:P

I think the whole notion that we ought to keep the leadership we got because so & so could become a mod is a bit weird. The general point is that the the leadership has been the leadership for so long it's ossified.

Call me a pessimist, but this kumbaya, "let's have all the members change and get that tiger to trade in his stripes for some spots, too!" nonsense won't work, and even if it did the difference it would effect would be minimized if we had the same ole' mods.

So let's try changing the mods.

That's what we do though.
The problem arises when you have to draw the line of when criticism of a member becomes abuse of a member and it seems everybody's opinion on this differs.

Let's say is Lisnaholic (because he's the least likeliest to do it) is constantly on your case all the time criticising everything you do on a regular basis. He's being irritating & rude and he's singling you out but he's not being abusive.
One day you get sick of this and say 'You're being an idiot, leave me alone' and he reports the post claiming you attacked him

If I infract or ban you I get the response 'Why is this person allowed to keep getting away with doing this'.

If I infract or ban him I get the response 'I was just making a point, he called me an idiot he should be getting punished.'

I do it to both of you I hear both these things. So no matter what the moderator does it's always the wrong thing in the eyes of the people involved.

That's the reality of what's going on here and it's happening more & more, and that's the kind thing that people need to moderate themselves over.

Do you mean all the mods or just some of them? Personally I would be more in favour of piecemeal change than any radical overhaul. I think the mods by and large do a good job and like anybody doing this they're not infallible to mistakes, but sure a drop of new blood would be a vital injection into the moderation team.

You do realize that Urban is really the only mod that has been a mod for any great length of time.

BD, Duga, FD, janz, Pete, Satch, and Vanilla have all only been modding a pretty short time. This forum often replaces mods, as they are always retiring or moving on. I mean 1 year ago today we had a completely different mod team.

I took a year out. I was only modded again about 18 months ago.

I think you mean 2 years

I'm sure most of those have been mods for longer than that. I know that Janz, Pete, Satch and Duga have.

For realz? has it been that long?

I totally understand how hard it is to do that, but I would just suggest some, if you will, redline issues that should be made clear are not acceptable. I know you can tell someone to **** off in many ways, some joking some not, but when you get constant abuse for every post you respond to from one particular member I think that member needs to be warned that this is not acceptable.

I'm not asking that anyone be wrapped in cotton wool, but the other side of the argument is that if you let it go on to see how it will develop then it can turn into something nasty. I know personally a line like "cut it out you two" or "watch it" from a mod in the middle of a heated debate would warn me to tone it back, though I am now actively trying to keep my temper (which would be laughable if you knew me in real life; I'm the most mild-mannered, quiet person you could meet!) and not be baited by certain posts, and when I go too far I've never been afraid to apologise.

Anyway, thanks for responding Urban and I actually disagree with the need for new mods. I think you all do a very tough job and the drama here can't be laid exclusively at your feet. New management as it were might have a cooling effect for some short time, but soon enough it would be a case of carry on as before and meet the new boss, same as the old boss. As many have pointed out, it's members who need to change, all of us, not mods. Or at least, not only mods.

I took a break during a particularly hectic semester at the beginning of 2011 and I don't think I was modded again until August or September of that same year. I remember because I originally became a mod after boo boo's meltdown in mid-late August 2009 and it was around that time I became a mod again.

That was an epic time. Talk about drama, my god that was intense, he somehow dragged the entire forum into it.

If I remember correctly we both left at the same time & came back at the same time and I believe Vanilla, BD & Ped were modded while we were away.

I joined the forum just before he went into breakdown mode, a pity really as the guy had a lot to offer in terms of music knowledge. I remember him abusing anybody that didn't see eye to eye with him over his beloved prog rock bands:laughing:

Yes prog rock and video games. He did make the video threads much more interesting. Between DJ and Boo Boo their was always some good game reviews or conversation going on.

Just to let you all know, I've started a new thread wherein you're asked or invited to discuss your favourite albums and what they mean to you. I'd love yaz to take part. It's on the main page.

And Conan too :( :(

Whatever happened to Conan?
He was great.

His family found out what he was saying about religion on the forum and he decided to wipe his name so that he could go back to be religious. He also had a religious girlfriend that he didn't want to loose over it.

Mods, please clarify if I got that right or wrong it's just off the top of my head.

That's so sad, I hope he's doing well

You are correct. it is really too bad, he was one of the kindest, best members this site had. I keep hoping we will see him back one day but I am not holding my breath.

Wait, so how long have the current set of mods been mods?

I agree with Trollheart and the bunny. On the points by the former, I think mocking images should be grounds for deletion of posts. On the subject of moderators, new blood is needed and probably there should be a process by which mods who have been in place for a year are subjected to a public vote (if they wish to stay on) and have to get a strong majority to keep their jobs.

I've been a mod since January 2011, and same with Vanilla.

I think the problem is a lot of you guys are taking this forum way too seriously, lol smh

Coming from the person with 1 post who has nothing invested in the place.

Don't feed the trolls, man.

that's exactly my point, dude get serious you have nothing invested in this place, lol

OK you've had your say on mods, now what do you think the rest of the members here should do.

sopsych you do realize that the mods are paid exactly nothing, and basically do all the work they do keeping forum together for nothing but a pat on the back.

meh very rarely more like kick in the teeth constantly with accusations that they aren't doing their job well enough.

Judging by the smh and the user name I'm guessing that's Ass Napkin?

Apparently it is. :rolleyes:

What is wrong with the current bunch? Half of them I consider friends, (whether or not the feeling is mutual - I have no idea) but I like them. No proof "new bloods" will do anything better or different than the current mods.

I think posters like this who are suspected of being a sock-puppet should be subjected to a public vote if they are serious or not and have to get a strong majority whether to keep their jobs as sock-puppets.

What do I think members should do? Behave better, but I don't expect that unless they respect moderators and will follow their lead (but that can be a bad thing, depending on the example set). Members should post more good music stuff too, but that's a more complicated issue. I say deal with the simple stuff first. Where's your reply, tore?

Also, yes, I realize that being a moderator is a thankless job. But I think unfortunately that some people like the sense of power it gives them. I've been a moderator elsewhere.

No, no proof at all, but it's pretty clear that this forum has been going downhill for a while and that new ideas are needed. If this were a business and the moderators managers, some heads would roll.

Tore has previously stated that he does not want to be a moderator. He used to be one here, and was very good at it, but he moved on last year.

Great detective work, thanks for solving a non-mystery since my 2nd comment blatantly says that smh

I know that was tore's position, but I'm hoping it has changed lately. Clearly he's increasingly frustrated with the state of things.

By the way, on the subject of moderators again, I know of one site that had many behavioral problems, and partly as a result of gradual moderator turnover and the disappearance of an ill-tempered admin, the behavior has become quite good. People on that forum seem to really like and respect the mods. For the record, I don't want more than moderate turnover on this forum's moderators, just like a smart business wouldn't fire most of its managers.

I don't see any of the mods misbehaving personally. Feel free to tell us which mods you have a problem with and we could discuss it.