Grade your Mods

[Pisces]

Hi everyone-

In the nearly year since I have become mod, I've seen the forum through a lot of new members, changes, etc. Here and there, I have had to remove a few posts in order to keep the peace - this is not something I enjoy doing, as I am an advocate of free speech and the free flow of ideas and opinions. I only do so when a thread takes a noticeably argumentative turn.

It is my hope that everyone understands that I do not take sides in these arguments. And that I do my best to moderate the forum with as light a hand as possible. This place has been my "home away from home" for many years now - it's important to me, and I feel a sense of responsibility for it. Having said that, I am aware that some of my decisions to remove posts here and there has not always been popular - each time I have done it (and there have not been many times in the last year), it has caused someone to become angry with me. At the same time, when I have taken no action in some cases, it's angered people as well. This leaves me, at times, in the position of not knowing how to proceed - what is best for the forum.

So - I need your feedback as members.

Do you want your mods to remove argumentative posts, when the posts have begun to edge into personal attacks? Or would you rather every post stay on the forum, whether good or bad?

Please let me know how you would like this forum to be moderated. I ask in all sincerity, and with the certainty that you each want this forum to be a pleasant place to spend your free time. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this forum better - things you want done, things you would like not done - feel free to either reply to this post, or PM me.

This forum is what we make it.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you.
~Pisces

[wikkleshamrocks]

You do a very grand job. It's a delicate and thankless task. Worse than being a social worker I'd say, you don't even get to see for real who you are truly dealing with. The only thing I am concerned about is violations and DPA issues. When I first stumbled across this forum a few years ago it had sensitive information posted. I never know how that panned out but I remember having to contact ProBoards because there were no active moderators at the time, that's when I first met you Pisces. Thank God you are a moderator here now, but I do not envy your position! Some stuff gets misread and interpreted wrong, that causes friction. I detest petty politics but I do get annoyed with folk here that's for sure. Best to just scrub the lot out, delete delete delete.... it's not like our posts in here are legacies or anything! This forum is mostly pleasant thanks to the active moderators, but personally, if I ever see something that upsets me on any level here, I'll stand my ground.

[The Phantom Lady]

You do a wonderful job! I know from 5 years of modding on Michael Jackson sites (not that the fan groups can be compared) that it's no easy job keeping a forum so its enjoyable for everyone.

But without mods, a forum is nothing; if there isn't a mod to step in when things get too far well that forum wouldn't be one I'd like to visit! although I still haven't been here long what I've seen you do I have agreed with 100 percent! and don't feel bad about doing your duty, its what you have to do and why you became a mod! I'd hate to see a forum flooded with insults left and right just because people thought they could get away with it!

Mod work is walking on a fine line and I know about doubting your own actions, was I too tough, did I let them off too easy? are they just pulling my tail?? people can become scary if they dont agree with your actions and that shouldn't influence your actions.

I've told you this before, I think this is a fantastic forum and it wouldn't be without such wonderful mods!

[bunnie24]

I think you're doing great Pisces!!

You're an amazing Mod, better than most that I've encountered.

It's really nice to have Mods who are so friendly and fun to hang out with on the Forum, yet you can turn to them if you need help or wish to discuss something.


I personally think you should delete all negative posts because, lets face it, most of those posts are trolls who are trolling and just want to get a rise out of the community; in which it all makes us turn on each other.

It's not pretty, I've seen forums go DOWN because of negative posts...so keep doing the awesome work!!

[impeachy]

I agree with what the other members said, Pisces. You and the other moderators are doing a good job of regulating this forum. I think negative posts should definitely be deleted, because the tone of the posts set the atmosphere in the forum. What makes this forum attractive to newcomers is its open, easygoing and friendly vibe. Negative posts intimidate newcomers and antagonize the other members, so they should not be allowed at all. It's alright to lay down the law at times because it makes for a well-organized forum.

