[Vita]

Here's an update from my end.

I have been a Super Moderator since last week, beginning on Tues Jan 21st, and this is how it all unfolded.

First, here's a Time Line. On or about Dec 9th, a PoodleAdm we had never heard of named Cricket began the We Are Live thread. This was so we could ask questions about the new platform changes.

Cricket is one of several Administrators for VerticalScope; the other two who have responded to questions on that thread are Gerrit and Jeff M. They are VS staff who address Poodle Forum issues. VS owns many forums and websites, and PetGuide forums fall under their umbrella.

Poodle Forum has had only one moderator for the past several years, Plum Crazy. A month had gone by and she appeared to missing in action, i.e., we didn't see her comment nor ask questions in the We Are Live thread. Meanwhile many members including myself voiced concerns, many about spam, and of how VS did away with required New Member Introductions, and technical complaints.

So on Jan 13th, I began a thread, Question for Plum Crazy, our PF SuperMod: What exactly is your role now? Rather than rehash her response, you can read it yourself.

During that week I discovered I can delete spam. This is because I'm a moderator for one subforum, the PF Monthly Photo Contests, which I created in Jan 2018 and have been hosting ever since. Apparently when VS made the platform change, the software put me in the category of being able to do this in all forums.

Since spam was beginning to pile up with members complaining about it a lot on the We Are Live thread, on Jan 18th, I began another thread, Report All Suspected Spam On This Thread. This was to give a helping hand to PF.

Three days later Cricket (PoodleAdm) said their new software can address this easily and better, but members still have to use the Report button, so he locked that thread and invited me to be a Super Moderator. I agreed to try it out for a week and since then have learned how to use the Staff Tools and do all the things a Super Mod (like Plum) would do regarding spam, trolling, and intervening to keep PF a kinder, gentler place. After much reading, I conclude that it's very smart software.

Keep in mind that neither I, Plum Crazy, or PoodleAdm can do anything if we don't see a problem and no one reports it.


Limitations

There are things I can't do. These are beyond the scope of moderators, and is in the ballpark for the tech staff at VS. One of these is to technically configure the software. I can't tweak the color of the pages, the font size, how members see or don't see ads on their devices, i.e. desktop/laptop, cell phones, etc. When/if you have tech problems, put those questions in the We Are Live thread for PoodleAdm to handle it.

I can't order certain bug fixes to take priority over other fixes the techs are working on, such as fix the problem in the closing date not showing on the Voting Poll in the Photo Contest section; that's a problem at at least one other pet forum too. It annoys me but I have been assured this will be done, but that VS has hundreds of forums also going through platform changes and they, not the mods, determine which fixes and time frames they can manage with the tech staff they have.

I can't make decisions such as reactivating the requirement for Member Introductions (a common complaint of members), or what VS's plans are regarding ads and ad revenue. Those are corporate decisions. Like other members on the We Are Live thread, I can make suggestions in that regard, but it's the Poodle Administrators (who appear to act as intermediaries for VS) who will tell us what the corporate office has decided.

Lastly...

Lastly, I'm not on PF 24/7. I'm an unpaid mod with a life outside of PF, doing this out of passion for the breed and have been enjoying PF for over two years as a member. I've been making a point of checking in at least twice a day for alerts, so if you click the Report button, I won't see it until I log in on my desktop, so be patient for myself, Plum, or PoodleAdmin to respond and decide which course of action to take.

So that's it for now.

Sincerely,
Vita

 

[rkj__]

Thanks so much for volunteering your time and efforts towards helping Poodle forum be the best it can be.

 

[Countryboy]

Plum has been modding as long as I've been here.... over thirteen years now. She took us through some of the worst years of Flame Wars. There was REAL animosity on the boards at times. She was always calm, but also commanding.
Round about the same time she fell in love and went to the Dark Side... to those dastardly, evil Sighthounds. I had the feeling at the time that we were losing a bit of her... and maybe I was right.
Good to know that somebody's taking a bit of the load from her.

ETA - 'dastardly and evil' echo an old, long-running joke between me and the Whippet/Afghan team of Arreau and Plum.

 

[Starvt]

Thanks for the update! I was thinking that I hadn't seen spam recently. Your efforts with that and other aspects are appreciated!

 

[Asta's Mom]

Bless you Vita for taking this on. It is so nice that you, an active member, decided to to do this. Very understanding that you have a life outside the forum, but so appreciate the time you spend in the forum. I got your back, girl.

 

[Mfmst]

Really, really thank you for taking this on. Super Moderator is a fitting title. Hopefully members won’t be super annoying

 

[Fenris-wolf]

Thank you, so much, Vita! Very much appreciated

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Super grateful for our new super moderator! Thanks, Vita!

 

[fjm]

Thanks Vita - and I am glad Plum has someone to share the load!

 

[scooterscout99]

Thanks for explaining and for accepting this role.

 

[Dogs4Life]

Thank you, Vita! I promise to cut down on the shenanigans

 

[Rose n Poos]

Thank you for taking this on!

 

[Administrator]

Glad to have you on the team!

-Gerrit

 

[Carolinek]

Vita, thank you for your explanations, transparency, and volunteering to be a Super Moderator. It seems there is decent revenue in running these forums, otherwise corporate entities wouldn’t manage them. Given that, it also seems logical there should be a small stipend for folks like you an Plum who willingly volunteer their time. VS is getting a bargain, someone who knows the players, the system, and is willing to take on a managerial task.

I’ll get off the soap box now. Welcome to your new role, looking forward to your contributions!

 

[Dechi]

Vita have you seen the post made by Twyla about forum rules that have disappeared ? She copied them in her post so an admin can now make a permanent sticky with them.

 

[lily cd re]

Vita have you seen the post made by Twyla about forum rules that have disappeared ? She copied them in her post so an admin can now make a permanent sticky with them.

Yes this needs to be taken care of. Honestly the BS posting that is not trickling in but flooding in is unfun to say the least.

 

[Vita]

VerticalScope removed the rules and asked for revision. I have already put in probably 80 hours of research.

My goals have been:

• To learn the software to best handle spam, bots, and other responsibilities;
• To consider precedents by the original founder T O D D; Yung, and Plum, as requested by VS;
• To read through old threads on PF in the past decade, especially the problem threads, and at other dog forums, and to learn how rules helped or muddied the water;
• To read through legal problems on other forums that sprang from member conflicts so I can best protect our members;
• To re-write them in such a way that they are clear and understandable, and fair to members so we may all enjoy the forum;
• And how to convey them so they minimize conflict between members.

It is also my goal to mod with gentleness, kindness, and fairness. I will post them soon, possibly tomorrow, in the Member Introductions forum. They actually will not be much different from the old PF Rules but will be longer to be more clarifying.

I will likely present them initially for member feedback for a week, then consider opinions and suggestions, and make a final decision.

Thanks,
Vita