Would it be a good idea to have Moderators?

Just curious if it would make sense for Axiom to assign Moderators to the various Forums? As you all know other forums like AVSforum and many others have one or more moderators for each subject area.

I think it would be a benefit for a number of reasons:

1) Axiom staff is limited and not always monitoring the activity on the website, if a few of us were assigned to a forum it may be easier to manage the activity.

2) It would be easier to keep the threads/posts on track with the topic of each forum. I see so many times where new threads are started that have nothing to do with the theme of the forum.

3) A closer eye would be on those who like to cause trouble. I don't like the name "Hall Monitor", but in this case I think it would be a good thing. I don't have a problem with people having their own opinion, that is what is great about democracy. However, this is not a place for people to call others names and make other crude/obnoxious remarks. This activity should not be allowed and should be grounds for removal from the boards immediately.

4) If UBB Threads allow it, we may be able to have "Sticky" threads that stay at the top of each forum that provide answers to FAQ. I like this feature on AVS, and it cuts down on questions that come up regularly as it is the first place a newbie may look before asking a question that comes up a thousand times.

It could be that many of the extra's are not possible with UBBthreads, however, I would think Axiom should be able to grant Monitor rights to a few of us, if we have volunteers.

I want to keep this place the friendly community that it is, and try to regulate the negative aspects that seem to troll up from time to time

We've had this discussion before, and I think the general feeling is that most of us tend to like having the unmoderated environment. I think that Amie said the same thing, but I could be wrong. You put up with the trolls (to some degree or another), but you've got fairly unregulated speech. I'm afraid that if we had moderators, things would start getting slapped down a lot harder that are just fun. See /. for moderation gone wild.

Mmm...you make some excellent points. I particularly like the idea about the sticky threads and FAQs. But one of the things I find so appealing about this forum is its eccentricity and general good humor. I suppose my concern is that if we have appointed hall monitors, something might be lost in the process.

From time to time we get the occasional slownlo or GeneticDrift, but they seem to be dispatched in short order with little harm done. And I've got to say, I find the tendency to eventually ramble off topic kind of funny. In the link you provided today (nice archiving, Randy!), the thread eventually made a bizarre turn into discussions of sandwiches and condiments. To me, that's hilarious and it's part of the charm of this community.

I see your point, actually I thought of that also. I guess as long as Axiom steps in if something gets really out of hand, I'm good with the current setup. I know there has been a few members that have been asked to shape up or hit the highway by Amie in the past.

In reply to:
See /. for moderation gone wild.

Been there done that!

Nothing like having to edit, hold back and be apprehensive of about what to say due to a 'moderator gone wild' type. Screw that!

Good thought Randy, but for the most part things seem to sort themselves out on this particular site...which is a great one BTW!

Pretty much everyone agrees around here to keep this place a "hands off" board. If things get too out of hand you can always report a post/thread by pressing the

button that's above each and every post.

I'll just point out that that button is not anonymous--Amie will know who pressed it. So think before you do...

It's funny...no sooner do I finish my lengthy reply to Ajax on freedom and censorship and I find this. I think this forum is just about the best one I have ever followed. It is fine just the way it is.IMHO
oz

I guess I'll have to chime in, too, Randy. You make good points, but having moderators would dampen the charm of these boards. I think we do a pretty good job of dealing with people who get out of line. The stickies idea is good because trying to find an answer in the FAQ section can be frustrating. That's why I think newbies post such questions. There are enough of us around to offer up easy answers quickly. Maybe it's because I haven't been around a long time, but those simple queries to bother me yet.

Randy:
Quite a bit of discussion came up in January regarding moderators and having a Code of Conduct.... probably just before you joined.

It's funny...no sooner do I finish my lengthy reply to Oz on freedom and censorship and I find this. (there's a terrible echo in here.)

When you realize that this is a largely unregulated forum, I think, with rare exception, we do a remarkable job of keeping things under control. I'm a participant at several other forums which ARE moderated, and I don't see any more problems here than there. Being the huge forum it is, AVS probably has more problems.

you guys gotta admit,those posts are entertaining and they seem to get a lot of hits very fast.it gives you someone to do a little venting on once and a while

Ok guys thats it, I've had enough, the Axiom police are taking over again, whenever a person tries to voice an opinion they get burned at the stakes. I'm going to report all of you to Amie so she can clean house.

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OK, you all know I'm just kidding. I actually share the same opinions and I definately would not want the environment to change. I just figured one of US guys would make sure it did stay the same and continue the same morale that is the norm.

Hey, if I didn't like it around here I would have DRIFTed away some time ago. Just trying to come up with ideas to police the trolls

Bring on the trolls, "Lets Get Ready to Rumbleeeeee"

I think we can handle a few trolls. There's always Coventry...

In reply to:
It's funny...no sooner do I finish my lengthy reply to Oz on freedom and censorship and I find this. (there's a terrible echo in here.)

Jack, you are too much. I actually laughed out loud.
oz

This has been a pretty well behaved forum in my opinion, I don't see a need for Moderators here. As a matter of fact this is probably the most well behave non moderated forum I have seen.

We appreciate you opening up discussion on this topic, Randy. Always good to check the pulse of the whole community! I think we're up to four deleted threads now in five years. And boy, there were a few we definitely wished would self-destruct! But in general, it seems that all of us (including you) are happy for now with status quo.