Ask the Mods questions about the Forums!

[Deddly]

@0111narwhalz what Vanamonde says is true, of course. But it isn't annoying, no

[munlander1]

11 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

Most issues do not require the use of the report function. If time is not a factor, you could ping or PM one of us. 

If we have a question about if a post follows the fourms rules, should we pm a mod first or post first and report it?

[Tex]

37 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

If we have a question about if a post follows the fourms rules, should we pm a mod first or post first and report it?

Either way will work, but take a look at the guidelines and you'll notice that some rules do have a bit more urgency than others. If a user is going way off the rails and spouting profanity (that's been caught by our filter or skirted around), report immediately. A good rule of thumb is that if you're not sure, report it. There's no penalty for simply making a report to bring something potentially actionable to the moderation staff's attention, and if nothing needs to be done with a report it's..... three mouse clicks away from being solved.

PMs are generally more useful if you want to have a private discussion with a moderator about previous action, or raising your concerns in a more formal way. Like @Vanamonde said, if it's not time-sensitive, you can send a PM. If it goes against the guidelines, report it and we can take care of it 

[Deddly]

5 hours ago, munlander1 said:

If we have a question about if a post follows the fourms rules, should we pm a mod first or post first and report it?

I understand this question as referring to something you personally are thinking of posting. Is that what you mean? In that case, I suppose the answer really depends on how doubtful you are that the post is ok. The higher your doubt, the more likely it is that it's against the rules and therefore the more appropriate it would be to ask first.

We have also had people report their own posts because, whilst the post in itself is ok, the poster recognises that it's a sensitive topic that could get out of hand, and they would like to give the moderators a heads up so they can keep an eye on it.

[Cydonian Monk]

So, did one of younz disable the spoiler boxes in the editor, or am I just in some weird state where I can't find the button in the menu bar?

[Tex]

25 minutes ago, Cydonian Monk said:

So, did one of younz disable the spoiler boxes in the editor, or am I just in some weird state where I can't find the button in the menu bar?

Actually... Good question. I dunno yet, but I'll find out.

EDIT: The current thinking is that a recent forum update might have killed the spoiler button for some reason. We're seeing what can be done.

[Deddly]

3 hours ago, Cydonian Monk said:

So, did one of younz disable the spoiler boxes in the editor, or am I just in some weird state where I can't find the button in the menu bar?

Spoiler

@Vanamonde fixed it!

 

[Cydonian Monk]

7 minutes ago, Deddly said:

  Hide contents

@Vanamonde fixed it!

 

Danke. I figured it was something simple-ish to fix, given the spoilers from older posts were still working. 

[Vanamonde]

1 hour ago, Deddly said:

  Hide contents

@Vanamonde fixed it!

 

Deddly found how to fix it! 

[ZooNamedGames]

1 hour ago, Red Iron Crown said:

It's five posts. Sorry for the inconvenience, it's and unfortunate necessity to keep the spambots in check. 

Just curious- how many spam bots do you get per day?

[Dman979]

Just now, ZooNamedGames said:

Just curious- how many spam bots do you get per day?

It depends on the day. Beyond that, I don't think there's any way to get exact statistics. When flagging a user as a spambot, it permanently deletes all their posts and content, so it's hard to keep track of.

[ZooNamedGames]

22 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

It depends on the day. Beyond that, I don't think there's any way to get exact statistics. When flagging a user as a spambot, it permanently deletes all their posts and content, so it's hard to keep track of.

Then the better question is, how many does a single moderator on average, manage a day. 

[Dman979]

Just now, ZooNamedGames said:

Then the better question is, how many does a single moderator on average, manage a day. 

Again, it depends. There's no one answer to this question, mostly because it's not something we keep track of.

In general, though, the old hands have a fairly easy time, while the fresh blood has to make the coffee, buy the donuts, and flag the spammers. When we're done all that, we can take a 5 minute-break to stretch our legs- but no more than that, or @Badie says heads will roll!

[Red Iron Crown]

Back to work, dman! 

*props feet up on desk*

[Dman979]

YESSIR! Here's your coffee, sir!

 

[Frybert]

33 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

Again, it depends. There's no one answer to this question, mostly because it's not something we keep track of.

In general, though, the old hands have a fairly easy time, while the fresh blood has to make the coffee, buy the donuts, and flag the spammers. When we're done all that, we can take a 5 minute-break to stretch our legs- but no more than that, or @Badie says heads will roll!

Where's my sun tan lotion?

 

[ZooNamedGames]

1 hour ago, Dman979 said:

Again, it depends. There's no one answer to this question, mostly because it's not something we keep track of.

In general, though, the old hands have a fairly easy time, while the fresh blood has to make the coffee, buy the donuts, and flag the spammers. When we're done all that, we can take a 5 minute-break to stretch our legs- but no more than that, or @Badie says heads will roll!

She apparently good care of her moderation team  .

[Vanamonde]

Spambots seem to come in batches. I can go a week or more without seeing any, or I can swat 5 in a single night. And yes, for some reason they show up more frequently in what is, for me in US west coast, late night. 

[Benjamin Kerman]

What do said spam bots try to post, and how do you know there are bots?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

2 hours ago, Benjamin Kerman said:

What do said spam bots try to post, and how do you know there are bots?

Spam.  

They're mostly trying to trick you into increasing traffic on shady websites, so they have a link to something, plus some text that is likely unrelated to the topic (and misspelled) or is promising something like free money. I think some clever ones will steal other posts from the forum and use them.

 

[Tex]

3 hours ago, Benjamin Kerman said:

What do said spam bots try to post, and how do you know there are bots?

@Mad Rocket Scientist got it pretty well. Links to products, services, and other websites without much in the way of extra words are dead giveaways. Sometimes they have names that are unusual for most users, like one or two letters repeated. Other times it will be completely gibberish, which can be pretty amusing. 

[Red Iron Crown]

Some products/services that I know where to shop for due to repeated spambots:

Movers in Bangalore, India. Seriously, I see this oddly specific one at least once a week. 

Counterfeit currency and passports. "Real fake passports." Seriously. 

Lists of email addresses for spamming purposes. This one is so meta it hurts. 

[Frybert]

Just now, Red Iron Crown said:

Some products/services that I know where to shop for due to repeated spambots:

Movers in Bangalore, India. Seriously, I see this oddly specific one at least once a week. 

Counterfeit currency and passports. "Real fake passports." Seriously. 

Lists of email addresses for spamming purposes. This one is so meta it hurts. 

But never any for Crown polish.

[DarkOwl57]

When you aren't moderating us poor souls, what's your favorite thread to visit?
And in conjunction with that, what's your favorite sub-forum (Fanworks, Spacecraft Exchange, etc.) to visit? 

[adsii1970]

On 4/26/2017 at 0:53 PM, Frybert said:

It was a joke thread, much like 'ban the user above you' and is why it was in forum games. It has now been locked.

Uncool. I had so much fun on the "Don't Click This" thread... And I still wear my 3.3 "warning" by @Dman979 with pride!