How to improve forum content / moderation?

Everything about this website and its content. Here you will find update announcements or requests for feedback. Questions about layout, functionality, content, and your suggestions are welcome.
Richard
Moderator
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 14:41
Location: UK

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

Have a quick look at the first page of the fanboy ying yang thread. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7520

I feature in that for pointing out the points difference between McL and Fer in the 9 races up to Massa's accident. That was seen as contaminating the technical motive of this forum. Just shows how things have changed.

Admittedly n_smilke was also trying to count Lewis's crashes as good drives, so that may have swung Ciro's finger towards delete!
Last edited by Richard on 18 Jul 2011, 22:43, edited 1 time in total.

wesley123
204
Joined: 23 Feb 2008, 17:55

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

I think that such a topic like the 'fanboy ying yang' thread is a good deal, allows people to just praise his or er driver all the way to heaven. But for example the first postalone of the topic explains my annoyance, 'De Jokke' explains really well and nicely why 'his' team losed the race, yet get replies like 'Why you talk like you are member of the team?'. Well, that one wasnt even a problem, that was just a little joke there, but such jokes afterwards just create fights, unless someone is smart enough to understand it or just dont reply to it. I am pretty sure that out 9/10 post a guy gets offended by such a reply, take me for example, I can get really mad at such posts, until then someone replies that it was just a joke. I am not a guy who feels offended quickly for example, but I do not like it if they make a pun of my opinion for example. Anyway, after a guy explains you that it was just a joke you just feel like an a$$h*le, just becuase you understood it wrong. It doesnt happen that much, but it is a great example how a forum doesnt show emotions and anyone can get offended by anything.
"Bite my shiny metal ass" - Bender

munudeges
-14
Joined: 10 Jun 2011, 17:08

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

xpensive wrote:I can here you loud and clear jumbo and with you all the way, the technical threads are getting less and less attention, some moderators even claim they are not technical enough to moderate those threads! #-o
The real problem is when technical threads pertaining to a team's car show up something that some would rather not face. All hell breaks loose and the technical stalwarts on the forum just outright stay away. Curiously, the fanboys seem to get helped by the mods. That could be my skewed impression but it hasn't stopped the discontent.

My cousin did point this out in his parting message to the mods but when you've got someone like 747 outright saying it you know it's not just you and something is not right.

Giblet
5
Joined: 19 Mar 2007, 01:47
Location: Canada

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

Segedunum,

You were one of the worst behaved people on this site, period. Having to deal with venomous posts like yours are part of the reason the tiny team of mods don't have time or energy to keep this place running smoothly. Amazing how a couple of trolls and fanboys ruin the site, yet you blame us.

Go figure, 'your cousin' :roll: posts the exact same writing style, and seems to hate the same teams.

Its a pretty lame attempt, and I haven't bothered pursuing 'munudeges' as I didn't really care, but this comment, makes me care.
Before I do anything I ask myself “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing. - Dwight Schrute

wesley123
204
Joined: 23 Feb 2008, 17:55

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

C'mon Giblet, you know better than that!

But like I said before, give someone the space to do it and he'll do it, just like leaving the doors open at prison, you do not expect that the prisoners just stay in their unlocked cells, no they will just walk out, because they are given the space to do so.

How people keep these things under control? Discipline, it is harder to execute on a forum but it just works the same. It means you are strict, but fair and do not change your action, unless you are proven really wrong. With that comes that everyone is threated same. For a human that also is hard to do, you as a person just like other members more(or less ofc), and with that comes unfair behavior, it is like with a father, his youngest daughter is always right.
"Bite my shiny metal ass" - Bender

Giblet
5
Joined: 19 Mar 2007, 01:47
Location: Canada

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

The people that behave like adults in real life never hear from us, ever.

It's not an us vs them situation, like certain people like to think it is. I'm just a guy who gets reports and acts on them.

It's just a web forum. There are no ominous undercurrents of conspiracy. There is no secret club, and no special treatment of any one user.

Once you get enough warnings however, you are on the radar. Like a class of kids, there are good ones, and bad ones. The bad ones (see above) are uncapable of seeing anything they ever do as wrong, even when the entire forum population is telling them so.

Yaw dammit, YAW!
Before I do anything I ask myself “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing. - Dwight Schrute

bettonracing
1
Joined: 12 Oct 2007, 15:57

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

Giblet wrote:...Yaw dammit, YAW!
ROFLMAO!

Richard
Moderator
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 14:41
Location: UK

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

For the sake of all our sanity, could we nuke any thread that has an individual's name (ie Bernie, Alonso, Hamilton, Whitmarsh, etc) in the thread title please.

