GateWorld overly moderated, perhaps?

[TheHomegaMan]

I've been around for a few months now, and I've noticed that the GW forums are moderated far more heavily than other forums. See the threads in this area that are locked and a mod saying something along the lines of "the question has been answered... LOCKED" or something similar. Or you can look in the current season areas, where Darren has a tendency to cut any non-episode thread that has a bit of discussion about an episode by locking it and shifting their attention over there. Then there's the fact that there are numerous instances of mods having to step in to change thread titles and fix spoiler issues (bear with me, mods, I know this isn't your fault). To top it all off, there are numerous rules that ought to be covered by simple common sense and decency. I mean hell, I got a PM from David today about my old sig image being too big, although I hadn't heard a single complaint. I guess it was a tad bit annoying in its size (and, upon review of the FAQ, too big), but wasn't Steve larger than life in his own right?

Mods and crew, I know you're only doing your job. Nobody's disputing that. But perhaps you don't need to put on the mod hat as often as you've been doing in the past?

I guess what I'm getting at is the fact that there is what I call Active Moderation at work, wherein the mods step in and fix things automatically, as opposed to Passive Moderation, where mods step in to fix issues at the request of posters/Darren/David/whoever. I've seen less strict rules on boards that work just fine with Passive Moderation. Can anyone explain why things are so strict around here? Did you try a more laid-back approach in the past? Anyone?

Bring on the bad reputation and flames, baby, I'm wearing an asbestos suit!

[Jafana]

I've been around for a few months now, and I've noticed that the GW forums are moderated far more heavily than other forums. See the threads in this area that are locked and a mod saying something along the lines of "the question has been answered... LOCKED" or something similar. Or you can look in the current season areas, where Darren has a tendency to cut any non-episode thread that has a bit of discussion about an episode by locking it and shifting their attention over there.

This has been discussed by the mods and by D & D a couple of times.
The locking of threads and merging them is to keep the forum as user friendly as possible. With too many threads talking about exactly the same thing, it can get confusing, messy and really quite hard to distinguish what you would actually like to read and what you want to avoid.
I have no problem with the mods locking or merging threads. Anything that makes my life easier (which is what these actions do) is all good.

Then there's the fact that there are numerous instances of mods having to step in to change thread titles and fix spoiler issues (bear with me, mods, I know this isn't your fault).

Forgive me if I've missed something here, but isn't that one of the main points in a Mod's job description? Without them to do this stuff, there would be massive spoilers in thread titles, typos, and just plain inappropriate threads hanging about.

To top it all off, there are numerous rules that ought to be covered by simple common sense and decency. I mean hell, I got a PM from David today about my old sig image being too big, although I hadn't heard a single complaint. I guess it was a tad bit annoying in its size (and, upon review of the FAQ, too big), but wasn't Steve larger than life in his own right?

To use a cliche Common sense is not really very common.
You HAVE to put down in writing all those rules and announcements, otherwise there would be virtual chaos. Even with those rules written in the Forum Rules area, and the announcements, people don't get it right. (Thus, the necessity of the mods )
As for the sig pics - there are rules for them because with so many people with pics in their sigs, it begins to be quite a bulky download for each page if everyone has massive pics.
Keeping them to a minimum is common courtesy - something that, if I read your post correctly you expect every one else to have?

Mods and crew, I know you're only doing your job. Nobody's disputing that. But perhaps you don't need to put on the mod hat as often as you've been doing in the past?

I guess what I'm getting at is the fact that there is what I call Active Moderation at work, wherein the mods step in and fix things automatically, as opposed to Passive Moderation, where mods step in to fix issues at the request of posters/Darren/David/whoever. I've seen less strict rules on boards that work just fine with Passive Moderation. Can anyone explain why things are so strict around here? Did you try a more laid-back approach in the past? Anyone?

The reason (I'm assuming, correct me please if I'm wrong) D&D recruited the mods in the first place is so that everything wasn't left up to just the two of them. Thus, they have the time to do all the fancy stuff that they do on Gateworld.
I don't believe that GW forum is strict at all. Like you said, the rules are based upon common courtesy, common sence and decency. Thus, it should be easy enough for most people to follow them.

