Mod Hats

edin508

edin508

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There must be a problem with these "Mod hats" they seem to appear in almost every thread. I have lurked in quite a few forums and I have never seen anything like it.
And god forbid a newbie ask a question without getting scolded that they didn't bother to read every sticky or post on a thread. Is this strictly a database now? What happened to the forum part, you know, someplace someone can go to ask questions on a subject. LIGHTEN UP !!!!!!!
You are turning away more people than you realize by doing this. Allot of which are here just trying to get educated on guns but are quickly bashed because of wrong terminology etc... They are NEWBIES !!! Help them instead of bashing on them and see what happens.
We as shooters need to stick together and spread the wealth of information to all that are willing to listen. Take a step off of your high horse and help instead of bash. I have learned so much from this site already and it makes me sick to see so many people never bother to return because of the above all attitude in here by some.
 
edin508 said:
There must be a problem with these "Mod hats" they seem to appear in almost every thread. I have lurked in quite a few forums and I have never seen anything like it.
And god forbid a newbie ask a question without getting scolded that they didn't bother to read every sticky or post on a thread. Is this strictly a database now? What happened to the forum part, you know, someplace someone can go to ask questions on a subject. LIGHTEN UP !!!!!!!
You are turning away more people than you realize by doing this. Allot of which are here just trying to get educated on guns but are quickly bashed because of wrong terminology etc... They are NEWBIES !!! Help them instead of bashing on them and see what happens.
We as shooters need to stick together and spread the wealth of information to all that are willing to listen. Take a step off of your high horse and help instead of bash. I have learned so much from this site already and it makes me sick to see so many people never bother to return because of the above all attitude in here by some.
Click to expand...


Tech Support probably isn't the best place for this but I'll attempt a response. You probably realize that many the same question has been asked and answered time and again. If a person would do a simple search, in many cases, it would provide them with more information in a shorter period of time than could be regurgitated by several new posts.

It is not an attempt to debase anyone or turn them away. It is simply a matter that it is usually the few persons answering the same questions time and again.

Nothing to do with being on a high horse but maybe we should all take head in our verbage when instructing new folks to use the search function.
 
Ed, since I am usually the one who does the "Mod Hat On!" bit, I'll guess that it was aimed at me. I only do that when I'm trying to make a point that I am not responding as "me" (LenS) but as one of the folks managing the forum (and thus for "management").

It's nice for someone to criticize any of us for asking someone (politely) to use the Search feature, but did you ever think there may be some valid reasons for that?

- When I post those long legal answers, it usually takes me 20-60 minutes to compose it, research the details, and oftentimes quote the law. I do NOT maintain a database of standard responses, but have to do this EACH AND EVERY TIME.

- I don't always have the time to do that detailed response and do want to get some sort of CORRECT answer to the person as fast as possible. When in a hurry I (like most people) will sometimes forget to put every last detail in the response, something that can lead to mis-interpretation or worse.

- I spend from 4 to 8 hrs/day on NES reading and responding to msgs. I just don't have the time to do the same research and detailed answers multiple times/day or week. Yes, many of these questions have been answered before and 15 minutes of searching/reading should bring a wealth of info to the person asking the questions.

So, it's not done to put the person down, but to expedite a response that was researched and correct plus a wealth of info to help educate the OP.

The other time that Mod Hat On is used is when people don't follow the rules or go Off Topic. I guess we could just revert to deleting their posts and hitting them with infractions. Would that be better than politely telling them to read the rules and heed them?
 
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Ed, Amen to your post. I think that PMs and email can be used to send corrective feedback. I hate it when I go to open up a post that has a newer reply just to see that someone was crapped on.

It would really help if the search window default for every new user was the entire history of the board. I am sure that Derek would have made it so if it were possible.

Keith
 
I think that the forum software can be setup so that the default is "show all threads" . . . but only the Admins would know this for certain.

I'm setup that way, so I ask the following out of curiosity (relevant to the topic/discussion):

- If a user is setup "default" (which is 30 days of posts) do they even see ALL the stickies? The ones that haven't been changed/added to in >30 days?

The answer to the above could account for a lot of the same questions by folks that don't see the info already there.
 
Tweed, PMs are a royal PITA! The format of them, the inability to move our "send" PMs to folders, the limit of total PMs. Mods have a max of 500PMs and I'm forever hovering in that area, thus I have them turned off so that only other Mods can send them to me. It takes hours to clear out PMs that you want to delete after reading each one, delete that one, go back and look at the next one, ad nauseum.

Also if there are lessons to be learned in what is acceptable in a thread or not, others can learn by it being public. PMs just generate more PMs and it's an endless cycle . . . at least that is my opinion of them. Also PMs and Email don't let the other Mods know what is being done and why.

