Poll: Is it time Queenzone finally implemented moderators?

Because you're one of the few people here who doesn't suck?

That's supposed to be a secret, man.

It was a rather poorly kept secret, but it's not yer fault. I might have had somethin' to do with that? ;-)

A bit of moderation would be great -- not over the top, but enough that there could be better discussions again. I used to come on QZ a lot, but now i rarely come cos there's so little discussion and it's full of spammers, and it just seems like a lot of effort to read the spam to get to the good stuff. And it seems like a lot of people have stopped posting much, and i suspect that if there were less trolls, people might be more inclined to stay around and post more.

I guess my vote would be "no" on the censoring or removing of content of posts, unless real hatred or threats are the only content (and this is rare but it has happened a few times here when we get a completely mean and angry person or, in the case of Jake, an anti-social personality hanging around here ... and people do not heed warnings, but interact with the anti-social person anyway). And in those cases, of course, banning quickly would be the best thing to do. There are too many naive and innocent Queenzoners. This also brings to mind the young ones here who do not have the experience to realize they should not give out all their personal information and that they do not have to respond to everyone. It has been a while since that issue has come up here, but I think there is a duty to the teens that post here.

I would vote "yes" for moderation on obvious issues: spam, people with multiple user names (name changes are fine, but people usually notify other people at the time), and the banning of the already banned. Also, moving threads to the correct forum or deleting certain posts if the poster requests it (starting a thread by accident is an example).

Because of the sharing feature, we would need someone who understands copyright laws because that would be necessary when knowing what to delete. Also someone who understands the position of the collectors (from a diplomacy angle).

So, given all these issues, and I think the need, time-wise, to have a good backup for YV, I think we should have another moderator, or at least an assistant moderator. Among the boys, there is someone who has wanted the job for a long time, and someone who in the past has shown just how good he is at spotting trouble early, and that is Zebonka. I think he would be excellent. Among the girls, there is someone who has always had fairness and logic in mind, and that is GratefulFan. So those would be my top two choices for moderator or assistant moderator to YV. I don't know if GratefulFan would want the job, though. But I know Zebonka wants the job. Ha. He has brought that idea up here for at least five years now.

The funny thing about forums is that they make you keep coming back.

[QUOTE] [b]Donna13 wrote:[/b]

Among the girls, there is someone who has always had fairness and logic in mind, and that is GratefulFan. So those would be my top two choices for moderator or assistant moderator to YV. I don't know if GratefulFan would want the job, though. But I know Zebonka wants the job. Ha. He has brought that idea up here for at least five years now.[/QUOTE]

It was nice to see this faith in me Donna. I appreciate that. :) But we already have a girl moderator in YV. We're just a little short on reliability and consistency at the mo. Left largely on our own as we are now, I think perhaps the best defence is a good content offence. Sometimes I think the energy spent on complaining about the mentally and socially impaired and talking about not posting would be better put towards creating a new topic or finding a way to contribute to somebody else's.

I don't think things are bad at the moment. The harmless people posting here these days - it is nothing to get upset about, compared to some of the stuff here in the past. And maybe some of those bad characters attracted similar types here for a while.

I hear you Donna. They're not bad for me at the moment either. But not long ago I was pretty overwhelmed by what I perceived as egregious and gratuitous negativity towards other posters and the pressure on the 'feelings' topics. There was a point where the whole place started to feel like Augusta National and all of a sudden I felt like the only girl in a locker room and my instinct was to just quietly slide off the end of the bench and slip out the door. That passed. I doubt many if any others could identify this period or shared these feelings. Which illustrates I think the challenges with moderation. Who needs what to feel like the place is an enjoyable use of some of their time? There are no doubt good posters being seriously irked right now by people like the Kapone-shouter and Anton to the point of it wrecking their experience here in a real way that I wouldn't want to diminish because it's mostly rolling off me. The only thing we are truly in control of is the content that counters the nonsense. We can't control the nut cases but we can to some degree collectively control their relative impact, with a rotating ability to overcome the stupidity, as each of us is able during any given period.

Very good post, GF. I can relate! I can't think of anything to add other than I think this place goes through trends and being a moderator would be a difficult challenge and might not be "fun" at all. Ha. Maybe removing all threat of being banned or shunned or moderated officially might in a funny way make this place less of a tempting target for some. Who knows. That may be the effect we are experiencing right now.

I'm hoping that this site continues for a long time. It is a great resource for the fans. I have a five year old second cousin whose "favorite person in the world" is Freddie Mercury - I found out at the last family get together - so this may be a genetic condition in my family. Ha. Or ... I'm thinking, there is a possibility that this Queen fan base may actually be growing rather than shrinking as the years go by.

I sure hope this place stays around for a long while. I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

So, it is now 32 yes and 10 no. I first voted no because I'm against just anyone becoming a mod here and declaring irritating people trolls or that sort of thing. In my mind, it is not just a censorship thing, but possibly a personality thing. We all might have a different list of who we consider a "troll". So erring on the side of caution was my thinking. But I would like to change my vote to yes now, so I voted again. The real tally should now be 32 yes and 9 no.

That is a very healthy majority in favor of moderation. But what is the next step? Are some of you writing to Richard and YV about this? Is there an organized campaign? YV must be very busy these days. We all know how life can become filled with lots of things to do. Is it a matter of writing to them directly because they don't know about this thread?

I think I want to wait out another week before approaching them directly (unless either finally notice this topic and decide to participate in the discussion otherwise), give more users time to participate in the poll and ensure there's a more representative view of the users as a result :-)

Is there anyone left to moderate?

As I previously said Freya, I think Zebonka would be one of the best candidates for the position.