Mod election

I’m asking everyone involved in this process to walk me through the logic used to select moderators. How is it even possible for someone to show up as a moderator on a PDF when they barely ever post? It’s impossible for them to actually understand the flow and dynamics of our discussions if they aren't even active here.

The veteran mods can easily jump onto any other sub-forum without breaking a sweat. Even if there are slight differences in how things are handled, besides maybe the Off-Topic section and DIK, all the sub-forums basically follow the exact same playbook and stick to the same core rules.

Some moderators honestly don't deserve their positions at all, considering they talk to users like complete garbage, act incredibly rude, and just spam the threads. And no, I’m not going to call out which specific mod I'm talking about, simply because his boss will probably try his hardest to defend him instead of actually handing out a penalty.

hey Frank Moore4, you're just sitting there right now, dumping all this nonsense everywhere

hollowtrucker77 said:hey Frank Moore4, you're just sitting there right now, dumping all this nonsense everywhere

Alright hollowtrucker77, you've been flagged for being abusive, and don't even get me started on how little you seem to understand what actual spam is.

That doesn't change the fact that you showed up just to run your mouth about someone else; you didn't actually say anything of substance, and you did the whole thing without anyone even asking for your opinion.
If I had actually called you out on your nonsense, then you’d be sitting here acting shocked, spinning some wild theory about how nobody is allowed to criticize a moderator because the admins protect them and hand out sanctions to poor, helpless, pathetic little forum users for no reason at all.

So, am I only allowed to chime in when someone calls me out? That’s just hilarious.

BTW, even if we go along with your argument that I jumped in way too fast, is it really okay for a moderator to insult a user? It shouldn't matter whether the user deserved it or not. A mod is supposed to be a professional.

Frank Moore4, look, they're basically trying to tell you that you haven't actually said anything concrete—nothing substantial enough to even build a decent rebuttal on. I mean, come on, someone just throwing opinions around like that on an online forum? It's a bit much.

Either step up and provide some actual data, or just stop flooding the thread with fluff. 😁

nah, Frank Moore4 really ought to be acting like a professional here
Besides, he should actually be capable of reading both the text and the map with some level of basic comprehension
Instead, he’s just rocking this whole mindset where he shows up just to claim nothing matters and that he shouldn't even bother wasting his keystrokes

hollowtrucker77, since you’re asking for an example, check out this post from Gnothiseauton -

Honestly, you might want to take a look at your own post too -

It’s just not right when a mod or an Admin talks to a user like they're total trash, almost like they're just baiting a reaction so they can slap them with an infraction. I don't really care about getting an infraction myself, but the way they treat people on this forum is genuinely messed up.

Look, it doesn't matter if a user keeps providing reasons and justifications
but if you turn around and talk back to an Admin using that same tone, you can bet your life you aren't going to walk away without a penalty
the thing is, true communication requires actually listening sometimes instead of just waiting for your turn to speak
like I told you before, my intention wasn't to insult you, I was just trying to show you how something can end up being completely pointless
it’s always easiest to take offense and let your ego get the better of you, but you really ought to take a hard look at what you're doing and be willing to adjust when necessary

Look, everything is fine, I’m not holding any grudges here in the States. 👍 I realize this place attracts all sorts of personalities, and yeah, sometimes the Admins lose their cool, but that should definitely be the exception rather than the rule.

As for the idea of giving an Admin a taste of their own medicine, I think that’s a pretty slippery slope. Not every Admin is cut from the same cloth—they aren't all the same quality, and honestly, not everyone has the best intentions.

honestly, we aren't even really forum users, we're just all drifting through the same space somewhere
🙂
that’s exactly why it’s good to occasionally step back from the ball, take a breather, and actually re-read what the hell is going on
I had one of those moments myself recently, where I was typing away and wondering why things weren't clicking, only to realize after a second look that I was busy telling one story while an entirely different one was unfolding right next to me, making me the one who was being completely oblivious to reality

hollowtrucker77 said:honestly, we aren't even really forum users, we're just all drifting through the same space somewhere
🙂
that’s exactly why it’s good to occasionally step back from the ball, take a breather, and actually re-read what the hell is going on
I had one of those moments myself recently, where I was typing away and wondering why things weren't clicking, only to realize after a second look that I was busy telling one story while an entirely different one was unfolding right next to me, making me the one who was being completely oblivious to reality

Man, that's true. I totally agree. That's why the mods really should be the absolute best of the bunch—calm people who actually know how to contribute to a discussion with solid arguments.

On a slightly different note, it's worth mentioning that there are tons of high-quality members here who make massive contributions to specific sub-forums. The problem is, that effort often goes unnoticed by the leadership. I get that everyone can't be a mod, but it wouldn't hurt to introduce a "custodian" role for each sub-forum. It would be a way to recognize top-tier members (like Dragonrage in the movie PDF section). These folks wouldn't have the authority to hand out punishments or moderate behavior, but they could have the power to edit posts, stick threads, rename titles, split or merge topics, and stay on top of the latest news within their specific PDF to start new threads and keep the quality levels high. We've used a system like this on our SF forum for years now, and it’s proven to be incredibly successful and interesting. 🙂

It’s a decent suggestion, really, and I’m holding out hope that we’ll eventually roll out some better way to track everything happening on the forum

As for how much patience the mods have left, man, sometimes it’s a real struggle; when you see a certain number of people clearly losing their grip on reality, I can honestly say that in about 99% of cases, the mods stay incredibly patient
The thing is, most of the heavy lifting they do behind the scenes goes completely unnoticed by the users, and let’s be honest, every single one of us is mostly just preoccupied with our own little stories
But since they’re the ones actually doing the work, you have to give them some credit for being willing to overlook a few mistakes here and there
At the end of the day, none of us are perfect, and nobody walks around without making a mess of things occasionally

mellowraven22 said:The veteran mods can easily jump onto any other sub-forum without breaking a sweat. Even if there are slight differences in how things are handled, besides maybe the Off-Topic section and DIK, all the sub-forums basically follow the exact same playbook and stick to the same core rules.