[razzthekid]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to say a couple of things. Since i returned to college a couple of months ago i haven't really been able to get on here as often as i used to or as often as i'd like--- sometimes it's very hard to restrain myself from coming on here to check what's happening when i should be doing reading for college or writing up assignments!
Anyway over Christmas i'll probably be working a good bit too so i may be absent then as well. I do my best to log in as mch as i can, and even if i don't actually log in with my username i still do have a look around every couple of days to make sure i don't miss anything major- and of course to make sure the constant arguing hasn't gotten out of hand!

So i just wanted ye all to know that no matter how long i'm away for, i most definitely haven't forgotten about ye or got bored with the forum or Cillian(as if that could ever possibly happen! ) or anything of the sort.
I adore this place and all the people on it, i've never been a member of a forum where everyone is so friendly and can chat to each other about anything. So yeah, this place means a lot to me, especially because i feel so proud of Cillian being from my homeland and it makes me so happy to see his rise to fame and to see all the devoted fans he has, and from all over the world too! I'm so grateful to have been made a moderator of this wonderful forum and to be able to keep it in check with the other mods.

So yeah, just wanted to say that.

Razz.

[Pisces]

Wow - great feedback so far, both in this thread and in PM.

And though it's been requested, we won't be removing posts merely because they contain negative comments. What entails a negative remark can be very subjective indeed, to start with. A comment that offends one may not offend another, and we mods are not here for censoring purposes. For example, if a member posts that they are not a fan of Cillian's clothing ), there would be no reason at all for that post to be removed. Differences of opinion are expected - even vital - in a forum, and everyone needs to feel comfortable in expressing what they feel without feeling that they are walking on eggshells in doing so. So please, have at it.

At the same time, members ought be mindful of how they express such opinions, and remember that we are all on the same Cillian-admiring team. There is a murky line between expressing an opinion that may not be popular and trolling. The mods will only become involved if members begin to flame one another and actively disrespect one another.

Those are the only negative posts that will be removed, folks. I hope this meets with everyone's approval.

Please keep the feedback coming, though. I'd like to hear from as many members as possible.

[Zombiekitten]

As a frequent (and happy ;D) member of this forum I would like to add my opinion about this as well.

First of all I have to say I really can't complain about the job you mods are doing.
The one with whom I have the most contact is you, Pisces, and I think you are acting grown up, you are friendly and very thoughtfully in discussions, and yet one can have fun with you and squee and gush and all that stuff LOL
I have never witnessed any of you mods acting somehow biased. Or arrogant, what some people (I mean in general, not this forum !! ) seem to get when they have even the tiniest amount of power over others.

Being a mod I imagine is not easy. Pleasing all isn't easy as well... So I can really understand your uncertainty about what the most member most likely would appeal. We are all different and have different understandings of discussing or behaving, of friendliness and joking and so on.

About negative posts: I think if a post is really obviously insulting or angry or negative to another member or to people or certain topics in general, then it should be removed, IMO. But what can be called as "obviously insulting" ...? As my former posters already said this is sometimes hard to tell. For we have only the possibility to express ourselves in written words. Facial expressions, gesturing or the sound of the voice (components that are IMMENSELY important if talking face to face) are not "available" to underline what we say. So misunderstandings are happening quite often.

To speak for myself I have to say that I always reflect the posts that I wrote several times before I actually post them. I try to over think my text and imagine, how it might could "feel" to the reader, how it may sound from the viewpoint of others.
And I add these bloody smilies to underline the meaning.... LOL
I think they are actually quite helpful and do somehow "replace" the lacking of facial expression and gesturing and sound of the voice. So I think it's really good to use them to specify the meaning of a post.

Speaking about smilies and speaking about negative posts: Maybe one aspect / example to define a negative post as such is, for expl, if I have three of these somehow pointing directly at me LOL

Apart from this I think vivid discussions with different opinions should definitely be a part of a forum! As long as it is in a respectful manner.