Should Moderators Post?

[Bluecat]

Is there a conflict of interest in between moderation and posting?

Chanchao said that since he is a moderator, he is very careful about what he posts.

But he is human like all the other moderators.

And hence has his opinion.

And his postings will reflect his opinion.

Is it for the best or for the worse?

[george]

Admins and Mods are the only member categories who are entitled to have more than one login name at this forum.

We actually encourage moderators to use another nick when posting!

Huski is the man who to contact for an extra ID in these cases.

[Bluecat]

Admins and Mods are the only member categories who are entitled to have more than one login name at this forum.

We knew it George.

I mean we suspected it.

Thanks for the confirmation,...

[Bluecat]

We actually encourage moderators to use another nick when posting!

But, to be fair, most of them probably won't do it.

Human nature again.

Will see it as a kind of "downgrading",...

[george]

Only dr_pat_pong is allowed to do what he want here, because he is sponsoring the whole circus.

[Bluecat]

Only dr_pat_pong is allowed to do what he want here

Don't tell us,...

Sorry, Dr., an easy one,...

[Boon Mee]

Well, we have a couple "mods" over in the Bearpit who post quite inflamatory and condescending stuff that has ruined the entire objective of having rational political debate there...

[Pink Mist]

Only dr_pat_pong is allowed to do what he want here, because he is sponsoring the whole circus.

That was a revelation George, in that case it's your shout next week Doc.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Only dr_pat_pong is allowed to do what he want here, because he is sponsoring the whole circus.

That was a revelation George, in that case it's your shout next week Doc.

I'm still regularly knee deep in the poop though Bronco. I have had my button finger broken many times and I get sent to Coventry if I take in too much red. George consumes so much beer Chang they sell it to him wholesale, and coz he can walk on water, he is never in trouble ( except with his lady )

[Pink Mist]

dont change subject Doc still your shout

[stumonster]

I have seen some forums where the admins nicks are administrator1, administrator2 etc.

people doing the moderation have opinions , and interest in the subjects - so there is no reason why they should not be allowed to post.

[tuky]

Moderators psuedo post

This is not a real post!!!

Edited June 19, 2004 by tukyleith

[Tornado]

I'm still regularly knee deep in the poop though Bronco.

I didnt realise you were European Doc

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I'm still regularly knee deep in the poop though Bronco.

I didnt realise you were European Doc

Is it only those of euroethnicity that get into the poop ?

[p1p]

A moderator's job is to moderate. If he/she expresses opinions it implies he/she is not moderating.

If he/she posts facts in answer to queries, that is, or ought to be, within the bounds of moderation.

Hopefully this is fact, not opinion.

[Darknight]

And as always personal ideas from moderators RULE here!

Maybe you could have a look at this thread.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12033

Pretty impartial i would say , no ?

Going back to the "it's only good news forum here again"

[chanchao]

Thanks Bluecat for bringing that up..

Let me start by saying that I started out just posting as a regular member, and then when the Chiang Mai regional board was created and needed a moderator, I offered to help out. Then there was kind of a shortage of moderators in some sub-forms, so pretty soon I found myself to be a 'super moderator' (= a moderator who can do moderator stuff in any sub-forum). I still see the Chiang Mai forum as my main 'job' though.

If I had to make a choice then I'd give up moderating and just post.

Thanks George for suggesting the dual-username. I will think about this a little more, especially if people should know that the non-moderator nick is me or not. This may sound like it would defeat the purpose, but I don't think this is the case, and people will find out anyway because of writing style, opinions, etc.

Making it known that the other non-moderator nick is me would have two positive effects:

1. It's transparent to everyone who's posting, and where I'm coming from.

2. When posting from the non-mod nick and disagreeing with someone about something, those people would know they're not being reprimanded by a moderator, but it's just me wearing my regular-user hat.

In fact I rarely reprimand anyone as a moderator. Any real reprimand is made by a private message to the user, and/or by adjusting the user's warn-level. What I do do sometimes is 'steer' the discussion, like when people get caught up in some off-topic bickering in an otherwise good discussion, then I'd do a 'sumary' which I hope both people would find acceptable as their opinions and then suggest to let the matter rest and get on with the topic at hand. So this 'meta-post' about the discussion I think would be best done as a moderator-handle as well. And then there's the final posts I put in before closing a topic, in which I also try to summarize or state a reason why the post should be closed. Typical thing for a moderator-nick. And then there's deleting individual posts or whole topics.. Nobody sees who deleted/removed those posts anyway.

Does anyone have an opinion as to if I should just register a new 'anonymous' nick that people would find out in about 3 days was me anyway, or should this current nick become an ordinary member and let Huski register me a separate moderator account?

Finally, a good reason to just keep going like I am now would be that it's easier.. I don't have to log out and log in all the time. (Or is there a more elegant solution to that available, like being prompted as which username to post?? Not sure if the forum software supports that.)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

And as always personal ideas from moderators RULE here!

Maybe you could have a look at this thread.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12033

Pretty impartial i would say , no ?

Going back to the "it's only good news forum here again"

There's no way I would have just closed that one myself. (Unless of course the poster was a known troller, etc.).

