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We had one of these a few years ago and it went great for a while, so here's another one! Ask us - meaning me and any of the other mods/admins who are willing to come answer questions - anything you want to know about moderating the Something Awful forums! If you have questions about a specific probation or thread issue or similar, you'd be better served to go to QCS. This is for more general forums questions.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 01:18 |
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# ? May 15, 2024 03:20 |
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How much time do you and the other mads/admins spend doing work for the forums rather than just posting? edit you know what i'm leaving that typo in Also when'd you become an Admin, FAU? Thought you were just mod for Games.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 02:27 |
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Ciaphas posted:How much time do you and the other mads/admins spend doing work for the forums rather than just posting? FAU Smythe NYC_Tattoo and Exclamation Marx with ZDR and Cowcaster still on Smythe, Ex-Marx and I are all focused on areas of the forums that are busy and have a lot of mods. Smythe is handling GBS, YOSPOS, and SH/SC, I'm handling Games and its subforums, and ExMarx is on D&D. These are just rough divisions of labor - that way mods of those forums always know there's an admin to go to for help. As mod of Games, I'd guess I spent a few minutes doing specifically Moderator Things, like handling reports. But any forums time is moderator time, too: it's expected that mods read and interact with their forum, know who their posters are, find problem areas, etc. That's why VideoGames stepped up to post more in MMO HMO - which was excellent, since I don't play any MMOs. You just can't mod a forum you don't read - one reason you stopped see things like the Games mods also handling Trad Games, for instance. So there's not really a clear divison of what time is modding and what time isn't. You're always a mod when you're on the forums.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 02:41 |
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I spend at max like 5 minutes a day doing mod stuff, mostly because there aren't a lot of reports in CD. I read a lot of the threads to check if there are posts that deserve action that haven't been reported, but that's usually part of my "just posting in the forum" part of the day.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 04:08 |
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The amount of time that I spend actually mashing buttons for Byob is for sure less than 5 minutes a day, but I check in on the forums multiple times a day, keep up with most threads in Byob and in the mod forum, answer emails, etc. I likely spend a couple of hours on the forum every day and I for sure wouldn't do that if I didn't feel responsible for how things were going Even while I was on vacation I was answering pms and addressing a few flareups. What I'm saying is I may need an intervention
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 04:32 |
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The amount of mod stuff I do depends on how much dicketry has been going on and reported. Sometimes it's a couple of minutes, sometimes it can be more than an hour. I must admit, it does occasionally get in the way of my posting, because modding time does come out of my total posting time.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 07:23 |
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FactsAreUseless posted:We had one of these a few years ago and it went great for a while, so here's another one! These are good threads you are good for making a new one. Here's the 2007-2013 "Ask Us About The Forums" thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2472443&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 08:50 |
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Who is the weirdest mod?
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 09:33 |
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BuckarooBanzai posted:Who is the weirdest mod? It's Smythe
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 10:11 |
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I read a lot of threads in Games and MMO-HMO. Those two are where I spend a lot of my time but I do not always post. I've always been a huge lurker here since I joined. I love reading a lot and I read a lot. I also like reading a ton of PYF threads, and spend the occasional time reading some of the other big forums, but its mostly Games that has my lions share of time. When I do the modding stuff (I think I posted this in another thread somewhere) but I like to read the report, read the rap sheet of the person being reported and the one doing the report, and then read the previous five or so pages of the thread where whatever happened, happened. If it's not a thread I am actively part of then it takes time to get a feel for whatever is going on, but I try to be as fair as possible every time and I want to give each report a fair shake. That's only if the post isn't immediately obvious as to what is occurring!! I also try to spend a few hours a day on the forums to make sure that I'm up to date with things!
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:01 |
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ADTRW doesn't get too many reports, and when it does they're usually pretty straightforward - though, of course, the few times they're not they're always doozies. I typically check for new reports once in the morning (before work) and once in the evening, sometimes sporadically when I've got the time. I've also got posters I trust who'll message me whenever it seems like something's gonna go down. When not doling out punishment, the meat of my job typically involves guiding conversations through/away from trouble spots known to disrupt conversation or foster undue hostility. I try to be firm here, when I need to be, but otherwise prefer to be accomodating (i.e. "Wishywashy"). I can't read every thread, nor every post, but I try to be an active presence where I can and will sometimes randomly look into threads where I'm not. I'm not always doing mod stuff, but I always kinda need to be prepared to do mod stuff, should the need arise, so in that sense I'm always (but never) on the clock.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:39 |
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hey gene I've heard somewhere before (probably from something you posted somewhere) that you don't really go poking around in threads looking for trouble and you mostly respond to reports. do you ever just gas horrible threads because you've noticed them being terrible or do you wait for a critical mass of reports to come your way before stepping in? e: same question for any mod I guess. I know fluffie actively checks around BYOB and gasses stale or bad threads but it's not as fast moving as say GBS or Games
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:11 |
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How did you become a mod? Like, is it just someone messages you and asks if you're up for it?
