Originally posted on the DS Ultimate forums (http://dsultimate.net/Board/upload/showthread.php?t=11213) by Kyledude92107, I have gained permission to reprint the original article here.
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You know, I was thinking the other day... With nothing for me to moderate lately (at least, until my site is finished, that is), what used to annoy me the most when I was a moderator? Now, I came up with a list of what I found to be annoying, and I must say, I have even been the person using these tactics at some points, as I'm sure we all have... But they still annoyed me. So what does annoy moderators?
1) Whining
"But... I'm really sorry! That's not fair that you moderated me when that was the first time I've slipped up!"
Too bad. You broke the rules. No one wants to hear about it. Using that logic, if someone shot a person and killed them, they shouldn't be punished because it was their first offense. Granted, this isn't the same, but chances are, you didn't get punished too harshly anyways if it truely was your first offense. Whining doesn't do anything, and if it does, it simply makes the moderator have a bad taste in his or her mouth on you. That's usually not good if he or she has to deal with you again. Especially if you whine again.
2) YOU HATE ME!
...No one is going to moderate you simply because they don't like you if they're truely a veteran to moderating. Now, I'll give you this; some new moderators will show bias when doing their job. That's not a good thing, and hopefully the other moderator or the administrators will see that and reverse it. But the point is, most sites don't recruit moderators like that. Accept that you broke a rule, and get over it, for God's sake.
3) IT WAS A HAXXOR!
No it wasn't. No one hacked your account, and no one posted the offensive message that you polluted the site with. YOU made the post, YOU broke the rules, YOU should take the responsibility for it. No one is going to hack a forum acount, let's use common sense. If they really wanted to hack something, they would hack a checking account or something worthwhile... They're not oing to wate their time getting a random person banned off of a random site.
4) (Insert other user's username here) hacked me!
No, they didn't. Unless you can give me some concrete proof that they're a hardcore hacker bent on getting you in trouble, I'm not going to lessen my punishment on you, or give you the benifit of the doubt. This is probably one of the most dim-witted and worst thought-out arguments out there.
5) Abuse of the dispute system
I've moderated a few sites with a dispute system, and what new moderators will quickly discover is that people abuse it and act like idiots through it. I have actually gotten a dispute saying this: "WTF DUH I DUH"...
My response?
"WTF YOU TOOK THIS OFF OF GAMEFAQS!!! DUH I SUSPEND!"
Abusing something meant to help the members of the forum out doesn't sit well with me, nor does it sit well with any other vet to moderating. Don't do it. That's all I have to say.
6) THE MODERATORS ARE IDIOTS!
If you were so much smarter than them, you wouldn't be having to argue over a deleted message. Moderators are chosen because they're the most intellegent people on the site, and they don't act like an idiot on a regular basis, much like you are by using this argument. This is even worse if you say this to the moderator's face. You'll likely end up getting in more trouble, and he or she will probably be more wary of you if they're not experienced enough, or if the admin lets them get away with it.
7) Advertising
First of all, you're trying to get people to go from the site you're spamming to the one you made, and you're also stealing members in the process. What's worse is that you don't even care that you're doing it. Find a site that allows you to list your site on it, and leave it at that. Don't sit here and spam the site with links to your site that probably sucks to begin with.
8) I think I'm smart, so I'm going to advertise through the PM system!
You're an idiot. First of all, someone's going to report you somewhere along the line. On top of that, Private Messages aren't really private. The admin can see all of the messages you send if he or she really wants to, regardless of whether it's for a reason or if he wants to look beuse he feels like it. You're not going to get away with this.
9) ATTNing moderators to ask about their job
We have a job to do, believe it or not. By making me open your topic to see your idiotic post, you're wasting time that I could be using to make the site a better place. Leave me alone and let me do my job. Along with all of this, it's disruptive, and it's just plain rude. This is especially true for sites with massive amounts of posts.
10) THIS SITE SUCKS!
Then don't go to it. I don't bloody care if you think that a blank site is better than the one you're spamming with your complaints. If you don't like the way the site is ran or if you don't like the content, then leave and do us all a favor in doing so.
11) Leaving topics without good reason
WE DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE LEAVING THE SITE BECAUSE YOU HATE THE MEMBERS/MODERATORS/ADMINISTRATORS! Go away and don't post again! DO NOT make these topics if there's not a good reason why you're leaving. If you have real-life things that make you have to leave, or an extremely good reason why you're leaving, don't make a post about it. It causes controversy, drama, and above all, it causes the moderators headaches.
On top if this, I don't care how good your argument is if it bashes a staff member or another member. Just don't post it.
