on forums. The answer obviously isn't to run spell check on every single post and start issuing rampant wheeks and poos.

I'm very familiar with the "can't win" feeling. Every forum I've administrated ends up with a clique of voices expressing their blindly anarchist tendencies against whatever authority they view most approachable...which was usually me. It's like please, people, it's a free forum, these people aren't paid, they get nothing for them and are just trying to make the community the best it can be.

I believe that about you guys too, and never meant for this to come off as a "bad mod! Why can't you read every post". I didn't mean it to come off like any of the things you say in your reply. It really was just an innocent observation, a thinking outloud kind of thing. I do feel a bit like the whining of past members (who I would probably have disliked) is being taken out on me. Oh noes, don't group me with those morons! I swear I'm not like that! Epic sadness ensues!

I regret having posted this in the first place. I know how much stupid crap mods get, and I know what a hard, thankless job it is. It really was just an observation and not meant to be a put-down or saying anyone was doing a bad job. I guess I gave myself too much credit for being able to convey myself as "different" than the average idiot who comes in and starts being critical of the volunteer staff.

[Percy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Biscuit

And, it's not a job, you aren't getting paid. It's volunteer work and you get nothing out of it.

Except for the fact that we are volunteers, this is 100% wrong. Saying we get nothing out of it is ludicrous. I know that I for one have met and come to know many absolutely wonderful people, and have learned more since becoming a moderator than I ever did as a regular forum member. I'm not sure what kind of forum you were an administrator on before, but if you only feel that you get something out of a "job" if you get paid, that's just sad.

Originally Posted by Biscuit

The people who thanked me, I doubt they even really got what my point was.

Looks like neither did the rest of us since no one apparently saw the humor you thought you were injecting.

Originally Posted by Biscuit

I don't report because I feel like I'm bugging you guys. Not to mention, I'll see one of you posting on the thread and assume later I'll see a wheek on the post.

THAT is what reporting is for. If you see something in a thread that you think needs to be addressed, report the post. More than likely, when you see that a moderator has responded to a thread and didn't wheek or impact a rule breaker, she was focused on the topic of the thread and honestly missed the problem. "Bugging" us would be to report every little tiny issue that is probably an oversight by the poster or starting a whiney thread that is likely to get members in an uproar.

[Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

Except for the fact that we are volunteers, this is 100% wrong. Saying we get nothing out of it is ludicrous. I know that I for one have met and come to know many absolutely wonderful people, and have learned more since becoming a moderator than I ever did as a regular forum member. I'm not sure what kind of forum you were an administrator on before, but if you only feel that you get something out of a "job" if you get paid, that's just sad.

It was just sad, actually. At first it felt like I was getting something out of it. It was rewarding to see the community grow and become known as a place to come to discuss our hobby and to have a lot of laughs. I left the experience bitter and never wishing to repeat it.

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

Looks like neither did the rest of us since no one apparently saw the humor you thought you were injecting.

That's the problem with being "funny;" I'm not always funny except to me. Sometimes it just doesn't work out, sometimes it all comes out wrong.

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

More than likely, when you see that a moderator has responded to a thread and didn't wheek or impact a rule breaker, she was focused on the topic of the thread and honestly missed the problem.

That makes sense. The people who are the worst about the rules are usually also the ones wanting to put their male and female guinea pig together because they seem lonely but will separate them if they start mounting.

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

or starting a whiney thread that is likely to get members in an uproar.

Sorry, that wasn't the intent. I'm a goofy, dorky person, and I spend a diminishing amount of my time with both feet planted firmly in my mouth. I'm very flexible, so this works out okay in the long run, but it doesn't always come across well in text.

[Ly&Pigs]

It's volunteer work and you get nothing out of it.

Maybe nothing monetarily, but I've gotten a lot out of it. I have gotten friendship, comraderie, knowledge, inspiration, and the satisfaction of knowing that I have helped hundreds of slaves, oh and a cool animated avatar.

[Biscuit]

Uh, yeah, that's what I meant. See, I can't even agree with people properly. =/