BLOG PIECE: Nexus moderation system overhaul, etiquette and ethos

[Chesko]

Good stuff all around, but I have a concern with the following:

 

All recognised mod authors (those authors who have 1,000 unique downloads and are able to access the mod author private forums) will now be able to hide posts that have been made in their own file comments. When an author hides a comment the content of the post will be fully hidden (with no option to see the original content) and the text will be changed to read “The author of this file has requested this comment be checked by our moderation team and it is currently awaiting moderator review”. It will then be sent to a moderation pool. Moderators will be able to login to this page and see all the posts that have been hidden by mod authors and are awaiting review. At this point the moderation team will assess whether the mod author was justified in removing the comment.

 

As the author of some rather complex mods, information management is probably my biggest day-to-day challenge. Every now and again, someone will post something regarding compatibility, steps to resolve a problem, and so on. Which is great, and they mean well when they do it, but the information is flat-out incorrect and could be destructive advice that may end up costing me even more time correcting the issues that come up from people who might follow that person's advice. In these kinds of cases, I would prefer to be able to hide their post (and explain why I hid it), but I don't necessarily want to get them in trouble. I could just post, "no, no, that's not right", but that crap information is still hanging out there and will still be hit upon by search queries. Many times, people post, "Your mod is INCOMPATIBLE with XYZ, when are you going to FIX THAT?" And the truth is that it's already compatible, or never was incompatible in the first place, and that information is already clearly stated on my front page for all to see. I don't want to get the user into trouble; it's very, very likely that they just didn't know any better. But at the same time, I don't want a bunch of fear, uncertainty, and doubt being propagated on my comment threads with no way for me to actively prevent it.

 

Another (very frequent) occurrence is people just not following procedure. My front pages have a very clear set of bug resolution steps, which includes filling out a bug report form. A lot of people don't do this and post in the comments still wanting help. I routinely hide these kinds of posts as a slap on the wrist, "read the front page next time and follow instructions". Again, I don't really desire for these kinds of posts to be brought to moderator attention, unless you're saying that not following my own personal protocols is grounds for a warning on the site as a whole. If this goes into effect, the best I will do is be able to sternly warn them not to do that again, which effectively neuters my own personal moderating power for all but site-wide offenses. That increases my own overhead and page clutter in general, with a never-ending cycle of me repeating "don't do that" ad nausem. This increases comment "noise" in general. I have always strived to be a very, very responsive mod author, and under this system it seems like my options are either to ignore them (something I've always tried to avoid) or just add to the noise myself.

 

I would like the option to hide a post, but not in such a way that I want to get someone in trouble. I'm sorry if that option isn't possible within the current framework, but the way you've worded this really concerns me. Please let me know if I'm reading into this wrong, or if there are any plans to have separate "hide, no report" and "hide, report" options. Perhaps "hide, no report" comments could still be clicked upon by anyone to show them, but they wouldn't be shown by default and they wouldn't show up in search queries. Thanks for any insight and clarification.

Edited November 20, 2012 by Chesko

[Wasbunny]

Great moderation system Dark0ne. Endorsed!

[BOBONATOR2]

Fantastic post as usual, will love the forthcoming system.

[kichigaikikyokagome]

I read a post the other day right on the front page that basically said that stealing content from other modders is not a "legal" issue, and that anything put up on the internet is fair game. This got an eye-brow raise out of me. I wonder how that person got through highschool... or maybe he/she didn't, seeing as he/she doesn't understand the crime called plagiarism. I'm betting he copied his school papers from the internet, and perhaps even got expelled for it.

 

Anyway, lets be real. When it comes down to it, you are NOT anonymous on the internet. Just like in real life, you're a stranger everywhere unless you're with the handful of people you know in this world. That doesn't mean you act a fool around other strangers (I hope). And yes, it IS possible to track your real identity with IP logging and more, especially if you draw federal attention by admitting you stole something. Especially as the government locks down more and more on the internet. If only for that reason, its time to start behaving before you end up crossing the law.

 

(This coming from someone who knows a couple people who went to federal prison for trolling websites)

Edited November 20, 2012 by kichigaikikyokagome

[BlackRampage]

Will the mod author comment moderation tools only be available for the original uploader of a mod?

 

I'm asking because many mods aren't just made, handled and kept up to date by the uploader, but also by others who have been granted editing access to a mod because they co-authored a mod.

[White_Knuckle]

First I would like to say I am a member of very few sites on the internet, and I use even fewer forums. I log on here daily check out the new mods, use a few and endorse the ones I like, and just pass by if I don't like the content and don't want to use them. I don't usually leave comments, and as I said just endorse the ones I use.

So here's the thing. This stuff is "exactly" why I paid my money and became a premium member!! You don't like, ........ go elsewhere. Thanks Dark0ne.

Regards, WhiteKnuckle

[Wadarkhu]

I'm not a fan of the strict moderation, I've been kicked due to such things as linking YouTube daily funnies, or calling a mod 'poopy' in chat. But seeing the comments here, I must be a minority, and therefore will hold my piece. (Figuratively, obviously.)

 

I don't know if moderation policy has anything to do with it, but it is a shame I can't get all of my mods from Nexus.

 

Atleast you can't be blamed for the lack of effort. Cheers.

[Ragora]

I read a post the other day right on the front page that basically said that stealing content from other modders is not a "legal" issue, and that anything put up on the internet is fair game. This got an eye-brow raise out of me. I wonder how that person got through highschool... or maybe he/she didn't, seeing as he/she doesn't understand the crime called plagiarism. I'm betting he copied his school papers from the internet, and perhaps even got expelled for it.

 

Plagiarism isn't a crime, it's a moral issue. It's against school rules, of course, but there is nothing illegal about plagiarism in itself. Of course, if the thing being plagiarized is copyrighted, then you can run into copyright infringement, which is illegal. I imagine the post you read was probably implying that stealing content from modders was the same sort of issue. Though, I don't know how correct they would be in that assertion.

[JediDragoon]

Glad Dark0ne explained all this to ppl so they think twice before posting stupid stuff to get them possibly banned.

 

As a devoted Nexus member seeing ppl troll or hate on mod authors or other users, or admitting to piracy is unacceptable and is right to be dealt with moderation

[hector530]

read?! lol you overestimate the majority of the internet we read NOTHING and complain about EVERYTHING.