Mod Objectivity

[UltimateCyprien]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't NG moderators be objective when they decide to ban an account? I have the impression that some moderators work out their frustration on NG'ers that haven't contributed a lot to this website after they come home from their crappy nine to five job. No offense, but there are certain moderators on NG that make me wonder how they ever became a mod in the first place.

This isn't a rant, it's an objective view from my perspective. The majority of the mods are okay in my book but the overall inadequacy of a select few amazes me... They ban accounts because they're in a bad mood and like I said, they ban accounts out of frustrations. If you moderators are reading this, please, don't be like the abovementioned stereotypical description of the 'average' mod. Please don't...

I don't know if you guys had to do some kind of a test for Wade before you could become a mod, it only rests me to say that I wonder how some of you have passed this test, if there even was one that is.

I would to hear what you mods have to say about this.

[Rosenrot-I]

Lol, banning someone on the internet sure does relieve the stress of real life.

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 06:39 AM, LastSpartan wrote: I think popularity makes you a mod, not any real talent. Thats how BlueHippo got his modship.

I didn't know that he became a mod, since when?

[LordZeebmork]

At 1/14/08 06:40 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote:

At 1/14/08 06:39 AM, LastSpartan wrote: I think popularity makes you a mod, not any real talent. Thats how BlueHippo got his modship.

I didn't know that he became a mod, since when?

Since somebody accidentally modded him instead of BlueFlameSkulls, I think.

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 06:47 AM, OsAmARaMa wrote: BlueHippo is a REVIEW MOD.

As a former mod, I will answer your question. Mods ban people TEMPORARILY for not adhering to the BBS Rules. They're just doing their job. It would be in your best interest not to 'piss them off' if you don't want to be banned from posting here.

"Their job?" It ain't like they're getting paid for doing this.

Yes, some mods are a little more strict than others, but you learn to deal with it. Even if you get banned for a day by posting in what you thought was a borderline spam topic, brush your shoulders off and find something else to do until your short ban is lifted.

"Something elso to do?" I have a life outside of NG you know, there is ALWAYS something else to do.

[Lord-Zed]

At 1/14/08 06:51 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: "Their job?" It ain't like they're getting paid for doing this.

Volunteering job.

"Something elso to do?" I have a life outside of NG you know, there is ALWAYS something else to do.

Shut up then, cunty.

[Airbuster]

At 1/14/08 06:47 AM, OsAmARaMa wrote: BlueHippo is a REVIEW MOD.

As a former mod, I will answer your question. Mods ban people TEMPORARILY for not adhering to the BBS Rules. They're just doing their job. It would be in your best interest not to 'piss them off' if you don't want to be banned from posting here.

Yes, some mods are a little more strict than others, but you learn to deal with it. Even if you get banned for a day by posting in what you thought was a borderline spam topic, brush your shoulders off and find something else to do until your short ban is lifted.

Actually, I knopw what the topic starters saying. Some UNNAMED mods twist the definitions of certain words in the BBS Rules, to give them a valid reason to ban users.

Strict? No. Unreasonable.

[BananaBreadMuffin]

At 1/14/08 06:55 AM, Aci6 wrote: a three day one off Maus for not posting a screen shot in the Video Thread, I mean; what the fuck?

Are you some kind of retard?

I quote directly from pox's first post of the video thread.

" Follow the rules or be banned. Seriously, stop being lazy assholes........
Most important of all: POST A SCREENSHOT OF THE VIDEO"

[LordZeebmork]

Everyone is still going to hate mods no matter what anyone says. Even the mods don't like the mods.

[BlueFlameSkulls]

At 1/14/08 06:43 AM, LordZeebmork wrote:

At 1/14/08 06:40 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote:

At 1/14/08 06:39 AM, LastSpartan wrote: I think popularity makes you a mod, not any real talent. Thats how BlueHippo got his modship.

I didn't know that he became a mod, since when?

Since somebody accidentally modded him instead of BlueFlameSkulls, I think.

Screw off.

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 06:58 AM, OsAmARaMa wrote: By making a topic poking about the actions of mods in general I wasn't sure. Some mods may see this topic as a complaint topic.

This isn't complaining, these are the facts put on the table. In my opinion, I think it would be smart if moderators would contact the reg's with AIM if they want to delete or lock a topic. Solve things with talking to eachother, I understand that this can't be done with every user but maybe just with the reg's...

