@AnthonySmith said:
2. I do not like the idea of giving someone who in reality I only know as well as their username access to everyone's email address and IP info.
Is is not possible to restrict mods from accessing this kind of information?
Not as standard in vanilla but will look into it, might be super mods that have that access only.
@AnthonySmith said:
2. I do not like the idea of giving someone who in reality I only know as well as their username access to everyone's email address and IP info.
Is is not possible to restrict mods from accessing this kind of information?
Not as standard in vanilla but will look into it, might be super mods that have that access only.
Defeats the purpose. Specially when trying to identify abusers and duplicates/shills.
@AnthonySmith said:
2. I do not like the idea of giving someone who in reality I only know as well as their username access to everyone's email address and IP info.
Is is not possible to restrict mods from accessing this kind of information?
Not as standard in vanilla but will look into it, might be super mods that have that access only.
Maybe I don't care enough about my privacy, but I would not mind mod having access to that. Considering mod would be someone not too shady.
If I want to know your IP, all I need to do is inserting a picture and looking at HTTP server logs.
To identify specific user, I can PM them the picture and wait for them to read the message.
If you want to know my email, run whois yoursunny.com.
@Mason said: hold a community-based election if need be
I agree with this, @AnthonySmith should pick the first few candidates and from then on it should be based on elections.
The only thing we need to somehow avoid is to be an echo chamber of ourselves as I have seen lot of communities turn into these and die a slow death. The forum currently allows for good amount of diverse opinions and we need a process to keep it that way.
I think a couple of mods with overlapping time zones will be important in the long run so that everyone gets some sleep. That said, the roles of the mods and who gets to be a mod should be the purview of Ant and only Ant. He is a fair-minded man in my view, and I personally prefer an enlightened despot as opposed to a democratic mob. If Ant thinks he needs a mod, he appoints one with the terms and conditions he is comfortable with.
At least two mods with different time-zones would be good.
They (mods) should be neutral i.e., they should not take sides in a thread discussion, and then ban the user that's on the opposite side if/when they get a chance (Flag). They don't ban someone because of vendetta; just because of argument with that user in some thread/in the past/on other forums. They should also not be making their own rules to ban someone or provide explanations for banning a user, they should instead just stick to the Rules of the forum.
Is there an 'Appeal to the Ban' system in Vanilla Forums? If yes, then the appeal should go to the other mod (the one who didn't ban the user) or the Administrator.
Moderators should be Moderators, not Thought Police (even if we're living in Oceania).
If the IP addresses can be hidden, then surely, they should be hidden from the mods.
Hi everyone - spoiler is a bit of background so I can keep this short.
I went through this process of decisions many many years ago i.e. before we had the internet..... (I am 65 and still a real techie).
I ran one of the first bulletin boards and was involved in the development of BBs software (CBBS).
I knew at the time, that dial-up single user systems would be replaced with multi-user networked systems. My board was being used 24 hours of the day and was providing a great benefit.
I did everything as a hobby and got a lot of satisfaction knowing that people were solving real problems and getting things done.
One thing was obvious the people using the system were 'techies' and I wanted the board to be more 'universal' and less techie. With this in mind I decided to introduce what I called sigops (Special Interest Group Operators). If a member of the board had a special interest they (with my permission) could become what we would now call a mod for their own group/board.
There was no payment involved and the sigops did their own promotions.
The board exploded and became so popular and my software and concept was being used by many others - pre Open Source.
The sigops had control of their members and could invite and drop them from their own areas. The areas could be invisible or just private invited access.
Hopefully by now you can 'see' similarities with current systems.....
Boards WILL be abused and moderation IS necessary - creating a self policing community is essential to aid moderation.
Natural moderators 'rise' based on their interaction. A community should not tolerate strong insulting language - 'don't be a dick' is not enough. Arguing in public forums should not be allowed - thats what PMs are for. Good quality discussion / interaction is what solves problems.
@AnthonySmith you are doing the right thing by opening this up for discussion, but you as the board owner need to have a clear (I know it is dumb) mission statement.
My key warning to everyone has to be legality and this is where the admin is essential. My experience was absolute hell when the board was purposely abused for the benefit of a TV program. The police were involved and I was completely cleared and the police considered prosecution of the TV program for doing what they did. That did not stop me from almost having a breakdown etc etc.
