Backseat Moderation

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

You know, those regular members who love to bust other members when doing wrong and remind them what rules they're currently breaking or are at risk of breaking. Perhaps they tattle to the staff or hit that report button for the smallest possible infraction of the rules. Maybe they enjoy telling the staff how to do their jobs too.

How do you feel about "backseat moderators?" Have you ever had to deal with one?

 

[Mike]

They can be helpful but more often than not tend to be detrimental to the community as they're a pain in the arse and their posts aren't exactly enjoyable to read and they get annoyed when they do more than some staff but aren't staff and then feel entitled etc.

Silently reporting posts to the staff is a much better way to go about backseat moderating, unless it's a big situation or one that started out as a disagreement and escalated.

 

[DrLeftover]

I've never thought of myself as a "backseat moderator" or a "tattle tale" or even a "snitch", but if I see something serious that should be reported to staff, I do so. Minor stuff and somebody with a wrinkle in their diaper, no, that's just part of life in the big city.

If I have an idea, or a comment that is in the general theme of "for the greater good", I offer it.

I like Off Topix, and want to see it operate as smoothly as possible. If I can help the recognized staff, I want to do so.

 

[Tolkin]

I don't often deal with backseat moderators. I don't really mind if theyre trying to help, but if they act like they are the "moderators" of the site (for example "I am the moderator, I will ban you in 10 minutes if you don't stop spamming") then thats something that should be bannable.

 

[Darth-Apple]

It can be more of a problem than it seems. I've had to ban users over it in the past.

 

[~KAGE-008]

Not been one since I started joining forums. But they're annoying when they're doing it repeatedly.

 

[chatterbox]

You know, those regular members who love to bust other members when doing wrong and remind them what rules they're currently breaking or are at risk of breaking. Perhaps they tattle to the staff or hit that report button for the smallest possible infraction of the rules. Maybe they enjoy telling the staff how to do their jobs too.

How do you feel about "backseat moderators?" Have you ever had to deal with one?

Well if mods were doing their jobs nobody would need to do it for them. But unless your a mod it's not your place to be telling members jack shit. Should you have issues with members report them to the mod and let the mod do their jobs. If nothing gets done....get rid of the lame duck mod.
That's how firefights break out between members.

 

[wirelessguru1]

Any sort of heavy moderation is usually a problem for self expression!

 

[CrazyToaster]

I really dislike back seat moderation... In my experience, things that are reported are already being scrutinized by the staff unless it's something small and insignificant that's will be rectified once it's seen. Report button has never been an annoyance, but I've noticed that people nearly always have to comment on it publicly.

Another thing is when those who always backseat moderate often ignore basic rules themselves, and you know they know the rules because they whip them out any time anyone else even touches the edge.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Well if mods were doing their jobs nobody would need to do it for them.

Not necessarily, there will always potential for a naysayer coming around to disagree with a moderators decision and telling them how a situation should have been handled.

 

[chatterbox]

Well if mods were doing their jobs nobody would need to do it for them.

Not necessarily, there will always potential for a naysayer coming around to disagree with a moderators decision and telling them how a situation should have been handled.

Yeah...........ok

 

[CrazyToaster]

Re: RE: Backseat Moderation

Well if mods were doing their jobs nobody would need to do it for them.

Not necessarily, there will always potential for a naysayer coming around to disagree with a moderators decision and telling them how a situation should have been handled.

Yeah...........ok

He's absolutely right. People will always feel they know better, especially if they have no experience with the situation. Case in point...

 

[Bluezone777]

Define " their jobs". There is where the problem lies when your definition and the owner's definition differ. The problem with backseat moderators is they are attempting to assume authority over an authority figure when they assert their thought process of authority over someone else authority which is why it's frowned upon.

There are times when it's proper to stand against an authority figure when said authority is being used to abuse or permit the abuse of others.

I shall give an example of this.

I was once a moderator of a community and there was an incident that happened that forced me to decide what I was pledging allegiance to which was either people or ideals. A member posted artwork up and asked for comments or constructive criticism. A mod felt like talking about themselves in the thread rather then the artwork posted which in turn angered the member. This mod became abusive towards them because they didn't like being told what to do. Another mod came on but felt their friendship was more important then justice and joined in on the abuse of this member. I came on and worked to end the abuse and get that person out of that forum as I knew it was not going to be good for them to stay any longer.

Administration wanted to brush it under the carpet and offer no punishment or warning of any kind because the mod in question was the owner of the server that the forum was on and felt the forum was more important then justice. I demanded that she admit she was wrong and apologize to right the wrong she done.

Instead, she demanded that I be fired for it and he decided to leave it up to a vote.

She was all for it and her friend that blindly defended her agreed. The owner abstained from voting and the last mod besides myself felt his writing group's home was more important then justice so went along with my firing though I did no wrong. All of them decided that they were important then the ideal of justice and I was promptly fired.

