Moderator Bias

[mwerte]

Semi-frequently there are accusations of “moderator bias” and “selective punishment”. These accusations are often true, though not normally for the reasons the offended party claims. The real reason is much more mundane; the mod team can’t read everything. We cannot be everywhere, we cannot proof every thread. What we do is simple, we browse the forum during our free time, in the manner that we did before we became mods, and open threads that interest us. We read those, and usually we don’t see anything to moderate, because by and large the comments here are at least acceptable. Also during our free time, we open threads that have interesting or problematic titles, like “mwerte is a retard and should be banned”. We then smite whoever posted something with that blatant of an insult, and move on with our day.

The problem is pretty obvious then, we don’t see everything. We do our best, but lives and nonsense tend to get in the way of what is truly important; DiscoveryGC. That is why there are frequently threads that devolve into insults and mud slinging and off-topic-ness before we can address the problem. That’s where you, dear reader, come in. See the shiny little “report” button under each post? If you see something borderline insulting, insulting, off topic, or just not constructive to the topic at hand, please please please click it and give a short description of why you think it deserves attention. You’re not dumb, if you think something’s insulting, it probably is. When you click the report button, the next time a mod or admin loads a page, we get a big honkin red message saying “LOOK HERE!”. And than we swing to the rescue. You can also use the Violation Reports subforum if you want to include multiple links to where someone has been a problem.

Also, most of the time forum punishment doesn’t work like it does on the game server. When someone says something borderline ingame, it’s either reported or not, and the admins will at least give a public warning. Moderating is a little different. In our dark and slimy hole we have secret files on each of you, detailing how you insulted someone in 2009, and we use that to keep your history in mind. That’s why sometimes you see someone get away with being a troll for a while, only to get hit with a 30 day vacation out of the blue. It’s not one incident, it’s a pattern of trollish behaviour. But again, for the system to work quickly, we need to know about incidents that we can use to build our case.

Finally, the insulting and non-constructive posts around here have gotten a bit out of hand. To curb this problem, insulting behaviour, even borderline stuff like calling someone a retard once, can earn a vacation. Threads will more readily be cleaned of off-topic nonsense, and non-constructive posts might find themselves black bagged.

Because lists are cool;
1) This is your warning that deviant behaviour like mild insulting will no longer be tolerated.
2) Be constructive and on topic in your posts.
3) Help us make a cleaner, more constructive forum by using the report button and explaining why you thought it was worth a report.

Thank you for your time, my PM box is always open, and I’ll discuss anything in a civil and logical manner.

-mwerte

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