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gymnastchick729's avatar

Are the Moderators too specific and picky?

Asked by gymnastchick729 (1182points) June 10th, 2009

I have sent in a couple of questions recently, and I get so frustrated with the fact that they never accept my questions, that I just give up. Do you have the same problem?

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59 Answers

Lupin's avatar

No. Thank goodness they are there. I’ve never been moderated. Apparently, I stick to the rules.
If they let things go, this place would turn into a Removed by Fluther moderators ;-)
Thanks for being there!

chelseababyy's avatar

I think the mods are great. They volunteer their time to moderate the site, and I think that’s wonderful. They’re just doing their job, and doing it well.

jonsblond's avatar

Once you’ve been here for a while you learn what can pass and what doesn’t. Don’t take it personal.

Lightlyseared's avatar

No. Most of the time they are responding to the fact that other users have flagged your questions. I’m also sure that they will offer advice on how to edit your question and make it suitable for Fluther.

Harp's avatar

All the moderators do is apply the guidelines. They didn’t make the guidelines up; the founders of Fluther did.

As a mod, I can assure you that we do not apply the guidelines as strictly as we could.

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

No. it just takes a little getting used to.
They have clear-cut guidelines for posting. This is to make sure that this place doesn’t fall victim to the suckery of trolling, spam, porn, personal attacks and other elements that make online forums not fun.

wundayatta's avatar

I wish people who ask this question would give examples of the questions they have had modded. It’s impossible to understand what’s going on without examples from real life.

Response moderated
gymnastchick729's avatar

Ok, so my question was the one about procrastination, idk if u read it… i posted it today and it took about 6 tries to get to actually submit.

archer's avatar

@mammal whether you agree with mammal or not, that is a brilliantly constructed statement that would be rejected by the mods as an incomplete sentence.

on this site clearly populated mostly by liberals, it’s interesting how opinion on this seems to be heavily in favor of submission as a positive thing

AstroChuck's avatar

No, God. Please not again.

archer's avatar

@AstroChuck you seem compulsively drawn to things that you dislike

sjmc1989's avatar

@AstroChuck Yeah this has been a very redundant question lately. I have never had a problem with my questions not being accepted. When you type a question remove yourself from it and read it if it seems to make sense and follows guildlines you should have no issues.

dynamicduo's avatar

Nope. I love them the way they are. I find it helps if you consider this place as not a place where you need to ask questions, but where you can come when you have a question that many people’s opinions could help.

For example, here we appreciate using words. Words such as “I don’t know if you read it or not”, not txtspeak as you chose to do. I imagine that’s part of the issue why your question was deleted.

Harp's avatar

@archer “on this site clearly populated mostly by liberals, it’s interesting how opinion on this seems to be heavily in favor of submission as a positive thing”

There have been many users who came, couldn’t tolerate working within the guidelines, and left. There’s kind of a natural selection at work: the remaining population are mostly those who have been able to adapt to this environment, appreciate the value of the rules in maintaining a convivial atmosphere, aren’t trying to stir up trouble, are able to meet some minimal language requirements, and don’t attack other users.

I would have thought that conservatives could sign onto those values just as well as liberals. I’m not sure that @mammal, whose answer you admired earlier, would agree that liberals are more prone to “conforming” to Fluther guidelines.

ragingloli's avatar

Be thankful that W.T. Snacks isn’t one of the mods.

YARNLADY's avatar

The only two times I had my questions moderated was because I worded them awkwardly, and both times, I found similar questions in the search base from which I was able to get the information I wanted.

If you have a problem with moderation you can use the “contact” tab at the top of the page and ask them directly.

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

@Anyone who is upset at being modded:

If you want answers, you need to address the mods directly. They will respect you and tell you what’s up.

There is no conspiracy against you.

jrpowell's avatar

Some of the admins are in the chatroom right now. Talk to them.

