Secret Moderators

[ABSpareEditor]

I would like to acknowledge that there are some accounts that have been created by our moderators, to help them control the community, without breaking their normal identity.

Having multiple AnswerBank accounts is against site rules. However, these accounts have been approved by the Editors.

These moderators will be added to this thread, and you should give them as much respect as you would give to an Editor.

If you are a moderator, and would like to have one of these accounts, please send us an email.

[royfromaus]

Not often that will happen, Jim

[pixie374]

Personal attacks- black and white. Spam- black and white.
Not agreeing with someone- grey- and isn't actually named in the rules.

[naomi24]

Jim, //my own point is that we should be more aware of our own limitations.//

That's never going to work. People who claim knowledge they don't possess - and there's plenty about - are aware of their own limitations. They just don't want anyone else to be aware of them.

[Bazile]

So , 358 posts in- where are we ?

[jim360]

Well, we could at least try, no? :)

[roadman]

the problem is people put in little digs with their genuine answers which then is removed because of the dig then they complain because their point got removed and its like duhh instead of the answer you just wrote complaining why not use that answer to try and say ur point again without being so mean

[pixie374]

Secret mods and superusers... :-)

[pimplyteen]

Hope this recommendation is ok? that AB towers stock up on paracetamol to help you through the next few days. :0)

[naomi24]

Bazile, I think sharing ideas and opinions is generally useful.

[jim360]

There's clearly a difficulty, though, in drawing the line between "lively debate" and "personal attacks". So, no, it *does* remain subjective, to an extent. Moderation should presumably err on the side of allowing lively debate to push the boundaries reasonably far, but everybody will have a different opinion on how far is too far.

[naomi24]

You can try, Jim, but don't hold your breath expecting anyone else to. That's a pipe dream.

[pixie374]

I disagree. A personal attack is towards a poster. Lively debate is towards posts.

[Zacs-Master]

Ab Editor - Are our comments being read? If so, will there be any further feedback?

If not, are we all wasting our time?

It would be nice to know.

[naomi24]

SpareEd has been on here this morning, Zacs.

[MissTerious]

You are so right Roadman.

[Zacs-Master]

I know, Naomi. There have been quite a few posts since then and many many valid points have gone uncommented-upon.

There seems to be a return to previous values of 'if you don't know the correct answer to a problem, don't comment'. The problem with this is the very few answers which this would result in doesn't make achieve the advertising hits, and therefore revenue, that it takes to keep the site alive.

A true dilemma for the management I would imagine.

[jim360]

// A personal attack is towards a poster. Lively debate is towards posts. //

Sure, but at what point does criticising a post become itself a thinly veiled personal attack? This idea that there's a gold-standard rule for telling the difference seems to me mistaken, because while I'd agree that, say,

"you are stupid"

and

"your opinion is stupid"

are different in meaning, the heavier you attack a person's opinion the less reasonable it is to claim that you aren't, in effect, attacking the person for holding it. A line has to be drawn somewhere, and we might all hold differing, and perfectly rational, opinions about where that is.

The fundamental point here is that rational people can rationally disagree when presented with the same evidence.

[pixie374]

//the less reasonable it is to claim that you aren't, in effect, attacking the person for holding it//
Clearly irrational. Disagreeing with a post, doesn't mean disliking the poster. "In effect" is something inferred, not implied.

[jim360]

I'm not here talking about disagreeing with a post or its content. I'm talking about how to interpret certain of the Site Rules. And it's simply an aspect of any practical rule set that there is some room for differences in interpretation.

[roadman]

someone on the interenet agreed with me i must mark this date in my diary