Moderator policies

We don't like to rub this in anyone's face, but here's what it comes down to... this forum is private property. It belongs to the site admins. There is nothing "public" about it except for the fact that we invite everyone to join in and participate... no exclusive club, no membership fees, nothing. Just register so we know you're serious about discussion... that said, Mike, Jessy, and myself have developed a set of criteria for discussion on this site... and this policy has evolved as we have learned more about our community and how each specific forum is different. We have some very active moderators, and some very passive moderators. Each forum dictates the level of participation needed by each moderator. Our volunteer moderators work very hard and give of their own time to help keep this site on-topic and friendly towards all. I don't think we stress that enough. Sometimes there are disagreements, and these usually stem from soem sort of miscommunication rather than agression. We really do try to work with everyone who encounters an issue, but sometimes we can't always make everyone happy.

We do our best with the resources we have, and we hope everyone is mature enough to participate in a meaningful manner.

I've said it once, I'll say it again... it's just trains...

-otto-

Otto? How many times, if ever has a Mod been removed? Mr. Norman is great at Amtrak, i see Robert P. on here alot expressing himself often, "ran into" David a few times on some topics. Where is my track guy UPMW2000? Its good to have a UP worker on forums where a guy like that is needed. How do you guys decide where to place these people and how often do you Mod them? attendance? how they handle things? Do they know a great deal of what there Modding? Or just to play cop? What policies do you have in place for all that stuff?

Things may get off track a bit or run out of gas, but if guys are talking about something to do with railroading why lock the topic? A Mod isnt there to decide what is right or wrong or where it strays off, right? They might not like it, but they work for us as well right?

We do our best with the resources we have, and we hope everyone is mature enough to participate in a meaningful manner.

If you go by what you said, why let someone treat us like we are children and they are the teacher?

On the topic of wandering off topic, our NJT mod (IC) does a fine job. We may stray early and often but its always RR and NJT oriented and IC lets us wander.

I noticed that IC took some flak earlier in this thread. I'd just say this: Consider the sources.

How do you guys decide where to place these people and how often do you Mod them? attendance? how they handle things? Do they know a great deal of what there Modding? Or just to play cop? What policies do you have in place for all that stuff?

Anyone who volunteers and has a strong interest in the topic is welcome to be a moderator. That, and you must be (or act like a) mature adult. If you read the rest of this thread, yes, we have specific policies that are spelled out. Some mods need to use a heavy hand, some do not. You asked why some mods tend to treat the posters like children... I can't cite any specific accounts, but all I can say is don't act childish and it won't be a problem.

Again, if you have a specific incident where you feel you were abused by a mod, I will try to help everyone get on the same page and come to some sort of resolution. Sometimes you may not like the outcome.

I'll tell you right now that I get very few complaints about moderator behavior where I actually feel the moderator has been truly abusive or agressive towards a user here. Like I said before, you can't take every action here personally. Even GBN on the Amtrak forum has modified or removed material of my very own that he feels needed helping along. Since I have the power to override any edits by any mod, I was not offended and appreciated GBN's intervention. None of us are "above the law."

And I hate to see anyone leave our community, but some people just do not agree with the scrutiny of a moderator in a discussion forum, and feel comfortable elsewhere in the many free-wheeling, "anything goes" forums available on the Internet. We sincerely try our best every day, but sometimes people are happier elsewhere. So be it.

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote: And I hate to see anyone leave our community, but some people just do not agree with the scrutiny of a moderator in a discussion forum, and feel comfortable elsewhere in the many free-wheeling, "anything goes" forums available on the Internet. We sincerely try our best every day, but sometimes people are happier elsewhere. So be it.
-otto-

And that's the name of that tune. 'Nuff said.

That's right, this is all about railroading. Now we can put this out to "bed".

Can we move on and discuss trains.

I have no problem if the users want to discuss specific moderator policies... that's what this thread is for. Rather people gripe here than waste time griping in the regular forums (or not letting us know at all how they feel)...

However, I don't want to dwell on the issue of isolated incidents...

-otto-

I'm going to post this here, rather than start a new topic for it, because it seems like it's on the same issue. If not, let me know and I can repost, or take it up privately with one or more staff members.

Are there any rough guidelines for strict vs. loose moderation? It seems that there's a huge difference between some of the forums here, in particular (and the reason for this post) between the Amtrak forum and the LIRR. I know that Mr. Norman runs a "tight ship" there, and I certainly admire the job he does keeping the forum clean (and also the respect that most posters there have for the forum and for him).

Over on the LIRR and NYAR forums, however, things are much different. The post quality varies significantly from post to post, with some members sharing knowledge, while some feel like people posting merely for the sake of posting. It feels like there's a lot of off-topic discussion that takes place in posts over there. This isn't unique to the LIRR/NYAR forums (I know it happens, to a (seemingly) lesser extent in the NJT forum, for example, and I'm guilty of some of it myself) but it seems like there are some topics with more off-topic posts than relevant ones.

Is the decision of how much off-topic chat to allow entirely up to individual moderators, or is/are there some guideline(s) for them to follow from the admins?

Not that I expect moderators to demand perfection in posting (everyone makes mistakes, and from time to time, off-topic directions for threads can be a nice diversion), but despite my interest in both the LIRR and NYAR (being local to both now), it often isn't worth the time to read the forums sometimes, and certainly don't seem conducive to new relevant posting.

It's a judgement call. Hopefully the moderator is familiar with the people who post in his forum and know what's kidding around, what's a flame, what's useful, and what's garbage. It's judgement call. There are specific guidelines laid out for all moderators to follow here:

http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13464

It's not a perfect system, but it works for us.

-otto-

Thanks, Otto. I didn't mean my post to be a harsh criticism of anything, because as you said, "it works." It was mostly a question of curiosity.

No offense taken- we welcome the questions and the opportunity to discuss. It's not a black and white issue, there are no absolute answers... sometimes through these discussions we learn more about our community and we're able to apply that knowledge down through the forums to make a more pleasant experience for everyone.

-otto-

Forum Moderators, Chinese style:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/world ... ernet.html

There should be Moderators (big time) over at www.MySpace.com to remove and kill any images or profiles of kids who break their rules. It would be the same as removing nasty posts here on Railroad.net, but at Myspace.com, it's a big concern.

Let's keep the discussion related to RAILROAD.NET, please.

-otto-