{I’m going to hide now.}

El_Cadejo's avatar

@ragingloli lol i met him in Baltimore 2 years ago :P

eambos's avatar

The chatroom is a lie.

jonsblond's avatar

@eambos lurve the new avatar!

archer's avatar

first, i repeat that fluther has an absolute right to run this place as they like.
second, i’m not upset.
third, i think that there is no harm in offering criticisms/feedback.

jlm11f's avatar

Hi gymnastchick, I am a community manager on this site. I am looking over your profile to see what questions you might have had trouble with. You say you sent in a couple of questions recently that were not accepted, but I only see one question asked by you before this one. If that is incorrect, let me know. We typically do not like to discuss individual moderation on a public thread because of user privacy but since you did ask this question, I’ll reply right here as opposed to PM-ing you (which would be the norm).

Your Q title was “Procrastination HELP?” It was pushed back to editing by a mod because of being an incomplete sentence. As you can see by looking at all other questions on the main page, the questions are in complete and coherent sentences. Asking a question on Fluther is sort of like going up to a (friendly) stranger and asking them the question. In that respect, you wouldn’t go up to anyone and just say the words “Procrastination Help?” You later on changed the question to this and it was put back on the main page.

I am sorry that you feel frustrated but next time you are confused with moderation, I encourage you to PM one of the mods to at least find out what they are thinking. Most of the time, the answer to your question can be easily found by reading the guidelines but if not PM a mod or manager or use the support form to send an email to the founders. As a new member, it can be frustrating not knowing who the mods/managers are, so here’s a list: richardhenry, PnL, shilolo, augustlan, Harp, EmpressPixie, syz. Other mods include Allie and tali but they aren’t as active so I suggest trying the above ones first.

Also, I strongly recommed that you PM andrew or ben (site founders) if you have any additional qualms about moderation or moderators or if you feel that the guidelines are too strict since these are the people that set those guidelines.

As for your procrastination question, also use fluther search to search for “study help” “study tips” etc to find numerous other questions about studying/memorizing help that have already been answered in considerable detail.

Dog's avatar

<———- Banging head repeatedly on wall.

Edit: @Blondesjon No tilde needed. :)

Blondesjon's avatar

I think that the Mods should get together and pick a random letter from a hat every morning (they all live in the same house).

Whatever letter is drawn will be the “LETTER OF THE DAY”.(mods LOVE capital letters)

They should then spend the next twenty four hours (mods never sleep) removing any question or comment posted by a user whose username begins with the “LETTER OF THE DAY” (did I mention the mod’s love affair with capital letters?)

If you complain about this treatment (getting modded) then you have to spend a week where only every other word of any of your posts are allowed to be posted. (many of the mods are appreciative of alternatives).

do i need the tilde?

wundayatta's avatar

Ooo. —- Ooo. I——the——- other——idea. I———if——- can—————me. Perhaps – make——sense——way——I—when – write——- sentences. What – fantastic——, @Blondesjon!

kenmc's avatar

You have to bribe them with lolcats and failblog posts to have your questions stay up.

Blondesjon's avatar

@daloon . . .Thank you. It is a fantastic idea.

Allie's avatar

Yes, I’m the lazy mod.

augustlan's avatar

Allie and I have been known to be the bad mods, too.

Allie's avatar

Lazy and bad is a winning combo, so technically, I am in the lead. Or that’s what my twisted logic tells me anyway.

YARNLADY's avatar

@boots Lolcats really works, I swear

AstroChuck's avatar

Leave Britney the Mod Squad alone!

ragingloli's avatar

there should be a special day per month where everyone’s name is Anonymous and the avatars the same.

Response moderated
augustlan's avatar

[mod says]
@mammal Personal attacks are not permitted. Please take up your issues with a moderator directly, or use the contact button to send an email to the site founders.

wundayatta's avatar

@Allie Lazy is good, but I’m not sure it makes sense to say “bad is good.” Unless, of course, you’re using street lingo. However, if bad is good, and good is good, then what is bad? Try to twist that logic! It’s all good. I guess.

