Moderating Suggestions

[Malchik]

I agree with that last point. If something is clear in the opening post it is intensely annoying to get 'where is that?' or 'what do you mean?' posted further down because the poster can't be bothered to read the whole thread.

 

And I don't think we often slam the table thanateros - did I to you? No, I kindly did the work for you (any friend of Peregrine etc.).

 

It may be that very occasionally we jump too hard. I do have human moments (rarely I admit) but I am prepared to apologise if that happens. And as I constantly point out a post can be unlocked if there is a good reason. Yet of all those who complain about wanting to add to locked posts not one has asked me to do it.

 

And I can guess why that is.

 

I have had many PMs complaining about members posts but only one about the actions of another moderators - and only twice about my own.

[ohGr]

i do agree with blackmage on his idea of things been taken too seriously around here, and on my own opinion, ignorance, ive had occasions where im willing to test you mods, by posting the stupidest thing i can possibly think of (necrowizard doesnt count, hes too grim and frostbitten) yet i dont get warned, ive seen the same to others, ive even seen the occasional f word let out, but hey, nothings perfect.

 

on to the seriousness

 

as blackmage has noticed, things always have to be on topic, of slightly off, then it gets steered back by the mods, but peregrine, by pointing out the off topic forums didnt help one bit, im quite sure he was talking about these forums in general, anyway, i too have come across the same thing, i recall in my old forum, we went from talking about war to someones fecal matter that didnt appear in the toilet bowl, and no one cared, it was a laugh and something interesting to talk about (except the poo part), but in the undying words of someone i wouldnt even know of, nor do i, *forgot*

[Peregrine]

Look, nobody's saying you can't have these discussions. Just put them in the right place... and that doesn't include a thread on a completely different topic.

[Malchik]

ive had occasions where im willing to test you mods, by posting the stupidest thing i can possibly think of (necrowizard doesnt count, hes too grim and frostbitten) yet i dont get warned

If it makes you look stupid to everyone on the forum why should we bail you out by deleting it?

[thanateros]

Alright, I retract the literary fist statement, I think the effect wasn't whatt I was aiming for. I guess to clarify I was meaning a response that's stoic and doesn't carry and breath of emotion (though after looking through some threads there deffinitely are people that deserve the direct approach).

 

Don't test the mods, that's just a bad call, they shouldn't have to deal with members taunting them to assert their authority just because you want to make a game out of it. They know what they're doing and prove it day after day. Most of the members here are responsible (most of the time, though we all have our moments of humanity) posters and follow the rules to the extent that the mods don't have to babysit everyone to make the forums an interesting place to post.

 

Also, the fact that the mods are such active members in not only overseeing the productivity of the forums but they themselves make the effort to actively post and be community members as well shows how much they really care about this site.

[ohGr]

ive had occasions where im willing to test you mods, by posting the stupidest thing i can possibly think of (necrowizard doesnt count, hes too grim and frostbitten) yet i dont get warned

If it makes you look stupid to everyone on the forum why should we bail you out by deleting it?

nah i was just being a idiot, its always nice to see people get angry, especially on these forums :lol:

 

but no really...

 

on topic.

 

i suppose we could get rid of a few things

*begins whistling*

like some forums...and uhh...that poety forum.

 

but as for moderating in general...everythings fine.

[Blackmage]

I was actuallyl referring to on-topic off-topic responses. Uhh... if that makes no sense, read the example I set below:

 

 

Dudelar: Hi, I'm new to the forums, where can I find Casius?

 

Seasoned Member: He's in the most north western house in balmora.

 

Other Memeber: Make sure that you know Casius will give you quests and you can only advance higher in the Blades through him.

 

Dudelar: Cool! Are the quests hard?

 

Other Member: Nah, they're not. But you have to be certain lvels to do some of them.

 

And the coversation will continue about Casius and the blades. This can go on for sometime. Now lets add another guy, "OMGnoob"

 

Dudelar: Aw phooey, you ruined the whole ending for me ^^ It's ok though lol.

 

OMGnoob: HI MY NAME IS OMGNOOB AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHERE CASIUS IS 2! MY CAHRARCTER IS LEVEL 50 AND I DONT KNOW HOW TO SOUL TRAP OR TO TRAIN?!?!?! CAN SOME1 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME?!?!?!?!!1121!?!!?!?@?! DID ANYONE SEE AMERICAN IDOL LAST NIGHT!!! OMG CLAY AIKEN IS SO UBER THX!

