Do you feel this forum is over moderated?

[Hangman 320]

Threads getting locked before they even have a chance to take off, minimum character limits on posts, general over moderating. I think this place would be a lot more personal if such things were abolished. Don't get me wrong, this place is great. But it is hard to communicate naturally when I have to stretch my point across or when my thread with 5 replies, within a half hour, gets locked for containing too little content before I even have a chance to reply. Am I alone on this? Call me crazy, but I think the relationships of the posters would be a lot tighter and this community would be closer if we were allowed just a bit more freedom.

[~Silver Essence~ 2,625]

No.

 

The moderators here are one of the best and organized I've seen in a forum for a long time, others I've seen have been unorganized and worse, so I'm glad to see the moderators on time with updates and management! 

[Scootalove 10,689]

Not really over moderated. They stay as organized as ever, and I think that when you give people a little bit of freedom they will feel greedy and always ask for more freedom. It would get out of hand, in some cases.

[Nah 3,182]

I agree with you, I feel as if this place really is overmoderated, I think they need to let some of these threads go on, however, we still need the moderation. Just not as much as we do at the moment. I am also strongly opposed to the character limit, I see it as unneeded and unnecessary. 

Edited September 10, 2013 by (ECSC) Chickenism

[Soundgarden 2,758]

It doesn't matter for what reason your thread gets locked or merged, you only have yourself to blame. Just follow the really simple rules and this won't happen

 

If a thread you make contains little content, make it a blog or status update instead. You're basically saying "I wish the mods didn't immediately lock threads that breaks extremely simple and obvious rules". The point?

Edited September 10, 2013 by Kyouko

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

Nope. This forum has awesome mods. I've been on forums with Troll mods, or mods that are flat out dicks. The ones here seem to do their job effectively, and swiftly. That, and they seem like a great bunch of people, and they make the contribution of well-written posts to this wonderful forum of ours.

[Hangman 320]

I am not insulting the mods at all. They are doing their job. Fact is, a lot of good discussion is stunted by unrealistic rules. I have been on forums for more +10 years and this is most heavily moderated one I have ever been on. Turnover rate on the members seems to be high, no one really knows each other like they do on other forums I am on. People just sort of come and go here. Sure there are regular posters, but it's apparent there is a major lack of that personal touch here.

[verycreativeusername 1,800]

I can agree that they do sometimes make mistakes, but I'll have to say that mostly they do their job well. They're much better moderators compared to many mods from other forums.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Potato

[Teddy 11]

I guess it sucks to be a moderator on a forum like this. I mean, I've been a moderator on plenty of forums. It's a pain in the ass to get through all the work and such. However, I think they do too damn much here. They need to relax and just chill a little bit. 

[34908734bdjofh73 61]

"Over Moderated" funny!

 

As an owner of a forum myself. I do not believe this forum is "over-moderated"

 

You agree to follow the rules when you sign up. The mods enforce that.

 

So, no, its not.

[Radiance64 7,053]

Well, when we moderate, we're only doing what we think is best for the forum. And when we get reports, we're responding to what the members think we should do. And honestly, most of our moderation actions stem from reports, it's because of you guys that we are able to moderate as quickly and effectively as we do. So no, from a moderator's perspective I don't think the forum is overmoderated, we are only doing our best to keep everyone happy is all, and making sure the forum stays a clean, friendly place with topics that have enough in them for everyone to enjoy discussing in, and the character limit, although a bit irritating at times, is only there to ensure discussion stays healthy and meaningful for all, keep in mind it isn't in every section though. We only try to do what's best.

[kirbyboi 588]

No, I honestly think it's the right amount of moderating not too much, not too little. Way better than most mods you see on other forums.

 

This forum is one of the best I've been on. And I think the mods do a great job at moderating and keeping this forum and fun and safe environment. So thanks you guys~~~!!! Your awesome!!!

[NavelColt 22,880]

Proactive Moderation is a term for when staff of a message board or any other community-based site are constantly on the prowl for content to moderate, whereas Passive Moderation is when the staff do next to nothing apart from deal with reports, aka, when others bring something to their attention.

