Banned a trustee?

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net;11143 wrote: Really, then why did you direct your comments to me?
Why not did you direct your comments to the moderators?
You made this issue about me, I did not.

Because Stan, you are the current president, and administrator, and the person who could "fix" it, if need be. That's why I asked you specifically.

DR928;11153 wrote: Hi Austin,

Thanks for getting back to me!

Just for clarification, who is the Administrator that took this action? EDIT: Never mind, I see you answered while I was typing, thanks!



You are aware it is very easy for a novice or newbie Mod to accidentally "Edit" someone else's post, right? As a more experienced Moderator I would hope you can see how that could happen accidentally...if not I can clearly explain it for everyone, as I am very familiar with how this can happen accidentally...seen it many times myself, done it myself a few times.

It is also very obvious when a Mod edits someone else's Post as there is a clear record of ALL Edits available to anyone with Admin or Mod privileges...so there is no way anyone could edit a post on purpose and then hide the fact they did this, right?

So how could any Admin or Mod ever think another Mod would edit another's post for any hidden or malicious purpose..since it can't be hidden at all?

FWIW, as a Rookie Mod I made the same mistake Malcolm did 6 times in my first week as a Mod. When you have all the extra "Edit" buttons on everyone's Post it is easy to Click "Edit" instead of "Quote". So you click what you think is "Quote" when it was actually "Edit" you type what you thought was your post with someone else's quote (in this case Stan's Post/quote") ... hit the button and BOOM....you just accidentally Edited someone else's post and didn't know it if you weren't paying close attention.

Again, IMHO It is and WAS a simple mistake...but someone some where made a rushed judgement and started making accusations of "malicious intent" and "mischief" and quickly stripped Malcolm of Mod privileges within minutes ....EVEN after Malcolm posted in the now deleted thread that he had made an honest mistake when it was pointed out on the thread and he realized what he had done.

I am curious, as a fellow Mod of his, did you contact Malcolm and ask him what happened? If so, what was his version of what happened?

So to condense this timeline...

Malcolm makes simple honest mistake (yes, just my opinion from what I saw) and in less than 30 minutes he is stripped of Moderator privileges and accused of "Malicious Intent" and "mischief" and a warning goes out for everyone to check and see if he has edited their posts in other threads.....then the thread is deleted minutes later for some odd reason,.....then another Mod makes an Off Topic Post in an unrelated Thread (James thread here forums.928oc.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=10918&postcount=22 ) hours later saying that the "Sterling" thread (where all this Malcolm "Edit" stuff went down) was deleted for an altogether different reason,.....which I found very odd,..... and now here we are discussing and wondering why Malcolm wanted his posts taken down on this Forum.

Of course that is just how I saw it happen from my limited perspective, I am open to hearing if you saw it differently, as I am sure other members are too.

Dave, I feel most of your questions are directed at Stan as they primarily put the action of stripping Malcolm of his moderator privilege into question.

I will respond, though, purely out of my own opinion of the situation and the various assessments made in response to these actions. Firstly, I think it is rather hard to overlook the fact of who's post was edited; accident or not. Secondly, it seems really inconvenient that this type of mistake took place at the time that it did; during a time of a divisive election. Thirdly, it's hard to imagine how Malcolm could've erased text by another poster without noticing.

Just my $.02. Also, I did reach out to Malcolm for an explanation. Quite honestly, I did not understand the response.

I think it is quite clear why the thread discussion about Sterling's car was deleted. Another disgruntled poster who cut and run, Sean, muddied it up by questioning Brad's motives for beginning it. I greatly suspect that this would have not been an issue if it wasn't for Sean's opinions for how Brad handled an anonymous poster, McLovin, in an entirely different thread.

KilnRed;11142 wrote: John, do you have a suggestion or any input you wish to make regarding the handling of these accounts by disgruntled posters? As I explained to Jarrod, I welcome constructive input. These are your forums.

Austin,
For the most part, I think you guys do a fine job moderating.

I do think that after Sept 15, most all of these "problems" will resolve themselves.

Not speaking of any one person(s) in particular, it seems as though some people have gotten their feelings/egos/butt hurt and are having a hard time getting over it. I can see theoretical instances where a cooling off period can sometimes be needed and maybe no further action will be required.

I think the reason posters are disgruntled is more of a cause for alarm than the post itself. If we just "ban" those disgruntled posters, we never get to the root of the problem that made them unhappy to begin with. Discourse should be allowed and encouraged as long as it is healthy.

KilnRed;11156 wrote: I will respond, though, purely out of my own opinion of the situation and the various assessments made in response to these actions. Firstly, I think it is rather hard to overlook the fact of who's post was edited; accident or not.

The first time I did it as a rookie Mod...it was the current Super Moderators post...OOPPPSSS He laughed at me about it, so did all 3 of the Admins and all 12 of the other Mods on staff.

KilnRed;11156 wrote: Secondly, it seems really inconvenient that this type of mistake took place at the time that it did; during a time of a divisive election.

I agree, but it could also seem really "inconvenient" since Malcolm had made some posts in other threads about a meeting at the OCIC that was sternly questioned by the Admin, and just an hour prior to this "Edit issue" he made a post supporting Andrew(in Andrew's Thread), you see that is just an example of how things can be justified in a variety of ways....BUT, even taking that way, and being completely benign, aren't things a little more "active" around lately AND couldn't that just as easily explain the "timing" of his honest mistake???

KilnRed;11156 wrote: Thirdly, it's hard to imagine how Malcolm could've erased text by another poster without noticing.

Really? Have you never Quoted another person and either removed part of the Quote leaving just what you wanted to respond to, or separated the quote like I am doing yours now???? We all do it, it is normal to do so. Again, honest mistake....AND once you hit that rectangular gray button it is too late...no matter it you noticed it said "Submit Reply" or "Save Changes"..or not. Long time habits can trick the mind easily.

KilnRed;11156 wrote:
Just my $.02. Also, I did reach out to Malcolm for an explanation. Quite honestly, I did not understand the response.

Fair enough, I have honestly observed you trying to be mostly fair in your Moderation and don't doubt this as all....but if you think now about what he tried to say then, combined with some of the things I have said...are you still confident Malcolm had "malicious Intent" or was up to "mischief"...enough that he should have been canned as a MOD without any sort of review process or discussion among other Mods and Admin?

KilnRed;11157 wrote: I think it is quite clear why the thread discussion about Sterling's car was deleted. Another disgruntled poster who cut and run, Sean, muddied it up by questioning Brad's motives for beginning it. I greatly suspect that this would have not been an issue if it wasn't for Sean's opinions for how Brad handled an anonymous poster, McLovin, in an entirely different thread.

Austin,

To refresh your memory, Sean's part was on the first half or so of page 1 of that thread..the "Malcolm Edit part" took up the rest of page 1 AND Page 2.