# Who are the mods?



## Jezston (25 Nov 2010)

I posted something stupid earlier - a joke anti-phone use poster that had some rather extreme language on it! Meant to do it as a NSFW named link rather than a straight image post ... and when I went back there to change it the post had vanished.

Fair enough I thought, put a sheepish response apologising ... although can't post the link back as I've forgotten the URL. Doh.

Anyway, what I found disconcerting is receiving a rather terse PM several hours later telling me off from another member of the forum. Presumably this person was a moderator?

Got to say, I feel a bit uncomfortable and weirded out by whats happened. Don't know if this changed with the new forum layout, but there appears to be no indication as to who is a moderator and who isn't. I feel uncomfortable receiving a harsh PM in an authoratative tone from someone I thought was just another member of the forum. Were they even actually a moderator or should I perhaps be telling them to sling their hook?

I'm surprised by my reaction to this, but I have to say as well as feeling a bit freaked out by it I feel a bit pissed off.

Could people with moderator powers and responsibilities please be visibly shown as such?


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## ianrauk (25 Nov 2010)

Please explain how you feel this pm is terse or harsh Jezston?

_Let's not see that poster or similar again on the site please Jezston
I have seen you have said sorry.....link will be fine.
Cheers
Ian_


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## martint235 (25 Nov 2010)

Some of the mods did used to have it below their avatar but I guess it was fairly pointless. You'd never know if you had seen all the avatars of all the mods and you'd never normally know which one had removed/edited your post anyway.


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## ianrauk (25 Nov 2010)

Jezston
Some mods are known, some are not. That's how it is. It's a personal choice of each of the mods.


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## Bman (25 Nov 2010)

Did someone post boobies?


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## TheDoctor (25 Nov 2010)

Not boobies - about 18 inches lower or thereabouts.
It deserved to be deleted IMHO, and I'd have warned the poster about it too.


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## ufkacbln (26 Nov 2010)

Actually I think it was quite courteous to do it as a PM rather than rant on the thread.

I have occasionally sent PMs where I think something is wrong or potentially misleading, rather than make someone look dumb on the thread


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## Fran143 (26 Nov 2010)

ianrauk said:


> Please explain how you feel this pm is terse or harsh Jezston?
> 
> _Let's not see that poster or similar again on the site please Jezston
> I have seen you have said sorry.....link will be fine.
> ...




I think it's the santa hat thats done it! Very harsh looking to me. The words...well they are no different to any you'd find in a dictionary.


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## martint235 (26 Nov 2010)

[QUOTE 1254482"]
I'm a mod, or am I? You'll never know!!

(I'm not really and all the mods on here are sound IME and IMO)
[/quote]

There's no point trying to cosy up to the mods now Lee!!!


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## Jezston (26 Nov 2010)

Well I was in a pretty bad mood yesterday so wouldn't have gone off like I did if I hadn't. 

For a run down of what occured, this thread was started:
http://www.cyclechat...le-use-posters/
For a laugh I made a poster that was just text saying "stop being a **** - get off the ******* phone". I then stuck it on the thread.
A short while later I realised I probably shouldn't have posted a massive image containing swears on the thread and went back to change it to a NSFW-labelled link, but saw it had already been deleted, hence my seemingly out of context sheepish response on the thread.

About three hours later I got the PM from Ian. I was a bit taken aback by that because I thought the 'incident' was over, and I didn't take kindly to being spoken to in what felt like a rather terse 'disapproving father/teacher' type way in an authorative fashion from some regular joe off the forum. I felt it was unnecessary and unconstructive.

I'm not that fussed about it now, but the tone still grates. Sentiment can be lost in text so perhaps the sentiment I read into it wasn't intentional from Ian. Especially as it seemd to come from someone who appears to have no authority to tell me off.

But the main point of me starting this thread is that I feel it is a bit wrong that Mods are not labelled as such. On every other forum I've used, people with moderator powers have a label on their username saying 'Moderator' or whatever, rather than just 'member', and a list of mods appears underneath each forum. I feel there is something a bit dodgy about having 'secret' mods. Unless their duties are purely administrative (e.g. moving threads to appropriate forums etc), rather than telling users off for doing something wrong that they had already realised was wrong and apologised for, then it should be clear.