For years I hated Forums/forum software and avoided them like the plague. NES has "sucked me in" but now it's all coming back to me why I hated dealing with the format all those years. I may well go full-circle on this subject! [thinking]
 
Good posts from both perspectives. I like dialog and I like fresh ideas. I also suck at searching... but I also have relatively thick skin. I like it when someone asks an often repeated question and someone politely posts the link to the relavent thread. I even like reading Scriv's posts... most of the times. [wink]
 
Tweed said:
It would really help if the search window default for every new user was the entire history of the board. I am sure that Derek would have made it so if it were possible.

Keith
Click to expand...

I will double check that setting Keith. I could have sworn I set it up do default to show all.
 
I never feel obligated to answer a question but I try to if I can. If I can answer it quickly, I will. If it's already been answered here, I'll search for the link and post the link with the answer. If I don't have time or can't find it, I just won't post anything.
There are enough people on this forum that an answer will come and usually very quickly.
Does it bother me to see the same questions asked over and over? Maybe a little bit but it doesn't ruin my day.
The search "feature" in this software isn't much of a feature and I understand that. I also understand what it's like to be a NOOB. When a new member posts his first question, the replies given will set the tone of what kind of people hang around here and whether he'll feel accepted or not.

Next to GOAL, NES is the biggest mouth of and for firearm enthusiasts in Massachusetts. We have the chance to be a place to bring all firearms owners together in real time to further our interests. We don't need to alienate anyone.

Has everyone read the link that Derek posted in this thread?
 
As I have said recently, We here at NES do not discriminate newbies. All we ask is for educated opinions/answers or people with the ability/enthusiasm to learn. Once in a while we get a new member who seams to already know all the answers to the questions that they ask. Then in return they post misinformation. We cannot allow others to read this bad information. It can cost someone there LTC, thousands in court/attorney fees, or even jail time.

If we the mods or members get a little harsh on a newbie it's usually because we want to correct the action before it becomes a problem. I will try to double check my post's for polite informative answers.
 
With all due respect to all, this has been good reading. BUT: threads like THISare what ruin a board such as this.

There was some good info in that thread until the pissing started. We need Moderators here and I respect what they do as I have done it on two mailing lists I own. The crap in the thread I referenced should be deleted rather than be responded to.

So, do new people read the stickys???? Hell, the regulars don't so why should the Newbies.

I need to get out into the cold and will be limiting my comments to this.

Thanks
 
It's not complaining. I like when members bring issues to my attention that need to be addressed.
 
Sorry for my rant. It was not aimed at anyone one person btw.
There are quite a few of us who may have been guilty of being harsh at one point or another. It just seemed to me that it was becoming more frequent. There are lots of new members registered here and few that are posting. I think that they are scared of getting bashed upon. Sure some of the questions we see are the same ol blah blah blah, or even considered stupid by some. Fact is, it is one more person looking to come over to our side and asking for help. Lets see our numbers grow!
 
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JonJ said:
The search "feature" in this software isn't much of a feature and I understand that. I also understand what it's like to be a NOOB. When a new member posts his first question, the replies given will set the tone of what kind of people hang around here and whether he'll feel accepted or not.

Next to GOAL, NES is the biggest mouth of and for firearm enthusiasts in Massachusetts. We have the chance to be a place to bring all firearms owners together in real time to further our interests. We don't need to alienate anyone.
Click to expand...

Just wanted everyone to read those two paragraphs again. Well written Jon. [smile]
 
I've run a few email lists, which have some similarities to forums. I've also been invited to moderate some forums, which I've mostly turned down. Here are my thoughts, if anyone cares.

First, most forums seem to have too many moderators. This forum is not as bad as some others I've seen, but it does seem a bit over moderated.

Second, I agree with those who suggest that PMs and even email should be used to moderate people who violate the rules. Most of the violations I've seen are totally unintentional. There is no need for any moderator to jump all over a forum participant because they made a mistake. If moderating this way is too onerous, maybe it's time to rethink whether you want to be a moderator or not. With one exception, I have found that sending a private message works better than letting something play out in public. I think it's just human nature for people to get defensive when they think they are being attacked or insulted in a forum.

I think Edin508 is correct that some folks have left the forums because of over moderation.

Derek, you run a top notch forum and web site. I know you and the moderators put a ton of work into making things run smoothly. I just think that some of the moderators should use a lighter hand.

Gary
 
I don't think the forum is overmoderated at all, but I do agree that sometimes the tone of the moderation is a little over the top. I'm with Lynne and the quote she posted from Jon, it was very well written.
 

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