Who Wants to be the Moderator?

Dypsisdean

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I now have several years under my belt participating and moderating quite a few forums. It's not easy. I have seen forums fail due to the one extreme of allowing too much infighting and personal attacks, and also fail due to the other extreme of heavy handed moderating and censorship.

People get really upset when their opinions are deleted, or worse, selectively censored. You would really be surprised how many enemies I now have, and how many emails and responses are sometimes necessary after someone is censored.

And of course, a total free for all is equally doomed to failure. There was one comment here from Dave that attacked Jeff, and Jeff responded with his explanation. All subsequent remarks were deleted after I became aware of the comments. Butler apologized publicly and privately numerous times. He has been banned for now. And any reader can form their own opinion.

On the biggest Forum I manage we allow people to express dissatisfaction with business dealings they may have had. We rate sellers. And not all get good ratings. But everyone there (and here) are adults, and just like in real life they can listen to both sides of a story and form their own conclusions. That is what I believe a Discussion Board should be. If you think a Moderator can micro manage all comments, every hour of every day, and sanitize all comments that anyone may find offensive, then dream on. That may be possible when there are only a half dozen people regularly posting. But when a forum attracts more attention, that perfect situation becomes more difficult. And the main goal is to have the forum attract more attention.

Believe it or not, a moderator is not glued to a Fourm 24/7. Many times I return to find a topic has taken off with many comments and an in depth discussion - and at times disagreeing. And the choice becomes what to do. I err on the side of allowing people to speak their minds and those reading to make up their minds.

The best forums are those that self moderate. Ignore those who are trying to create trouble. Don't directly respond to someone who has an issue with someone. Just do as you did here, and support that someone if you feel he needs it. IMO, Jeff Searle's reputation speaks for itself. And so do the positive comments in his favor. And the negativity generated from those who try to disparage him, also tells a story IMO. But the message is there for people to arrive at using their own devices.

I am the Moderator by default. I do talk with Lee about what's best. The Croton Society is a loosely run society. As far as I can tell, the Directors don't regularly discuss policy, nor can they direct me as to what they exactly want done in every instance. There are many considerations to take into account. And some of them may not be apparent to all of you.

Do you want this forum to be an exclusive Florida "club?" Or do you want to make outsiders feel welcome? Do you want to give the impression that if they dare disagree with the Florida clique that they will be given a hard time? Or do you want to present a venue where people are free to speak their mind as long as they do so appropriately?

So, if my method of moderating is not what is desired, it is very easy for me to make someone else the Moderator. Perhaps this might be better. I would not mind in the slightest. So why don't you all decide if you can agree on a way you want to run the Forum, and find a volunteer willing to read all the posts several times a day, and manage all the personalities (new and old) the way the Directors wish them managed.

I would still manage all the technical aspects of providing the security and preventing hacking attempts and managing registration verification. And I would also continue to suggest and assist in the actual maintenance and "nuts and bolts" of the Encyclopedia and it's entry management. But the new moderator could decide and handle who gets to say what when.
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

"Do you want this forum to be an exclusive Florida "club?" Or do you want to make outsiders feel welcome. Do you want to give the impression that if they dare disagree with the Florida clique that they will be given a hard time?"

Dean, what does this mean? I thought we welcomed all aboard. We can't help that the majority is here in FL & so far doing most of the posting. I for one want worldwide activity. There is no club IMO. I drool over the posts from overseas & welcome their input. My favorite posts are from members like Sergey with his hybrids. Once we get posters from Thailand and the likes...we'll be humbled, grateful AND motivated.
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

I agree, international is the way to go. If you don't change the society name to INTERNATIONAL Croton Society, how about changing the forum name to International Croton Forum?

Dean, I was all set to be the Mod Father and then I read that ugly word you wrote: VOLUNTEER. It sent shivers down my spine!

