Surprising that on such a heavily commercialized forum like this, the mods are not compensated.
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Authoritarian style moderation at MacRumors
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Surprising that on such a heavily commercialized forum like this, the mods are not compensated.
I’ve been suspended a few times, often it’s “politics” which is a catch all
I’d suspect they have some strong biases on this site and swing the ban hammer accordingly, sadly they lose out on some good content by doing so
This is the case with a few sites unfortunately
I’d suspect they have some strong biases on this site and swing the ban hammer accordingly, sadly they lose out on some good content by doing so
This is the case with a few sites unfortunately
I do not get this argument about mods doing this job for no compensation as a way of justifying their personality and attitudes towards moderating this forum. They should be doing it because they want to do it, no different to charity workers who do what they do with no compensation. Mod's primary motive for being here should be so they can make the forum a pleasant and better place for all. Any other motive then they should not be a mod. So please, stop with this praise of the mods.
I beg to differ.
What is wrong with praise when something has been done well? Or, thanking someone?
Or, at the very least,recognising and acknowledging the work that has been done, because, I suspect that the time commitment may be considerable for those who do it.
Moreover, in the absence of payment (because one's time is always valuable, and that should be respected), it is all too easy to assume that because one is not paid, that, therefore, one's work - and moderating this sort of forum is work - is worth nothing.
In the past, I have disagreed (sometimes profoundly) with some of the stances taken by the owner of this forum, but, at the end of the day, it is a privately owned company, and the owner has a right to choose what forum rules exist, how they should be enforced, and how it should be moderated.
The fact that this sort of discussion is allowed to take place on the forum, is, in itself, to my mind, a positive development.
I beg to differ also. Your perception of a job being done well is different to my and others perception of it being done well with regards to the forum hence why this discussion has been taking place in the first place.
I regretted the abolition of the PRSI sub-forum.
This is because politics greatly interest me, and I had found MR a place where I could explore, examine, ponder on, (and, at times, argue about) politics, above all, with Americans, as attitudes to such matters can differ markedly from positions Europeans might hold on socio-economic and political matters.
And, as I remarked earlier, I have disagreed (profoundly, on occasion), with some of the decisions that have been taken here.
However, passions ran high, and the forum decided that the moderation of that section wasn't worth the time, effort, energy, necessary to run it and still keep it (even slightly) civil.
At the time I regretted the decision; now, with the passage of time, - and with reluctance - I think that they may have made the correct choice not least because I am not sure that it is any longer possible to discuss such matters in a civil and composed and courteous manner in an online environment where we are protected by anonymity.
Nevertheless, the PRSI section was not the only one where passions and emotions have run high; personally, I tend to give the iPhone sections a wide berth for similar reasons.
I say that (write that) because the online world is so new that I think an agreed etiquette for online communication has yet to evolve.
I suspect that there is a sort of three way pull, or contradiction, between, firstly, this new form of communication (where an agreed etiquette has yet to evolve), the well known First Amendment in the US, which some individuals (and I include myself) assumed allowed for the open expression of what they wished to say, - and (sometimes, worse) how they could say it - and the fact that such 'rights' do not necessarily apply to private companies where one can set (and enforce) one's own rules. That took me quite some time to understand.
When one adds to that the fact that most of us here use a nom de plume, a pen name, and that this may serve to afford a degree of distance, and perhaps, detachment from what one writes - for, I wonder whether such intemperate posts would be made if people wrote under their real names? - the need to set boundaries on what is acceptable becomes (to my mind) more pronounced.
I, for one, welcome relatively strict enforcement of rules - an online free for all is nothing but a horror show. To my mind, tone matters as much as content.
Now, of course, discussions of what the rules are (and whether they are subject to change) and how they are enforced are always interesting.
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Yep and I think its crystal clear they want too. While many people may disagree with their methods, you cannot take away their zeal or desire to help maintain MR.
There will always be people who hate how a forum is run, it doesn't matter if its a chevy Colorado forum, or a subreddit where the mods are overly/or underly aggressive.
Here at MR, I think overall most people treat other members with respect and focus on debating the topic and not making things personal. I'm not about to say that trolls/insults and negative personal comments don't exist but given the size of the membership and volume of posts, this site is one of the most active forums on the interwebs AND its one of the most respectful imo.
At the end of the day, no authority figure can please everyone and a site as diverse as MR, the staff has largely done a great job.
Sadly, we are in a world where the exchange of opinions and ideas that are politically based is no longer tolerated. Left leaning folks yell past their right leaning folks, and vice versa. There is no longer a dialogue where ideas are ruminated, talked and debated and the best parts of the ideals are embraced.
I don’t believe Reddit has “humor”, rather they just hear a thing and then say that thing to everybody else and they all grin and repeat it to each other until it’s a spike in the brain to hear it again and again.
That or they create a comment thread of vomit-inducing puns and “ironic” role playing of dry absurdist “humor”.
They really indulge in the “ZOMG RANDOM! Taco Waffle! Never gonna give you up!” brain drain. The more “random”, repetitive, formulaic and absurd, the more karma.
I was referring more to the way Reddit is moderated.
That or they create a comment thread of vomit-inducing puns and “ironic” role playing of dry absurdist “humor”.
They really indulge in the “ZOMG RANDOM! Taco Waffle! Never gonna give you up!” brain drain. The more “random”, repetitive, formulaic and absurd, the more karma.
