{poll} Should talk be "open" or "closed"

[jast]

I joined DMS after being a member of Talk for several months.I saw the arguments and disagreements, but even more I saw the community and the willingness to help and teach. That is all gone now in it’s current state.

Me too!
I lurked on the wiki several months before the move from Ladybird (thought many times about joining, but would have to drive the wrong way from work, it’s difficult for me to make Tour nights, etc.) Then I lurked several MORE months after I found out about the move to a more conducive location for me. Then I joined TALK and lurked… Then I joined. I don’t think I ever would have without TALK being open like it was.

In the same vein, I have an acquintance or 2 who continue lurking, not quite sure if DMS has anything for them. They mentioned that it appeared to have died and wondered if I still “do that”. I assured them nothing had died, and asked why they thought so. They said TALK is so dead, it looks like nothing’s happening there any more…

And we should be responsible for maintaining our own community,

Interestingly, I agree with you, but when I say that, I think LESS moderator action (i.e. less thread splitting, less moving “foul language”, letting the flagging system do its job, US actually flagging things as needed, US actually splitting threads on our own, etc.)

[merissa]

The entire talk forum is private now and still there is call out for Heavier Moderation. How much heavier can we get?

Are @Team_Moderators even following their own guidelines? There are consequences that are to be handed out for people who do not behave. First offense gets a warning, second offense gets a temporary block, third offense gets referred to the BoD. Moderators can y’all share how many warnings have been given out in the past three months?

[Nick]

create a “flame arrestor” by request or personal fight only, nearly unmoderated forum to let people get it out of their systems?

This was tried in the past and didn’t work as no one wanted to post in the channel. I believe it is because very few people at DMS want to start particularly mean or targeted topics. Rather, we see things pop up in other threads that can take them off topic or responses get heated as different side entrench themselves. The only good way I know to deal with these is the splitting of topics and sending the controversial side of the split into the “Members Only Area”. While sometimes this is can be abused, it has worked. Most times the moderators pull all the comments that are engaging each other pretty well. Yes, this leads to some confusion in threads from time to time, but it has been mostly good. Most topics that are split stay that way and the controversial part stays hidden from public.

[kbraby]

This would usually work the same way, split the mess off, give the offending members access. Let others (who have opted in) have access to sit back with popcorn and judge the foolishness of the participants. The goal is to keep members only somewhat moderated, but leave room for the stuff that nobody has time to moderate besides splitting it off to its own corner.

[Nick]

Well,
That is what we had, before the lock down. It is kind of gone now as all topics are private.

[Brian]

That is all gone now in it’s current state.

A single counter example is enough to prove “all gone” is false. Oh look. I found one. From today.

Resin-paint interaction

Background: I need to pour some clear resin inside a small metal pot. I will place baked polymer clay inside the resin. The inside of the pot will be painted white (probably enamel). The resin, when hardened, is supposed to look like a pot of pasta cooking. Question: Is there some type of resin that won’t interact with the paint, or some type of paint that won’t interact with the resin? It just has to last long enough to harden without getting completely milky - a little bit is OK, beca…

[Nick]

@Brian,
That thread is also locked from the public view, he was stating that the public viability of these kinds of actions is why he joined.

[Kentamanos]

It is “all gone” to the general public though, and that’s his point.

Right click that link and open it in whatever “privacy mode” your browser has (Incognito for Chrome for instance).

If you look at talk without being logged in (easiest to simulate with Incognito mode etc.), it looks like we spend 90% of our time giving people access to Talk

[Brian]

You replied too soon / I finished too late. The point is this…

That is all gone now in it’s current state.

…is both false and off-topic for this thread.

Ugh. And I now understand @pendragyn’s point. Never mind.

Now slinks away in embarrassment.

[pendragyn]

I meant that is all gone to the public, and especially to the potential new members who can no longer see that type of help exists in this community.

[pendragyn]

I edited it so it will hopefully not be taken out of context.

[Kentamanos]

Now slinks away in embarrassment.

No worries. The timing of replies (especially mine) sucked and I’m sorry if it felt like “dog piling”.

I think threads like the one you posted above are exactly what we (some of us) want the random non-members (not necessarily even potential members) to encounter. We’re too worried about hiding our “warts” that they can’t see the nice parts.

[Lordrook]

I’m definitely thinking, if additional moderation is needed, that paid outside is best. While I was an only child, I believe that it would be like putting the middle child in charge of moderation conversation between an older and younger child. It just isn’t fair to the member mod and may not be the most effective method. Too many personal attacks can come of it and I’ll will can fester. A faceless mod who has no stake in DMS, plus more clear and direct mod rules, is the way to go.

[Brian]

I’m sorry if it felt like “dog piling”.

Not at all. Just a reminder that I need to reread, reread, reread before replying.

[apparently_weird]

Steve, while I don’t disagree with your logic, at least some of our Mods have expressed willingness to take on the burden. The other question is, how much of our membership dues are members willing to part with for outside Moderators?

[Lordrook]

Agreed, cost is totally a factor that I didn’t voice, that’s why I said “if” its needed. Definitely revamp the rules and try that with the willing in-house folks first. My point is that if a rep from the city drives by and sends me a warning about my grass being too tall then I grumble and go mow it. But if I know it was my next door neighbor who called it in, I’m more inclined to hold that against them… maybe find a way to punish them down the road.

[Cairenn_Day]

This would be the way I would do it if I was Queen

See if some sections cab be made public Some of those would be committees that have not had
any problem posts for 3 month and no I will define problem posts we let the mods decide that

We then either decide as a group on what heavier moderation would be or better yet let the mods decide
that and then they present i to the BoD for acceptance

Then we run with that for several month and see how it works

If it works then we start reopening more of it,
If it doesnt, then we look at outside moderation

[Draco]

I like the idea of outside moderators as well. This way the current member moderators can contribute to the conversation without feeling restricted.

It seems many of the thread that go off track are not the creative/makery threads but the administration threads.

[Nick]

This would be the way I would do it if I was Queen

Just so you know, you don’t need to be a monarch or dictator, just suggesting and being open to others is a good option as well.

[John_Marlow]

Are Team_Moderators even following their own guidelines? There are consequences that are to be handed out for people who do not behave. First offense gets a warning, second offense gets a temporary block, third offense gets referred to the BoD. Moderators can y’all share how many warnings have been given out in the past three months?

This is a disturbing situation. Disciplinary actions require some number of moderators to agree. The last action I received one response, one recusal, and no other answers. We were unable to take any action.

It’s time to revamp the moderator corps, IMO. It takes several active people to make any of these things work.