I think this would be a healthy discussion for those who moderate and participate within the Prince: Music & More forum and the General Discussion forum.

Prince: Music & More mods are matt, June7, Tom and luv4u.

General Discussion mods are matt, June7, luv4u, Nikster, Sweeny79, Tom and CarrieMpls.

(Sidenote: anyone else think another mod is needed in the Prince forum? matt, June7 and Tom aren't really fulltime which leaves us with poor ole luv4u to manage the busiest forum on our site.)

Okay...so, would anyone like clarification on what constitutes a silly thread? Would anyone like to share their own experiences with this subject? Please share you thoughts, advice and any recommendations you would have. The only rule is that we keep the discussion positive and that any criticism be constructive.

Thoughts?
[Edited 8/8/07 7:53am]

This one's a toughie and I know that.

I'd define a "silly" thread as one without a topic. Examples that come to mind are ones that start out with one person stating one thing specifically to another orger and that's it. No means for all to participate in the discussion.

I guess my general philosphy is to wait and see where it goes. If conversation picks up, great, if not, then let it sink. When it becomes bothersome is when the forum is filled with nonsense threads. Currently I'm prone to let a "silly" thread or two slide in the GD but when it appears they are filling the forum to clean up (by locking) as best I can. It's rarely necessary in my last few months of being a mod.

I realize this can be seen as inconsistent. One person's thread a month ago may not have been locked when another's thread gets locked today cause it was a bit much. But I'm not sure I know a better way. I'm open to suggestion. I don't want to be the "silly" police, which is why I usually let it go unless it gets out of hand.

Yes, a mod is needed in there, and I should be that mod since I frequent that forum.

i think a silly thread is a thread where peeps are just talking about whatever that maybe totally irrelevant to the topic at hand. i happen to enjoy those. i don't see why a 'silly thread' is even an issue as long as nobody is being flamed or whatever. does a thread have to always have an elaborate in depth subject to begin with? as long as nobody is getting hurt i don't see what difference it makes. its general discussion for a reason

sosgemini said:

BananaCologne and Anxiety also moderate Prince: Music & More. I think that's plenty... I'm not on here for hours and hours every day, but pretty much not a day goes by that I haven't logged in here one time or another... as for luv4u... God bless her little heart, she works her ass off in that forum and takes a lot of heat for it.

June7 said:

'Nana no longer has an account here (he has long retired as a mod) and Anx is only the news guy. He has mod "access" in all forums so he has the ability to feature news articles on the front page but that's all.

CarrieMpls said:

I did not know that... my bad.

June7 said:

No offense, June7, but if you're not around enough to know that, you aren't around much.
And I don't remember seeing Tom online in recent memory. Doesn't mean he's not, just that I don't see it.
Which is cool. We all have lives. As we should. But Bev is basically alone the vast majority of the time in the busiest forum we have. I think sos was jusy saying it would be nice for her to get some help.

June7 said:

Banana deleted his account months ago and the only reason Anxiety is listed as a moderator is so that he has the functionality to manage the news. When he returned to mod status he was clear about what roles he would take and not take and shared it with us mods in private and with the site at large.

Sh*t man, how can you not know this stuff? I think it just reinforces the need to add someone to that forum who is actually an active member of the community.

i totally just repeated carrie...my bad.


just to follow up here, june7: logging on to a forum to "preview" things is totally different then being an active member of a forum and understanding the history and flow of things...how are you going to know if someone is a troll or not if you don't know the user's previous behavior? How do you know if a thread is silly or not? Moderating can be very subjective and I think one of the important factors of being a site moderator of a community is that you are actually an active part of that community.
[Edited 8/6/07 7:20am]

Imago said:

Yeah, but then you'll have to straighten up and fly right:
Won't be able to do all your funny posts.....
Have to "manage others" which will dampen your sense of humor..
No more altars...
Nawwww.

sosgemini said:

I agree, which is why I haven't jumped in to offer to mod that forum. I'm never in it!

For the forums that I DO mod for that I didn't initially volunteer, I'm doing my best to check in more than once a day so I have a feel for what's going on in there. It makes for better "modding" in my opinion. And I know I can't take on more than I have cause I just don't have that kinda time. Or rather, what I'm doing now is all I'm willing to give at the moment.

sosgemini said:

I just checked, and BananCologne's name is still highlighted in Music and More.
It would help if it were removed when he deleted his account.

