A few changes
 

-- Threads in Home Base that are about the Cellar, or about forum usage in general, have been moved to Cellar Meta.

-- "Nothingland" - because threads about nothing or game threads are actually an important part of the place, and we just haven't acknowledged it, until now. I'm not married to this name for the section, so if someone has a better idea, claim it now.

-- "Photoshop Phrenzy" - a great idea by NBN, but nobody has done anything in it for about a year, except for the "bag on fellow Cellerites" thread. So it's archived. The "bag on" thread is moved to Cellar Meta.

-- I enjoyed my time off so much that I would like to have more of it. I would like us to choose moderators to handle spam management, thread movement, forum abuse, etc. Does anyone have suggestions on this matter?

-- Next week's IotD will, I think, be "best of IotD" while I figure out whether I want to do it any longer. I would like to do what I've always threatened to do, to create an autoposting feature and have a way for a board of users to edit and vote on possible IotDs. But all that's pretty difficult, and I'm not sure I can find the motivation.

Does it come with a license to kill?;)

Ok, seriously, I am happy to volunteer to wipe out the obvious spammers. I also would be willing to move threads. As for forum abuse, my threshold might be a little too high when it comes to bringing the hammer down on abuse. I figure that we're all adults here.

Of course one way would be to allow nominations, set up a poll, and let users vote for multiple candidates, depending on how many you want.

I would run under the Solipsist Party of America (SPA).

Good idea. I endorse all changes... I hate to see the photoshop area go but then again I hardly ever posted anything there myself.

I would normally not volunteer as a moderator, as it would violate some of my principles (don't volunteer for anything, don't call unnecessary attention to yourself, among others).

But we have to wipe these damned solipsists off the map.

committee?

democratic election?

triumvirate?

panel of 13 jurors?

magic 8 ball?

wow. the birth of a new era.

I like "nothingland"

oh, ...seriously, it's brave of you to open this up to public opinion. you really ought to either make the descision yourself or list those that you would be ok with and go by the poll results.

could you assign each forum an individual moderator? thus limiiting the scope of power they have to make major changes or cause systemic havoc?

UT, since you whacked my PP (whick I don't mind), I'll volunteer to mod Quality Images. Not too many duties there, except maybe moving certain pix from the WTF to the WTF NSFW thread.

Change can be good.

Changes look good - brave and sensible move to go for delegation and empowerment (sometimes it can be hard to let go even a little bit, but it usually pays off in more ways than one).

Would offer to help, but think you need people from your own time zone for something that is so predominantly US driven.

Whatever you want to do is cool, UT. :thumbsup:

with the IotD thread, if you are looking for mod'ers then why not just give them a specific day each to post their IotD. then you dont have to do anything and the tradition will be kept alive.

"nothingland" is as good as any other name.

i love my powertrips and standing out in the crowd and having everyone sucking up to me. but i dont think i would be a good moderator. id either slack off and not do anything or grant everyones wishes and end up deleting whole forums or some shit.

I's like to see people like Bruce and Wolf as moderators... people who have been here a long time, consistantly, and don't appear to be going anywhere.

mmmmm..... saw this on another board....perhaps there may some applicability here....

(applicability... jeez, now you got me doing those damm-awfull Americanisms too...)

"Threads can not be created in the cesspool. This is not a general discussion forum - it is the dumping grounds for threads deemed worthless by the moderators that would have otherwise been deleted from the site. If your only aspiration is to create threads in the Cesspool, then perhaps sciforums is not the place for you."

I don't know that I've been around here long enough to merit any kind of power/ status, but I am happy to volunteer my services!

If we're voting, Bruce and Wolf also get my mod votes. NBN is also well-qualified to determine an orderly and decorous arrangement of things in the Quality Photos thread (I have especially noted a tendency for WTF to increasingly contain WTFNSFW material, and I would welcome someone dealing with that). Rich is also a level-headed and long term guy who would do a fine job as another mod.

I very much like the rearrangement of things, and I especially like "Nothingland" as a section. Judicious and creative as always, UT.

