Mod Voice

sao

@Tez Dangit

Pavel

The only problem with altering text or background colours for individual posts is whether that would work as well on various skins, or on various platforms. For instance, if I write in bright yellow on a dark background, that won’t necessarily show up as clearly on a white background.

That said, I prefer the ‘mod voice’ framing to a singular mod account. Logging in and out of various accounts to do mundane shit like telling folks to stop a line of attack, for instance, is a hassle. And it’s less about making a major decision (a la banning or locking a thread) and more about the day-to-day “Hey, cut it out” kinds of declarations.

Jennkryst

I half like the idea of like… TezMod being the mod account, and then when you quit or whatever, password changed. So the posts are obviously mod voice. Buy that also means logging into it if needed, and remembering to log out after so you don’t mod voice somewhere else.

IoleRae

Use a mod account. Share it or not, but have it be separate from your regular accounts. Keep the regular accounts tagged, for transparency’s sake.

1 - Separation for YOU, separation for US

2 - Archive / search purposes – makes it very very easy to review mod decisions

3 - There is NO WAY for this to end up ambigious. Caps, what if you need cruise control? Formatting, what if you are on your phone and don’t have access to the template and need IMMEDIATE action?

4 - If you have to log out, then log back in, to do admin-ing, it is an intentional act. This will prevent (some) emotional decisions

more reasons, but these are the big ones.

If you share a mod account, sign the post as who it was.

GF

If there’s some special admin account, this might be the best thing, especially in light of our history of wanting the ability to block moderators.

Tez

@GF said in Mod Voice:

If there’s some special admin account, this might be the best thing, especially in light of our history of wanting the ability to block moderators.

This is a v good point about wanting to block moderators. (fr fr)

KarmaBum

@Tez said in Mod Voice:

One of the things we would like to make clear is when we are talking in an Authoritative Mod Voice vs our usual nonsense.

I mean…

As long as neither of these voices is spewing things that are ~~unacceptable~~ not condoned, does it matter a huge amount?

I don’t particularly like the idea of a separate account to mod from. You’re the same person, whether you’re a mod or not. If you have to put on a different skin to moderate…

…moderating might not be for you.

Rathenhope

@KarmaBum said in Mod Voice:

If you have to put on a different skin to moderate.

It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the ban again

Pavel

@KarmaBum said in Mod Voice:

As long as neither of these voices is spewing things that are unacceptable not condoned, does it matter a huge amount?

Yes. There’s a difference between me telling you to go fuck yourself and mod-me telling you that this line of conversation is against the rules (as a terrible example).

ETA: For clarity, the former is regular ol’ us-posting, the latter is an enforcement of a rule. Like being an off duty vs on duty cop, or something.

sao

Ok but fuck the police

Pavel

@sao said in Mod Voice:

Ok but fuck the police

Yes, obviously, but it works for the metaphor.

Narson

@sao But, every little thing they do is magic…

KarmaBum

@Pavel said in Mod Voice:

Yes. There’s a difference between me telling you to go fuck yourself and mod-me telling you that this line of conversation is against the rules (as a terrible example).

Right, but if you’re not capable of showing that differentiation without needing to logout and log back in…

IDK. It also feels very reactionary.

The problem isn’t that a person in particular put on their MOD VOICE and handled something. It’s the PERSON IN PARTICULAR that put on their mod voice.

I can tell when you’re telling me to fuck myself as a joke, because you would never tell me to fuck myself as a mod.

I can tell when you’re making wisecracks about Roe v Wade as a joke, because you would never make wisecracks about Roe v Wade as a mod (or a decent human being in general).

I don’t mind MOD VOICE or whatever you need to do to make it feel more official, but having a separate account is just going to add unnecessary steps to address what is ultimately a non-existent problem (assuming you hire the right people and not Derp).

IMO.

MisterBoring

I do like the idea of mods / admins having some way of absolutely identifying they are acting in that role. Be it separate accounts, or even just a specific formatting option locked to admins.

Perhaps admin voice can go in a code block?

hellfrog

@KarmaBum I feel this, and I get this, but I can also see another side? Not everyone who posts here is going to have the same level of comfort with each mod. I think having clear ways to differentiate (and yes, be able to block as posters) between mod input and poster input would be a net positive for inclusion.

Pavel

@KarmaBum I quite agree. I err on the side of the text distinction. Conversations are gonna get heated, especially in the Rough and Rowdy section. That’s to be expected. And we need a quick and easy way to differentiate between a mod mucking in with the crew and them laying down the law.

At least in my view.

@hellfrog said in Mod Voice:

yes, be able to block as posters

As far as I’m aware, if you want us to still have the label next to our regular names along-side having a mod account, we’d still be set admin/mod and would still be unblockable. I don’t know of any work around for this.

Tez

@Pavel said in Mod Voice:

As far as I’m aware, if you want us to still have the label next to our regular names along-side having a mod account, we’d still be set admin/mod and would still be unblockable. I don’t know of any work around for this.

Potential workaround: making a group just for labeling that has none of the permissions and put the actual powers elsewhere, namely in another account.

Honestly, if you have a mod that people feel the need to block, there’s a problem SOMEWHERE that should probably be addressed first.

On that subject, we ARE working on something along those lines: ways to appeal decisions, etc. etc., so that if there is a problem you will have ways (MULTIPLE ONES) to say so.

farfalla

I’m just upvoting every argument even the ones that contradict each other at this point. So many good points. Good luck making a decision!

KarmaBum

@hellfrog said in Mod Voice:

Not everyone who posts here is going to have the same level of comfort with each mod.

Right, which is why it’s a good thing that the mods we have are reasonable, sane humans.

It feels like a separate account is just a way to mask problematic behavior. If @tsar can’t treat me with respect on her normal account, changing over to her mod account doesn’t make her a different person.

But I also don’t have much more opinion on this.

If you guys as admin think you want second accounts? Go for it. If one of you turns out to be such a prick that I’d want to block your regular account? I will bounce, regardless of your second account status.

If second accounts make the mods happy, knock yourselves out. Just please keep it transparent somehow.

Tez

@farfalla said in Mod Voice:

I’m just upvoting every argument even the ones that contradict each other at this point. So many good points. Good luck making a decision!

I’m just upvoting every post because I appreciate the feedback.

We can try one thing, and if it doesn’t work, try another. But hearing what people like (OR HATE) is a good place to start, even knowing we can’t make everyone happy.