Moderation

I could not agree more. On all points.

Like someone else said: (paraphrased) peoples' relationships with mods may not be great.
Well, it's not always the poster's fault. Sometimes it IS the mod. Open Talk is a good example.

It's not my forum, and Bob and Co. have done a great job to get here...especially so quickly. So my way is moot. But DPR ran well when there were a few admins watching over things. Their sudden addition of mods changed the place. I remember a sizable group from the Nikon forums leaving for a Flickr group they created. Anyway, I see at the other forum they have added more mods than probably reg. members. Makes that place look very unattractive. If I see names I recognize with "moderator" next to their name, I'll keep looking (big deal, I know), but I agree with many others... a "fresh start" would be welcoming.
Maybe don't label mods. That label is part of the power trip. I pushed and successfully had the label removed at a forum I helped mod. Puts everyone on the same playing field...at least visually. Made it more comfortable.
"But what if someone has a problem, who do they contact?" If people have an issue, they can post it in a dedicated forum.

tldr; any people asking if they can come be mods here too... are the wrong people for the job.

There is a link there somewhere. I clicked and saw 2 of the 3 Open Talk mods there. So.. I ended up here.

Terms are perfect.

Under “staff”

Got it, thanks.

I think the idea of AI moderators is funny. I wouldn't trust them to be full moderators though -- maybe at most if a comment raises suspicion, have it "quarantined" until approved.

Also, I think the blanket ban on commercial activity is unreasonable. Unrelated spam like "BUY VIAGRA FREE SHIPPING" or posts from scam artists, obviously should be banned. But if someone cares enough about an area to make a product or commercial offering, good enough that people would be willing to fork over their money for it, why shouldn't that be allowed? Excessive advertising, sure -- that should be a warning. But occasional posts where relevant should be appreciated. It's kind of ironic to have forums dedicated to commercial offerings (from camera manufacturers), but then not allow other people in the ecosystem to also participate.

Like it or not, a post tagged as from a moderator does seem to carry some extra gravitas. Perhaps moderators should have two accounts - one to conduct their business as moderators, one to make contributions as a normal member.

If Admin thinks this is good idea, I am confident that they will find a solution. My experience is that some mods really provide useful, instructive contributions, so yes, by all means they should contribute :-) (just testing the smiley!).

I found moderation in DPreview to be over zealous particularly in the Z forum.

It is like censorship where you do not want to allow dissenting opinions, or mention or comparison with another brand.

IMO personal attacks, or language that is derogatory to any group of people should be disallowed, but debate and dissent should not be censored.

Regards

It doesn't even make any sense. We're running around looking for a refugee camp, what does it matter to Amazon, Dpr, and most especially the non paid mods who are out of a moderation position in 10 days. Let it slide.

I asked Thierry if it was okay to put up a link to a petition to go to Amazon to keep the forum open. Wasn't my petition, but I saw the link buried in 4000+ comments to the "we are closing" news Thierry said okay so I put it in the Zee forum. Next day it was gone. I asked Thierry about it, he put it back up and left a note to the other mods to leave it there. A day or two goes by and a member asked me for the link as he didn't want to scroll through 4000+ replies to find it. I tell him I thought it was in the post, but I posted the link in my reply to him. Next day thread gone again.

If some of those fellows get a mod position here, they'll be here but some of us won't be. Anyone can be a mod. And if that's not true, point it out and part ways.

:-) :-) Lol thats to funny , that mod is the worst on the forums. at least you got a message, he wouldn't even message me or give and explanation and the ban/sandbagging would not have an end date :-)

i did take a screen shot but cant seem to post it. there was 6 of them but 2 have resigned LOL i wont say who the 2 are as they were.

Had lots of run in's with that mako guy, a waste of space.

Yeah I'd rather stick pins into my eyes than be around any of those clowns ever again. So little power went to their head...

You know what has alluded me until now but I feel is very true. The one quality which is overlooked is that if we really need a moderator, we need one who does not want to be a moderator. A reluctant moderator if you will. This applies in many walks of life and it often just works. Someone that does not want the role, but does it anyway because they will be good at it. It really applies in management. The best managers' are the specialists in their own roles, who have years' of experience, enjoy what they do and are respected in their field. They have zero want or will to manage, but they do it because they are the only one's that are going to do it right. They step up with that knowledge.

The reason for doing so is not for the power trip. This caveat is one of the top way's they will not intervene for stupid stuff, will allow active discussion without bias, and have zero agenda. Someone that is desperate to moderate here is more likely to go too far (not always, but more likely). What will these clown moderators at dpreview do with their lives. Just look at how that mako2011 banned Maoby in this thread for posting about this site. Do people get any more sad, pathetic and childish than that? Sum's up years of what I've seen there. Good riddance Dpreview.com