Bring on the bad reputation and flames, baby, I'm wearing an asbestos suit!

Ahh see, thats where you're wrong - all the rules of the forum prevent this sort of thing from happening (or rather, that's what they're designed for.) flamers are quickly stopped, and other posters are free to post their opinions without the fear that they'll be flamed.

I think you're taking the rules far more harshly then they're intended. GW is designed to be a happy, easy place to discuss SG and Atlantis without the fear of being persecuted for your opinion.
I thoroughly believe that it's due to the original vision that D&D had, and more importantly to the job the mods so painstakingly do every single day.
I don't know about you, but I would hate to be a mod. I don't envy them in the least. But it's due to them we have such a great place to excape to from reality.

[Major Clanger]

I guess it was a tad bit annoying in its size (and, upon review of the FAQ, too big), but wasn't Steve larger than life in his own right?

There is a perfectly good reason for the restriction of size: they take up too much room. Plus, there are still people accessing this forum via dial-up and it can really eat into their time (and money) if they have to wait for a load of pics to load.

Mods and crew, I know you're only doing your job. Nobody's disputing that. But perhaps you don't need to put on the mod hat as often as you've been doing in the past?

I guess what I'm getting at is the fact that there is what I call Active Moderation at work, wherein the mods step in and fix things automatically, as opposed to Passive Moderation, where mods step in to fix issues at the request of posters/Darren/David/whoever. I've seen less strict rules on boards that work just fine with Passive Moderation. Can anyone explain why things are so strict around here? Did you try a more laid-back approach in the past? Anyone?

Well, if I had a Euro for every poster who thinks this place is over-moderated... I'd be rich. If I then got a Euro for every poster who thinks the mods sit on the sofa with their feet up, eating bon-bons and watching Stargate DVDs while the Forum goes up in flames... I'd be doubly rich.

We have very few rules here - and you'll probably have noticed that the ones we do have cover basic politeness and decency. Spoilers are not fair to the people who can't see the show on the first run in the States (or in the UK when that sometimes happens) it is only friendly to your fellow Stargate fans not to spoil the show for them.

This includes thread titles, as you've pointed out. Together we have developed a really nifty way of hiding spoilers - and most people are using it. That's good.

Generally the rules about size of pics has been covered up there ^^

The most important rule, however, is that of not making personal attacks or otherwise nasty comments about real people. This includes (but is not restricted to) the actors on the show and other posters. We all feel very strongly about this, and you're right: the mods can be ruthless about this. That's what we're paid for.

Basically, you'll notice that it is not "playground rules" it is more a code of practice that you would observe in a social situation in RL.

That is what makes the GateWorld forum a nice place to discuss Stargate, Atlantis, other sci-fi and the colour of your favourite M&M without having to worry that you will be personally attacked.

And we'd like to keep it that way.

Was this any help?

MajorClanger
GateWorld Moderator

PS: have you ever been to an unmoderated forum? Or a really really over moderated forum? There are a few around, and I can promise you, GW comes nowhere near either of those types of place.

edited to add:
Sorry, forgot to cover something else that can seem baffling.

As you know this forum hangs onto the GateWorld website. Each of the ep synopses there is connected to a discussion here about that ep. There are many people who go to the website, then come to the forum to see what people have said about the ep: they do this directly from the website synopsis and land at the beginning of the discussion.

If there is an "alternative" discussion going on somewhere else, they may not see that - so we like to help things along by putting all ep specific discussions into the one conversation.

Also, there are now 8 seasons of Stargate eps - can you imagine how difficult it is to find a specific conversation if there are threads (often with duplicated comments) opening all over the place willy-nilly?

You may notice that sometimes a newbie, without realising it, will open a thread about a topic that (unbeknown to them) is a hot topic, or something that has been discussed every year for the past 8 years... sometimes asking a perfectly good question, that has been answered well and exhaustively. Again, we don't want people to be annoyed and exasperated here, we want them to have fun, and we want people to have their questions answered too. So we redirect them.

Sorry, this did ramble, but it's a topic that comes up often (probably I could find you umpteen previous threads about it....) so a complete answer is useful.

