:thumb: You go, boy!

Actually, you should contact me. ;)

Same deal though, and starting a thread on the open forum like this will attract the trolls, and that's a guarantee. I'll give you a fair hearing though, and look at both sides of the issue.

Bdcheung,

Just to let you know, if and when (which is rare) I close a thread, I will let the OP know why and also let them know if they feel it was done unnecessarily to let me know. If I we cannot come to an understanding then I refer them to please PM the admins*. I don't announce to the public why I close a thread but I will usually put some kind of warning for things to chill down (in the case of squabbling). A second request may be put into place and I usually will ask people if it is better that I close it down.

That is the way I normally do it, only because I find it works best for all.

*The admins are the watchers of the mods and will always be willing to make adjustments if need be. The watcher of the admins is JuCo.

I hope this helps a bit. :)

At any rate, this thread has served its purpose. I was wondering if moderators acted with impunity and without oversight, and Sixty Fiver was kind enough to reveal that there is, indeed, a review process involving other moderators before and sort of sanctions are implemented.

It helps a lot, but in my hypothetical the thread was removed, not closed. Which, for UserX, raised some questions and concerns.

YES, with 100% certainty you have that freedom. 1 blue star = little moderator (me) 2 blue stars = my higher ranking co-moderator
3 blue stars = el presidente

My suggestion to you is if you have an issue with a mod PM another mod and voice your concerns and or issues. Doing it on the floor, in my eyes, is nothing more than an attempt at instigating a mod.

Yep. Any time a problem arises or a post is reported, it is discussed amongst other mods and we come to a decision together on how to handle it. It's just that the first mod to reply to a report or complaint is the one who will handle it with the decision we made. Well, except for spam. Spam is allowed to be handled spot on.

Even the poster child for no accountability, Koffee Brown, would contact you to tell you she had edited or deleted a post and why. This should be standard operating procedure. When I had a problem in July with a mod selectively editing my posts for their buddy to make me look like a racist, no such thing was done, presumably because the mod had a guilty consioence. Admin admitted to me what they did was wrong, but no apology, no nothin'. This is where certain posters get rightfully angry, and then we get compared to whiny children.

And if you want to strawman me into a troll, so be it.

It's comforting to know that now. Honestly, I had no idea this was the procedure in the past, and I truly believe that a section under the Forum Guidelines that goes over sanctions, in relative detail, would be hugely beneficial to the forum as a whole.

That isn't a bad idea, in all honesty.

You can call it the "STFU bdcheung now here's your explanation" section.

Now that the questions have been answered, the thread will be locked.

Thanks for participating!

East Hill

I openly keep communicating with members on what I do if their thread or post is affected. I will ALWAYS let them know why, because if it were me, I'd like to know why.

This is a good idea! I think more people would understand the process if this was done. :thumb:

Actually, now that we're having a productive discussion, I'd like to continue it.

Here's a breakdown on what happens.

1. Mod gets a report
2. Mod reviews report and consults with the rest of the team.
3. Depending on the severity of the problem, the thread may be removed or the post may be removed pending review.
4. Actions are discussed with the exception of spam, as mentioned before

Now, if there is an issue afterward:

1. the Admins can review on either Moderator or member request.
2. If an administrator reviews the issue and finds in the favor of the member, we'll take appropriate action privately. We won't publicly punish or chew out our moderators. It's a hard enough job already.
3. If the Admin finds that the Moderator was correct, then of course, the same will apply, in that we will uphold this decision and action. and the member will be advised as to the decision one way or the other privately.

I think you should clarify what you mean by "disrespecting", "mouthing off", or "calling out" a moderator. It is one thing to be parented/chastised for whining or disagreeing with a moderator's actions while acting as a moderator, and quite another to be threatened with some sort of "action" because a BF member respectfully and strongly disagrees with a moderator's equally strong opinion on some hot button issue like helmets, bike lanes, bicyclist training, use of WD-40 etc.

Thanks for engaging in this dialogue, Tom. But what's the deciding factor between a thread getting closed or removed?

The deciding factor is whether it will cause discord or issues in the community. Certain topics simply put, attract trolls, if phrased in a certain way. If a post or thread contain profanity, vulgarity, or are too controversial, we have a few options. Remove it if it starts to get ugly, move it to P&R, or close it.

Early surgical removal is often the best, before a thread gets too much momentum. It's never personal, it's simply because we've seen the results before and don't want to repeat the experience.

This is where you contact me, ILTB.

A public callout does more harm than good.

I really do appreciate your patience with me on this, but I'm still not understanding what the characteristic differences are between a thread that gets locked and one that gets deleted.

For example, in the Road Cycling forum why is this thread locked, but mine - titled "Disappearing threads?" - removed?

(i tried to give you a link but the one that Sixty Fiver included in her PM to me is broken)

agreed, FWIW

Because "Disappearing Threads" is a signal to the trolls to pile on. ;) Not kidding! :eek: In the case of the other thread, it started well, had quite a lot of good information in it, but got derailed. Sometimes, if a lot is happening, we just hahve to take a pragmatic approach and lock a thread down with the eventual intent to go back and clean it, and then it gets lost in the shuffle and by the time we can get back to it, it simply is no longer a relevant thread topic. We're human after all.. ;)

Now, I'll be happy to continue this dialog this evening after classes, but I have to go to school now. Philosophy is calling. ;)

That makes sense. Would have been helpful had that snippet been included in the PM I received, instead of the "harassment" charge that was presented to me.

I think of it more like a dirty cop putting away the guy that uncovered the corruption. It seems that a lot of others agree with me based upon the outrage that's being suppressed over in the road forum.