Should I perhaps view those with no comment on these proposed "moderator guidelines" as being tacitly in favor of adopting them?
Aside form Koko, Oz, and now John, there has been very little comment. What should we, as voters, think? Do the TB candidates care about this issue? I'd hope so. Is there anything among the guidelines proposed that anyone finds objectionable? Or clearly not in the best interests of FT?
Also, FWIW, some related questions, if I may:
What do we really know about how are moderators are selected? Can we possibly improve this moderator selection process? Should we possibly be considering some elective process, as with the TB, to select our moderators?
Are you in favor of this current practice of appointments, or do you prefer elections? Or are you somewhere else on this issuue? Again, I'm not interested in hearing about specific moderators themselves, just the topic, in general, and what is "right" for FlyerTalk.
Are we all truly cognizant of how the widespread editing and/or deleting of posts without any advance warning, or sometimes even any notice after the fact, may effect the member(s) who earnestly feel that they have been dedicating their time and presumably also some bit of "wisdom" to FT? Does this have a "chilling" effect? Cetainly, member suspensions with no warning do, I believe. Should these practices be permitted, or is there possibly a better way? Are you in favor of this practice, or do you dislike it, or are you perhaps somewhere else on this issue? As Randy asked, I'm not interested in hearing about moderators themselves, just the topic, in general, and what is "right" for FlyerTalk."
Are there posts that actually violate the current TOS and yet somehow do not get the attention of moderators? If so, how can we "fix" this?
Should every moderator have administrative powers to suspend fellow members? Should this include our volunteer moderator members as well? Or is there possibly a better solution to be found?
Can we possibly implement some workable system to help Randy decide on the increasing number of appeals of suspensions/timeouts in a more timely manner?
And lastly, as John also alluded to above, is there any consistency now? How do we achive consistency in the enforcement of our standards, should we ultimately adopt them? Put another way, how will a moderator know if they have "stepped over the line," so to speak?
And what happens if a moderator does step over this line? Is there any mechanism, at present, to deal with this? Shouldn't there ideally be a "process"? Again, as with all these issues being raised, I'm not interested in hearing about any specific moderators themselves, just the topic, in general, and what is "right" for FlyerTalk.
We want the very best FlyerTalk for all that we can possibly have.
Should I perhaps view those with no comment on these proposed "moderator guidelines" as being tacitly in favor of adopting them?
Doc,
In my case the approval is more than tacit. I think you have a lot of good ideas and have put a lot of thought into them. While I might not agree to the letter with every specific idea - you can bet that, if elected, I will "borrow" a lot from the document as I lobby for changes that should be made regarding the policy of moderation.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VPescado
Doc,
In my case the approval is more than tacit. I think you have a lot of good ideas and have put a lot of thought into them. While I might not agree to the letter with every specific idea - you can bet that, if elected, I will "borrow" a lot from the document as I lobby for changes that should be made regarding the policy of moderation.
I echo that.
Some actions on the board in recent days increase my resolve.
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I'm particularly keen to hear from any of the moderators who are also running for TB, since your experience is invaluable.
Based on what you've got written in this post, I would pretty much agree with most everything you've written - and I do believe, honestly, that the majority of moderators out there do practice this style of moderation.
The only one I would slightly disagree with is:
Quote:
Originally Posted by doc
Do not close a thread simply because it is a duplicate, or near duplicate topic. Rather post a message referring to the previously existing topic and ask FT'ers to post to the earlier thread instead. Closing duplicate threads is acceptable only during times of fast breaking news.
In the last week or so, I closed 2 seperate threads on an AA fare from WAS-LAS. In both instances, members were directed to the original thread. In this scenario, it, IMHO, does not make sense to leave a thread open as there is already discussion on the exact same topic & its recent discussion.
Other than that, I believe in & practice most of what you say & I support it, not only as a moderator, but as a FlyerTalker.
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Based on what you've got written in this post, I would pretty much agree with most everything you've written - and I do believe, honestly, that the majority of moderators out there do practice this style of moderation.
The only one I would slightly disagree with is:
In the last week or so, I closed 2 seperate threads on an AA fare from WAS-LAS. In both instances, members were directed to the original thread. In this scenario, it, IMHO, does not make sense to leave a thread open as there is already discussion on the exact same topic & its recent discussion.
Other than that, I believe in & practice most of what you say & I support it, not only as a moderator, but as a FlyerTalker.
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Thanks very much, Bhatnasx.
To be clear, unless I'm mistaken, I do not see anything that you'd disagree with me about here at all. At least I agree with you!
I would do, or have done, just as you had done here. And I certainly can't see where any of the aforementioned guidelines would be "broken" here by doing just as you suggest.
Would you, however, like to see a member have their posts removed entirely, or alternatively placed in another thread, with no warning or notice whatsoever? Is it okay to simply do this, ie a hard delete or wholesale move, with neither a notation in the threads of interest or a note to the poster?
More importantly, would you wish to see a member suspended, without warning, for linking together newly posted threads with a previously posted thread of their own?
Or would you want to see a member suspended, without any advance warning for simply making too many posts?
I would certainly hope not.
Incidentally, I only prodded Randy about the need for such improved FT moderator guidelines via email and posts. For the record, he is actually the one that began the list of MODERATOR DO's and DONT's. I just worked with him on trying to complete them.
And most importantly, again, I have absolutely nothing to say but good things about your particular moderating here on FT from all that I've seen and heard. And that is also true for nearly each and every moderator that I know. Despite such minimal training and limited guidelines, most have done an exemplary job on a purely volunteer basis. Probaly 95% or more of the moderators are simply excellent in performing an essentially thankless task. HUGE kudos to the collective FT mod team.
Yet there have been a few, IMHO, who apparently need some additional direction, if they are to continue be trusted with such responsibilities on FT.
The handful, or less, that need help should get it, no? That's what the aformentioned suggested guidelines are for! Thanks!
To give you a blanketed statement, I believe that everyone, regardless of who they are, how long they've been on FT, whether they are a TalkBoard member, or a moderator, should be treated with respect & given the courtesy of notification. Without that courtesy, only anger & contempt occurs & that is not beneficial for FlyerTalk.
However, if there is an extreme violation of the TOS, I see no issue with a suspension be handed down immediately and a follow up email being sent explaining why.
I hope this explains my position. That said, let's try to follow CameraGuy's advice here & let some issues in this thread go for the time being and try to focus on the question that Randy initially posed.
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