I was referring more to the way Reddit is moderated.
Please refrain from using the word hate to describe those who have a difference of opinion and view. Not everyone agrees with how things are done, it therefore means they just disagree, it does not mean they hate how the forum is run. Please chose your words carefully next time. Thank you.
Reddit is absolutely toxic. MR can get a bit much at times, but it's absolutely not in the same weight class. I didn't last six months when I tried Reddit, it's either circlejerk->echo chamber->cult indoctrination insanity, or get dogpiled for voicing an even remotely dissenting opinion, no matter how valid or well reasoned. That doesn't happen here mostly. Even with the PRSI section where things could get a bit more heated than they're likely to over a tech discussion, though I'm not sad to see the back of that. Online 'anonymity' + politics is generally not a healthy mix.
I stand by my words, and I feel hate perfectly describes my perspective on what I see from others.
Your opinion seems to go much further then just disagreeing how things run.
I did, you may not like the words I used ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Its horrible, I poke into a number of subreddits for my interests and I've seen some subreddits with overly zealous mods and some that are largely inactive.
I'm of the opinion that regardless if I agree with someone or not, if someone leaves, it makes MacRumors a little less special.
My main point is that part of a forum and threads is that subtopics and side conversations are natural yet this forum chooses to step on anything that slightly deviates from the specific topic at hand.
While others who spew borderline hateful garbage are given a pass.
While others who spew borderline hateful garbage are given a pass.
I agree, and back when I was a moderator, I tried to provide leeway towards those organic discussions. I think maybe the staff takes a more strict perspective. I'm not privy to anything, so I cannot say one way or another, only my how I tried to moderate (let me just say I know I wasn't perfect as a moderator).
If hateful garbage is directed towards a member, or is attacking a people group then those comments shouldn't be allowed to stand. Even if they were not directed towards anyone specific, did you report the posts? It can't hurt.
Why not praise somebody? Have we devolved in a such a way that one can't praise another? Even with the charity workers some could be better at what they are doing than others.
Some of these posts remind me of the gag lines in Annie Hall:
- person 1: the food in this restaurant is terrible
- person 2: yeah, and such small portions
OP was complaining they are getting censured for calling someone out, which is in violation of the rules. It seems the few moderation complaints are because people didn't read the rules, don't care to follow the rules or don't like the rules. It is unlikely that some of what people are complaining about will ever change.
Additionally, there are multiple users in this thread voicing the same concerns yet the concerns are being dismissed like we are children instead of sincerely saying "Okay we may have a problem, as a MacRumors team we will internally review our processes, procedures and rules to ensure they are being applied fairly and equally to all posts and threads including when hateful and insensitive comments are made."
It says a lot about an organization when there is push back and continuing with the status quo instead of listening and taking feedback with genuine interest instead of censoring the feedback section that you allegedly allow people to voice their concerns in. It's all smoke and mirrors.
It says a lot about an organization when there is push back and continuing with the status quo instead of listening and taking feedback with genuine interest instead of censoring the feedback section that you allegedly allow people to voice their concerns in. It's all smoke and mirrors.
Yeah it's funny how they charge $50 a year for members and also have sponsors yet can't pay their moderators, sounds like a well managed organization to me.
Ya'll are getting screwed as moderators IMO.
It's $25 for the record.
If you seriously want to discuss your moderation, why don't you follow the steps outlined in post #11 so that we can see what was moderated and discuss it substantively? All this generalization and grandiosity does not make you look very serious IMO.
I agree but I understand their side, too.
While I appreciate the mod's work, I've noticed some of the most popular posts on this site get outright deleted. For example, in the "MacBook Air is too heavy" thread, the top post was "Man I love this forum.". It got 50 likes within about an hour. People obviously loved that post. But the mods deleted it. This discourages engagement and community in this forum and will ultimately be a detriment longterm to it.
I've had similar posts that got so many likes and responses and ultimately got taken down. I PMed mods and have even made threads here asking what rules did my posts break, and those threads and posts either got no response or were deleted.
I just don't see the point in deleting posts that aren't against any rules and create engagement and responses. It seems counterintuitive to the reason of even having a forum. It seems as though if ANYONE reports a post of yours, it gets deleted.
While I appreciate the mod's work, I've noticed some of the most popular posts on this site get outright deleted. For example, in the "MacBook Air is too heavy" thread, the top post was "Man I love this forum.". It got 50 likes within about an hour. People obviously loved that post. But the mods deleted it. This discourages engagement and community in this forum and will ultimately be a detriment longterm to it.
I've had similar posts that got so many likes and responses and ultimately got taken down. I PMed mods and have even made threads here asking what rules did my posts break, and those threads and posts either got no response or were deleted.
I just don't see the point in deleting posts that aren't against any rules and create engagement and responses. It seems counterintuitive to the reason of even having a forum. It seems as though if ANYONE reports a post of yours, it gets deleted.
I do think the moderation here is more heavy handed than a lot of other places I visit, but I also appreciate the overall civility on the site, and know firsthand how difficult moderation on a busy site can be.
Over the years of message boarding I've also found that the kind of person that posts a "goodbye" manifesto is typically not the sort that will be missed by the community.
Over the years of message boarding I've also found that the kind of person that posts a "goodbye" manifesto is typically not the sort that will be missed by the community.