An open letter to the moderators of this forum

[Fairclough]

If people hate the staff here so much. Why use this forum?

Posted via the mystical forest creatures that power this Nexus 4.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

You and I have different philosophies. I believe, it's good to point out wrong to let them know what they're doing wrong(of course, if you can, gentle way possible). But I see your way is probably better in many cases. I'm just more direct. I find direct way more honest and better at the end.

As I've said before, how points are articulated is what's important, not what's being said (in most cases).

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I agree with the OP, and I am not going to read all of the replies, (I have read a few) but I will add that I have been PM'd for "trolling" which I find absolutely absurd. If anyone took the time to read my profile and find my other posts, you can see I am anything but. Yes I have an opinion and as long as I'm keeping with the topic, I don't see any reason I can't share it.

Things have definitely changed in this forum, I've been a member for years. The changes make me want to leave and not come back, and honestly, I don't think I'm alone. These forums become incredibly large and the community can't be controlled as well, then it becomes OVER controlled and ultimately fails. I've been in the "online forum" arena for twenty years and have seen it happen many times.

I hope everyone can get it together.




?Sent from my Sprint GS4 using Tapatalk ?
?? Formerly "Evo_girl"

That's what we're trying to prevent from happening. It's a balancing act. Once you find the balance, the game changes.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[Paul627g]

As one of the moderators of these forums I take what we do on a daily basis very seriously. As Kevin said this is only a small portion of what we do. Daily we review and read threw literally hundreds of posts combined as a team. We do as I like to call it " house cleaning " like moving threads, cleaning up spam reported and not reported and so much more. Aside from that we provide help and guidance when we can and yes we even do the unfortunate part of handling problem situations with members who don't follow the community rules and guidelines.

Like I said in a thread earlier were not here to be the bad guy or use our titles as moderators to some advantage. We would love to go day to day without having to give out warnings or infractions but this isn't a perfect world.

So I hope those who feel they have accomplished their goal of speaking out are now satisfied and have found the answers your looking for.

Me... I'm out with my wife and 5 kids trying to enjoy the fireworks display at our local town now.

Have a good night.

Paul
Forums Moderator



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using AC Forums mobile app

 

[tohio]

First, I completely agree with the OP. Second, I appreciate Kevin allowing this discussion to take place without shutting it down immediately. I still say a moderator's job is to moderate, not to become involved in the debates and conversations going on here. If a moderator wants to make a comment related to the conversation then he or she should do so without the moderator signage attached to his or her avatar. If a user disagrees with a moderator they run the risk of being cautioned or warned because of their comment. There is even a moderator/editor who cruises in and threatens people. I visit and am a member of numerous forums and this is the only one where the relationship between the moderators and the users is contentious. I hope the moderators take a look at the issue and make this a more user friendly forum. Human behaviorists will tell you that if a few people speak out on an issue there are undoubtedly many others who feel the same but won't voice their concerns.

 

[jdoee100]

As I've said before, how points are articulated is what's important, not what's being said (in most cases).

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

I'm just gonna say one thing, sometimes it's better to lose. So be it.

 

[Ry]

The moderators here do a great job.

If they were as harsh as some of you are making them out to be, there would probably be more bans.

As a former forum moderator on a couple of highly trafficked sites (1 automotive-related, the other a quite popular cell phone site), I can relate to what the moderators do on a daily basis.

Calling them out publicly is not the proper channel as it invites parties not directly affected by the conflict into the conversation. But I do appreciate what they've done and how they operate this privately owned discussion board.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[fantom305]

Dear Author,

I have found, that for those people that are following the rules, which can be found here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/faq.php?faq=generalacrules#faq_acrules , this is a very easy to get along with moderation team. If you're having issues, a first step might be to self examine the respectfulness of your conduct relative to the context of those rules and the tone of the situation for which you're choosing to insert yourself. If you believe this letter to be polite, the arrogance you perceive is going two directions.

If, given all of these resources for recourse you find yourself still unable to reconcile your behavioral preferences with this location, it definitely is an at-will relationship and you're free to quit it. There is no freedom of speech implied in the forums section of a privately owned website. If you want a place to say whatever you want in whatever manner you choose, either find a site that has terms of usage that match your needs, or start your own.

