As our community continues to grow and welcome more passionate members, we want to make sure everyone enjoys the best possible experience on the forum. Our moderators play a key role in keeping discussions friendly, informative, and helpful — and we’re thrilled to have @PrinterMcgee join the team alongside @JonRaymond to help us do that.
We’ll continue to recruit new moderators when needed, and we’d like to extend a huge thank-you to every forum member for making this community what it is today!
Moderating this forum is no easy job and can overwhelm the existing moderation resource. This is a much needed addition to the moderator team.
Along with more moderators, the currrent report system can use some tweaks to make it easier for the moderators to do their job, and to provide on-time fair resolutions.
I posted the following suggestions on another thread (that is now taken down) before. But it was amid hundreds of posts and might not be noticed. I am posting it here one more time since it is related to this thread.
In addition to the categories of reasons for the reporter to check, provide a text box and make it mandatory for the reporter to write out specific reason(s), ie. why does the reporter believe the post violates the rule.
Have a text reminding the reporter to include all the points since one user cannnot report the same post twice. This is to prevent the same user from flagging the post again after the first flagging is declinded. This is similar to the Double Jeopardy Clause that prohibits prosecution of the same alleged crime twice.
The reason(s) cited by the reporter(s) should be included in the notice to the poster, who can then edit the post, or provide clarification ,or rebut to each of the points and decline to edit the post. Moderator can then decide whether or not the post should be hidden or removed based on the arguments of both sides.
Having the reporter write out specific reason(s) can help speed up the process. It helps the moderator to understand the views of the reporter without haviing to guess, as not every situation is black and white and easy to see.
It gives the poster specific views of the reporter(s) so they can have something to respond to, right on the first response to the system notice.
If possbile, have a moderator do a quick review of the flag. If the rule violation is obvious, then hide the post immediately and send the notice to the poster. If it has room for different interpretations, then don’t hide the post and let the poster have 24 hours to respond. Have a note next to the post indicating that it has been flagged by community and viewers are advised to use discretion when viewing.
This will prevent abuse of the system that a flag from anyone without the need to privide any explanation can trigger the post to be hidden automatically.
It will prevent the potential scenario that one member can attack another member personally, then the same member or another member having the same view flag blocking the response from the member who is being attacked. Even if the member under attack successfully appeals, it can be many hours or may be even days later. By that time, the conversation has moved on and the thread can be burried deep under, thus effectively giving the attacking member a free strike of personal attack. The attacker(s) will be emboldened to do it again to the same user and others in the future.
Good choice! I just hope it doesn’t get in the way of @PrinterMcgee 's regular posts. I’ve greatly enjoyed his thoughts on speculative matters as well as his refined sense of humor.
Thank you for those kind words. My previous posting ratio was 60% helpful, 30% humorous and 10% rants/pointless… As a moderator I’m committed to elevating my standards to 70% helpful, 28% humorous and 2% rants/pointless.
It’s up to the reader to determine which of those last two categories this post falls in to.
Thank you, I’ve enjoyed our talks too. I might take you up on that as it sounds better than my current coping strategy of crying alone in my car behind the abandoned Kmart.
Well then that’s what you shall have. Also, shame on you and Malc for still having Halloween avatars up, we’re several hours in to the Thanksgiving season!
Big congrats to PrinterMcgee! I’m barely ever active on the forums here but the few times I have been, months ago, PrinterMcgee was immediately helpful and super friendly! Always sticks out in my memory!
Congrats