Mod Squad Update for the Week Ending 2/16/03

Lots of topics and big discussions took place this week, thus the length of this week?s update. Some of these topics are still ongoing in the Mod Squad, Communications, and the AC. But here is a breakdown of what has transpired this past week.

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[color=black][hl=yellow][b]Spoiled or Unspoiled - That is the Question[/b][/hl][/color]

It was brought up in the AC that weekend coverage in the 3SA can be lacking at times. The following is a list of moderators who are going the spoiler route who can be contacted when no 3SA mods are online.

[b][u]Spoiled[/b][/u]
[b][color=steelblue][hl=silver]Kadue[/hl][/color][/b]
[hl=dodgerblue][color=springgreen][b][i]Genghis12[/i][/b][/color][/hl]
[hl=darkorange]Sebulba-X[/hl]
[hl=black][color=violet]Liz Skywalker[/color][/hl]
[hl=dimgray][color=white][b]Morgaine[/b][/color][/hl]
[hl=black][color=gold][b]Quixotic-Sith[/b][/color][/hl] - at least for the next year or so as I'd like to avoid knowing too much about the film
[hl=snow][color=silver][i]Gandolf the Grey[/i][/color][/hl][hr]
[hl=yellow][color=black][b] Taking a few days off [/b][/hl][/color]

Darth Real Life has called once again and Morgaine has decided to take an official leave of absence.[hr]
[hl=yellow][color=black][b]Slash Fan Fiction[/b][/hl][/color]

Much discussion and debate took place in Mod Squad, Communications, and the AC among many members. Slash fiction is material that may include topics such as homosexuality and other areas not typically discussed on the boards. An on-going discussion can be found at the link below. The slash conversation is also going on in Fan Fiction Resources, in a poll from Darth Breezy, with discussion about a petition. It's basically people who moved down from the Comms thread to involve more fic writers.


[link=http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=10523317&replies=446] Avoiding conflict? I don't think so! [/link][hr]
[hl=yellow][color=black][b]The Advisory Council ? Its Use and Future[/b][/hl][/color]

31 admins voted. A number of mods (11) visit daily and post rarely. 7 rarely visit, 4 visit weekly and post rarely, 4 visit daily and post often, and 5 post daily. Both sides of the issue have great thoughts. Discussion in Comms was unparalleled. For those in Mod Squad who don?t use it, there?s not much to do to convince them otherwise of the relevancy of the AC. And that?s fine and a valid opinion. Those who do use the AC consider it another form of input to moderating and an unbiased viewpoint. On-going discussion can be found at the link below:

Please feel free to continue discussion in here:

[link=http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=10553587&replies=48] Advisory Council Update: 2/8 - 2/14 [/link]
[link=http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=10336442&replies=703] Advisory Council-Needed or Unnecessary [/link][hr]
[hl=yellow][color=black][b]Star Wars Community Forum[/b][/hl][/color]

Darth Attorney, Obi Anne, jedi-mind-trick and others already have been working on the do?s and dont?s of the forum as well as its guidelines. The purpose of the forum is to provide a gathering place for Star Wars fans to engage in light-hearted discussion about the Star Wars films and aspects thereof. Appropriate thread types for this forum include discussions about one film of either trilogy, one specific trilogy, one aspect of a film (sound effects, characters, etc.), games, fan clubs/defense forces and line-by-line threads. Management at this time will be jedi-mind-trick, Morgaine, and Obi Anne.[hr]
[hl=yellow][color=black][b]Argumentative Logic in Debates[/b][/hl][/color]

Alot of this discussion centered around what is and is not contributing to a thread. Saying something sucks was a central point we looked at. The larger issues was whether or not this leads to a basher/gusher war. It was generally felt that those who rely on the argument that something sucks and nothing else should receive a note and/or PM. We?ve found that users participating in a thread don?t typically rely on short comments like that. Oftentime

 

Mr. Sapient, this is a masterful update. Looks the ModSquad was busy this week. Admirable effort by all involved.

AYBABTU?

 

Thanks for the great update DarthSapient.

Alabak

 

Darth Real Life? It is pointless to resist.

Top draw, and once again, I'm itching to see what drama can come out of this. A very informative, yet drama free update. (I don't know whether to or )

 

Is it the goal of the Mod Squad to make it impossible for users to contact them?

 

Thanks, Sapey.