I would happily put my name forward but how can Anthony decide who is good / bad / experienced etc. As Anthony has said how can he judge someone just based on the name?
Anthony you need 'face to face' discussions to make these sorts of decisions. Obviously this should be via zoom etc but the people you choose need to have a face. If they are not prepared to be visible there is a problem.
I most often use push-ups as rewards or bonding. Girls I like are invited to do push-ups with me head-to-head.
Push-ups as punishment are used sparsely. When someone is late to a meeting, they'd do one push-up per minute late.
might give me an excuse to leave my comfy as computer chair.
I don't even have a computer chair. The computers are stacked on top of cardboard boxes and I'm standing while using the computers.
You should try the same.
@AnthonySmith said:
2. I do not like the idea of giving someone who in reality I only know as well as their username access to everyone's email address and IP info.
Is is not possible to restrict mods from accessing this kind of information?
Not as standard in vanilla but will look into it, might be super mods that have that access only.
Defeats the purpose. Specially when trying to identify abusers and duplicates/shills.
Abusers can easily circumvent that by using a VPN and throwaway e-mail, so it's literally the privacy of all members vs a potential abuser.
@AnthonySmith said:
2. I do not like the idea of giving someone who in reality I only know as well as their username access to everyone's email address and IP info.
Is is not possible to restrict mods from accessing this kind of information?
Not as standard in vanilla but will look into it, might be super mods that have that access only.
Defeats the purpose. Specially when trying to identify abusers and duplicates/shills.
Abusers can easily circumvent that by using a VPN and throwaway e-mail, so it's literally the privacy of all members vs a potential abuser.
It is still easy to find patterns and such . Plus for what it is, if someone really wants to be a twat, they can pull your ip without ever needing any access to admin data.
This is where I assume trust comes in handy. Your IP is already logged in and someone already has access to that.
Having taken things into consideration and due to the amount of PM/messages this thread generated with various perspectives and positive feedback I have decided to take on a few volunteer mods.
They all will use the @LES-Moderator account and their anonymity will remain optional and at their own discretion.
I have started it off with minimal rights and will adjust as required.
Comments
Not as standard in vanilla but will look into it, might be super mods that have that access only.
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Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.
Defeats the purpose. Specially when trying to identify abusers and duplicates/shills.
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Gimped mods = no mods at all.
Especially for a place like this where mods will need to fight scammers.
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Maybe I don't care enough about my privacy, but I would not mind mod having access to that. Considering mod would be someone not too shady.
I don’t care if mods see that kind of information. Anyway you don’t know what other’s forums do it them anyway.
This space intentionally left blank
If I want to know your IP, all I need to do is inserting a picture and looking at HTTP server logs.
To identify specific user, I can PM them the picture and wait for them to read the message.
If you want to know my email, run
whois yoursunny.com./vote @yoursunny for Moderator..
He'll roll out Pushups as punishments.. might give me an excuse to leave my comfy as computer chair.
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I agree with this, @AnthonySmith should pick the first few candidates and from then on it should be based on elections.
The only thing we need to somehow avoid is to be an echo chamber of ourselves as I have seen lot of communities turn into these and die a slow death. The forum currently allows for good amount of diverse opinions and we need a process to keep it that way.
I think a couple of mods with overlapping time zones will be important in the long run so that everyone gets some sleep. That said, the roles of the mods and who gets to be a mod should be the purview of Ant and only Ant. He is a fair-minded man in my view, and I personally prefer an enlightened despot as opposed to a democratic mob. If Ant thinks he needs a mod, he appoints one with the terms and conditions he is comfortable with.
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If it's really a concern, just mask the last octet of the IP?
At least two mods with different time-zones would be good.
They (mods) should be neutral i.e., they should not take sides in a thread discussion, and then ban the user that's on the opposite side if/when they get a chance (Flag). They don't ban someone because of vendetta; just because of argument with that user in some thread/in the past/on other forums. They should also not be making their own rules to ban someone or provide explanations for banning a user, they should instead just stick to the Rules of the forum.
Is there an 'Appeal to the Ban' system in Vanilla Forums? If yes, then the appeal should go to the other mod (the one who didn't ban the user) or the Administrator.
Moderators should be Moderators, not Thought Police (even if we're living in Oceania).
If the IP addresses can be hidden, then surely, they should be hidden from the mods.