[Iskandra]

I've got to say I really *like* the way this forum is moderated...I've been around quite a bit since the early 1990s and I've seen A LOT of forums
Unmoderated or very laid-back moderated forums tend to annoy me after a month. It's more like a jungle than a forum, and just no fun at all....and we *do* have a lot of OT stuff going on here, it's not *over* moderated (I've also seen that...those are the forums that kind of die very soon)

So, dear moderators: Keep on doing your thing! I know the kind of job, and I wouldn't want to do it again (I'm moderator myself at two other places)

[Teal'c]

Sometimes I feel it's undermodded, since spammy back-and-forth conversations can break out a lot *stares at culprits*

[Major Fischer]

From a semi-professional point of view...

I'm a disciplinary sysop on one of the largest non-profit chat based role playing sites on the web, and I have a great deal of respect for the way GateWorld is modded. They keep threads (mainly) on task, and civil. I hardly think that most undermodded or unmodded forums on the net are shinning examples of human behavior.

[Crazedwraith]

*CW takes deep breath*

Muahahaahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

OVER MODED?

GW mods a pretty lax. We have long pointless conversations and loads of pure spam! You try being somewhere Like SD.Net. now theres some fair but not excatly lax mods.

[Replicarter]

Also, mods have a life out of moding, so they are going to be here posting, so they are still users to, so if they see a problem there going to fix it them selvs.

[DJFavorite]

I just want to say thanks to the Mods for doing the job they do. I think the GW forum is trying to find a good balance between the extremes and are doing a good job. They let people flow off topic to see if they can get back on track on thier own before jumping in, yet quickly stops those things that need to be stopped before it gets out of hand.

I have enjoyed the relaxed, friendly yet controlled environment that is here. Keep up with the good work.

(TheHomegaMan: I hope that seeing how many people do like the way it is modded will make you feel a little better about the job that's being done. I hope that the way this site is modded doesn't send you away, we would love to continue having enjoyable conversations with you.)

[Mar9645]

The most important rule, however, is that of not making personal attacks or otherwise nasty comments about real people. This includes (but is not restricted to) the actors on the show and other posters. We all feel very strongly about this, and you're right: the mods can be ruthless about this. That's what we're paid for.

Really? I guess the extremely crude and insulting remark that was made about Michael Shanks on the Andromeda thread by a certain notorious and infamous poster doesn't count.

I despise hypocrisy and there is definitely a streak of it in this moddom IMHO.

[ShimmeringStar]

<snip>
I guess what I'm getting at is the fact that there is what I call Active Moderation at work, wherein the mods step in and fix things automatically, as opposed to Passive Moderation, where mods step in to fix issues at the request of posters/Darren/David/whoever. I've seen less strict rules on boards that work just fine with Passive Moderation. Can anyone explain why things are so strict around here? Did you try a more laid-back approach in the past? Anyone?

Bring on the bad reputation and flames, baby, I'm wearing an asbestos suit!

THM... I don't think you have to worry about bad rep & flames... at least not from me...

I agree w/DJF... from what I've seen... lurking since 3/04, joining in 5/04... the GW mods seem to strike a balance. Passive when needed, Active when warranted. I mean no Forum is perfect... but given the small # of mods they have here for, what, close to 3K posters, they're doing pretty well...

And, speaking only for myself... I don't have alot of time from RL to come play. And with that limited time, I prefer to come to play where I know I can respectfully disagree & be disagreed with by other posters over opinions about SG1 on certain Threads & then go into other Threads to have fun & play with those same posters because we didn't take our opinions/feelings to the flaming level.

I lurked around a certain BB (related to that certain cable channel that I enjoy watching SG 5-nights a week on... ) and I'll be very honest... seeing how the posters were allowed to treat each other there... I didn't want to be a part of it & didn't join that board. Thankfully someone there posted a link to here & the rest shall we say was history. There's enough flaming to be had in real life... I personally don't want it or need it on my down-time.

So... like I've said in the past... Thank you Darren, David, & all the wonderful mods... I enjoy having this forum to play in.

(just my humble opinion...)

[Darren]

I've been around for a few months now, and I've noticed that the GW forums are moderated far more heavily than other forums. See the threads in this area that are locked and a mod saying something along the lines of "the question has been answered... LOCKED" or something similar. Or you can look in the current season areas, where Darren has a tendency to cut any non-episode thread that has a bit of discussion about an episode by locking it and shifting their attention over there.