From,
Someone who is not nor will ever be a moderator.

Edit: More direct link: http://forums.mobilenations.com/rules-policies/500-community-rules-guidelines.html

First question is: Are you a Moderator ???? and two:...this is what you said " There is no freedom of speech implied in the forums section of a privately owned website"....you are wrong my man ........ it is a privately owned website indeed......but when you open it to the public, it becomes a public forum therefore, a public website......... and if you don't believe me............ checks your laws..........if you go to a privately owned MC Donal, it is a public place as long as it is open to the public and inside you have the right to say what ever you want as long as you are not disrupting the business ....

 

[byeblackberry]

Context matters. You're leaving a whole lot of what happened there out of what you said.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Typical response. Only after I was called a name by a Mod. Wow

Posted via Android Central App

 

[fantom305]

I agree with the post, I've only had an issue with one mod.

They told me to watch my mouth, but then used profanity and nothing was done about them.

How are you going to enforce rules that you break and that person is still a mod, why?

Rules should apply equally for all, not who the mods like and dislike...


Other than that, u haven't had a problem with any other mod

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I too have been PM and told to watch my mouse ...............for expressing my own opinion ...

 

[fantom305]

If people hate the staff here so much. Why use this forum?

Posted via the mystical forest creatures that power this Nexus 4.

Is not a matter of hating the staff... it's a matter of changing things .... and why use this forum ??? because we have the right to exercise our rights of what we do and what we say ..........

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

First question is: Are you a Moderator ???? and two:...this is what you said " There is no freedom of speech implied in the forums section of a privately owned website"....you are wrong my man ........ it is a privately owned website indeed......but when you open it to the public, it becomes a public forum therefore, a public website......... and if you don't believe me............ checks your laws..........if you go to a privately owned MC Donal, it is a public place as long as it is open to the public and inside you have the right to say what ever you want as long as you are not disrupting the business ....

You are incorrect. Free speech is not a guaranteed thing at any privately owned forum. You are subject to the posted rules and regulations. A great example is something being openly discriminatory towards another member. Would you expect us to sit on the sidelines and say "well, they have a right to say that here" as a justification for not taking action?

As I've said before, it's a balancing act. One that is constantly changing.

Typical response. Only after I was called a name by a Mod. Wow

Posted via Android Central App

I mean I can be childish too. This is a typical response from a member that has been publicly "called out". You decided to air only the business that makes your point seem "more valid" without pointing out what you did to warrant such a response. Again, typical. I'm choosing not to air your dirty laundry here, as it would serve not purpose. I have no personal need to discredit you. I fully expect any intelligent individual reading this thread to understand that things happen "behind the scenes" that can't be seen by any regular member.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I'm going to just throw this out there and see what kind of response I get.....

Does having an opinion, or saying something that is your opinion, automatically mean that it can't be a violation of forum rules, or possible start trouble? I'll even go as far as to say that I've seen members (nobody here) post things implicitly to get a heated response from members, but word it in such a way as to claim they were just expressing an opinion and were therefor not in violation of any forum rules.

 

[Kedar]

Eh I used to be on AC all the time when I had an Evo. No drama.

But this feud with the mods has been going on so far that it's kind of annoying. That's why I'm not on the S4 forums as much.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

First, I completely agree with the OP. Second, I appreciate Kevin allowing this discussion to take place without shutting it down immediately. I still say a moderator's job is to moderate, not to become involved in the debates and conversations going on here. If a moderator wants to make a comment related to the conversation then he or she should do so without the moderator signage attached to his or her avatar. If a user disagrees with a moderator they run the risk of being cautioned or warned because of their comment. There is even a moderator/editor who cruises in and threatens people. I visit and am a member of numerous forums and this is the only one where the relationship between the moderators and the users is contentious. I hope the moderators take a look at the issue and make this a more user friendly forum. Human behaviorists will tell you that if a few people speak out on an issue there are undoubtedly many others who feel the same but won't voice their concerns.

As I've said before, we'll allow pretty much any discussion to happen as long as it remains constructive and doesn't have an inordinate amount of forum rules violations going on.

Moderators are humans,and therefor have opinions. Those can be expressed the same as any other member. What's expected is that when a Mod decides to engage a thread with an opinion that they will not Moderate in that thread. They can report things just as any other member can, and those reports are treated exactly the same as any other report.

