moderation!

[louiseb]

when I was quite new to this forum which relatively I still am, I found the whole low carb non low carb issue abit like a battle field and I joined another forum and I made a post on this other forum that i didnt think i would be comeing back to this place because the carb war and felt uneasy about posting for fear of back lash.
just as this time I had a topic running on here that just dissapeared, I pmd a monitor and cant remember if it was sue and ken and the response was that they can cleaning up the forum of old inactive posts and went on mention they had read my post on the other forum.
now personally I felt that this was deleted out of spite because I had made comments on the other forum.
my post was only a few days old and was active.
this really annoyed me, and I felt that this was a personal decision and not a professional by the mod whoever removed my topic.
however I also have to add there there is 2 sides to my experiences on this forum disregarding the above incident the mods here have helped me quite alot with good advice and and so has other experienced members. I would like to say thanks to sue and ken for informative responses to my threads and all the effort they put into the forum.

 

[Matt1212]

I believe that the moderators play an important role and that the site would be poorer without them
However their does need to be a balance and I have experienced what I would feel heavy handed treatment from those in a position of power here

Let’s have open debate with all views accepted but no need for the personal attacks or point scoring
That applies to members and moderators.

Moderators – (I make this comment not as an attack but hopefully a positive suggestion)
You do an important job and I believe you are appreciated by many on the site , just ease off a little on the absolute control – zero tolerance policy and the
balance should be just right.

Thanks to All
Matt

 

[cugila]

but that's their job as monitors and the phrase "if you think you can do a better job...." comes to mind - me I wouldn't do it for a gold clock.

We wish.........we are just people who were once members and are now Monitor's. Contrary to some opinions, neither Sue or I are paid anything for what we do. We don't even get a Xmas Hamper !!!

We do it because we love helping people. We are both keen to stop members making mistakes and giving them accurate information wherever possible. Our choice. We haven't moved on elsewhere and forgotten about the members here who need help. That was the choice of those other members.

As for people posting here about individual instances of moderation..........

We will not discuss those matters here on the open Forum. Moderating decisions are just that. We are able to justify all our actions and we could do so if the Administrator gave us permission to do so. Those discussions are usually carried out via pm's as our rules of conduct dictate. As stated before there are two side to every story and we certainly do not agree with some of the points raised here about decisions taken.

We apologise to those members who feel aggrieved but at no time has ANY decision been taken out of spite, never have we falsely accused anyone of anything. Yes, sometimes mistakes have been made and we have if this has happened apologised. However we will not apologise for things that are simply not correct.

We also apologise to those new members who will not see us posting our customary advice for now. I trust that other members will step in and feel free to 'copy and paste' any information from wherever they see fit. Be it ours or from other websites providing they conform to Forum rules and policies.

These are the thoughts of both Sue and I, not just my own........

Ken and Sue.

 

[carty]

The advice given to new members is one of the most important piees of information on this forum I personally benefitted greatly I dont know how to pass this on to others cause I am useless with the computer Please dont leave newbies to wallow in ignorance as many of us did before finding this forum and its advice.
CAROL

 

[Sue Morton]

The booklet that I was given by the diabetic nurse which is issued by the NHS has the address of this forum for help with your diabetics. It has helped me a lot. I have read various items and found the advice very useful. I have also posted my thoughts.

I once was contacted by a moderator about one of my posts and I just told them it was what I had read on this forum - which it was. They didn't delete it or alter my post. Some one had posted their BS readings and they also put what THEIR doctor and nurse said their reading should be which were very low and did at the time worry me being then knew to it all back then when I read it.

Someone said on here that new potatoes were best to eat so I had 3 small new potatoes with my salad (knew what my BS is from the salad) when I did a test it was 8.9 so new potatoes are not for me have since tried mash made from reds and my reading was 7.1 But other people might find that new potatoes are good for them.

If a person is deliberately saying things to hurt and cause trouble then they should be moderated or even stopped from visiting the site.

As to the moderators not having names this is correct after all we live in a twisted world and if someone decided to turn nasty what would or could happen to that person is not worth thinking about.

However I don't think it was necessary to say "we will let this run" it did sound pratronising. I think it would have been possibly best left to run as it was without that statement and then reply as you did.

You have to feel safe when you come onto a forum taking about yourself and your peronal feelings and thoughts so we do need moderators to ensure that when we visit the forum we are safe and know that we wont be harrassed or hurt by someone being nasty to us.

This is a good and very helpful site let the moderators keep it that way for us. Let the moderators also stay safe. Thank you to all of them for giving their time I don't know if they get paid for it but if they give their time freely I for one (even if they do get paid) am thankful they are there to look after us all.

Sue

 

[noblehead]

No, we are not bewildered. We are just hacked off that there are those who think it is OK to criticise us in pm's and on the board and expect us to just 'roll over'. When we don't then they 'throw their toys out of the pram' and make us out to be the bad guys !! We know the agenda, we know why it is here. If it's what people want .......so be it.

