Hey look, me again! Just like we need community rules, we also need moderator guidelines to set expectations for our behavior. As with community rules, we want everyone to weigh in on them since this is a community for all of us. Here’s what we have, let us know what you think:
Moderator Guidelines
- Don’t be mean to users. Be gentle or neutral.
- When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM if you have the time and energy.
- Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
- Assume the best, but don’t tolerate sealioning/just asking questions/concern trolling.
- Ask another mod to take over cases you struggle with, or when things get personal.
- Ask the other mods for advice when things get complicated.
- Don’t perform too much moderation in the comments, except if you want a verdict to be public or to ask people to dial a convo down/stop. Single comment warnings are okay.
- Send users concise DMs about verdicts about them, such as bans etc, except in cases where it is clear we don’t want them at all, such as obvious transphobes. No need to notify someone they haven’t been banned of course.
- Some users are stupid and focus on pedantry and technicalities. If you struggle to deal with such users, send them to another mod.
- Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply.
- First warn users, then temp ban them, then finally perma ban them when they break the rules or act inappropriately. Skip steps if necessary.
- Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”.
- Remember you are a voluntary moderator. You don’t get paid. Take a break when you need one. Perhaps ask another moderator to step in if necessary.
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Another thing we discussed in the matrix was adding a minimum consideration time for actions taken against users, provided it’s not something that needs to be dealt with at once, like obvious transphobia or threats etc.
A consideration time like that would force us to process something more before actually taking action, and would give other mods more time to weigh in before an action is taken. For context we share most of the actions we take and screenshots of the DMs we send.
Basically codifying a “let cooler heads prevail” kinda thing.
A side effect is that not everything would be acted on instantly, but how much of an issue that is depends on the consideration time chosen. It’s a policy to consider and discuss at least.
A policy to instead just take our time with mod actions might do basically the same thing, even if less specific.
love it!
one i would suggest also establishing at least a rough process for internal review/checks and balances.
two and maybe given the past it would be good to include “poll the community before making decisions of significant scale.” the move to .world wasn’t the first decision that was enacted without any prior approval from 196, for example moldy mondays was a weird thing that was sprung on us.
three if there is any (legitimate) doubt, “being tired” should not be a reason to make a decision, at least not a permanent one. temp bans pending further review are perfectly fine in my book.
When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM
if you have the time and energy.four these are the ones i especially like and why =3
Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users. based we don’t need flying squids in this community and it’s especially bad when mods feed the trolls
Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply. this is good because it quells the the goofs who get hung up on “but i should be allowed to transphobic against trolls” like no you shouldn’t, you are making this place miserable
Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”. this is good especially for users who are new to trans spaces and don’t know how transphobia looks always. it deescelates the situation.
That line about doubt and energy is perhaps not clear. The point is not to sometimes not send a DM, but to wait until later or let someone else handle that if you don’t have the energy yourself. The rule should be clarified further, or merged with some other rules that touch on that.
Some of those lines might be better merged, and then a line about taking a break if things get a bit much, as no one does a good job when overwhelmed or tired.
I rather like the other suggestions, I respond to a similar one about community input in another comment.
As for a procedure or way to have checks and balances I don’t personally know what this would look like beyond having rules for how the mods should behave. Having to DM users we take actions against is also there as a way to give some more transparency. If anyone has any suggestions, this is the post to write them in.
Internally we have a matrix room we talk in, and I expect problems to be handled rather informally there unless proper procedures are written for us to follow.
👍
As for a procedure or way to have checks and balances I don’t personally know what this would look like beyond having rules for how the mods should behave.
Could you clarify the structure? Is there a head moderator, or is it a flat structure? Do moderators have specializations that allow them to take on accountability roles within those areas?
Additionally, consider outlining decision-making protocols, such as whether decisions are made by majority vote or through consensus. How many votes do you need to overrule a bad decision, versus expel a mod that’s gone rogue, etc.
It’s flat. Remember that we formed a few days ago and just made these posts. No rules or structures are really formalized yet.
Rules on voting internally and how to organize a community vote etc would be a good start certainly.
I don’t expect us to structure this very professionally with roles and such, I don’t think that will be necessary, nor is it something I’ve seen anywhere else. I am personally in favor of a flat structure where we have rules on how to deal with rogue mods and how to deal with internal disputes etc, and the voting processes mentioned earlier. Anything more complicated seems a bit much.
All totally fair! These things are just better stated early than left implied until a disagreement forms.
some users are stupid and focus on pedantry and technicalities
The wording of this is a bit ableist. Alternative:
some users focus disproportionately on pedantry and technicalities, causing possibly difficult communication.
seconded
Yes, true
Without something more than what was, the same mistakes will be repeated.
How is one mod held accountable by the other mods?
How does the community hold the mods accountable?
Why aren’t these questions answered in the first published draft of the rules?
That’s what this post is.
It’s a draft regarding how us moderators should behave and a way for the community see our draft and make suggestions. When a moderator breaks the spirit of these guidelines you know you have a case so to speak against the offender, so it is also a way to hold us accountable, otherwise we would not write or share these guidelines.
The person you reply too seems a bit aggressive, but maybe a rule like “Any move of this community will be submitted to a vote of the community members” could help
A generalized version of that rule might be fitting to add. Such as a “no big changes or decisions, such as moving the community, without community input” rule
When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM if you have the time and energy.
Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
I didn’t have the time or energy to communicate with the user I’d hastily judged as “problematic”. The problem was that they were costing me time and energy.
It’s a joke, right?
these are guidelines for mods, not for you and me. ur lost about what ur criticizing.🙃
Seems fair to me, and probably something talked about in the mod matrix that I haven’t joined yet lol. I’d prefer nonmod folks to take priority in weighing in, but I like these guidelines
We had a very busy first day as a group in the Matrix chat. A lot of discussion etc.
FYI, you might want to use a local account to mod: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/28316151
