The Demotion of Strilo

And it appears the lack of clear communication in MS and beyond is exactly what allowed this problem to grow until this happened.

 

Who would it go up to if the person being perceived, and I want to stress perceived, as a bully is the head admin?

 

I obviously don't know what went on in the admin forum about Grimby's ban, but I don't think it's unusual to have people disagree about whether or not to ban. In fact, it happens all the time - almost every time a "problem user" thread gets bumped or created, there are different opinions about bans vs. warnings. It's all about different moodding styles. If I had to guess, that's what I'd say it came down to. Again, I don't know, and I don't know what was said, but I don't think it's unreasonable for people to disagree over whether or not to ban someone.

As for the rest - there are (obviously, again) two sides here, but that doesn't make one person right and another wrong. Could this have been handled better? Yes. But, as Dingo said, LAJ and RJ are offline (for the night, in the former's case). It's been a bit over 24 hours since everything happened and the admins are in three different timezones, which makes it hard for stuff to happen fast. This isn't really a situation where we can all sit back and and sing kumbaya, but taking time to discuss this calmly and rationally - that's EVERYONE, I'm definitely not directing this at one person or side - will, I think, bring us a long way.

 

epic, I suspect you know this, but MS has often functioned with clique's. Its possible that people wouldn't want to speak up because they would be worried about being shot down, not just by the person they are speaking up about, but by all his/her mates waying in as well. Some people don't like public confrontation. Your the kind of personality that loves the cut and thrust of having it all out in the open, but a lot of people ain't like epic.

Not saying thats the situation here, just saying generally, that may be why some mods would prefer to do it through an admin than make a point about it in MS.

When I was in MS I always tried to keep myself out of all of that. I hardly ever PM'd anyone about other mods. I didn't use AIM. I didn't use any other off-shoot message boards. No facebook. No twitter. Nothing. I just kept myself above all of it - Its amazing the gossip that passed me by!

 

Actually this was already addressed when the last admin issue came up. The Fan Force admins are the ones to be contacted.

 

You may want to update your rules page then, because NOWHERE is that reflected and in fact specifically state the Head Admin is the final say.

 

I don't know...that's why I am asking you. I see your point and don't disagree, but given that I have never stepped foot in MS I was genuinely asking a question about what conduct is welcome. I never know around here, despite what seems reasonable, what level of disclosure is welcome and what's frowned upon. s65horsey Thank you for clarifying and letting me know.

 

It really is frowned upon - same as a non-mod calling someone out in a thread in a non-private forum.

 

That's what I figured, but still wanted to ask rather than assuming. However, I do agree that its silly not to be able to candidly discuss someone if they are genuinely causing issues (not saying Stilo was).

 

But he gave himself the ban. He pronounced sentence on himself when those that had the power to pronounce sentence told him a ban wasn't necessary according to him. Can everyone on this forum pronounce sentence and punishment on themselves? Since he apparently thinks a ban over something that is said in pm is petty, why the ban? Why was he allowed to give himself the ban? Were the fan force admins called upon to make a ruling?

 

well, it's been awhile since i stepped foot in there, and many different administrators inbetween. i don't see why it should be frowned upon against though. if you can't discuss things amongst yourselves in a private setting, then, as shaner says, it can breed the kind of discontent that is evident here.

if something is directed at an individual from another individual, it can appear as a personal vendetta, rightly or wrongly. if something is discussed within a group, amongst peers, it can be a healthy, carthatic exercise.

 

Probably one reason you are still sane.

 

I don't disagree epic, just trying to gain some understanding. I can also see open discussion being abused for personal vendetta and that being a reason given for not permitting full disclosure even in a private forum. Not to say that's right.

 

There are other ways too besides just an open forum free for all. You can have mediation from a non-biased mod over the ones raising the ruckus.

 

I would love to see results of a full mod review of strilo based on the opinions of those he served in the pt forum. They would be the voice I would most respect as opposed to this he said she said nonsense.

 

My version of the JCC can be everything for everyone

 

@ Eeth My Koth

Yes but his modship wasn't an issue in his demotion. I was a member of the prequel forums back before the merger and during the days of the Basher's Sanctuary.

I can tell you he was an active mod as some of my older user notes will attest.

But again, that was not the reason for his demotion. I think the admins have all said he was doing fine as a mod.

 

Strilo's a great forum mod.

I've been pretty critical of him in this thread, but the one thing I can't criticise him about is the way he mods/modded his forum. He's always done a great job at actually being a forum mod. Thats not in dispute by anybody, I don't think?

 

Seems so ridiculous to remove someone who is doing a good job where it matters most.

 

So here's my question... where do you turn when the person you have the issue with, is the head admin? Sure, you can give me the standard / generic song and dance about contacting another admin... but when the other two admins are relatively passive, and seemingly generally go along with whatever the head admin says... what then? How do these issues get resolved?

... and if you tell me to contact Phil Wise, Ima kick you in the ding ding.

 

halibut?????

Who knew he wielded such power.

He's like our Yoda.

 

I cannot agree more with this post. Being a good mod in your forum(s) should always be the most important criteria for judging a moderator's performance. Given what's been stated by Grimby and others about the situation, I do not see why a demotion was necessary and why this could not have been handled with less drastic tactics. Strilo can definitely be aggressive and confrontational when voicing his opinions, especially when he disagrees(I've seen this first hand, in MS and out), but in my opinion I don't see that as grounds for demotion. Mod Squad is a place for voicing your opinions, passionately if need be, and it is a forum where having a thick skin should be a requirement. Strilo has definitely stepped on people's toes before(and undoubtedly will in the future), but resorting to demoting him is like trying to shove an unpleasant situation under your bed or in your closet instead of discussing the underlying issues in the open and trying to resolve things in a healthy, satisfying manner.

Which brings me to another point others have raised - there seem to be communication issues in Mod Squad. Mods shouldn't have to run to the admins when they have a problem with other moderators, as epic pointed out it is a private forum. Discuss your issues openly in Mod Squad and let the mod community try and address things as best as they can be. Also, issues with moderator performance/behavior such as what's occured with Strilo should not just be discussed among the Administrators and then decided on. In my opinion, it would be most helpful to discuss a situation like this in an open thread in Mod Squad so that everyone in MS can participate, which I think would lead to better thought out, more logical conclusions being drawn than when the discussion takes place only between three admins and the moderator in question. The ultimate decision still lies with the admins, since that is their purpose, but leaving the MS out of the loop discussion-wise is harmful. The MS is full of smart, thoughtful people, many of whom are experienced at dealing with situations like this. They're a good resource for resolving personal issues, it's foolish not to make use of them.

 

I actually addressed that in another post already. Fan Force admins.