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## ThePainInSpain (26 Nov 2010)

My only experience with the 'mods' is, when I actually complained about a personal insult from someone on this forum. The complaint was dealt with quickly and efficiently. Perhaps the perpetrator thinks differently, but hey, don't say what you did.

I agree that the mods should not be secret, but on the other hand they could be open to 'personal attacks' by aggrieved miscreants.

However on balance my humble view is that the mods should be public, otherwise it's all a bit 1984, (oops, that's already arrived in the UK).


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## ianrauk (26 Nov 2010)

Jezston,  "terse 'disapproving father/teacher type way in an authorative fashion" The Oscars are over for another year so cut out the hysterics.

As I said previous. it's a mods decision whether they want it known that they are mods or not. It's as simple as that. Admin runs HIS forum HIS way. It was run this way before you joined and will continue to be so after you have gone elsewhere. If you have a problem with that then I suggest you drop him a PM.

If you did not know I am a mod then you have been living on planet Mars. There are lot's of threads that have either been edited, withdrawn or closed with my name on. You are an intelligent lad so I can't believe you did not know.

But that's by the by. You have been giving a very mild ticking off, (though I don't think so) so live with it.


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## Jezston (26 Nov 2010)

ianrauk said:


> Jezston, "terse 'disapproving father/teacher type way in an authorative fashion" The Oscars are over for another year so cut out the hysterics.
> 
> As I said previous. it's a mods decision whether they want it known that they are mods or not. It's as simple as that. Admin runs HIS forum HIS way. It was run this way before you joined and will continue to be so after you have gone elsewhere. If you have a problem with that then I suggest you drop him a PM.
> 
> ...



Ok I made my response this morning after having calmed down after my bad day yesterday, and thought I should explain the thought processes that lead to the reaction and thoughts I had about it. I thought it would help diffuse the situation and be something worth considering over the way the forum is run.

Your response is just bang out of order, Ian.


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## martint235 (26 Nov 2010)

[QUOTE 1254489"]
All I'll say is - Jezston if you want terse/disapproving then don't turn up at a ride on a bike with a dirty chain when Ian is there...
[/quote]

yeah your life isn't worth living. The abuse I pick up just cos I've got a working bike. And the complete lack of sympathy when something goes wrong.... And it's not just the chain, bits of dust on the tyres. He has in fact on one occasion run his finger around the headset on my bike to check for dirt!!


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## ianrauk (26 Nov 2010)

Jezston said:


> Ok I made my response this morning after having calmed down after my bad day yesterday, and thought I should explain the thought processes that lead to the reaction and thoughts I had about it. I thought it would help diffuse the situation and be something worth considering over the way the forum is run.
> 
> Your response is just bang out of order, Ian.









Fine that is your prerogative to think that.
As I said previous. If you want to send a complaint to Admin then please go ahead.


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## siadwell (26 Nov 2010)

Who are the mods?

We are the Mods!

Is this a good time to try to lighten the mood?


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## tdr1nka (26 Nov 2010)

Jetzson mate, the mods and Admin have always responded to your requests and complaints but now you've been given what is essentially a slap on the wrist, you sing a different tune?

Please remember mods are not paid code their commitment nor are we mind readers.
Your post was simply withdrawn as unsuitable and you were given a warning. The same would have happened to any other member.

Are you above equal treatment and if so why?

To be fair you got fairly well treated, had the thread stayed on the board and we then received complaints from other forum members the matter would have been discussed by moderators in a very different light.

If you still feel aggrieved might it not be better to bring the matter up with Admin before opining to the forum?

You made an error, fair dues, but you need to accept that we moderate the forum as a whole and not to suit the sensitivity of particular individuals.


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## Jezston (26 Nov 2010)

I'm just expressing how I feel about how a situation was dealt with on the Support and Feedback forum which I thought was an appropriate place to discuss it, but mostly I was just trying to raise whether it is appropriate for mods to not be labelled as such.

I'm not trying to stir any trouble up, I've been trying to resolve the situation, and had already contacted admin about it. I feel that such situations should be dealt with sensitively.