Also. Those who are OG would know this,
Don’t hire Bear. Fuck that.
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LOL
I too was going to say that.
tbh, if I found out bear was even registered here I would probably ban him for being a twonk of the highest order.
https://inceptionhosting.com
Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.
Hi everyone - spoiler is a bit of background so I can keep this short.
I went through this process of decisions many many years ago i.e. before we had the internet..... (I am 65 and still a real techie).
I ran one of the first bulletin boards and was involved in the development of BBs software (CBBS).
I knew at the time, that dial-up single user systems would be replaced with multi-user networked systems. My board was being used 24 hours of the day and was providing a great benefit.
I did everything as a hobby and got a lot of satisfaction knowing that people were solving real problems and getting things done.
One thing was obvious the people using the system were 'techies' and I wanted the board to be more 'universal' and less techie. With this in mind I decided to introduce what I called sigops (Special Interest Group Operators). If a member of the board had a special interest they (with my permission) could become what we would now call a mod for their own group/board.
There was no payment involved and the sigops did their own promotions.
The board exploded and became so popular and my software and concept was being used by many others - pre Open Source.
The sigops had control of their members and could invite and drop them from their own areas. The areas could be invisible or just private invited access.
Hopefully by now you can 'see' similarities with current systems.....
Boards WILL be abused and moderation IS necessary - creating a self policing community is essential to aid moderation.
Natural moderators 'rise' based on their interaction. A community should not tolerate strong insulting language - 'don't be a dick' is not enough. Arguing in public forums should not be allowed - thats what PMs are for. Good quality discussion / interaction is what solves problems.
@AnthonySmith you are doing the right thing by opening this up for discussion, but you as the board owner need to have a clear (I know it is dumb) mission statement.
My key warning to everyone has to be legality and this is where the admin is essential. My experience was absolute hell when the board was purposely abused for the benefit of a TV program. The police were involved and I was completely cleared and the police considered prosecution of the TV program for doing what they did. That did not stop me from almost having a breakdown etc etc.
I would happily put my name forward but how can Anthony decide who is good / bad / experienced etc. As Anthony has said how can he judge someone just based on the name?
Anthony you need 'face to face' discussions to make these sorts of decisions. Obviously this should be via zoom etc but the people you choose need to have a face. If they are not prepared to be visible there is a problem.
HTH
Mike
If some well known, reputable community members offer to do it, i see no harm in it.
MS said:
Nobody is ever truely neutral, but yeah, if mods get selected they should be somewhat moderate
An interesting question to consider is: "Should users that are mods permitted to have any other roles/tags on the forums"
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Nah, I would very likely ban the wrong account because I'm still getting used to this keyboard:
Photo credit: @Foone
I most often use push-ups as rewards or bonding. Girls I like are invited to do push-ups with me head-to-head.
Push-ups as punishment are used sparsely. When someone is late to a meeting, they'd do one push-up per minute late.
I don't even have a computer chair. The computers are stacked on top of cardboard boxes and I'm standing while using the computers.
You should try the same.
that keyboard gives me anxiety.
https://inceptionhosting.com
Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.
You need to look in a mirror more often.
lowendinfo.com had no interest.
look at the F keys!
https://inceptionhosting.com
Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.
Warning issued to AnthonySmith for using bad language
Abusers can easily circumvent that by using a VPN and throwaway e-mail, so it's literally the privacy of all members vs a potential abuser.
It is still easy to find patterns and such
. Plus for what it is, if someone really wants to be a twat, they can pull your ip without ever needing any access to admin data.
This is where I assume trust comes in handy. Your IP is already logged in and someone already has access to that.
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May ask who is this?
Mod on WHT. one of the ”originals” there.
https://clients.mrvm.net
That is the most polite description of him I think I have ever heard.
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Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.
I don’t want my account on WHT banned for slander
https://clients.mrvm.net
is it possible for flagged post/comment to hide? with settings to allow to see the hidden post obviously
Not currently within the vanilla platform.
https://inceptionhosting.com
Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.
Having taken things into consideration and due to the amount of PM/messages this thread generated with various perspectives and positive feedback I have decided to take on a few volunteer mods.
They all will use the @LES-Moderator account and their anonymity will remain optional and at their own discretion.
I have started it off with minimal rights and will adjust as required.
https://inceptionhosting.com
Please do not use the PM system here for Inception Hosting support issues.