How can we learn from our warnings?

The other day I received a warning and had 500 points taken away, when I clicked on the link to find out what it was that I had said the page was 404'ed and the the mod had ended the warning with a do not reply to this u2u.

My question is if we are not able to defend ourselves or don't remember what was posted how can we learn from our mistakes?


I am not worried about points but just need some clarification.

reply to post by thesaneone

You can always send a u2u to the Mod who gave the warning.
When it says "don't reply", I think it just means don't click on "reply" from the message you received, because it's an automated one and any direct reply will just vanish into thin air.

reply to post by DISRAELI


Thanks for the advice and I will, I would still like a mod to explain here so others who are wondering can get answers.

Maybe when we do get sent warnings the mods can paste the problem post to the warning.

reply to post by thesaneone


Working out actions taken be staff is best done one on one through private messages. To make a public thread every time someone wants to question the staffer who made the action would only create dozens of mini-dramas no-one needs to read.

reply to post by masqua


I completely understand and I'm not calling out a mod just more of a general question for all mods, also maybe all warnings that are issued can have an attached post so we are not wondering and bothering mods with such silly questions.

reply to post by thesaneone


The message is sent automatically. We would have to create a new message with the post in question for every post we remove.

reply to post by thesaneone


And if you send the corresponding mod a personal U2U...they will always respond to you.

reply to post by thesaneone

The other day I received a warning and had 500 points taken away, when I clicked on the link to find out what it was that I had said the page was 404'ed and the the mod had ended the warning with a do not reply to this u2u. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Was about to ask a question but then noticed an oddity in my reply. I quoted the OP's first paragraph ending with u2u.

Where did the "See more at:..." come from? It was not in the post I quoted.

On a final note and back to the original reason for my post, aren't "points" sort of pointless these days? Pun intended....sorta...

I think if a moderator gives a warning to someone they should clearly explain why the post was removed and quote the offending post so that the offender doesn't sit there clueless. I am a moderator on another forum and that works well for us.

reply to post by thesaneone


imho . . . you make an excellent point or 3.

1. Learning is an important thing for all of us.

2. Points can reinforce model behavior--but only if they are posted, known, seen.

3. The auto U2U always includes a note to msg the mod concerned if one has questions. I've often done that. IIRC About 10% of the time, I've not gotten a reply--sometimes even after 2-3 queries. For a site that prides itself on civility etc., I find that GROSSLY hypocritical. It it at LEAST GREATLY insulting and demotivating to be totally ignored after being invited to query the mod concerned. It also smacks of an elitist attitude that I think is quite contrary to the culture and values of ATS.

mysterioustranger
reply to post by thesaneone

 

And if you send the corresponding mod a personal U2U...they will always respond to you.

Maybe they will always respond to YOU.

They will NOT always respond to me. Very disappointing.

I've always been respectful and cooperative in such matters . . . which leaves me feeling even more insulted with such a totally ignoring response.

reply to post by BO XIAN


The Staff aren't always online, and just like members, we get U2Us that don't show up in our notifications.

reply to post by BO XIAN


As Zaphod has stated, most of us aren't and can't be online 24/7. My schedule during the week sometimes leaves me with very little time during the week, and therefore it could take a day or more to respond.

The private message system is still bugged at the moment as well, so someone might not have even gotten the message. In cases like that, try to send the message again, and/or use the Complaint/Suggestion form in the toolbar above which all staff can read.

The attitude and demeanor which you've displayed here will not resolve any situation. We are all volunteers on our own time. We get to things when humanly possible.

Zaphod58
reply to post by BO XIAN

 

The Staff aren't always online, and just like members, we get U2Us that don't show up in our notifications.

Why don't the mods just explain clearly in the first place? There have been many threads with disappointed members wondering what they did and feeling badly. I just don't understand. I know different sites have their rules and they must be respected, but any site where I was a mod, we would remove a post and private message the member with the offending post and explain why it was removed. Sometimes people can get confused over what is accepted or may not remember all the rules.

This is one of the best sites I have ever had the pleasure of being a member on. I know other members feel the same and it is very upsetting when they get a warning and want to be good members and not cause problems in the future.

reply to post by Night Star


Because we would have to manually send a message for every post removed. Some days it's feasible, but some days we'd be doing nothing but sending messages.

reply to post by thesaneone



Yep, it's a tad inconvenient since you need to copy/paste mod name then search for them then hit "send message" under their name once you've found them. They will respond to you though (not that I'm an expert on this ) and explain the reason while listening to your "defense". Just don't ever expect them to retract the warning. Ever.

reply to post by Zaphod58


We have that many offenders? LOL! I didn't realize. I guess that makes sense being such a huge site. Thank you! It always helps to have answers and you have been very helpful!

reply to post by Night Star


Not always. But we have a lot of posts on a daily basis.

reply to post by _BoneZ_


Thanks to you and Zaph for your kind responses.

The last specific case . . . I carefully and strictly was watchful of my tone in all the messages involved.

I spaced about 3-4 messages over as many weeks with one of them [the last one, IIRC] via the complaint form.

I don't know what else I could have done.

I don't know how I could have been more civil.

I don't know how I could have displayed more of a cooperative attitude seeking to problem solve.

It just hurt. I realize that's significantly my problem given my background.

And, I'm KEENLY aware that I often/usually just do not seem to think very conventionally in such matters much at all. So it's not uncommon for someone to see their communication as clearly and obviously "South" and me to see it as obviously "Southwest" . . . so to speak. Or to put it another way, my common sense is often not a close match with the majority's notions of common sense.

So I frequently have to do a reality check with others to bring my understanding in line with their's. It doesn't make either one of us bad or evil in motive or anything else . . . it just requires some extra communication . . . sorry for that. It's been a burden of being me all my 60+ years.

It would even be OK if XYZ mod or mods just couldn't stomach me on a persistent basis . . . or had some sort of communication discouraging personality clash or values clash. I could handle that if I just knew that THAT was what was hindering clarifying communications.


And I certainly realize y'all are volunteers etc. And I persistently try and affirm your tireless and too often thankless efforts hereon.

Nevertheless, when such disappointments SEEM to take on a persistent pattern . . . are we to just ignore that? How does that improve anything?

Are the members the only ones needing improvement?

I've persistently taken the attitude and tone that I'd like to know and understand the specifics of my missteps better in order to avoid further such. I don't know how to be more submissive and cooperative about that.

Sigh.

.

Just to add a little context for those who have never been out exploring the more obscure ATS pages around here (I was here for over a year before I found the stats..)



If you take the bottom number and relate it to the one, second from the top? That's not a bad ratio overall. I think ATS generally has among the best staff and members.
(and, of course, the staff are still members first )