Backseat modding/member conduct

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'd be amazed if this hasn't been discussed or brought up in the staff forum or has not been on the minds of one or two staff at some point.

I don't know if this is just my ex-mod powers kicking in or just the fact that it's sick to read and pathetic. But i'm growing very sick and tired of going into a topic reading something thats not very well put together and then finding it's open season on either mockery or wanna be staff quoting the rules, yet somehow forgetting the backseat modding one. The way some people have been behaving lately it's like someone slapped up an "All you can bash" buffet sign on all topics made by new members. I'm not just talking about the obvious topics either, I could pick out one or two things from the showcase forum too that really gets my back up and shouldn't be there.

I could quote topics and even users who are doing this, but then again I wonder if I need to since it's quite obvious as to where these topics are and how often it occurs in. And no it's not a widespread problem that tons of people do on a daily basis... but fuck me, when it happens it's like watching a nature show when their at the water front and the crocodiles are hunting.

Is this really such a difficult concept to grasp, click the fucking report button? There was once a period the forum had when s this twat that used to constantly register and post garbage all over the place, despite getting banned every other week we'd find a way to change his IP and what-have-you. I can still spot this guy when he registers and starts posting about the place, you know what I do? Click report and list reasons why I think it's the guy.

I don't know if anyone else is sick of this, or maybe I'm just out of touch with people and this is the direction we now want to take the forum in. However given the way some staff have locked various topics recently, I'd imagine I'm not out of the loop totally with the overal feeling of this place.

*Sits back in chair with pipe and slippers*

[agoodusername]

Thanks for the advice Gnasher! I never actually knew there was a report button until you brought it up! I've been wanting to report topics but I didn't know how and now that I found that gigantic button that I somehow never saw I can finally be more useful in helping keep the noticeably high troll level down!

[novelty]

I'd be amazed if this hasn't been discussed or brought up in the staff forum or has not been on the minds of one or two staff at some point.

I don't know if this is just my ex-mod powers kicking in or just the fact that it's sick to read and pathetic. But i'm growing very sick and tired of going into a topic reading something thats not very well put together and then finding it's open season on either mockery or wanna be staff quoting the rules, yet somehow forgetting the backseat modding one. The way some people have been behaving lately it's like someone slapped up an "All you can bash" buffet sign on all topics made by new members...

I wonder if this is directed at me....

EDIT: I didn't even finish my thought. I keep forgetting that there is a report button, and I usually avoid clicking it for spam reasons (I honestly don't want to bother the staff for some silly little thing that can be handled as soon as they can get on). Also, I am sorry if I fueled you to make this topic.

It's so hard to report something if that something can show up like spam (like "Omg, he is crapping up the sever plz kick him"). I really don't want to disturb the staff with something like that, or even proper english with proper paragraphs. .

Edited August 31, 2010 by Squirtle

[Blue Blood]

Eh, I'm guilty of poking fun at trolls in the comment box. Is that a crime? I'm seriously asking by the way, because I'm not sure. Nobody's ever said not to. Cas is right though. It's getting annoying seeing all these SPAM/troll topic gets replies and then a locking, only for the same people to reply next time. Especially when the trolls are obvious. What could be done about it?

EDIT: Also, why aren't you a mod any more, Cas?

Edited August 31, 2010 by Blue Blood

[Badnik Mechanic]

I wonder if this is directed at me....

If I wanted to direct that at anyone specific, I'd have the gawl to actually name people.

Eh, I'm guilty of poking fun at trolls in the comment box. Is that a crime? I'm seriously asking by the way, because I'm not sure. Nobody's ever said not to.

I don't particually care if someone says "Whats with all the weird topics lately" in the status box, it only starts to get crappy when people use it to direct remarks at people, but whats really starting to get my back up is how it's like a feeding frenzie with what looks like tons of people jumping in and hammering on at someone regardless as to if they're obviously trolling or not.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Gnasher

[agoodusername]

Eh, I'm guilty of poking fun at trolls in the comment box. Is that a crime? I'm seriously asking by the way, because I'm not sure. Nobody's ever said not to. Cas is right though. It's getting annoying seeing all these SPAM/troll topic gets replies and then a locking, only for the same people to reply next time. Especially when the trolls are obvious. What could be done about it?

I've actually noticed one mod in particular that keeps saying to report members that have been doing this instead of commenting on these topics. Of course I never knew if there was a report button until I started looking around, and most of the time the topics were locked by the time I got there.

whats really starting to get my back up is how it's like a feeding frenzie with what looks like tons of people jumping in and hammering on at someone regardless as to if they're obviously trolling or not.