 

Is it the goal of the Mod Squad to make it impossible for users to contact them?

What exactly do you mean by this, farraday?

 

Quixotic-Sith should of told you about this person known asDie_Gusher, do you have any information about who it is and why he/she is doing it?

 

Nice update, Sape.

(Thought I'd get that in before the seeming inevitable mudslinging starts.)

UKS

 

Indeed, very nice update Sapient.

 

Depending on your email and how many cherry blossoms fall from the trees in japan that day, you may not be able to recieve email from TFN.

The admin email account is awash with spam mail and almost completely unused.

Now removing your IM contacts?

Of course this would never happen, but what is someone who gets caught in an IP ban supposed to do? According to the woefully out of date guide for banned users, they're not supposed to send an unban request if they think they're innocent. They're not supposed to talk to *any* mod but the one that banned them and while I suppose it's possible someone might perhaps read the admin email once in a blue mooon, the liklihood they'll respond is about up there with the Yankee's winning the World Cup.

Hell, the Admin contact list in the Comm FAQ is a dead link.

So tell me, what is a user supposed to do to get your attention? I supposed they could hire the Met Life blimp and fly it aroudn the US asking why they're banned, but that might not work given how unlikely it is you'll be outside to see it.

Feel free to make a woefully inadequate response that will attempt to fix the inherent contradictions of the admin's policy towards banned users.

 

Kadue brought up a thread seeking opinion on removing the "Faces" and "Markup Codes" links.

Regarding that, I and several other moderators have suggested getting rid of the links to the Archives and Translation instead, and some have suggested getting rid of all four links. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

"Discussion is in the early stages, but we wanted everyone to know what was going on."

It's been over three weeks since the Reform evaluation thread in the JCC was closed. Why is this discussion still in the "early stages?"

And may I ask what the deal is with Vertical and his generic VIP colors and lack of title?

Amazing.

Edit - I no type good.

 

Of course this would never happen, but what is someone who gets caught in an IP ban supposed to do?

I would suggest sending in the unban request. If someone says ?I?m banned, and I don?t think that I?ve done anything wrong,? and I discover that they haven?t, it?s a minutes work or less to correct the situation.

 

Good update, Sapient.

Tayschrenn

 

So tell me, what is a user supposed to do to get your attention? I supposed they could hire the Met Life blimp and fly it aroudn the US asking why they're banned, but that might not work given how unlikely it is you'll be outside to see it.

PMs. Like everyone else.

 

And may I ask what the deal is with Vertical and his generic VIP colors and lack of title?

An announcement on that is forthcoming, probably. It?s not my place to say anything.

 

Ahem.. "Do not talk privately to an admin other than the one who banned you. If you do not want to settle it with the admin who banned you alone, feel that he/she has some kind of bias or misjudgment, and would wish to inform the admins in general, please e-mail jc-admins@theforce.net . And naturally, if you don't know which admin banned you and would like to inquire, use e-mail as well. "


Personally I know what to do, even if it violates the so-called rules.

But I'm not a newbie trying to deal with being banned for the first time because some newbie mod accidentally banned the AOL proxy server.

 

But I'm not a newbie trying to deal with being banned for the first time because some newbie mod accidentally banned the AOL proxy server.

Hey! I haven't banned anyone yet...

 

Hey, I think that was a threat!

Admine Abus! Admine Abus!

I do hope Vertical isn't stepping down because of some internal coup in which Gandolf threatened to eat his children.



Ooops not supposed to post things from private forums, sorry.

 

If not response is forthcoming via PM from the admin who did the banning, I don't think there's anything wrong with PMing an administrator about it.

However, if there was an accidental ban, I don't see what the problem is with sending an unban request stating that it was an accidental ban. Someone will see it and take care of it. If nothing changes, then letting an administrator know via PM is fine in my opinion.

 

I do hope Vertical isn't stepping down because of some internal coup in which Gandolf threatened to eat his children.

Since when did Mike Tyson register at the JC?? [face_shocked]

 

Wonderfully descriptive and incredibly informative.

Perhaps you should discuss with your fellow mods reforming the incredibly out of date informational threads leading to the apparent problem?

 

PMs. Like everyone else.

Uh, IP banned users can't PM. It says "Sorry, you are banned, no PMs for you!" when you try.

 

Nice update, but can we please, please please have some closure on the JCC reform. It's been going on for far too long.