Give Moderators More Powers

I don't know if this has been suggested before, but from what I understand, moderators don't have the power to delete accounts.

Is it possible that this could changed considering Listal's growing problem with fake accounts.

Sounds great to me! But then again, I'm concerned with quality rather than quantity around here. And just looking at the way things have been going it's difficult to guess at what kind of balance Tom is trying to achieve between things like total traffic and... respectability.

And I don't mean to imply that his job is not a difficult one. I only wonder if he's willing to take those kinds of steps to ease the burden.

Do the mods want more liberty in these matters? Do they even have time for it if they did? I'd be interested to hear.

I don't know about deleting profiles but it would be nice if they could delete lists or at least be able to make them private. Sometimes I report a list and it's months before Tom gets a chance to look at it because he's so busy.

Right. And as I assume all of the moderators are offering their time on a voluntary basis, it's not as though the onus is magically and fairly placed on them to log more "patrol hours" even if their power over these kinds of things is increased. It becomes a matter of what they have time for, what they feel their efforts are worth, and how much positive impact they're seeing as a result.

In the next update (OK, perhaps your tired of hearing that but I don't have an official date). Moderators will have more access to information regarding users who are banned and the ability to propose a ban. It is also possible that moderators might be able to issue a 'temporarily ban' an account. There have been a few times when someone was changing all the movie titles to Italian and someone else was flooding the site with pornographic images... so it would have come in handy to have a temporary ban that Tom could then look into the account. Gag, not to mention the lovely spam accounts that suddenly flood the forum with advertizements.

But what I'm really looking forward to is the User/Moderator forum. Users will have the ability to post a private topic for only the moderators to see. This will cut down on the "Why was my image deleted" threads and hopefully provide a clear channel of communication. This will also hopefully aid in letting users have more say in the administration of the site as a whole.

As far as deleting lists and other issues. I think that promoting a moderator to Administrator would be a wise choice. I think that most moderators do not want the power and responsibility that higher functions would entail. It would also cut down on any confusion about 'who did what' if those powers remained in the hands of very few individuals.

It can be frustrating to wait for Tom to get to all the issue reports but I would rather wait then try to undo that damage that might be caused by an over-zealous moderator.

Sorry, if I got off topic a bit but yes... it would be nice to be able to issue temporary bans and then those temporary bans could later be evaluated. That is what I'm hoping will happen.

As always Jaytoast, your suggestion is perfectly thought out. A ban is kind of what I was trying to get at. Just out of curiosity though, can mods set a list to mature content and thereby hide it from the general public?

Mods can make a list mature content. I'm not sure exactly what happens but it is a function that we have.

Indeed, jaytoast nailed it. To give the power to the moderator to completely delete a profile could lead to a slippy road. I would be terrible to delete by accident a legit account. However, they should be able to block a list or temporarily banned someone, that would a great alternative.

Users will have the ability to post a private topic for only the moderators to see.

Whoa, wait... it sounds to me as though this could result in an uninterrupted line of rational conversation free of gross grammatical abominations. A thread of communication in which concerns are identified and addressed in a constructive manner and answers or resolutions can be dealt without having to wade through asinine and undecipherable bullshit.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. But I think I like it.

I think that promoting a moderator to Administrator would be a wise choice.

Seems to me that this website is grown enough to warrant an administrator position. I think we've seen enough of the pros/cons of what a general "free for all" mentality has brought to the site. It used to be pretty easy to stumble upon something interesting, relevant, creative, etc. These days it's almost gotten to where, if I don't recognize somebody by name, there's a good chance that clicking is just a waste of time.

it would be nice to be able to issue temporary bans and then those temporary bans could later be evaluated. That is what I'm hoping will happen.

Sounds pretty reasonable and potentially very effective. I mean, really... I imagine it would still be pretty difficult to get oneself banned. I can't imagine too many cases where people could actually be surprised by it. Especially if the rules are presented for all users to see. The concept of "Don't fuck up and you're welcome to stay and have fun and hang out with your friends, but do fuck up and then continue to do so after you've been warned and you're out" works just fine at the bar I work at. Shouldn't be that difficult to understand around listal.

@jaytoast
"...There have been a few times when someone was changing all the movie titles to Italian..."

Hey, that sounds great! :D

"...But what I'm really looking forward to is the User/Moderator forum. Users will have the ability to post a private topic for only the moderators to see. This will cut down on the "Why was my image deleted" threads...".

Still, a public thread is informative for everyone, including other users with a similar issue. Many things I learned by reading forum questions and moderators' replies to other Listal members.

@Xanadon't
"...it's difficult to guess at what kind of balance Tom is trying to achieve between things like total traffic and... respectability."

Man, you nailed it.

@Michael M
"...understand, moderators don't have the power to delete accounts."

I think that's up to Tom. But I am for moderators having the power to subtract user points for the worst infringements of Listal rules, like porn and spam, and suspend image posting privileges after repeated violations.

Double post.

I think this site is just getting too big and that Tom should seriously consider adding another admin. Perhaps one of the mods who have been here the longest/who are still currently active like PK or VxD.

There is so much daily spam related accounts, content etc, that only Tom can do anything about.

I totally agree. Moderators should gain the power to temporarily ban people for spamming, fake accounts and plagiarism. It's all getting to be a huge pain in the ass.

Brazilfashion hit the right spot. The site is indeed getting too big for Tom to run everything on his own.