Do you feel this forum is over moderated?

[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

[The Prime Reaper 179]

The most strict forum in the internet should be Nexus forum, when you accidentially give a thought of something which accidentially cause controversies. You will be automatically targeted as trolls, instead of giving you warnings or cautions so they immediately banned you from the forum forever!! 

No! The punishment is far cruel than other forums at the point in which Dark0ne will ban your Ip address in which you will never be able to register another account to join again unless you use other internet sources to create.

But the Nexus forum restrictions are far too harsh!! You guys should give a try sometimes.

[Jokuc 8,172]

Haha no. Not really. The site has a lot of things that I understand that you can think is a bit too much, but they're just helping the site to get better content.

 

 

 

Threads getting locked before they even have a chance to take off

That would be because the thread is either the same as another thread, or because it is in the wrong section. Threads like that should not stay open since we already have a place to discuss them. It could also be because a thread has so little content or is about something that makes it hard to discuss.

 

 

 

minimum character limits on posts

I'm not saying that it's only them, but we have a lot of younger people on the forums, and many of those people loves to make posts like "yeah" when replying to a topic with the title "do you like monkeys" for example. And as I said, the forums is thought to be a place with a lot of good content. A simple "yeah" would not contribute anything to the discussion. Plus, removing the character limit would result in many members spamming to get to a higher badge and stuff like that.

[Red Diamond 549]

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. 

But we have close to 20,000 members. We need a lot of moderators to control them, and keep order.

[~Chaos~ 3,967]

I can honestly say this forum is one of the best moderated. 

 

They are very professional, nice, productive, and I have a tremendous respect for what they do. 

 

So no, I don't think this forum is over moderated. The rules keep everything in order to provide a better forum experience. 

[Wingnut 6,742]

I don't think this place is over moderated.  I've seen discussions that should've gotten the kibosh sooner than they did.  The profanity policy is also lenient here.  My railfan forum doesn't just prohibit swear words, they even ban pseudo swearing like f*** and s*** and will penalize members who do it. 

 

I can understand why newbies who don't yet have a "feel" for what constitutes a solid discussion topic might have a problem.  They need to be reassured that it's gentle guidance and nothing personal. 

 

I sometimes wonder if a 50 character limit would work better than 100 for general posts.  But it's not THAT hard to reach the limit.  I'm already up to 518 without even trying. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,221]

Not at all. Of the forums I've been onto, this one is easily one of the best forums in terms of moderation that I've seen. They're very organized and actually care about the overall perception of the place. In the other two I go to, when a moderator calls out the actions, I tend to see unprofessional behavior often, even from my friends. Not here, though. Everyone minus Feld0 doesn't get paid (and even that's minimal), but they understand that's a lazy excuse to behave badly. A good attitude from mods when responding to users makes the place much more welcoming. The proactive moderation is there to keep everyone honest.

 

I actually feel the opposite of you. Part of me belives this place is a tad under moderated. We have more than 15,000 users, but only about one-and-a-half dozen mods/admins. I personally think a couple more moderators are needed to keep it all under control more, as sometimes response to reports tend to be a little slow.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Dark Qiviut

[FoxyCryptid 4,328]

When you get warning points for deleting/hiding a mods nasty comments off your blog, then you can complain. 

[Norman 177]

I personally  think the character limit should be removed. Instead rankings should be replaced by active time spent on the forums (on another forum I was on it stops counting your time after like 3 minutes, and continues when you reset the page).

 

I think that system would work better. I don't have enough experience to say whether this forum is over-moderated as you say, but I've been on forums where the admins tried to take the community by the reigns (they wouldn't let someone use a group name because someone who was a good friend of the head admins had the name for a long time before he and his group left the community). In the end, there was this thing we called the "revolution" when a good number of the community's most prominent members tried to get the admins to loosen things up. A number of people were banned unrighteously (I was muted for a day), but eventually the admins gave in. They invented this system that basically let the community elect their own representatives. In the end that resulted in an even bigger divide and now that community is disconnected, hateful and has an extremely low rate of traffic. The current admins there are complete asshats and I was basically verbally coarsed by one saying I needed to act more mature towards this community member (we'd been friends the last time I was on the forums, but when I came back he called the admins on me when I tried to joke with him. It's hard to explain exactly how it went. Anyway, the admin threatened to ban me and said I was immature and a hypocrite. The Head Admin never responded to my complaint). I can't even stand to go there anymore.