Isn't that a good idea?

[Snake-Arsenic]

The rules are open to interpretation and the mods add rules as they go, mostly to prevent spam and +1 posts. Some mods have a policy on time and that part is open to the most interpretation. The other thing is that the mods don't seem to have access to the forum rules page so they can't keep it up to date. Just look at zerok's profile for tons of rules that aren't listed there and you'll see what I mean.

[Lorkas]

People become moderators not because of their valuable posts, but because of their sign-up date. You'd also need atleast 2 posts a day I suppose. It's all about the stats.

[UltimateCyprien]

Come on mods, I would like to hear what your thoughts are...

[BananaBreadMuffin]

At 1/14/08 07:02 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: This isn't complaining, these are the facts put on the table. In my opinion

lmao

I think it would be smart if moderators would contact the reg's with AIM if they want to delete or lock a topic. Solve things with talking to eachother, I understand that this can't be done with every user but maybe just with the reg's...

Isn't that a good idea?

They discuss things amongst themselves, and they are of course, all regulars.

[Joe]

At 1/14/08 07:02 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: I think it would be smart if moderators would contact the reg's with AIM if they want to delete or lock a topic. Solve things with talking to eachother, I understand that this can't be done with every user but maybe just with the reg's...

If anything, regs should know better than other users, and shouldn't need to have things explained to them. They should know whether they're breaking rules or not, and if they don't, they should go back and re-read the BBS rules if they haven't done so in a while.

If you really consider yourself a "reg" you shouldn't be doing things that break the rules in the first place. You'd understand why they are there and not even think of a reason to break them.

[Zerok]

In my case, mood does dictate my banning tendencies. However, a "bad" mood will actually make me the most objective, banning for things that are from the rules and really not giving a shit as to how much "good natured" horsing around is going on. In a "good" mood, I'm more likely to let bannable things go.

I don't know of any mod that bans people on the BBS purely to vent frustration.

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 08:13 AM, Joe wrote:

At 1/14/08 07:02 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: I think it would be smart if moderators would contact the reg's with AIM if they want to delete or lock a topic. Solve things with talking to eachother, I understand that this can't be done with every user but maybe just with the reg's...

If anything, regs should know better than other users, and shouldn't need to have things explained to them. They should know whether they're breaking rules or not, and if they don't, they should go back and re-read the BBS rules if they haven't done so in a while.

If you really consider yourself a "reg" you shouldn't be doing things that break the rules in the first place. You'd understand why they are there and not even think of a reason to break them.

Yes, but sometimes mods make mistakes and these mistakes should be justified by an admin. I mean, it would be foolish to let a mod get away with a mistake so the admins have to justify them. Of course, you would need to have proof and other things to back up your argument. And you have to be willing to put your time in this...

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 08:13 AM, Zerok wrote: I don't know of any mod that bans people on the BBS purely to vent frustration.

I think there are mods like how I described them, although they won't ever admit this.

[gumOnShoe]

At 1/14/08 08:20 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: Yes, but sometimes mods make mistakes and these mistakes should be justified by an admin. I mean, it would be foolish to let a mod get away with a mistake so the admins have to justify them. Of course, you would need to have proof and other things to back up your argument. And you have to be willing to put your time in this...

Do you want them to send you a dollar in the mail for your lost hour on a single site on the net? Seriously? Also, all these good natured suggestions of yours make an already, from the looks of it, meh volunteer job a hastle. Let's have them fill out 3 pages of paperwork, a checklist, and do a psycholgical test on the banee. Then, the mod has to use a breathalizer hooked up to their computer and piss in a cup. Following playing a round of jepardy blind folded and beating chips challenge they may then ban the person, if the person hasn't said anything funny in one person's opinion.

[Zerok]

At 1/14/08 08:22 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: I think there are mods like how I described them, although they won't ever admit this.

Someone who comes home from a shitty 9 to5 job, gets on the BBS and bans someone purely out of frustration, with absolutely no reason?

Though it's probably happened over the course of time, I really don't think that's there's anyone on the current roster that does this with any kind of regularity. (Unless they're in another forum... but General'd be the ideal place for what you describe methinks).

