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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » GAME: PoTC and Volvo
[LOCKED] [META] [Discussion] abusive moderators
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yoznarf
Guest


 		[META] [Discussion] abusive moderators
I'm sure others have noticed the quite zealous moderators on this site. I fully under stand what they are trying to do, but they take it a bit far. Am I the only one who feels this way, I hope not. The 2 that stand out are that Pheadra chick and the all powerful Giskard.

If a topic has to be locked because someone is breaking one of the Ten Commandments of Unfiction, it sucks to be that guy. They get the old lecture from one of these storm troopers and embarrased by basicaly telling them they are stupid.

Lock the topic, that's fine. That is your right as a moderator of the site. But doing it with some smart-a** comment or posting some silly lock symbol at the end of your post just to get your point across I'm sure is very emotionally damaging to some that post here.

You've asked us to play nice and not offend each other. Why are you not subject to the same rules?

Please everyone who posts on this topic, keep out any personal attacks toward the moderators and lets see if "free" discussion is actually allowed here. Very Happy

PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:08 pm
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		Re: {discussion} abusive moderators
yoznarf wrote:
I'm sure others have noticed the quite zealous moderators on this site. I fully under stand what they are trying to do, but they take it a bit far. Am I the only one who feels this way, I hope not. The 2 that stand out are that Pheadra chick and the all powerful Giskard.


The reason we "stand out," yoznarf, is because if you look at the top of the PotC forum, you'll note that we are the only two moderators for this particular forum.

So, to be brutally frank:

In the short time this game has been running, we've had...

...more violations of the terms of service, more duplicate threads, more people not taking the polite warnings we've given them seriously (to the point where the admins have repeatedly had to step in), more people posting PotC stuff to forums that aren't even related to PotC, and this morning, in what I believe has not happened before in the entire time I have been a member of this community -- actual porn on this forum: not links, but actual, written-out, porn...

...than I've ever seen before.

When I volunteered to moderate this forum, I got private messages expressing sympathy.

Most of you, individually, are nice people. But collectively you amount to something of a handful.

Normally, Unfiction's moderation policy is pretty laissez-faire. Moderators add topic tags, occasionally merge threads, and delete spam. Due to the somewhat rambunctious nature of this forum, however, we've had to be a lot more heavy-handed than we'd like to be. We would love it if we could back off, if this forum would only conduct itself in the same manner the other forums here do.

In case you're unaware, it's a heck of a lot of work to keep this forum readable.

A few other things you might note:

1) We are not paid.
2) We're not even playing this game: we're maintaining this forum solely as a service to the larger community.
3) This is not even technically an ARG.

So, if we get a little snippy when someone posts SEVEN IDENTICAL POSTS, or starts multiple threads all over the forum on the SAME SUBJECT, or starts a flamewar on the mere idea that someone else might be cheating, and we have to spend an hour cleaning up after it, I'm sure you'll understand that:

4) We are only human and have limits to our patience.

All in all, we've tried to be helpful. We've tried to post links to the resources we're telling you to use. Despite your allegations, we have never called anyone stupid (or at least I haven't, and I'm fairly sure Giskard hasn't, either).

If you don't like it, as ever, you are free to go elsewhere.
_________________
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World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:45 pm
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yoznarf
Guest


 		abusive moderators
and where is Giskard, what does he have to say?

PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:15 pm
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AmberJoy
Veteran

Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 140
Location: SW Ontario

 		Re: abusive moderators
yoznarf wrote:
and where is Giskard, what does he have to say?


On the other side of the world, sleeping at the moment.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:17 pm
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Cpt. Jenny Kidd
Veteran

Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 91
Location: New Mexico

 		Re: abusive moderators
AmberJoy wrote:
yoznarf wrote:
and where is Giskard, what does he have to say?


On the other side of the world, sleeping at the moment.


For those of us who are new to this and not techy both moderators are doing a great job. I have been reviewing other blogs/ forums and this is the best of the best . So walk the plank or vist ihe others these two are doing a spank up job.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:12 am
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girlpirate!
Boot

Joined: 28 Jun 2006
Posts: 11
Location: U.S.A.

 		chick???

smart-a**???

EMOTIONALLY DAMAGING??????

you're kidding, right?

I don't wish to be unkind, but if you are complaining about the treatment here maybe you should speak as you wish to be spoken to. Your post is just a teeeeensy bit disrespectful.I have found this to be an informative and friendly site. And if I am doing something the wrong way....or annoying someone, I hope they would let me know so I don't continue.

