Plug-in to allow public view of moderator actions

Feature
,
1

I’d like to see the option to have moderator actions viewable to the general public, perhaps for the last 100 days as it affects trust level promotions , if these are on a users profile page it may deter or correct user behavior

2

So you want other users to see how many warnings or suspensions etc another user has had and display this information publicly on their profile. I’ve given my opinion on a similar matter before

Instead of shaming (if that’s the right word?) users, ask your moderators to take action on users causing problems and deal with them accordingly. :wink:

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3

This request comes from my opinion moderators should be transparent in their decision making, and is for a plug-in, not core feature.

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4

And by transparent you mean showing everyone if there has been some dicipline actions? That’s not transparency.

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5

Instead of a plugin; I would imagine you could maybe use a data explorer inquiry.

However if it shows members name who have had mod actions against them. Some may feel uncomfortable being centered out.

Imho transparency of mod actions could be in a monthly Announcement topic.

Ie
Topic Title: 2024 Moderator Actions Report

Post #1

This topic provides a Monthly report of Moderator Actions. This report does not identify members who have required moderation.

Post #2

January 2024

Suspensions (2)

  1. Permanent (1)
  • Continued personal attacks after 3 warnings.
  1. Temporary (1)
  • 3 days for uttering threats.

Warnings (3)

  1. Off Topic
  • Issued after several members Flagged a post.
  1. Off Topic
  • posting topics in the wrong category
  1. Spamming
  • Created several duplicate or similar topics

Total Moderators actions= 5

Next post would be February 2024 summary of mod actions as above

Having a private category for Moderators to report Moderation required actions can make gathering this info easier to gather & craft the report to publish.

The report should avoid identifying the mod or member involved in the moderator action report imho.

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Good thought put into this, nice start :+1:

My thinking comes from a belief users may need an advocate or ombudsman if they have been unfairly treated by a moderator.

If there existed a mechanism for moderation reports like you’ve suggested or like law enforcement does with each arrest it may held assure people are treated fairly and with respect.

Place yourself in a situation where you believe you’ve been treated unfair and the moderator is it, they are the big boss, you have no one to go to and explain that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.

So data explorer could , staff action logs, seems the mechanics may already exist people just need to understand the idea is to allow public viewing, public enforcement, why has a user been locked at TL1 for three years?

Ohh, we can look at the report right here on their public profile, they’ve had these actions taken against them, they all look reasonably fair too, nothing to see move along.

Or, in the same situation that user has been locked unfairly as a moderator enjoys their authority to much, time to now flag the moderator.

This suggestion does not arise out of nowhere, there’s a need, question is does anyone care if they’re not the ones being treated unfairly?

7

Having to goto a user profile to evaluate a past action can make it harder to find misses or potential mistakes.

Discourse is a very robust platform with many tools that can be used.

Locking a trust level on it’s own is not as robust as Silence and Suspend that have time based option to have the action complete and restore the user access.

Tools that can be used.in core.
Administrative procedures:

  • Private category like Staff or create a special category(tags can also be used).

In the above use a scheduled post to notify an action is required to restore/unlock trust level after the decided time has past. This could be to also re evaluate to determine if the user’s behavior has improved.

Bookmarks can be used by the individual mod as well to remind themselves.

Imho both should be used as internal mechanisms. The first keeps all mods looped into site moderation operations.

Add plugin user notes and you have moderation note attached to the user that mod/admin can see in posts and open to view. This shows any silences, suspensions. And a moderator can add custom notes like warnings. This is a great supplementary feature when combined with a moderator staff category can create a robust system.

Calender aps or plugin can also be used as a reminder system to revisit and review.

The user being locked for what seems an excessive period of time could be simply a miss or may have reasons for it.

A feature request to add options to locking trust level to have a time duration option could be made and/or a marketplace request to sponsor a plugin if ppl want the feature sooner.

Moderator teams need to have regular communication meetings to review actions and procedures to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Using a committee structure is a good idea. A member who has violated rules should be discussed among the mod team and decide for example if a permanent suspension is warranted. Having a tiered system for “discipline” is also good. The tiered system that is outlined to members with static examples to illustrate can help clarity with membership.

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Pretty impressive input for such a new topic :+1:

That’s good, with the existence of flags it would seem that a flag would first need to be triggered to start the process, then evaluated by a moderator as a third party to evaluate, it the flag is skipped and a moderator elects to make a judgment call that may indicate the action was not offensive in the first place.

