Concerns about moderating policies

[Johnoly]

...Making occasional posts that get "modded out" isn't going to get you banned. Even mods get posts "modded" (I've had more than a few removed over the years and @The Chairman is probably still among the most modded people on scubaboard)...

But even following the TOS a mod will delete your post. Case in point was my checklist in A&I Jupiter bite thread that was poof'd as off topic. Even though I didn't violate any TOS and it clearly was related to the accident. Maybe a 'backroom' discussion between mods should better define parameters of 'off topic' so it can be added to TOS.

 

[Storker]

But even following the TOS a mod will delete your post. Case in point was my checklist in A&I Jupiter bite thread that was poof'd as off topic.

I won't discuss this particular case, but to take it from the specific to the general: the ToS aren't the only rules every member - including staff - has to follow. Some forums - like New Divers, Basic, Women's Perspectives and A&I - also have Special Rules, and the Special Rules for A&I are pretty clear about going off topic.

Or at least they were the last time I checked...

 

[Diver0001]

But even following the TOS a mod will delete your post. Case in point was my checklist in A&I Jupiter bite thread that was poof'd as off topic. Even though I didn't violate any TOS and it clearly was related to the accident. Maybe a 'backroom' discussion between mods should better define parameters of 'off topic' so it can be added to TOS.

Since you asked publicly I will comment publicly. The A&I forum is normally moderated more strictly with respect the off topic posts than other parts of the forum. The post to which are are referring made some accurate but off topic comments about the thread, not about the incident. For this reason it was deleted.

That said, a lot of off topic stuff goes on everywhere on the board, including in A&I. I think it's safe to say that moderation is not uniform in all cases. For that reason, you might feel as if you were being personally singled out. Unless you are reported on an extremely regular basis this is never the case although I can fully understand why you might have that impression because I've been in that situation myself as well. Some users do get "harder" moderation than others. These users are always ones who are constantly on our radar for one report after another. Thankfully they are rare. I can assure you that since I do not know who you are that you are not one of these.

As a general rule if you have questions or objections it's a good idea to discuss it with the moderator who informs you that your post was removed. Sometimes the motivations for removing a post are very different than the assumptions people make about it.

R..

 

[Johnoly]

.. the ToS aren't the only rules..

...The A&I forum is normally moderated more strictly .....

I understand that "off topic" is a grey area to define.
Thank you both for your posts, mod's have a difficult job to do and I appreciate them.

 

[Freewillow]

As a general rule if you have questions or objections it's a good idea to discuss it with the moderator who informs you that your post was removed. Sometimes the motivations for removing a post are very different than the assumptions people make about it.

R..

As far as I remember, I was "moderated" twice and for understandable reasons that I did not suspect beforehand.

However, I do not remember that I was notified spontaneously by the moderator. I could get hold of him, but indirectly , at least in one case that I remember. But I may be wrong in this statement

My question is the following: " when one is moderated" does the author get ALWAYS a warning/message from the moderator?

 

[Wookie]

As far as I remember, I was "moderated" twice and for understandable reasons that I did not suspect beforehand.

However, I do not remember that I was notified spontaneously by the moderator. I could get hold of him, but indirectly , at least in one case that I remember. But I may be wrong in this statement

My question is the following: " when one is moderated" does the author get ALWAYS a warning/message from the moderator?

No. I also have been moderated once or twice (or half a dozen times). I was hardly ever or never told why. But it was obvious to the most casual observer. I am king of dragging a thread off topic. My mind meanders along like that too.

 

[Diver0001]

As far as I remember, I was "moderated" twice and for understandable reasons that I did not suspect beforehand.

However, I do not remember that I was notified spontaneously by the moderator. I could get hold of him, but indirectly , at least in one case that I remember. But I may be wrong in this statement

My question is the following: " when one is moderated" does the author get ALWAYS a warning/message from the moderator?

It does with the new software unless the moderator "deselects" that option. The only reason we would deselect the option is if a number of posts are being deleted to eliminate an entire side-bar. In those cases it's normal to leave a modpost in the thread.

The old software wasn't as sophisticated in that way so a PM needed to be sent manually. Sometimes that slipped through the cracks.

R..

 

[The Chairman]

It used to be more difficult to communicate the reasons. Now, not so much. When we delete a post a dialog box opens allowing us to to tell you why we are moderating your post.

 

[Storker]

I do not remember that I was notified spontaneously by the moderator.

I don't know if this happened with the old board software, or the new. However, the current board software encourages the moderator to provide a reason for the deletion or the editing of a post.

It's optional, so sometimes the moderator forgets. That's regrettable, but the mods are only human. But in most cases, a member should receive a notification of why their post is edited or deleted. Usually, it'll be a rather short justification, like "off topic", "personal attack" or "quoting a deleted post". Othertimes, the reason for moderation seems so so obvious to the mod that they might consider that the reason for moderation is rather self-explanatory. That may well be a wrong judgment, but again, the moderators are fallible humans like any other member of the board. We try not to be, but unfortunately we are.

EDIT: Dang, ninja'ed by both @Diver0001 and @The Chairman .

 

[Colliam7]

Oh and going through posting history can be very misleading. Often the offending posts have been deleted so there is no trail for users to see, we can see it but to the casual observer it seems nothing is wrong.

To add to RainPilot's comment, there are also situations where there is a part of a post that is particularly inappropriate - personally insulting, offensive, whatever - but the post overall is related to the OP, and has useful information. In that case, we may go in and simply edit out the 'troublesome' part, after which a user will see the post, but not the problematic part, and may reasonably conclude that the post was 'OK'.

I has a very interesting discussion with a new sidemount student just the other evening. It was the first time I had met the gentleman, he was VERY, VERY well-prepared, and had obviously done a lot of background reading and viewing. I asked him what resources he had used. And, during our discussion I happened to mention, 'And, there is a lot of good information on ScubaBoard as well.' His reply was telling, 'Yeah, there's useful information, but I tend to avoid ScubaBoard because I have to wade through all the bickering, and drama, and insults just to get to anything good.' He made the comment not knowing I am a SB mod, so I took his response as 'real'. And, that is the unfortunate truth, for more than a few divers. They are simply put off by name-calling, blame-storming, agency-bashing, etc., etc. And, elect not to participate. Sometimes, we Mods may seem to be a little strident about enforcing some policies. But, we do it to make SB the kind of online presence that serves the larger body of users. At the same time, I know that some users really seem to enjoy reading sarcastic exchanges (to put it mildly). But, SB is NOT a cage fight, and we will continue to work to make sure that it doesn't become one.