there seem to be many complains about mods, I don't want to start another complain thread, I just want to drop a suggestion here:

make mods post with different accounts.

here is why I think it would be a good idea if mods had a 'mod-account' and a 'normal-poster account':

- mods are people too
if it was just a profession, they wouldn't get caught up in discussions etc. they would just think 'oh right, I volunteered to keep that forum clean so ima login now and move/delete/lock some threads and then ima logout again.'
the mods here are actively part of the forum though, so it is just natural that they want to participate in discussions and this is where it is difficult to stay professional.

- mods are authority persons
no matter whether a mod feels as such or whether regulars see them as such: they do have some authority (and rightly so) and it sucks when this gets impacted by personal opinions/moods etc.

- a mods opinion has a heavier weight than a random's opinion (at least for newer posters). It is great when a modpost stands out, however it is not so great when the content isn't really worth all the extra weight the green title brings.

- it adds another chance for the mod to think over his/her post before clicking the submit button (should I really post this as a mod?...)-
as long as they only have one account, obviously they will cross a line where their posts might not seem as professional as they and we wished. If they had another account, they would ask themselves 'does me posting this as a mod really reflect well and professional for 2+2' instead of some of the name-calling/ passive-aggressive/ superdefensive posts I have seen.

I would like to add that I don't have any issues with any mods so far, but I also only frequent few subforums, so I don't even know most of the mods.
there is only one mod that goes on my nerves a little but I consider it a penance for spending too much time in nvg. I am deffo happy with the ones in MTT though and that is the only area I actually care about.

cliffs:
- mods wouldn't get blamed for being unprofessional/rude as much if they had a poster account and a modding account.

I don't think complaints about maybe a half-dozen mods each month (out of well over 100), many of the complains overblown, necessitates every mod having to go through such a PITA process.

Seems like the better solution to whatever problem you think exists is just to get the **** over whatever a mod said.

If there's real problems with mods making bad decisions based on emotion, this won't change that, nor does it actually address it at all.

New posters don't become mods, so when it's decided a new mod is needed somewhere, the new mod chosen would need to start a brand new account for their regular posting. If they had been, say, a respected strat poster, you couldn't connect their old strat posts pre mod-ship with their posts on their new account.

Wholly unworkable and unnecessary imo.

TT

the OP is better if you read "mod complains" meaning mods complaining about ****

While I agree that the divide is unnecessary, the newly-appointed mod could simply create a new mod account, giving a complete and untainted record of the typist's actions as a mod.

I've seen such a system work in other contexts, but I agree it's probably unnecessary here. It's an interesting idea, himomitsme, and it's nice you're trying to help, but by and large this place runs fairly smoothly. There are only a few hot-button points; they don't dominate the site.

And don't be fooled by the title About The Forums. This is not a safe zone for newbies. Run away while you still can!

but not to NVG.....

TT

yeah this I thought it could be. the other way around wouldn't make sense since it would give the mod account a ton of 'unmoddy history'.

and damn 100 mods! then I guess the complain-ratio isn't that high after all. as I said, I am new and don't read this subforum a ton, so those threads stood kinda out to me and made me think, 'hmmm, if I was a mod I would want to come across professional as that, but I would also want to 'keep my place in the community, being able to speak my mind without it reflecting badly on the green title'


lol, cheers mate

edit:
I agree that posters shouldn't be hypersensitive either. I was just trying to address the 'issue' that mods are posters too.

I haven't really come across any mods decisions yet that seemed like they caused any real discussion (well I have seen complains, but those were ******ed). So that is a completely different topic that I didn't touch at all (since I haven't seen any discussion about it yet).
I would guess that when a certain modding decision would end up being questioned, that you guys help each other out with the judgement and, if necessary, adjust the decision.

New mods are generally recruited from the ranks of good posters. Their posting history is the basis for much of their credibility. Particularly for strategy mods. In addition, since mods are highly visible easy access to their posting history is of value (ie; a n00b is much more likely to look up the posting history of a strategy mod than a random nvg poster).

