Topic of the day: Is there actually a pilot on board?

Richard Brown7 said:I’m fine with goldeneagle36 too.

goldeneagle36, do you even actually want to be a moderator?

I already mentioned above that I’m always down to give it a shot and see if I’m any good at it or not. 😁

goldeneagle36 said:I already mentioned above that I’m always down to give it a shot and see if I’m any good at it or not. 😁

Well, there you have it. At this rate, you’re actually going to end up as a preschool teacher. 😁

Just like most people I know, I’m looking for someone to back this 🕺
My iMessage is open if you've got offers 😬

Honestly, I’m down for goldeneagle36 at least giving mod a shot. 🙂

I’m throwing my vote in the ring as well—goldeneagle36 deserves a seat at the table, if not as an advisor, then certainly as a moderator. 👍

goldeneagle36 said:I already mentioned above that I’m always down to give it a shot and see if I’m any good at it or not. 😁

👍

goldeneagle36 said:Only three more days? Are you kidding me? I went ahead and posted my question about what I actually care about—specifically regarding chat moderation, since I’ve dealt with that mess before—and honestly, after seeing how much stupider stuff has been discussed here for days on end, I can't exactly remember anyone making a huge scene or pushing any serious agendas.

Regarding Anderson's question, I'm honestly not sure what the standard procedure is for situations like this, but if we aren't actively moderating the chat or if someone starts deleting posts and ends up killing the flow of the conversation, I’d probably just hand out a warning or go straight to a ban. And when the time comes to make that call, wouldn't it be essential to include a clear disclaimer to ensure the forum isn't held responsible for those kinds of views?
It’s honestly pretty awkward trying to weigh in on things when I’m completely in the dark—I mean, how am I supposed to have an informed opinion on the nitty-gritty details of moderation protocols, specific admin permissions, UI design tweaks, or even just what’s technically feasible behind the scenes?
And yeah, the moderators actually have lives—honestly, I thought I made that pretty damn obvious when I wrote it in my previous post.

If we’re actually treating this as a serious question about moderation and advice—and I mean truly serious, without a shred of sarcasm—then why on earth hasn't anyone succeeded at it yet? Or rather, has anyone even come close? 😁

I asked what you'd do about problematic content, not how you'd handle punishments (those are secondary). You don't need to be an expert on moderation protocols or interface design to answer that. When faced with a direct test—a real scenario—your answer is "I don't know." If you're going to offer advice or criticism, you actually have to know something. 🙂Disclaimers and distancing statements aren't necessary if the rules of the Reddit community already cover it.

Byron said he'd delete everything. Hazen (who is already an advisor, by the way) has also weighed in.

Maria Barnes said:I asked what you'd do about problematic content, not how you'd handle punishments (those are secondary). You don't need to be an expert on moderation protocols or interface design to answer that. When faced with a direct test—a real scenario—your answer is "I don't know." If you're going to offer advice or criticism, you actually have to know something. 🙂Disclaimers and distancing statements aren't necessary if the rules of the Reddit community already cover it.

Byron said he'd delete everything. Hazen (who is already an advisor, by the way) has also weighed in.

Maybe we should start by focusing on the fact that the people currently holding moderator positions actually need to respect the rules of the subreddit and moderate according to them.

Maria Barnes said:I asked what you'd do about problematic content, not how you'd handle punishments (those are secondary). You don't need to be an expert on moderation protocols or interface design to answer that. When faced with a direct test—a real scenario—your answer is "I don't know." If you're going to offer advice or criticism, you actually have to know something. 🙂Disclaimers and distancing statements aren't necessary if the rules of the Reddit community already cover it.

Byron said he'd delete everything. Hazen (who is already an advisor, by the way) has also weighed in.

A moderator isn't some WWII-era schoolteacher handing out gold stars or detention. When dealing with problematic content, the goal should be to steer people toward constructive discussion. We punish insults and rule-breaking, not just existence.
From what I've seen in the logs, the mods actually handle things this way.
Anyway, I wasn't really asked, so sorry for jumping in.

E: And yeah, regarding systematic trolling and spamming—don't just ignore it or wait until they hit a certain post count. Cut them off immediately so we aren't stuck wading through endless walls of useless text from the same few people.

Maria Barnes said:I asked what you'd do about problematic content, not how you'd handle punishments (those are secondary). You don't need to be an expert on moderation protocols or interface design to answer that. When faced with a direct test—a real scenario—your answer is "I don't know." If you're going to offer advice or criticism, you actually have to know something. 🙂Disclaimers and distancing statements aren't necessary if the rules of the Reddit community already cover it.

Byron said he'd delete everything. Hazen (who is already an advisor, by the way) has also weighed in.

I wouldn't delete it; I'd leave it up as a way to honor the person while making it crystal clear exactly what kind of behavior won't be tolerated around here.

Maria Barnes said:I asked what you'd do about problematic content, not how you'd handle punishments (those are secondary). You don't need to be an expert on moderation protocols or interface design to answer that. When faced with a direct test—a real scenario—your answer is "I don't know." If you're going to offer advice or criticism, you actually have to know something. 🙂Disclaimers and distancing statements aren't necessary if the rules of the Reddit community already cover it.