I've moved the issue over to PMs so I'd appreciate it if this thread could be left to discuss what I was originally posting about - that whether mods should be 'visible', and leave personal stuff out of it now.


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## martint235 (26 Nov 2010)

It is a public forum and I'm glad it is moderated. Personally I don't care if the mods are known or not so long as they are both a. fair and efficient b. *seen* to be fair and efficient


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## Fran143 (26 Nov 2010)

Jezston said:


> I'm just expressing how I feel about how a situation was dealt with on the Support and Feedback forum which I thought was an appropriate place to discuss it, but mostly I was just trying to raise whether it is appropriate for mods to not be labelled as such.
> 
> I'm not trying to stir any trouble up, I've been trying to resolve the situation, and had already contacted admin about it. I feel that such situations should be dealt with sensitively.
> 
> I've moved the issue over to PMs so I'd appreciate it if this thread could be left to discuss what I was originally posting about - that whether mods should be 'visible', and leave personal stuff out of it now.




I think you have too much time on your hands....who cares who the mods are so long as the site is run in a manner that suits everyone then we should all be thankful.  Oh and we all know about not using inappropriate language on an open forum.


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## Midnight (26 Nov 2010)

I can appreciate than Mods might want to remain incognito, and on another forum I use, when a Mod replied to a thread the OP mistook his comments for moderation. But I think Jez has a point about recieving PMs from someone not known by a member to be a Mod. More regular members might be expected to know who the majority of Mods are, but what about newcommers and less frequent visitors?

Is it possible that when a Mod sends a PM to a member, they indicate in that PM that they are a Mod, either under a blanket 'Mod' username, or include a 'Moderation' banner in the PM?


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## 661-Pete (26 Nov 2010)

Well, first thing I'd like to say is, modding is a bloody tough job! I am not one, now, anywhere, but I remember my brief stint as a sort of half-mod on ACF. I didn't enjoy it one bit! Hats off to those who stick it out with the task, on here!

As regards visible or invisible mods - a tricky one. I'd be inclined to go for visibility. Or alternatively, all moderator actions to be under the common login of 'Moderators', hence keeping it totally anonymous. The trouble with the present system is, if I post something naughty and we then see my post being labelled "This post has been edited by Ianrauk" this immediately 'outs' Ian as a mod! Not ideal.

Jezston, I'd agree with what others say here - let the matter drop. But if you're interested in my experience of really *bad* modding - on another forum, not a cycling-related one - PM me. There are some things I won't post about openly. Modding here is pretty damned good by comparison.


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## tdr1nka (26 Nov 2010)

I strongly suspect that you wouldn't have raised the issue had you not been ticked off for posting something unacceptable on the forum.

No one was to know you were coming back to put NSFW in the thread title, which is neither an excuse or apology, so the thread was removed and you were warned off accordingly.

Maybe you need to reflect on hasty postings and taking a simple warning, which you blew out of proportion incidentally, before pulling all the Mods into the affray because you feel unfairly dealt with.

As I have said before, you made an error of judgement and got told off before you could rectify said error.
You then chose to air the matter on thread and Ian pointed out your overplaying his PM.

It's not such a big deal, take it on the chin and move on.


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## Norm (26 Nov 2010)

Jezston said:


> But the main point of me starting this thread is that I feel it is a bit wrong that Mods are not labelled as such.


I agree with this. I think that people who use the power to moderate a board should do it openly. If they are afraid of negative feedback, afraid to stand up to the reactions to their actions, then maybe they shouldn't be mods.

However, that's just my opinion and I know it counts for little because, as has been previously posted, Shaun owns and runs the board as he sees fit.


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## goo_mason (26 Nov 2010)

There are some sites I've been a member of where the mods ban you if you're a member of a rival site that they don't like, or if you mention a product sold by a particular vendor who they've fallen out with. It's like dealing with a bunch of spoilt ten year-olds. They're all visible as mods on the site.

One of the DE Shaving sites I'm on has mods but they're not visible as such. The site is friendly & a pleasure to be a member of - much like CC (that was £5 you promised me, wasn't it Admin?  ) Is it REALLY a problem that the mods are invisible as long as they're not acting like megalomaniacal tyrants?


