Mod preview changes

[scarletlatitude]

Hello everyone,

The admods have recently finished discussing mod preview rules. Mod preview happens when a person's posts must be approved by an admod before the rest of AVEN can see the posts. The only change we have made is that all moderators may approve mod preview posts within their forums. Previously, an admin had to approve all posts.

Please pm an admod if you have questions about this change.

[Guest]

Under what conditions will a person be put under mod preview?

Also, why should be PM admods rather than post here?

[SkyWorld]

Okay, but like... what are the rules? If it's disciplinary related, why isn't it in the ToS so that members are more aware of this possibility? Instead of it just seeming random and not understanding what is going on... which has happened before in which many people were confused.

I would also like to echo Pook's question about what warrants someone being put under mod preview. Is it temporary? How long is it to be expected? Can it be appealed?

[Lady Girl]

To my understanding, the mod preview function is very rarely used, and only in extreme situations. A member may be placed under mod preview if they begin to spam the board with ToS breaking posts. It relates to this portion of the ToS:

You agree that the webmasters, administrators and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time, should they see fit.

Nothing has changed about how or why a member is placed under mod preview, which as I mentioned, rarely happens. There are no specific rules regarding it because in those few times I've seen it used, it's on a case by case basis and is due to different sections of the ToS.

This is not to say that the ToS (possibly the section mentioned above) will not be revised to include it, but it's my understanding that it's covered in possible removal or editing of posts or topics.

[scarletlatitude]

I've been a mod for a year and I think I've seen mod preview used maybe twice. It's only for if we really need to watch someone's posts.

Pook, to answer your second question, you can post here. Some people are more comfortable with pms so they know that they can contact any of us that way too.

[Lia]

I've been a mod for a year and I think I've seen mod preview used maybe twice. It's only for if we really need to watch someone's posts.

Pook, to answer your second question, you can post here. Some people are more comfortable with pms so they know that they can contact any of us that way too.

But what determines if Admods "really need" to watch someone's posts? Under what circumstances are people put on Mod Preview? Are they notified as they would be with a nudge/warning? Does this action only accompany a nudge/warning? I might personally know some of these answers as an ex-Admod, but the average user wouldn't.

[SkyWorld]

If I recall correctly, it had happened 3-4 times in the past year. Yes, it's rare, but it has definitely been happening more frequently than usual.

Still, I wonder if it really is a temporary thing (last I checked, the answer is yes, but things could have changed). Even so, or not, how long is someone to be expected to be put on mod preview? Can it be appealed?

I don't know, I just think it would be appropriate to mention mod preview somewhere in the ToS. It doesn't have to be super long, it could even be just one single simple sentence. Because clearly members were confused and sometimes really upset when this happens, as shown by the couple of threads made in Site Comments. So clearly, not many people even know what mod preview is, the possibility of it happening, and I doubt that in future instances they would come to this thread where it's actually mentioned what it is, instead of the ToS.

[Lia]

To my understanding, the mod preview function is very rarely used, and only in extreme situations. A member may be placed under mod preview if they begin to spam the board with ToS breaking posts. It relates to this portion of the ToS:

You agree that the webmasters, administrators and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time, should they see fit.

Nothing has changed about how or why a member is placed under mod preview, which as I mentioned, rarely happens. There are no specific rules regarding it because in those few times I've seen it used, it's on a case by case basis and is due to different sections of the ToS.

This is not to say that the ToS (possibly the section mentioned above) will not be revised to include it, but it's my understanding that it's covered in possible removal or editing of posts or topics.

I didn't see your post, LG. I think that SkyWorld is right, though, in that because there's nothing stating anywhere (other than here now) that this action is possible and under what circumstances, it has caused issues in the past. I would like to see the Admod Team flesh out exactly under what circumstances (which ToS clauses) someone could be put under Mod Preview, what the length of time would be for the member to be under MP, and if a warning/nudge will ALWAYS accompany the action, or if only sometimes. And, if only sometimes, what are those specific circumstances?

[Guest]

Okay.

When I started modding, we didn't have a mod preview button. So when people flamed the board there were a few ways to deal with it when an admin wasn't online

1) (since we had the button at the time) follow the member around and hide their posts

2) Suspend the member

3) Derail a thread with pictures of soup (yes, this actually happened)

Then the software changed and mods didn't have the hide button everywhere anymore.

Then we started to use mod preview which was great except now admins had to approve every single post a member made and that annoyed everyone. So we gave the buttons to the mods too.

As of right now, this button is mainly for members that go around flaming or harassing others. It is still a new feature and we are still tweaking this, but as of right now I think it's best used for flaming and harassment and the length of time will vary depending on the situation (I can think of examples where I would put a member under for 12 hours and examples where I would put a member under for 3 days). The point of mod preview is not in addition to a warning or a nudge but as a stopgap for members who flame the board and harass others.