I think the majority of us are as bewildered as you both are! No one would expect you to 'roll over' Ken.......not in a million years, but the unwanted criticism and disrespect shown by certain members is truly uncalled for.

I believe that there are certain members past and present who have a hidden agenda, this is to turn the forum around for their own ends, should they succeed then I foresee many experienced forum members who contribute regularly and make this forum what it is leaving and never to return.

Should the Admin make changes to the forums moderation team, what are they going to do 6 months down the line when yet another member is displeased with the set-up........change it yet again? Given the majority of replies to this thread that are positive, I see no reason for change, why fix something that it isn't broken?...........can't see for the life of me how this has got this far! :roll:

Nigel

 

[carty]

Hear Hear
CAROL

 

[cugila]

However I don't think it was necessary to say "we will let this run" it did sound pratronising. I think it would have been possibly best left to run as it was without that statement and then reply as you did.

Sue

I take exception to that comment.......a joint Monitoring decision in the absence of the Administrator. We took advice about it and allowed it to run. Decision's like this are taken every day.

Patronising means.....
'treat someone as if they lack experience or if they are not very intelligent.'
(OXFORD English Dictionary)

The comment was made because this thread actually breaks some of the rules of this Forum and there is also some history here regarding such things. We looked at it and in the interests of open debate decided that as Monitor's we would let it run. That is a Monitoring decision and not patronising at all.

We do not patronise anybody here, let's make that perfectly clear. We are straight talkers.

It would be nice if some positive constructive suggestions were posted here rather than criticism of myself and/or Sue. Frankly we are 'brassed off' with it right now. We have had enough hassle from other Fora and individuals without it being something we need to contend with here !

Ken and Sue.

 

[sugarless sue]

by Administrator » August 24th, 2010, 3:04 pm
Before this escalates into a battle of the bolds

As ever, we will listen to community opinions on this up to a point. The current system has worked well to prevent the ongoing personal attacks, but perhaps it is time for a change. Let's see a community-formulated proposal of a solution.

- Anonymous or public moderators?
- Five moderators or ten?
- Possible candidates?
- Knowledgeable moderators on each specific forum?

Answers either here or by pm to me (through which anyone can always contact about anything if required)

All I can say is, the monitors do a very good job, and don't deserve anything but praise.

Regards,

Admin

A bit of history on Moderation on this Forum.

Many newer members will have no knowledge of the background to this particular thread so here is a brief history. It is not quite as simple as it looks.

When I joined there were no Moderators because it was a much smaller forum. The forum was plagued with spammers however and it was decided by Admin to appoint members to Moderate the forum, to spam bust.

As the forum grew more Moderators were appointed from the knowledgeable members of the time. Also, as the Forum grew there was greater need for Moderation as members of varying opinions vied with one another to monopolise the forum. This forum has always been for all diabetics, no matter what their diet or type of diabetes so, in the end, some members left to set up their own forums, following their own particular ethos.

An unpleasant interlude in the forum occurred with Moderators being subject to abusive Pm’s and Emails from members who have either left the forum or had been banned from the forum..

It was at this point that the Moderation was changed to allow Mods to be anonymous and save them from this sort of thing. After all, all Moderators and the Monitors are volunteers and should not have to put up will behaviour that would not be tolerated in the real world!

The rules were also changed to an ALMOST zero tolerance of abuse and criticism of Mods and Monitors......That is where we are today.


The Monitors, Ken and I, overlook the forum as a team. 99.9% of Monitors posts are a joint effort on here...the other 0.1% is because Ken gets up far earlier than me, or so he tells me !

We go through every post that we can on the board, we check links and keep the spam down as well as answering posts, from our own experiences,as individuals on the board.When posting as Monitors we sign as 'Forum Monitors' We search the Internet for answers and, in doing so learn more and more of all aspects of diabetes so that we can help members. We learn from the experience of others just as the members do.

We liaise with the mods so that posts that need to be moved to a more relevant area are moved so that they get the most views and answers. We also edit, when needs be posts and leave and explanation when required at the bottom of the post. When you register this is part of the agreement you enter into upon registering:

You agree that “Diabetes Forum” have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should we see fit.

Also when you register there is this statement:

Before you register please ensure you are familiar with our terms of use and related policies. Please ensure you read any forum rules as you navigate around the board.

Pure freedom of speech is just not possible on a forum this size, it is not a social networking site but a specialist forum and we pride ourselves on members, especially new members getting the best advice possible. What they choose to do with the advice is up to them but we discourage anyone from saying you MUST do this or that as no one on here knows the medical history of a member and it is always emphasised that members should check with their HCP’s before embarking on any particular course of action.

