Thread pulling

[jhelmuth]

I'm not a mod. I'm a supervisor... and I'm just sticking up for the mods. Actually I enjoy my role as the finger on the lever of existence.

BTW: Thanks folks for the condolences on my dog... but I don't have a dog... that was just for illustrative purposes.

OK. That's cool with me. My mistake :1poke:

 

[scubafool]

UP, good one. I remain mindful of your proverbial finger on the proverbial trigger.

 

[Firefyter]

BTW: Thanks folks for the condolences on my dog... but I don't have a dog... that was just for illustrative purposes.

I was pretty sure of what it was for....I was just being a wisea$$...

 

[Wristshot]

Personally, I appreciate the efforts of the Moderators, and I have said so publicly and in PMs to some of them several times.
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As a guy that does a lot of volunteer work for a Snow Ski Club, a Water Ski Club, Activities Team at Work, and a Ski Racing League, I truly understand that thanklessness of volunteer work.
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To Uncle Pug's comments, you never know all of what is going on in a volunteer's life, and how that might affect their decisions regarding pulling posts or threads. Walk a mile in his shoes, as they say.

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My last point is that the Mods just can't win. Kinda like umpires and referees. There are tons of "armchair moderators" out there that want to second guess every decision and every action taken (or not) by every Mod.

A) I have seen cases where an entire thread has been pulled for a number of "bad" posts, and some folks have gotten all spun up about that, demanding to know why the thread was pulled, who pulled it, how dare they, Cyber-Nazi references etc etc etc.

B) I have seen cases where only the offending post has been pulled, and then a firestorm still brewed. Why was the one post removed? why not other posts that were equally as "bad" in someone's mind. Then others are demanding to see the offending post to determine if it really was "bad".

Of course someone saw the post to have reported it, and chances are that others saw it also. Someone posted a reply to the offending post. Then when the offending post is removed, but the replies are left intact, people get confused. Some don't realize that they have missed something, and they react to the reaction.

I saw one of these a few weeks ago. Someone posted something inappropriate. Period. A Mod removed it, and chastized (gently) the offender. Period. Some people who saw the original post, posted responses to the original offender. Several people reacted to the castigations, without having seen the initial offending post. Some came to the defense of the offender, because in their minds, he had not done anything to warrant the "harsh" responses. Questions abounded. Then when the Mod synopsized the reasons behind the removal of the offending post and explained the reactions, a whole 'nuther group chimed in, including tirades by the original offender for what he thought was unnecessary persecution for a post that had already been removed, and that he had already apologized for. A simple thread disintegrated into a series of flames with only a few people even grasping what really happened.

So in that case, a whole passle (what is the correct spelling for passle? passel?) of hate and discontent could have been eliminated if the Mod had removed the entire thread. Of course, then there would have been simply a different sub-set of flames about why the thread was removed and why not just the offending post.

---bleech!---

So I think the Moderators do a fine job, and I appreciate and applaud their efforts and the time that they expend helping us. There are many that are truly grateful for the time and efforts of the Mods, but the "complainers" get a lot more press.

Of course this was posted in the Whine & Cheeze forum, so there you go.

Wristshot

 

[redacted]

BTW: Thanks folks for the condolences on my dog... but I don't have a dog... that was just for illustrative purposes.

Well, it could have been a lot worse. It could have been a pet horse or pet elephant or even a pony :1poke: that you don't have. The kids (do you have them) would have been digging a long time.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Actually I have a virtual horse to go along with my virtual dog. Both like to be hand fed Fritos and will eat blackberries off the vine. The road in front of my house is private and only goes to my shop and then the neighbor's house. Not much chance of either the horse or the dog getting hit on the road.

 

[simbrooks]

A few questions regarding this virtual horse of yours :

How high is your horse?? This will obviously make some impact on the size of cyber grave to be dug at the appropriate time. A high horse of course does have the benefits of a lofty view, however if there isnt much to see, there is no point in having a particularly high horse.

When you go along this very secluded road, do you get on your high (or not so high) horse and ride there, or is it just not worth the bother?? When do you get off your high horse, when you have completed the trip, or do you talk to your neighbour whilst sitting on your high horse?

What would you trade your horse for? I am just thinking that the horse is a possible failure point by having the horse die on you (either by getting hit or more natural causes) and of course if it is only a short walk down this road (with no cars) then you dont actually need the horse, so why have it? - either way meaning burial, burning or a transaction (with your local shop?) to get rid of it.

Does your virtual horse do any special tricks? How much time does this horse take away from your ability to moderate?

 

[Walter]

Very interesting.

First, i'd like to mention that several Moderators are close personal friends. They are people I hold in the highest regard. Others I know less well, but I have truly enjoyed knowing such fine individuals.

I'd also like to point out that I have not paid a great deal of attention to pulled/edited threads/posts in several months, so I don't know what sparked this debate.

Once upon a time, I was a moderator on this board. I was a volunteer, that is true. OTOH, it's not all that tough a job. If you don't have time to handle an issue, you don't. You can either ignore it or ask someone with more time to take care of the problem. I resigned almost a year ago, but it wasn't because the job was too big. It isn't.

One issue is one of confidentiality. Moderators discuss issues privately. In order for them to be open and honest those discussions have to be held in confidence. When a question is asked, "why did this happen?" or "who did this?" only the moderator who actually did it can answer your question. If for example, you ask, "Who pulled my post and why?" Pug probably knows, but unless he was the one who did it, he cannot answer the question. If the moderator in question doesn't care to step forward with the information, you'll never know. This is extremely frustrating to those of us interested in getting answers, but to an extent, necessary for the moderators to be effective in their jobs.

 

[simbrooks]

I have a pretty good idea why and by whom the thread disappeared that i think sparked this little whine. I know from the horse's mouth (not a virtual horse) the general info regarding the deletion, but out of respect for him i would not divulge that info. Many people were on that thread, including at least 5 mods (4 of whom i dive with and know pretty well) putting their part into the discussion. It was a shame it degenerated, but that was how it was going to be.

I still thank you all for doing your job and ending that thread when it got to "that stage", but other than that it was a good debate that has sparked quite a few interests and questions among training agencies outside the board - all for the good of the sport, so all pretty much ends well i guess.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Oh... the horse and the dog are real... and of normal stature for a brown horse and a black dog... they are just *virtually* mine. They belong to the neighbor... but the horse likes to trample my front yard and the dog likes to chase tennis balls in my back yard. My virtual cat likes to chase the dog and will attack viciously on a whim.

I don't ride the horse but I do have a Chuckit for the dog.

As for the thread pulling that sparked the discussion... I don't even know which thread it was much less which mod pulled it... I was just passing by and heard the commotion.