Regarding moderators, I essentially concur with lumberjim. I hope that you select people who share your demeanor and perspectives. This reduces the chances of appeals and reversals which can confuse users and divide the forum administration. Additionally, those aforementioned who also have institutional knowledge of the Cellar are less likely to be challenged by other users with seniority. In an election, a prescreened candidate list is preferred. Stratification by forum (depending on candidate numbers) would be icing on the cake.

Variety is the spice of life and that makes diversity an attractive proposition; however, those with views different from yours may be best appreciated outside of the forum administration. Thank you for asking for suggestions on this matter. Good luck with your Mod Squad. :rainfro:------> :noevil:

vBulletin offers admins and moderators two options when deleting a message. One can either delete it entirely, removing all evidence that it was ever there; or delete it "virtually", keeping the message and the information about it and just removing it from the forum list of messages.

I have been deleting spam entirely, but from now on will delete it virtually, leaving the evidence that it was there and that somebody removed it.

Readers are encouraged to visit Home Base now to see how this works. The deleted messages are there, just "stumps" or "placemarkers" for the deleted items.

Notice that, out of the last 40 threads, 7 were spam. It wasn't always like this. It used to be worse. As Mags considered elsewhere, the addition of a "captcha" on the register page - first in vBulletin 3.5 - cut down the amount of automated spamming. Each of these spammers has registered by hand, with a legal and operating email address. (Removing mail.ru from the list of permitted email addresses was once the fix to prevent as much as half of incoming spam. Most spammers are coming from old Europe and India.)

So, that's why it took all week for this to go live. you had to authorize the account?

I like nothingland, too. I'd be happy to go with Rich, Wolf, Bruce, Elspode and the like (or anyone else who volunteers/that you approve) as moderators, either on a time-on/time-off basis or for specific forums. You certainly deserve time off and to share responsibility otherwise you don't get no fun, UT. Brave move, wise move :thumbsup:

Moderation can be limited to by-forum if we choose to work it that way. In most areas there is not that much to do. 80% of the spam lands in Home Base because most spammers are not sophisticated/smart enough to take the tmie to figure out the place.

The thread placements were logical, and hopefully can be used as a guide for where future threads should be posted. The new "Nothingland" board was a cool idea.

Regarding appointment of moderators:

For people (most regulars?) who use New Posts to read the place, thread placement isn't even noticed at all. But as time goes by and there are more posts, there will be more people that only browse by section.

Plus, there'll be less complaint about the threads if they are in the "right" place. Can't say a thread is too chatty/gamey if it's in Nothingland, right, because that's what it's supposed to be.

I'm glad you enjoyed your time off, man. I wish I could get some! I'm pulling my frickin' hair out here (IRL). If you enjoy running this place, then you have to do whatever is right for you in order to keep it as something you enjoy. You have to fight against your "hobby" becoming a "job" . . .

I hope, after the last couple weeks, everyone appreciates how much work UT does to kept this operation running smoothly. Sure it's his baby, his hobby, but damn, it ain't easy. :headshake

People are like packs of wild animals, and the internet makes it worse.

Welcome back.

And I'd like to suggest that the name for "Nothingland" be "Gallimaufry"

Sounds good.

?

!

I agree with whoever proposed small-scale moderators. You know, the idea for mods each having one forum or whatever, not the whole boards. Demands higher quality modding, and less power to abuse.

I would recommend two things: the new mods be anonymous and that they can only relocate posts/threads and not delete them - to a hidden probation zone until "the sherrif" returns to render final judgement.

Things to think about: Do the new mods serve in their new capacity all the time or just when you are on sabbatical. The new mods will always be "caught in the middle" - some will be upset at a deletion while others will be upset at the lack of a deletion. I worry about certain folk being mods because they won't be their "old selves" anymore. Not that they will change but when you go from not being a mod to being a mod, things are different. That's one reason I thought they could serve under cover of anonymity - to avoid being questioned at every turn.