Byron said he'd delete everything. Hazen (who is already an advisor, by the way) has also weighed in.

Problematic: something open to doubt; dubious, questionable.

I said I would "delete everything" in this specific instance because we are talking about a violation of the law—so, this content isn't really "problematic" since there is absolutely no ambiguity about it.

There isn't a single, clear-cut answer that fits every single questionable situation—I realize it’s easy to sit back and theorize, but I suppose I might let some short-term "problematic content" slide if none of the parties involved actually have an issue with it, provided that the content hasn't poisoned or hijacked the thread. On the other hand, if there's already a rule for "you're writing too much, take a break" (or something to that effect), then personally, I feel we lack a "leave the man alone" policy—not that I have any fetish for handing out bans, mind you—but I suspect I might be the only one on Reddit who feels frustrated by how people I actively avoid—like a contagious disease—insist on dumping their absolute garbage all over me through their words, their posts, and their very existence.

Besides that, deciding how to handle moderation on a platform like this should be a matter of consensus among multiple people.

goldeneagle36 said:I wouldn't delete it; I'd leave it up as a way to honor the person while making it crystal clear exactly what kind of behavior won't be tolerated around here.

I have the same question for you, actually, because your wording is a bit vague: are you saying you wouldn't even delete content that violates the law? Because, if we're being honest, this stuff about the Black community falls right into that category.

On another note, I do agree that you could be a solid moderator—though, as you mentioned yourself, you might end up being a total disaster, but hey, people have off days even worse than that 🙂.

goldeneagle36 said:I wouldn't delete it; I'd leave it up as a way to honor the person while making it crystal clear exactly what kind of behavior won't be tolerated around here.

That’s exactly what happened. So what’s the issue?

Maria Barnes said:That’s exactly what happened. So what’s the issue?

The real issue is that nobody bothered to moderate anything until everyone started losing their minds and making a scene.

Maria Barnes said:That’s exactly what happened. So what’s the issue?

The real issue? The moderator saw everything and did absolutely nothing... probably just doesn't care. ..

The chat needs the most moderation. Just because there's a chat doesn't mean anything goes.

Maria Barnes said:Are you going to moderate or just offer advice? Here’s a question for you:

If you're a mod and you don't react to a problematic post the second it hits, and instead a massive thread starts building up—multiple pages of users piling on—what do you actually do?

a) Delete everything—the original post and every single reply referencing it.
b) Just delete the original post.
c) Do nothing.
d) Something else.

Picture this exact scenario. I’m open to hearing from anyone who thinks they have the perfect moderation strategy. 🙂

D)

Leave the controversial post up (maybe edit it) to serve as a warning to others, perhaps alongside a formal moderator warning for everyone involved. You could even drop a link to some legal code if needed. You aren't a censor; you're a moderator.
Total censorship just achieves the same goal as Woke culture. It's about education and understanding, not shutting people up. ☕

As for the debate that sprouted from that post? If it isn't turning the users against each other, leave it alone. If it is, then wipe it.

☕

Nicholas King said:I have the same question for you, actually, because your wording is a bit vague: are you saying you wouldn't even delete content that violates the law? Because, if we're being honest, this stuff about the Black community falls right into that category.

On another note, I do agree that you could be a solid moderator—though, as you mentioned yourself, you might end up being a total disaster, but hey, people have off days even worse than that 🙂.

Look, there are two sides to this situation; in my view, it should serve as a blueprint for how these things get handled, but there’s also the undeniable issue that if content is truly illegal, the law dictates it has to come down (and from what I’ve gathered while digging through various articles, racist connotations fall under hate speech—at least according to the rules).
So, regardless of the angle, something needs to happen, and it’s definitely up to the person above me to make the call and decide whether that content gets nuked.

Maria Barnes said:That’s exactly what happened. So what’s the issue?

Is this some kind of job interview where I suddenly have to watch every single word I say? 😁 And is there even such a thing as a "correct" answer here? 😁
The reaction only happened after the Byronic post, even though it was glaringly obvious what the subject matter was from the start.

I mean, I don't think it's right to let racist crap or any other offensive garbage just sit there for everyone to see. A mod should just drop a clear note explaining why something got nuked and why that kind of stuff is totally unacceptable and gets you banned.

Matthew Castillo5 said:The real issue is that nobody bothered to moderate anything until everyone started losing their minds and making a scene.

What exactly is being moderated if nobody's touching anything?

We moderated him ourselves and called out that trash behavior. Every single one of us who was in that thread stood our ground. 🤔
There’s just useless drama happening now over nothing—just people typing about what’s allowed, which is literally why this forum exists. Andy did a killer job, as per usual.
But the real kicker is that I’m the one who pulled this topic out of nowhere; if it weren't for me, nobody would even be talking about this. So yeah, consider me the ultimate shadow moderator.
P.S.: In my humble opinion, Frey would make an awesome mod, and I'm putting my vote in!🍿