[cliche mode off]

toomuchcoffee911's avatar

Must I write another “We Love Mods” song?

essieness's avatar

I just wanted to add that text message style typing, or txtspk, is highly frowned upon. If you make an effort to actually spell out the words and use correct punctuation and capitalization like we all learned in middle school or younger then you will probably notice you won’t get modded as often.

Allie's avatar

@daloon What’s bad? Onions are bad. (As in bad bad, not good bad.)

archer's avatar

i think that some of the confusion and bewilderment with some of the moderation has to do with its inconsistent and seemingly arbitrary application.

check this for a case in point:
http://www.fluther.com/disc/47123/my-girlfriend-says-she-likes-me-so-much-but-she-just/#quip638354

augustlan's avatar

@archer That question was the subject of discussion among the mods. We decided to allow it to stay because some excellent advice was given in the answers, and the OP has disabled his account. There would be no way to get an edit for the question, but the answers contain valuable information.

Dog's avatar

If one visited a foriegn country where the people were welcoming but the customs different. Would one be happier acclimating and enjoying the trip or seeking out the differences and wanting the country to change?

Just sayin.

Blondesjon's avatar

@Dog . . .That is a great analogy.

The_Compassionate_Heretic's avatar

Wow these questions tend to go on the longest don’t they?

wundayatta's avatar

And yet, you still read them!

tiffyandthewall's avatar

is there a reason that these questions are nearly always asked by relatively new people, and this is usually one of the first questions they have that are posted, although it’s already been asked a million times?

@archer
“on this site clearly populated mostly by liberals, it’s interesting how opinion on this seems to be heavily in favor of submission as a positive thing”
being liberal doesn’t mean that you don’t follow rules, and following rules doesn’t mean you’re “submitting”; it can also mean that you are willing to compromise, making an effort toward the common good.

this is not the first comment i’ve seen where being liberal is tied into following the rules of fluther/the moderators, and i still don’t see a clear connection.

archer's avatar

no i absolutely agree in following rules. my comment was about the apparent willingness to accept them without question, and with expressions of derision and disdain for those who do question them.

i must have said this at least 3 or 4 times; whoever created fluther has complete right to run it as they like. if i find the negative outweigh the positive in my view, i can leave. but while here i would like to think that they would be interested in feedback, whether they think it’s wack or brilliant, as i would if it were mine. i think that is probably the case. there will always be the “teacher’s pet” types that muck up the process.

mammal's avatar

ha, ha a question about moderators, peppered with comments :Removed by Fluther moderators. lol…...............

if we were to equate this site to a soccer match,
the spectators would probably lynch the referee,
for blowing the whistle so continuously
you’d be forgiven for assuming they had mastered
the art of circular breathing and wanted to show off
their new found skill to the rest of the world…

richardhenry's avatar

Hello @mammal, I’m Richard, one of the community managers here.

That’s a nice observation. As stated in the guidelines, we will remove content that doesn’t come up to our standards or breaks our rules. It is possible for most people to communicate a complaint or dissatisfaction without resorting to a personal attack, and we have no reason to accommodate anyone who can’t do that.

Secondly, in the future, please use correct grammar and capitalization in your writing. Since you’re not crafting a poem, there’s no need to line break your communication in the manner you are doing—it simply makes it difficult to read.

Check out the guidelines for more advice, or send me a private comment if you want help.

Lastly, I’d like to remind you that we are unpaid volunteers who love this place and the community here, and it’s very frustrating when we’re equated to some sort of secret police.

wundayatta's avatar

It isn’t a poem? Oh well. Could have fooled me.

shilolo's avatar

@daloon Shakespeare it ain’t.

wundayatta's avatar

@shilolo Nor is it James Dickey, Anne Sexton, or Larry Levis, but it is mammal.

essieness's avatar

Oh shit, @shilolo just hit 10K lurve. LURVE.

mammal's avatar

@richardhenry

some gentle, warmblooded, avuncular advice:

never consider an editorial vocation,
nor one in publishing

and

never ever…Ever..

referee a soccer match
xx

shilolo's avatar

@mammal Some gentle, warmblooded, avuncular advice:
It’s football (or perhaps, fútbol), not soccer.

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