How about separate moderator accounts?

[Apech]

It certainly used to be the protocol that a given moderator picked up a report and suggested a course of action (or no action) and then waited for other mods to either agree or suggest something else.  So most decisions were group decisions - unless they were very straightforward of course.  This can break down if very few mods are around and a situation gets critical but then there is the option of temporarily hiding posts or locking threads - they can then be unhid or unlocked later when the temperature has cooled or it is decided not to take this action through a majority.  If this is followed then all decisions are shared by the mod team - so someone aggrieved by a decision has to address the whole team and basis of moderation and not the particular moderator who carries out the action.

 

As a general point - DaoBums is moderated by consent - when we become members we are agreeing to this and the mod team members are well meaning volunteers.  This has to be remembered.  Even if a decision is a debatable (I don't mean in this case but generally) then Bums should just take it on the chin and get on with life.  Moaning and personalised attacks is pretty poor behaviour in this context.

[Marblehead]

That "Ignore button" is just bullshit.  No member, not even Sean, is required to read anyone's posts.  If, for example, I was pissed at Chang and didn't want to interact with him for a couple days I would simply over-look all of his posts.  That way I would not be tempted to rebutt anything he said as I wouldn't know what he said.

 

In my mind the "ignore button" is just an ego thing and a way to insult someone without actually insulting them.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Marblehead

[Apech]

That "Ignore button" is just bullshit.  No member, not even Sean, is required to read anyone's posts.  If, for example, I was pissed at Chang and didn't want to interact with him for a couple days I would simply over-look all of his posts.  That way I would not be tempted to rebutt anything he said as I wouldn't know what he said.

 

In my mind the "ignore button" is just an ego thing and a way to insult someone without actually insulting them.

 

 

I didn't read that.  

[Marblehead]

I didn't read that.  

Sometimes the truth just fucking hurts.

[thelerner]

Unless you've been a mod, its hard to understand the time and aggravation the job requires.  Thankfully it also provides a fair amount of camaraderie and humor plus it's nice to give back to the board.  It also exercises the often flabby wisdom muscle and feels good when the board is humming along nicely. 

[Marblehead]

Yeah, that is why I could not turn down the request to be a Steward and now the Welcome Master.  Neither of these positions are contradictory of my Anarchist philosophy.

[Basher]

Zhongyongdaoist wrote:

 

Myself I was raised on a simple motto:

Sticks & Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me !

 

Er...Perhaps........unless those words are "Release The Hounds"....or "Ready, Aim, Fire"  

 

LOL

 

 

99% of the time the Mods / Stewards do a great job that's largely un-noticed, because it's all done "behind the curtain"  to try & keep things running smoothly and seamlessly for the majority of members. But sometimes an event occurs that you guys just cannot fix or ignore. Those tend to be the very ones that attract the most attention. And whilst I might not agree with every single decision you make, I appreciate your best efforts to do the right thing for the greater good. cheers.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

I have spent enough time here and reading about moderation to be familiar with everything mentioned here, but I do not have time to respond in detail to all of the points raised here, but for example, I had thought of the problem of transparency before posting and had already thought that more than one "mod action" account is required and that an account name such as "so and so acting for he mod team" for each moderator with a fair amount of "canned" responses and a as part of the signature, "please don't shoot the messenger, respond through official channels", etc, etc. would help address that problem.  I  can't put any more time into my suggestion, take it and this little note about creative possibilities as my final words on the matter.
 

Unless you've been a mod, its hard to understand the time and aggravation the job requires. Thankfully it also provides a fair amount of camaraderie and humor plus it's nice to give back to the board. It also exercises the often flabby wisdom muscle and feels good when the board is humming along nicely. (Emphasis mine, ZYD)

 
It is also a lot of time and a source of aggravation to spend hours offline writing informative, well written and well researched posts which are the result of decades of study and practices, only to have them  dismissed in a few lines that took minutes to write by some tyro who thinks they know it all, or to be harassed to the point of exhaustion by a spamming nut case with an agenda, but it is a job that, so far at least, I have found worth doing and it is a job worth doing well, and also, it is just as voluntary and unpaid as being a mod.

 

Zhongyongdaoist wrote:

Myself I was raised on a simple motto:
Sticks & Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me !

Er...Perhaps........unless those words are "Release The Hounds"....or "Ready, Aim, Fire"

LOL

I appreciate the humor, but please note that the words themselves would not break my bones, but only any concrete actions taken after the fact. Particularly concrete thrown at me.

 

As I noted above I have spent enough time here reading about moderation to know how much time is spent behind the scenes.  I did not make my suggestion out of the blue or as an idle comment, the result of more time on my hands than I know what to do with, but because I have spent time thinking about these things and am well aware of the issues involved and have spent some "time behind the scenes" thinking about them.

 

And now I have absolutely to take my leave from this topic.  As anyone can see what could have been a simple response has blossomed into several.  Good luck to the administration with whatever use they make of my suggestions.  I hope that it was not a complete waste of my time.

[Apech]

Sometimes the truth just fucking hurts.

 

 

I completely didn't read that!

[RiverSnake]

Ward Off and Roll-back fellas. Wish the Mods the best of luck in 2016.  

[liminal_luke]

I don´t bother with the ignore button. If I ignored everyone who deserved to be ignored, who would I fight with?

[silent thunder]

Perhaps a feature that would substitute the name of the mod with 'moderator' in posts related to mod actions/decisions.  This would not require a second acct to manage and may curtail the personalization of the messge... 

[Junko]

I still have a few scars

It is said "cats have 9 lives". Edited January 24, 2016 by Junko

[Marblehead]

It is said "cats have 9 lifise.

But some skip 1 through 8.