Are you interested in being a Fluther moderator?

Damn girl! The CIA thread? A fluther t-shirt????

I’m in!!!!!
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Just kidding.

Scared ya, didn’t I?

Sure, I’m in. No way can I pass up a t-shirt

Damn. I could almost qualify.

Edit: The day Daloon is a mod is the day I eat my fluther t-shirt.

Respect. My. Autroritaaaarrrr!!!

@zensky It’s kind of hard to enforce rules you don’t agree with. This place is pretty good, but it could be better. It really isn’t necessary to sacrifice a bit of fun and creativity in order to make the anxious ones feel safe. With a little bit of education and empathy, we can have it all!

I have the greatest appreciation for the mods, however, I am more the happy hostess type. I wouldn’t be a very good mod, I would be too lenient, short of extreme violations. Best wishes in rounding up a new posse of sheriffs to keep the law and order in flutherville. :-)

If i’ve told you once, i’ve told you a thousand times….no thanks, i’ll pass.

Are there cookies?

I might be persuaded to send cookies…

No cookies. I want pancakes.

Good point ^^

How many nominees have sent you nominations?

Several, but I’m still accepting them. Nominate away!

HA If I was a moderator, the other moderators would spend their time overruling me.

I doubt that @YARNLADY. You strike me as level headed with a very good heart. Ideal qualifications if I do say so myself.

I could never mod someone for being off topic as I am guilty myself and was once banned for 2 weeks in my early fluther days. So far, so good, this last year and a half or so, but, I would not say I am 100% reformed.
I try, but I am so impulsively expressive at times and easily find divergent forks in the road of conversation. I naturally wander off track at times so I would feel like a hypocrite.

Making me a mod would be like hiring an embezzler to manage your finances. lol

@Bellatrix Thank you for the complement, but I have very little tolerance for jokesters.

@Coloma I’m guilty of that too. Every time some newbie asks whats wrong with their cat or the cause of their rash I am compelled to answer “ghosts”. It doesn’t matter that I will be modded. I am compelled.

How often does this affliction strike me? Only the mods know.

@fundevogel I wish the rest of us could know, too. That’s pretty funny. I really don’t understand why we jellies are so stupid that we must be protected from humor and silliness at all costs. Indeed, I don’t understand why we must be protected from provocation. Why aren’t we trusted to chose to be provoked or not, as might be our wont?

@wundayatta

The Mods do a good job of protecting us from spam

I would like to nominate Earthgirl : )

@fundevogel LOL…“Ghosts” love it. haha—oops, see what you made me do, off topic!

@Kardamom, I second the nomination.

WOW, can we do nominations? That would be a great way to select mods! I would vote for Pied Pfeffer, Kardamom would be excellent, and I think Hawaii Jake would also be terrific!

:( I just want Auggie.

@drbill if they left it at spam, I would be oh so happy. But no. there are trolls and the categories the door open for interpretation.

(Not as a mod.) @wundayatta are you really trying to turn this into a mod bashing thread? Not cool.

I would LOVE to see the CIA thread, but the day someone makes me a mod is the day the devil gives everyone free snowcones. :D

@SuperMouse Yes, at almost every opportunity. Haven’t you noticed that by now? ;)

I support the moderation at Fluther. If all of the mods stopped moderating right now, it will be a matter of days before this site goes down like the Hindenburg, which is to say in flames.

They also do help protect us from trolls. Very serious internet trolls / haters do exist, and I don’t want them to get onto this site. The community here often considers itself one of the most considerate / intelligent, and internet trolls will destroy it to no end. They are spammers, not of products, but of hate.

@augustlan, if you’re open to third-person nominations, I nominate thorninmud, who IMO, is one of the most intelligent, articulate, reasonable, and least combative jellies- he’s a veritable Portuguese man-o-peace! ;-)

I’m sure he isn’t as lazy as me, so he just might accept. ;=)

No one has nominated me, I see. That’s because I’d be a HORRIBLE mod! I’d be all ... ‘Let’s get this party started!!’