 

I also got watched on a forum for posting three images in a row (according to them that's image spam, even though it isn't on the rules) whilst other people have been saying some unbelievably rascist, homophobic and sexist things all the time and the admins basically don't do shit.

 

tl;dr non abusive admins is usually win

[NightOwl 911]

The only thing that bothers me sometimes is the character limit sure it's good to stop one word posters but sometimes I feel it's a little unnecessary other then that I think the mods are cool here . 

[Justin ZW 396]

I don't agree that this forum is overmoderated, but I also don't agree with this "The moderators here are the best and most organized ever." Sad though it may be, it looks like complete ass kissing to me. Yes, I get it. No one's perfect. That's fine. But I've seen better in terms of mod teams. Sadly enough, one example which comes to mind is a site which I now detest (not due to the actions of the staff, but rather the actions of the owner).

 

Yes, this site is a little more heavily moderated than other forums I've been to, but not to the point where it gets stupid. I disagree with the character limits, but at the same time, I'm perfectly capable of coming up with enough content to meet and exceed those limits.

 

To put it simply, you agree to the terms and conditions when signing up. If you don't like them, then go find a different forum. That's what I do when I find myself saying "Dude, wtf is this crap?"

[Fluttermena 1,223]

I did notice that the definition of "borderline nsfw" content has gotten a lot tighter lately. Remember the "We can only talk with pictures" thread that got locked for inappropriate content only recently, despite the fact that it had always been filled with rauchy jokes ever since it started?

It's not the mods' fault, but the way this particular rule is enforced lately irks me. I understand the desire to keep the forums "clean", but I'd feel a lot better if we could accommodate everyone. Confining lewd content to an age-locked board would be better than outright censorship.

[FoxyCryptid 4,328]

I did notice that the definition of "borderline nsfw" content has gotten a lot tighter lately. Remember the "We can only talk with pictures" thread that got locked for inappropriate content only recently, despite the fact that it had always been filled with rauchy jokes ever since it started?

It's not the mods' fault, but the way this particular rule is enforced lately irks me. I understand the desire to keep the forums "clean", but I'd feel a lot better if we could accommodate everyone. Confining lewd content to an age-locked board would be better than outright censorship.

 

I think it was explained way back when that was suggested that Feld0 doesn't want the negative rep that would come with having a 18+ section on the forums, there's also be the issue of people lying about ages to get into it.

 

I can see where's he's coming from, I'm not one for censorship, but there should be some level of tact about what your post on non-NSFW websites. Certain things belong in certain places.  

[King 5,625]

Whenever a thread is locked or a person receives a warning, its always for a good reason. The level of moderation on MLP forums is much better then many sites i have been on, and trust me when I say you don't want this forum and community to be under-moderated. It allows trolls and general miscreants the ability to cause alot of havoc before actually being handled, and the forums themselves become messy with duplicate topics and hundreds of necessary posts that are overly NSFW and such.

 

The moderators are chosen with great thought, and while sometimes you may not know each moderator personally, that doesn't mean they are machines only built to destroy threads and such...each moderator is a person who follows their own set of rules by which they need to follow to ensure the site is fairly moderated.

 

Sometimes it can seem as if the site is over-moderated , but in the end...what would you prefer?

 

A site thats over-moderated ?

 

or under-moderated ?

 

 

 

I did notice that the definition of "borderline nsfw" content has gotten a lot tighter lately. Remember the "We can only talk with pictures" thread that got locked for inappropriate content only recently, despite the fact that it had always been filled with rauchy jokes ever since it started? It's not the mods' fault, but the way this particular rule is enforced lately irks me. I understand the desire to keep the forums "clean", but I'd feel a lot better if we could accommodate everyone. Confining lewd content to an age-locked board would be better than outright censorship.

 

As for the stance on NSFW..it hasn't really gotten "tighter" more so that its becoming better enforced. In the end, anyone can lie about their age, and its better to keep this site as a mature forum, a part of a mature community (Poniverse) rather then risk any backlash that could come from having an NSFW section. There are plenty of sites that cater towards such things anyways. Don't get me wrong, NSFW isnt really a "bad" thing, most of us here have taken part in such discussions and such, but its not really in the interest of the Poniverse at this point.