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## martint235 (26 Nov 2010)

I agree that if you receive a message from a Moderator or if a Moderator takes action on a post, this should be labelled as such. Whether it's with the mod's name or not doesn't really matter to me.

I also agree with what has been said about this being a well moderated forum. There are some where the mods do very little and others where it's out of hand. I'm a member of a mobile phone forum where in the past you could always go for help, no matter how stupid the question may have seemed. The worst you could expect was "You could have searched first" but invariably with the answer/advice you needed. Lately however it's become a preserve of the know-alls with petulant "how dare you come on our forum and ask such a noob question" and unfortunately the mods are joining in the bashing.


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## TheDoctor (26 Nov 2010)

Jez - if you post something as provocative as that, it *will* be modded.
You can play the 'I'm really offended' card, or you can post about people being f**king c**ts.
You can't have it both ways.


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## fimm (26 Nov 2010)

I'm pretty new round here, and I find it a bit surprising that you can't tell who is a mod. There was an exchange on another thread that confused me quite a lot, because someone had edited someone else's post and I wondered how they could do that - but if they were a mod that would make sense. 

I don't think the OP is throwing his toys out of the pram over this - the original issue and the discussion of visible/invisible mods can be separated IMHO.


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## Mark_Robson (26 Nov 2010)

For many moons I was an admin on a torrent site and my main responsibility was managing the moderating team. I gave it up because I became increasingly frustrated with the attitude of some of the mods towards members of the site. Some of those guys were really on a power trip and it stifled the forums and made things unpleasant for everyone.

That said, I can honestly say that the standard of moderating on this site is excellent. I have never experienced any evidence of mod power here and I really appreciate the low key behind the scenes moderating that goes on.


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## Rhythm Thief (26 Nov 2010)

TheDoctor said:


> Jez - if you post something as provocative as that, it *will* be modded.
> You can play the 'I'm really offended' card, or you can post about people being f**king c**ts.
> You can't have it both ways.



Wot he said. And, incidentally, after all the time we mods have spent running around dealing with stuff Jezston's reported, you'd think he'd respond a bit more graciously for being pulled up about posting offensive material on the site ...


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## Norm (26 Nov 2010)

Jezston said:


> I've moved the issue over to PMs so I'd appreciate it if this thread could be left to discuss what I was originally posting about - that whether mods should be 'visible', and leave personal stuff out of it now.


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## MacB (26 Nov 2010)

martint235 said:


> I agree that if you receive a message from a Moderator or if a Moderator takes action on a post, this should be labelled as such. Whether it's with the mod's name or not doesn't really matter to me.
> 
> I also agree with what has been said about this being a well moderated forum. There are some where the mods do very little and others where it's out of hand. I'm a member of a mobile phone forum where in the past you could always go for help, no matter how stupid the question may have seemed. The worst you could expect was "You could have searched first" but invariably with the answer/advice you needed. Lately however it's become a preserve of the know-alls with petulant "how dare you come on our forum and ask such a noob question" and unfortunately the mods are joining in the bashing.



Yep, don't care about who the mods are but would expect communications from such to be indentified.

I'll step out on a limb here and say 50/50 on this one, Mr J was a bit out of line but recognised this and held up his hands. The cautionary PM from Ian could have been better or at least should have identified it was a modding thing. The follow up post on here from Ian was OTT but I just get a sense of communication fail all round. I've had dealings with both parties and know them both to be decent folks, I also know that modding can be a pain in the butt and those being modded often don't realise how repetitive it can all get. Forums are cyclical and the same modding issues occur time and again, maybe we need a range of stock moderator PM's to be sent out. Going from 'Hi, this is from the mods and could you please.....' to 'you are a scumbag of the highest order and the modsquad are going to massacre you and your entire family'.

I also hate the 'use the search' and 'what a noob' type posts, either post or don't post, it's not too bad here. Some forums you get posters queuing up to say 'use the search' and to slap down the noob. If I get tired of what bike, know how and kit stuff then I just don't visit it for a while, no biggie.