 

I'll be frank, more sites should have proactive moderation. I'm on several other forums (and I too am a veteran to forums :3 Around six years), and I sit there and find thread after thread after thread that's in the wrong section, has fourteen other topics all discussing the same general concept, spam threads (posted by actual spammers) that sit there as a six-long pillar list like an eyesore and never get dealt with, and replies that, literally, contain nothing but 'lol'.

 

Any forum you go, the staff are very different, and none of them are perfect. It's true that we have some higher standards compared to most sites you may see. I don't feel trying to keep content crisp, clear and organized is a bad thing though, and, given the fact that the internet is known for being a cesspool of disorganization most of the time, it's clearly a breath of fresh air for most people.

 

As far as your specific examples go, we're well aware the character minimum isn't perfect, and, though I know I sound like a broken record, we're in the process of making a far better version that will allow long and short posts to live in harmony, to a reasonable point.

 

Topics locked for status updates/blogs is not a black and white matter, as it's the mods' discretion based on their judgement, as well as the judgement of any other staff they happen to ask. Generally topics that relate to you personally, about things in your immediate life, are better for blogs and statuses, as those two mediums are built for personal stories and things. Those kinds of things do not make the best discussion topics, because...there's usually not an easy way for someone to make a discussion out of it. Nevertheless, everyone is more than free to PM the mod who locked it, and discuss with them your concerns for why they chose to mark it as such.

[Starshine 16,333]

You call this overmoderated? Pffft...

 

I've seen a lot of forums with stricter rules and an army of iron-fisted, unfeeling mods that's patrolling 24/7 for any slip-ups, living in those sites would be like having the mods breathing on your neck in every posts. If you're saying this site is overmoderated then it is clear that you've been doing something wrong with your time in here.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Starshine

[GhostPony750 959]

Well, it's perfect this way.

I never saw anyone insulting each others or any rage posting everywhere. I'm on another forum and it's a huge mess. Or you could always visit newgrounds. And the moderators are very nice here, there is no one abusing their power, since they can't anyway.

 

But I do agree that sometimes character limit can be annoying.

Sometime you made your point and want to post, but you have only 80 characters, so you need to write random stuff you wouldn't have wrote in the first place. A good exemple is Octavia's Wall. I never get enough characters here, so I never post.

[Shanks 10,816]

No, I don't believe this forum is over moderated at all, that is not to say I agree with every policy but I do think that they seem to have the best interests of the members in mind. I am not a fan of the character minimum either, but I do understand why it was implemented spam can be a serious problem on some forums and much of that spam amounts to people saying things like 

 

"THIS^^^^^^" or "LOL"

 

which is fine for status updates and blog but just clog things up with normal threads. The blog and status update system is great for things that you want to talk about but that wouldn't otherwise pass as threads. I myself have made use of them, I have done mainly either character analysis's or rants about work.

[Moonlight 7,286]

I honestly don't think the forums is over moderated in the slightest. All of the mods are nice and organized and honestly, if they lock a thread that they think have little content...they're probably right. So, no...I think the forums are perfect the way it is currently and it's certainly not over moderated. 

 

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised you would complain about kind and nicely organized mods. :/ 

Edited September 10, 2013 by WheatleyCore

[Guest]

Nah, not at all. Better over-moderated than under-moderated in my opinion anyway. Keeps the forum nice and clean, and even though I don't care for the character limit I concede that it does force you to put more effort into your response.

 

 

The moderators here are one of the best and organized I've seen in a forum for a long time, others I've seen have been unorganized and worse, so I'm glad to see the moderators on time with updates and management!

QFT

Edited September 10, 2013 by Guest

[Winterbass 763]

Hardly. The moderation is perfect. 100 character minimum is wonderful to prevent one word posts. I've also never felt like they closed down threads that had great potential. Up until now the threads that got frozen or closed were the ones that didn't allow for discussion or reactions at all, unless one would go totally off-topic and turn it into a random chat thread, which we already have. 

 

I'm also pretty confused how one could post less than 100 characters. One can't make a point with just 60 or 80 characters. It's universally impossible. Unless it is a point that was given little thought, or a point with little argumentation. 

 

I've been to a lot of forums and I gotta say, this one is the most organized I've been to. The mods are doing a great job and aren't over-moderating at all.

[Crystallize 279]

I don't really mind most of them except the word limit. This is the only forum I visit that has a word limit and it's kind of annoying whenever I want to say something short but have to extend it unnecessarily. 

