Moderator criteria

manoirdelourde

So, just curious due to the (in my view) overreaction to the RIPDaviesee thread, what are the criteria for being a moderator on this forum?

Are they:
Sense of humour?
Tolerance?
Ability to think for themselves?
Rational thinking?

Was thinking of perhaps applying for the role myself as I have those attributes in abundance.

Please don't ban me for this genuine query.

supersonic

How do you know it was an over reaction? Did you see what he posted? (If indeed you are relating to the banning).

Moderators are discussed amongst the admin, there is no set list of qualities, but we look at a variety of different areas. There are no new posts available currently.

nicklouse

supersonic wrote:

How do you know it was an over reaction? Did you see what he posted?

Moderators are discussed amongst the admin, there is no set list of qualities, but we look at a variety of different areas. There are no new posts available currently.

and the discussions go on and on and on.

manoirdelourde

I didn't see what he posted, so your ban may have been totally valid, however the manner in which it was executed appears to have been badly executed or misguided.

In addition the way the generally lighthearted (but obviously in the moderators view unacceptable) way the RIP thread was dealt with was at best dictatorial, perhaps in a way that would be tolerated in some third world countries, but not in the western world.

The comment by nicklouse 'and the discussions go on and on and on.' appears to indicate a percieved superiority over normal forum members and dismissal of their views. Without the members your forum is nothing. Yes they may need to be kept in line from time to time, but there are possibly better ways to do it. What would your advertisers (either direct or indirect) think of your treatment of the customers they are trying to attract?

The way the BikeRadar Office posts are excluded from the current posts does nothing to help transparency, neither does the way you appear to deal with bans.

You can hide this thread away, and you can ban me if you want to, but I think you have some serious issues to address, not least of which is the attitude of some your moderators.

In this case I think you need to publicly acknowledge that you got it wrong, let daviesee serve his ban and then reinstate him.

Next week I am happy to spend the time to contact every one of your advertisers to get their view of your treatment of their potential customers.

supersonic

You are not going to get banned, warned, or anything else as you have brought up a constructive and useful debate.

As regards to the office hidden section, it is to discuss many matters concerning the forum that we don't not feel are right for the public domain - most forums operate this way, is not unusual. Security issues for one.

The site owners do not even want off topic areas, they would rather we closed them - we put an argument up against this. However, they have to be governed by set rules, and many are being broken and have been dealt with accordingly. I would say the Bottom Bracket is close to being removed permanently as a select few members seem intent on causing disruption. The options are action to keep it open with strict rules and moderating, or remove it.

daviesee has a 7 day ban for what was considered a strict breach of the rules. The thread discussing this was at best full of misguided information, and was closed for those reasons - in addition was against very obvious rules for this area. This is the right place for discussing the matter, and you have in course duly started a discussion which is appreciated.

supersonic

In addition, I agree about the banning procedure - I have many times raised the issue with developers to make the reasons why more transparant, users should be aware why and at the moment the software is not allowing that.

seanoconn

Thanks for your replies on recent events Supersonic.

Just my two penneth worth having witnessed developments.

This all started with a thread containing a swear word in the title in the road section of the forum. A complaint was made and the thread closed. Several less offensive copy cat threads were then also disappeared as well as a couple of threads asking why said threads were closed/disappeared.

It wasn't difficult to work out why the moderating team choose to remove/close the threads and wasn't a big deal in my opinion. Bashing moderators and goading the team with threads you know will be deleted, isn't going to get forum members anywhere. No moderators, no forum. It a tough time consuming job (specially admin) with little or no praise. The owners of the site don't want problems and have no interest in who is banned. Areas of the forum and members causing difficulties will just be removed. We don't want this to happen. Everyone will be out on their bikes this weekend so this should all blow over nicely anyway

On the subject of bans.
I'm not quite sure how it works at present but here's some ideas. A moderator believing an offence by a member merits a ban, will contact the other members of the moderating team and a review will take place (for more balance) before a ban is issued. The banned member will then be contacted, software permitting/ by email, where the nature/reasons of the ban are explained.

Davidesee's ban.
Daviesee posted a thread containing a picture of a lady wearing a bikini top, in the wrong part of the forum. It wasn't done with any malice, but purely for comedic effect. Some of us don't know the forum rules off by heart and this mistake has been made before. Deletion of thread and at most a warning/advice as to where to post such material, would have been the appropriate course of action in this instance. The offence to be labelled a 'strict breach' and the resulting 7 day ban, was it seems an over reaction.

Anyway, it's only a forum Im off out on my bike. Peace out

supersonic

Many bannings are discussed between mods - when they happen, the software asks for a 'reason for ban' and 'reason to be shown for ban'. It is obviously not working and needs updating, and I am pushing heavily for it.

pinno

supersonic wrote:

You are not going to get banned, warned, or anything else as you have brought up a constructive and useful debate.

The site owners do not even want off topic areas, they would rather we closed them - we put an argument up against this. However, they have to be governed by set rules, and many are being broken and have been dealt with accordingly. I would say the Bottom Bracket is close to being removed permanently as a select few members seem intent on causing disruption. The options are action to keep it open with strict rules and moderating, or remove it.