Just my 2 cents.....(and take it what it's worth, which is around 2 cents) Rolling Eyes

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:27 am
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capt. jac
Greenhorn

Joined: 30 Jun 2006
Posts: 4

 		abusive moderators
I agree with girlpirate. Your post should have been called Abuse of Moderators not Abusive Moderators. Our moderators are doing an excellent job keeping our forum for us! Have you been to Volvo's site? It gets quite annoying and disruptive when it gets out of hand! In order for this board to work right our Moderators have to keep us in line as many don't seem to care about reading the guidelines. (BTW: I read them, but this is my first post here and I do apologize if I make any posting mistakes.) Not to mention that the things posted here are supposed to be on the topic of the Hunt. I'm not real sure how abusing our moderators falls into that. But I'm more than sure that our moderators can take constructive criticism when and if ever warranted, but I fail to see where this blatant abuse qualifies. Our moderators may not shut this topic down, but I certainly hope the SA does. This is an excellent forum and I have been following it from the beginning of the Hunt, but I could not sit by and not comment on your complete and utter disrespect of it. It's a shame that this is what my first post on this forum had to be about.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:50 am
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jamesi
Sentient Being


Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 2195
Location: Canadia

 		As far as I'm concerned, if you don't like playing in a particular area, then move away from the area. No one is forcing you to play your game (and games are supposed to be fun, no?) here.

Those moderators, in particular, do an upstanding job of keeping this site running within the clearly stated regulations of the TOS agreement.

As far as any conception of inappropriate commentary (or 'silly lock symbols'), I think it's clear that you don't need to have too thick of skin to hang out here. Whenever I come across a comment that seems out-of-palce or insulting on the Internet, I always try to err on the side of it being a good-natured positive thought. I wholly believe that you have miscontrued the intentions of the moderators who choose to offer comments and use 'smilies'.

In the future, instead of making a grand public statement about how much you don't agree with the actions of the volunteers who do their best to keep things organized and civil, why don't you simply contact an adminstrator (Hi!) and voice your opinion to them? This is a bit overdramatic, and judging by the resulting replies, contrary to the overall impression of the moderation here.

Have a great day.
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:02 am
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girlpirate!
Boot

Joined: 28 Jun 2006
Posts: 11
Location: U.S.A.

 		And on that happy note let's lighten the mood with a pirate joke:

A Pirate walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "Hey, did you know you had a steering wheel in your pants?"
The Pirate responds:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Arrrrrrr, It's driving me nuts."

Laughing Aye!! sometimes I crack me-self up!!!

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:14 am
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Giskard
Sassypants


Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 2066
Location: Chicago

 		Re: abusive moderators
yoznarf wrote:
and where is Giskard, what does he have to say?


Not much more than already has been said. I'm sorry you feel this way... as far as I know, I have never called anyone stupid while moderating this forum, but if I have insulted people or "emotionally damaged" them, they should feel free to PM me so we can talk about it.

The style of moderation shown in this forum is not how we generally tend to do things on unFiction, but the manner of posting that is shown here thus far has forced us to be quite harsh in our approach, or the forum would quickly become completely clogged-up and unreadable (and unsearchable) for everyone. There are several other (sub)forums on unFiction you may check to see that this style of moderation is absolutely unnecessary when the posters follow the few guidelines we ask them to abide to, and things can stay a lot more friendly for all.

Oh, one thing though, I used the "dancing lock" icon somewhere yesterday, not to "get my point across" but in an attempt to make things not look too serious/heavy. I can more or less see what your getting at with your remark though, and will keep it in mind next time.
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"They never tell you truth is subjective, they only tell you not to lie." -- Gary Jules

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 4:43 am
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		/me thanks everyone for their kind words...and passes out the bribe money. Wink

/me opens up the Internet Survival Toolkit and takes out a tub of Thick Skin (TM) and sets it in the middle of the room next to a cask of spiced rum, for everyone to partake of and enjoy, free of charge.

In my never-ending quest to provide everyone with helpful information, however, let me second what Jamesi said:

If you have comments or complaints about how this forum (or for that matter, any forum here at Unfiction) is being moderated, you can either post about it in the General Administration forum, or contact a site admin.

The site admins are:

Spacebass (male)
ScarpeGrosse (female)
Jamesi (male)
Gupfee (female)

And for a lightning round of Unfiction trivia, some of our more esoteric smilies/symbols explained, so no one thinks they're being insulted/mocked/whatever when they're not:

Locky! -- The dancing lock can be used by non-moderators/admins to request that moderators or admins lock a thread. When moderators or admins post to announce that they are locking a thread, they often include the dancing lock just as a visual representation.

