Communities are not owned by moderators. They are built by those that participate. The primary fallacy I see is the idea that anyone can start a different community and that size and momentum are meaningless. That is simply not the case.
An authoritarian or very active mod, in any community with public participation is actively abusing those users when they act in opposition to the interests of the community. A visible mod is a bad mod. The job of mod is as a janitor acting in the interests of the community. If you care about authority or steering, you shouldn’t be a mod or admin.
Nothing about being a mod is hard. You don’t need to read every post or comment. All you do is setup the basic guidelines and trust the community to vote and flag bad stuff. The community will always flag the bad stuff. The only part that really matters is that you set yourself aside and really look into any flagged issue while giving the benefit of the doubt in absolutely every possible way one can imagine while never allowing bigotry type abuse. This is how to be a good mod, to be an invisible mod. The job is only to herd bad bots and sort the flags from others.
Moderation plays a big part in shaping the community. Are community guidlines not set by the mods? If there are people participating not following the guidlines they get squelched because they weren’t following the rules agreed to by everyone participating in that community.
But it’s a very good guideline for people who, like moderators, have power and imperfect understanding. It’s saying, “when in doubt, err on the side of least possible harm”. So that’s a good guide. Right?
Generally yes, but I feel a lot of people will assume their grievance is some sort of gray area that needs this type of consideration when it’s most likely not.
Well there is no clean connection between the rule and reality (short of forbidden word lists anyway). It’s always a matter of somebody’s interpretation.
Some communities have rules like “don’t be a dick”, which seems implied.
Maybe rules are inappropriate here. At best a justification.
Those were a lot of different points. I think they’re important and I respect your view.
I‘m not sure though if I see it exactly the same:
ownership
i think this assumes a lot. You could of course start more communities and I did so. But of course your goal can be different.
authority
I agree, authority should not be important.
modding is easy
I dont think that is the case. Modding - especially good modding - is very hard, as you mentioned yourself. A mod needs enough restraint to take their ego out of the equation and needs to see when the community rules get broken and act accordingly. A lot of bad mods are too eager or too lax with bigotry.
only flagged content needs looking at
It needs to be looked at first and the rest is optional, yes. But a mod should definitely trust their gut and be an active part in the community they mod. Ideally under a different name though so to divide between mod stuff and non.
Communities are not owned by moderators. They are built by those that participate. The primary fallacy I see is the idea that anyone can start a different community and that size and momentum are meaningless. That is simply not the case.
An authoritarian or very active mod, in any community with public participation is actively abusing those users when they act in opposition to the interests of the community. A visible mod is a bad mod. The job of mod is as a janitor acting in the interests of the community. If you care about authority or steering, you shouldn’t be a mod or admin.
Nothing about being a mod is hard. You don’t need to read every post or comment. All you do is setup the basic guidelines and trust the community to vote and flag bad stuff. The community will always flag the bad stuff. The only part that really matters is that you set yourself aside and really look into any flagged issue while giving the benefit of the doubt in absolutely every possible way one can imagine while never allowing bigotry type abuse. This is how to be a good mod, to be an invisible mod. The job is only to herd bad bots and sort the flags from others.
Would you like to play a game?
https://trustandsafety.fun/
Man, I’m only at the “Company Ethos” question (at the very beginning) and I already don’t like the choices it’s giving me.
That’s by design
Cute game
Suddenly ended when one of my mods mislabeled 1 post despite basically all of my stats being in the green
So, you know, totally realistic and all
It’s not that hard if you prioritize being objective and fair. Though maybe I’m just based.
Thanks, that game was amazing, I loved and hated it :)
No, not really. What is this?
Moderation plays a big part in shaping the community. Are community guidlines not set by the mods? If there are people participating not following the guidlines they get squelched because they weren’t following the rules agreed to by everyone participating in that community.
Guidelines are not rigid. The Hippocrates aphorism “first, do no harm” is key in principal and practice. A visible mod is always a bad mod.
Mods aren’t taking the hippocraric oath.
But it’s a very good guideline for people who, like moderators, have power and imperfect understanding. It’s saying, “when in doubt, err on the side of least possible harm”. So that’s a good guide. Right?
Generally yes, but I feel a lot of people will assume their grievance is some sort of gray area that needs this type of consideration when it’s most likely not.
Well there is no clean connection between the rule and reality (short of forbidden word lists anyway). It’s always a matter of somebody’s interpretation.
Some communities have rules like “don’t be a dick”, which seems implied.
Maybe rules are inappropriate here. At best a justification.
So you want to shape us.
How about just letting us talk?
I’m not a mod
But you uttered an opinion about moderation. So address my point.
… how dare I utter an opinion
But if they’re saying the wrong stuff then I get to hit them with my modhammer. Right?
Those were a lot of different points. I think they’re important and I respect your view.
I‘m not sure though if I see it exactly the same:
ownership
i think this assumes a lot. You could of course start more communities and I did so. But of course your goal can be different.
authority
I agree, authority should not be important.
modding is easy
I dont think that is the case. Modding - especially good modding - is very hard, as you mentioned yourself. A mod needs enough restraint to take their ego out of the equation and needs to see when the community rules get broken and act accordingly. A lot of bad mods are too eager or too lax with bigotry.
only flagged content needs looking at
It needs to be looked at first and the rest is optional, yes. But a mod should definitely trust their gut and be an active part in the community they mod. Ideally under a different name though so to divide between mod stuff and non.
deleted by creator
Same with the communities I mod. No bans at all so far. But tbf they‘re smaller. The larger communities might be different.
What if they got off topic. What would happen?
Also, do you think that you understand their conversation better than they do? All of them?
I mod [email protected]
Oh that will work out just fine.
That is a very popular word lately