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## tdr1nka (26 Nov 2010)

One final thought from this Mod, is it not a tad disingenuous to not at least wait for a reply from Admin before bringing your complaint to the wider forum?

You cannot claim to have started this thread without having a vested interest in the subject and the fairly obvious hope that everyone would jump to back your side of the story.

It is actions like this and not waiting for, or respecting due process, that make you appear to simply be attention seeking rather than trying to peacefully resolve a problem that was, with every respect, of your own making.


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## Sh4rkyBloke (26 Nov 2010)

MacB said:


> *Forums are cyclical* and the same modding issues occur time and again, maybe we need a range of stock moderator PM's to be sent out. Going from 'Hi, this is from the mods and could you please.....' to 'you are a scumbag of the highest order and the modsquad are going to massacre you and your entire family'.


This one being a prime example of such... 


IGMC.


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## HLaB (26 Nov 2010)

Not that it really matters but did the old site not display who were mods ?


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## Shaun (26 Nov 2010)

I'm currently tied-up with doing the annual Christmas shop with Mrs. Admin.

Can everyone please take a deep breath and step back for the moment, and I'll address this later this evening.

Thanks,
Shaun


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## Fran143 (26 Nov 2010)

'tdr1nka' <BR><BR>One final thought from this Mod.<IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt= src="http://www.cyclechat.net/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/wacko.gif"> <BR><BR><BR>Can you tell me who thought you were grown up enough to be a mod and I'll have a word with them.


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## Fran143 (26 Nov 2010)

tdr1nka said:


> One final thought from this Mod, is it not a tad disingenuous to not at least wait for a reply from Admin before bringing your complaint to the wider forum?
> 
> You cannot claim to have started this thread without having a vested interest in the subject and the fairly obvious hope that everyone would jump to back your side of the story.
> 
> It is actions like this and not waiting for, or respecting due process, that make you appear to simply be attention seeking rather than trying to peacefully resolve a problem that was, with every respect, of your own making.




Can you tell me who thought you were grown up enough to be a mod and I'll have a word with them.


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## 661-Pete (26 Nov 2010)

Admin said:


> I'm currently tied-up with doing the annual Christmas shop with Mrs. Admin.
> 
> Can everyone please take a deep breath and step back for the moment, and I'll address this later this evening.
> 
> ...


Seconded. Can we please give poor Shaun a dog's chance?!


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## srw (27 Nov 2010)

MacB said:


> Yep, don't care about who the mods are but would expect communications from such to be indentified.



Agree 100%. Not all of us are anally retentive enough to remember who every single moderator is. I've had very limited engagement with moderation, and it's been entirely appropriate. But as a courtesy to everyone, and to protect the trust between posters and forum owner that comes with the moderation of posts I'd ask that when a moderator posts or PMs _as a a moderator_ that fact is made known.


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## rich p (27 Nov 2010)

I worried myself sick with tortured angst over this for 3 nano seconds but fortunately I'm over it now.


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## Fran143 (27 Nov 2010)

rich p said:


> I worried myself sick with tortured angst over this for 3 nano seconds but fortunately I'm over it now.



I'd like to tell you my initial response...........good for the soul is laughter!


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## Speicher (27 Nov 2010)

Admin said:


> I'm currently tied-up with doing the annual Christmas shop with Mrs. Admin.
> 
> Can everyone please take a deep breath and step back for the moment, and I'll address this later this evening.
> 
> ...




What sort of shops do you do your shopping in? 

Tied up, and buying a dress?  




My coat is the blue one......


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## ComedyPilot (27 Nov 2010)

'We are the mods, we are the mods, we are, we are, we are the mods.....'


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## siadwell (27 Nov 2010)

ComedyPilot said:


> 'We are the mods, we are the mods, we are, we are, we are the mods.....'



I tried that in post #19...


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## Norm (27 Nov 2010)

Admin said:


> I'm currently tied-up with doing the annual Christmas shop with Mrs. Admin.
> 
> Can everyone please take a deep breath and step back for the moment, and I'll address this later this evening.
> 
> ...


Is Shaun still shopping? 

