Moderation

Would you care to provide links to fora you consider are moderated in this way? I'd like to understand whether each one also works as a genuine forum. Or perhaps you're just throwing pointless jibes in the direction of ZG mods for the sake of being a twat. You tell me?

 

As a recent, and not particularly active, posting member of this forum, although I do look at it most days, I have to say that I think the moderators are doing an effective job and applying a reasonable amount of common sense to their role, I do not understand some of the decisions that have been made, but then again I do not have all of the history. The issue is that as individuals we cannot be trusted to be self- moderating, and we all have different views as to what should be allowed in the forum ( I would have moderated out a number of abusive posts , but then again I am like that) , therefore someone or a group have to take responsibility , or the forum will just get taken down or sued out of existence.
I thank the moderators for enabling an open, supportive and positive forum.
Regards

Alby

 

Dev, this question is a very difficult one to answer.

My current view is forming out of recent evolutions to ZG and PFM.

I can't say there is any one thing that has caused a drop off of activity here. I think there have been a few slightly zealous mod decisions here, but nothing serious and which at the time I wouldn't have said would cause activity to drop off. Looking back though I think this is what happened.

In contrast there have been a few rather edgy threads on PFM which have been generally left alone, but which have ended up showing PFM in a very good light.

In the case of PFM it seems (to me) that adults were left, in the main, to exchange views and to bicker, at times quite aggressively, but the end result was a "full and frank exchange of views". Yes there was repetition, personal snipes, pointless banter, circular arguments, etc. but to my mind an active forum just simply has this as a matter of course. It seems in the case of PFM, a low level of moderation helped to enable good results. On the other hand there have also been a few seemingly arbitary mod decisions there too which don't appear to have affected things.

I think there have been a few applications of AUP here which might have simply put a few of the more active posters off. The result is less activity generally, perhaps because a good argument is compelling viewing. It seemed there was, for example, a thread which went in the direction of politics which Isaac deleted on the basis ZG isn't the place to discuss it. Perhaps there were some completely inappropriate posts contained within, I have no idea as I couldn't read it. But the net effect in my mind was the message "don't discuss potentially contentious things here". Unfortunately a good forum would, to me, let contentious subjects simply run their course (legal action notwithstanding).

If AUP application here is the priority then fair enough. The owner's/mod's moral judgement can be applied accordingly and they answer to noone. On the other hand if activity drops off as a result then the owner/mods can't really complain. It could however simply be the typical ebb and flow. You may find PFM will die off a bit in coming months and ZG could become more active again. Hard to say really.

 

zerogain has a 'mods only' area where we get to discuss big mod decisions like what colour to paint our lambrettas...no... like whether to delete a thread, give someone a ban or modify the aup to cover new things.
most of the decisions are thrashed out and a course of action agreed upon before said action is taken - or if something is done unilaterally by a mod, then discussion still takes place and sometimes that action is reversed.

of late things have become more 'litigeous' behind the scenes with various people 'threataning action' for comments made - as most of the mods have jobs and lives the simplest course of action is to just nuke the post or sometimes the thread - occasionally pre-emptively. certainly the 'political' discussion thread i think being referred to was one that had a big potential for this kind of thing.
a forum is the product of those who post on it so if people want to be petty and rely on legal threats to win an argument then fair enough we as mods will respond in the way that we have. however if free-er discussion is wanted then stop waving words like 'sue', 'libel' and 'slander' around and perhaps we'll let the threads get a bit more heated sometimes.
of course things like racism, pictures of boobies and mentioning the unmentionable planks will result in wmd's being deployed no matter what.

right i'm off to lurk in the mods area to discuss what's the best colour of parka and to see if i'm right out of order posting the above....

 

We also get rid of quite a lot of spam.

 

i like spam fritters

 

Julian thanks for painting an useful picture about the activity behind the scenes.

I must say one thing I've always puzzled over are those members who PM the mods complaining about another members posts. Sure racism, a PM to a mod in case the post was missed is fair enough, but the whining of "I am so offended by xxx"! I can never imagine a post causing me suficient anxiety to go crying to teacher. It's truly pathetic!!!

I can appreciate something that would make being a mod a complete pain in the ass.

