Mod's from other time zones in busy forums

There's obviously a problem here of Mods not wanting to tread on other Mods toes. I understand that. So why not bring in another user from a different timezone? It's an easy way to solve all this. An external Mod does not hold the same authority over a forum as the established one because they feel limited to what they can do and how they act.

Having a large numbers of Mods on at the same time in one forum is pointless... surely this is not unfair to say? Not to claim that they don't do a brilliant job. This is a strategy to aid current Mods, not put them out of the job

 

Well, it's pretty sad when all three mods are not online.

 

Why is that?

Is there an honest expectation that there should be a moderator on at all times?

 

Not necessarily, but there could be a Mod on more of the time.

 

Is there an honest expectation that there should be a moderator on at all times?

Yes. This is a 24 hour site with users from just about every timezone around the world. I don't see where it's too much to ask that each forum be covered constantly. There's more than enough worldwide users to make that happen.

 

I think I'll have to disagree with that, although I appreciate the answer.

First, it's just not possible for the smaller forums to be covered 24/7. Those forums usually have one or two moderators, and having several more just for the sake for having it covered constantly is more trouble than its worth. If there's a major problem, an outside moderator can step in and take care of it. Otherwise, the in-forum moderators will take care of it when they get online.

As far as the busier forums go, there are more members that frequent them, but again, that doesn't mean that we should have several more moderators for the sole purpose of having forums covered 24/7. I can see that perhaps more attention should be paid to moderator coverage in different time zones, but I don't think it should be the most important or deciding factor in most promotions.

 

As DarthSapient has said, there is almost always some mod who can go in to 3SA forum and help out. He said that he would get a list out of those mods out at some point. In fact, if I remember correctly, Kadue is one of those mods who is going to be "spoiled" and who is in Australia. Thus the 3SA, in this case, is covered 24/7/365. I fail to see why there needs to be yet another dedicated mod when we have a ton that are willing to help. Also, if it is a real emergency (ie a troll) I am sure that any mod would be willing to help.

For example, there was a problem a while back in the 3SA and none of the 3SA mods were around. So, I asked YodaJeff to help out. Since it was a troll/spammer he did and he isn't a "spoiled mod". So, see, it does work.

Seriously, most of those problems in the 3SA are not as bad as you make them out to be. I would bet if people would stop posting "lock this" or similar things, in the spam/troll threads (thus upping them to the top of the page) that they would sink down on their own accord.

 

I don't think it'd be too hard to have 24/7 coverage on the JC & PSA. 3 North American mods, 2 Aussie Mods. And just make sure that they can dedicate the time (ie, have jobs allowing them to be online, or have no life)

 

I would like to point out that at this point in time the 3SA board is highly active, and no Mods are online.

 

I'm assuming you mean that no 3SA mods are online.

 

Yeah, that's the one YodaJeff

 

I would like to point out that at this point in time the 3SA board is highly active, and no Mods are online

And your point is what? There are very few mods on right now in all of the fourms. This is typical of a Sunday morning. In fact, the JCC, which is far busier than the 3SA is right now, has NO mods as well. And cbjedi isn't a US mod.

And are there any emergencies going on? No. Yes, there are a few redundent threads, but that is all. If people would stop posting in them and bringing them to the top, they would sink off the first page in due course.

AKA, having a mod in another time zone wouldn't matter at all right now.

EDIT: I think it is unfair to complain, since it appears that almost every mod from everytime zone (including those in the UK, Australia, etc.) is not online. Besides, Sunday morning is not the busiest time for posting. Example: The 3SA forum went for 10 minutes without someone posting.

EDIT 4: I have to amend that. Rox (who also helps the 3SA out) is online. So, see? There is someone who can help out in the 3SA.

 

YodaJeff to cover all the forums?

Perhaps what the mods need is a rota - one mod for a board this size is not sufficient.

EDIT: According to the online list, there are 261 members on line. Two JC mods are online and one FF mod.

 

Claiming that there is only one Mod to look after the whole forum is not supporting your argument Wstraka5... if anything it highlights the need for a serious re-organisation of the way this board is run.

You have simply undermined the importance of Mods by claiming that their presence is not vital.

 

You have simply undermined the importance of Mods by claiming that their presence is not vital.

I never claimed that. Stop putting words in my mouth. I merely stated that on a Sunday morning nothing ever really happens because there are so few people online. Does there need to be more than a few mods online when so little activity is going on?

Also, what is the "big emergency" in the 3SA or JCC? A couple of redundent threads? Is that it?

EDIT: Sebulba_Sloan, by your logic, the Fan Fic forums should have more mods on now than the 3SA because those forums are a heck of a lot more active than the 3SA right now.

 

Yes, that is my logic.

Busy forum = Mod activity and presence

 

I'm assuming there aren't any major emergencies right now, since I don't have any new PM's waiting for me.

Things always move slow on Sunday, and things move extremely slow on Sunday mornings. Where are all the other mods? Probably sleeping, or spending time with friends or family.