It's been 24 hours now... do you think we should send in supplies. I'm thinking coffee and cake would be appropriate.


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## slugonabike (27 Nov 2010)

I've not been around for long enough to sus out who are mods here unless they have identified themselves as such. I'm not particularly bothered about people being identified on the forum if they don't wish to be. However, if I receive communication from a moderator, in their 'official' capacity, I would like it to be identified as such. Mind you, I'm such a good girl that it's a very unlikely scenario  

edit - faaaar too many 'identified's in that post but I CBA to change it!


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## Shaun (27 Nov 2010)

Nope, back from shopping, but today I've been having a lazy birthday day ... working my way through the campaign mode of Black Ops ...  

With regard to the removal of the anti-mobile-mobile-whilst-driving "poster" and the PM; I agree with the removal of the poster, but also agree that it would be best for moderators to identify themselves as such when sending PMs with their _moderator_ hat on (_I'll ask the mods to do that_).

With regard to the visibility of mods, that's the way I work it here at CC. I give moderators the option of whether they want to make their moderator status public or not because - a) they are volunteers who help keep the site clean and running well - b) wearing a 'moderator' badge attracts negative attention and leads to moderators being abused - c) members sometimes have trouble separating the 'person' from the 'moderator' and read things into a mods personal posts that are not there, or are not posted from a 'mod' perspective. 

Mods are members and entitled to post what they think / feel on the forums just the same as everyone else. That being said, I am not above moderating the moderators and have done so on a number of occasions where I have felt they have been out of line (_and will be talking to a couple of them in relation to this particular thread!_).

I think we have a pretty fair system here and we usually try to discuss things with people and take a steady approach to dealing with the moderation. I agree that mods should identify themselves when carrying out moderation tasks and will ask them to do that, however if anyone has any specific issues with the moderation they can content me directly by PM or email and I will look into it and try to be fair and considerate in sorting it out.

Cheers,
Shaun


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## dellzeqq (28 Nov 2010)

I'd entirely support the Mods right to anonymity (sp?). I was a mod elsewhere and got some unnerving late night phone calls


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## Cycling Naturalist (28 Nov 2010)

dellzeqq said:


> I'd entirely support the Mods right to anonymity (sp?). I was a mod elsewhere and got some unnerving late night phone calls



I sympathise - moderating "Youporn" is a tough task.


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## TheDoctor (28 Nov 2010)

Voice of experience, Patrick?


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## Shaun (29 Nov 2010)

Cycling Naturalist said:


> I sympathise - moderating "Youporn" is a tough task.




Would that make you "Executive _of_ Vice"


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## CharlieB (30 Nov 2010)

Can I ask a really daft question?

What's 'NSFW'? (not suitable for women?)


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## ianrauk (30 Nov 2010)

CharlieB said:


> Can I ask a really daft question?
> 
> What's 'NSFW'? (not suitable for women?)





Not Safe/Suitable For Work


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## Noodley (30 Nov 2010)

I had always thought it was No Steak For Wegetarians....


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## fossyant (10 Dec 2010)

Ohh, I've missed all this debate - just poking about the site tonight.

This forum is good in that it's safe to read at home...... our house is open plan, the last thing I want on a page is big 'whatsits' or foul language jumping out - many of us have young kids. I suppose a link with, NSFW or what ever would have been better....

The LFGSS forum is a mare, even if it's mainly text....sheesh........ the language is iffy if you have any kids about that can read.....


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## Dan B (10 Dec 2010)

dellzeqq said:


> I'd entirely support the Mods right to anonymity (sp?). I was a mod elsewhere and got some unnerving late night phone calls


If that "elsewhere" is the same elsewhere as the forum you modded me on ... mind you, I expect you have my number in caller id anyway


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## Norm (10 Dec 2010)

Norm said:


> I agree with this. I think that people who use the power to moderate a board should do it openly. If they are afraid of negative feedback, afraid to stand up to the reactions to their actions, then maybe they shouldn't be mods.
> 
> However, that's just my opinion and I know it counts for little because, as has been previously posted, Shaun owns and runs the board as he sees fit.



Blimey, what a thing to say.


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