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 08:24 AM, gumOnShoe wrote:

At 1/14/08 08:20 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: Yes, but sometimes mods make mistakes and these mistakes should be justified by an admin. I mean, it would be foolish to let a mod get away with a mistake so the admins have to justify them. Of course, you would need to have proof and other things to back up your argument. And you have to be willing to put your time in this...

Do you want them to send you a dollar in the mail for your lost hour on a single site on the net? Seriously? Also, all these good natured suggestions of yours make an already, from the looks of it, meh volunteer job a hastle. Let's have them fill out 3 pages of paperwork, a checklist, and do a psycholgical test on the banee. Then, the mod has to use a breathalizer hooked up to their computer and piss in a cup. Following playing a round of jepardy blind folded and beating chips challenge they may then ban the person, if the person hasn't said anything funny in one person's opinion.

I wouldn't go as far as that, I'd evaluate new mods their latest posts with a fine-tooth comb (if I was an admin) and decide if the modship is something for them or not. I would also demod people more quickly...

[mightypotato]

At 1/14/08 09:08 AM, UltimateCyprien wrote: I wouldn't go as far as that, I'd evaluate new mods their latest posts with a fine-tooth comb (if I was an admin) and decide if the modship is something for them or not. I would also demod people more quickly...

What do you think we do when deciding on new mods? All of the moderators had to undergo a fairly extensive vetting process before being brought on, full of drama and name calling.

As far as objectivity goes, I don't know any mod who does what you've been talking about. Although my senses tell me that this is a thinly veiled "I hate BBR" thread.

[UltimateCyprien]

At 1/14/08 09:25 AM, mightypotato wrote: What do you think we do when deciding on new mods? All of the moderators had to undergo a fairly extensive vetting process before being brought on, full of drama and name calling.

Yeah, you have to put a lot of time in the internet if you want to be a mod. That's true.

As far as objectivity goes, I don't know any mod who does what you've been talking about. Although my senses tell me that this is a thinly veiled "I hate BBR" thread.

Nah, I get along with 99,99% of all the BBS users and I keep meeting new people. Mods, members of a particular group on NG, you know, e - socializing. BBR isn't someone I hate, we don't even know each other.

[Alastor]

Amazing how serious the internet is.

[kidray76]

At 1/14/08 10:33 AM, Jezuz wrote: Zendra's a cunt. I have no idea how he/she still has modship.

Man, drink some prune juice and let that shit go. The internet. Whatever it is, move on.

[Alastor]

At 1/14/08 10:46 AM, Jezuz wrote: Internet is fairly integrated with the real world nowadays. That argument is losing hold with each passing day my friend.

I didn't realize the real world involved sucking our thumbs about forum moderation on a stupid website. Or am I the only one who places value on things other than online ego?

[kidray76]

At 1/14/08 10:52 AM, Alastor wrote:

At 1/14/08 10:46 AM, Jezuz wrote: Internet is fairly integrated with the real world nowadays. That argument is losing hold with each passing day my friend.

I didn't realize the real world involved sucking our thumbs about forum moderation on a stupid website. Or am I the only one who places value on things other than online ego?

Well, there is sex, but 80% of the ng population wouldn't know about that, so gotta go with the current :)

[JackPhantasm]

imo the forums would be almost the same without mods.

Just more spam.

[InsertFunnyUserName]

I don't know about you guys, but I've been posting quite regularly on this forum for, oh how long has it been? Almost a year and half and you know what? I've never had any problems with any of the mods. Sometimes I screw up and do something wrong so I get banned for it, but it's not the end of the world. I find something else to do and move on with my life.

And yeah, I know there are threads that have been unfairly locked or deleted and users who have been unfairly banned, but those are just mistakes. The moderators are people just like you and me and they're not perfect, but it's also not like we're overrun with that.

These forums are run well by a bunch of people who have put their time into it. They've used their personal time to come deal with the idiocy of us and for that, you need to cut them some slack.

And to the issue of it just being a popularity/stat thing, why do think these people grew to be so popular in the first place? People don't get popular by breaking rules, using poor grammar, and being a general nuisance. They aren't mods because they were popular, they just happen to be the kind of person that other users like and respect.

And if you have so many other things to be doing, why are you complaining? Those other things are probably a lot healthier than sitting around here. :I