[DiMarie]

Dr. John or anyone.

Was the topic of having moderators identities unknown addressed. I have already noticed one situation were this is a problem. The moderator's were dang if they did and danged if they didn't asist on a thread.
The issue of the thread became one instead if a moderator did their job properly.
Dianne

I just wanted to add this at my first post.
Maybe if we had a liason from each forum, a trused member or two, then the "moderators" were a group that administered the situation and was handled in a more confidential manner.

[redjpwranglergirl]

I think that the mods here are doing a good job. I imagine that they knew going into this that they wouldn't be able to please everybody all the time. It's probably a thankless job sometimes but I like the idea of the mods not being invisible.

[OneMoreTime]

DiMarie, I'm uncertain if your concern is with anomymous mods on BT or transparent mods her on BT2. I have long-term experience many forums, including very very large vBulletin ones, and NONE of them has ever had anomymous mods. I'm not saying they don't exist elsewhere - just that my area of expertise, support groups, I have not encountered a single instance..

For example of how they work, In one very large support community I have known with transparent mods, griping is allowed, but meanness is strongly discouraged (but the mods don't delete threads or comments, no banning, just gentle prodding and encouragment to help people end their upset with each other. Threads are locked if the people involved cannot rein themselves in after a few days. No, I'm not saying they necessarily are friends afterwards, but at least they've had their say and got it out of their system.

And people see the mods as "real people" with their own problems, medical and emotional. That makes their enforcement comments have so much more effect - it is a fellow human, someone from their own ranks, and there is empathy in both directions.

Not having a mask to hide behind, mods do not go power hungry or let their latent sadistic tendancies come out. And they have their own private forum where they can discuss the time to time the major issues that come up so a consensus can be reached, so a mod having to have get increasingly firm with angry people is recognized as carrying out what the management team wants, so there is no lashing out at the particular mod

When people are not punished for having an unpopular point of view or a quarrelsome relationship for awhile, there is not such a pressing emotional need to create a sock to be able to speak your mind. And it is allowed to post links to other forums, too. JL regularly sets the software to recognize the names and addresses of varous groups he sees as competing or who allow former or present BT members to talk about BT problems. That is censorship, pure and simple. It is oppressive and the bannings that happen create a community with threads of fear.

Now, on the other hand, true democracy is not available and never has been available on BT. But it isn't present in any forum that I know which has lasted more than 6 months. Just as America has mandated rules of behavior and police and courts to enforce those rules, so it is with groups that how to be civilized and serene happy places to retreat to...

It is not wrong for JL to say BT is a dictatorship because HE wants a dictatorship. But if one looks thru history, it will be seen that the only dictatorships capable of survival are those that are generally benign and that treat their citizens well. And it is those two factors where BT fails.

I agree that JL needs to turn the operation of the forum over to someone else. Ever since he moved from Boston to California a year or so ago, things have gone steadily downhill. I think he should listen to Dr John and not be so obsessed with having total control. He could die tomorrow, and THEN what would happen to BT with absolutely NO ONE able to step in and take over -- which is what should have happened recently when he not only had the forums offline for 2 months, but also never bothered to post more than 2 briefly available notices that were never updated as the weeks went by.

I do get the feeling that he cares only for the alternate online avator community he created for autistics. I feel he is finding BT less and less of interest or satisfaction.

To return to mods, it is the biggest problem because it isn't just the issue of anomymity -- it is that it is indictive of the oppressive management style. I have already heard from people who say that because of the time spent here in an open atmosphere, they each experienced a sinking heart and a negative emotional response to seeing that the anony-mods are still numbered. Going back to BT would be choosing to be victimized for hundreds of present members. And, inevitably, future members.

OneMoreTime


PS: THANK YOU, EACH & EVERY ONE OF YOU!!

[moose53]

OneMoreTime,

I don't really think that it's helpful to criticize people who reside on the original BrainTalk. And, I especially don't think that it's helpful to criticize people by identifying 'characteristics' or 'professions' so that everyone who has been on either version of BrainTalk longer than a month knows who is being talked about. Talking ABOUT someone doesn't help at all.

If you have a problem with a specific person, please talk it out with them by private instant message. Please do not attempt to air 'dirty laundry' here or anywhere.

We as a society have had the lesson placed in front of us many-many times over the past few weeks -- do NOT hold in negative feelings. Talk about them with the people involved. PLEASE.

Thanks.

Barb

[Ellie]

Please keep in mind all members are welcome to express their concerns, however - personal attacks are not encouraged nor are they allowed. Even those in a more subtle form can still be hurtful.

I'd like all members to build their own opinions of other members, websites, etc. on their own. You are free to discuss concerns regarding the website, moderators, and all of that - but I ask that you please keep any personal attacks (even if they are partially masked) out of your post. You may address these concerns with a moderator, admin or the user in question as long as you do so in a civil manner (if member to member).

Everyone is welcome here, happy people, sad people, and even angry people. This website is for many reasons, and support is one of the best reasons it is around.

Please try to respect other members and their privacy.

Have a great evening.

[OneMoreTime]

Thanks again, everyone... VERY much. Sometimes I get a bit wound up. I plead guilty to unseemly and VERY unattractive excess. Mea culpa.

Please PM me if you feel more work is needed. I get hotheaded when I have a surge of protective feelings and impulses, but I am a reasonable person.

OneMoreTime

[Ellie]

Everything looks just fine, thank you very much (all of you)!

Sleep well!

[OneMoreTime]

I have been both support group owner and a moderator. And I am friends with other support group owners and moderators. I know it is possible to be loved, even if you are a moderator.

When I did have a bad fight break out, I immediately asked them to stop posting and then I had both of them vent privately to me .. and then I helped both of them see where the other person was coming from. When they both had cooled off and understood why the bad feelings had happened, they would then write apologies, one to another. It is quite possible for them to come out of it with a close bond to one another.

My friend's support group is now too large for hands on stuff like that - she has well over 7000 members. She has 6 or so mods to help her out. They do sometimes ban -espcially newcomers who early on prove to be combative and disruptive. The rationale is that people in a support group should be protected from emotionally distress. Her mods all post as part of the group, too.

I do know that moderating is ferociously hard work - emotionally draining at times. And you sure can't make EVERYONE happy. I have the utmost respect for most all mods. But having witnessed "numbered" anonymous mods for so many years, I was continually aware that they were viewed totally unlike any other mods I have encountered on the web. I came to believe that being an anonymous mod probably changes the mods when they are "in character" ... that they quite possibly act quite differently that they do when they are simply being themselves.

OneMoreTime

[Curious]

Originally Posted by DiMarie

Dr. John or anyone.

Was the topic of having moderators identities unknown addressed. I have already noticed one situation were this is a problem. The moderator's were dang if they did and danged if they didn't asist on a thread.
The issue of the thread became one instead if a moderator did their job properly.
Dianne

hi dianne,

let me assure you that mod-ing here is a group effort. you may only see one name on the edit, but whether a post is editied or deleted...it is discussed.

curious

btw...if a post ends up edited more than once, only the last timestamp shows.

[mister]

They march to their own drum in many occasions and oftenplay favorites. It often depends on who you are when it comes to how they deal with you