Fair enough. But shouldn't the mods responsible for moving threads out of the top topic category or shifting posts from the main boards to the off-topic sections be somewhat active and actually familiar with the specific content of those boards? For instance, over on the RID board, a thread about breastfeeding moved from being a top topic to just being another ordinary discussion, getting lost in the shuffle. On the Pregnancy board, they closed the dedicated thread for basal temperature measurement and opened a new one that merged it with every other method. It used to be so easy to track someone's graphs and get help on the old BTT thread... then they make these changes that don't make any sense to me. At least, not to me. I'm quite active over there, so the change really stood out.

And can someone please explain the difference between the general chat and the topical chat? Is chat just aimless rambling, and if so, what's the point of having themed discussions?

Frank Moore4 said:Man, that's true. I totally agree. That's why the mods really should be the absolute best of the bunch—calm people who actually know how to contribute to a discussion with solid arguments.

On a slightly different note, it's worth mentioning that there are tons of high-quality members here who make massive contributions to specific sub-forums. The problem is, that effort often goes unnoticed by the leadership. I get that everyone can't be a mod, but it wouldn't hurt to introduce a "custodian" role for each sub-forum. It would be a way to recognize top-tier members (like Dragonrage in the movie PDF section). These folks wouldn't have the authority to hand out punishments or moderate behavior, but they could have the power to edit posts, stick threads, rename titles, split or merge topics, and stay on top of the latest news within their specific PDF to start new threads and keep the quality levels high. We've used a system like this on our SF forum for years now, and it’s proven to be incredibly successful and interesting. 🙂

🙏 🙏 🙏

It’s good to see the RiD finally starting to look a bit more organized 👋 and, honestly, I’m hoping the work being done by the previous moderators is actually being tracked too.
I imagine it’s pretty tough to stay objective while trying to balance everyone on the forum... so, if you ask me, I’m all for these changes! 🙏🙂

hollowtrucker77 said:The RiD is being monitored daily, and honestly, every single move made so far has been aimed at nothing but making this sub-forum better
plus, the moderators definitely know exactly what they’re doing and they aren't just winging it
it’s pretty obvious the old guard isn't thrilled about the changes, but let's be real—this place had reached a breaking point where a total overhaul was the only way out, especially since it had devolved into nothing but endless bickering and mindless chatter

1. If it was known that the long-time users wouldn't appreciate the changes, wouldn't it have been more logical to try and avoid a revolt? Perhaps by starting a thread saying, "Hey everyone, some changes are coming to the subforum, please bear with us"?
Instead of hitting them with a sledgehammer right out of the gate, especially since they're such a core part of the community?
What happened instead was that people showed up after the "sterilization" had already begun, asked what the hell was going on, and promptly got banned.
The argument that they "should have known the rules" doesn't really hold water here. They were following the rules that had been applied to them until that moment. It isn't their fault that those weren't the final rules. ☕

2. If the subforum reached a state where an overhaul was absolutely required, it implies the previous mods weren't doing their jobs properly.
If they failed to do their jobs and allowed things to get to a point requiring reconstruction, then I suppose one has to wonder why they are still moderating that subforum at all.

Just to be clear, I'm not speaking for the former RiD moderators. I am simply pointing out the flaws in the reasoning provided for why this purge is happening on RiD.

Ryan Thomas4 said:1. If it was known that the long-time users wouldn't appreciate the changes, wouldn't it have been more logical to try and avoid a revolt? Perhaps by starting a thread saying, "Hey everyone, some changes are coming to the subforum, please bear with us"?
Instead of hitting them with a sledgehammer right out of the gate, especially since they're such a core part of the community?
What happened instead was that people showed up after the "sterilization" had already begun, asked what the hell was going on, and promptly got banned.
The argument that they "should have known the rules" doesn't really hold water here. They were following the rules that had been applied to them until that moment. It isn't their fault that those weren't the final rules. ☕

2. If the subforum reached a state where an overhaul was absolutely required, it implies the previous mods weren't doing their jobs properly.
If they failed to do their jobs and allowed things to get to a point requiring reconstruction, then I suppose one has to wonder why they are still moderating that subforum at all.

Just to be clear, I'm not speaking for the former RiD moderators. I am simply pointing out the flaws in the reasoning provided for why this purge is happening on RiD.

I absolutely agree. I think I mentioned the exact same thing in another thread here once.

RiD has been in shambles for quite a while now; changes are necessary, and of course we support them!!

But there’s still a bitter taste in my mouth after everything that went down about a week ago...

Yeah, I know, you'll probably tell us we were warned via threads, which is technically true.

But, just so you know for the future—and for any other subforums where sudden purges might happen—a huge number of people don't read back through old posts. Sometimes they don't even see the last few posts in a thread.

That's why it would be way better to just put a notification in the top topic or an announcement specifically for that subforum letting everyone know the belt is tightening. 😁
It's a win-win: we're happy because we get warned in time, and you're happy because you don't have to leave bolded warnings in screaming colors across fifteen different threads that most people end up ignoring anyway.