One of our goals here is to minimize confusion (multiple threads on the same topic) and to keep everyone engaged in one big conversation, rather than lots of little redundant side-chats. Otherwise members who want to join in aren't sure where to go, or they have to post the same thing multiple times in different places, or there's frustration and confusion when someone doesn't remember what you said because they haven't read that thread on the same topic.

In short, allowing multiple threads on the same topic is a mess, and in my opinion a lousy way to run a forum. Closing duplicate threads and pointing people to the existing thread isn't meant to hurt anyone's feelings.

Then there's the fact that there are numerous instances of mods having to step in to change thread titles and fix spoiler issues (bear with me, mods, I know this isn't your fault).

Some people don't like spoilers, so we have rules about spoiler warnings so that more than just spoiler-lovers want to come here. 'Nuff said.

[QUOTE=TheHomegaMan]To top it all off, there are numerous rules that ought to be covered by simple common sense and decency.[/quote
We've tried common sense and decency. Thoughtlessness and sinful nature won out, so we made rules.

I mean hell, I got a PM from David today about my old sig image being too big, although I hadn't heard a single complaint. I guess it was a tad bit annoying in its size (and, upon review of the FAQ, too big), but wasn't Steve larger than life in his own right?

Most Internet users are still on dial-up modems (as was I until two months ago). Unlimited sig files make the forum very difficult to even browse. I personally think our sig regs are pretty liberal -- if you need to display art that is more than 700 pixels wide and 200 tall, get a Web site. A forum sig isn't the best place for it.

Mods and crew, I know you're only doing your job. Nobody's disputing that. But perhaps you don't need to put on the mod hat as often as you've been doing in the past?

I hope we're not heavy-handed ... we certainly try not to be. But the rules is the rules, and we think the forum is better off when there's soom teeth to enforce 'em. Take a spin on a non-moderated Stargate forum (alt.tv.stargate-sg1, or SciFi.com's Stargate board) for a while and see if it's more to your liking.

It really does come down to preference. Some like a forum where they can swear up a storm and bad-mouth other members and insult the actors. Some can't stand a forum where any criticism at all is allowed. We've tried to strike a balance that embraces free speech while keeping the tone civil and fun.

[Darren]

Really? I guess the extremely crude and insulting remark that was made about Michael Shanks on the Andromeda thread by a certain notorious and infamous poster doesn't count.

I despise hypocrisy and there is definitely a streak of it in this moddom IMHO.

Mar, instead of insulting the mods maybe you could point out questionable posts to one or more of us for review? We haven't been able to find any omniscient Stargate fans to help mod yet.

[ShadowMaat]

Personally, I love the moderation level here. If anything, I'd want them a bit MORE active, but then, I'm extremely anal about some things.

As someone who suffered for more than a year on a completely unmoderated board, I can't tell you what a bliss it is to have folks around who can step in and handle problems, who can help ease what would otherwise be an intolerable amount of redundancy, and who can step in to douse flames before they get out of control.

I've also seen exaples of TRULY over-moderated boards and they're about as fun and engaging as a root canal. GW is nowhere near that bad.

I've gushed plenty about my love for the mods in other threads, but I will say that if you have any specific problems, you can either PM one of the mods to discuss it or you can find a board more suitable to your specific needs.

As for the sig... just because people don't complain to YOU doesn't mean they aren't complaining. And just because YOU don't like something doesn't mean the rest of us hate it, too.

[David]

I know of very few places where you can state your opinion and not get modded. There are many Stargate forums where if you go in and say something that crosses the owners (say, you don't think Daniel belongs on the SG-1 team.) the mods will issue an ultimatum to you, or, prevent you from posting ever again.

You simply will not find that on this forum. And if someone ruffles your feathers, you're more than welcome to turn to one of the mods for help. If you are reasonable and open minded, you can always be certain that you will go away happy. We won't want to cut off your vital organs if you disagree with us on a Stargate character or a forum issue. We're here for you, not ourselves.

Well, a little for ourselves

But you will come first. Every time.

Now, where else can you find that in such a large on-line community?