No matter how many moderators there are, there always will be times when few are online. If there only were a few mods online at a time of peak traffic, then it would be a major problem.

 

Busy forum = Mod activity and presence

The point is that the 3SA, JCC, etc. are not that "busy" right now. It was nearly 10 minutes between people posting something in the 3SA. So there are a couple of redundent threads, so what? If you post a link to the appropriate official thread and everyone else stopped posting "lock this now" or other spam the threads would fall off on their own, leaving the mods to deal with the important things like trolls.

Also, mods have lives as well. They are volunteering their free time to do this. It isn't like they signed a contract saying that they would spend X amount of time online moderating their fourms. So give 'em a break.

EDIT: See what YodaJeff said as well. If there were no mods at a "busy" time, then yes, there would be cause for concern. But that isn't the case, since the peak times are typically during when those in the US are up and about.

 

The point isn't that the mods are not online enough, it's the fact that there are not enough mods, period. This issue is hardly new. The lack of mods combined with the territorial arrangement is always gonna make some members unhappy, especially if upon PMing mods from other forums, one is told that it will have to wait until the appropriate mod is online. Next time that member will not PM another forum mod but ignore the problem altogether.

This board does seem to rely a lot on members being capable of self-moderation. With so many younger newbies joining everyday, this is not necessarily a good idea anymore.

 

"if upon PMing mods from other forums, one is told that it will have to wait until the appropriate mod is online."

That entirely depends on what the problem is. If it's an emergency, any mod should be able to take care of it. However, if it's an emergency in 3SA, you can't blame a mod who is trying to stay spoiler-free for wanting you to go to a spoiled mod with the problem. There is no clause in any sort of moderator agreement that says we have to get spoiled. If it is something that is borderline, or isn't necessarily an emergency (redundant threads, etc.), then there is no reason that it can't wait for a moderator who is familiar with the forum to look at the situation.

Edit:
"This board does seem to rely a lot on members being capable of self-moderation. With so many younger newbies joining everyday, this is not necessarily a good idea anymore."

From what I've seen, a lot of the "younger newbies" pick up their posting habits from what they see older members doing. I understand that complete self-moderation wouldn't work, but it self-moderation could work to an extent, especially if older members set good examples.

 

No one would expect anyone to enter the EP3(SA) if they wanted to avoid spoilers.

It is true that there is no emergency now, but that does not rule out a problem occurring in the future.

Pornography for instance - it has been known for inappropriate links etc to crop up from time to time. Surely that should be removed immediately since this is a family friendly board and on a Sunday morning, it is most likely that kids are up early surfing?

Is it fair on the mods themselves who wish to stay spoiler free?

 

"It is true that there is no emergency now, but that does not rule out a problem occurring in the future."

If a problem occurs in the future, you can always send a PM to one of the other moderators who are online. I'm trying to stay spoiler-free, but if there aren't any spoiled mods online, I won't complain (too much) about having to take care of something major in 3SA.

"Pornography for instance - it has been known for inappropriate links etc to crop up from time to time. Surely that should be removed immediately since this is a family friendly board and on a Sunday morning, it is most likely that kids are up early surfing?"

Again, if it's an emergency (and I would consider pornography an emergency), there are other moderators who you can send a PM to.

"Is it fair on the mods themselves who wish to stay spoiler free?"

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement.

 

You basically nullified my last comment by saying that you would not object to going into the Ep3(SA) forum if you had to. Still, if you wished to stay spoiler free, it hardly seems fair that you should have to.

When I started posting in this thread, you were the only mod online. All mods are volunteers and above all SW fans. Would it not be fair to make sure that there is one mod on line who has no objection to spoilers?

Perhaps I've been bad at expressing myself, but when I said rota, I meant a rota of mods who would not mind being exposed to spoilers.

It is obvious from past posts in this thread, that the MS obviously doesn't get as annoyed about redundant threads as some of the members on the forums do. Therefore arguing for more mod coverage to deal with redundant threads would be repeating what's gone before

 

There are two ways to insure "better" (a rather nebulous term!) moderation of the JC. Make the relevant Moderators be available online for longer periods or more moderators for the more difficult times.

Now, I don't think any mod should be expected to be on here for hour and hours a day. It is rather cruel and a definite lifestyle inhibitor! This is a hobby and shouldn't be turned into a job. (witness the high level of mod turn over recently..)

The other way to combat this, is to have, (as other's have said), either more moderators for the inconvenient times, or to officially assign moderators from other forums to be able to pick up any potential slack. (i.e. make CriminalShippedfromUKOzzieMod1 into a official 3SA mod, make HandsomeandruggedEnglishMod4 into a official JCC mod, etc etc).

That way, if the number of moderators is a concern, the levels stay the same but the organisation and visibility of moderators on line improves.

UKS

 

I must say that the British mods are, as expected, rather good at their jobs.

Maybe there should be more....