Nothingland... Reminds me of Yello Submarine for some reason. Other possibilities: The Void, Nothing To See Here, The Attic.

We could also create a new forum for everyone who wants to bitch about how the Cellar is moderated: The Whine Cellar.

I would like to be permanently on sabbatical and have nothing to do with messages and threads.

The new mods have to be named, because we need to share both the ability AND the responsibility.

What you say is certainly part of it. I don't get to "be myself" on the Cellar.

It wasn't always that way. This particular headache started when Cerebus's ex-wife declared that she would have nothing to do with the Cellar, since I ran it. Old-timers, does anyone remember that incident from what, 1995-96?

It's true: if you are seen as a person of some importance, people will treat you differently for it. And some people will do so relentlessly as it is a part of their equation and they can't drop it. Potential mods should consider this when deciding whether they want to do it. Part of the title is accepting that you are giving something up in order to improve the community.

People who are moderators should be able to show that they cannot be swayed emotionally. Who do not play favorites. Who do not put down people or basically use the label of 'moderator' as a power trip.

Someone who uses logic. Displays critical thinking. Knows the difference between constructive and destructive critisim. Seeks for some kind of balance or harmony.





Well, I am smart enought to know I wasn't talking about me.:blush:

Let us know when you find some people that meet all those criteria.

all? There was only three. I think one of the three is do able? ...even




{edit} I guess I'm not yet awake enough to type.

ok..ok, I got it.


How about someone who's outstanding attribute is humor. Who's humor shows the all of the above in a subtle way. Like they can turn anything into a nice friendly one liner.

I see two. So my vote is for kagen and Bruce.

How about: more threads about buildings and food

Can you tie whale penis into it somehow?

That would be very painful for the whale, wouldn't it?

(I'm sorry. I seem to be living in the land of the smart-ass one-liner lately. It usually goes away by itself in a week or so.)

I certainly like all of the changes. I browse by forum since I didn't have anyone tell me a different way until I was already accustomed to my current method.

I also vote for Bruce and Wolf as moderators. I always enjoy their insight and I find it hard to believe that they would use their power for anything but good.

Good luck with everything!

I don't post much, but I am here everyday as much as possible and love what you do with the place.

re-reading this , it strikes me that these things are true because you allow them to be. You care if someone storms off in a huff because of some trifling thing you said (yes, blue, you come to mind here) and it effects your enjoyment of your own message board.

now, I'm not saying you should be a prick like me, but maybe a little indifference could protect you? Unless you actually ban someone, they should assume that you can tolerate them. you don't have to like all of us. you don't have to dislike those that most people dislike. you have a good sense of humor, and a sarcastic wit. how often do you NOT post something because you fear that someone will get all knotted up and split? i've got two words for ya: fuck 'em! they'll be back. they always come back.

IotD was the reason I first started visiting here all those years ago. I'd hate to see it go away entirely but can understand that it's a tedious chore.

Right on LJ.:thumb2:
You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself.

I would graciously accept the nomination for moderator ...

I've mod'd and admin'd on phpBB, but never on vB, I assume it's similar, but more powerful ...

what the hell is a Yahoo Slurp SPider, and why are so many of these things looking at various cellar threads?

They are trying to include cellar.org in Yahoo!'s search engine. They index us as often as Google, but results are much slower to show up, imo. For example, my letter to my doctor is on the first page of Google results for the name of the practice, but Yahoo doesn't find the thread yet.

Hey, 'Toad ... a request.

I believe Vbulletin has an option that puts a pop-up menu on the lower right with the various forums, user control panel, &c. for navigation purposes. I've been on so many boards using this software that I'm used to seeing and expect it, but when I look for it here it's nonexistent.

Any chance you could turn that option on? It makes moving around the site a lot easier.

Thanks!

The Forum Jump menu. I had to disable it for performance purposes, when we got hit by the 400,000 foam viewers. It's back now, thanks for pointing that out, Maui.

There are also a few other performance-related features that are back on now, such as showing who's browsing a forum or thread.

:biggrinpi