About Forum Moderation
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Greets:
I just wanted to make a quick post here about the moderation aspects we have here in the wp.com support forums. A friendly reminder that forum moderation is taken care of by the Automattic staff as well as the wp.com forum moderators. (ie myself) Some folks seem lately to be trying to take over these duties themeselves and that really needs to stop. I know whenever I see a post made like this or a poster being rather rude, it usually gets deleted.
I know folks are only trying to assist others but I’m thinking that it may be getting out of hand. I know Podz and I have discussed the matter in the past so I know that staff is aware of the issue. I’m sure none of us want Matt and crew having to step in and deal with this issue so I’m just going to suggest that we all don’t give them a reason to do so. I know my limited time would be better spent actually having to help folks here instead of having to review each and every post and trying to decide if I have to click on delete or have to edit the post.
How serious is the issue? By my math, there are now nearly 500 posts on the Deleted Posts page on the Admin side. Granted not every one is covered by this issue but a lot of them are. A lot of them.
What to do if you’re having an issue with a post or a thread? Wait. Don’t post about it. Don’t send in a Feedback. Don’t do anything. Just wait. Chances are a member of staff or myself will read it and deal with it themselves. We’re the ones who are in the position to deal with the issue. We’re the ones who will take care of it.
Thanks for reading,
-drmike -
Thanks so much for the clarification Dr. Mike. I’ve been wondering about this issue myself and am happy to see you guys dealing with it in such a sensible way. And thanks too for your help on the forums.
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i’m totally unaware that people are trying to censor others. but then again, can some specifics be made as to what sort of comments will risk being moderated so that we can keep in mind before posting?
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Indeed what is the role of a volunteer wordpress moderator? And how is the role of a wordpress community member defined? Perhaps a retreat into the profound sounds of silence will confirm the answers provided by drmike:
“What to do if you’re having an issue with a post or a thread? Wait. Don’t post about it. Don’t send in a Feedback. Don’t do anything. Just wait. Chances are a member of staff or myself will read it and deal with it themselves. We’re the ones who are in the position to deal with the issue. We’re the ones who will take care of it.”
If so, the next arising question may be: what is the forum for?
Is it merely a voyeuristic opportunity to sit on the sidelines reading posts and watching quesioners get answers from experts, while we filing them away for our own edification?
Or is it an opportunity to try to help a fellow blogger even if it means becoming personally vulnerable and being exposed by the experts as giving a potentially *wrong* answer, within a community where we are assured we can just blog and leave the geekery to staff?
Perhaps it’s an opportunity to hold our tongues while witholding information to increase our feelings of superiority and our hatband sizes as we watch other less cautious bloggers try to assist others and fail.
Whatever our role in the wordpress community may be may be it seems we bloggers are being told to maintain silence so as not to create more work for either the paid staff or the volunteer moderator.
hmmm … perhaps we’ll find the names of those who seek to censor others behind the scenes in the sounds of silence but I doubt it. Those who publicly fawn their praise on authority figures after the fact always have wet feet and faces turned to the sun thus they are easily spotted.
I feel a blog post coming on, an irreverent feedback, for sure, for sure … how about you?
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I would agree with TT.Unless I’ve missed something here, this all sounds rather vague. Deleting posts? Are they profane in some way or how are they improper? What do you mean by “taking over the moderation themselves” How about some examples of the stuff that is not wanted/shouldn’t be here and clear definitions of what a moderator does or does not do and what a “community member” does or does not do and what a volunteer does or does not do..and the kind of stuff we should keep silent on. The kind of posts that come under “having an issue with.” Just so we don’t inadvertenly post things we now shouldn’t. Or maybe just some clear rules on exactly how to help others in the forum.
I personally think it’s very brave of people to put themselves out there to try and answer questions from others even though they might be wrong in such a public forum. At least they try. If they are wrong, isn’t it a learning experience? The alternative would be to keep silence and then I would as TT has, also ask, so what’s the point of the forum then?
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If you look at the bottom of the dashboard you will see this picture. Notice the word “Give”
Notice the word “Give” is highlighted. It clearly says that the forum are for giving and recieving help. Yet, this post seems to contradict that message.
I have no prblem butting out of something I am not welcome to, but that message on the bottom of the dashboard should be changed so that everyone will know that we should not be giving any help here.
AXE
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You’re reading the ‘written in ten minutes’ version, not the well written version that somehow got lost within 20 opened browser windows yesterday. Sorry about that.
I had hoped not to post specifics and still hope not to as I feel it would embarass some folks around here. I really am trying my best not to call out people and have tried to drop hints pointing out issues to folks when the issue has come up in the past. Posting of examples will just make folks feel bad which is one thing Podz and I have discussed.
I didn’t state that folks shouldn’t be giving help here. In fact I welcome it and I’m sure staff does as well.
Thanks,
-drmike -
Help here is always welcome. If we want to encourage a sense of any sort of community then we need to be positive, be seen to be positive and to stay that way.
“Be seen to be positive” is the important part.
You may know the answer, you may know where to point the poster and you may be fed up of answering that very question – but unless your answer reads nicely to someone else then things just took a turn for the worse.If you don’t want to answer someone, don’t. It’s no huge hassle – but getting annoyed at them makes the forums look bad.
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I have a half written essay on how to answer a question that I’ll post in the day or so. That might help. :)
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oops, that remark by podz definitely applied to me before. i try not to do it anymore though.
