Requirements for Removing Community Moderators and Standards for Community Moderators

[HarryG]

Hello everybody, this post is intended to garner feedback from the community as a whole about community staff and the standards to which they are held. 

Recently in a political debate on the discord for this website a community moderator called another user a "bootlicker", a personal insult which would break the discord's rules about toxicity. Two community moderators were contacted (as would be done any time an ordinary user broke the rules); one redirected the issue to another mod based on their personal stake in the debate (understandable and respectable) and the other ignored the issue. To this extent it almost seems as if these issues are being "swept under the rug" so to speak.

 

In the screenshot you can see the proof of the above. You can also see another price mod belittling another user for being around the poverty line in his respective country, which may not necessarily break the rules but isn't exactly what I would see as the pinnacle of mature moderation. 

 

Furthermore, the community moderator who did this stated that they didn't even think that they broke any rules, which, in a best case scenario, demonstrates that they do not even know all of the rules they have been appointed to enforce.

https://gyazo.com/d90ba8c166472f1ba92677ff102fcdab

 

To supplement this, it's important to note that when they viewed users breaking rules in the discord in the past, they refused to ban them even after giving a warning because they're "lenient as fuck"

https://gyazo.com/e1ca952145feb464feda6c72f7c0096b

 

In the past I have been told to take these sorts of issues to the admins but there have been multiple issues with this moderator in the past and I have been assured that the admin would "have a talk" with them. Clearly this was either not done or the moderator ignored it. 

 

To this extent, what do you all think about the standards for community moderators? Do you think they should be held to the same standards as regular users? Should there be a method through which to remove moderators who do not fulfill certain standards, or should they stay in place until they choose to leave of their own volition regardless of their actions? Let me know what you guys think below, I eagerly await your feedback.

 

-HarryG

[TF2Scourge]

21 minutes ago, HarryG said:

In the screenshot you can see the proof of the above. You can also see another price mod belittling another user for being around the poverty line in his respective country, which may not necessarily break the rules but isn't exactly what I would see as the pinnacle of mature moderation. 

This is a gross misinterpretation of the situation.
Where's the part where he called the mod Hitler?

there it is!

wait, one time isn't enough?

well how about that?

 

This was in an argument where you and Serp argued against a whole lot of other people about capitalism vs socialism. While you both went through alot of points, and the discussion was pretty heated, people on both sides made insults.
and Erik making a meme comment is somehow belittling? good one.

here's one of you belittling someone in that same argument:

here's another:

 

 

Don't try and spin this as if Serpentine is some poor innocent victim. Don't try and act as if somehow you are innocent in all this.

"Hello everybody, this post is intended to garner feedback from the community as a whole about community staff and the standards to which they are held."

Bull. Shit.

 

[Serpentine]

6 minutes ago, TF2Scourge said:

 

 

 

Don't try and spin this as if Serpentine is some poor innocent victim. Don't try and act as if somehow you are innocent in all this.

 

 

I'm not "offended" by being called a bootlicker (coming from pud thats probably a compliment) nor am I or Harry trying to posit me as the victim. It does seem to be a double standard that a mod can engage in such a way when supposedly being the moderating force of the discussion. 

 

Additionally, drawing comparisons between someones hateful depiction of a minority group of people is a far, FAR stretch from just "calling someone hitler". Sure there was shitflinging on both sides, but i never once made the claim that someone is less worthy of human rights because of x reason. Additionally I never advocated violence 

 

 

Something Pud seemed to have no problem with (even when he backtracked later that it was "just a joke". 

[HarryG]

34 minutes ago, TF2Scourge said:

This is a gross misinterpretation of the situation.
Where's the part where he called the mod Hitler?

there it is!

wait, one time isn't enough?

well how about that?

 

This was in an argument where you and Serp argued against a whole lot of other people about capitalism vs socialism. While you both went through alot of points, and the discussion was pretty heated, people on both sides made insults.
and Erik making a meme comment is somehow belittling? good one.

here's one of you belittling someone in that same argument:

here's another:

 

 

Don't try and spin this as if Serpentine is some poor innocent victim. Don't try and act as if somehow you are innocent in all this.

"Hello everybody, this post is intended to garner feedback from the community as a whole about community staff and the standards to which they are held."

Bull. Shit.

 

1-2. Serp isn't a community moderator, this post has nothing to do with serp's actions and you're purposely subtracting from the point by calling attention to them. Make a report if you think a user broke the rules; the point of this post is that there is no way to report community moderators for their actions. Not to mention in one of your screenshots puddingkip calls ME a bootlicker too. How often did he insult other users if you couldn't even find screenshots without him doing it?

 

3. This is really the same point as your first two points, but the fact that "people on both sides 'made insults' [sic]" is not a rebuttal to my point. Were any of the other people community moderators? The point of the post is that moderators should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the community in my opinion. 

