Open/transparent moderation

[ldcdc]

What do I mean? Well, pretty much all forums have a hidden area where mods chat and decide what to do about whatever goes on.

How about making them public (read only)? Would the advantages be outweighed by the dissadvantages?

Has this been attempted before? What were the results?

[SoftWareRevue]

I can see no advantage to it.

I could see such "private discussions" not being as effective as they would be if they were actually private.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has tried this and their results.

But, I see nothing to gain from it.

[ldcdc]

I see the very open nature as an advantage as it would have less of a caste feeling to it. You know, the "Those guys are always so secretive." stuff. Plus that some things found in "vaults" would be very valuable to regular members.

I could see such "private discussions" not being as effective as they would be if they were actually private.Yes, a main dissadvantage. Probably mods would often end up using IM to maintain privacy, which would then ruin the whole idea of the new system.

[Scott]

I really don't see how a read only forum could create any benefits. Perhaps some members would like the openness, but if they can't see the forum anyway, they wouldn't know they were missing out.

Worst case scenario would be where a mod wanted to report abuse by a user, that user could then see this post and attack the mod for making it.

If anyone has done something like this perhaps they could share how it went. :)

[writespeak]

I could see such "private discussions" not being as effective as they would be if they were actually private.

I agree completely. We need a place where we can feel free to say things that we wouldn't say in public. Do we want everyone to see discussions about how to respond to a specific member or types of members, for example, or about whether or not a mod move was a mistake? :eek:

I see the very open nature as an advantage as it would have less of a caste feeling to it. You know, the "Those guys are always so secretive." stuff.

I know what you mean, but I'd like to see that problem addressed by choosing to have some discussions in public rather than making all private mod discussions public. And to include more details in responses when we can. For example, when I respond to helpdesk tickets at WHT, I'd rather say something like "The post has been removed. Thanks!" than just "Thank you for your report." A thank-you without an explanation feels secretive to me when of course the member knows the post has been removed because it was spam and he can't see it any more.

Lois

[Aussie Bob]

There's transparency, and then there's too much. HTTPme had a private staff forum, where we interacted on issues. Although HTTPme was an open community, there's no way I'd open up the private staff area for public viewing. Some things are best kept private, and away from the public's eyes.

[KimmiKat]

Same for my mboard. There's a staff area and I believe most mboards have them. Some, like WHT, has multiple staff forums for the different levels of moderators, including some (ie. Admins Only) that are not viewable to the Guides and Liaisons there.

[Aussie Bob]

Although I would pay a pretty penny to have a sneak peak at the WHT admin forum. :booty:

I'm surprised INET didn't add that as a member option. :rofl:

[adb22791]

Although I would pay a pretty penny to have a sneak peak at the WHT admin forum. :booty:

I'm surprised INET didn't add that as a member option. :rofl:

All it is is SWR discussing his latest Permathong ideas :nuts:

[writespeak]

All it is is SWR discussing his latest Permathong ideas :nuts:

So you did get a peek. :dqueen:

Lois

[Jan]

Dan, if you want to trial it on your own forum, how about setting up two mod areas? One for secret mod business and one for whatever you think members might want to view.

I have to wonder why you ask about this though. I don't know of any members who have wanted to *see* what is going on in the mod forums, just a few who want to view tossed threads :S

[Jan]

Although I would pay a pretty penny to have a sneak peak at the WHT admin forum. :booty:
Fairly quiet in there :):talk2:

[ldcdc]

I have to wonder why you ask about this though.Just wild thoughts to make things different. No other particular reason.

For example I thought... what if you'd make every member (older than say 2 months) a moderator (not admin) with relatively little power (like not able to "hard delete" etc), but able to help out. Of course, very harsh rules for those abusing their modding abilities would be in place.

Dan, if you want to trial it on your own forum, how about setting up two mod areas? One for secret mod business and one for whatever you think members might want to view.Yes, it would probably be the better option. My forum though is too small to experiment and actually draw any kind of conclusions. :D I would simply like to know the downfalls you see and the improvements you can invision to make that new system work.

[writespeak]

... what if you'd make every member (older than say 2 months) a moderator (not admin) with relatively little power (like not able to "hard delete" etc), but able to help out.

A lot of members who contribute well aren't interested in being part of the moderation/management aspect of a forum.

I would simply like to know the downfalls you see

Having private concerns made public is a downfall to me.

Lois

[ldcdc]

A lot of members who contribute well aren't interested in being part of the moderation/management aspect of a forum.They wouldn't have to moderate. They'd simply have the ability do to so if they were so inclined. :)

Having private concerns made public is a downfall to me.Can't argue with you there. :)

[KimmiKat]

That's true. I have some I asked if they wanted to be mod and they said no and are happy just using the "report this post" button.

A lot of members who contribute well aren't interested in being part of the moderation/management aspect of a forum.

Lois

[Scott]

what if you'd make every member (older than say 2 months) a moderator (not admin) with relatively little power (like not able to "hard delete" etc), but able to help out

What kind of "power" (don't really like using that word in this context, but never mind) would you give them? Even the ability to close topics could cause wars with some members. I can't see this doing anything but being detrimental to the forum as a whole. Perhaps that's just me :s

[Aussie Bob]

. . . Having private concerns made public is a downfall to me.
Yeah. It's like hanging your undies on the front fence to dry. Sure, they'll get dry, but everyone seeing your undies aint a good thang, errr, or thong. :D

:nuts:

[adb22791]

For example I thought... what if you'd make every member (older than say 2 months) a moderator (not admin) with relatively little power (like not able to "hard delete" etc), but able to help out. Of course, very harsh rules for those abusing their modding abilities would be in place.


Just put up an announcement or sticky that you are "recruiting" moderators. That way you will be sure to get interested members.

[writespeak]

What kind of "power" (don't really like using that word in this context, but never mind) would you give them? Even the ability to close topics could cause wars with some members. I can't see this doing anything but being detrimental to the forum as a whole. Perhaps that's just me :s

It isn't just you. With power comes responsibility. Or it should. Mods have power to edit or move posts and threads, for example. Do you want to give that to people who haven't proven themselves to have a fair, balanced approach and who don't spend time staying on top of current forum concerns? Or let them close threads when they might exercise personal interests in doing so?

You need more than length of membership to be able to moderate. But you (Dan) know that well, so maybe I'm missing your point. Why give people any moderating power unless they've demonstrated the ability to see things fairly and are interested in making a commitment to the forum in a moderating role? If they're members who deserve respect, they'll get that with or without a title.

Lois

[Aussie Bob]

Fairly quiet in there :):talk2:
As long as the Search feature was working. :D

[cyberturk]

i think visible managment rooms can't be effective as unvisible ones. Forum moderators could speak private discussions such as new projects about forum. But if members could read it, they couldn't be a reform.

[PHPGeek2k3]

honestly i think there are some subjects that just dont need to be open to the general community. I like the idea of having the deleted posts ("depending on content of the thread / post") get moved into a open to the general community read only / searchable forum that way like mentioned before the people trying to find information and/or a solution can find information that has been already asked before.

Thanks
- James