Role of Moderator.

[Kavelj22]

Hello bitcointalkers

I would like to, firstly, appreciate all the good work done by some Mods, which costs a lot of time and efforts consuming, and may be doesn't worth the amount of paiement they receive. Mods like @hilarious @achow101 @mprep deserve all the respects from my part, as they give the good example for all of us.
While observing the great responsability taken by some Mods who control more than one board (including all the childboards within), many others are almost doing nothing, due to low board activity like those in some local boards.

It will be so sad hearing that all the Mods receive the same paiement amount.

Secondly, i start this thread to open a discussing about the exact role of a moderator and its limits. Who can judge the work of a mod? and how to complaint about him? but how to judge him his work when there is no official set of rules for them? and what kind of coordination can be set between Mods and DTs?

I didn't find any thread discussing the Mods following elements:

• Description
• Criteria
• Powers
• Limits

And about how to evaluate their works, especially for those moitoring local boards.
If am missing anything or any public detailed documentation, please correct me and put it here.


Sorry for the bad english.
Just ignore me if you see that am asking ridiculous questions.
Thanks

[khaled0111]

It will be so sad hearing that all the Mods receive the same paiement amount.

No, they don't:

Staff don't get paid per report per se, but there's a payment algorithm that takes several factors or 'mod actions' into account, but only theymos knows what those are so staff can't game it.

[madnessteat]

~snip~

I think that the role of moderators in this forum is not much different from the role of moderators in many other forums. You can refer to Wikipedia to understand what the moderators are responsible for:

Moderators
The moderators (short singular form: "mod") are users (or employees) of the forum who are granted access to the posts and threads of all members for the purpose of moderating discussion (similar to arbitration) and also keeping the forum clean (neutralizing spam and spambots etc.). Moderators also answer users' concerns about the forum, general questions, as well as respond to specific complaints. Common privileges of moderators include: deleting, merging, moving, and splitting of posts and threads, locking, renaming, stickying of threads, banning, unbanning, suspending, unsuspending, warning the members, or adding, editing, and removing the polls of threads. "Junior Modding", "Backseat Modding", or "Forum copping" can refer negatively to the behavior of ordinary users who take a moderator-like tone in criticizing other members.

Essentially, it is the duty of the moderator to manage the day-to-day affairs of a forum or board as it applies to the stream of user contributions and interactions. The relative effectiveness of this user management directly impacts the quality of a forum in general, its appeal, and its usefulness as a community of interrelated users.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum#Moderators

Update: Also moderators Bitcointalk responsible for the ban of users who violate these rules:

~
Plagiarism. * Should be reported to admin for permaban
Ban evasion.  * Should be reported to admin for permaban
~

[mk4]

If you have any complains concerning a moderator, I think you can simply post about it here on the Meta subforum(just as how some people complained about certain DT members just recently). As for "judging" a mod? I really don't know, as that's a job that you'd probably leave to Theymos instead. It's not like we directly pay them to do their jobs. 🤷‍♂️

[dothebeats]

While observing the great responsability taken by some Mods who control more than one board (including all the childboards within), many others are almost doing nothing, due to low board activity like those in some local boards.

Eh. Why would someone moderate a board that has low-activity and no forum rules were being broken?

It will be so sad hearing that all the Mods receive the same paiement amount.

Not true. IIRC, mods are being paid depending on the amount of work they've done (feel free to correct me.)

Secondly, i start this thread to open a discussing about the exact role of a moderator and its limits.

Depending on their rank. There is a patroller (haven't seen one for a long time, and I think it is now removed by theymos effectively), moderator (your common moderator for a board) and global moderator (by the name itself, can do a moderator's job on any board/sub-board). There is a reply from theymos regarding the duties of different moderators, and I think I have to do some digging for that.

Who can judge the work of a mod? and how to complaint about him? but how to judge him his work when there is no official set of rules for them?

Only theymos can do that, officially. Mods can be reported by users directly to theymos or creating a thread about their misdoings and other things that lead to the abuse of their power.

and what kind of coordination can be set between Mods and DTs?

Should there be any special relationship between DTs and mods if all users, regardless of trust rating, can report a post directly to the mods if it violates a certain rule?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Huh.  I honestly wasn't aware that mods got paid different amounts, but I guess it makes total sense.  Some sections are snake pits as far as shitposting and spam go, and they generally need much more moderating than other sections--whether that happens or not is another story.  You learn something new every day.