I previously had a user complain about off topic comments, so a policy was put in place that the original poster could put a “do not derail” notice in their thread

That policy was intended to pacify both, people who like a clean topic and those who like to see where a topic might go

Either can create a thread, the populous then gravitated accordingly

It turned out not to ever be used, people in general were not so offended by off topic comments

But if the TOS are no off topic comments, then not enforced equally and constantly , only selectively and only by moderation, then the true consensus of the community is not accurately represented.

But if again, some don’t like their topics commented on off topic then perhaps a small standard group of check boxes could be placed in the head of any topic, this free’s moderators and empowers the original poster

This itself could be deemed off topic, the topic is about viewing moderator actions, but you did great bringing up tools to help moderate, I personally think the people are the best tool, they flag what they don’t like, that can be abused too, I just believe if the system is more transparent it will also be more natural, clean is not always best, penicillin was discovered by accident, one of the biggest advances of modern medicine, if we allow unchecked moderation we may miss our next
advancement, someone somewhere else may achieve it too and propel a new system, FB took over Myspace without much effort, just enough to make people happy.

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Here is something you may like. I prefer using a “self moderation” model. The ToS are a base line. Along with the FAQ. A team needs to extend that say with a

Code Of Conduct

-Draft-

Topic Threads:
Op Responsabilities

1) Put care into creating Topics. ie no Trainwrecks or Topics designed to conduct attacks against individuals or organisations.

2) As the owner your topic; help keep your topic on track. If a member(s) goes off topic be polite and remind them of your topic’s purpose. If the member(s) continues to disrespect your topic request moderator involvement. ie Flag Post &/or direct message a moderator @heliosurge with link to off topic post(s) & name(s) of offenders. Now be fair & try to give them 2 chances to “get on topic”.

Topic Participants Responsibilities:

1) Respect the Op’s Topic & each other. Help the Op by offering a polite reminder to others when off topic.

2) Debate issues not people or organisations. Avoid accusations, insults, personal attacks. Debates can get heated which is fine but know your limits and take a break when needed.

Our forum has 4 tiers of Leadership:

XRtropolis.one

  1. Site Admin (Top Level) :shield:
  2. Site Full Moderator :shield:
  3. Category Moderator Leader (TL4) :shield:
  4. Category Moderator :shield:

Site Admin & Full Moderators
Can perform Sitewide Silences & Bans.

Category Moderator Leader
Are divided into 2 main groups. XRtropolis.one and Sponsors. Leaders are often Head Category Mod group Owners. They manage there mod group and if a Sponsor Category Mod may also be owner of a Sponsor’s community group and can kick a member out of their community temporarily or permanently(Pocket Comnunity’s discretion). Category Mods primarily manage flags in their respected categories. They can request Admin & Full Moderator for support if needed.

Category Moderator
Are divided into 2 main groups. XRtropolis.one and Pocket Communities(Category Mods). Category Mods primarily manage flags in their respected(owned) categories. They can request Admin &/or Full site Moderator for support.

Admin, Moderators & Category Mods

  • Give members a friendly reminder for those off topic
  • Admin, Full Moderators and Category Mod(Leader) Edit/Delete Posts that contain accusations, insults, personal attacks & offer a friendly reminder to respect one another. Take a screenshot of offence in case of dispute.
  • Category Mods if you need support check Who’s Online and use Chat/DM to Admin\Full Moderator.

Respect a Pocket Communities’’ Categories

  • You must respect XRtropolis.one Rules as well as the Pocket Communities’ rules. If you break their rules they can kick you from their community.

The above is my current revision to modifying a “Self Moderation” model. In the forum I assist a company with as an admin/mod. I drafted the original as “Community Guidelines”.

Please feel free to provide feedback. If you feel this should be in a DM to keep things focused here maybe best.

As for maybe being off topic. It could indeed be considered as such or an evolution of the topic on how to achieve transparency in a positive way utilizing existing tools and implement administrative policies & procedures.

Not too long ago a Plugin Author has created a pretty cool option to give a topic Author greater control in a given category.

Categories for the most part should have a scope of what is considered the intended purpose.

A “Free for all” category can be a good place to send things that don’t fit with a more relaxed moderation with fairly standard site wide rules being followed.

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10

Transparency in moderation can be a good thing in some contexts I would agree, but can depend. Some mod actions are already publicly visible in when posts are edited those revisions and the reasons for the revisions can be either posted or concealed at moderator’s discretion.

To show integrity of the moderation process it could mean a lot to have some records of that reviewable by the public. Especially if moderators are not site administrators, and the administrators are moderated by the same process as everyone else.

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