Moderating Philosophy

Somied is offline
Moderator
last active on:: 09.15.2019. 15:20

In just about a week, it’ll be six months since the only philosophy moderator last logged in here. Honestly, things are getting pretty messy, and I guess the admin's occasional check-ins aren't really enough to fix the vibe in that subforum.

Some of the best people over there have either left already or are planning their exit. I mean, in just this past week, at least three regulars have basically said goodbye—and that's in a section where there's barely even a dozen decent people talking anyway. Meanwhile, some banned psycho is running around cursing people's kids, his little ideological buddies are actually cheering him on, and there's nobody around to handle the reports.

Maybe three or four months ago, PM Nica mentioned they were still looking for a new moderator. There are definitely experienced, good people who would step up (at least two of them), so I don't really get why this is dragging on forever and just killing the whole subforum.

The issue is that if the moderator actually stepped in, they’d probably clear out at least half of that double-digit crowd...

One of the best users on this board here:

addx said:I’d honestly suggest all the decent people on this forum just take a break from this board until a moderator shows up. Maybe head over to some other forums for a bit until we see how things settle down here.

The internet really brings out the absolute worst in people, and I feel like we have that exact "internet energy" embodied by a few certain characters. They’ve already been banned from other sites, yet they come here and act totally free to bring everyone else down. If someone who isn't like them even tries to support them, it just feels like those toxic types are successfully dragging them down too.

Either they need to find a moderator for this section, or they should just go ahead and shut the whole subforum down.

Yeah, look, it’s not just about one specific subforum. Honestly, no matter which part of the site you look at, nothing is ever going to run smoothly or stay on track long-term without some solid moderation in place.

Gerald Jackson48 said:Yeah, look, it’s not just about one specific subforum. Honestly, no matter which part of the site you look at, nothing is ever going to run smoothly or stay on track long-term without some solid moderation in place.

It’s definitely a good thing they wiped that thread; there was way too much toxic nonsense in there. Honestly, it would have been better if they'd stepped in sooner.
But let's be real—none of this matters much without competent moderators in place, otherwise, we're just waiting for history to repeat itself.

Melissa Stewart6 said:It’s definitely a good thing they wiped that thread; there was way too much toxic nonsense in there. Honestly, it would have been better if they'd stepped in sooner.
But let's be real—none of this matters much without competent moderators in place, otherwise, we're just waiting for history to repeat itself.

I'm with you. They needed to step in because things spiraled out of control on several levels. We definitely need a moderator.

Gerald Jackson48 said:I'm with you. They needed to step in because things spiraled out of control on several levels. We definitely need a moderator.

It only makes sense to return if there's actually someone at the helm.

Gerald Jackson48 said:I'm with you. They needed to step in because things spiraled out of control on several levels. We definitely need a moderator.

I don't buy the idea of nuking the entire thread. Even if only 10% of the posts are actually decent, those should stay.

As for moderation—honestly, maybe nobody actually wants the job. And even if they do, there's no guarantee they'll actually pull their weight. That’s why I'm backing the Freudian suggestion that users should have some kind of veto power over moderator decisions.

They could have just locked the thread. There wouldn't even have been a need to delete anything if someone had stepped in at the very beginning. Honestly, the blame for the deletion lies with the users who sparked the chaos, and those who let things spiral without any moderation.

Honestly, I think it all comes down to the small stuff—basically how the mods or admins decide to handle things. They could have just let the thread stay up and only wiped the problematic posts, but hey, I’m glad they stepped in.

To be honest, I don't think that group really earned the right to have veto power or anything like that. For six months, it was basically pure anarchy, things just kept spiraling, and the discussions started losing all connection to the subforum's actual topic.

Actually, even a less-than-perfect moderator would be a step up at this point.

ruggedraven36 said:I don't buy the idea of nuking the entire thread. Even if only 10% of the posts are actually decent, those should stay.

As for moderation—honestly, maybe nobody actually wants the job. And even if they do, there's no guarantee they'll actually pull their weight. That’s why I'm backing the Freudian suggestion that users should have some kind of veto power over moderator decisions.

I know two people who actually stepped up to help. Honestly though, that was like four or five months ago, so I'm not sure if they'd still be down.

And even then, you have to wonder if they'd actually do the work right.

Both of them were philosophy mods before (for like, ages), and they were totally fine. They didn't get kicked out or anything messy like that. But, I don't know, it feels like the admins think it's better to just have zero mods rather than deal with them again. I just don't get it.

James Lee77 said:I know two people who actually stepped up to help. Honestly though, that was like four or five months ago, so I'm not sure if they'd still be down.

And even then, you have to wonder if they'd actually do the work right.

Both of them were philosophy mods before (for like, ages), and they were totally fine. They didn't get kicked out or anything messy like that. But, I don't know, it feels like the admins think it's better to just have zero mods rather than deal with them again. I just don't get it.

My suggestion is to log in with your old profile, which still has access to the moderator corner, and start a discussion there regarding the moderation of the "Philosophy" subforum. This might go against some of your personal principles, but I believe it is the only way to get real answers and perhaps even influence how that section is managed. As you know, decisions regarding moderators and oversight are never made in the public areas of the forum.

mistybison said:My suggestion is to log in with your old profile, which still has access to the moderator corner, and start a discussion there regarding the moderation of the "Philosophy" subforum. This might go against some of your personal principles, but I believe it is the only way to get real answers and perhaps even influence how that section is managed. As you know, decisions regarding moderators and oversight are never made in the public areas of the forum.