I sort of wonder what the limits are as well, i.e., what Theymos allows mods to do vs. what they're not allowed to do as far as deleting posts/threads/banning members.  The main reason I don't want to be a mod (but not the only reason) is because of what I assume would be a lack of real power to clean up the forum.  I don't think Theymos wants mods to go crazy deleting stuff and banning members.  My guess is that it would therefore be an extremely frustrating job.

Where did hilariousandco go, anyway?  Haven't seen him around much lately.

[TalkStar]

As a member of bitcointalk community I strongly beleive that moderators of this forum are playing their role to keep friendly atmosphere in all sections. Maybe some moderators are slighty inactive but it doesn't mean that they don't bother about these section. I hope in future we can expect more moderators activity in all section of this forum.


 

[Halab]

when there is no official set of rules for them?

"Our rules" are the same as for other members. The difference is that the moderators try to apply the rules in use on this forum.
There are hints in the Staff forum and a moderator can ask other moderators for advice on the most delicate cases.

But if you think a moderator is too zealous, or not enough, just report it here.
Moderators are still humans, they can make mistakes.

Where did hilariousandco go, anyway?  Haven't seen him around much lately.

I noticed that too, but he works

[mprep]

Secondly, i start this thread to open a discussing about the exact role of a moderator and its limits. Who can judge the work of a mod?

theymos

and how to complaint about him?

Start a thread in Meta. If said mod has jurisdiction over Meta and you think he's deleting any critical threads, at that point the situation is serious enough to directly contact theymos via PM.

but how to judge him his work when there is no official set of rules for them?

However you want I guess. Just make sure your ethics and vision of the forum aligns with theymos' (or the majority of the Bitcointalk community's) otherwise your attempts to criticize might be in vain.

and what kind of coordination can be set between Mods and DTs?

Hopefully distant and professional. There's a reason we don't moderate the Trust system (aside from perhaps clear cut flood or advertising spam cases; even then it's up to admins (maybe just theymos) to decide on when it's appropriate).

I didn't find any thread discussing the Mods following elements:

• Description
• Criteria
• Powers
• Limits

From https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0:

Q:What can <insert staff member name or rank here> do?
A: Different ranks have different access to moderation tools. A quote from Salty Spitoon explains it pretty well:

<...>

Admins: can do everything imaginable on the site. They however can't delete their accounts.

Global Moderators: can perma ban, nuke newbies, see and handle reports from all sections, and see reported PMs.

Moderators: can see and handle reports from their sections and nuke newbies

Patrollers: Are essentially Moderators but can only do moderator tasks for newbie members.

<...>

As for criteria, I guess ask theymos since he's the one making the decisions on who gets made a mod.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

As commonly said a multiple times, moderators are not official employees of this forum rather they are just volunteers willing to spend their time cleaning up the boards from spams. An employee should demand a higher pay for his work, a volunteer should receive simply what he gets paid. Here most of the forum members are spending their time along with the mods to clean up a little by more oftenly reporting spam posts. Are they getting paid for what they do? You are helping out the forum voluntarily and you are not being hired to clean up the board! When hilarious was hired back in 2014 he proved what he was capable of by spamming the report section without receiving anything in return and theymos eventually chose him as a MOD.

Mods like @hilarious @achow101 @mprep deserve all the respects from my part, as they give the good example for all of us.

So where is rickbig in this list? He is one hell of a global moderator who does an outstanding job when both mprep and hilarious is offline or probably during late nights when they are asleep. I am quite sure the global mods are not the only guys to have control of all the boards. There are some staffs here, who is visiting some boards that doesn't have a dedicated moderator and working out in shadows to clean the spam.
achow101 should have a pretty easy time moderating the Tech Board since there isn't much spammers visiting that board.

many others are almost doing nothing, due to low board activity like those in some local boards.
...
how to complaint about him?

So you seem to pointing to someone here? 

It will be so sad hearing that all the Mods receive the same paiement amount.

No not at all. What are the basis for your claims? Global Mods get paid higher than others as far as I know and those payments are far equal to others earning through their signatures.

Are you willing to know how much they are being paid? Why don't you check them yourself in the blockchain. As far as I have seen through, they are being paid monthly somewhere around 0.1 BTC which seems to be far less than a chipmixer signature wearing poster.

FYI This is the last month payment txID for all the bitcointalk MODS : https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/96a1a225989aa9bbe1de66866d123e8b897b9ea3504b44605f88ddbff17faf49

Here it is quite evident that, main board mods get paid higher than a local board moderator and global mods are even more higher.

