Why are so many on this forum intent on being faux-moderators?

[JLawrence]

I don't believe anyone has ever posted trying to correct me (Thankyou spell check), but it just seems to be that more and more people are going after those petty discrepancies in an effort to boost their own ego. I understand where you're coming from, cause the whole text speak thing annoys the hell out of me too, but still, there has got to be some kind of middle ground right?

 

[Max Powers]

I'm not referring to those putting links to other threads, I mean I personally find that to be equally as helpful, more to those that are writing stuff like this -

Wow, that person in your example is a total dick. I just think it's funny because nobody would be such a tool to somebody out on the bricks, but they'll make such condescending statements online.

My opinion on the grammar is as such: If the person is making an honest effort to spell things correctly, use punctuation, etc...then there is no reason to be a douche and correct them, especially not in such a condescending manner.

As for wannabe mods, they're usually 13 year olds who spend all of their waking time on this site...there have been plenty over the years, they usually settle down as they grow up. In the meantime, I get a pretty good laugh out of reading the posts of some of these hall monitors.

 

[Villain]

I'm still in shock that someone claimed that "wreck" can't be used as a verb.

Epic fail, Anonymous 2!

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Don't be disheartened.

GTPlanet is a huge community and it's inevitable that a few people will join who are needlessly pedantic when it comes to things like grammar, spelling etc. The AUP asks members to ensure their spelling, punctuation and grammar is up to an acceptable standard because we have a lot of overseas members for whom English isn't a first language and it makes things as easy to read as possible for them.

However, tiny and insignificant mistakes aside, I can't see any problem with your own posts, so my advice would simply be to avoid feeding the trolls. If people are literally picking faults with semantics then they've clearly nothing better to do and your best bet is to ignore them.

The example you posted on the last page definitely wasn't worth somebody complaining about, IMO.

The only thing people really object to on this forum is constant poor spelling, punctuation and grammar, "txt spk", overuse of acronyms - basically, anything that makes reading a post as difficult as possible. When people post in that manner, then expect to see a stream of posts correcting them!

You seem to make it sound like it is a small fringe group. When really this is more of a casual thing of people taking it upon themselves to be the mods of certain threads they see fit. Whether it be syntax correction or telling OPs that they should use the search engine on questions that are outdated in a good number of cases, and thus flaming the OP. Or just flaming and trolling all those who are actually contributing. I do think the report button should be used to clean this problem up

Also if I'm taking what you say out of context sorry.

 

[JLawrence]

You seem to make it sound like it is a small fringe group. When really this is more of a casual thing of people taking it upon themselves to be the mods of certain threads they see fit. Whether it be syntax correction or telling OPs that they should use the search engine on questions that are outdated in a good number of cases, and thus flaming the OP. Or just flaming and trolling all those who are actually contributing. I do think the report button should be used to clean this problem up

Also if I'm taking what you say out of context sorry.

That's more or less my thought.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I do think the report button should be used to clean this problem up.

While I do agree, it's only worked about 25% of the time for me.

 

[Prince.M5]

I honestly don't really care much about the mistakes in the major part of the grammar. I don't usually look for a wrong verb or noun but I do bother if someone doesn't use a correct punctuation, capital letters, appropriate symbols and not even having an effort to finish up their sentences.

But that's about it. One of the reason to why I like this forum more than the others is because of the posting attitude here. Very well addressed to decent grammar used by the forumers made my read through the forum a whole lot easier and comfortable.

However, I would be glad enough if someone can spot any grammatical mistake in every single post I made. I'm still schooling and this is a benefit for me...

 

[Daniel]

However, I would be glad enough if someone can spot any grammatical mistake in every single post I made. I'm still in schooling and this is a benefit for me...

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

While I do agree, it's only worked about 25% of the time for me.

Well then that is a big issue

 

[homeforsummer]

You seem to make it sound like it is a small fringe group. When really this is more of a casual thing of people taking it upon themselves to be the mods of certain threads they see fit. Whether it be syntax correction or telling OPs that they should use the search engine on questions that are outdated in a good number of cases, and thus flaming the OP. Or just flaming and trolling all those who are actually contributing. I do think the report button should be used to clean this problem up

Also if I'm taking what you say out of context sorry.