I don't have access anymore. As soon as I stepped down as a mod, I asked them to strip those permissions from me too. Look, decisions don't need to be made publicly, and I'm not even trying to meddle in them. I just want them to actually make some decisions, because this whole thing is just nonsense. A guy hasn't logged in for six months, and it's been even longer since he announced he was done moderating.

James Lee77 said:I don't have access anymore. As soon as I stepped down as a mod, I asked them to strip those permissions from me too. Look, decisions don't need to be made publicly, and I'm not even trying to meddle in them. I just want them to actually make some decisions, because this whole thing is just nonsense. A guy hasn't logged in for six months, and it's been even longer since he announced he was done moderating.

I thought you still had them... That's a shame.

Decisions don't necessarily need to be made publicly, nor am I interested in influencing them. They just need to happen, because the current state is illogical. It has been six months since anyone logged in, and even longer since they announced they were stepping down from moderation.

I understand how you feel 😁 , but this is the reality of the situation:

Those who are acceptable to the administration don't want to moderate. Those who actually want to moderate aren't deemed suitable by the administration for various reasons. The search for a moderator is ongoing—suggestions are made and candidates are considered—but we haven't seen any real results yet.

Nica stops by the subforum occasionally to help out where she can, but her schedule is so packed that it would be truly unreasonable to expect her to read through hundreds of pages of threads and provide detailed moderation.

On my end, I do what I can. When things get chaotic on a subforum and users start calling for 😁—I will request in the moderator corner that someone take a look or that a specific thread be temporarily closed or removed until a moderator arrives, though I find I no longer have the energy for it.

The subforum has become a playground for trolls, spammers, and provocateurs, to the point where I avoid it entirely. My ignore list consists exclusively of users from the "philosophy" section. 😁 I never imagined I would need to use an ignore list until I started visiting that subforum regularly. To me, it speaks volumes about the type of crowd gathering there and the behavior taking place...

Because of the rest of you, I sincerely hope the moderation issue is resolved quickly and that the atmosphere in the subforum becomes more pleasant. 🙂

mistybison said:I thought you still had them... That's a shame.

Decisions don't necessarily need to be made publicly, nor am I interested in influencing them. They just need to happen, because the current state is illogical. It has been six months since anyone logged in, and even longer since they announced they were stepping down from moderation.

I understand how you feel 😁 , but this is the reality of the situation:

Those who are acceptable to the administration don't want to moderate. Those who actually want to moderate aren't deemed suitable by the administration for various reasons. The search for a moderator is ongoing—suggestions are made and candidates are considered—but we haven't seen any real results yet.

Nica stops by the subforum occasionally to help out where she can, but her schedule is so packed that it would be truly unreasonable to expect her to read through hundreds of pages of threads and provide detailed moderation.

On my end, I do what I can. When things get chaotic on a subforum and users start calling for 😁—I will request in the moderator corner that someone take a look or that a specific thread be temporarily closed or removed until a moderator arrives, though I find I no longer have the energy for it.

The subforum has become a playground for trolls, spammers, and provocateurs, to the point where I avoid it entirely. My ignore list consists exclusively of users from the "philosophy" section. 😁 I never imagined I would need to use an ignore list until I started visiting that subforum regularly. To me, it speaks volumes about the type of crowd gathering there and the behavior taking place...

Because of the rest of you, I sincerely hope the moderation issue is resolved quickly and that the atmosphere in the subforum becomes more pleasant. 🙂

Well, I guess I’m just left doubting if those reasons actually make sense. I mean, I don't even know what they are, but I honestly can't imagine them being valid, especially considering how much those people moderated before, and looking at how unmoderated things are right now—which is exactly what you were just talking about.

If I can't track down a moderator, they should just merge philosophy and spirituality into a single subforum, managed by the current spirituality mods.

James Lee77 said:Well, I guess I’m just left doubting if those reasons actually make sense. I mean, I don't even know what they are, but I honestly can't imagine them being valid, especially considering how much those people moderated before, and looking at how unmoderated things are right now—which is exactly what you were just talking about.

I honestly have no idea. 🤷

But Ali—as you already know, nobody is obligated to account to us for how the forum is managed.

Quote : Weekend Warrior

Melissa Stewart6 said:If I can't track down a moderator, they should just merge philosophy and spirituality into a single subforum, managed by the current spirituality mods.

The Spirituality subforum is practically unmoderated. No one is actively monitoring the threads. Bubbles provides calm responses to complaints, but since he already handles Religion, I doubt there's any appetite to bring Philosophy under his wing as well. After all, the users in Spirituality and Religion are far more mild-mannered than those over in the Philosophy section. 😁

Melissa Stewart6 said:If I can't track down a moderator, they should just merge philosophy and spirituality into a single subforum, managed by the current spirituality mods.

Honestly? I’d stop posting altogether if they merged philosophy and spirituality. Philosophy needs its own space—it shouldn't be lumped in with anything else.