No. I am not bashing mods, so much as I am expressing my discontent with the rules. I think the mods do the best they can given their mission. But I do not approve of the mission. I said that above, and I say it again. That is why I could not be a mod.

It is troubling that people who enforce the rules mistake my disapproval of the rules for disapproval of them. I do not mean this personally. But I know that people take it personally. I would like to see mods who don’t get defensive about their decisions, nor feel like they have to be right.

It is interesting to note that my relationship with each of the mods went downhill as soon as they became mods. It probably means that no one is going after me, personally. It’s the rules that make they behave the way they do and make the decisions them make. Decisions that, whether they hurt me, or hurt others, I think are bad for fluther. I’ve been saying this for years, and I imagine things won’t change any time soon, unless people come to see that it is unnecessary to maintain separate categories, and many trolls are not really a problem. Indeed—they add to the place.

I have never seen a very serious troll. It is easy to change either a troll’s behavior or a community’s behavior with social modification. No one has to respond to idiocy unless they are itching for a fight.

I also think the lack of transparency is a problem. Mods make decisions in response to flags, but the rest of the community has no chance to defend a post that someone else may have flagged. So mods are going to err on the side of people who complain, and no one else will no what has happened, because the post has disappeared.

Oh well. I didn’t mean to get off on this, but it is important to the culture of this place. I like this place a lot, or else I wouldn’t stick around. I am committed to trying to make it better. So I will continue to speak up about the problems I see, even if it does annoy some people who don’t have the problems I have.

Whereas, I like the rules, and I would surly over enforce them.

P. S. @wundayatta unmoderated sites are so full of trolls and spam there is no room for the actual users.

@wundayatta I admit right up front that I didn’t read your post. That being said, seriously, give it a rest already.

Another thread that turns out to be all about one person and not about the topic.

This is why I always try to make it about cookies. Everybody loves cookies.

@cprevite Pancakes, it’s supposed to be about pancakes. Well, what kind of cookies? I think the mods are amazing.

@SuperMouse I try not to offer you unsolicited advice. I’d appreciate it if you offered me the same courtesy. When I’m tired of talking to someone, I just stop talking to them. I realize that they are only responding because they enjoy egging me on.

@wundayatta I’m not tired of speaking to you, I’m tired of the complaining. It’s nothing personal, it is just starting to get old.

@Adirondackwannabe: Chocolate chip cookies, but I’d be willing to compromise and go with chocolate chip pancakes.

Oh man, I’m drooling. I’ll go with either. And yes, I’m a good cook.

@cprevite Everybody loves cookies. Even Trollhouse cookies? ;-p

OMG! I am so craving pancakes right now! With a side of fried eggs and homefried potatoes.

My SO’s life is so easy! He doesn’t need to spend hours trying to find the right motion/spot/mood, all he has to do is offer me pancakes and fried eggs. Easy squeezy.

Who knew that I had a P Spot (pancake spot) in additon to my G spot???

So, I think we got three new mods. Thanks jellies! :)

Now pass the pancakes!

Three trainees?

When will we know who they are? Once they’ve passed boot camp and probation?

^^ Yep.

Oh Auggie. You get to use your special whip.

and maybe the crop.

Who are the new mods, @augustlan?

@bkcunningham She’ll probably announce the new mods in a new meta thread.

Pancake flavored pancakes?

Let’s talk about unicorns now. Do unicorns make good Fluther mods?

You’re still going to be around, though, right Auggie? Even if you aren’t a mod we’ll still do as you say! We can’t help ourselves!

Well, the first new mod is… @PhiNotPi! Welcome to the team!

@Dutchess_III Yep, I’ll still be managing the site, for as long as I can. Can’t get rid of me that easily!

[mod says] Hello everybody! I hope that one day I will be remembered as a great moderator.

