Ask the Mods Thread

I don't know that it would. In the current events and world news forums they're strict with the thread titles. But in opinions, where you posted your thread, there's usually a lot of latitude to allow members to get creative with thread titles as long as they're not flame. What was your original thread title?

 

Just want to follow this thread...so my remark is:

Moderating a forum always seem a thankless job. You guys seem to be doing it right...and this is about as well moderated as any forum in which I have participated.

Just following the thread!

 

You are right, the "mod edit" comment should show. Not sure why it doesn't.
The reason for changing titles is no secret.
If you look at rule 11, you will find that

Sometimes a title does not reflect the topic, and/or is editorialized to the point of flame bait. That is not allowed in either subforum.
Our rules aren't vague at all. A rule 11 thread closure, with most threads being visible, a member can easily read the title, link (when appropriate) and OP, and quickly realize why a thread has been closed.
Posting lengthy explanations repeatedly is simple beyond what we can do.

 

I disagree with the your thoughts on it not being vague , but I appreciate you taking the time to respond and agree with other parts of what you said. Have a nice day!

 

Perhaps I misunderstood.
Rule 11is rather elaborate, "rule 11 thread closure" is not very specific, but it also encourages members to read rule 11, asking themselves what part of the closed thread did not meet guidelines.
We usually ask newly registered members via PM to meet guidelines, and we include the rules, highlighting the part that is not met.
Of course members who have been here for a while, and have had enough explanations, are expected to eventually comply. Thread closures, warnings and infractions ensue. The offer "ask if you need help" always stands. PMing us to change or add some OP, changing a title etc is always welcome. It tells us that the member wants to learn and follow the rules. Yes, some members take us up on the offer, PM us and improve, some members keep asking the same questions for the entertainment value it seems, while some just ignore us and repeat as usual.
I don't have specific numbers, but would guess that 95% of our members not only seem to understand all the rules, but don't have any problems following them. It is the few who are repeat offenders. These are the members who take away the time we could easily spend elsewhere to keep the discussions flowing better.
If we were to close a thread by noting "rule 11 closure..flame bait..lack of OP...thread title inaccurate...etc, do you think if would cut down on violating rule 11 and encourage better thread creation, meaning, would members take more time to create a proper thread, thus inspiring respectful discussions? It is something we gladly look into. Thanks

 

I'm surprised it still up. Most Milo threads are locked per rule 16 "No Milo".

 

I was thinking more along the lines of giving the user a chance to correct the mistake(s) so he learns and the discussion isn't killed. But , I understand how this could be difficult with a time limit on thread edits.

 

In the past the join date of the member was on their posts (if I recall correctly) but it's no longer there. The member profile still shows the join date. Is my memory correct that it use to be on all posts and has since been removed and, if that is the case, then what reason existed to remove it?

 

These guys are well paid with benefits and a pretty good pension. I think company cars as well.

 

We are the world's largest such forum thread probability that we have these paid operatives is 1. The most logical step to keep them from coop tiny the staff is to term the staff. A paid operative with a mod account would never retire. They would simply pass the account to another paid operative.

 

You know what you almost never see on this forum? Moderators posting on political topics. They almost never do it so if they are paid operatives they are the slackest group of slacking slackers the political parties have ever hired. In fact their performance would have to substantially improve just to rise to the level of slackers. I mean all of the moderators working together after about 12 cups of coffee going full out without a lunch break could just barely reach the bottom rung of slacker status.

And that's on their best day.

 

If a paid party operative has managed to get a mod account why would they need to post to push back?

 

There would be no point if they don't post would there. What would be the use of a silent forum member, mod or not? If a political party wants to get the message out they want someone who can articulately and frequently make their party's case.

There are a couple of members here who are so knowledgeable and who are very good writers I'd almost suspect them of doing this for a living but they aren't mods. The mods would be the last people to suspect. Not that they couldn't. There are mods who really know politics but they don't post on the subject much, indicative of their lack of desire I think to get too deeply into the subject. So not good operatives at all.

 

You're really not paying attention, pilgrim.

Most likely the default setting was overridden or bypassed. So is the site owner OK with stealth editing?

It is when it's a stealth edit, which on its face suggests an ulterior motive on the part of the editor.

Even granting the dubious proposition that the original title was flamebait, that hardly justifies editing the title so as to militate against the thesis of the OP, as was done in the present case.

Nevertheless, posting short explanations has been SOP around here about as long as I can remember.

Does a staffer need to be noisy to penalize or ban those with "offensive" viewpoints?

 

If their goal is to ban "offensive" viewpoints they're pretty awful at it aren't they. This forum has millions of posts from all sides of issues supporting every political perspective. People have posted for months trashing either Hillary or Trump without sanction.

 

Maybe, but I've been a member at other forums, and none were this slow when trying to navigate their sites.

 

How many were this active or large?

Regardless....the Server is what defines the speed.

 

I'm a member at a forum that is much more active than this one actually. They have a different software system though. They don't use V Bulletin. They use XenForo. I was also a member at another site in the past which was probably relatively as active as this one, and they also used V Bulletin, but navigation was much faster.

 

Thus my reference to the server.

 

Isn't the server pretty much the same thing, the platform that you use? I don't know. I'm not a computer geek. I do know that this is one of the most slow forums I've been a member of.

 

Okay...this is how it all works.

The "platform" is the software that allows a person to create the forum other people use.
The server is the hardware that allows the forum to be activated and used.
Resources within the server are allocated based on how the form is rated by purchasing said resources.
If use outweighs resource allocation either more are purchased, another server added, or the system is compromised (slows down).

 

Well anyways, that is one of the things that would turn people off to this forum. The slowness. I've actually made several good suggestions when staff ASKED what would attract new members, but they all were pretty much ignored, just as my questions in this thread were ignored by staff.

 

It is important to remember that "staff" is not the Administrator and thus cannot change the forum dynamics. They are NOT employees and are unpaid volunteers trying to deal with thousands of people of which you are 1(one). Recommendations are just that, and are generally discussed in house, behind the scenes until either accepted and passed on to the higher ups or rejected which is seldom explained because people get offended.

 

Okay...you convinced me, Tecoyah.

I just made a donation to help out with the payments.