Can we now get back to Admin’s proposal for some constructive suggestions about how the forum may be Moderated instead of criticism of the Monitors, which as Ken said, is getting us ‘brassed off’.

Sugarless Sue.
Forum Monitor.

 

[anniep]

I think the trouble with threads like this, is that the main people who bother with them are those that have an axe to grind or a gripe of some sort. Those of us that are perfectly happy with the way things are will tend not to bother with them because we don't think they are particularly relevant to us. And so they can seem over-representative of the gripers.

I am only a newbie but I settled here because I felt it was a safe space to express myself. In the other fora I frequent, involvement from moderators also happens and I didn't see this one as anything different. The fora that stay polite and on topic are those where the moderators are vigilant.

I have read the role of the moderator pasted above and looked at it and thought, why bother having a moderator at all, it looks like you are giving them nothing to do.

As the signature says 'You are never going to please all of the people all of the time' but if this is a place that pleases most people then you doing fine.

 

[Dippy3103]

I am sorry if anyone thinks I am out of order adding a suggestion to do with the forum but not modding/monitors.
I'd love to see a board for weight loss. Not specific to low carb or non low carb. Just for those more curvy members (such as myself) to share weight loss success and frustrations. Obviously it would only be for sensible weight loss.
Sorry if off topic and it isn't a moan.

 

[daisy1]

I think that's a great idea and would help a lot of us!

 

[carty]

The three posts removed for advertising today already prove what a good job is being done on this forum to look after the interests of all users Thanks Ken and please keep up the good work you are truly appreciated.
CAROL

 

[Administrator]

Good idea Dippy, we'll see about setting that up.

 

[squishychickfi]

I joined last year but have only been posting more regularly this year.

I have to say Ken and Sue have been very helpful to me personally when I have posted and I have had no complaints about the moderation on this site. I have been a member of other sites (for completely different topics) and I can see there is a danger of over moderation on some of them, as there is also a danger of people moaning about things.

But, as I try and teach my children at school, you won't be able to get on with everyone in life - however we teach that it is important to try and be pleasant even if you don't like them. They are SEN pupils and most of them try very hard to do this!

I have probably opened myself up for comments about my view point (I usually try and keep under the radar on anything possibly controversial!) But please remember these are MY viewpoints and you don't have to agree with me!

 

[Dollyrocker]

If the monitors/moderators are taking a break at the moment does this mean I can tell the guy who posted about not wanting to queue that he's a **** on that thread ?

 

[catherinecherub]

You could I suppose because there will be no one to pick up on it. :lol: :lol: :lol:
The word must be getting out because people who have not posted for ages and who have been challenged previously are coming out of the woodwork.
Perhaps this discussion should be continued in "Apple beats Diabetes" in the Discussions thread as it is highjacking the purpose of this topic.

 

[Dippy3103]

Good idea Dippy, we'll see about setting that up.

This is all starting to bewilder me, let alone the mods. This is by far and away the best the best diabetes forum on the web, so if it ain't broken don't fix it.

I think it is a shame the mods ever had to become numbers, but they did. But does it really matter? We break the rules, we get modded.

 

[phoenix]

I've kept out of this but maybe its the cowards way out.
I recall I once said to Ken that taking the role of moderator on here would be like accepting a poisoned chalice!
Recent history has made the moderators and monitors very sensitve as to what could be attempts to disrupt the forum. Maybe as a result they may seem to be a little overzealous (and I think perhaps this may seem more so if the response is from an anonymous moderator ) Nevertheless,it must be a very fine line to tread. I wouldn't want the job though, would any of us get it right all the time? I doubt any of us could do better.
I do think that, as with this thread, discussions of members opinions about the forum should be allowed to run (with any ad hominem posts firmly deleted with the reason for deletion given and framework of the post left visible ). I belong to another very large diabetes forum and such threads are allowed to run for a while .At the least it does seem to let some people let off steam, occasionally it results in positive changes.
Personally,I don't know how much this happens but I don't think posts should be edited...except to remove 'inadvertent' bad language. If a post contravenes forum rules it should be deleted with reason left visible, If a moderator or monitor disagrees on a fact then a note can be added to that effect, but a person should not have their words altered or reinterpreted.
One little point, I've found that if I put in an internet address,the forum software automatically makes it clickable thus contravening the rules.

Please can past history become just that so that this forum continues to move forward ? I feel it is high time that comments made from outside were ignored. People, who still retain membership of this forum should (if correctly identified) be asked to retract their comments, make them here in general terms,( no personal attacks) or lose their membership of this forum.

 

[timo2]

If the monitors/moderators are taking a break at the moment does this mean I can tell the guy who posted about not wanting to queue that he's a t*** on that thread ?

You might be better off saying 'twit' instead, Dolly.

There is, of course, a difference between the moderation of bad language and spam, and the moderation of ideas and opinions.