[wp-forums] The "moderator" hat

[Mika Epstein]

I have a non mod account for work (IpstenuDH) and it doesn't make any pretense at all. We'd have to have a totally anon account.

But to that end.... Does it matter? Everyone knows Otto is Otto, and while he he is a core contributor, he's not a release lead like Nacin. That said, being a mod does give us responsibilities and powers. We should be reporting issues upstream, here and to make/support. We should make sure tickets are generated when needed and so on. And yes, that means we cannot be JUST ourselves when we're in the forums because we represent a part of WordPress.

Which ... Sucks. I hate that I can't just be me, but that comes with the hats. I totally understand not wanting that aspect of moderation, but at the same time, it's a public balance of power. People see who the mods are, how they act, and how their actions reflect in the community.

Sent on my iPhone 

> On Apr 17, 2014, at 1:13 AM, andrew nevins <andrew.nevins.misc at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I think you'll find many people drop out of being a mod if they wouldn't be
> able to operate as a normal member would
> 
> 
>> On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 8:15 AM, bc workz <bcworks at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I'm afraid a simple label change is not going to cut it. Most forum users
>> are not capable of parsing the subtle semantics implied by various labels.
>> Apparently the general perception is anyone with more rank than member
>> presumably has complete admin access to everything, is capable of directly
>> modifying official core code, and can summon plague and pestilence upon
>> anyone violating the rules.
>> 
>> Because of this perception, moderators basically cannot offer any personal
>> opinions because such statements will be perceived as official policy of
>> the WordPress organization and possibly that of Automattic as well. The
>> only ways I see around this is:
>> 
>> 1. Anytime opinion is offered, it must be accompanied by a disclaimer along
>> the lines of "The following is my personal opinion and does not represent
>> official position or policy of WordPress, Automattic, it's subsidiaries,
>> management, or employees." Or other such obtuse legalistic jibber jabber.
>> 
>> Or 2. Maintain a separate account with mere member privileges from which
>> one may freely exposit in any way they see fit within the forum rules just
>> as they apply to anyone. Of course this means if you are logged in as such
>> and see any spam or other moderator issues, you must log out then back in
>> as moderator in order to do anything. Or maintain two separate browsers and
>> switch between them.
>> 
>> Ridiculously extreme? Yes. And #2 is in a way a variation of the dreaded
>> sock puppet that is so vilified! Anything less will continue to confuse the
>> masses.
>> 
>> - Glenn (bcworkz)
>> ---------------------------------------
>> On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:14:45 -0600
>> Drew <xoodrew at gmail.com> Wrote:
>> 
>> What do you think about "Forum Volunteer" instead of "Volunteer Moderator"?
>> I think the former may be closer to "member".
>> 
>> Also, did anybody point this guy to the Update Control plugin?
>> 
>> 
>> On Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 12:06 AM, andrew nevins <
>> andrew.nevins.misc at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> *I don't actually have a solution to this*
>>> 
>>> I've noticed if I post in a thread about a core WordPress request/
>> feedback
>>> some people may be interpret me as a core developer who is saying Nay to
>>> their idea.
>>> 
>>> I've ignored this suspicion for a while until someone pointed it out
>> again
>>> recently,
>> 
>> https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-auto-updates-please-give-us-the-option?replies=22#post-5460869
>>> 
>>> As some of you may know I'm not keen with the "volunteer moderator" label
>>> anyway because it's so different from "member" when we are not so
>>> different, but I'm not sure if there's a better way of describing us.
>>> 
>>> I'm sure a lot of thought was gone into the "volunteer moderator" label
>> and
>>> maybe this is the best we can do, but just wanted to raise this in case
>>> anyone had some thoughts on other labels.
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