Is there a protocol for dealing with problem moderators?

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I know that Alex is mostly unavailable, so is there some kind of community process for dealing with mods turned bad? I suggest that there should be. Lately I've been feeling victimised and pressured in a very unpleasant way and I don't know what to do about it.

you can still try contacting alex, or you can contact another moderator. we log our actions in our own private section of the forum, so you can rest assured that we are all aware of the whole situation.

or you can try posting a thread to get attention (like this one). it won't change anything but you'll probably get lots of attention.

i guess it depends what your goal is, really. if you have an agenda to create trouble on a public scale, start a thread. or, if you want your concerns actually addressed, send a PM to another moderator or to alex.

Having to guess which moderators will be impartial is a tricky game, and I don't think it's fair to ask us to play it. Alex is known to be unavailable so that won't work - it looks like an easy excuse for secretive moderator behaviour.

Don't you think we need a fair, transparent process for dealing with this stuff?

we are all as impartial as we can be. we're human, but all of the moderators work hard to be as fair as possible. since we do log our actions in the private forum, all of the moderators (and alex) can review the information and comment on it. we don't take actions in a vacuum and we do make suggestions to each other based on different situations. we are constantly "under review" behind-the-scenes, really.

some members carpetbomb all of the moderators by sending the same message to all of them. you could try it. the active moderators are listed here:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt181777.html

This would feel distasteful to me. There ought to be a simple, transparent protocol for dealing with complaints about moderators. You can see how transparency is important when the complaint is about a moderator. It's like if you were sexually abused by a member of the police: you would feel very wary of asking other police for help. Most of the time moderators need to do their jobs quietly, with their workings behind closed doors, and that makes sense. But sometimes the exact opposite is preferable.

This is the main community for autistic people on the internet (and therefore the world!). It should feel as safe as possible, I very much believe that.

Last edited by fraac on 03 Apr 2012, 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

it can't all be out in the open because a member's warnings are mostly private. some members have asked for all bannings to be public but that idea is not supported by alex.

no member besides you has ever stated that it is distateful to PM a moderator with a complaint, so if you actually have a problem with doing that then you might want to seek out a forum where that is not ever necessary because i doubt that alex is going to change the forum to suit your personal comfort levels.

I meant that spamming moderators would feel distasteful. You're saying it's the best method we have.

We agree that Alex won't change anything so we ought to have community guidelines for when issues like this arise. The moderators could agree to a measure of transparency with regard to warnings.

I'll just confirm what Hyperlexian says: All PM correspondence between members and moderators is posted in the moderators forum where it is visible to all other moderators and Alex. There is already transparency regarding moderator behaviour. Alex can comment on our moderator decisions and also remove our moderator privileges at any time. There are occasions when he gets involved and makes suggestions or comments regarding problem members or moderating in general.

If you feel a moderator has not handled you in a fair manner you must contact Alex directly with your grievance.

so pick half of the moderators to send a message to, and if you don't get the response you want then send a message to the other half. it's a small list.

Is Alex good at dealing with correspondence? I got the impression he wasn't and therefore we ought to work together as a community to make the place as safe from abuse as possible.

For full disclosure: it's hyperlexian who I feel has been harassing me. Tallyman is the first name on the mod list so I asked him for help, but he backed her up. This protocol seems inadequate to me. When you feel like you're being abused, you shouldn't have to ask for help from the abuser's friends.

Wrongplanet deserves a better protocol for complaints about moderators.

it's interesting that you think Tallyman is my friend just because he backed me up. you may want to consider the possibility that he backed me up because you broke the rules and he could independently see that.

feel free to contact alex. it will most likely work better than mudslinging in the forum.

As do I.

Like hyperlexian said and TallyMan confirms - all of our actions are visible to each other and to Alex; decisions are not made in a vacuum.

Can I post the warning here for the community to judge?

no.

How Kafkaesque. I'm sure you're very proud of yourselves.

the WrongPlanet rules cover the posting of PMs publicly:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt12459.html

i am not vetoing you, it's just not actually allowed.