@PhiNotPi Congrats so so much. Good for you.

@Adirondackwannabe Thanks.

Congratulations @PhiNotPi! Just forget all the stuff I’ve said about you over the years. :}~

And our next new mod is @DigitalBlue! Welcome to the team!

Thanks, @augustlan and congrats @PhiNotPi. :)

Congrats @DigitalBlue!

@DigitalBlue Congrats so much. Oh boy, I can’t wait to be modded by you. Do you get the thigh high leather boots and a whip too?

I think it’s just a t-shirt. If they passed out boots and whips, I missed it.

@DigitalBlue Well, you in just the t-shirt sounds pretty good too. :)

That whip is ALL MINE.

Whoa, I best not mess with the top jelly. Although I bet she’s good with the whip.:)

I would think that most mods could be trained without that kind of suggestive brutality. Perhaps that’s another aspect of the process that discouraged me. ;-p

I counted two @PhiNotPi and @DigitalBlue. I thought you said three @augustlan . . . before everyone got distracted by whips et al . . .

I did, but the last one hasn’t had any training, yet. So, not official just yet. :)

OK, thought I had forgotten how to count or had missed something in the whip flurry . . .

Welcome @PhiNotPi and @DigitalBlue to the mod team. Really great to have you working with us.

Congratulations @DigitalBlue and @PhiNotPi and the third person who has yet to be named!

Look what we Have For You

@Brian1946 I don’t have a clue what your answer meant. What was it intended to convey?

I think he was referring to the whip, @Adirondackwannabe. He seems to be thinking that that is how moderators get trained. I trust you have experienced enough of our fearless leader to be able to reassure @Brian1946 on that score.

ps. He’s kidding. That’s why his tongue is in his cheek.

@wundayatta‘s analysis is spot on!

Congratulations to you both, @PhiNotPi and @DigitalBlue. I sincerely hope this is a wonderful experience for you both. You should both be very proud! Congratulations!

Oh, yay! Congratulations, you two! Now then, my first favor to ask of you both is to sneak off with Auggie’s whip and get those topic editors in line. They ruin some of my best stuff! :D

@DigitalBlue , @PhiNotPi Congratulations! Thanks for agreeing to help keep us all on the straight and narrow. I hereby promise to never argue back.

While we might not always agree on everything. We can agree that it is the contributions of the mods that makes this site special – and why many of us keep coming back.
Thanks in advance for all your efforts.

What I want to know is which one is Linc, which one is Pete and which one is Julie?

I almost moderated someone today. I was very tempted to say “Flame off, folks”. I often use the flag system to alert the moderators.

^^ I think there are lots of unofficial moderators ; – }

Fluther is one of the best sites I’ve ever found. Yet it could be much better. It does not have to be as restrictive as it is. It does not have to create an aura of secrecy around criticism. It could allow criticism out into the open or something that would make the process feel more transparent and trustworthy.

I feel like the flag system is like have secret police stooges around you all the time. It’s not fair because you can’t defend yourself or get support from people who approve of the post. Only the people who disapprove get to have a say. There is no flag to support a post. That creates a bias in the moderators, since they only hear from people who don’t like something.

Sigh. You are making me so tired, @wundayatta. Why not start your own site?

I’ve not even been a moderator for two whole days, and there’s already mod-bashing going on.

For some reason this thread reminds me of a lawyer friend who has said this about himself: “When I get in the courtroom, I pound and pound and pound on my points until I win, and then I pound them some more.”

Of course, in the courtroom he is probably talking about the case at hand and not about some other subject. Never mind. It’s not like this thread after all.

@wundayatta there is seriously no need to try to turn as many threads as you possibly can into mod bashers. We get it, you are unfairly censored at every turn. It is a huge internet if you are so hobbled by the unreasonable rules and treated so unfairly, find another place that is not so restrictive. Or you could just give it a rest already.

