Bottle

Read the whole post very carefully before jumping to any conclusions, please.

In the past 3 days I've had 7 complaints on various issues in my PM box and via rep messages about moderation decisions I have made. I know the other mods have the same problems. It's got to the stage where I feel I need to remind everyone of the rules when you wish to contest a moderation decision.

Most importantly, you do not complain in public and you do not recreate any closed threads. The one good thing about the complaints was that they were all in PMs or rep messages.

Secondly, do not complain to the mod that made the decision. The moderators are answerable for all of their decisions should they not be correct. However, the ones who decide what is right and what is wrong are the admins, and as such all complaints should be forwarded to them. At the moment, ozmaj is the most active admin (Prophet spends time dealing with forum support issues and Omega is busy, although of course you can contact whichever admin you choose). Be sure to include all the details of the mod decision, including links to any relevant threads, PMs or warnings exchanged with the mod, and anything else that will make it easy for the admin to check the situation.

Of course, if you are simply seeking clarification about a decision you may PM the relevant mod in a polite manner asking why they made the choice. We're always happy to explain ourselves so long as you're not saying "OMG y did u close dis tread? open it rite now noob".

Remember that all of the decisions the moderators make don't reflect our personal opinions, but rather that of LF policy.

I wasn't sure whether to sticky and close this or simply leave it open to be bumped when necessary. I think I'll go with the latter.

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Courtesy of ExpectDeath
Official Best and Worst Moderator of 2007 and 2008

S3RO

I don't think there is anything wrong with people giving mods feedback, positive or negative.
Going to admin seems kinda like going over a persons head, if you know what I mean.

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Bottle

Nobody ever actually reads things properly on these forums.

If you are seeking clarification of a mod decision, contact the mod. If you want to contest the decision, contact an admin. Simple as that.

I mean, is the mod likely to say "whoops, you're right, I'll change my mind immediately, thanks for showing me what I did wrong"? If you don't want to go behind the mod's back, then PM them first asking for reasoning, and if you disagree with the reasoning either accept it or contact an admin. But you do not constantly argue with a decision with the mod themselves.

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Courtesy of ExpectDeath
Official Best and Worst Moderator of 2007 and 2008

Phoenix

That's the best point you've made

Also take heed of the polite part. Half of you don't seem to understand that it's us doing you the favour here.

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aggression

thanks for the reminder, im bumping this thread back to the home page again so people can actually READ it again.

and the rest of the stuff you said is just stupid. Its friggin common sense to actually be polite and ask why you made a certain decision. Going to a mod or especially a admin, just to complain about something out of there control, is like buying a ticket to get banned. Its just not right. Don't really see the point if they cant do anything about it. Or if the decision (which most cases is a good decision, never seen a bad one before for the time i been here) is being complained about cuz it affects them. Or doesnt and they want to be affected.

sorry just wanted to let that out

XCI

Yes, but leniency and punishment implementation are very much individual to the moderator. If one moderator feels the need to give an outlandish infraction sum, then I fail to see what's wrong with directly questioning the mod's judgemental skills. Appealing to the admin for such a case will probably (emphasis) talk to the moderator about the problem, and the mod wins every time.

It's happened before... anyways, I understand where you're coming from ever since I heard every single moderator got an email from LF when someone complains about something. Personally I've just run with it and let it go when I think a mod is wrong. After all, for example, Red Devil yellow-carded me last week for not bleeping out a word well enough, and I gladly let it go and told him myself. After all, it's the rules that suck, not the moderator... in most cases.

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Nec

First off, I read your post. The reason I quoted this part of your second post, was the simple fact that not every action taken is following policy. It isn't like something a moderator has done in the past, hasn't been reversed. Same goes for admins. Everyone is a fault now and again, but people should be able to discuss something on a member to member basis. Even when asking polite, there is now guarantee you'll get a polite answer in return. Also, even if you do talk to the staff member at hand, there is no guarantee they will fix their mistake if they made one. Pretty much, what I'm trying to say is, even though your post was something members can look at and keep in mind, from past experience and that of others, it shouldn't just be the non staff members reading this thread, or just them this type of stuff applies too.

Ties into what I said above, but that statement seems ironic to things that have happened in the past.

I'm not saying Bottles post wasn't good, I just feel that what has been said is a policy all have to abide by. Other than that, as it has been said, most is common sense, but staff or member alike, everyone has their limits sometimes. (And no one is perfect).

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S3RO

Although cough* somehow my shoutbox messages come out with words I didn't type cough*...

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Gypsy

Example of a good pm: HAY MEESTER NMOD U MAK BAD THING. I SAY UN NCHANGE NOW< U BAD MOD< VERY VERY BAD MEEESTER MOD!

No?

Bottle

Yes, but in that case you need to ask the mod politely for his reasoning and discuss it in a respectful way. We don't enjoy warning people, but the forum rules need to be observed.

As for the matter of the mod making a mistake and being unable to admit it, that is what the referral to the admin is for. Bear in mind that 90% of the time the admin will back the mod up unless a forum rule hasn't actually been broken.

The main point to take away from this, which most people appear to have noted thankfully, is that if you are unsure about a mod's decision you contact them respectfully and if you cannot agree then the matter goes to the admins rather than becoming an "I am right and you are wrong" debate.

__________________

Courtesy of ExpectDeath
Official Best and Worst Moderator of 2007 and 2008