 

4. Stating that socialism isn't complex isn't belittling anybody, if that's what you're calling belittling people. A moderator making a joke at the expense of someone who just opened up to a forum about how they're hovering near the poverty line is. I thought it was mean-spirited and I'm sticking to that. Critiquing the poor logic in someone else's debating also is not belittling anybody. It is a true fact that reponding in a logical debate with the word "no" is not a good logical argument. Logical fallacies are studied in high school philosophy.

 

I am innocent in this and that is not even the point (Multiple community moderators were present and I assume something would have been said if the opposite were true). Whether serp is innocent in this is also not the point and it seems like you are purposely trying to derail this thread, but that's just a theory. 

 

5. Oh wait, it's not a theory anymore because you called the purpose of the thread Bullshit, which in itself is pretty toxic and goes against the purpose of the thread https://gyazo.com/f7dd695fe14a5b558c1341792793a073 .

 

I don't know why you would comment if you thought the thread was bullshit. No part of what you said had anything to do with the intention of this thread. Stay on topic please.

[LaughingLollipop]

I think the only logical solution is to ban you both

[HaloGAMER0329]

I would ignore this too, what is the actual point of this post?

[SoranoGuardias]

This is like Pokimane contacting Gundam's sponsor Ridge Wallet because he laughed at her ridiculous fanbase.

 

You're offended because someone called someone else a bootlicker?

BE GONE, THOT!

[hollowka]

Dude, mods are real people, they think as real people, they do things as real people. 

Do you ever heard about the word "fun"?

And what is this ideology u following? - Mods shouldn't behave like normal people, they should show attitude?

[Rakaksha]

I personally dont visit the discord anymore...simply because the sections are poorly moderated. Trade discussion thread is full of casual comments. Any serious question is sidetracked by the spam of these chats. And a handful regulars are spamming it defeating the purpose of that thread

[HarryG]

30 minutes ago, Rakaksha said:

I personally dont visit the discord anymore...simply because the sections are poorly moderated. Trade discussion thread is full of casual comments. Any serious question is sidetracked by the spam of these chats. And a handful regulars are spamming it defeating the purpose of that thread

I agree that many of the sections are spammed by regulars who almost seem prioritized over the average user. What would you suggest to help address this issue?

[Brown]

This would make sense from a business perspective, maintaining a good public image. But backpack doesn't run like a business, it's a bunch of people who are passionate about the trading scene, volunteer members of the community. I'd think the work they put in to maintain it dictates their allowing of admin privileges. Casual banter would hold little weight as long as they're productive members of the community

[HarryG]

5 minutes ago, Brown said:

This would make sense from a business perspective, maintaining a good public image. But backpack doesn't run like a business, it's a bunch of people who are passionate about the trading scene, volunteer members of the community. I'd think the work they put in to maintain it dictates their allowing of admin privileges. Casual banter would hold little weight as long as they're productive members of the community

This is a really well-put and cogent point, but I'd like to point out that with some of the screenshots supplementing the original post it's questionable how productive this member is in the community as they do not even know the rules nor do they care to enforce them

[Brown]

18 minutes ago, HarryG said:

This is a really well-put and cogent point, but I'd like to point out that with some of the screenshots supplementing the original post it's questionable how productive this member is in the community as they do not even know the rules nor do they care to enforce them

Not so much productive to their discord's rules, no. If a double standard is what you're trying to identify then I would understand. But regarding website administration, this technically takes place outside of backpack's website, where their abilities are most needed, and so doesn't concern me or those who are just here to trade I feel. If they showed such a double standard in the moderation of item pricing, or user reports etc., that's where I'd find it egregious to an extent.

[Wsdea]

TLDR please

[_inu]

1 minute ago, Wsdea said:

TLDR please

Two notorious shitposters get into an argument, mod makes a joke and now they demand some kind of justice as if it were not a miracle, that the staff has not decided to permaban them both yet.

[Wsdea]

 

19 minutes ago, _inu said:

Two notorious shitposters get into an argument, mod makes a joke and now they demand some kind of justice as if it were not a miracle, that the staff has not decided to permaban them both yet.

Ok thanks we can stop the drama then. Avoid being Karen next time. 

[creepio]

16 hours ago, HarryG said:

In the screenshot you can see the proof of the above. You can also see another price mod belittling another user for being around the poverty line in his respective country, which may not necessarily break the rules but isn't exactly what I would see as the pinnacle of mature moderation. 

 

Why are you trying to maintain a moral high ground here? Summit didn't even have the rudest comment towards Serp in the screenshot. YOU did. 

 

[Misty Skull]

Communist mod shitposting? Stop taking it serious. 

[Infernape]

God I love drama

[Sparkii]

I certainly agree that there should be a way to report moderators, but this is a null and void issue over nothing.

[Mrs TS]

And, who the hell is Karen???