 

 

I disagree with the character limits

 

 

The only thing that bothers me sometimes is the character limit sure it's good to stop one word posters but sometimes I feel it's a little unnecessary other then that I think the mods are cool here .

The character Limit is actually being looked at, its just taking a little bit of time and developer resources which are more sorely needed in other development projects..its only a matter of time before a new system is implemented

 

 

Ok, I'm not new to this forum, but I do think that the mods are a little power hungry

As someone who has had plenty of time  to talk with the moderators, being on staff and all, I have to sorely disagree with this statement. The moderators here are not even slghtly "power-hungry" , everything they do is for a perfectly good reason..anyone thats been warned has either been reported, or have broken one of the rules that are plainly in the open for all to see.

Any sign of actual "Power-hungriness" (not a word, but eh, it works) and other admins or mods would sort it out privately. Id like to assure you that no one on the moderating team is power hungry....try to get to know them
Im sure you will see what I mean

Edited September 13, 2013 by Dawn♥Rider

[FoxyCryptid 4,328]

I'm going to explain myself further, because I like the way this place is run for most part. 

 

Let me re-count the tale of Monolith forums to you all, from the place of someone who was there. It was a Creepypasta forum, so it came with the risks anything so tightly intertwined with the "dark side" of the internet does(for those that don't get it, Creepypasta websites are almost like 4Chan's slight more mature brother, since much of it comes from there. They're somewhat more civil, but are definitely some place you have to have a thick skin for, and don't shy away from being friendly with the channers.)

 

The admins there were not exactly friendly, and had taken the "it's not improper conduct unless we're not enjoying watching" mentality to running the site. Merely existing there was like being in a minefield and making even the most benign post was like walking on eggshells. The inmates were allowed to run loose to the point that 90% of the sites activity was troll posts, trollpasta, and trolls going at with each other so bad you couldn't tell the sock puppets from the real people.

 

I myself ran awful and one tried to out me with my personal info(I have a common name, so he posted the info of some random dude I had never heard of from several towns away that shared it).

 

In the end, it got so bad the head admin just quietly walked away and let the site shrivel up and die because there was no fixing it. Those of us that stayed sane migrated over to the Creepypasta Wiki and never looked back.

 

 

So yeah, thank whoever you believe in that we have good mods that keep things under control here.    

Edited September 13, 2013 by Shoboni

[Guest DJ Hydrolicious]

Honestly I don't think its overmoderated. Even though I've been here a short while. I think its friendly and the character limit keeping away spammy/free posts. Its restricted enough to enforce rules and lenient enough for you to have fun.

[Rave Crocker 49]

I've had my fair share of dealing with the mods here and on another forum and I will say yes its over moderated but an under moderated site leads to an unorganized site also the character limit in my opinion is good it forces you to state you're entire opinion or think the post into a hundred words, instead of someone topic about what do you think about alicorn twilight becoming a topic filled with comments like "lul gey" or "meh"

[SBaby 660]

I've had my fair share of dealing with the mods here and on another forum and I will say yes its over moderated but an under moderated site leads to an unorganized site also the character limit in my opinion is good it forces you to state you're entire opinion or think the post into a hundred words, instead of someone topic about what do you think about alicorn twilight becoming a topic filled with comments like "lul gey" or "meh"

 

This site is not over-moderated, not by a long shot.  Want to see an over-moderated forum?  Go to Serebii, where you literally have to walk on eggshells to avoid getting banned (and the webmaster there is living in a bubble, thinking his site is the most lenient one on the net).  This place is extremely lenient in comparison, and let me tell you, that is a very good thing.  Because if this place ever did get to be like that, it wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is now.  But I doubt it'll happen, because I think this place is better-moderated than that site, and I think the webmaster here realizes all this.

 

In fact, let me put it another way.  The day this site is as over-moderated as Serebii, is the day I officially retire from being a Brony.  Now don't freak out or anything.  I don't plan on ever leaving the fandom.  It's one of the best fandoms I've ever seen, despite the recent bumps in the road.  I'm just saying that as an illustration of how confident I am that this site will never get to that point.