 

 

 

 

Part one, to me a t least, is perfectly acceptable. The second chunk is where I would start smacking people with a ban stick. :stupid:

 

I just didnt' want you guys thinking that when I said a topic should be allowed to stray a little bit, doesn't mean that I'd like it to go off topic. I used the wrong choice of words before =P

[Malchik]

Well I'm not sure what more we can add, Blackmage. Probably if it was a first post I might say, 'this question has been asked many times before, did you know you have a search button etc, etc' and then add that 'as you are new I'll answer it but please search in future'. However I might lock a post that asked a question asked hundreds of times and clearly visible from a check on the forum. If the dialogue continued about Caius and the Blades I wouldn't worry about it. If it suddenly lurched into 'Which Blades Quest do you find most annoying' or something like that I'd pull it back on topic or delete the post. I wouldn't lock it. I lock if I am requested to by the original poster or if an answered post is attracting nonsense.

 

To follow your example.

 

After the first question and answer we get. (Each one a different poster)

 

'Yeah, that's right.'

 

'You should talk to that guy in the thieves' place - I forgot his name'

 

'His name's Balocco Closus or something like that. He's in that Corner Club.'

 

'Ha ha! My brotther cant spel its Bacola Closius. **** for brains!'

 

'There's a thieves guild in Ald-ruhn, too.'

 

'Yeah, the house you want is in the north west part of Balmora'

 

'Do you know how to get the code book off Sotthilde?'

 

'What do those little bars underneath my avatar mean?'

 

'If you go to the house in the Northwest of Balmora you should find him'

 

'If you can't find him, you can add him with the following console command' etc.

 

And sadly, that is what often happens.

 

Anyway, as I have said more than once, if you want me to re-open a topic, PM me.

 

BTW have you got a brother who posts in these forums?

[Blackmage]

In other words, you'll close the topics that are about as helpful as the NPCs in Morrowind ^^

 

 

Edit: Were you talking to me about the brother thing? Because I sure don't

[Daerk]

Hmmm...

 

Well firstly, due to the harshness of the "Nazi" word in use to connotate the nature of the staff on this forum, I generally give auto-strike's. If used a second time, I generally give auto-ban's.

 

I'll let this post serve as a simple warning, for that specific issue.

 

Secondly, I see a major need to enforce an easier means of moderation for our moderators. A few basic template replies to common thread occurances as well as a few basic template PM's where only a person's name need be changed seems to be in order.

 

So instead of our moderators having to type out a reply each time for the tedious "Proper use of the search function" style of responses, they simply copy/paste from a "blank template" and edit the name as well as a few example keywords. Since it's a template it will be easy to word in a constructive manner that is not so short of temper and verbage.

 

Thirdly, some of the moderators on the MEMod group are moderators only because they're on the MEMod team, and occasionally they make mistakes with what threads to lock and how to properly respond to threads. I'm fixing that problem by giving such responsibilities to a specific group of team members and instructing all team members in the proper flow of moderating authority.

 

Fourthly, I notice that generally it is not the moderator who responds harshly, but rather Forum Vigilante members that do most of the harsh responses, and then a moderator comes along and gives a simple statement and/or lock. So cracking down on forum vigilante activity would benefit the moderator by eliminating some of the authority resistance of some members as well as properly instruct those members that actually care about the forums and are attempting to assist in moderation... however are doing so in such a manner as to cause massive headaches for the moderating staff.

 

I myself am an angsty old goth and tend to chew people's head off rather quickly. This is why I made a specific group to handle Public Relations for MEMod. It takes a lot of effort and discipline for me to respond to something that truly irritates me in such a method as to not absolutely flame their mortal coil in oblivion. However, even I am just a standard everyday "Member" on many forums. And guess what? I follow the forum rules on every forum I'm a member on. I read the forum Terms of Service. I attempt to be a knowledgeable and friendly community member. I tend to try to not bite stupid people when they post.

 

I don't see where the Morrowind Source Forums have any relation whatsoever to a Nazi structure and I don't see where the staff of the MWSrc Forums have a Nazi-esque attitude. Authority is given to individuals who are seen by the Admin as being able to represent the forums and the forum members as well as being able to properly administrate the forum rules. This means that if someone who is not familiar with the Forum Rules crosses over the boundry of a rule, the authority will be properly administered. So to avoid any conflicts, a smart person should become familiar with the Forum Rules and be sure not to cross over them.

 

Morrowind Source Forums have a very very SMALL ban list. Presently only 4 people out of over 30,000 people are banned. There are less than 40 people out of 30,000 members that have "Strikes" on their record. This means that only 0.0013 % (percent) of our members have broken the Forum Rules enough to deserve a Strike. Out of the 3,109 average new member registrations per month, we deliver less than 100 "warnings" each month. Out of the 756.7 average new thread topics each month, we lock less than 70 of them a month (average). Out of the average 7,094 new posts each month we respond using our authority to instruct the poster in less than 300 posts per month average.

 

I fail to see where such a small presence of our forum authority is relational to the Nazi iron boot.

 

-- D