I turned around on my own board and made my case to my people because many of them were members of the board I was fired from so I could get the first word in before they started distorting the story and my character which they eventually attempted to do. The community grew angry with them and they only agreed with my statement regarding my case which made them angrier and angrier along with all the defamation of character that they started doing to evade the truth behind what I said. They wanted blood so to speak and he wanted them to accept that being evil and doing wrong is acceptable at times. I in turn refused to agree with either of them for they were both seeking injustice till the one who fired me finally admitted he was wrong in what he did and was truly sorry for it in front of everyone. I turned around and forgave him and told everyone to not harm him in my name. The anger ceased almost immediately and much later one I was commended for my actions and show of character as some said that was the moment I earned their respect. The community of the one who fired me died soon after while mine flourished for a good year and a half later. Had I went out and allowed people to hurt him as punishment then the pain and anger might never have ceased and I would be no better then that who I criticized.

In short, follow and obey all authority figures that have power over you but never allow that authority to be an excuse to permit or enable people to abuse others. I feel you will just know when you have to speak up so if you don't have that feeling then likely you are just asserting yourself over someone outside of some perceived superiority that you don't really have at all and that never ends well for you.

 

[draco99]

These are people I like to consider as 'mini-mods.' If they think staff is crap at their job and they can do better, why don't they go make their own forum, instead of criticizing the actions of people who are trying to help out a forum.

People like this have nothing better to do.

 

[Bluezone777]

So if someone criticized you for your moderation ability but has already illustrated that they can do it well on their own board would be enough for you to change your ways or would you just think of another requirement they need to meet first so you could still say they have no right to criticize?

People who like to throw rules around for others to follow in situations like this normally keep making new ones till they got the other person so they can't criticize or at least not have the right to. If you are truly in the right then why fear explaining yourself? Only a person who knows what they do is wrong would fear explanation of their actions and the reason behind them. I was always fond of explaining myself when questioned because it showed that I wasn't above the community nor was afraid of the truth but rather embraced it because I shown myself to be sure in the truth being enough to quell all doubt that others might have of the moderation actions I take and it's always worked for me in quelling doubt amongst the community and firming up the faith that others had in me as a leader or staff member. You need a community to respect you or they simply won't help you.

Who works for the betterment of a man/woman that they don't respect? Likewise, who wouldn't work for the betterment of a man/woman that they do respect?

The " they just do it because they have nothing better to do" comment is normally thrown in as a way to belittle for the purposes of building yourself up by knocking others down so they can justify to themselves that nothing the other person is saying is valid simply because they don't agree with it and have nothing to argue so they belittle the other person in the hope they just become quiet because there would be no way to defeat him through the truth because the truth is likely not in their favor. That's normally how it went whenever I came across someone who used that very comment as a response to someone's doubt in another person's ability to lead or moderate a community.

It's not to say everyone who criticizes you is always right but likewise not all who criticize you in life are going to be wrong either and to discount either possibility from being possibly true is to be rather arrogant to be honest and I seen plenty of that too in my days on forums.

 

[~KAGE-008]

If they think staff is crap at their job and they can do better, why don't they go make their own forum, instead of criticizing the actions of people who are trying to help out a forum.

People like this have nothing better to do.

But those backseatters are mostly impatient after setting up a forum. They think it'll get new members right after the opening, which isn't true at all.

 

[Bluezone777]

That criticism is built upon a lack of understanding and not necessarily has to do with being mean spirited. What those people need is correction and guidance not condemnation and hatred. I honestly rather be criticized as much as I am praised. Too much praise leads to a fat head and too much criticism leads to a broken heart. A balance of the two leads to a better person who strives to do better yet accepts that he isn't perfect and does not demand out of others what he can not provide himself.

Not all criticism is valid and if it is not valid then it should shown as such but it's not an excuse to threaten someone with a ban or be mean about it even if they are. You as a staff member/admin sets the bar on good behavior and it would not be wise to lower it through how you handle a situation of that nature even if the argument you make is valid doesn't matter if the way you go about it isn't valid.

 

[McConnaughay]

I don't think backseat moderation is disrespectful, insulting, or something that is bad, I do, however, believe that the staff team for a lot of forums are extremely oversensitive and self-righteous. Ultimately, like everything, there is a way to do it correctly and way to do it incorrectly. Somebody posts in the wrong forum, you say: "I believe that this would probably be more suited for so-so section," instead of, "You need to read the rules before you start making threads, it specifically says that this read is exclusively for so-so." (Which makes you seem like a douche.)

There's this mindset with a lot of forums that a forum is a business, when in-reality, it's a place for communication. The head-administrator is not "the boss," and the minute that he starts believing that is the minute that he becomes an asshole. Backseat moderation isn't that big of a deal, but just like everything else, there's people that use it and find a way to make an ass out of themselves.