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:23 |
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Saint Isaias Boner posted:hey gene I've heard somewhere before (probably from something you posted somewhere) that you don't really go poking around in threads looking for trouble and you mostly respond to reports. do you ever just gas horrible threads because you've noticed them being terrible or do you wait for a critical mass of reports to come your way before stepping in?
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:26 |
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N. Senada posted:How did you become a mod? Like, is it just someone messages you and asks if you're up for it?
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:26 |
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I imagine it's different for most other forums but it's really really not easy to just casually browse LP because... well LPs can be huge, and we have a lot of them. We have a couple of general discussion threads that I keep tabs on but following every LP thread would be insanity. Even when we had three mods it was out of the question. Obviously if I do see people being obviously terrible I can act on it but for the most part reports and PMs are the only indicator we have of where the trouble is. Of course once we have that we can then go digging for context and etc. There have been cases where I have discovered LPs I like after someone in the thread being reported. LP is also a case of it actually being true that the thread is "owned" by the OP, so a couple of posters are able to keep an iron fist over their own terrible followers with judicious use of the close/open button without even having to involve the moderators. It's not a tactic for everyone but it can be effective.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:38 |
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Fedule posted:I imagine it's different for most other forums but it's really really not easy to just casually browse LP because... well LPs can be huge, and we have a lot of them. We have a couple of general discussion threads that I keep tabs on but following every LP thread would be insanity. Even when we had three mods it was out of the question. Obviously if I do see people being obviously terrible I can act on it but for the most part reports and PMs are the only indicator we have of where the trouble is. Of course once we have that we can then go digging for context and etc. There have been cases where I have discovered LPs I like after someone in the thread being reported.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:44 |
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FactsAreUseless posted:How much offsite drama does LP generate? It seems like that would be one of the biggest forums for that sort of thing - the single largest of course being Trad Games. Not a clue! The only way I'd know about it existing is if it leaks back into the forums and someone reports it (which happens... rarely).
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:55 |
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Have any of you ever raped a child? This is important.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 16:22 |
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Noun Verber posted:Have any of you ever raped a child? This is important.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 16:47 |
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FactsAreUseless posted:None of the current mods have raped a child. That you know of. Are you seeing traffic increasing to SA or is it still in a decline? I know the admins are doing work in the background, is it just to keep SA running or are there new features being created?
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 17:47 |
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Not sure if this is just confirmation bias, but it seems like I see far fewer probations for low-content posts and other technically rule breaking posts than I used to. Are mods just more laissez-faire about that sort of thing now, or do people just report those things less nowadays? I've personally almost never bothered to report anyone for anything, but I guess there are people out there who do.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 17:49 |
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Triggered posted:Are you seeing traffic increasing to SA or is it still in a decline? I know the admins are doing work in the background, is it just to keep SA running or are there new features being created? Jeza posted:Not sure if this is just confirmation bias, but it seems like I see far fewer probations for low-content posts and other technically rule breaking posts than I used to. Are mods just more laissez-faire about that sort of thing now, or do people just report those things less nowadays? I've personally almost never bothered to report anyone for anything, but I guess there are people out there who do. Edit: Moderation ideas and styles change over time, too. The goal is to further discussion and funny posts, and some of the old rules ended up stifling discussion, so they started getting enforced less and less until they went away. A lot of forums don't have posted rules threads now, for instance. At the same time, you can see good discussion drowned out by bad posts, so it's not like there are no standards for posting, it's just more subjective now - hence why I want to further communication between mods and non-mods. A lot of forums have just gradually changed how they function, others have switched more suddenly, for instance BYOB added stricter rules successfully, GBS dropped all its rules less successfully.
