This is the FEEDBACK and SUGGESTIONS board...right?

[Captain Zechs]

I'm sorry, but lately I have been getting a really, really, bad vibe about this place. Why? Due to the Mods. Now, normally I have no problem with them, say for a couple who just aggrivate me. But now it has come to the point where I think this needs to be addressed.

It seems that whenever someone posts anything about a board that needs improving, or has an issue about the way things are going with certain mods, they just get some generic answer that doesn't even answer the question. Now, I understand that it is best to solve a problem with a certain mod Via PMs and reporting them, however, I usually do report a problem when it comes to it being a Mod, and I never see anything change. I think it is ridiculous that, when majority of the forum thinks that a board needs help (including a couple of Mods), they just get ignored and the thread is closed. Why?

If this is the Feedbacks and Suggestions board, then we, as members, should be allowed to do things like giving Feedback and Suggestions. But lately, like, for the past month or 2, it seems like that if anyone posts a thread in here that has the word "Mod" within it, the thread automatically gets closed, and nothing changes.

Not to mention, if you disagree with a Mod on one of these threads, they talk to you like you are some 5 year old and don't even hold your opinion to the level of their own (like what happened with HellCat and the Warning Reminders thread). And while Josh's thread was maybe, a bit overboard, I agreed with it and he got the generic answer with nothing really done.

Sorry if I come off as a rude jerk, but I really feel this is a problem that needs to be changed, and I think that's why many members as of late have been getting more and more upset. I know you guys are doing the best that you can, but lately things have been really sour and I'm sick of this happening.

Note: This doesn't apply to all Mods, some of you are just fine.


Thanks,

-Zechs

[Harley]

I don't have time to respond right now. You've given your feedback and this isn't a topic for public discussion. This thread is closed. I'll get to it when there's time.

[Harley]

With regards to the situation between Hellcat and James, while I did not agree with the words James chose to use, the essence behind it was entirely valid. The Warning Reminder thing on the control panel clearly bothered Hellcat a great deal. He was having a bad day and made a bad choice. He screwed up. We all do at some point. It's not a big red "A" sewn to his shirt or anything. We learn from it and move on. The feature on the control panel can easily be minimized and ignored.

These forums are a diversion from the rest of your life. At the point they become more than that, it's time to step away and take a long break from them.

As far as moderators stepping past the boundaries of the rules, once you've reported the post, you do have the option of approaching the Chief Mod of that forum. If the Chief Mod does not respond within a week, then you may approach one of the Mod Mediators (Penguin or William C. Maune). They are only to be contacted if the Chief Mod has not responded, not if the decision is disagreed with.

Over the years I've seen that there's some very basic points of contention that exist between staff members and forum members: How much we're willing to discuss publicly/the flow of communication on why certain situations appear to be modded in certain ways and why it doesn't seem like feedback is always used when given.

While I appreciate that others have an interest in knowing what's happening with their friends, the moderation of situations will always be a private matter between the member and the moderator. One warned member won't be privy to how another one was disciplined in that same thread. If they feel that they were singled out because they don't have access to that information, well, then that's just silly of them. If someone chooses to take their issue with a moderator public, then we're going to move it right back to a private discussion medium.

For example, other things took place prior to and after veemonjosh threw a fit on the Feedback forum. All of it will remain private. You may feel like he got a generic answer, but that's because you don't have all of the information necessary to develop an informed opinion on the matter and to be honest, it's none of your business. All situations where members try to do similar things will be moved back to private discussion and may warrant a warning. I know others may disagree with that and want to see the situation resolved publicly and to their satisfaction, but we all have to learn to live with disappointment at some point.

We always appreciate feedback. We listen. We process it. If we feel the forum will benefit from it, we'll use it. But, the giving of feedback doesn't necessitate the use of it and we're not obligated to report back to the giver of the feedback to justify why we have chosen to not use it. That's a little much to ask of us and just, well, no. Additionally, feedback with regards to moderators will continue to remain a private matter and will not be appropriate for discussion on any of our publicly accessible forums.

Thank you for your thoughts on the matter. If you feel the need to discuss this further, please do so by PM.