If I thought the initial post has some disrespectful bits in it then I would have edited out the needlessly offending bits, would have given a reason for doing so, and allow the 'main issue' to stay, and perhaps set the boundaries for this type of discussion.

HOWEVER: This example was not an example of a moderator not being impartial or abusing moderator powers to force his own opinion across!!! The moderator in this case decided that the topic was too controversial and could land the board in trouble. So it was closed. I can understand that call.

In the example Darknight gave, I would have done the following:

- Edit the topic title! The topic was "Modern Bhuddism Is Hypocritical". That's a statement, and a controversial one. At the very least I would have made that into a question, like "Is modern Buddhism hypocritical?" or perhaps something without the word hypocritical in it: "Is modern Buddhism getting commercialized"

The actual body of the post was just questions; controversial questions, but understandable ones. It's not different of asking why the Roman Catholic churc is so full of trinkets when God himself said that... etc. If a forum can't discuss these things then I kind of wonder what things can be discussed..

And if a post is truly pointless and offensive, say a bad brainless case of lese majeste, then the whole thing just gets trashed, not closed, but removed.

Oh finally, as it happened to be Darknight who brought this up: I think your avatar is out of line. I LIKE it personally, make no mistake, but you know what things consitute pornography in Thaland, which is pretty much defined as 'any visible nipple'. If the avatar is also hosted on the TV site itself, then this can potentially cause a problem. So my suggestion would be: Go Photo-shop those nipples out! (But leave the avatar, I kinda like it )

(I actually think this whole topic is best discussed in the Forum Questions & Suggestions sub-forum, but admittedly nobody would have read it if Bluecat posted it there. (Also not me. )

Cheers,

Chanchao

Edited June 19, 2004 by chanchao

[Bluecat]

If we ever make a poll on what moderator has the longest postings, you'll sure "win", Chanchao,...

[chanchao]

Did you write that before or after I edited it and made it grow twice as long?

[chanchao]

Another thing.... Reprimanding or steering a discussion as some 'big brother' username like "Thaivisa_Moderator_4" may rub people the wrong way. When it comes from me I would like to think that I've built up some 'credit' on this site so people may be more inclined to listen, or even post and disagree in a more respectful manner..

It's likely Darknight won't go ballistic after what I just said about his avatar. Perhaps that would be different if he received a message from Thaivisa_Moderator_4 telling him to ditch the tits asap.

Again, just thinking out loud.

[Bluecat]

Did you write that before or after I edited it and made it grow twice as long?

Before, before.

You're to long postings by moderators what Schumaker and Ferrari are to Formula 1 these days.

Unbeatable.

Even compared to most members.

Challenging Yohan, I reckon,...

[Bluecat]

It's likely Darknight won't go ballistic after what I just said about his avatar

You don't know him, Chanchao.

In the past, he went ballistic for far less than that,...

[chanchao]

> You're to long postings by moderators what Schumaker and

> Ferrari are to Formula 1 these days.

LOL...

> Challenging Yohan, I reckon

Sssshhh!!!

Seriously, Bluecat, why don't you apply to become a moderator? I think some people actually suggested that somewhere?

Cheers,

Chanchao

Edited June 19, 2004 by chanchao

[Wolfie]

Why not let moderators post? They have opinions as much as the next man, its a public forum, anyone can post here. In my humble opinion.

Should they use thier main "Handle" or a new one? upto them really.

I'm sure the people who own this site are happy with the moderators otherwise the Admin account would be used and that person removed from the equation.

So i guess my answer to your question is Yes.

[Boon Mee]

A moderator's job is to moderate. If he/she expresses opinions it implies he/she is not moderating.

If he/she posts facts in answer to queries, that is, or ought to be, within the bounds of moderation.

Hopefully this is fact, not opinion.

Absolutely, PiP. Wish that were the case in our (sister) Forum...

[p1p]

I fully agree with the concept of having a second username for moderators posting generally - and I strongly feel that this second username should appear as simply another user. It should not be associated with a moderator or admin.

It is inevitable that moderators are percieved to have some sort of "power" over the forum and those who use it. If XYZ username is known to be that of a moderator, it might cause problems.

My ever-so-very-humble opinion.

[Bluecat]

So i guess my answer to your question is Yes.

Short and straight to the point, Wolfie.

All the other postings are more "balanced".

So I give a straight opinion also.

I see no reason why the moderators shouldn't post.

So my answer is yes.

And if for any reason, the postings and the moderation are in conflict, they should stop moderating.

But still keep posting,...

[john b good]

For me I don't really see too much of a problem in allowing the moderators to post.

They often have a worthwhile contriibution to make (i'm trying to remember the last time that was, )

I would be less agreeable though if they were using a non-moderator nick as then they be totally wearing two hats and who would be moderating the moderator (with his other nick) i.e. having a dollar each way so to speak.

I do get a bit piss*d off sometimes when they come over all supercilious as being "knowing everything"

Collectively many contributors, both humble members (even the newbies , moderators and those in the hallowed halls of admins, have a great deal to offer.

[Bluecat]

If XYZ username is known to be that of a moderator, it might cause problems.

P1p,

It is probably not that simple.

Quite a few members change their username from time to time and some often.

But it does not take that long for other members to "uncover" them.

We can not really change the way we post.

Whatever the username,...