WRT: Forum moderation and keeping threads on track.

[Carthage]

I feel the need to suggest that we once again appoint a couple of forum moderators.

I don't think we need nearly as many as we had before the shake-up and assorted issues that resulted in the current management structure, but one or two would be good. I think the fact that we are seeing topics like the May Furmeet thread effectively hijacked into a discussion about toilet flow management techniques is proof enough. We need someone who can monitor the major discussions and put them back on track as neccessary.

I don't want to sound like an asshole here, but c'mon, this is the major information source for furry events now. There's gotta be -some- order maintained. :P

[RainRat]

Fixed the May Furmeet thread. There's a "report to moderator" button on each post to report any problem threads. I will look for any more problem threads tomorrow. I can also discuss with the mod team if we need any more mods.

[Unition]

I saw the thread, and while it was annoying, I didn't intervene, because the discussion was polite and nobody was being harrassed.
If we want to establish posting guidelines I'm all for it, but we should make sure people know them beforehand :)

edit: for instance, some subforums could be more rigorously policed than others.

[Carthage]

The monthly furmeet threads have been getting more and more off track for months now.

I realize noone was being harassed but I do think better moderation of the relavence to the topic might have been in order.

That said, perhaps a monthly "purr & hiss" thread to follow up each furmeet could be a good foil to keep the regular furmeet discussions from going off track. Any messages that get too far off the topic of the furmeet location and planning could simply be moved over. It wouldn't seem like as much of a steamroller tactic that way.

[Acco]

/agree

[RainRat]

So in general the consensus is that we should more vigorously moderate event boards, I think. But leave more freedom on other boards, right?

[Unition]

You should write up a sticky thread in each "heavily moderated" board stating your intentions.  Or I'll do it later if I've got time this afternoon.

[Carthage]

So in general the consensus is that we should more vigorously moderate event boards, I think. But leave more freedom on other boards, right?

Yes and no. I think better moderation overall is in order, but I think the event boards need the most attention.

For the time being though, focussing on the event boards sounds like a good goal. That seems to be where the most chaos is amongst postings and where threads are most likely to be derailed. That said, if any thread is reported to the mods it can't be simply let slip. It has to be reviewed.

[RainRat]

The mod team just did a whole bunch of cleaning. If you believe we've made an error or missed something, use "report to admin" or message the mod privately.

The moved topic notices will be deleted after 1 day.

[RainRat]

Here are some guidelines; they aren't official yet.

1. Please don't derail a thread, especially on Event forums.

2. Please don't start a thread with multiple topics. A thread with multiple topics intertwined is hard to follow. A mod may lock the original thread and ask you to post each topic as a separate thread.

3. Please don't post to tell people that they started a topic in the wrong board, or that they should have started a new thread, or speculate on whether a mod will move a post. It just looks silly after a mod fixes the problem. Use "report to moderator".