Sure they are human. Just like all of us, they can make mistakes. The job of moderating is likely more difficult than non-moderators can imagine.
But to what standard should they be held to, by either the community or administration?
In most fields of endeavor, where the judgment of others is a component, aren't decisions rendered expected to be based on standards and not the judge's emotional frailties, wavering mood, menses cycles, bi-polar tendencies, or soberness?
Generally the term "professional" is used to describe one's ability to keep one's own rational thoughts and decisions from being affected by one's own lack of emotional intelligence.
On a board like this—where the topics are about what the majority of adults would consider immoral, illegal, prurient, and of the lowest and most vulgar nature—is it unreasonable for us to expect moderating to be handled evenly, consistently, without personal preference, and to the stated standards?
Should we expect a job well done? Should we expect consistency from one moderator to another? Or even from a single moderator over time?
Should we even have an opinion about it? Or post our thoughts on the matter?
Are we setting ourselves up for disappointment if we believe professionalism might take place?
Or should we just accept the fact that someone in that position of responsibility may be incompetent?
Should we expect their humanness to get in the way? Like if they were just having a bad day — hemorrhoids are flaring, yeast infection has overtaken their mouth , they’re struggling with their latent homosexuality, and so forth — is it ok that they make an obviously personal attack of a poster, or just do something so shithead dumb it makes you go hmmmm?
Or should we just be happy and content with whatever they do because of the huge load of shit they have to deal with that me never ever get to see?.
Since they volunteer for the job, and only get free membership as restitution (big whoop), you get what you get. If you don't like how they operate, put in to be one yourself. If you don't qualify, grin and bear it.
I believe they do a good enough job, and the only thing I see which some might complain about is that they also post and express their opinions. Fuck it, good for them. These boards need posters of all viewpoints and attitudes to make them interesting. Fuck, if everyone shared my opinion, or yours, or any other person out there, this would quickly become the blandest place to discuss the spiciest subject of life.
Besides, they can't be that bad, they let you post a what amounts to a slap of the face to them, while waiting for others to respond before they (if they do) join in...
In terms of prioritizing what things should be fixed about the various boards, I'd say the mods are low on the list. I'd find another hill to shed blood on.
at least in my opinion, it's part of a mod's job to keep the board fun, deliver an occasional reality check and be able to have fun themselves. Why else would they do it?
This board and this hobby are no different than any other aspect of life- it is what we make of it.
The way we conduct ourselves pretty much determines the quality of our experience, whether it be with the ladies we see or the way we people respond to us on the discussion boards.
Frankly, some people will always be pigs, and some people will behave like gentlemen. The pigs only know how to behave like pigs, and when their numbers get too large, the gentlemen are left with two choices- go or stay. But you've got to remember, there are people from all walks of life, ages and experience levels here, and they come from all over North America. So no single standard is ever going to exist as to what's acceptable and it's impossible to make everyone happy.
Just like in the real world, there will always be some people you like and some that just rub you the wrong way. And lacking the dynamics of a personal interaction, the internet seems to amplify the ability of some people to come across as assholes, even if they might be OK in real life. I suspect some of my friends could even post on TER and manage to piss me off if I didn't know who they were beforehand.
The other thing to keep in mind is that we can only be responsible for our own behavior on an open forum like this and can't dictate terms just because we don't like the way the online community behaves as a whole.
I can understand your frustration at times, because I think most of us have had our buttons pushed, and sometimes it's deliberate and personal. I try to keep my posts either informative or humorous, but I can't control the behavior of others that also want to post here, even if I occasionally wish I had a key on my computer that could make them disappear.
Clearly, some people have different reasons for posting here than I do, and those include deliberately provoking conflicts. I personally put those posters in the same category of human refuse that spend their time writing computer viruses. Based on your post, your tolerance for these types of posters is obviously lower than the moderators, and that's the source of your frustration.
But it isn't mandatory that we be here, and we all have free will, so we get to decide whether we stay and participate, or vote with out feet and leave. I've done both over the years. I've reached my limit twice in the last 11 years. Both times I left for about two years.
If you decide to stay, you also have two choices- either try to elevate the quality of the discussion through your participation, or just accept it for what it is, knowing that it might piss you off as often as it entertains you. Again, it's our choice but we've got to remember that it's not our site or discussion board, so we don't get to call the shots. We may be encouraged to post here, but we do so at the pleasure of TER management.
As for the moderators, I can only assume they reflect the values and attitudes of TER management, or else they'd be relieved of their responsibilities. So if they don't conduct themselves the way you or others like, then it's highly unlikely that complaining about them (especially on their own boards) is going to affect much change.
Could things be better and run more professionally? Of course they could. Would I run things differently? Absolutely. And I'd start by simply enforcing the paragraph at the top of this page. But unless TER management decides they want to change the tone of the boards, it's highly unlikely anything will change by complaining about it. In fact, from what I've seen, it seems to have the opposite effect.
Oh, and if I were king, I'd fix all the schools so people could spell, and not post things that were unreadable. I'd make them read a book so they wouldn't be intimidated by multi-sylabic words. I'd teach them logic so they could express an idea without resorting to name calling or crazy-straw logic. And I'd generally educate them enough so as to not make fools of themselves on public forums by showing to the entire world how little they've managed to learn in life. But until that day comes, you're stuck withe me and me with you. Take it or leave it.
I completely agree with your not often heard statement "I suspect some of my friends could even post on TER and manage to piss me off if I didn't know who they were beforehand."
Discussion boards are like that. On one hand you can get an idea of what a person is like from their comments, but on the other hand, the blanks that our mind fills in may lead us to a relatively incorrect vision and understanding of who that person really is.
then I think we have asked alot. They do spend their time here to better the community the best they can. Each moderator has his own idea about sensorship and how much is good. None of us like everyone so putting your personal self apart from your duty can be challenging. If we don't want to read someone's post we pass it by put the moderator is stuck.
I think the volunteer aspect of moderating (3 hours plus daily) is a strong indicator of support for the idea "They do spend their time here to better the community."
. . . and I'm not sure where it's coming from but you most certainly have an agenda against the a moderator or two. Your anger is thinly veiled. Well, not even thinly, reading your rant again. It starts off as being a question, then it becomes quite insulting, as statements like "struggling with their latent homosexuality". But hey, this is America! You're entitled to your opinion!
For the most part I have found the moderators to be fair. True, sometimes they own personal feelings or a bad temper may be a part of a response to a thread, but as long as they are upholding the guidelines that are set up by the TER gods, it's fine by me. It's not easy to be completely black and white about a lot of things, it's not like being an umpire at a baseball game, and think of all the mistakes THEY make. It can be quite subjective. We are only human.
I think the moderator's job is to just keep the boards from going into total chaos, keeping the posts in line with the topics as started by the original post, and keeping crazy posters at bay to not fill the boards with utter nonsense which is distracting and a disservice to all the members of TER. I respect the moderators and I have never had an issue with them.
Since they get paid nothing (other than free VIP) and are expected to spend a fair amount of time here I think we are getting a bargain regardless of how "professional" they may or may not be.
This place is what it is. Trying to hold volunteer labor to some sort of exacting standards is a waste of time.
Volunteer or not, I feel that anyone who signs up for a job should be held to fulfilling the duties as if they were paid. I've been involved with several volunteer groups and that always made me crazy. Or maybe I'm just crazy to start with.
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