Some of us need our meds adjusted from time to time.

@Adirondackwannabe And some really need to be put in a time out. For two or three weeks. And in that time, would either decide they miss the place and to stop fucking whining all the damned time, or to just say “fuck it” and find a different site.

@PhiNotPi Hang in there. We’ll treat you well.

And this is why I could not be a mod. I would so overmod some people.

Fluther Moderator = Floderator perhaps

Was it JackAdams who used to call us “moderaturds”?

@augustlan, JackAdams now there’s a blast from the past!

Now there was a man in need of a dick punch.

And our third new moderator is @Seek_Kolinahr! Welcome aboard, new mods!

Congrats @Seek_Kolinahr

Congrats to you too, @PhiNotPi !!

Now, where are my pancakes?

Good morning and congratulations to you, @Seek_Kolinahr. Best of luck with your new status! I think the three of you will do fine work here. Fluther is lucky to have you.

Congrats, @Seek_Kolinahr! After massive grocery shopping, I am loaded with pancakes, cookies, muffins, cakes, waffles, and of course, chocolate truffles. What can I get ya’?

* Y * A * Y *

* Y * A * Y

* Y * A * Y *

@WillWorkForChocolate

Pancakes, Please!

I kind of thought you’d say that. Pancakes (whoops, there I go again) it is!

Congrats to @PhiNotPi, @DigitalBlue, and @Seek_Kolinahr. :-)

With 9 mods in the squad, there’s now a potential for a 33% reduction in the number of spam-generated new activity notices I get.

BTW, do mods have the power to ban spammers or delete spammer accounts?

We can ban the spammers. Auggie has special powers to ban ISPs.

@Brian1946 I have banned a few spammers today, so yes. Auggie does have the ability to block whole IP addresses, to prevent a spammer from making a new account.

I meant IPs :D… she is powerful but I don’t think she can ban whole ISPs. Something to work on @augustlan, today IP addresses – tomorrow the whole ISP.

@Bellatrix

Thanks.

Good to know that the anti-spammer unit just might have at least one member on duty 24/7. :-)

I could be wrong, but the only potential time-zone gap I see in coverage is that there aren’t any mods that live in the western US (including Hawaii and Alaska); I think @SuperMouse lives in the central US, which is where I might be wrong about the TZ gap in coverage.

Skip the whole IP -> ISP transition, and go straight to blocking whole Is. Blocking entire internets.

@Brian1946 it would be great if we could have 24/7 coverage and of course, sometimes mods are busy in real life and can’t be as active on the site as they want to be. So having our new team members is really fabulous.

@PhiNotPi we should be careful about suggesting that level of power to @augustlan. Banning power teamed with access to the whip…we could create a megalamaniac!

Now.. speaking of the real world… off to work.

@augustlan

What’s the total number of jellies that sent you self-nominations?

@Brian1946 I think I got about 8. I’d have to look back through all my PMs to be sure, but somewhere around there. I was really grateful to all who offered. :)

Awww, we love you Auggie, and the volunteer turnout proves it! I would have offered, but you’d have to fire me after 1 day. :D

If an apparent spammer* joins, can it get the ban hammer before it actually posts any spam, or is it Fluther policy to wait until they do the deed?

*E.g., a new member with a user name like, Jake’s Used Cars and a link like Jakethesnakesusedcars.com in their profile?

If they post spam on their profile, we ban them. If they have a spam name, and we notice it, we ban them. There are lots of ways we look for spam. Sometimes we do have to wait to see if spam arrives. Sometimes, it doesn’t and we expect it at any time. Other times the spammer gets quite a number of spam posts out there before we notice they are here.

@Bellatrix

If they post spam on their profile, we ban them. If they have a spam name, and we notice it, we ban them.

@PhiNotPi

I have banned a few spammers today….

Excellent!

Those are two reasons why I didn’t see any trace of them in my Questions or Activity folders. :-)

Yes! I am….