Question regarding moderator conduct

Controversial Post

I have to ask: how much longer is this kind of moderator behavior on FIFA going to be tolerated? This post is a perfect example of how they treat anyone who dares to disagree with them or, heaven forbid, has an issue with Roma.

If the community is expected to follow rules where you get slapped with a warning just for being insulting, why aren't those same standards applied to mods who spend their posts insulting half the forum?

Is anyone from the higher-ups actually going to weigh in on this?

Red card was earned. Moving on. I won't go overboard—honestly, I can't even remember the last time I went off on someone quite like that. My bad.

Look, I’m just going to say what’s on my mind, regardless of the fallout. Some moderators here are perfectly fine. But then there are others who have absolutely no idea how to behave and clearly abuse their positions. Moderators hold a massive amount of power. Honestly, I don't see why we even bother with passwords on these forums when a moderator can just hop into our profiles and read our private Gmail messages or whatever else they want to snoop on (and I could go on forever about that). On the other hand, I get it. They’re just people. If I didn't have anything better to do than hang out on a forum all day or act as a moderator, I’d probably succumb to the temptation too. If I decided to "tune out" from the real world, I might misuse that authority. Of course, anything I found would stay strictly between us (but hey, I'm not a moderator, so...)
And if I actually did something like that, someone like me would probably just shrug and say, "Oh well." Maybe some moderators won't like what I've written here. They might try to take action against me or my opinions, but frankly, I don't care. I have my own stance and my own identity, and no one is taking that away from me, no matter how big their ego is. Everything you moderators think is being kept under wraps is actually known. People just keep quiet, though I'm not sure why they bother. I’m going to speak my truth and hide nothing. I don't lie to people. I tell it exactly like it is. If I mess up, I just say I screwed up, apologize, and move on. There’s no shady business, no deception, and no hiding things with me. It's rare to find people who sit there silently while others act foolishly. I'm not that type of person. I point them out. I say it loud and clear while there's still time to fix things. I'll say it once, twice, three times, and I'll keep saying it. Go ahead and try to shut me down.

I've always wondered: unless I'm swapping info with someone to make a buck or score some kind of advantage, why should I even care if people are reading my messages?

If I remember correctly, mods don't have access to your Gmail.

It is fundamentally impossible for us to access anyone else's private Gmail messages, even if we were to desperately desire to do so; neither the moderators nor the administrators possess such authority.
As for my own personal stance, I truly could not care less about the contents of any individual's private correspondence. I say this simply to ensure there is no unnecessary resentment directed toward me. 🙂

Look, it’s simple. You’ve got a hundred different people here, a hundred different personalities. No one is going to know every single individual personally. As for checking the inbox, all the details are listed right here. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I finally finished reading that post by Delvecchio that Lunatt shared. To be honest, I agree with some of what Delvecchio said, and I find myself siding with most of the other users on the thread too. We end up splitting into three completely different viewpoints by the end, but that isn't really the point. The real issue is that Delvecchio reacted a bit too heatedly. He used certain words he probably should have avoided. He could have expressed his thoughts differently, but what's done is done. deedy, I wasn't actually angry at you, if I'm being honest. It doesn't really bother me much. I have a few ways of handling people who try to act malicious toward me, and none of it ever ends up being useful anyway. So, that's all for now. I'm heading to bed. Catch you guys later when you're around.

Raymond Wright said:And what about checking the inbox? Details are listed here.

Only those with direct access to the server and the database can theoretically read PMs—specifically the sysadmins (and Anderlon, I assume). You could count the total number of people with that level of access on one hand. (By the way, they actually get paid for their jobs, unlike the regular admins and mods.)

Neither ZgSash nor Tyndall are sysadmins. They're just forum admins, which means they don't have access to anyone's private messages. Neither do the moderators.

I honestly have no idea what category that admin you linked even falls into. If they’re a sysadmin with actual server access, then sure, they can read them. Otherwise, they can't.

Even those few people with actual resources surely have more important things to do than reading private messages from thousands of random internet trolls. And just because they can read them doesn't mean it's easy. It takes more than a simple mouse click to handle that kind of mess.