To me, mod preview should only be used when the posts affect the board or other people, not when a member is "annoying" (for lack of a better way to put it). If Member A keeps posting about Member B and follows them around the boards then yea, mod preview. If Member C is going into a thread about penguins and yelling about their warning and also doing that in threads about dolphins, ducks and underwater basket weaving and the people in those threads are getting annoyed because that's literally all Member C is talking about then mod preview.

The button is still new and I think we might end up changing our stance on it in regards to how we use it (not by much though, I think this stance now seems to be fair enough) but the way I see it, if we do for one situation we need to huddle up and say "okay, we did it for this situation was that the right thing to do, why was it the right thing to do/why wasn't it the right thing to do, what do we do now" because I know the policy isn't perfect but I don't think it will be until we go through it a bit more hands on and actually examine it.

[Janus the Fox]

Some communities have this for all posts, all threads and for everything bit of information that comes from the community, only some very closed off communities fave that sort of community control though. It would be a big undertaking for large communities but would moderate everything before it becomes public so technically will allow staff to moderate everything without looking through threads, posts or reoprts, a big workload otherwise.

Could all with warning points be watched?

It is a bit invasive for just the few that are watched, especially if there are whom that are not informed, paranoia for some here is already high for some here though.

[SkyWorld]

I'm not particularly saying that the past few times admods put someone under mod preview was "wrong", but basically saying that there is absolutely 0 guidelines for its usage. Absolutely nothing is written in fine print, not only is there an absent of basic guidelines (emphasis on "basic"), but nowhere is it mentioned what mod preview even is (except this thread).

What I'm worried about is that the mod preview usage can go too far in which would be unfair to the receiving end. Like I mentioned, there is NO guidelines whatsoever currently. I'm sure the team has good intentions, stopping someone from harassing another member and flaming in which is going too fast for the admod team to catch up with, is best handled with a more immediate (and temporary) action to prevent anymore damage (unless they're banned, of course). And this is extremely important.

I understand that not every case is the same, but it's still important to have basic (even vague) guidelines for its usage, rather than just interpretation 100% of the time for if it's necessary to put someone on mod preview or not. Having some basic guidelines would be better than nothing, which is what we currently have. I worry that it has the potential to go a bit overboard. It's rare, yes, but there is no denying that it has been used a bit more often, in which it is starting to become more "uncommon" than "rare". And who's to say that it won't become more common, when clearly it has been showed just that?

I'll repeat myself here that I am not particularly saying that the past few times it was used, it was "wrong", but it does have the potential to go overboard due to the complete lack of guidelines not just for admods, but members too about mod preview. Which brings me to my next question that wasn't answered yet...

Can it be appealed?

[Guest]

To clarify, I don't think any mod preview policy is permanent. If anything, this policy is done as a temporary stopgap for flaming and harassing. I have yet to find a reason to put somebody on mod preview permanently, actually...for longer than a week. I don't see it as punishment but more of a "okay, this is going too fast, we can't handle all the reports flooding in".

The guidelines so far are pretty much that with "if there are reasons that we should use it otherwise, we will do so and then discuss that reason."

[ponz]

I think having the guidelines of "flaming and harassment" are good enough. If it gets added to the ToS, more specific definitions of the 2 can be added to further clarify what actions will lead to getting the mod preview. It might be helpful to decide upon lengths of time that it can occur, instead of leaving it up to the mod (12 hours, 3 days, a week is too random).

I also think a message to the person should be written briefly explaining why they're under mod preview, because if it's a "good" member of the community who is just flaming or harassing temporarily (as in its not their normal behavior), it would help stop their negative posts if they understand what's wrong. And let them know how long they'll be under preview for. I can imagine people getting really pissed off not knowing how long it'll be going on, which could escalate things.

[SkyWorld]

What I meant is that there isn't any written guidelines. It would be nice if it was written (short and sweet) in the ToS about what mod preview is, the possibility of it happening, and that it's temporary. That could be done in a sentence or two. I mean, it's already mentioned in the ToS of what might get them banned (or warned). So at least members would know that if they do "this", they might get banned (or warned). It would be nice to know if they do "this", they might get put on mod preview. Have basic knowledge on what it is, why, and understand that they don't have to freak out thinking it's forever and it's only temporary.

But temporary could mean anything (warns are temporary, but they take months)...

Because how long is "temporary"? Which is important to know...

Can it be appealed?

[Guest]

I don't think it can be. It's usually a stop gap measure for us while we figure out how to better deal with a situation.

Also to clarify the 12 hour situation is a very different situation than the other situations I mentioned and is something currently in discussion. If it DOES go through, then we will make an announcement about that. It's basically using the same tools for a different beast.