Now I know for a fact that that one is probably aimed at me and a few others. (despite your previous comment) As I said on one of my recent updates, I don't really like to talk about people behind their backs (even though I haven't named anyone aside from an old account that's no longer in use.) but I'll be sure to keep this in mind and stay off that wagon. I'm trying to be nicer on the SSMB and TSS so I guess I'll just have to keep these new tips in mind before commenting. Things are certainly looking up for 'ol former troll (like a year or two ago) Edge. (Wow... I'm like Earl off My Name is Earl now...)

Edited August 31, 2010 by Edge

[Blue Blood]

I don't particually care if someone says "Whats with all the weird topics lately" in the status box, it only starts to get crappy when people use it to direct remarks at people, but whats really starting to get my back up is how it's like a feeding frenzie with what looks like tons of people jumping in and hammering on at someone regardless as to if they're obviously trolling or not.

I suppose it gets difficult to tell when you get some kids who are quite simply acting their age. In tonights case I think we've had an obvious troll on our hands, and it's fun to have a laugh. It's probably better not to though for the sake of everyone involved. Feeding them, or upsetting them if they just don't know how to behave.

[novelty]

....Which actually brings this topic to one question of mine: Report abuse. Is it possible and can it be stopped?

Edited August 31, 2010 by Squirtle

[Badnik Mechanic]

I suppose it gets difficult to tell when you get some kids who are quite simply acting their age. In tonights case I think we've had an obvious troll on our hands, and it's fun to have a laugh. It's probably better not to though for the sake of everyone involved. Feeding them, or upsetting them if they just don't know how to behave.

I'm not just talking about that though, I've seen a few things which are a bit questionable, one of them is in the showcase forum, and if people are going to come in here saying "Oh this is aimed at me"... again, if I wanted to name names I would do.

EDIT: Also, why aren't you a mod any more, Cas?

I slept with several people on the staff team and then sent secret recordings of the deeds to the super secret staff porn forum.

....Which actually brings this topic to one question of mine: Report abuse. Is it possible and can it be stopped?

You wasn't a member here during SSMB's 'serious discussion era; where you? Not saying that out of disrespect, nor advocating we bring that type of restrictions back again. But this was something that I personally didn't think needs that kind of approach other than a reminder/consensus that it's not on.

[novelty]

You wasn't a member here during SSMB's 'serious discussion era; where you? Not saying that out of disrespect, nor advocating we bring that type of restrictions back again. But this was something that I personally didn't think needs that kind of approach other than a reminder/consensus that it's not on.

Actually, yes I was in the SSMB's 'serious discussion' era; I was banned at that time. Member name: "Loelin The Echinda" (yes, with the misspelling).

Edited August 31, 2010 by Squirtle

[agoodusername]

and if people are going to come in here saying "Oh this is aimed at me"... again, if I wanted to name names I would do.

Ah, sorry about that. It's good to know that I'm not one of them then.

I do think this is a big problem and like the whole "Attention TSS Commenters" thing on here, I think this deserves to be on the main page of the site, or maybe as a message that pops up when you enter the forums (I don't know how they do it, but I've seen sites that have a big message with the whole 'I agree to yadayadayada' deal on it before you enter the forums) so everyone can see it.

Might I ask when this serious discussion era was?

Edited August 31, 2010 by Edge

[Blue Blood]

I'm not just talking about that though, I've seen a few things which are a bit questionable, one of them is in the showcase forum, and if people are going to come in here saying "Oh this is aimed at me"... again, if I wanted to name names I would do.

I know what you're on about, probably the same examples too. I'm just pointing out a related issue. Maybe we all just need a good kick up the arse by the mods. Harsher enforcement of the rules, but not a Nazi attack mind.

[agoodusername]

Maybe we all just need a good kick up the arse by the mods.

I've already got my arse kicked well enough by Dreadknux, Brad, and Slingerland in the past few days and I think I've learned my lesson. I don't need another one!

Edited August 31, 2010 by Edge

[Cake]

Gotta agree with Gnasher on all this (it probably is an ex mod thing XD). On more than one occasion, I know I've gone into a bad topic and been the first one to report it, and by the time staff gets around to locking the topic (which is generally fairly quickly), there are at least 3 stupid posts that, at one point in time, people used to get a strike for.

Seriously guys, if it's bad, report it. If you aren't sure, report it anyways; it takes 2 seconds to check a topic, and if things are cool, the staff will move on. If they're not, the staff'll deal with it. Whether a spammer is just a kid that honestly has trouble spelling, or a troll, it doesn't matter. If it's one, you're picking on a kid who has trouble spelling; that's kinda effed up. If it's the other, isn't the golden rule "don't feed the trolls"?

[Sean]

Now that everybody's going "yeah I agree!" with this advice, I hope you'll be able to follow it, too. :x

[Diz]

I don't know if anyone else is sick of this, or maybe I'm just out of touch with people and this is the direction we now want to take the forum in.