Flaming Nutter -- The flaming bicyclist (also known as cyclotouriste or the flaming nutter) is used to respectfully indicate that you believe someone is overreacting. A lot. The icon is derived from a guy on another forum who overreacted so profoundly and wackily that he was immediately vaulted into near-legendary status. The story is retold here with the profanity replaced by smilies to protect everyone's delicate virgin eyes. Wink

Trout -- "Trout" is how we describe posts containing information that has already been discussed elsewhere. Trout is a term of respect, not a flame. Or, in the words of the person who coined the term:

Dan Fabulich wrote:
When I say "trout" to you, I don't simply mean the fish, I mean to say to you: "Listen. I respect you. It's great that you're here and posting and that we're working together for a common goal. Nonetheless, I have some polite criticisms."


Basically, trout is used to say, "Yes, that's a valid point/observation/piece of information, but we have already discussed it here." When trouting, one should link to the place where it's already been discussed.

For more information on trout, as it's probably the most frequently misunderstood term at UF, please see the glossary entry.

Foily! -- Foily (a smiley wearing a tinfoil hat) is used to humorously indicate that something is paranoid/conspiracy theory-worthy/completely unsubstantiated. It is often used by the poster who is suggesting the theory as a self-deprecating way of acknowledging its wackiness.

Okay, I think all our other icons are fairly consistent with other forums'...
_________________
Voted Most Likely to Thread-Jack and Most Patient Explainer in the ILoveBees Awards.

World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 11:28 am
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Have Faith
Boot

Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
Location: Montana

 		Thanks to Phaedra and Giskard for moderating the Volvo forum
Thanks to Phaedra and Giskard for moderating the Volvo forum. Thank you to Phaedra for the explanation of the dancing lock, the trout, and the other rules. I am new to unForum, so I am still learning how you do things. I will say that I am somewhat offended by certain signature quotes and personal pictures in this forum. I won't say whose they are, but everyone should think twice before picking a signature quote or identity picture. They should consider whether their picture or quote might be offensive, insulting, or annoying to some people. Most people in this forum are nice. Thanks to all of you who helped me.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 2:22 am
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addlepated
Unfictologist


Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 1885
Location: Austin, Texas

 		Have Faith, if you've encountered an offensive avatar or sig line, please contact a moderator or admin with your concerns. Smile
_________________
Give a man a match, and he is warm for a night. Light a man on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:14 am
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rose
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117

 		moderators
I've read thousands of posts on this forum over the years and this is the only the second one that truly shocked me. These moderators are basically saving the collective sanity of every user of this sub-forum - those playing the game and those just observing- by maintaining order and demanding people treat others with respect. Trying to bring order to a group of people, many of whom seem to have no experience with posting to a forum at all - much less in posting in a way that is useful for themselves and others- is a huge (and relatively thankless) task. I can understand new users may not understand some of the posting policies and terminology in use here. But, to accuse the moderators of abusively causing emotional distress is a completely groundless attack on their ability and integrity.

This contest had its own subforum created on this board because the original uberlong thread was causing forum shut-down, similar to that caused by the brief but hectic Eon8 adventure . When the subforum was created, the moderators were chosen. Other people have mentioned in this thread that these moderators are volunteers, as are the all the moderators and administrators of unfiction. These moderators and administrators are busy people with demanding jobs and personal obligations yet they choose to help the community by volunteering to to moderate and administer this board. That being said, I have not seen them be unprofessional in any way.

The whole forum is open free of charge to anyone who wants to participate, subject only to the constraints of the TOS. So, basically, all of us users get a free ride and are welcome to it. (although there is that box for donations at the bottom of the page for anyone interested in contributing Wink ) This community is based on supportive and spirited collaboration, the confluence of a vast array of talents, and the generosity of spirit, time and resources of many people. I think these moderators exemplify the traits of this community.

As for:
Quote:
Please everyone who posts on this topic, keep out any personal attacks toward the moderators and lets see if "free" discussion is actually allowed here.


I'm not sure why you are interested in testing the integrity of this community and from your posts it seems you may possibly have made up your mind already. Nonetheless, in my experience, the only limit on discussions here are relevance to the topic at hand and good manners in respect for the view points of others, even though you may passionately disagree with them.
_________________
I love this site for being free, in every sense of the word~Spacebass

Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 4:14 am
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StJude
Guest


 		Please forgive me -- I thought that i had submitted a post on the miscellaneous thread about the dotted line, and to my horror it is a new thread, which this topic certainly does NOT need.

You all are incredibly tolerant of us interlopers, and I am so sorry , please do whatever you must; will walk plank if necessary. You are also really amusing.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:24 pm
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