12) This site is going downhill!
...Because you're making it do so, idiot! No one cares if you think the site is going downhill. If you seriously believe this, why are you still here?! Go away and post about it elsewhere, or better yet, don't!
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These are just the things that annoyed me. I'm sure other mods may agree or disagree, and they may have their own pet peeves, and PLEASE feel free to post them here. This is by no means a complete list of annoying things, so please don't treat it as such. This is also not meant to be a guide on how to annoy moderators, so don't even THINK about it.
I hope you enjoyed this article.
"Life is a succession of moments; To live each one is to succeed."- Corita Kent
by kyledude92107
Use this advice to help you manage said aggravating members and pet peeves on your own forums and hopefully stop many of these drama inducing actions before they can disrupt your communities.
It is an interesting article, but to me written in a user-disrespect manner... Of course, users could be rude sometimes even towards forum administration, but that is not a reason to copy their behavior. There is always a way to respond to user insult without all that foul language.
Yes, it is quite a harsh article, but part of the reason might well be that it's the pet peeves of a certain user, and most people are going to feel somewhat annoyed by the things online that annoy them the most. On one note though, the person who wrote this is not a moderator, so it's not exactly elitist or anything.
LOL...LOL.. this is too good. :rotf: I will add to the list and post it here. ;)
Permission please to copy the post on my site with full linkback to this thread :)
Permission please to copy the post on my site with full linkback to this thread :)
I need to ask the user about this. It's nothing I can give permission for, since I am not the orginal writer.
This article is a pompous pile of garbage. Comments such as "Mods are... the most intellegent [spelled incorrectly, ironically] people on the site" and talking incessantly about a need to enforce piles of petty rules is exactly what's wrong with most forums. Mods thinking they are doing their members some big favor. No, your MEMBERS are doing YOU a favor. What would happen if you built a forum and no one joined? Exactly. Get over yourselves.
So not only is the article a long whine about how "tough" it is to be a mod (spare me the martyr routine) but it's factually inaccurate. None of the petty "woe is me" complaints in this article even come close to what real trolls can do to a forum.
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Send us your banned rejects (http://www.theybannedme.com).
Jeez... I wonder why you'd answer in such a way... Looks at said users signature... never mind.
Oh, and trust me, I've been on many forums with lax/non existant rules. Not a good atmosphere to have if you want a site that's remotely work safe in any form, or actually has quality discussion.
Next time, don't use ad hominem attacks, and realise that I am not the original writer, I'm republishing it with permission from a forum user who's a moderator at a massive (like, twenty million posts) site. Maybe even more active a site, but it's really well known, and it's likely based off experience there.
I'm not saying rules are a bad thing but the arrogant attitude of many mods in enforcing those rules is one of the primary problems with the Internet. Even worse is that idiots voluntarily subject themselves to the petty tyrants that run most forums. Vote with your clicks... leave boards that are run by arrogant mods who think having the ability to delete posts on a messageboard is some great power to be exploited.
Kinda funny that... especially considering that most barely managed forums usually devolve into anarchy.
Given your butthurt and defensive attitude I find it hard to believe you didn't write this article. I think this is a blatant ploy to drum up traffic to your failsite.
Don't even need to say what my actual profile is, it's the first ever member account on said forum.
But I like defending people who allow me to use their work, or whose sites I like, or who's books I like... or generally anyone. Arguments and debates can be entertaining.
Second, don't lecture me on logical fallacies when you avail yourself to the appeal to authority fallacy by transparently mentioning this article appeared on a "massive... site" in a futile attempt to convey credibility to a poorly-written and useless article. If this article got a good reception on a site, it's a place I would never want to visit. So there is one backfire of your spam attempt.
First, I am not a spammer. I submitted my actual written articles to this site and AdminAddict, and pretty much none contain any link back, nor are any actually used on my own website (why the hell would I? different markets)
Okay then, said article writer was a mod on Gamefaqs... make of that as you will. I'm probably not supposed to say that.
Then don't go to it. I don't bloody care if you think that a blank site is better than the one you're spamming with your complaints. If you don't like the way the site is ran or if you don't like the content, then leave and do us all a favor in doing so.
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12) This site is going downhill!
...Because you're making it do so, idiot! No one cares if you think the site is going downhill. If you seriously believe this, why are you still here?! Go away and post about it elsewhere, or better yet, don't!
Yes, obviously, if a person does not like your forum, he is being silly by continuing to be active in order to deride it, but for some people that may be the very point; i.e., undermining your forum is their career, and so the silliness of their conduct is irrelevant to them.
haha yes this is all true i agree with everything here