In terms of the number of members, it is a fairly small problem. If the problems are minor ones the best policy is still just to ignore the repeated offenders. It really is the case on the internet that if you ignore trolls then they'll go away, and the really persistent ones will eventually leave or get banned.

If people really are doing daft things like making duplicate threads (let's face it, how many "what's your favourite drift car?" or "how do I get gold chrome?" threads do we really need? Simple searches would handle a lot of queries - they can only be a certain level of dated on a game that's less than a year old... ) or if someone has major spelling, punctuation and grammar issues then it's fair enough people calling them out on it.

One of the ironies of course is that a lot of the members for whom English is only a second language and for whom the rules we have are intended to assist, use better English in their posting than many of the native speakers

A small level of self-moderation or user "assistance" can also save the moderators having to clean up hundreds of problems that wouldn't have happened if people had read the AUP in the first place. I agree that some users take it too far though, to the point where they're no longer contributing to the forums.

The other thing is of course that the vast majority of these problems happen in the GT5 section of the forum, where - without wishing to offend anyone - there is generally a much greater concentration of less mature users, a much greater number of posts, and things are more likely to get out of hand. Again, the mods have plenty of genuine problems to deal with (swearing, racism, flame wars etc) making the odd pedantic git less of a priority.

While I do agree, it's only worked about 25% of the time for me.

Moderators are able to look at a situation from the outside and see whether it's worth acting on. To you it appears they may only be effective a quarter of the time, but it may well be that only a quarter of what you think is a big problem might actually be a problem.

Also, since moderators don't reveal when someone has received an infraction or not, how are you sure that nothing is being done 75% of the time?

 

[CodeRedR51]

Also, since moderators don't reveal when someone has received an infraction or not, how are you sure that nothing is being done 75% of the time?

I'd rather have visual confirmation of something being done, like a post by the moderator telling the person to type correctly.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'd rather have visual confirmation of something being done, like a post by the moderator telling the person to type correctly.

I don't frequent the GT5 section as much as you do but in my experience someone with a very poor posting style is usually warned fairly quickly.

 

[niky]

I'd rather have visual confirmation of something being done, like a post by the moderator telling the person to type correctly.

Sometimes we publicly call them out, but as you know, this often leads to back-and-forth banter and some members calling out the mods in public. It's unseemly, messy, and not good for our collective blood pressures. (Which hovers around the 3000/1500 mark, I believe)

Fortunately, when we give a member an infraction, the forum software automatically sends them a private message detailing the infraction and the punishment, to which we moderators can add friendly advice or stern warnings, as the situation requires.

And then, if the post is truly objectionable, it either gets corrected in-line, or gets sent to limbo, which renders the whole point of a public warning Moot... since no one else can see the offense, anyway.

That's why, if you see a spambot, it's useless to post about it, because when we see the report, we erase the spambot's log-in and all associated posts in one wipe.

 

[Jordan]

I'd rather have visual confirmation of something being done, like a post by the moderator telling the person to type correctly.

The fact you only "see" action taken by a staff member 25% of the time is a good thing, but I'd be happier if that number was even smaller. Making a public spectacle out of a personal disciplinary actions is one of the worst and least productive ways to enforce the rules in an online forum. It's not pleasant to do, it's not pleasant to see, and adds nothing to the discussions people come here to enjoy.

That's why anyone who makes a habit of publicly nitpicking others - even if they are violating the AUP - will almost certainly not be someone I ever consider for a moderator position here.

If you really care about the quality of this community (not just your ego), and you really believe that someone has the capacity to improve, reach out to them privately and make them aware of the rules. You could even BCC myself or other members of the staff if you like. Instead of embarrassing someone and putting them on the defensive, you're more likely to get your message across and we'll all benefit.

 

[Caz]

I agree 100 percent with Jordan. Private issues should be kept private. Not every traffic violation or personal fine is reported on the news or in the papers. User infractions are about the same thing. Think of the " ban list " as a police log in your local paper.

To the OP. Funny you brought this up the day you did. It kind of follows the way the conversation in one of ny threads turned. Thumbs up and i agree wholeheartedly.

 

[1241Penguin]

Thank you for that, Jordan. 👍 I genuinely hope that what you just said will discourage these "faux-moderators."

I completely agree with you when you say that picking faults out of people's posts adds nothing to the discussion at hand. In a sense, I think that the nitpicking is more or less a sort of spam.

