Over moderating

[The Ruttmeister]

There is another technically focused Forum that I used to be a fairly active member of, that was closely moderated. Sometimes that was because there are strange people on the internet who claim to be people they are not and claim knowledge that they do not have. Sometimes it was because topics veered off subject or became acrimonious.

But the focus of the moderation was in their ToS explicitly stated as having the goal of improving the 'signal to noise ratio'.

That moderation work is hard and very time consuming. But that forum remains one of the best sources for technical knowledge and advice in the field (by a wide margin!).

I for one fully support an active Mod policy and those who put their personal time into it. Keep up the good work, it keeps this place as a useful and welcoming resource.
(Even if there are worrying bias' against split fins and air2's)

I kid

 

[Edward3c]

I've not read the whole thread.

I've been a Mod on a forum and I find this board quite well managed. Its a thankless task, and do the Mods get it right all the time? Yes, they are the Mods.

Have I had posts removed? Yes. Did I like it? No. The Mods are always right - As I was when a Mod.

 

[Centrals]

What or where is the pub?

Community Forums near the bottom.
Need to be registered first.

 

[OTF]

Community Forums near the bottom.
Need to be registered first.

Yeah, found it and left. The thousand page threads are impressive, but the place is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. When I want to to read troll posts on an ocean sports forum I go to SailingAnarchy instead.

 

[uncfnp]

Thinking out loud.

Would it be possible and appropriate to make moderation anonymous so that no single individual is linked to a moderation post?

 

[MaxE]

Thinking out loud.

Would it be possible and appropriate to make moderation anonymous so that no single individual is linked to a moderation post?

I think the opposite I think any moderation should be shown and by who. On this thread we had the moderator both participating and moderating, it was obvious but I still had to ask and call it out before it was handed off. I’m for transparency not secrecy. But this is just my opinion

 

[ontdiver]

Thinking out loud. Would it be possible and appropriate to make moderation anonymous so that no single individual is linked to a moderation post?

This seems like a reasonable idea and would provide the mods with a bit of an air gap. It would also avoid them getting entangled inadvertently when they are posting independently and have a conflict with someone they have weighed in on as a mod.

 

[wheeledgoat]

The only thing I'd add is to address something I read somewhere around page 2 - someone said something about censorship. Internet boards are not subject to the US Constitution, or any other. It's similar to the answer I give my kids when they try to pull some kind of "democratic" argument to my and my wife's parenting; This isn't a democracy.

This is a private board with its own rules. They could make a rule that you can only log in on tuesdays while wearing a green shirt, and if you didn't like it, you don't have to participate. This is how I view things, and I consider it a healthy perspective. Peace out.

 

[Storker]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Thinking out loud.

Would it be possible and appropriate to make moderation anonymous so that no single individual is linked to a moderation post?

As far as I understand the process (which I like to believe is pretty good), my first example of moderation is just that. A post violating the ToS is removed, the offender receives a notice that their post has been removed - preferably with a reason (e.g. "off topic") and no-one except the Mod Corps can see the post, who posted it, who deleted it nor the reason for deletion

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[BRT]

The only thing I'd add is to address something I read somewhere around page 2 - someone said something about censorship. Internet boards are not subject to the US Constitution, or any other. It's similar to the answer I give my kids when they try to pull some kind of "democratic" argument to my and my wife's parenting; This isn't a democracy.

This is a private board with its own rules. They could make a rule that you can only log in on tuesdays while wearing a green shirt, and if you didn't like it, you don't have to participate. This is how I view things, and I consider it a healthy perspective. Peace out.

One problem with the idea that this is a private board with it's own rules is that online forums and such have been given some immunity from lawsuits so long as they are not in control of content.
Immunity for Online Publishers Under the Communications Decency Act | Digital Media Law Project