Free Speech and Moderation: from Filmmaker Rob Stewart dies off Alligator Reef

[doctormike]

Not to go too far down this rabbit hole, but I just would like to make one point for the FNGs. SB is a longstanding community, and many of us know each other very well, both from extensive interaction online over many years as well as from real life experience (for example, many of us were lucky enough to have gone diving on Wookie's boat).

So while it's true that new members of a group may have lots to add, it's also true that making early posts that are angry denunciations of the community in general isn't likely to make people who don't know you give you the benefit of the doubt. Imagine going for the first time into a bar filled with regulars enjoying each other's company and discussing diving. Read some of the posts above and see if they would be appropriate entry lines.

This board is a very nice free service that is kept that way by lots of volunteer work, and every effort is made to avoid "special treatment" for mods, who can post as users just like everybody else.

 

[Wookie]

Few questions..

Why aren't all moderators identified, like I have noticed on other forums.

Is "staff member" and moderator, the same thing?

If someone is a staff member, they are a moderator or an advisor. Advisors have moderator "powers" and I sometimes help out by taking very simple things ( moving or combining threads, blocking spammers) and helping out in discussions about how to approach a subject. I am an advisor. New moderators typically will not put the staff member tag by their name as they are trying to figure out how it all works. We have some tireless mud sloggers who do the majority of the moderation (mmm, Rayfromtx, storker etc), some specialists in a field (dr. mike is a medical mod, the Captain to captain forum is mine and captain Jims) and advisors (cerich and I) who are business folks in the dive business. We work to to keep threads on topic and within the ToS.

 

[mdb]

If someone is a staff member, they are a moderator or an advisor. Advisors have moderator "powers" and I sometimes help out by taking very simple things ( moving or combining threads, blocking spammers) and helping out in discussions about how to approach a subject. I am an advisor. New moderators typically will not put the staff member tag by their name as they are trying to figure out how it all works. We have some tireless mud sloggers who do the majority of the moderation (mmm, Rayfromtx, storker etc), some specialists in a field (dr. mike is a medical mod, the Captain to captain forum is mine and captain Jims) and advisors (cerich and I) who are business folks in the dive business. We work to to keep threads on topic and within the ToS.

Seems to me the advisers do a very good job of keeping threads on track.

Many threads, such as "accidents and incidents" seem hard to moderate, but yet they are,
and they provide valuable information to the dive community.

Other threads, like "the pub" are very lightly moderated and provide us pubsters with
a place to debate issues and exchange views.

This international forum links divers from around the world and is a great source of
information and (usually) civil discourse.

 

[The Chairman]

Mods and advisors are users first. If/when they put their mod hat on, they make it obvious, like using "modpost".

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Few questions..

Why aren't all moderators identified, like I have noticed on other forums.

Is "staff member" and moderator, the same thing?

When we post as regular members we are subject to the same rules as anybody else. When we post in any official capacity we always indicate by displaying the Mod Message. When we changed to this new forum software gained the capacity to have Staff choose to display or not display their status as Staff.

Sometimes the general members see us posting and think the staff badge indicates we are always posting as staff. Some feel we should be held to different standards. The result is that some staff prefer to not display the badge but they always indicate their status when they are performing their duties.

In general we try not to Moderate a thread we have been active in as a regular member. That is not a Hard and fast rule but we always keep the rest of the team aware of our Moderation Actions to make sure we keep things fair and balanced.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

@The Chairman there we go again typing similar messages at the same time

 

[Kay Dee]

What you see here is a prime example of how the Mods keep threads on topic. Since these posts were not on the topic of the original thread they were simply given a thread of their own, this one.

Good job Mods...

Yes, I totally agree. Thanks mods!

 

[The Chairman]

@The Chairman there we go again typing similar messages at the same time

It shows that we are singing from the same hymnal.

 

[Storker]

We have some tireless mud sloggers who do the majority of the moderation (mmm, Rayfromtx, storker @RainPilot etc),

FTFY. Honor where honor is due.

 

[Wookie]

Rain pilot does not have the staff member badge, and I wasn't about to out him in public.