However this move towards threats of legal action becoming common is very sad to hear. I guess a good example being the "world's best loudspeakers". Whilst I really couldn't comment about the quality of the product, regards the marketing decision: anyone who foolishly chooses to describe their product in this way on the basis it will garner quick attention and debate really shouldn't complain when this silly decision attracts ridicule.

Thing is, I'm not complaining about the mods and I'm not really arguing for less moderation, I'm just saying the net effect of silly members forcing hands on moderation is IMO the cause of a drop off in activity.

To be completely honest (and perhaps blunt) where I previously considered PFM rather narrow and dull and ZG rather fresh, I now perceive PFM as balanced and adult and ZG rather navel gazing and "nice". I still like the place though and feel allegience to the forum and many of the members.

 

If anyone really doesn't like a post there's a 'report post' facility. I'm happy if it's used for the best of reasons. I think any forum is what the posters make it. When interesting threads are started the posters flood in.

I suspect however that most of us here are either satisfied with what they have or can't afford any better, that's perhaps why the audio room is quiet. It could also be that so many discussions end up in the reciting of dogma from some protaganists. PFM is a great place, it deserves all the success it gets as a result of Tony L's hard work.

To be fair Greg we get very few complaints. We're plagued by spam, and that's where most of our efforts go, and there are of course a few subjects that are the gifts that keep giving.

There is an area for 'forum ideas' and if anyone has suggestions to put in there they should. There are lots of things we could do, but it's not really our forum. Whilst no-one has an inalienable right to post, we do understand that we are providing a space for people to express their opinion. Sadly it is the litigeous nature of society that means we have to stop things. We as mods and ultimately the administrator can be held culpable for the content of the site. We play safe, wouldn't you?

 

I think its fine at the mo, but the danger is, if you moderate too much, people just will not post, and the forum will go dead.
People have opinions, people like to express them, not everyone will agree, that's life, that's what makes things interesting,

 

Keep it as it is please. I spent enough time moderating a much larger site and left because I got so sick of all the polilitcs and wranglings.

At the moment this site is a like a small members club and thats the way it should stay.

 

hope not!

members clubs to me sounds like smoking jackets in the library.


nb
people asked for more relaxed attitudes - and got them. The swear filter has been completely removed.

now, some would like stronger moderation.

which is it to be??!


the poll answers it's own question - it's a resounding ''change nowt''.

 

I have you know that my member isn't small

 

Is it true that Cat's members are spikey and that's why female cats yowl whilst doing it?

 

The spikes point backwards so they only work when he withdraws - the male and female are both quite noisy, but the female does screech when the male withdraws - no idea if that's from pain of the withdrawal, though? Could be pleasure for all we know!

The spikes are there to stimulate ovulation. I remember being told that they also hurt the female so she can't mate again whilst on heat, but I know that kittens in a litter can have different fathers, so this must be incorrect!

 

You don't need more moderation - you just need more intelligent moderation at times. Sorry to say that as many of you are personal friends, but there's no excuse IMO for letting people get away with calling other members spastics. That should be an automatic ban. I don't want to be on a forum that allows such behavior and this will be my last post here unless you start to apply common standards of decency. It's appalling language and worse than me calling someone a **** arsehole or faggot. Would that get a ban? Probably because it would have come from me ;-)

Ask yourself if you were drinking with fellow workers at a local pub, and one of your fellow drinkers started using such vile terms of insult, would you want to go out with them again?

If your answer is yes then you are either bottom feeders or a sad inditement of the society we live in.

 

I don't see how faggot is any better.

 

Oh and **** and arsehole are are they? Touch a raw nerve? Sometimes you really do act your age Simon.

 

**** and arsehole are not really discriminatory, faggot is.

Besides what is wrong with acting my age? That’s ageist!

 

Nothing wrong with acting your age Simon if only you'd do so all the time instead of pretending to be grown up on occasion ;-)

 

Faggot isn't just discriminatory, it's a vile Americanism!

There appear to be some very sensitive souls here. OTOH, it's only hifi, so why would anyone want to invoke terms such as those being bandied about? Is it so difficult to read things that you disagree with without reaching for the Big Book of Playground Insults? If however you must descend to abuse, let's see some more inventive use of our great language.

For some hints, try:

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/

You starvelling, you eel-skin, you dried neat's-tongue, you bull's-pizzle, you stock-fish--O for breath to utter what is like thee!-you tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bow-case, you vile standing tuck!