feedback about moderation

[Oldjohnw]

Simply by being here we have all agreed to this:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3661

You have given the mods permission to remove posts without consultation and within their discretion. I would imagine that these 'rules' were drawn up with appropriate legal advice.

[thirdcrank]

... Has anybody suggested there is a breach of contract here? ...

Not in so many words. I was responding to this:-

... Locking threads is not even a moderation action that users have agreed to. ...

[Cyril Haearn]

I see we have a new Moderator, Carlton green of this parish, congratulations!

[mjr]

I don't know much about contract law, but I thought that for it to be enforceable, there had to be a "consideration." Usually money changing hands. I'd be happy to have my knowledge widened.

Not only money. We contribute our labour on our posts here, which is worth money.

So, I had to go looking by logging out and pressing the 'register' option. That brings up an agreement which includes this:-

... You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should they see fit. ...

Thanks for checking. That wording is not present in the version available to current users (which explicitly claims to be "A reminder of the Agreement Terms").

Messier and messier!

[Graham]

I see we have a new Moderator, Carlton green of this parish, congratulations!

Yes, Carlton green has offered some assistance. A bit of a learning curve first.

This is in anticipation of a squeeze on Vorpal's time in the short / medium term.

[thirdcrank]

I went back to look at what people "signed up" for at registration because that's the only time when a forum member does anything positive to agree. Obviously, they don't sign anything but they register a username, create a password and provide an email address. It's possible and indeed easy to use the forum without seeing the posts setting out the rules in more detail which I referred to as stickies.

Many agreements are binding without a written agreement or signature. Going in a shop and buying something is an common example. There was a well-publicised case a little while ago which decided that those private car park signs along the lines of "by parking here you agree to these terms..." were the basis of a contract.

One problem with anything that isn't written down can be establishing what was agreed.

I'd prefer not to have any forum rules at all. I gave the example earlier of the "no swearing" rule. I'm not saying that swearing etc should be allowed but what happened was most people quickly grasped the idea of "no effing," but tried to test the boundaries of "or blinding." In that case it's the difference between "adult" language and being grown up. The intention was that the forum should be "family friendly" and hear, hear to that. My preference would be to broaden that to being "everybody friendly" within the law, of course.

[mjr]

most people quickly grasped the idea of "no [proxy for the F word],"

I have been moderated in the past for using that exact alternative (for a motorist's action which made me rather angry). I don't know if you're deliberately trying to test the limits of "or blinding" as some sort of satire!

[thirdcrank]

most people quickly grasped the idea of "no [proxy for the F word],"

I have been moderated in the past for using that exact alternative (for a motorist's action which made me rather angry). I don't know if you're deliberately trying to test the limits of "or blinding" as some sort of satire!

Not at all. It was just an example - in good faith - to try to illustrate what I'm trying to say. As soon as there are rules, the more people try to exploit and test them. I picked swearing as my example because it's apolitical and so, unlikely to ignite a firestorm for the mods to tackle. Also in written form any remotely offensive talk is usually deliberate, unless somebody is an innocent.

The picture of innocence.

[mikeymo]

There was a well-publicised case a little while ago which decided that those private car park signs along the lines of "by parking here you agree to these terms..." were the basis of a contract.

https://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/ ... -part-one/

[Cyril Haearn]

Moderators may post here like anyone else, are they subject to any restrictions? Or the opposite thereof?

[Carlton green]

I see we have a new Moderator, Carlton green of this parish, congratulations!

Yes, Carlton green has offered some assistance. A bit of a learning curve first.

This is in anticipation of a squeeze on Vorpal's time in the short / medium term.

Thank you for the welcome Cyril.

It is indeed a ‘bit of a learning curve’ but I hope that that won’t put anybody else off of trying to put something back into the forum too. Having seen a little of what happens beyond the sight of members I’d say that 4/5’s of the work that the Moderators do is hidden from the view of ordinary members. I’d also say that the patience that I see behind the scenes is quite extra ordinary.

My personal view (of course I will follow the ‘party line’) is that some members need to work effectively at getting on better with others ... I appreciate that that is easier said than done but it’s better than the alternatives ... Let’s all work at making this a happier place where even the most timid person feels welcome and able to voice constructive comment.

I’m looking forward to serving the forum as best that I can and thank all those who wish me well.

[Bonefishblues]

I'm already wearing flowers in my hair CG

[thirdcrank]

Pure coincidence but my first ever bike was a secondhand green Carlton and much too big for me, but I learned to ride a bike on it and it got me hooked on cycling.

[thirdcrank]

Subject to it not involving too much work to set it up, how about an experiment in which once a post had been reported, it was marked so everybody knew?

At the very least, it would prevent members going to the trouble of reporting a post and then getting the message it had already been reported.

Whether it would serve to calm the situation or raise hackles, I don't know. For me it would be the former but I appreciate others may react differently and it might lead to a lot more reports. It would have to be activated by a full report, not just hitting one button.

Perhaps this has already been tried elsewhere and has failed.

[Bonefishblues]

I'm putting my tick in the box marked 'incendiary'