Let's welcome our new moderators!

Good point, Moose. Thanks.

Me too.

 

I feel you on that Shen, as you know I too have pretty much limited where I post.

Hopefully, this doesn't apply to me. LOL I like to think of myself as....

As this, and I just need to learn how to really keep my mouth shut sometimes. LOL!!

And this is what I need to learn and am learning. I've gotten to the point where I just don't engage with certain people anymore and just report them when I feel they are antagonizing me or others.

 

Me Three, I like to go back to being a little more active as well and other threats aside from the ones I'm already limiting myself to.

I like having debate and conversation when the other side isn't trying to Hampfist their opinion as fact and belittle those with opposing views.

So hopefully, with the new law enforcement in place. This site might get better and back on track as a writing forum.

Of course, I will always have my Discord server!!

 

Not you, JW. And no, I'm not elaborating beyond that.

Back OT, I'm optimistic about the redirection of the Forum and wholeheartedly support it. Before I joined this Forum, I lurked here and on two others for about a month, and I chose this one because of the members' anti-antagonistic attitudes toward one another and the lack of threads gone nasty.

corrected a dyslexic misspelling

 

Sweet! And there's no need to elaborate.

I kind of just randomly joined, LOL. But I'm also optimistic that WF will get better and I may start participating on other threads as well.

 

Welcome new mods! I've seen some of you before congratulations on getting mod status!

 

Yeah, that is a good approach and I agree. The addition that I would make is that the toxicity at its source is not usually about threads, more about people and the cliques that you're referring to. It is definitely a common situation to have two members derailing a thread for their own personal disagreement, as you said. In those cases, the two approaches that can be used to intervene are to either lock the thread, or to leave it open and contact the members with a request for them to improve their behavior. Both can be useful, but my recommendation would be to use a thread lock if the thread itself is fundamentally toxic in nature (which definitely happens sometimes; baiting), and to contact members if the issue is more with the people replying than the thread. Remember, locking a thread does not solve the rivalry itself, and often we will see those spread onto others threads unless addressed head on.

In that case, the thread can be left open for more constructive discussion. The playbook that I have found effective as a mod on other forums is:

• Post a reply on the thread asking for it to be steered back on course.
• Send private messages to the members who are fighting to ask them to calm down and take their disagreement elsewhere in private if they would like to continue, but not to derail threads.
• If negative posts continue on the thread, particularly by the same people: delete them and send further PMs as necessary. Optional, if permissions available: ban particularly bad offenders from posting further replies to that thread only using the XenForo thread ban feature.

(And of course I'm not sure if this has been tried here or not, but it's something I've found useful. I was an admin on a similarly sized forum for a few years, and was a mod on a very very big site too a long while back. This was generally effective when I used it though of course every community is different so this is just my advice, I am not criticizing other strategies that can work very well too. I think we're 90% in agreement, and again, congrats!).

Also, just curious, when do y'all use red text versus the default black text?

 

ok uncondional love from my end as long its reciprocated

 

I do want to emphasise that this is not a 'new regime,' but simply an expansion of the old one. This forum is large and very active, and needed more bodies to help with the mod tasks—and it helps to have them spread out around the globe, so somebody is nearly always 'on duty.' Mods want to have a life off the forum as well as on it, so more people makes it easier on everybody. We new folks are making ourselves known and have individual concerns we'll be focusing on, but we're joining an already established and extremely effective team. We're not taking it over or replacing anybody.

 

Also I shall be moderating freelance as @Shadowmat as and when I choose, and at a time of my choosing, and my choice is final, and these are not my opinions only I am right about everything when sanctioned by Kremlin/KFC/Kats for peace/Koolio/kodak/kitekat/kitesurfing is bad - as the enforcer to eliminate filthy people on-line. Message shall repeat across the world of forum, manifesto end.

 

I'm going to be sensible for a few months, and when @minstrel keels over with the bacon overdose everybody will know I have been behaving properly for a long time and am ready to step into his dead feet as the new moderator. Same ways if @Moose has to return to Afghanistan we can make a fundraiser bar chart and e-mail anybody in Qatar.

 

I'm kinda curious to see what "sensible" mat looks like. Probably about like when me and my high school buddies were trying to convince Dad that we hadn't been into the booze downstairs.

 

Congrats, guys! I've seen you all be very helpful here on the forum and you certainly deserve the respect of being a mod!

 

While browsing some threads (including this one) I noticed a couple of regular members now have strikes through their names. It appears the new "culture change" is in full swing.