 

For example, I wanted to know what keyboard someone had in an image and all I had to write was "What keyboard is that in the image?" but instead I couldn't think of anything to reach the 100 word limit (since I had nothing to contribute to the original post) and didn't want to risk getting points for cheating the limit system so the only way was to PM, which was inconvenient. (And I don't consider it as going off-topic if it's only one post). 

 

I'm sure there's good reason for it such as stopping meaningless posts but I still find it very annoying, especially when every single other forum I visit has no such limit and is fine. 

Edited September 10, 2013 by Spontaneous Me

[twilight_octavia 1]

Ok, I'm not new to this forum, but I do think that the mods are a little power hungry. Not too much, but still. I too think the word limit is annoying, and even though it rids of annoying posts, I kinda don't care about them. 

 

If the mods are so good on the forum, they can allow any word limit. Then they can move any stupid posts to their respective spot, or even just delete them right then and there.

[Hangman 320]

Hardly. The moderation is perfect. 100 character minimum is wonderful to prevent one word posts. I've also never felt like they closed down threads that had great potential. Up until now the threads that got frozen or closed were the ones that didn't allow for discussion or reactions at all, unless one would go totally off-topic and turn it into a random chat thread, which we already have. 

 

I'm also pretty confused how one could post less than 100 characters. One can't make a point with just 60 or 80 characters. It's universally impossible. Unless it is a point that was given little thought, or a point with little argumentation. 

 

I've been to a lot of forums and I gotta say, this one is the most organized I've been to. The mods are doing a great job and aren't over-moderating at all.

 

So what is Big Macintosh joined this forum? He could never post. All he says is "Eeyup" or "Nooope." Don't get me wrong, the mods on here are excellent, polite, and consistent. I spose I am used to a little bit more trust in the members. There are quite a few younger folks on here so I understand language and stuff pertaining to that. I don't particularly care for the status update thing. Like it is cool at all but some of the folks on here update it +20 times a day. It is just as much of a hassle for me to delete 200 notifications than it is for you to scroll past a thread you find lacking content.

[Cactus 155]

Honestly, this forum is one of the most lenient that I have ever been on.

[SCS 7,537]

I do not agree that this forum is over-moderated at all. I feel that they have designed the rules to strike a perfect balance in which there is plenty of leniency and room for members to post comfortably without having to worry too much about breaking the rules, while there are still sufficient rules in place to ensure organization and quality discussion among the community, along with banning unacceptable behavior such as bullying. 

 

I disagree that the character limit is an issue. It is not difficult to come up with something to say that is at least one hundred characters long, and in all honesty, if what you have to say is not at least one hundred characters, then it is probably not enough to warrant a reply. If you just want to agree with or express your liking for someone's post, you can just brohoof it. However, I do look forward to the future implementation of a new method that will replace the current character minimum system that is in place, as I feel that it would make more people happy, while still maintaining quality discussion. 

 

MLP Forums is a social site, but it has five major different aspects to it: forums, blog posts, status updates, profile feed comments, and messages. The forum is primarily for more detailed conversations that anyone can take part in, which is why implementing a character minimum for it exclusively in order to help maintain a high quality of discussion is perfectly fine. The four other opportunities for social interaction: blog posts, status updates, profile feed comments, and messages, do not have any kind of character minimum, and are great places for having conversations that would not fit well on the forum.

 

Lastly, I am not sure what you mean by a thread being locked before it has a chance to take off. From what I have seen, the moderators only lock a thread if it does not contain sufficient opportunity for discussion to fit well on the forum, or if it is becoming inappropriate. Both are legitimate reasons - if those topics were allowed to continue, they would only continue in the wrong direction.

 

To conclude, while no moderation team is perfect, the one here is by far the best I have ever encountered. I have had the opportunity to interact with them personally on many occasions since I joined the staff, and those interactions proved the good I had supposed about them and their moderation for some time beforehand.

[Dark Horn 430]

I think the mods are doing a fabulous job at being consistent, organized, and active.

 

It's not as if they're getting paid or anything, and, on top of that, this is one of the best, if not the best, set of forums I've been to, and the moderators are working hard to keep it that way.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Dark Horn