Question 3: Your Views on Moderation for FlyerTalk

[Randy Petersen]

This question was submitted by member Randy Petersen (Because I am a general member/voter as well):

"It would seem that the sheer size and traffic of FlyerTalk would require Moderation. Are you of the 'anything goes/low moderation' POV, self moderation works best for FlyerTalk POV, moderation is really a member benefit POV or are you somewhere else on this issue? I'm not interested in hearing about moderators themselves, just the topic and what's right for FlyerTalk."

[John C]

I believe the moderators on FT do an outstanding job – far better than is normally found on Internet boards. All of us can site individual examples of where we might have done things differently, but those situations are few and far between. Equally importantly, the moderators are generally open to constructive criticism. I have seen discussions on these boards about what is and is not a proper use of moderation and I have seen moderators change their decisions based on the feedback of the community. In my mind the porridge is neither too hot, nor too cold, but is just about right as is; this is a definite example of that which is not broken should not be fixed.

[Buzzard533]

I don’t think Randy’s quote 'anything goes/low moderation' necessarily applies to the forums that I visit. I believe in the ‘low moderation” approach and due to the quality members on the forums I have visited, I have not seen the ‘anything goes’ misused. I understand that is not the case across all of FT, though.

That being said, I believe that moderators need to be empowered to control their forums. Each forum is going to have bit different tone and approach. The moderator(s) controlling those forums know best.

[~Matthew~]

I will agree with John C that the current moderators are outstanding. I feel that with a forum of this size and with it's vast importance and presence on the Internet, having proper moderation is essential. From my personal viewpoint, I feel that a slight ramping up of moderation is in order on certain topics, to help combat the insensitivity some posters tend to exhibit when new members post and do not follow the "normal" guidelines.

[NOLAnwGOLD]

For me, moderation is essential to forums and listservs. I'm very impressed with the current FT moderators in their committment and time spent with their forums. I'm also impressed as members self-moderate threads calling out people have possibily stepped out of line or correct mistakes.

If I were a moderator, I'd have a lay-low approach, but quick to step in during something illegal, rude or out-of-line. Also, given the size of FT, some messages needs to be redirected to other forums so that it is more effective and appropriate for all.

[Cholula]

I'm generally of the opinion that forum moderators serve FlyerTalk best when they are active members first and moderators second.
To explain this a bit further, I'm a firm believer that FT forum moderators should be active posters in the forums they moderate. Not necessarily an expert in these forums but an active member who is familiar with both the forum issues and the forum regulars.
There are times where a moderator has to step in to close or merge a thread, delete a comment or otherwise keep order in the forum. Hopefully these times will be few and far between.
The enjoyable part about being a moderator is helping posters with answers to their questions, providing directions or advice to other threads/forums of interest and generally being available for whatever issues or situations arise in the course of daily interaction.

[civicmon]

I think the moderating, in general, is fine. I've had a few run-ins with some and won't expect their votes but I can't please everyone...

I like the 'self-moderating/low moderating' aspect. I think that overruley moderators help destroy the flow and 'neighborhood feeling' of a forum. Spam, unruly trolls, misplaced posts etc just make sense to move, but say that something is 'slightly offtopic and is not allowed' is somewhat ridiclous.

Some moderators have let their power get to their head however, and some users see moderators are demigods and look almost solely to them for assistance, when in most cases, they are users first. Other times, I often have to scroll to the bottom of the screen to see who the mods are since they never participate in the forum they're moderating.

You can look at the Air Canada forum for example. That forum tends to be 'all things Canadian' which is fine by my book, that's how the most frequent participants want it to be. Should the NW or DL forum be all things DTW or ATL? Maybe, maybe not, but the point is, it helps create a real sense of community, brought together by a common interest or location.

[mbstone]

Obviously personal attacks, spam, threads that belong in another topic, all are examples of situations where moderation is appropriate if not required.

Moderation ought to be like Muzak, if you can hear it it's too loud.

[bhatnasx]

This is an interesting question - and as a moderator on FlyerTalk, I feel it is important to express my point of view on this.

My views on moderation are reflected best in my posts. If you have the time & inclination, I encourage you to check out my posts in the Mileage Run forum as well as the Welcome to the Mileage Run Forum thread that I helped write for the Mileage Run forum.

I believe and try to practice the following:

1) Moderators should always be there as a resource & guide for the general membership of FlyerTalk.

2) Moderators have a responsibility to play fair and not have favorites or "enemies" in the forums.

3) Moderators should be consistent & treat all posters, including fellow moderators the same.

4) Moderators should treat members with respect and take action against those who are not treating other members with respect. This is an online community with about 80K members - many people are often "Keyboard Confident" and sometimes discussions get personal - there is no place for personal arguments on FlyerTalk as it detracts from the experience that the other 79,998 posters.

5) Moderation should be done in a manner that it does not stifle intelligent conversation. If someone disagrees with what someone else says or feels - that's fine - as long as its civilized & respectful, feel free to continue discussion on the matter.

6) Moderators should not be viewed as "the Thread Police" - but moreso as the "the Thread Guides" - if we close a thread or delete posts, I believe it is important for us to inform the members why we are doing it. It is important to also do this diplomatically and look at it as an opportunity to help a member know more about what is expected out of active posters on FlyerTalk.

Now, as to answering the question of what type of moderation works best for FlyerTalk, I believe that as we are a community that is about 80,000 members strong, no single one way will work. The moderation must be flexible & relate to the situation. There are certain cases when a moderator should just PM a member privately and ask that they edit their post for XYZ reason. There are cases, such as spammers, where moderators should take immediate action & close & delete spam threads and ban or suspend the user immediately. There are also cases where if a thread gets out of control, a moderator needs to be willing to step in and take immediate action for the sanctity of the subject matter or the direction a thread is heading. There is no one answer to this question.

