I am writing the MyTake because I have seen too many times users with a misconception of what a Moderator (Mod) is/does. Often I see comments that the “Mods are evil” or “It was removed because the Mods suck”. It is a very thankless position Moderators hold. We often get targeted simply because of being a Mod. I am here to tell you that the Mods I regularly communicate with are wonderful people. The are kind, helpful and care about this site. They do their best to keep GaG fun and friendly.
Naturally, I do not talk to or even know every Moderator. I can say (without naming) there is a group of them that have been supportive and friendly to me, personally. They have helped me when I was new to it and have given great guidance and help. They are truly special people. They know who they are. For all the help and kindness, thank you.
I would also like to take a moment in the intro to thank Admin. I have always found them to be polite, helpful and prompt. To all of you admin staff, thank you for the support and help.
Who we are:
We are just normal users, like you! We have jobs, families, friends and lives like all the other users here. We were invited to be Mods by GaG. The Moderators that I regularly chat to are fantastic and friendly people and always willing to help, not just with site matters but personal ones too. When you see us on the forum, engage us! Every Mod I have ever seen is always up for conversation.
If you would like to be a Moderator, it is important to report things in violation of the site guidelines with ACCURACY. If you don’t know how to report something, you can always PM me for advice. I will never share information with others about a PM I receive from a user. I will get into the rules below, but it is important to report things you see that violate rules so we can help make the site a better place. Invitations are sent by Admin to users that report a high number of rule violations and with great accuracy.
There are other things that go into consideration to get an invitation to be a Mod. Here is the criteria that Admin looks for. This is directly from GaG FAQ section:
“We extend the invitation to become a Moderator to our top users who create quality content on the site. Reporting content against site rules and achieving a high success ratio in reporting is also very important.
You can become a top user by logging in regularly, posting interesting, informational, and useful Questions/myTakes, as well as offering Opinions to other users. By doing so, you will accumulate Xper points. After you have shown a pattern of posting Questions and/or Takes and sharing your Opinions (showing your ability to communicate clearly, give sound advice, and offer valuable information) and have made yourself a regular user on the site, we will consider you as a Moderator.
Hint: The success rate of a user's reports is an important criteria to be selected as a Moderator. You can report unsuitable content by clicking the overflow menu (3 vertical dots) in the top right corner of any post. All reports are evaluated by the admins and the success rate on reports by every user is calculated by the system automatically. A user with a high percentage of success rate on reports is more likely to get a Moderator invitation.”
What we do:
In short…we do our best to make sure the site is friendly, fun and free of content that is not within the scope of the site’s purpose. The following is a description of what each type of Mod can do:
Moderators can Hide Opinions and Replies.
Super Moderators can Hide Questions, myTakes, Opinions, Replies, and correct topics.
Uber Moderators can Hide Questions, myTakes, Opinions, Replies, and correct topics. UberMods can also temporarily freeze member accounts in cases of consistent infringement.
Notice that it doesn’t say REMOVE. It says “hide”. That is the biggest thing I have noticed complaints about Moderators. “These stupid Mods removed my question”. Nope. A Mod hid it for review. Admin has the final say on what is removed from the site or is reinstated, not us. We are making a suggestion. Anything hidden goes into review. Once Admin reviews the question or comment, they make a ruling on it. Even if an Uber Moderator freezes an account, it is not cancelled or removed until Admin reviews it.
Reports by users are placed into a Mod accessible “Reported Posts” list. It tells me and other Mods the number of times it is reported and what it was reported as. Again, I will get more into the rules below, but it is an important tool for us. We can’t see everything or be everywhere at once. Impossible. We depend on users to report just like we do. That directs our attention to where it is needed most.
We can also move questions that get placed in the wrong topic. This happens quite often. I don’t move things generally without consent from the asker. I will make a suggestion and ask if I can move it. If you have posted a question, MyTake or poll in the wrong section inadvertently, PM or tag a Mod and let them know where you would like the question moved to. This helps get maximum responses to your question.
Personal note…The number one thing I watch out for is the welfare of our younger users. I do not, nor should anyone, make sexual comments directed at underage users. Just not necessary. For you young users, my suggestion is to stay away from sexual questions all together. If you do have a concern about someone, PM me or another Mod immediately.
Rules:
Okay, here is the big one. I can likely write an entire new MyTake on reporting rules. I will try to keep this as brief and address the most common things I see questions on or misreported. Mind you, these are not Moderator made rules. These are the rules that GaG asks us to enforce. If you have an issue, don’t blame the Mods. Contact Admin for clarification or suggestions for changes.
Spamming: You can’t advertise yourself or business. This includes spamming your social media accounts or mobile number/email. Those are just the rules.
Grammar: Don’t report as grammar violation just because something is poorly punctuated or contains misspelled words. All that does is clog up the Reported Posts list with things that will never be removed. Grammar reports are for questions/comments that are in another language or complete gibberish.
Offensive: This is straightforward but often misused. Just because it is offensive to you personally, doesn’t mean it is in violation. Saying things like “You’re an idiot” or making comments that will upset a large group of people are offensive. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t make it offensive.
Explicit: Another obvious one in some ways. Keep the nude photos off GaG. I see way too many complaints of “Well what does it matter….they are all over the internet anyway”. Okay, then go where they allow it. Why must it be on this site? Also, check users age (I don’t care what gender we are talking about) before making sexual comments to someone.
Trolling: Just why? Some of the strange obsessions that come up are baffling to me. Don’t keep asking the same question over and over. It will be labeled as Trolling every time and hidden. Vary the questions per user.
Suicidal Tendencies: If you feel like harming yourself, don’t ask how to do it here. In fact, GaG is the last place you should be. Go to a family member or friend for help. There are also loads of resources for mental health in any country. Don’t ask here. I have seen too many times people make comments that only further the issue and not help. That said, I have also seen really caring people that want to help.
No question: This should be a no brainer but…sigh. Make sure it is in the form of a question! If not? Write a MyTake on it!! I hate reporting no question as a lot of these “no questions” are actually great thoughts. Just phrase it in a way that a Mod won’t hide it because it wasn’t really a question.
There are loads of other grey areas in rules. If you ever have a question, PM me! I am happy to clarify. That said, my one suggestion to Admin would be to expand on the rules with some more detail. Even as a new Mod, I was confused sometimes.
Random thought:
I put up a poll recently about whether Moderators should be able to be blocked. Unsurprisingly, lots said yes. Next time you think about that, ask yourself how much you like the trolls here. They can block us too. I will wager a bet that if I put up a question that asked “Do you like the trolls on this site”, it would be a resounding NO. Well, when we are blocked, we can’t deal with things. Just remember that next time you feel like you want to block a Mod. Best to politely disagree with him/her or ignore all together. If you have an issue with a Mod (or any user) you can always bring it to the attention of admin.
Thanks:
Thank you all for taking the time to read this. There is so much more I can write, but I wanted to hit the big points. Thank you to all you other Mods out there. I appreciate your support of me and the site. Thank you to all the admin staff that have given me, Moderators and users alike, support and help.
I am happy to answer any further questions and would love all the wonderful Moderators to comment and fill in some other areas I may have missed. Thank you all!
Priya
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