Comment by 🌬️ Aeolus
Re: "Hi. I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience as a…"
I moderated 00's forums and a subreddit similar in size and moderation level to r/AskHistorians. I concur with @pirkka's friend. It's mostly about identifying problem topics and trolls by behavior and the fights that result from their influence. I can't stress enough that it's about that, not moral expression, which should be diverse.
These days social media has made almost everyone engage in old school troll behavior without realizing. The worst ones are no longer the obviously nasty types crawling out of the sewers, but rather the ones very adamant about how good they are and eager to point out deviation.
I would also add that rules are just there for a framework, moderator discretion is vastly more important.
May 06 · 1 day ago
13 Later Comments ↓
👻 darkghost · May 06 at 20:52:
I was an IRC operator on one of the major late 90s networks. I didn't think very hard about it, I just got rid of people obviously up to no good. It was pretty straight forward. Spammers, bots (some were allowed,) threats, and abusive language. Topics were handled by channels and channel operators. I was a channel operator as well on several channels. It was so informal and smallish (~20 people) that you only had to be a jerk to really find yourself removed from the channel. In the primordial internet there were no codes of conduct other than the informal and unwritten "don't be a jerk."
😎 flipperzero · May 06 at 21:05:
So just cause I don't want to sweep it under (because I feel that's also important to moderation, see something say something) - did jackal's link get removed because it was malicious?
I saw it for a moment and wondered what was up with it, or that it should even be linked if in case it was malicious.
@flipperzero It wasn't a real link, probably just US amateur radio jargon for restrictions.
Oh, maybe I need this story from you...
The moderator in this BBS has the authority to manage that subspace.
I haven't seen anyone using the moderator feature since I arrived. Delete and more. This BBS was quiet and peaceful.
So even if you are granted a moderator, you can act without worrying about it.
You can be able to deal with Subspace if something happens later.
Even if it doesn't, Skylake will probably take care of it.
I'm also a Discord moderator, and my biggest job there is to get rid of spam.
🍀 knshow [OP] · May 07 at 01:32:
@flipperzero Thanks for breaking that down in such an easy-to-understand way! I'm glad to see that the nuances of moderation are pretty much the same as they are in Japan. :)
🍀 knshow [OP] · May 07 at 01:38:
@pirkka So even overseas, there are people who are "confidently incorrect." In my experience, those types of people tend to be too proud to apologize, which only makes the flaming even worse... Thank you for sharing your valuable perspective!
@lars_the_bear That sounds... incredibly tough, beyond even what I can imagine. It's interesting (and a bit surprising) how much the role of a moderator can change depending on the community. I'm sorry for making you recall such a painful experience, but thank you so much for sharing it!
🍀 knshow [OP] · May 07 at 01:48:
@jprjr I totally would have missed the point if I’d only read your first comment. That was a close one! lol
I love the sense of humor in overseas sarcasm. It’s great. XD
@stack I completely agree with you. I've only been reading and translating the topics that catch my interest, so I don't see everything, but I've never come across a post here that felt like it needed moderation. That’s exactly why I love this BBS so much.
Still, it’s a surprise to hear there were such incidents in the past. I hope it stays peaceful from now on! :)
@Aeolus I truly agree that things should be diverse. It's a shame, though, that some people misunderstand this and take it as "anything goes"... On Japanese social media, even the smallest comments can spark intense flaming, which is exactly why I ended up here.
"Moderator discretion is vastly more important" — I'll definitely keep that in mind! Thank you!
@darkghost One of my favorite phrases is "Simple is best," and that sounds exactly like what you're describing! "Don't be a jerk" is also such a clear and great rule. I started getting into the internet in the mid-2000s, so I can only imagine what it was like back then, but it sounds like it was a very comfortable place to be. :)
@sy Thank you so much!!! Even Gemini AI translated it as a "link," so I was convinced it was a URL. Your explanation was really helpful!
@balloon I hope the day never comes where I actually have to use those moderation tools, and I’ll be praying it stays that way! For me, this is the most comfortable place in the entire world. There’s no provocative speech just for attention, no toxic replies, and no media outlets fueling the fire.
I only asked because I wanted to be prepared just in case, but I’ve realized once again that if I ever do get stuck, I have you and so many other friends to lean on. I guess I was just overthinking it, lol.
@flipperzero @sy I had just left a comment about really wanting this place to not become like Reddit and I jokingly referred to it as 'EglinAirforceBase.com' because of that one thing where they found so much reddit traffic coming from around there, likely bots. I deleted it because I thought it didn't add much to the thread.
@The_Jackal apologies for suspicions! I've been on edge ever since the latest exploits in terms of python, rust over distros, and now a new one with freebsd Dx warm regards to you!
@knshow you're welcome, by the way! always glad to help in any way I can, and will take part in due time with the new japanese culture subspace.
@balloon hope some of the dialogue helped to figure out a good baseline for how to approach moderation. apologies also my own anecdotes to do with speaking against the more sordid negative aspects of moderation that have popped up from the sides of like discord as you have familiarity with or like with reddit as has been brought up here. I don't mean to attach any stigma onto any generalized direction especially considering there can be good moderation over those venues. I just mean to speak from personal observation about the negative aspects potential.
🍀 knshow [OP] · 25 minutes ago:
@The_Jackal @flipperzero
I’m so glad to see that even though our countries and cultures are different, many of us are coming to Geminispace because we’re tired of the negative sides of the modern web. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! :)
Original Post
Hi. I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience as a moderator (even outside of this BBS), or if you have friends who are mods—what kind of things do you keep in mind? In Japan, "moderator" usually brings to mind people on YouTube Live, Twitch, or Wiki sites. Is it the same overseas? I’d appreciate any insights you can share. Thanks!