I have not personally seen (yes, I do check) any Moderator "abuse" their power and silence someone just because they have a difference of opinion. If you have seen this, please either PM me or report the post. I promise that it will get my attention and appropriate action will be taken.

Are you a human behaviorist (Sociologist?)? If not, then you're statement will be just as credible as the one I'm about to make:

The voice of the few does not mean the majority feel the same way. Likewise, it doesn't mean the majority will always get there way, or that the few will be ignored. We have hundreds of thousands of members. If the majority felt that weren't doing a good job wouldn't they just leave? Wouldn't membership be down? And new posts, and new threads? Every indication is that we're growing at a substantial rate.

Obviously the voice of the few is not being ignored (as indicated by my participation in this thread), but that does not mean that it will dictate the policy of the forums. Just like all the other threads of this nature that I've participated in, what's said will definitely be discussed and taken into consideration.

 

[Farish]

I don't know what trigger all this.

People confuse how freedom of speech works all the time. Sorry message boards are not protected by freedom of speech. Any entity whether be a McDonalds or a message board when own by a private entity can do what they please when it comes to speech. Being open to the public has nothing to do with freedom of speech and never has.

I am going to give some advice on how to approach this.

The magic word you guys should be using is professionalism.

Now I never saw what trigger this but if this is a huge issue,

I would take screenshots of what was stated and send it to the parent company.

Even better there phone numbers are publicly available to the internet.

Just a word of warning though that is not directed towards anybody.

If this is just somebody mad because they just didn't read the words you didn't like or didn't like being told no by a moderator.

Expect no response, also assume you may ruin the process for everybody else who may have a legitimate complaint.

Like I stated either, I don't know what set this off nor saw the thread.

But I do know how a lot of the posters act on here, and I wouldn't be surprise if this wasn't deserved.

 

[HPferoxCraft]

My opinion is that the thread that was locked went off topic and instead of dropping it an argument took place that completely derailed the thread and didnt have a place there. If you didn't want to pm a mod and wanted your voice heard you should have started this thread the moment you felt slighted. Half of the comments in that thread didn't belong there if not more. It deserved to be locked IMHO.

 

[Aquila]

First question is: Are you a Moderator ???? and two:...this is what you said " There is no freedom of speech implied in the forums section of a privately owned website"....you are wrong my man ........ it is a privately owned website indeed......but when you open it to the public, it becomes a public forum therefore, a public website......... and if you don't believe me............ checks your laws..........if you go to a privately owned MC Donal, it is a public place as long as it is open to the public and inside you have the right to say what ever you want as long as you are not disrupting the business ....

First answer: Read the post.
Second answer: False, both legally and in practice, in both forums and in McDonald's (there are more letters in that name).

My question: Do you have a point?

 

[byeblackberry]

You are incorrect. Free speech is not a guaranteed thing at any privately owned forum. You are subject to the posted rules and regulations. A great example is something being openly discriminatory towards another member. Would you expect us to sit on the sidelines and say "well, they have a right to say that here" as a justification for not taking action?

As I've said before, it's a balancing act. One that is constantly changing.



I mean I can be childish too. This is a typical response from a member that has been publicly "called out". You decided to air only the business that makes your point seem "more valid" without pointing out what you did to warrant such a response. Again, typical. I'm choosing not to air your dirty laundry here, as it would serve not purpose. I have no personal need to discredit you. I fully expect any intelligent individual reading this thread to understand that things happen "behind the scenes" that can't be seen by any regular member.

Here we go again with the name calling. Don't get flustered because you're wrong.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Here we go again with the name calling. Don't get flustered because you're wrong.

Posted via Android Central App

You would have a much easier time convincing me if you had any support for your opinion other than it being your opinion.

I didn't call you a child. I said you were acting childish. There is a very clear difference there. Just like "snarky" is not a state of being. It's a trait. A descriptive word:

[h=2]snark?y[/h] [snahr-kee] Show IPA
adjective, snark?i?er, snark?i?est. Chiefly British Slang.testy or irritable; short.

snarky (ˈsnɒːkɪ)
? adj , snarkier , snarkiest
	informal unpleasant and scornful
[C20: from sarcastic + nasty ] source