I nominate Moose to be moderator. He does not post enough as it is.
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

Bren,

What I meant was that I got a half dozen emails, some from members and some from those who only read the forum, that said they were getting the impression that Dave was being teamed up on. That they received emails encouraging them to vote against Dave. And some from people who are members of Palmpedia, and who could vote, but don't even visit the Croton Forum.

I'm not saying it's a proper impression, I'm just saying that many witnessed the goings on and interpreted them as one group teaming up on someone. What I have been doing is bending over backwards, publicly and privately to make sure no one could begin to think that is what we are doing here.

It happens on PalmTalk too. We get complaints all the time how when they post very few people respond, and there is a small clique that just talk and respond among themselves. It is very difficult to get people to participate on a forum. There is 50:1 of those who read to those who post. So it is imperative to never make it even possible to appear as if it is an exclusive place that is hard to fit into. And I was surprised that several members and readers took the time to express that opinion to me after reading the comments lately.
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

PS...I'll be a mod. I think it's harder for you being on HI time with the majority of us being eastern (for the time being anyway). Temp assignment please as I have a 9 to 5 job too like most. I think I "get" most of our members and have a pretty hard shell...and as a collective whole, I have faith that we will trudge on just fine. Differences and all. Crotons are sexy after all.
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

Bren,

I've made you the Mod. I don't think Lee will object, as I know he has confidence in you. And I have confidence in your computer skills. Look in the lower right hand corner and you should see a "Mod" option now. In addition, you will have some other options like editing and deleting when viewing threads.

I have set your options as you will see them below. You should also now be able to see a "Private Forum." This is where you should move entire topics that you wish to delete. I have found it more useful to archive these deleted topics because they may prove useful in the future for a variety of reasons I can explain later. I'm sure you will have questions. PM me, and I'll give you my phone number. It may be easier that way.

If you wish any of those permissions edited, let me know.
 

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Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

Thanks Dean,
I am out of pocket until Monday mid day at which time I will help out from there on out. I will call/PM with questions. Happy to assist! I have faith in this forum.
Bren
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

Thanks Dean,
I am out of pocket until Monday mid day at which time I will help out from there on out. I will call/PM with questions. Happy to assist! I have faith in this forum.
Bren

Welcome Moderator Bren
 
Re: Who Wants to be Moderator?

Thanks Dean,
I am out of pocket until Monday mid day at which time I will help out from there on out. I will call/PM with questions. Happy to assist! I have faith in this forum.
Bren

Bren,

Just to be clear. There has to be only one Moderator. I was using the term "the" Moderator, and you used the term "a" Moderator. A slight difference, but you may not have realized what you were agreeing to. I have tried working as a team before - and it gets to be a mess with two or more people making decisions, with one deleting and moving stuff that the other one would have done differently, or never even knew existed. And when one Mod is questioned about why or what happened, the other has no idea. Believe me, things can get very time consuming to unravel at times if done that way. So the decisions are yours, and the actions you take must be yours as well. Everyone needs to know who the Captain is and to whom to direct questions, complaints, and requests.

If you need advice, or are unclear how to take certain action, I will be happy to help. But you need to take the lead. I will take no action on the various pending suggestions and requests to delete certain threads or photos, and let you handle them when you have time.

If you accepted without realizing what you were getting into, let me know and we can try and find someone else.
 
Damn Ricky - it looks like crotons are not the only thing you are passionate about ! Round-up ouch, you are serious. :eek:

Whatever happened to Refridgerator Perry ? :confused:

The last I heard, he'd lost some of the weight, but his knees are gone. He was working in the Bears Training Camp last summer with the defensive and offensive line coaches.
 
Dean thanks...I understood. Will just take me until Monday when I can really jump in.

Ricky,

'Da Bears still suck Polka' by the Happy Schnapps Combo will be blasting in this house tonite. :cool:
Go Pack! :p
 
Dean, myself and Judy want to thank you for all of the work that you have put into our forum both in the past and that which you will continue to do in the future.

You are one of the best "cat herders" that I have seen:) You continue to provide a great engine/vehicle for us to share our passions.