This. Myself, I have gone back and forth in my mind about the issue at hand. Earlier, we would indeed hand out strikes and be harsh about it, not only for sometimes making a moderator's job harder and potentially making a bigger mess, but also for sounding rude to fellow members, shine an elitist atmosphere, or both. Nonetheless, there were moderators for final decisions and public actions.

After the SSMB rules were revamped a couple of times, several things became really unclear, to me at least. As soon as I (officially) became a global moderator, the rules were shortened down and simplified loads, something which made me unsure when to act and when not to. Here, on the new SSMB, rules seem even more basic.

Here is how I believe things turned out: Backseat moderating was allowed to a certain degree. In a friendly manner, members were allowed to point out minor violations in a helpful way, making other members aware and perhaps having the problem solved by doing so. Members still had to contribute to the actual topic in order not to derail the topic or sound particularly rude, but the PM system could also be used to lend a helping hand.

The SSMB staff started to allow members to be somewhat off-topic once in a while for laughs and tickles, and this could be good in order to keep a light-hearted atmosphere whilst still civil and tidy. earlier today does not match to this. The topic is about something which could have developed into a proper topic, efforted opening post or not, and honestly I even found the subject idea a little interesting. Members are supposed to contribute to topics in an on-topic manner so that discussion can start and members hopefully have a good time reading and posting. I do hope that members understand it if I react toward their behaviour if every single post to a topic is dragging it down, mocking even.

If there are negative opinions/urges like "this topic sucks", "that member is so lol" or "posting before locked", please report the topic instead of posting. I admit that it could be fun, but does it really give a good vibe from the SSMB community, instead of being nice and helpful to members while making a report, or making a report and not post at all?

Thanks for the advice Gnasher! I never actually knew there was a report button until you brought it up! I've been wanting to report topics but I didn't know how and now that I found that gigantic button that I somehow never saw I can finally be more useful in helping keep the noticeably high troll level down!

Oh! Well, knowing about the report button sure helps situations like these! I apologize for not explaining this properly earlier.

How to make a report

If you see something which you believe warrants moderator attention, you should file a report. You may use the PM (personal message) system to contact a moderator or administrator if you feel like elaborating a situation (uncommon), but the normal thing to do would be to simply use the Report system. If you see something which you know a moderator is going to act on or do something about, do feel free to make a report. The worst thing that can happen is that the staff decide not to act on it, and at the end of the day, you intended to do a good deed.

To report something, you click that little by a member's post. To report a certain post, you click the Report button by the bottom left of that post. To report a topic as a whole, you report the first post (opening post) in that topic.

Lookie - Down there!

By doing so, in order to make moderators aware of the situation, you will be given a small text field to fill. There is no need to elaborate much here, of course unless you feel the need to do so, but we prefer it if you make yourself understood. Typing "There already is another topic about this" works nicely, typing just "lol" does not. In the case of a duplicate topic, however, we would very much appreciate it if you also add the link to that other topic into the report. To do this, enter the other topic, mark the entire address in the address bar at the top of the Web Browser (ie. this topic's address is http://board.sonicstadium.org/index.php? ), right-click and click on Copy. Then go back to the tab or window with the report, right-click in the text field and click paste. Quite a fancy feature, yush?

The main reason why I bring up that address part is that I have lost the count of times when I have had to do unnecessary searching, sometimes for a long time when not frequenting one certain section, and it should save some time and stress since the reporter most likely already knows the address to that other topic.

Immediately after submitting the report (click Submit Report when done), all the members of staff will be alerted when online. Some (off-line) staff may also be alerted of this through an automated e-mail service and may come online.

Once alerted, staff enter the Report Center in order to organize, act on and/or, if necessary, discuss reports. No biggie.

Please do keep in mind that we do not always attend to reports at once. If a member of staff feels unsure about what to do, he or she may wait for other members of staff to check it out, and then the staff as a whole decide what to do (or not to do).

If you have a moderator complaint, you may send a PM to an administrator (ie. Roarey or Chris), and they will look into it. However, if you feel that there is just a single action, for instance having your topic locked, and you wonder about the grounds for the decision or otherwise have questions, do feel free to PM the member of staff in question (moderators normally post when locking topics), as contacting an administrator for a moderator's complaint should rather be for more extreme cases, ie. feeling like you are mistreated or so (which all leads us to today's R.I.P:)

Profit! If the member is a spambot or someone posting porno or nasty stuff like that, it is very likely that the member is banned on sight. Reporting these cases as soon as possible will be awesome as these kind of violators often make as many posts and violations as they can before finally being kicked out. Not that we have had many of such cases lately, but it may happen from time to time, you never know.