 

And why does the character limit always come up?  It's not that big of a deal, folks.  Seriously.  It's nothing to type in 100 characters' worth of text, or 200 characters worth (depending on the forum).  I did it just in this last comment about the character limit.  That's how easy it is.  The character limit should not be the standard by which people measure whether or not a forum is over-moderated.

Edited September 15, 2013 by SBaby

[Rave Crocker 49]

you took one sentence I said entirely out of context

[SBaby 660]

you took one sentence I said entirely out of context

 

No, I was agreeing with you, actually (except when you said it's over-moderated, because trust me, it isn't).  It wasn't really about what you posted, but I know for a fact that someone somewhere mentioned the character limit, because that's what happens when these topics come up.

 

Edit:  Yeah, on the second page of the topic, there is mention of it.

Edited September 15, 2013 by SBaby

[Paianis 488]

I don't feel this forum is over-moderated, it's just that some of the rules put in place aren't really the best thought out. The 100 character-limit is the classic example here. It would be more acceptable if it only applied to members who had only made say, 20 or less posts, but having it blanket over most of the forum seems excessive to me, especially for posts that rely heavily on images.

 

The arrogant side of me wants to say that I wish moderators (and anyone with any kind of authority really) would expect me to have something to complain about in response, and I shouldn't get a penalty for that because I am the one being discriminated, alongside with hundreds of others. But then that's just me.

[Redeyes32111 6]

While I can't speak for this Fourm's Staff, I can say from experience that while moding a Forum, actively looking for content to Moderate far beats sitting around and just waiting for a report to show up, active moding shows that you have a staff that is dedicated to their jobs and is willing to volunteer their time to ensure the sucsess of the Forum. Believe me, far better to see what is believed to be an "Over Moderated" Forum than an Under Moderated one.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Redeyes32111

[Display Name 448]

Depends.

 

Sure, racial or hurtful words should be punishable. (in which they are)

But getting in trouble for cursing? God. Its like i'm in kindergarten.

 

I'm more than sure 70% of the people on this forum are over the age of 15. God i hope so.

Yeah, sure the owner of the site makes the rules and whatnot and i respect that.

But c'mon. People hate having to check their words and whatnot for something 'offend-able'.

 

Whatever though, i don't make the rules. Feld0 does.

Edited September 16, 2013 by KToadstool

[FoxyCryptid 4,328]

Depends.

 

Sure, racial or hurtful words should be punishable. (in which they are)

But getting in trouble for cursing? God. Its like i'm in kindergarten.

 

I'm more than sure 70% of the people on this forum are over the age of 15. God i hope so.

Yeah, sure the owner of the site makes the rules and whatnot and i respect that.

But c'mon. People hate having to check their words and whatnot for something 'offend-able'.

 

Whatever though, i don't make the rules. Feld0 does.

 

I don't think that's the case, cursing isn't taboo here, just dropping cluster f-bombs and swearing like a sailor. Just normal swearing when you feel it's needed to make the point(or joke) is fine, using f**k every other word isn't, and I'm pretty sure offendable would be like cussing out other member and dropping slurs. 

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,521]

But c'mon. People hate having to check their words and whatnot for something 'offend-able'.

 

If everyone had a thick "Internet skin", then no, this would not be an issue. But with a forum as large as MLP Forums, the community becomes a microcosm of society at large. Whether you like it or not, this means that the administration must set the bar somewhere to balance the need for an open community with the need for certain standards.

 

What may make the community seem more "open" to you (fewer restrictions on what's considered "too vulgar" and not) may make the community feel like an "in club" to others (a good number of people who are plenty mature enjoy discussing their poni with higher standards than high school vernacular, out of personal preference if nothing else).

 

Let's not delude ourselves that we also have a pretty good number of young teenagers here who are, despite what they may claim, extremely impressionable and open to influence... people for whom its natural to do as their peers to out of a pathological need to find their place in a larger group.

 

All I want to say is, there's a reason we keep a leash on the content here. We've spent nearly two years in this precocious balancing act in a time when most online communities have gone toward one extreme or the other, and as a result of that, permanently alienated a large portion of users. It's a constant cycle of feedback and adjustments to keep up this act as the community grows and changes, so playing an active role in the community by reporting content you consider objectionable and speaking up in the feedback section when you have something on your mind is the best way to participate in the process of shaping its future.