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 17:55 |
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Jeza posted:Not sure if this is just confirmation bias, but it seems like I see far fewer probations for low-content posts and other technically rule breaking posts than I used to. Are mods just more laissez-faire about that sort of thing now, or do people just report those things less nowadays? I've personally almost never bothered to report anyone for anything, but I guess there are people out there who do. I can't speak for the other subs but PYF and PI don't bother reporting that poo poo anymore, probably mainly because their mods are busy white-noise shitposting all over the place
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# ? Aug 21, 2016 22:30 |
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The probate people for charity event was a nice idea. Any chance of that happening again?
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 06:17 |
Let it out guys we can all share and heal together
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 08:01 |
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Bad Seafood posted:ADTRW doesn't get too many reports, and when it does they're usually pretty straightforward - though, of course, the few times they're not they're always doozies. I typically check for new reports once in the morning (before work) and once in the evening, sometimes sporadically when I've got the time. I've also got posters I trust who'll message me whenever it seems like something's gonna go down. When not doling out punishment, the meat of my job typically involves guiding conversations through/away from trouble spots known to disrupt conversation or foster undue hostility. I try to be firm here, when I need to be, but otherwise prefer to be accomodating (i.e. "Wishywashy"). Can you tell us about some of those doozies? You've got me generally curious how bad some of them get. I suppose that's also a question for other mods as well. What are some of the craziest reports you guys/gals have had to deal?
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 08:36 |
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How serious do you take racism as a mod? I often see ironic racism on the forums and I often just roll my eyes and don't bother reporting because at times I felt that was just the culture of SA
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 09:34 |
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blackguy32 posted:How serious do you take racism as a mod? I often see ironic racism on the forums and I often just roll my eyes and don't bother reporting because at times I felt that was just the culture of SA Edit: I disagree strongly that it's the culture of SA, though. Most forums don't see any kind of racism, ironic or otherwise. Sometimes you see ironic racism in FYAD, but that's FYAD being self-referential about ironic racism in FYAD. It's gotten really bad in GBS, which is why the mods there have been cracking down. I think sometimes people think of SA as the place for anything-goes trolling arts, but it really hasn't been that way in a long time. You don't see the "This is Something Awful, not Something Sensitive!" people much anymore.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 11:26 |
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Was the decision to admin Shine influenced in any way, shape, or form by his ability to lift a couch?
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 11:37 |
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FactsAreUseless posted:Depends on the mod and the forum, I think. Games is pretty apolitical (deliberately, we discourage it), so a lot of the usual racism of whining about welfare queens or immigration or whatever you just don't see. Outright slurs and stuff seem pretty confined to GBS. You can usually tell when a poster is being ironic just by knowing who's who on the forums, although depending on the poster they might get hit for trolling or similar. Did you have any trouble with the Gamergate crowd when that all broke out?
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 11:45 |
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Saint Isaias Boner posted:Did you have any trouble with the Gamergate crowd when that all broke out?
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 11:46 |
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If I recall, SA was one of the places where the one guy first posted what went on to become the Zoe Post. It was deleted pretty fast. We have this in common with 4chan.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 14:53 |
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Fedule posted:If I recall, SA was one of the places where the one guy first posted what went on to become the Zoe Post. It was deleted pretty fast. I believe that was mainly because it was a break up letter in GBS instead of being posted in E/N. No one had any idea on what was coming next.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 15:04 |
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hahaha *draws blade across wrist, drips blood in a forbidden shape, opens forth the portal to hellthread*
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 16:12 |
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blackguy32 posted:How serious do you take racism as a mod? I often see ironic racism on the forums and I often just roll my eyes and don't bother reporting because at times I felt that was just the culture of SA I try to clamp down on it when I see it, either in threads or reported. It comes up less often than you'd think, given that my subforum (CSPAM) is devoted to howling about politics like an escaped mental patient.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 18:20 |
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I saw your post in the USPOL thread FactsAreUseless and now I want a livestream of you coming into a reported thread and reacting to it.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 19:08 |
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N. Senada posted:I saw your post in the USPOL thread FactsAreUseless and now I want a livestream of you coming into a reported thread and reacting to it.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:01 |
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How do you decide what the little symbol by your name is going to be? A bird for LAB makes sense, yours is like the old stars; does everybody just pick their own, does somebody in particular make them? E. Also, I stand by desire to see you react to some insane stuff happening in a thread.
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:27 |
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# ? May 15, 2024 03:20 |
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N. Senada posted:How do you decide what the little symbol by your name is going to be? A bird for LAB makes sense, yours is like the old stars; does everybody just pick their own, does somebody in particular make them?
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# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:29 |