[*Laurie*]

I have been admonished by moderators for replying to other PC members about posts I thought were not appropriate on this forum. I have been told to "report" the posts, rather than replying to them. So I have been doing just that...reporting offensive posts.
It is typical, however, for many hours to pass until there is a response from a mod. For example, it was about 6 hours tonight after several members reported an offensive post until a mod intervened. That seems unacceptable for a forum as large as this one is; I have participated on many large forums over a span of 20 years and have never experienced such poor mod response time.

I don't like seeing people I've been on PC with for years being disrespected by someone who isn't being thoughtful on this forum. I don't like being disrespected, either, and believe I have the right (in the absence of moderator response) to protect myself as I participate in this forum.
The situation becomes heated and very frustrating for me and for other members.

What is the reason for such long moderator response times?

[possum220]

How many hours do moderators need to be on this site per week? Is there a limit? Are there specific qualifications for this role?

Have you ever thought about being a moderator Laurie?

[seesaw]

I have noticed that particularly in the evening, moderators/admins may not respond to these issues until morning. But they do take action swiftly. I have to say I understand that in the evenings or especially later in evening that they are sleeping or not available to take action.

I know they do take action though and communicate with the offending members.

It would be great if they could respond sooner. I find that sometimes if a thread is getting out of hand, it can be helpful to PM a moderator directly versus using the report button. It's highly likely more than one person is reporting if a thread is getting hostile.

I think we all can have patience and use it as an opportunity to practice our self care strategies and walk away while we await the moderating team to respond. It has been good practice for me, anyhow.

Seesaw

The moderators likely have stuff going on in real life as well, so they can't be around 24/7.

They also, I believe, work very hard as it is

(((((Laurie)))))

(I think they also have to discuss stuff with each other to avoid knee-jerk reactions of "we don't like this member, lets ban them" (yes some forums do do that, decide they dislike a member and ban simply because the "powers that be" have taken a dislike to the member, that's happened to me before so I know it happens )

[Turtleboy]

that's correct, it can take many hours, we have to decide as a team how to act to remain unbiased, and for example the report came in before 6am my time, you have to remember we are unpaid volunteers, we do this out the goodness of our hearts and tbh we get quite a lot of hostility towards us, every single team member has mental health issues, we all struggle like you guys, we were all members here first, also please remember the team are from all over the world so time zones won't match up, plus at least half the team have full time jobs and families. we just ask you please be patient and use self care when triggered.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by possum220

How many hours do moderators need to be on this site per week? Is there a limit? Are there specific qualifications for this role?

Have you ever thought about being a moderator Laurie?

Hi possum, Good questions. I am a mod on another site, an art forum, so my online time is pretty filled with that. I have, however, thought of applying to be a mod here, but for some reasons I'm not sure it would be a good idea.

[*Laurie*]

[seesaw quote] I have noticed that particularly in the evening, moderators/admins may not respond to these issues until morning. But they do take action swiftly. I have to say I understand that in the evenings or especially later in evening that they are sleeping or not available to take action.

The time probably seems excessive to me because I'm out west, so 3 hours behind most of the rest of the world.

I know they do take action though and communicate with the offending members.

It seems that when I've been the "offending member" action is taken quite swiftly.....

It would be great if they could respond sooner. I find that sometimes if a thread is getting out of hand, it can be helpful to PM a moderator directly versus using the report button. It's highly likely more than one person is reporting if a thread is getting hostile.

Thank you for that suggestion, seesaw. I wasn't aware of that option.
In last night's case I know there were at least 2 or 3 members reporting certain posts.

I think we all can have patience and use it as an opportunity to practice our self care strategies and walk away while we await the moderating team to respond. It has been good practice for me, anyhow.

Of course, and I tend to be an extremely patient and tolerant person. I am also a loyal and protective person. When I see someone posting triggering, hostile words on a board or thread that is intended to be a safe one for my friends here and for myself I find my usual patience tends to wane rather rapidly.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by Turtleboy

that's correct, it can take many hours, we have to decide as a team how to act to remain unbiased, and for example the report came in before 6am my time, you have to remember we are unpaid volunteers, we do this out the goodness of our hearts and tbh we get quite a lot of hostility towards us, every single team member has mental health issues, we all struggle like you guys, we were all members here first, also please remember the team are from all over the world so time zones won't match up, plus at least half the team have full time jobs and families. we just ask you please be patient and use self care when triggered.

Thank you for your reply, Turtleboy. I appreciate the explanation. I do volunteer many hours each week working with a mentally ill population in my region; I am also a mod on another forum. Therefore, I well understand the role of being a volunteer and the amount of time, energy, and commitment volunteering takes. To me, a volunteer position is no different than a paid position, regarding commitment and responsibility.