I guess some people just don't get how those old-school April Fools' sales used to work 😉
...

crimsonsailor7 said:Some people just don't get the old-school April Fools' pranks😉

Yeah... and it's been happening for years. It’s a cycle. Every single time, someone falls for this same old crap from back in 2004...😁

crimsonsailor7 said:Some people just don't get old-school April Fools' sales.😉

The post was dated March 30th, and March has 31 days. That means it was two days early. 😛

(I know this wasn't aimed at me, but I'll defend myself anyway. 🙂)

Jacob Foster11 said:Theoretically, the only people who can read PMs are those with direct access to the server and the database—basically just the sysadmins (and probably Amazon too). You could count those folks on one hand. (And honestly, they actually get paid for their jobs, unlike the regular admins or mods.)

Exactly.
There’s this old vBulletin exploit designed for the 3.x.x versions that grants access to the root accounts.

In my opinion, I don't think a hack like that is even installed on this forum. 🙂

@Raymond Wright & b0xx - I highly doubt it's in the interest of the administrators here to let users peek at messages; if they could even do it, they wouldn't really gain anything from it. 😉
Plus, from what I can tell, I doubt there are any hacks active on this site at all. 😁

I did a little digging online to find some answers, and here is what I found.
Private messages can be read.

Oh yes, they absolutely can.
The link is acting up, so I cannot post it here properly:😕

showthread.php?t=522 (this is the link to the page; I am not sure why the full URL won't work, but everything is explained there)

Basically, it explains how private messages can be accessed, and it all comes down to the ethics of whoever holds that administrative access. They can be read.

Jacob Foster11 said:The post is dated March 30th, but March actually has 31 days, so that means it was two days earlier... 😛

(Look, I know this wasn't really aimed at me, but I gotta defend myself just a little bit... 🙂)

That’s exactly why it was such a clever trick, and honestly, people are still falling for it even today 🙂

(Seriously, don't even try to justify it, you're just digging yourself an even deeper hole) 😁

Here’s my take too. Good morning, everyone. I’ve been reading through the posts here and, honestly, I’m not even sure what to say. We haven't really broken any new ground. As for the whole private messaging thing, it’s not even a big deal. Almost everyone on this forum uses Facebook, Twitter, AOL Instant Messenger, Zoom, or whatever else is out there to swap important info. Besides, there are so many people here. What are the odds anyone is actually checking your inbox unless you’re part of some tight-knit group? You aren't constantly picking fights either. You're just one person among a massive crowd, mostly keeping to yourself. It’s a pretty clear picture of someone who’s just more reserved, haha.

Maria Wilson2 said:I did a little digging online to see if I could find some answers—here’s what turned up.
Private messages can definitely be read.
Oh yeah, they absolutely can.
The thing is, the link is being weird and won't let me post it properly here: :confused:

showthread.php?t=522 (this is the link to the thread—not sure why the whole URL isn't working, but everything you need to know is right there)

Basically, it explains that reading PMs is possible, and honestly, it just comes down to the ethics of whoever holds the access. They can be read.

That? http://www.americanforum.com/showthread.php?t=522
houlimerimadrofđizus 🤣

Raymond Wright said:Facebook, Twitter, MSN, AOL Instant Messenger, Zoom

You really think some Facebook employees aren't capable of snooping through your private messages?
You honestly believe staff at MSN, AOL Instant Messenger, or Zoom can't read your chats?

There is always at least one person who could theoretically pull that off. It's the same on Facebook or MSN as it is right here on this forum.

Jacob Foster11 said:You really think Facebook employees can't peek at your private messages?
You honestly believe nobody at AOL Instant Messenger, AIM, or Zoom can read your chats?

There is always at least one person who could theoretically pull that off. It’s the same deal on Facebook or AIM as it is here on this forum.

Fair enough... though I guess there are cell phones you can use to coordinate a meetup location, haha.

Raymond Wright said:Sure... there are also cell phones you can use to coordinate meeting spots, haha hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha hah

Again, do you honestly believe mobile carriers aren't tapping your calls?