Welcome Bren; we are giving you our full support. May we all be able to share our interests in a tone of great civility.
 
Dean thanks...I understood. Will just take me until Monday when I can really jump in.

Sounds good Bren,

Let's get on the phone together and I can give you some lists of those who say they will leave if "A" happens, and those who say they will leave if "B" happens, and those who got called a name and have already left. And those who think I "own" this forum, and run it according to my own personal whims.

Maybe a member of The Croton Society can convince them that things are being run solely to promote interest and knowledge in crotons, and the more people we can get to join in, the better the hobby will be for it.

I will continue to take care of all the technical aspects to assure a safe, clean, fast loading, and always running site. And handle any aspects of membership, like password issues, and problems with posting, photos, etc. So all you will need to do is worry about is moderating the conversations, and determine who is allowed to participate, and what they are allowed to say - along with any suggestions or complaints about how things are being run.
 
Sounds good Bren,

Let's get on the phone together and I can give you some lists of those who say they will leave if "A" happens, and those who say they will leave if "B" happens, and those who got called a name and have already left. And those who think I "own" this forum, and run it according to my own personal whims.

Maybe a member of The Croton Society can convince them that things are being run solely to promote interest and knowledge in crotons, and the more people we can get to join in, the better the hobby will be for it.

I will continue to take care of all the technical aspects to assure a safe, clean, fast loading, and always running site. And handle any aspects of membership, like password issues, and problems with posting, photos, etc. So all you will need to do is worry about is moderating the conversations, and determine who is allowed to participate, and what they are allowed to say - along with any suggestions or complaints about how things are being run.

Hey, am I on any list? (other than the smart @$$ list)?

Honestly, all you Crotonheads out there should reevaluate your positions. Dean has given us a wonderful venue to discuss and add value to the knowledge base for crotons. If you guys abandon this place, it being just a fledgling endeavor, it could languish or even wither and die. Is that what you want? I think the Society has benefited greatly as has the attendance to sales and functions - just because of this forum. This forum has also greatly increased the enjoyability of the hobby of collecting crotons.

It really is a shame that Dean feels the need to back off and recruit a local member. And a big thanks goes out again to Bren for so quickly stepping up.

Everybody should cool off, lick their wounds and then come back to the forum. And if you can't cool off, don't hold it against the rest of us.
 
Hey, am I on any list? (other than the smart @$$ list)?

Jerry,

You're on my good guy list. The list of those who don't complain, can take some abuse without whining, offer constructive criticism, and think before they type.

For general information, Jerry and I agree and disagree about some very important issues. You can't get much more touchy than politics and religion. Yet Jerry and I have gone at it in the Password Protected Forum here dozens of times - sometimes in agreement, and other times we couldn't be farther apart. Yet as far as I am concerned, I still consider him a friend, and someone whose opinion I respect and value.

I think forums should be a place where differing opinions are welcome. And I continue to feel that as long as people make an effort to get along, and aren't overly sensitive, that can happen. In a large international forum I have come to realize that people with different backgrounds express things very differently. What some people raised one way may consider impolite or rude, is just "to the point" and honest to others. And some are more articulate and well written than others. So many times the intent of the written word is taken incorrectly.

So forum members need to realize and recognize these differences, respect them for what they are, and don't fall into the petty trap of tit for tat, and carrying around trivial grudges, and taking things so darn personally.
 
Good luck being the moderator ,also I saw some idiot post some political content in one of his/hers postings ,I hope that this will not happen again as that would surely be another negative for this forum.
 
Bull, if you'd like to PM with with specifics, I'd be glad to check it out and rectify any potential issue. Thanks for contributing!
 
Good luck being the moderator ,also I saw some idiot post some political content in one of his/hers postings ,I hope that this will not happen again as that would surely be another negative for this forum.

Bull and others,

When you see what you think is an offensive or out of place post, hit the red explanation mark in the upper right hand corner of the post and that will get an easily handled notice to the Moderator.
 
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