Alleged censorship on ScubaBoard

[hroark2112]

I'm so happy to be on the outside looking in on this topic...but it's the same old story on nearly every moderated board. I'm an admin on a hockey bb and we have mods & rules just like this board does. A few times a year someone gets all butt-hurt because he broke the rules and a mod warns or infracts them. It's always a pretty simple explanation...the rules are posted. Follow them and you're fine. Break them and we have a problem. It's just like in real life. Society has rules. Would you scream and cry censorship if a country club showed you the door because you tried to eat there in jeans and a t-shirt? Would you throw a fit in a courtroom because the judge told you to turn off your cell phone?

There are tons of comparisons to be made but the bottom line is simple. Follow the rules wherever you are and you'll be fine.

 

[cbm32]

In a place with the traffic this one does, with the number of mods there are, and severall other factors...you just not going to get that kind of consistency or totally equal treatment. It just isnt going to happen. Too many variables in the background and personalities of the mods AND of the posters.

I hang out in the chat quite a bit and late at night in there the comments sometimes get a bit racy and/or filled with inuendo. It almost never seems to be a problem and all of the pretty regular folks seem to enjoy the humor intended. Not long ago I made a comment that was off color but pretty tame and obviously meant to imply that I was taking the wrong definition of a word given the context in which it was used....funny stuff most nights. Well a mod that is in there all the time soon posted in the room that things needed to be cleaned up. I PM'ed the mod, someone I speak with in there often and get along with rather well, and indicated that I assumed his comment was due to my post. I apologized but also said that I had posted much worse before without a problem and so I was assuming someone complained about that one. The mod responded that it was my post that was the problem but he could not comment on if there was a complaint about it and then, if I remember correctly, he included a winky face. So, I apologized and kept it clean for the rest of the night.

The mods comment/warning was totally inconsistent with my past experience in that room. I had posted far far worse and so had others without it being a problem. But in this case, he got a complaint and had a choice of pizzing off the person that complained or acting in a that was inconsistent with past practice in that room. Really a no win situation for him and I think he handled it very well by giving a blanket warning in the room and not making it a personal thing with me. I also think he was right on in not actually saying there was a complaint as doing so might have elicited a question as to who it was and revealing that would have totally unacceptable for him to do.

So, in a nutshell, the mod did the best he could in a no win situation by acting in a way that was totally inconsistent with past practice. Luckily I recognize that what is acceptable, or not acceptable, sometimes depends on who is present at the time and didnt get all butt hurt about it. Since that one night I have gone back to my typical way of posting and there has not been a problem with it.

Being a mod can be a tough job and I like to think that all of them do the best they can at it or that if some dont it will eventually come to Pete's attention and be dealt with. If it comes to his attention and he doesnt deal with it, well then the mod is acting in an acceptable way as Pete is the final determiner of what is and is not the appropriate way for mods to handle things. This is Pete's "house" and the rest of us are just guests here. Lets all try to keep that in mind.

 

[BDSC]

Would you scream and cry censorship if a country club showed you the door because you tried to eat there in jeans and a t-shirt?

Most people would not. Unless, of course, there were other folks in there eating in jeans and a t-shirt.

 

[boulderjohn]

Just in case people don't realize it, mods are unpaid participants who use ScubaBoard just like everyone else, but who also have accepted some duties and responsibilities. We do not go through an intense training program for this job. If one were required, there would be no mods. Because we use the board the way others do, our participation in and observation of threads is rather spotty. There are many, many subforums on ScubaBoard that I have never once visited in the 9 years I have been a member. I would bet that there is a ton of stuff going on every day that probably should be moderated but isn't because no mod sees it and no one reports it.

If there is a road on your way home from work on which you see people going well over the speed limit every day, you might be tempted to speed on it some day when you are late for supper. If that happens to be the day the police are out with the radar, you will get a ticket. You can complain about how terribly inconsistent that is, but that's the way it goes.

And, yes, some of us moderate things that others would let go. When things are iffy, we usually discuss it first, but not always. I am not sure how it could be done differently.

If you have good ideas on how to improve it, please go ahead. And don't just say, "Be more consistent." Provide a workable, detailed plan for a system in which a group of volunteers working when they can while they have a chance can be more consistent.

 

[BDSC]

We do not go through an intense training program for this job.

So do you folks get any type of training or maybe even get some sort of written guidelines sent to you when you agree to become a mod?

 

[Farback]

Look at fat NetDoc. He just can't stop trolling.

When your COB, it's just stating an opinion. When you are just a user, it's attacking and banishment will follow.

That is over the line.

 

[boulderjohn]

So do you folks get any type of training or maybe even get some sort of written guidelines sent to you when you agree to become a mod?

Of course we have some training, and when you are new you get some guidance from the vets. When you are new, your tendency is to ask for guidance from the veterans on almost everything you do for a while until you feel more confident. It is not, however, anything like the kind of intense training I would give a group of evaluators preparing to score AP exam essays, where we are trying to get inter-rater reliability to 90%.

 

[gypsyjim]

The only time I had a mod interaction was when I met Jax.. and her and HowardE had some issues... Not knowing either of them at the time.. I read the pertinent parts and, being the interfering "person" I am... In my most loving and positive way I let Howard he was wrong... and I am not saying that he listened to me at all.. but I think he took a look at how the situation looked from someone with no ego in the equation and Jax came back.. I could be right off base with this as well.. I just like to feel I played a part.. that is how the net works.. for me.

He came across as human that was willing to listen.. I dont think you can ask much more than that...

That is all we all are.. just a bunch of humans with fragile egos that sometimes are having a day, and on a bad day when we cant look the person in the eyes.. and instead of assuming they meant well.. we take offence.. where none may have been intended... then the intended insults come out..

Bring your rants to the pub DV.. no one there will censor you.. if you want your place to rant.. just pick the right place to do it..

It makes me a bit uncomfortable when you say something I agree with

Who are you and what have you done with Sheri?

This is entirely too reasonable, what are you planning?

+1




---------- Post added August 8th, 2013 at 06:09 PM ----------

The way I see it is that being a moderator is a pretty unrewarding job, with no real benefits, other than you may get a neat target to wear on your back.

Moderating on SB may not always be as consistent as everyone would like, and not all moderators have a good sense of humor, or have the same level of tolerance, but I understand that it is all done by volunteers. This unpaid job can not be a very easy, or rewarding job, and no matter what side you come down on in a disagreement, someone will always be unhappy with you.

I kid about "what is the sense of having power, if you can't abuse it?", but honestly, who would want to take on an unpaid, highly responsible job, with no real benefits, and one that is guaranteed to make you at least a few enemies no matter how carefully you try to be fair to all?

 

[letterboy]

A politician?

 

[gypsyjim]

A politician?

Wash your mouth out with soap. Why would you want to discuss roaches, fleas, bedbugs, politicians, or other nasty crawling parasitic insects?