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dreamnepal – it’s the role name according to what can be done on the admin side of the forum. What it actually means is that if something goes wrong you should be expecting me to be doing things to make it all right again :)
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Don’t post specifics if it’s going to embarass anyone. That’s not necessary. But since this is a forum of volunteers maybe some forum guidlines would help. Not everyone would agree with what a “negative”post is, guidelines on what is acceptable would be helpful.
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Bumping.
If you’re telling someone off for doing something wrong here on the forums, you may be overstepping.
Please just put a modlook tag on the thread and, if anything needs to be handled, it will be handled. Either that or send in a feedback and let a staff member deal with it.
You guys are going to drive me to drink. :)
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@drmike
Caffeine is a gut killer that mucks the body, the nerves and the mind. If you intend to take up drinking then I would suggest water is the best choice. :)IMO all forums need rules. WordPress.org has rules so why doesn’t wordpress.com?
There is no need to “reinvent the wheel”. Below (in part) is what Mark has posted over at wordpress.org/support:These forums exist to support WordPress users.
Remember – WordPress is FREE software. When you make a request for help here, no-one is being paid to help, or answer you. Being polite is extremely important, especially to those who do help here. And, if you do get an answer that works, if you could, please come back to your thread and say so, that would be wonderful.
A: The following posts are moderated automatically:
1. Those containing email addresses.
2. Those containing passwords. The passwords will be removed.
3. Those that have tag faults, which break, or, adversely affect the forum software.
4. Those which contain incredibly long sections of code or error messages.
5. Those containing affiliate links. Affiliate links are not permitted in the forums.
A note may or may not be made in the thread or in the post if such action has been taken.
B: The following posts will be deleted on sight.
1. Topics or replies with no body.
2. If you post just to spam, or get ‘google juice’, then you WILL be blocked and the url you are using will be broken. These forums will stay clean of spammers, and the useless junk they bring.
Google juice is PR linking.
These forums have a high PR – the front page of Support has a 9 which is very high. PR for sites is judged – in part – by not only who is linking and how many but also how high those linkers are too.
So we get Mr and Mrs Spammer coming here, registering, posting a few inane “OMG LOL !!!” type junk to the forums so they can get some of the PR linkage – the Google Juice. (Someone more SEO inclined can probably say more but I think that is correct). So because they post useless garbage, we kill their linkage.
3. Posts which are destructive in nature. To put it basically, if you cannot say anything positive or helpful, or provide pointers that can assist the original poster, and do so in a constructive manner – then do not post.
4. If your post contains abuse or flames then this will not merely be removed from a post, your whole post will be deleted.
5. If your post directs offense at another forum user, it will be deleted.
Do not try to use words cleverly – if there is any doubt, it will be deleted.
A note may or may not be made in the thread if such action has been taken.
C: Pasting Code:
This may be moved to a FAQ, but for the time being, I’m posting it here.
Many posters have a problem pasting snippets of code, or don’t know what the pertinent code is for their problem, and paste a whole template looking for help. The forums are not a good place for that, and it can be a confusing process.
If you have a couple of lines to paste, by all means, paste it in your post. The process of doing that is to use the code tag, then a backtick ( ` ) then your code, another backtick, then close the code tag (/code). For those not familiar with the backtick, it’s the key just to the left of the number 1 key in the upper left of your keyboard (shifted, it returns a tilde ( ~ ).
Thank you helping us with this effort.
D: Reporting threads
To report a bad post, add a tag called ‘modlook’ to the thread. That feed is checked very regularly and we can zoom in on it.
E: Signatures
Signatures on all posts will be removed. Signatures create clutter and distract from the information and help we are trying to provide.
F: Paying for services
Requesting paid help is discouraged. We do not want to give any impression that WordPress help is anything but free. We also do not need bidding wars in the forums.
If you have posted some contact information your thread will be closed.
If you have not posted that information we will ask you to and when you do the thread will be closed.
Any thread that offers any service for money can be closed at any time. We are not against paid services but these forums are not the right place for them.
G: Staying Work Safe
Some people will be helping here from work or a computer which is not their own. Other people may not wish to view sites which have content which has questionable or adult material. If your site could cause offence, you must mark your links as NSFW (Not Safe For Work). Additionally please do not link to your site in your profile – someone inadvertantly clicking your link could be offended.
You will still get any help you need, but we can’t have people getting into trouble when they are trying to help.
Any links not so marked will be altered by Mods or removed at their discretion.
H: General
To report something you are concerned about (including bad posts)
Please don’t use CAPS – it’s like shouting and very rude.
I: Complaints
Before you complain, please remember that all help here is free. Also remember that text alone can be a very poor medium for communication – if you have disagreed with someone you may both be misunderstanding. You have bad days so does everyone else – one post that you disagree with does not make the other person bad and neither does it make them a target to be got at. And please remember that this is only software, not something essential to life itself. Getting the last word in is not being constructive either.
If after considerable thought you want to make a point about someone, email support at this domain.
Please remember that this forum exists for one purpose only – to help people.
Constructive criticism and debate are welcome where appropriate – negativity is not.
If you can post positively to the forum then please do :)@drmike
It is my position that if these guidelines were posted and in effect for the wordpress.com then both those posting to the forum looking for help and those answering their questions would have tried and true parameters within which to operate. :)
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