[nsx]

For over five years the Southwest forum had no official moderator. As I posted in the Q1 thread, I only became moderator of the Southwest forum in order to maintain the FAQ there.

Since then I have occasionally edited posts and deleted, merged, or moved threads, but such actions have averaged far less than one per day and most of them are organizational in nature, rather than editorial. I take pride in the fact that I have never had to impose a timeout. Over the years (including five years with no official authority as moderator) I have always been successful in establishing sufficient goodwill so that problem posters either left on speaking terms or became assets to the forum.

I firmly believe that everyone on FT can be an asset to at least one forum. Moderators and members need to respect both the intelligence and the feeling behind the words written here. In my opinion, moderators should insist that each of us grant at least as much leeway to others as we would like for ourselves. I give every poster the benefit of the doubt, putting me in the loose moderation camp. I favor contributors over readers in borderline cases, for the obvious reason that the forum needs contributions to survive.

I hope that the members can be as relaxed as I am about what they read on FT. If they take offense easily, they may need to find a more strict forum. Reading the Southwest forum is similar to flying Southwest in this respect. If you keep your expectations reasonable and are willing to go with the flow, you will have a happy trip. If not, then Southwest is not your airline, and the Southwest forum is not for you either.

One other point. I am not saying that the relaxed style is best for every forum and every moderator. If the natural style of the forum is tight-laced, or if that is the moderator's natural style, tight moderation will probably work best. But in my experience, which goes all the way back to the Wild West days of Usenet, a calm de-escalating response can bring most people on board. A timeout often brings long-lasting resentment that will surface later.

[missydarlin]

I'm in the "moderation is really a member benefit" camp. I do believe that different forums have different personalities, and that says quite a bit about the community spirit that pervades FT.. and should be respected. But there comes a point, especially in the larger forums, or during more tumultous periods of change, (like when your elite benefits get "enhanced") ..where its beneficial to have some "firemen" (and we all know how I feel about firemen )around to either put out the fire if needed, or at least keep it in a controlled state of burn.

[VPescado]

Obviously some level of moderation is required for a site as large as FT - if only to prevent the board from being overrun by SPAM and trolls. That said, I think whenever possible moderators should be moderate in their moderation.

Sorry, I couldn't resist that last sentence, but I am serious:

If a diplomatically worded PM will get the job done, that should be the approach . . . or perhaps a gentle reminder in the thread can do the trick. Sometimes it will be necessary to make a small (or even large) edit to a post. Sadly, in some cases, time-outs and banishment will be required. The important thing is to use the smallest amount of moderation necessary to keep things running smoothly and in harmony with the terms of service.

I do think the existing framework for moderation is fundementally sound, and the folks that volunteer for the position overwhelmingly do a great job. However, there is, on occasion, friction between moderators and general members. If you examine my platform, you will see that I have given quite a bit of thought to this matter, and have some fresh ideas that should improve things. It is my belief that transparency and consistancy will go a long way to prevent many of these (thankfully rare) situations.

[stimpy]

To me the single biggest problem with using an Internet board is that we cannot see each others faces. 90% of face-to-face communication comes from somewhere other than your voice. We lose a lot when we try to communicate here. We all should take that into account, difficult as it may be, when we post.

So as a moderator, I think you should review posts with that in mind. Did the poster really mean what he/she said? Sometimes they just need a nudge. Rarely do they need more unless the poster is simply dysfunctional on an internet board.

That said, I'm mostly in favor of letting most every post stay untouched. If you said it, stand by it.

[Radioman]

Hello to the voting public and my fellow candidates,

I always feel that forums should be allowed to run themselves but, moderators should always be around just in case things get out of hand.

There are forums on the internet which are not as respectable as FlyerTalk and we don’t have the problem of “This is my forum, do as I say or else…”. We have all seen this type of person and it’s nice to see that we don’t have this issue with FlyerTalk.

I think that the following definition sums up the job of a moderator:

On Internet websites which invite users to post comments, a Moderation System is the method the webmaster chooses to sort contributions which are irrelevant, obscene, illegal or insulting from contributions which are useful or informative.

http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/moderation (visit the link for more info)

Moderators are an essential working part of any board.

Regards
RadioMan

[Radioman]

Originally Posted by stimpy

To me the single biggest problem with using an Internet board is that we cannot see each others faces. 90% of face-to-face communication comes from somewhere other than your voice. We lose a lot when we try to communicate here. We all should take that into account, difficult as it may be, when we post.

So as a moderator, I think you should review posts with that in mind. Did the poster really mean what he/she said? Sometimes they just need a nudge. Rarely do they need more unless the poster is simply dysfunctional on an internet board.

That said, I'm mostly in favor of letting most every post stay untouched. If you said it, stand by it.

Hi Stimpy,

I will agree with you regarding this issue. One of the biggest problems these days is that what someone says in an email or a posting might not come across in the right way.

The written word is a danger at times and a lot of conflict has been caused in forums by the wording of a posting.

People should ask themselves how many times have they started to reply to a posting and done some of the following:

1. Continually changed and rewritten the posting.
2. Made the posting. Posted it, reread it and decided to change it.
3. Made a posting and what you thought was a harmless comment turned into a nightmare.

I don’t think that anyone reading would say that they have not done any of the 3 things above.

Regards
RadioMan