So this suggestion is very much a throwing the bay out with the bathwater type idea...

i don't think you understood me correctly.
with my suggestion, the strat mod would make his strat post with his poster account (which has all the history). he would do modding with his modding account.
there is no reason that the modding account needs to be even known as a good strat poster since discussing strategy and moderating a forum are two completely seperate things. the mod would still get to post strat, he would still get all the credibility for it based on his posting history, he just wouldn't make strat posts with his mod account.

so, his strat posts would care extra weight because of him being an awesome strat poster (if applicable). they would NOT care extra weight because his sn is green. this is a good thing, since a mod is not necessarily awesome when it comes to strategy.
Ideally the posts are so good that they don't even need any extra weight, as their content should take care of that.

sorry if that comes across as if I want to force this idea on you guys. I don't. It really was just a suggestion that crossed my mind, I just think that maybe I worded it poorly since some seem to have misunderstood me.
hope I could clear that up now

No, you're misunderstanding my point which is that it is important that poster's have confidence that the people doing the moderating are knowledgeable community members with a history on the forum and an understanding of social conventions and not just some faceless CSR earning minimum wage by deleting posts.

In other words, your suggestion is to make mods more anonymous and less accountable. Which is not going to have the result you expect - rather it would vastly increase the divide between poster and mod.

Bottom line, when someone you know and respect tells you to "knock it off, you're being a tool" you're much more likely to give pause than when some anonymous bureaucrat makes a note in your permanent record.

In the situation with which I'm familiar, the relationship between the mod and user accounts were known. It was like the user putting on the "mod hat". It's a small thing, but it does have an effect, and people know that it's all fun and games and cool usually, but when the mod hat came on, it was time to straighten up and cooperate.

To the uninitiated user, it doesn't matter the poster's history, so it's possible the reverse happens, that someone's word is given TOO much weight simply because of the green. The new user doesn't know the reasons why the person is green, and it may color the tone of conversation.

Separating yet linking them would keep the mod duties from being tied up in the personality, and people would have clearer boundaries and expectations for cooperation. Not to mention the "mod account" would be a clean record more easily referenced. Again, not that I think it's needed here, but it's not some crazy hairbrained insane stupid idea, either.

The thing is that this is only an issue for the hypersensitive. I don't think it at all presents a problem in terms of anybody's ability to moderate.

Way back in the days- OOT had a few mods with mod accounts and regular poster accounts, and to me all it did was feel like a dodge on accountability.

Nah, you're okay. You just don't know where the eggshells are in this room. Hint: they shift.

Curious, accountability to whom?

Users in general. This was in the first days of user mods, and when you had these new faceless guys making decisions, with no idea how much they knew about the community- it just felt weird.

The thing is that mods are going to make weird decisions, and let bias affect them. I'd much rather people know who I am and where I'm coming from than have them wonder why UserMod13898 hates them. At least they know me, they know my voice and how to interpret what I say, they're away of where my biases may come into play. I think posters as mods is a good thing.

Things are different now. I don't think mods are accountable to users any more, at least not based on reactions in ATF.

I can't disagree with that perspective, but I wonder if it still applies to the scale of 2+2 as it's become? For users who don't know the mods and don't know how to interpret, how does the green affect things? Now that the community has grown, would the act of putting on a "mod hat" perhaps inspire users to straighten up a bit themselves, try to put a best foot forward? People who work from home still often have a separate office space, after all.

And let me stress that by and large I'm fine with the way things are. But, well, it's fun to discuss sometimes, and I didn't think it was fair that the suggestion was dismissed as wholly infeasible and destructive. It's not needed, but it's not an unreasonable alternative, either.

A mod posted this in Sporting Events today:

"I'm seriously about to go full tilt mode soon. I don't know if I can read anymore of this. This dude wanted the Rams 2 years ago for the sole purpose of moving them to LA.

Hahahhahahahahahahahahaha. **** you jaguar fans. seriously **** you all. burn in ****ing hell."

As a Jaguar season ticket holder I dropped into this subforum which I had never visited to see if there was any interest here on 2p2 about my team being sold. WTF? This was a mod for ****s sake.

In my experience most people don't have a problem with mods. But then again most people can figure out where the boundaries are for an internet forum an act accordingly. The ones who want to try and push them by seeing how much they can get away with all the time wind up, and then there's all this crap about bad mods and oppression and woe is me I got 10 points.

And for the record I tried posting under a non-mod account while modding, it's more trouble than it's worth. My advice is to just see mods for what they are, regular posters who clean up spam and try to keep their forum orderly. You go putting them on some kind of pedestal or expect some kind of administrative perfection out of them then it's just not going to go your way.

Whicker stop being such a pussy

has to be needle

lol Gonso, I get it. I'll try not to get so butt-hurt going forward.

oh geeez, I didn't notice that. lol

@cry me a river: I do understand your point I just happen to disagree

@pfapfap:

Perfect example of a spot where the poster needs to get over the fact that the guy making the post has a green name. Also a spot where the poster should familiarize themselves with the culture of the forum before freaking out.

I agree Dids, I had never visited the forum in question before and I over-reacted. A lesson learned.