Have I broken their privacy? No not at all everything is stored on the blockchain and since it is a decentralized forum everything needs to be transparent.

Secondly, i start this thread to open a discussing about the exact role of a moderator and its limits.

Moderators (excluding global mods) don't have much power, and I am quoting this as far as I have learnt about the MOD power

1. They can edit a topic or post in their boards
2. They can move topics within boards
3. Delete/Lock the topic and posts within which they are appointed
4. They can pin/unpin topics within their board
5. They can nuke newbie accounts
6. They can suggest to theymos regarding the banning of far more senior accounts.
7. They can view your email ID if you are reporting in the board they control

Who can judge the work of a mod? and how to complaint about him? but how to judge him his work when there is no official set of rules for them?

Theymos himself can judge the mods.
This is a decentralized forum and mentioning any such official rules will destroy the whole purpose of that actually. Local Mods follow the unofficial rules mentioned by mprep or can device their own rules for their boards.

and what kind of coordination can be set between Mods and DTs?

Moderators don't moderate scams as they are not meant for. DT people along with the MODS can tag the scammers and their seems to be no correlation between those two.

[hugeblack]

I would like to add something that @OP did not mention.
Who can create Child Boards? "Moderators, Global Moderators or admins"
Basically, we have discussed the need to create more sub-sections in the Arabic local board [you can find it here مقترح: انشاء المزيد من الاقسام ]and we want to know who has the authority to create new sections.

Also, is participation in the discussion one of the moderator's tasks?

[Halab]

Moderators (excluding global mods) don't have much power, and I am quoting this as far as I have learnt about the MOD power
7. They can view your email ID if you are reporting in the board they control

Nope.
Same thing for IPs

Who can create Child Boards? "Moderators, Global Moderators or admins"

Only admins. But moderators often make requests for new sections.

[Kavelj22]

many others are almost doing nothing, due to low board activity like those in some local boards.
...
how to complaint about him?

So you seem to pointing to someone here? 

Absolutely Not. I don't have any complaints against any mod.

Also, is participation in the discussion one of the moderator's tasks?

It's not, so what to do when to asking about some improvement for a local board (add and move pinned topics/adding sub-boards/setting local rules for the boards...) when the mod doesn't participate in discussions?

[Kavelj22]

Also, is participation in the discussion one of the moderator's tasks?

It's not, so what to do when to asking about some improvement for a local board (add and move pinned topics/adding sub-boards/setting local rules for the boards...) when the mod doesn't participate in discussions?

I want to know more about moderator who doesn't participate in discussions. I really hate PMing him for every case. Any suggestions?

[pandukelana2712]

I want to know more about moderator who doesn't participate in discussions. I really hate PMing him for every case. Any suggestions?

For the discussion, moderator must be on the neutral position.
They do not need to post anything unless it concerns the forum.

If they take part in the discussion, it's feared that their position will not be neutral anymore.
They'll moderate the discussion by locking threads, delete/move/merge posts.

For you to think about;
Moderators must read and monitored all posts made by all users, there're approximately 7700 posts per day.

Can they have to actively discuss at the same time by monitoring posts?

If there are cases of posts (spam, plagiarism or things that violate the forum rules) you can click "report to moderator".
For specific cases, you can explain with pm moderator

If the case is about fraud, scam project, (problems involving trust and trade). You can make posts on Scam Accusations or Reputation.

[AverageGlabella]

You can also get a vague idea of how much work a moderator is doing by visiting their profile and taking a look at the amount they are getting paid by the Bitcointalk address you will see that Global moderators earn a lot more than those that are moderating just one board.

[Kavelj22]

[...]

This is what i mean:

Also, is participation in the discussion one of the moderator's tasks?

It's not, so what to do when to asking about some improvement for a local board (add and move pinned topics/adding sub-boards/setting local rules for the boards...) when the mod doesn't participate in discussions?

discussions: When a topic is discussing the activity and the moderation of the local sub-board.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

Nope.
Same thing for IPs

Yes, I am aware of the fact that apart from admins no one can view our IP and they are revealed by theymos only during serious circumstances such as the DPR case probably.

But what about this?

Please note that your email address will be revealed to the moderators if you use this.

Going by the report page it says that mods can view the email ID while handling reports,  but you are saying the opposite?

[Halab]

Going by the report page it says that mods can view the email ID while handling reports,  but you are saying the opposite?

The message must not be up to date.
I just looked at some old reports and I can confirm that I don't see the emails of the reporter and the reported.
At the next new report I'll check if I see the emails, but I would be surprised.