You mean to say there's no central communication between mods on the site? Specific info all need to be aware of, that's current and up to date: behavior problems, warnings sent to an orger, potential legal issues. I'm not talking about e-mail. When a mod logs on, a place to go with important "head's up" issues?
Part time mods are needed, as it's a nonpaying job. People have to make a living. I think it brings a different objective perspective. There's room for both.
Do the other mods who aren't here as often (tom, matt) know all that's been going on?

xplnyrslf said:

There are logs amd notes that all mods can see, but you get a different feel when you're on fairly frequently than if you need to look up notes on someone is all.

for the record, i never said there is a problem with having part-time mods. however, there is a problem with having only one active mod in our busiest forum.

I think a silly thread is a topic that's goofy or nonsensical.
There's some pretty silly threads in Music and More,for instance, "Does Prince have a will" another concerned orger regarding the vault.....
As long as no harm is done, silly threads should be OK.
That Borat stuff was over the top in GD.

sosgemini said:

I agree!!!....get the smelling salts....

CarrieMpls said:

I think it's important to not have to many forums on your plate as an active mod. We could use a few more active mods in a few different forums. Perhaps a few new mods that way there could be a far better balance in overall site/forum mod-ing !

guess my opinion is irrelevant.

heybaby said:

Not at all, lady.

And for the most part, I'm in agreement with you. I think it's when the forums are flooded that it becomes an issue.

CarrieMpls said:

I agree with you and carrie hun

that and when simple comments made to one orger could be written via orgnote instead of a thread made up

Mach said:

okay that i can understand

sosgemini said:

if you're suggesting that i'm not an active part of this community, well then you're just dead wrong. just because i don't live here like a few of you do, doesn't mean i don't know what's going on. i know anx came back as a news moderator but his name is listed on the forums as a mod... i know he made his statement as to what he's going to do and not do, i just assumed he had the same powers and could mod if he wanted. as far as banana, that is news to me, i know he wasn't happy with some of the peeps here, but i thought he was still our gallery guy...

i love how you take any opportunity to rag on me about whatever the situation is, fucking lighten up man. if you dislike me for some reason, well, there's nothing i can do about that, but - i've tried to be cordial with you and respectul in the forums but that gets harder and harder as each day passes.

i'm sure if ben didn't think i was capable of doing this then he wouldn't have selected me... i've not changed in attendance or personality since i became a mod, so, whatever.

not knowing who's a troll or what constitutes a silly thread is a ridiculous assumption - this is not rocket science.

CarrieMpls said:

I do take offense to that statement... it suggests that i'm not doing what i've agreed to be doing when ben contacted me for this. Fact is, i get a lot of flack for whatever mod action i take around here from orgers and fellow mods! doesn't make doing this any thing to write home about, but in reality - i really love this site. I can't imagine NOT being here - occasionally i take a week or two leave. I have three kids, I'm heavily involved in community theatre and work over 50 hours a week. I'm going thru a divorce that has taken up a lot of my time - plus, I'm slowly getting a social life again. when i do come here it's for hours at a time, and i make every effort to effectively moderate what i see fit to moderate. 'nuff said.

June7 said:

i don't have an issue with you personally...

June7 said:

I'm sorry. As I stated, I meant no offense. I was simply disagreeing that we already have enough help. By pointing out that you don't live here to me does not demean in any way your contributions to this site. Just that we could use more help in that forum is all. Because you DO have so much going on away and AREN'T here all the time only helps illustrate that another mod or two in that forum could be practical. That's all.

June7 said:

there's a lot that's not rocket science around here {{cough cough}}.
[Edited 8/6/07 17:12pm]

CarrieMpls said:

Sorry, Carrie - I didn't mean to be a jerk... knee jerk reaction, that's all. I have no problem with adding new mods if a forum needs it. My problem is not with you... I just get over emotional sometimes... i do have a problem the mods who don't want to mod a particular forum, but yet have a gazillion opinions of how the thread is moderated, or not being moderated. That can be annoying.

Here's an idea... I say we get a thread going to see what orger would best qualify to be a new mod in the Prince forum, we could choose who we think is a qualified candidate, and forward it to ben. If he agrees, great, if not... it would be fun to do anyway.

June7 said:

Our role here includes being a check and balance for the entire site. If moderators actually responded to the mod email list and there was effective communication maybe i wouldn't have to resort to publicly making comments to get your attention. it's not like its rocket science or anything.

You mods let me get away with murder on my silly ass threads, and I really appreciate that