Another thing that is worth mentioning is that, contrary to earlier, members themselves may be reported by clicking the "Report Member" button at the top right of a profile page, right above the star-based rank. You may also report PMs sent to you, and this can be done the very same way you would otherwise report any post. If you feel that someone is making you uncomfortable through the PM system, do not hesitate to report the situation. This is important, as it is very hard for us (at least half-mortal staff members) to know otherwise.

I hope this helped!

[Noir]

This topic makes me miss those glorious days when Gnash was a mod.

He was the first one to yell at me for being an insufferable idiot!

[Remy]

Now that everybody's going "yeah I agree!" with this advice, I hope you'll be able to follow it, too. :x

/signed.

harsher punishments for this on the cards, perhaps.

[TheGerkuman]

There's been a lot of people that have been taking advantage of the rules to be mean and condescending to others. I'm not going to mention any names, but I hope that something can be done about this. I know it's off topic, but it seemed the better place for me to post this.

[Meow]

I'm sure I've done what you've said here and there (once in a blue moon) but then again we've all at one point made an off remark in a topic at someone who's messed up badly or something haha. Unless of course you mean full blown attacks, then yeah - I generally really don't give enough of a shit these days to even read all of that. I used to get into discussions here, now I don't because I can't walk into a topic because it turns into back and forth essays on the same crap we've been throwing at each-other for a long time. Luckily for me, I know about the report button. I haven't used it in a while, but when I was more active here I used whenever I saw something that was really breaking the rules. Other than that if I see something I don't like I'll neg-rep because that's what its there for. I'm not about to waste hours of my life arguing and picking fights with someone over the internet when the argument is just going to get dropped sooner or later due to the fact that the people involved can't agree with each-other on absolutely anything. The big posts that have people picking apart each-other's statements quote by quote really bother me too because by now it just seems pretentious and again...lolarguments. If anything there should be lots of enforcement against all the arguing all the time. You can say "well we're just having a friendly debate (which would be a lie because some of the scathing remarks in said friendly debates say otherwise)" but when every single topic regardless of what it is ends up as that, it gets so annoying and is one of the reasons I don't really post here anymore. But whatever, I just come here for the news these days.

[Roarey Raccoon]

Lol. Report the people who are backseat modding?

As a side note, seeing a few people say the rules should be enforced more harshly is pretty funny XP. It doesn't do wonders for the atmos of a forum to have staffers being strict on the rules; I did it for 5 years, I know. Sure, you can say "just don't be Nazi about it" but 1) it's impossible for forum conduct to be equated with the National Socialist party in the 40's and 2) everybodys idea of what constitutes 'Nazi' is different. So like, if someone is being a total ass to someone else, report it. Making a big ragey topic about how much one is personally disgusted (hello Gnasher) only draws attention to oneself. All I'm seeing here is a big fat "LOOK AT MEEEEEE." XP.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Lol. Report the people who are backseat modding?

So you would like us to report topics that have already been locked and delt with? The issue here is not so much that it's not being reported, but the fact that theres a mindset of it being ok to backseat mod and have a bash at people and then a handful of others jump in whilst the topic is getting delt with by staff. I think in most cases people are reporting the topic in question and then by the time it starts to turn into a free for all the topic is locked and the staffer has to edit in the age old line "Don't backseat mod." People still do it regardless of who on the staff team tells them not to because the mentality of it being ok to do that is still present on the board.

Making a big ragey topic about how much one is personally disgusted (hello Gnasher) only draws attention to oneself. All I'm seeing here is a big fat "LOOK AT MEEEEEE." XP.

Don't be daft, I've got far more degrading methods of getting attention if I wanted. But if you don't want us to bring issues to the talbe anymore. Fine then, we'll just sit and wait for the next big announcement when more stuff like this starts happening.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Gnasher

[Sean]

I think what Roarey's trying to get at is to not make a big deal about it. The amount of ass-kissing Gnasher is getting in this topic isn't helping matters, either.

[Badnik Mechanic]

The amount of ass-kissing Gnasher is getting in this topic isn't helping matters, either.

Yes... because people agreeing with you is ass-kissing... right...

[Diz]

Backseat modding was allowed to some degree. What I take action against is when the only replies a topic has is filled with disrespect/rudeness combined with spam, something which I do not believe fits into that definition. This attitude, I feel, can create a really bad vibe. Am I doing wrong in taking action though?

Edit: While I am at it, if there would be a serious situation on the SSMB that needs moderator attention and members spam lock lock lock, it is not always reported or anything. When there is something that actually requires moderator abilities, like locking or deleting a serious troll topic, why contribute to the fest instead or reporting it?

When it comes to regular backseat moderating that is not spammy or rude, I do not mind.