I need to rant...."Does ASP.NET need to be Moderated?"....

Some of you may post on some of the Technical Boards out there. Me, I prefer GotDotNet. There is a great flow of information on a range of subjects with a number of .Net subject matter experts. Furthermore, there are a large number of off-topic discussions on a range of subjects. Recently, I started posting to the ASP.NET board. It too is a great board for posting and getting technical information...except for the extremely annoying moderation of nearly every topic. I posted a topic out there Why...Why...Why must all comments be moderated to dicuss this very fact.

The most common reason responses for moderators is the fact it helps make sure the topic is on the right board and that if the English is bad, someone will clean it up. Or they are afraid of people trolling the sites with non-sensical or trashy content. Personally, I don't buy it. The boards are quite capable of policing themselves. On several occasions (on GDN) I have seen people post get rich quick schemes (or similar) and they are quickly flamed. Typically with the marketer running off with their tail between their legs. In other situations I have seen people post questions on the wrong board and people (usually politely) tell them that they should try a different board. So if boards are capable of self-regulation (again GDN is a great example), then why is it done? Its all very Orwellian to me.

Help me understand. I just don't get it.

-Mathew Nolton

5 Comments

  • Having been a moderator for over a year now, I can say that people most certainly NOT able to moderate themselves. You wouldn't believe the kind of catfights we've had to break up. And there are some really rude people out there (I could mention names but I won't) who don't know how to treat people.



    Unfortunately, people being the way they are, it is necessary. On behalf of all the moderators, we apologize if it's an inconvenience. If people were really able to moderate themselves, we wouldn't need police or government.

  • You can be made unmoderated after a while, once a moderator "knows" you. Also, something to think about, there is much more traffic on the asp.net forums then on the GDN boards, so it must not be that big of a problem for many people. Anyhow, you probably are correct that we moderators need to be quicker at unmoderatoring people, which many are hesitant to do.

  • Robert,

    No need to apologize and the point of the blogs was not about seeking an apology. The point was that policing is not necessary. The board can police itself.



    How come GDN doesn't have the same problem? Moderators get in the way of the discussion. Let the discussion and the board take on its own personality. A moderator should only step in (and delete if necessary) once a transgression has occurred. Thinking that a conversation must be moderated reminds me of being in grade school.



    -Mathew Nolton

  • Paul,

    Just noticed your comment as well Same applies. This is not about being quicker. Its about stopping the madness. You don't need to be there moderating. Or if you do, let the conversations occur and only step in when a well-defined transgression has occurred (and then delete if necessary). Its really silly that it happens in the first place.



    Rant.Rant.Rant.

    -Mathew Nolton

  • Hi Mathew,

    I think the discussion at www.asp.net has been productive. Thanks for your contribution and the retraction of the "blows" comment :-)



    Robert makes an excellent point about people NOT being able to moderate themselves. And Paul also brings up a good point that we need to be more proactive in unmoderating people.



    -Terri Morton

    PS - I am a "she" not a "he" :-)

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