I believe that the time zone difference plays a large role in all of this. Since I am out west, what is early evening for me is much later for most everyone else in the world. I will do my very best to take that into account in the future.
I'm curious: Are there any moderators living on the west coast of the U.S.?

[atisketatasket]

In addition to what Turtleboy said, it's important to remember that simply because a member reports a post or a thread, it doesn't mean the moderators find it against guidelines or see reason for it to be removed. Even if it looks like nothing happened or no action is being taken, I assure you the issue is being or has been discussed and a decision is being or has been made. We don't generally contact the reporting poster about their report to tell them its result since it would involve discussing another member, against the rules of the site.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

Of course, and I tend to be an extremely patient and tolerant person. I am also a loyal and protective person. When I see someone posting triggering, hostile words on a board or thread that is intended to be a safe one for my friends here and for myself I find my usual patience tends to wane rather rapidly.

I know you are, Laurie. I hope my response wasn't patronizing. It was as much for you, a long time member, as a suggestion to newer members who might be reading.

I find that it helps me feel better, in those situations, to disengage from the thread and privately PM the member who it may be directed at to make sure they are okay.

[Shazerac]

Ok now I’m curious. I missed the hullabaloo.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Shazerac

Ok now I’m curious. I missed the hullabaloo.

Hahah, me too!

[*Laurie*]

Hi Shazerac and seesaw, Some inappropriate posts about violence going on on a couple of boards. Lots of dissension. Several of us reported, but it took a long time to get a mod and that was frustrating.

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

Hi possum, Good questions. I am a mod on another site, an art forum, so my online time is pretty filled with that. I have, however, thought of applying to be a mod here, but for some reasons I'm not sure it would be a good idea.

I didn't know people could apply to become a mod here?

[Artchic528]

Remember that being a mod isn't all smiles and gumdrops or what have you. There is a good amount of dealing with irate members upon enacting disciplinary actions, and a lot of settling conflicts.

Originally Posted by Artchic528

Remember that being a mod isn't all smiles and gumdrops or what have you. There is a good amount of dealing with irate members upon enacting disciplinary actions, and a lot of settling conflicts.

I woudln't have thought it would be any smiles, I can't speak for others but personally if they ever had to deal with me I'd try to make it easy for them by falling into line with what they decided they wanted, idk if that's the right approach or not but I don't like making anyone's life hard. It's just how I am.

And yes, I'm a pest and I know I'm a pest.

[Shazerac]

Thank you Laurie. I’m glad it got sorted out.

[*Laurie*]

I'm a mod on an art forum and, believe it or not, there is sometimes drama there, too. Being a mod is a lot of hard work and a huge commitment. At least, for me it is. I check in every 2 hours at most (except when I'm sleeping).

One thing I don't understand though: why people feel the need to make it harder for them to do their job and giving them a hard time just for trying to keep this forum safe? By this I mean sending "up yours" messages back to them when get pulled up on unwanted behaviour (I believe here it's the behaviour that's unwanted when they get in touch, not the member they are trying to force off)

idk if this makes sense, not long since woke up.

Originally Posted by whispershadow

One thing I don't understand though: why people feel the need to make it harder for them to do their job and giving them a hard time just for trying to keep this forum safe? By this I mean sending "up yours" messages back to them when get pulled up on unwanted behaviour (I believe here it's the behaviour that's unwanted when they get in touch, not the member they are trying to force off)

idk if this makes sense, not long since woke up.

I know what you are trying to say, and I think it is human nature.

I used to work for superior court, and once in a while we would get descriptions of people and cars to watch out for that threatened a judge. People get more angry at a decision going against them by a judge than against the other party in the case sometimes. People want to be found to be correct and prevail.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by whispershadow

One thing I don't understand though: why people feel the need to make it harder for them to do their job and giving them a hard time just for trying to keep this forum safe? By this I mean sending "up yours" messages back to them when get pulled up on unwanted behaviour (I believe here it's the behaviour that's unwanted when they get in touch, not the member they are trying to force off)

idk if this makes sense, not long since woke up.

A few reasons, I think. One is, if someone feels unjustly called out on their behavior, the person feels angry. Another reason is, as key tones pointed out, human nature (at least for some people).
A big reason on this forum is that most of the members here have a mental illness...we can be moody, hyper-sensitive, hyper-emotional, and sometimes not know how to handle frustration and anger appropriately.

Laurie-yes, that is a good reminder.

I’m pretty good at remembering that I’m irritatable sometimes, but of course our members are going to have various challenges.

If I got run in by them for anything, I personally would be much more likely to react in terror and whichever mod drew the short straw would likely spend about 3 hours getting me to relax (purely and simply because I get scared at doing something wrong and that's my reason for flipping my lid if I get run in for something )