Also hand out suspensions for member who persistently fail to add anything to a conversation. I'm talking of the inane posts that say "the boss is going to nail it this race". Some people can't even get the name right, let alone make any objective comment using the facts to hand.

User avatar
Steven
Owner
Joined: 19 Aug 2002, 18:32
Location: Belgium
Contact:

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

I wouldn't go as far a locking threads with a name in them.

That said, I do agree that consistent fanboy behaviour needs warnings. Up to now we've only been moving these posts to the fanboy thread, but perhaps warnings can prevent repetitive work for the mods. As everybody knows, 3 warnings = banned

As for the driver threads, I see 3 possibilites at this moment:
- Either we accept only appraisal in the fanboy yinyang thread
- Or we create a subforum of which threads do not show up in active discussions nor on the frontpage
- Or we don't accept it at all
- Or someone else has a better suggestions?

Richard
Moderator
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 14:41
Location: UK

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

Tomba wrote: - Or we create a subforum of which threads do not show up in active discussions nor on the frontpage
This please. Also block from the "new posts" search as that's my landing page for this site.

User avatar
dave kumar
12
Joined: 26 Feb 2008, 14:16
Location: UK

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

Tomba, I would be interested to see if the option of creating a subforum for fanboy threads - a subforum that doesn't show up in the active discussions and front page etc - to see if this is sufficient to reduce the number of fanboy threads created.

It is possible but untested, that if a person continually creates threads that don't get highlighted on the front page etc, they will be less inclined to create these types of threads in future. This is pure speculation, my psychology degree didn't cover internet forum behaviour, (probably something to do with the lack of an internet at the time).

My point is that I'm in favour of measures that reward 'good' forum behaviour. Create interesting threads - get on to the front page and stay there a while. I have suggested previously, some sort of diggit feature that allows forum members to rate threads. I don't remember it getting universal support. Making 'poor' threads less visible is the flip side of what I was suggesting and may have a positive benefit to the forum.

The matter of penalties, yellow cards, sin bins etc. These are more direct measures. It may lead to a sense of unfairness, when there is no appeal process and judgement is handed out by a few. It places a heavy burden on moderators as they have to make fine judgement calls in these cases. If however each member is judged by the whole forum then any sense of unfairness is removed. This is my main reason for advocating some kind of self-rating system where good comments and good threads can be recognised.

I suspect there are no easy solutions. Good communities require hard work.

Regards,
David
Formerly known as senna-toleman

marcush.
159
Joined: 09 Mar 2004, 16:55

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

I think the possibility to rate posts and maybe even threads is potentially a good thing ...
to get rid of those fanboy things is something that needs attention and I have to confess I do fall into the trap again and again

donskar
2
Joined: 03 Feb 2007, 16:41
Location: Cardboard box, end of Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Contact:

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

richard_leeds wrote:
Also hand out suspensions for member who persistently fail to add anything to a conversation. I'm talking of the inane posts that say "the boss is going to nail it this race". Some people can't even get the name right, let alone make any objective comment using the facts to hand.
Richard's first point (which I did not include for clarity) may be a bit over the top. However, I totally support his second point (quoted above). And I continue to believe our moderators have a terribly difficult job and handle it extremely well. Finally, I hope the moderators will focus on the fact that some of our best members have left because (IMO) of the low quality of some threads. I'd rather read and learn from threads too complex for me to contribute to rather than have no technical threads because our technical members have left.
Enzo Ferrari was a great man. But he was not a good man. -- Phil Hill

Richard
Moderator
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 14:41
Location: UK

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

Just seen a post referring to the Boss, Fred and Flintstone ... OK I made the last name up, it might have been Britney.

It was Kettle. Who is Kettle??? Why Kettle, not pot or black?

ps - Hulk is not Hulkenberg - go figure :roll:

wesley123
204
Joined: 23 Feb 2008, 17:55

Re: Moderating sucks

Post

marcush. wrote:I think the possibility to rate posts and maybe even threads is potentially a good thing ...
to get rid of those fanboy things is something that needs attention and I have to confess I do fall into the trap again and again
No it wont, people will abuse this.

For example, if we are in a discussion and there comes a moron arround, that kind of thinks he is right with everything and you tell him he is wrong he will simply just thumb down all of these posts of the discussion, just because he wants to be right.

I have seen it on a different forum too, a much more active forum, here they introduced it too. The Admins there decided to run it for 3 months and then evaluate it, the system was removed after a month or so because it was being abused like hell.

I personally Am in for a subforum for the fanboy bullcrap which does not show up in the homepage or in the 'new posts' search. But I am scared these great guys do not know about the existence and will just keep going on like they do now.

I am also pretty much in on a week ban for example for fanboy posts, 1 time okay, second time warn, third time a weeks ban
"Bite my shiny metal ass" - Bender