BB was created because of numerous complaints regarding threads such as Girls in knitwear etc and frequent contravention of the rules. Correct me if I am wrong.
Apart from 'The big girls thread' and the rules keeping this thread open, much of the BB content has been a bit off the wall but nothing serious or containing elements that are offensive. If it keeps the mods happy, delete the big girls thread becuase Crudcatcher for example is ecclectic, often hostile and the threads in there are very off topic. You will have a hard job getting anyone in there (CC) to take anything seriously which can be perceived as a clique and very unwelcoming. I don't mind - thats their choice, I have no qualms about CC continuing unchanged, I simply don't post there knowing full well I amy get my fingers burnt.
There seems to be little talk of deleting the Crudcatchter area of the forum so from our perspective, the mods seem to be heavy handed when it comes to BB and there is an inbalance and irregularity in your moderation. 'Commuter Gate' last year saw many people not come back to the forum and this current period of banning could cause yet another exodus of some 'colourful' characters (whether one agrees with them or not, is irrelevant). If the forum becomes over moderated then surely there will be a drain to other sites and that will impact on advertisers etc?

Is Cleat Eastwood serving a ban? and if so why?

Looking forward to a reply.

Stevo_666

I agree with Pinarello001 that I haven't seen particularly offensive in the BB recently. From what I've seen there are two related debates going on:
1. Where the 'line in the sand' should be drawn about what is acceptable or not; and
2. The actions of one particular mod who seems to have rubbed some of the regulars up the wrong way.

Both need addressing IMO as lately the BB seems to be dying on its feet if post count and entertainment value are anything to go by. It'd be a real shame to lose this corner of the road section or to let it die by keeping the lid screwed down too tight.

(PS: Pinarello, disagree about the Crudcatcher. Come in and post, just don't be a complete n0b There are quite a few roadies in there, they just happen to ride MTBs as well and don't wear lycra).

supersonic

pinarello001 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

You are not going to get banned, warned, or anything else as you have brought up a constructive and useful debate.

The site owners do not even want off topic areas, they would rather we closed them - we put an argument up against this. However, they have to be governed by set rules, and many are being broken and have been dealt with accordingly. I would say the Bottom Bracket is close to being removed permanently as a select few members seem intent on causing disruption. The options are action to keep it open with strict rules and moderating, or remove it.

BB was created because of numerous complaints regarding threads such as Girls in knitwear etc and frequent contravention of the rules. Correct me if I am wrong.
Apart from 'The big girls thread' and the rules keeping this thread open, much of the BB content has been a bit off the wall but nothing serious or containing elements that are offensive. If it keeps the mods happy, delete the big girls thread becuase Crudcatcher for example is ecclectic, often hostile and the threads in there are very off topic. You will have a hard job getting anyone in there (CC) to take anything seriously which can be perceived as a clique and very unwelcoming. I don't mind - thats their choice, I have no qualms about CC continuing unchanged, I simply don't post there knowing full well I amy get my fingers burnt.
There seems to be little talk of deleting the Crudcatchter area of the forum so from our perspective, the mods seem to be heavy handed when it comes to BB and there is an inbalance and irregularity in your moderation. 'Commuter Gate' last year saw many people not come back to the forum and this current period of banning could cause yet another exodus of some 'colourful' characters (whether one agrees with them or not, is irrelevant). If the forum becomes over moderated then surely there will be a drain to other sites and that will impact on advertisers etc?

Is Cleat Eastwood serving a ban? and if so why?

Looking forward to a reply.

That was one reason for the BB to be created - but also because of calls for an off topic area where people could post and get sensible replies from the off ie the cakes stop becoming this area.

The CrudCatcher does get many less reported posts than the Bottom Bracket - in fact I can't remember the last time that section had one. The BB certainly seems more 'risque' - but when we were discussing the creation of these areas, the site owners made it clear they did not want any OT areas like this, BB or CC.

It is, as I am sure you understand, a fine line sometimes. I personally see why we need off topic areas, and why some people like to have a more serious (or vulgar, for want of a word) areas for chat, questions or jokes. The rules can appear contradictory, for the simple reason there is always going to be some interpretation of them. Some members do seem to push this though.

Cleat has no current ban!

Yellow Peril

Perhaps it is time to take a look at the moderation of the moderators. Take a look at Nicklouses response above, was there any need for that? Some of his responses to enquiries in Discuss the Website are blunt and unhelpful to say the least particularly regarding enquiries from new members.

arran77

Stevo 666 wrote:

I agree with Pinarello001 that I haven't seen particularly offensive in the BB recently. From what I've seen there are two related debates going on:
1. Where the 'line in the sand' should be drawn about what is acceptable or not; and
2. The actions of one particular mod who seems to have rubbed some of the regulars up the wrong way.

Both need addressing IMO as lately the BB seems to be dying on its feet if post count and entertainment value are anything to go by. It'd be a real shame to lose this corner of the road section or to let it die by keeping the lid screwed down too tight.

(PS: Pinarello, disagree about the Crudcatcher. Come in and post, just don't be a complete n0b There are quite a few roadies in there, they just happen to ride MTBs as well and don't wear lycra).

This seems to be more and more the case now after events over the last couple of months, sad really as there used to be some good harmless banter going on but now people seem uneasy about posting stuff :roll: