Quoting johnd:

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After my recent stoush with Skip, the number of emails I received in support indicate that there are a significant number of people who would contribute to this forum if they would be treated with respect, and that people like Skip would be kept under control. Moderation seems the only way to do this.

Becoming a moderator on these forums should also require the undertaking that the person does not participate in active threads except in their moderator function. I know this sounds hard, but it is the only way that at least some degree of impartiality can be ensured.

Anyone who nominates themselves should not be considered. Personal experience indicates that these people are ones who see the role as a way to wield power over others.

Moderators should be anonymous.

Selection of moderators should be a private process, not one conducted in the forum. It's a pity that the process was advertised here at all. It would have been better if it was set up and running before anything was said.

Totally agree.

Quoting johnd:

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Becoming a moderator on these forums should also require the undertaking that the person does not participate in active threads except in their moderator function. I know this sounds hard, but it is the only way that at least some degree of impartiality can be ensured.

Anyone who nominates themselves should not be considered. Personal experience indicates that these people are ones who see the role as a way to wield power over others.

Moderators should be anonymous.

I agree with most of what you said, except the part about refraining from the discussions.  They don't need to be monks.  If it is a debate about contributions or a new feature, they should be allowed to voice their opinion like anyone else.  What they shouldn't do is take sides once things get heated.  They just need to step in and put an end to it.  Not that difficult.

What I would like to see is out of the moderators is a simple handling of "CDProfiler" variety threads.  Rather than having the regulars jump down the person's throat, just a simple answer by the moderator (like "There are no plans for that product at this time") and lock the thread.  It would help cut off the hostility that often builds once the regulars make a comment that the original poster feels insulted by and starts to respond in kind.  There is no reason to scare off the new blood that could help ease the work of the community.

Quoting synner_man:

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I agree with most of what you said, except the part about refraining from the discussions.  They don't need to be monks. 

Unfortunately, at least initially, that is exactly what they should do. Once the mechanism has been proven robust, and clear moderator guidelines have been setup and tested, that might change.

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It would help cut off the hostility that often builds once the regulars make a comment that the original poster feels insulted by and starts to respond in kind.

Exactly why I support this. I know that there are a lot of people who would like to participate here, but do not due to the hostility and rudeness demonstrated by some of the regular posters. Moderation may well help this, and allow the forums to return to representing the DVDProfiler community. At the moment, the forums are the personal playground to a few vocal people, and do not represent that community.

Quoting johnd:

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Unfortunately, at least initially, that is exactly what they should do. Once the mechanism has been proven robust, and clear moderator guidelines have been setup and tested, that might change.

But I don't think complete isolation from the community is necessary to moderate.  For example, let's say a debate breaks out about the parsing of a particular name.  If the debate is calm and rational (let's just pretend ), the moderator should feel free to participate in the discussion.  If things start to spiral out of control, then it is time for that person to step back and put on his/her moderator hat.  This doesn't mean they should be involved in every thread that opens, but they should need to remove themselves from the discussion.  I've seen plenty of moderators that are active members of the posting community.  It just depends on their personality.  You need someone who is not too strict, but can lay a smackdown when necessary and takes nothing personally.

Quoting johnd:

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Quoting johnd:

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Becoming a moderator on these forums should also require the undertaking that the person does not participate in active threads except in their moderator function. I know this sounds hard, but it is the only way that at least some degree of impartiality can be ensured.

Just wanted to clarify this. I mean that a moderator cannot participate in a thread under any user ID at all.  In other words, they cannot express an opinion here outside of the moderator function. As I said, I know this sounds hard, but it is the only way to ensure fairness.

As I said earlier, I've been involved in forums/echoes/groups for over 30 years, as both moderator and user.  Restricting the moderators from participating as a regular user doesn't work.  They have as much right to express their opinions on issues as anybody.  Their job as moderator is to maintain order, nothing more, and that doesn't have to interfere with their rights as a user.

Hey Ken.

You should choose three moderators. Two men, and one woman.

Then make their Screen names Linc, Julie & Pete.

Then they could be the "Mod(erator) Squad!"

 

Quoting hal9g:

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Quoting Kevin:

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I don't really agree with that. As long as the moderators maintain a balanced approach to everything, there's no reason they can't participate in discussions.

I hope you are joking, because if you're not, that means that whomever are the moderators, they will not be able to participate at all.

Since Ken is going to use moderator 1 as the username, the moderators can participate all they want under their regular user names.

It would be best if we don't ever know who they actually are!

Good point...

I do not like the idea of an incognito mod either. And thinking about it, I never encountered a forum which used one. Also there can be mistrust then. Rumors about who could it be and such. And when the mod slips up (e.g. logged in with the incorrect account when warning someone) the whole cover is blown.