OK so when something kicks off...

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When something happens in the forum that we feel needs to be brought to the attention of a Moderator, what should we do?
There was a list of Mods that appeared on the forum menu, but I think that's disappeared now.

Would it be better if there was an 'emergency' sticky thread where anyone with a concern could post what was worrying them which the Mods who were online could check occassionally? It would be quicker than PMing individual Mods and trying to work out which ones were online.

In this very forum (Wrong Planet discussion) there is such a sticky. Mostly for spam attacks though, not for trolling.....

The issue of trolling has really come to the fore lately, I think some measures need to be put in place. Something like a bat-signal for mods. Having something that lets us see what mods are currently online would be handy (the mods themselves can decide whether or not they want to be 'on duty' to respond to threats).

EDIT: I must say though that this current atmosphere that the trolls have instilled has been really bad for this community. I for one have felt myself becoming suspicious and cautious of certain new members - even being uncharacteristically hostile towards one (which I have subsequently apologised for). We need to weather this down and put in place more effective anti-troll measures.

Last edited by Mitch8817 on 13 May 2007, 6:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yesterday afternoon I was looking for a Mod and couldn't find one. It would have been easier if I could have just yelled 'HELP' somewhere so the Mods who were here (I don't know who they all are and some are 'invisible' anyway) could have checked it out quickly.

Are you suggesting more mods? Or just mods that are more active?

No not more Mods necessarily. Mods seem to be like policemen, i.e. there are a lot of them about but never just when you need one, lol.

We need some way of getting the attention of one quickly when something's going on that is of concern. As it stands at present, that means that we need to know who they are, and when they're here (as Mods, I wouldn't expect them to be on duty all the time.)

I think it would be easier if they looked into a thread every now and then, rather than members chasing around trying to get hold of one.

I don't think Alex would want new mods.

Unfortunately, our duties, as mods, are ill-defined. Mostly, we do damage control from the spamming of whom I call the drooling megalomaniac.

Perhaps some coordination amoungst the mods so that there are at least 2 (?) of them on at any given time?

Hey, we do have lives outside WP.....

...which is why I was hesitant to say it. But, as policemen, you do have a duty to your people. By the by, how many mods do we have?

I'd say a dozen. I don't know exactly how many are active and when. I have been trying to find that out.

Anyway, I once heard we're not policemen, but firemen. Not exactly proactive, are firemen?

That makes sense; firemen are summoned, policemen are on duty. Your response times are a little sluggish though...and we don't even have a number to reach you!

We can't help it. Anyway, consider this forum to be you 911 or 000 or 999 area.....

Given that we are really here to put out the spam attacks,
and they do little real harm (they're really just an annoyance),
I think that our response time doesn't have to be all that great.
It's a lot better than it was.

If a flame war is getting out of hand, either a PM to a mod that
you see active somewhere, or a post in the ATTENTION board
makes sense. But, I have to warn you, it's unlikely for us to
intervene, unless it's really getting ugly. Trolling? Perhaps
again in the worst cases. The reason that I think a PM is the
better method, is to prevent one from revealing themself
as some sort of stoolie. Seriously, a claim that someone is
flaming and/or trolling is a form of attack itself, and probably
best left out of public view.

Plus, if there is anything positive that can be taken from a spam/troll/flame attack, it's that we can gain a little backbone and conflict resolution skills. We can't always be sheltered by mods, and certainly not in the real world.