MODERATORS: Please extend FT members the courtesy of responding to their e-mails.
 

[rant]I sent an e-mail to a moderator on Saturday, and I have yet to receive a reply. I suppose that there could be any number of reasons why I have not yet received a response, but this is now the second time an e-mail to a moderator has failed to elicit a reply.

It seems to me that if FT members courteously observe the oft-repeated request to "e-mail the moderators first before raising the issue publicly", then the moderators are then sort of obligated to observe the courtesy of replying, even if it's something like, "too busy right now to respond - will get back to you".

It may not be fair, but it reflects poorly on your moderator-colleagues here, leading members to raise issues publicly since NOBODY seems to be LISTENING! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

If you don't want us to air our dirty laundry in the RP forum, please reply to our e-mails. Thank you.[/rant]

EDITED: edited to temper my rather harsh post - sorry. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif (yes i know the world doesn't revolve around me...)

[This message has been edited by anonplz (edited Jan 19, 2004).]

or else I'm going to ask for a refund of my membership dues! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

i don't knmow who you emailed but several factors could be at work

1) this is a holiday weekend for some so the mod in question may be "off duty"
2) as mods are volunteers sometimes we DON'T repsond within an hour or even a day...doesn't mean we won;t answer
3) if it's a complicated issue the mod may be conferring with other mods
4) if there is more than one mod in a forum it's good to email all 3 for the above reasons.

Good points - thanks!

*Perhaps* one way around this could be to introduce some sort of limited mailing list, so that to email the moderator of (as an example) the Qantas forum, you email to [email protected] - sure QF only has one moderator (willyroo, who does an EXCELLENT job, I might add) so if he is away it will be equally as delayed.

But in some of the other forums where there are multiple moderators, the email could go to ALL of them, and possibly receive a reply somewhat quicker? Sort of like [email protected] rather than to a specific moderator?

Am I waffling?

Dave

FWIW, I can't recall an email from a FTer about moderation of the DL or MilesBuzz forum that I didn't respond to -- unless the email had been copied to other moderators and they replied first.

Here I speak only for myself and can't comment on any other moderators or forums.

Well, that's to your credit.

As for my original e-mail, to date, I have still not received a response. That's okay - it really isn't that big of a deal, I suppose.

But if I have a similar issue in the future, I'll consider simply following others' leads and asking Randy to time-out this member in the RP Forum, inviting discussion, and bypass the moderators altogether. This begs the question to me if the "Timeout so-and-so" threadstarters are people who were ALSO ignored by moderators in their respective forums.

But aside from the lack of consideration my e-mails seem to get, I do think the moderators do an outstanding job generally - I rarely even feel a need to send them e-mails, so I guess that's telling right there! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I have to say... I have probably sent 10 or so messages to moderators over the past month about questioning threads... and everyone has been answered quickly. Always within 24 hours.

We cannot expect a quick response all the time... but I think they are doing a heck of a good job.

William

I really do agree! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

5) The moderator could be moving and be totally offline for an extended period of time until his or her ISP establishes a new connection. For instance, in NYC my ISP could take 2-3 weeks to establish a DSL hookup.

6) The moderator could be on an extended vacation, and wants the trip to be just that, and have no contact with FT or the rest of the world.

7) The moderator could have a personal situation happening that takes precedence over their duties on FT. An illness, death in the family, etc.

As mentioned by squeakr, we are volunteers and are not online 24/7, so cut us a little slack. I totally agree with the suggestion to email all of the moderators that cover a board, and I guarantee you that you will receive a response. IMHO, posting a complaint on the ORP board can also be viewed as a personal attack on another member and not appropriate.

8) We got your e-mail but when we went to look at the referenced thread, the problem was already taken care of.

I usually don't have time to look at FT during the work day unless someone sends me a link... and frequently in the evenings I'm working from a cruddy dial-up connection in a hotel room through my work network. I try to minimize my keystroke time... so if you e-mail me (especially if it goes to my co-moderators as well) and the problem has been addressed, I consider the matter closed, particularly if I'm working off my "company" account (which would be the majority of the time I'm posting during the week).

I've always suggested for multiple moderator forums that you email all of the moderators. You'll likely get a quicker response.

If it is a single moderator forum, then resending the original message is what I would advise.

Also, please make sure that you put a descriptive subject in the e-mail. More than one message has come close to being deleted as spam.

More than 50% of the messages sent to me by FlyerTalk members end up in the Hotmail junk mail filter. I think I catch most of them. But I have found that putting "FT: " at the beginning of any subject line has been quite helpful in ensuring someone knows I'm writing regarding a FlyerTalk matter.

Great suggestion - and include a link to the thread in question, if there's a specific incident you're referring to.

Another suggestion - please include your FT username. Not all users make their email address visible, so we (mods) may not necessarily know who the email is from.


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Moderator of the decidedly off-topic Qantas forum ...