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nbcrusader said:
What is the most difficult situation faced by a mod?
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There are two situations which are, in my opinion only (I can't speak for the rest of the mods here), unusually stressful, at least at Interference.

The first is when someone is banned, particularly someone who may have had a "following" around here. First of all, let me make clear once again, for anyone who doesn't know, that moderators and super moderators CANNOT ban people. We can make recommendations for or against banning, but we cannot, individually, decide to ban someone from a subforum or from the forums in general. Only a forum admin can actually do the banning. I sometimes hear about it when someone is banned from FYM, for example, but remember--*I* didn't do the banning, and even if I recommended it, a banning generally requires consensus among the mod team and the approval of a forum admin (Sicy or Elvis).

Anyway, a banning is stressful because banning truly is typically the last resort. The mods like to have a "paper trail" of PMs or e-mails documenting that an individual was warned about his or her behavior on several occasions before a banning actually happens. However, as per our forum rules, we can't post those e-mails or PMs if someone is banned, so if someone is banned and claims they were never warned (which is never true, btw), the mods can't be like, "Look at all these PMs and e-mails! Of course they were warned!" So the mods get blamed for something they actually tried to prevent and don't have ultimate responsibility for anyway. That's stressful.

The other really stressful thing, as I've mentioned earlier in this thread, is when people you know and like on a very personal basis get involved in public disputes on the forum. If you side with the individual you know and like, people cry favoritism. If you side against him or her, you run the risk of putting that relationship in jeopardy. It's very much a no-win situation for a mod, which is why, again, more often than not, you'll see me (and most of us) take the "both sides are to blame" position. It's just safer that way. :wink:

You know what else I hate? When Who's Online is disabled. I'm glad it's back. ;)
 
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pax said:
There are two situations which are, in my opinion only (I can't speak for the rest of the mods here), unusually stressful, at least at Interference.
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You can speak for me too here. :wink:

I think my biggest headache around here is that in any situation, we're damned if we do and damned if we dont. Someone will always be unhappy no matter what.
 
nbcrusader said:
Do you ever want to yell "pull up your pants!" at young people :angry:
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I do, actually, and not just to guys showing half their boxer shorts--I find the "thong wedgie" revolting and have invested in a couple of good belts. :up:
 
I've heard that the Mods have their favorites, (who can do no wrong) and then their "HIT" list (who they play close attention to no matter where they post)......tell me about this...:wink:

and which list am I on????????? :angel:
 
Mr. BAW said:
I've heard that the Mods have their favorites, (who can do no wrong) and then their "HIT" list (who they play close attention to no matter where they post)......tell me about this...:wink:

and which list am I on????????? :angel:
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Favorites, I doubt. As I said, I've been in the unfortunate situation of having to reprimand even people I consider very close friends. It's an ugly part of the job, but...

That said, if someone has a history as a troublemaker, of course the mods are going to more carefully monitor anything he or she posts. Some trolls post all over the forum, after all. And it's true that if you stir shit in one part of the forum, you can bet some mod will probably be looking at what you've done in other parts of the forum, too.

And, oh, you ought to know what list you're on. :wink:
 
Do you ever find yourself in the middle of a heated discussion after making a viewpoint?
 
Do the mods like have a secret vault where you make ur notes or is everything you do from memory??? Do you mods like huddle up at a certain time of day to talk about us?

How much weight does Joel have over the mods? are you paid?

I suspect I know what list I am but I was at one time or another talked down to by persons who are no longer Mods...(just rewards!)
 
Macfistowannabe said:
Do you ever find yourself in the middle of a heated discussion after making a viewpoint?
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I have days when I feel like Interference itself is one giant heated discussion. ;) This environment can make people very passionate, very defensive, very proud, and sometimes very hurt. It's here where the sort of "defusing" job of moderation comes in--where you try to smooth over hurt feelings, talk down people who are taking things too personally (and taking it out on other people), and hope that you're doing an all right job of keeping things civil.

That, of course, can be difficult when you feel personally invested in the discussion. When I contribute my own views to something that either is already very heated or is heating up quickly, I know I have to be careful of what I say, so that my contributions will de-escalate problems rather than escalate them--while still saying what I truly mean and believe.

So, yes, I do find myself in that situation. The trick is to try and put things in such a way that I'm moderating while putting forth my own views. Which I freely admit does not always work. :wink:
 
Mr. BAW said:
Do the mods like have a secret vault where you make ur notes or is everything you do from memory??? Do you mods like huddle up at a certain time of day to talk about us?

How much weight does Joel have over the mods? are you paid?

I suspect I know what list I am but I was at one time or another talked down to by persons who are no longer Mods...(just rewards!)
Click to expand...

A "secret vault"...well, if we have one of those, I don't know about it. ;) We have the same tools at our disposal that you all do, basically, plus a few others. I'm not sure, honestly, how much of that I'm allowed to mention here, so I'll leave it at that...and with the reassurance that there's no "secret vault," just the same searching tools that at least Premium members also have access to.

By "how much weight does Joel have"...well, Joel owns this site and, along with Sicy, adminsters the forum. As to how much he gets involved in day-to-day workings of the forum, he generally leaves that to the mods and to Sicy, and steps in when there are major problems of either a technical or personal nature. Keep in mind that Interference is more than the forums, and often when Joel's "around," he's not working with the forums at all, but rather other aspects of the site. Joel theoretically, I guess, has veto power over almost anything we do, but he generally supports what we as mods do on a daily basis to keep the forum running smoothly. And it is nice to know that if we see a problem (like someone needs to be banned) and Joel isn't around, we (through Sicy) have the authority to take care of it ourselves without having to have him rubber-stamp everything.

Moderators are not paid. We do get the features of Premium membership without having to pay for them, but it's a moot point, since I think we all bought Premium memberships before we knew we'd be getting them for free, have donated to the server fundraisers, bought T-shirts, sponsored members who couldn't afford Premium memberships, and the like. So even though we are technically Premium members for "free," I know I've seen some dollars go to Interference anyway! :)

And these "lists" you speak of...well, all I know is I've never had a problem with you...

:shrug:

:)
 
No questions here. I just wanted to say you are one of my favorite mods...Very civil yet forceful if need be. Keep up the great work!
 
coemgen said:
How'd you become a U2 fan? Was it a certain song?
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This is a true story, and you might not believe it, but you can ask my mom if you don't. :wink:

I was about four and a half when The Joshua Tree came out, and my mom bought it (my mom is pretty young, and when JT came out, I guess she would have been...hmmmm, 25, I think) and we used to listen to it in the car all the time. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is actually in my baby book, under "Favorite Music" or somesuch. My mom says I used to run around my playroom and sing "Streets" and try to copy what Bono did in the video.

And now I'm a young lady of 22 and they're still my favorites! :)
 
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