 

[JLawrence]

Sorry, but what is a BCC?

And I do agree about privacy. I think this thread would have become a "Why do we have to hear all of your admonitions?" post instead of what it is. I am glad to hear that you guys are hard at work, but Niky, you should probably see a doctor about that blood pressure

 

[Northstar]

Sorry, but what is a BCC?

It's an anonymous way to send an email.

See more here.

 

[niky]

What? three thousand over one-five is a perfectly acceptable pressure.

Seriously, though, I'm at 110/70 at the moment. Nothing to see here...

 

[CodeRedR51]

If you really care about the quality of this community (not just your ego), and you really believe that someone has the capacity to improve, reach out to them privately and make them aware of the rules. You could even BCC myself or other members of the staff if you like. Instead of embarrassing someone and putting them on the defensive, you're more likely to get your message across and we'll all benefit.

Talking to them privately about it may certainly help that individual, but doing it in the thread where the violation occurred not only helps that person, but anyone else who see's it that might have the same issue. I honestly don't see any problem pointing it out. I do it as politely as I can and have never really had an issue with the original poster. It's usually the anti-mini-mod people that stir things up.

 

[ChaosStar79]

Talking to them privately about it may certainly help that individual, but doing it in the thread where the violation occurred not only helps that person, but anyone else who see's it that might have the same issue. I honestly don't see any problem pointing it out. I do it as politely as I can and have never really had an issue with the original poster. It's usually the anti-mini-mod people that stir things up.

Posting 'mini-mod' type responses only makes you a laughing stock to those who aren't trying to parent every one else, and makes some members much less likely to post at all. No one likes a peer moderator and no one wants to listen to it. If someone needs modded, I'm sure there are plenty of mods on the site already to take care of it discreetly.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Posting 'mini-mod' type responses only makes you a laughing stock to those who aren't trying to parent every one else, and makes some members much less likely to post at all. No one likes a peer moderator and no one wants to listen to it. If someone needs modded, I'm sure there are plenty of mods on the site already to take care of it discreetly.

Well like I said, I'm on this site from sun up to sun down, so I tend to come across violations before any moderator. Most of the time I'll report it and just kindly let them know about the errors. I honestly don't see any problem with it.

 

[CAM]

Well like I said, I'm on this site from sun up to sun down, so I tend to come across violations before any moderator. Most of the time I'll report it and just kindly let them know about the errors. I honestly don't see any problem with it.

This. If you're polite about telling them what they've done wrong, nothing bad happens. I'm in R16's situation, I'm basically up here all day and when I find a post that needs attention, I politely point out what the poster can do better next time. Only once has the poster had a problem with it, its always other people who seem to not like it.

 

[ChaosStar79]

This. If you're polite about telling them what they've done wrong, nothing bad happens. I'm in R16's situation, I'm basically up here all day and when I find a post that needs attention, I politely point out what the poster can do better next time. Only once has the poster had a problem with it, its always other people who seem to not like it.

I think it's more likely that a bunch of people are annoyed but only one person has actually spoken up. Seriously do you guys expect that people are just dandy with other users acting as mods? If you applied this thinking to real life, If you were just driving around all day, would you go around pulling people over or yelling at other drivers to slow down or use turn signals? Probably not. And if you did, you would likely have a black eye before long. My point is, why act like that? No one benefits from it. Not you, not the OP. It just makes you look like the jackass hanging out his window screaming at people.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

[CAM]

Actually, I've gotten two PMs today from situations like that where I politely explained the rules to people and they had more questions. Both were very polite about it. And no, if they wanted to speak up about it, they most likely would. Almost all of the people I point in the right direction/help out thank me happily and move on. So I think it does help.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I think it's more likely that a bunch of people are annoyed but only one person has actually spoken up. Seriously do you guys expect that people are just dandy with other users acting as mods? If you applied this thinking to real life, If you were just driving around all day, would you go around pulling people over or yelling at other drivers to slow down or use turn signals? Probably not. And if you did, you would likely have a black eye before long. My point is, why act like that? No one benefits from it. Not you, not the OP. It just makes you look like the jackass hanging out his window screaming at people.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Different situation here. Although I do yell at people when I'm driving.

Side note: Saw some road rage on Saturday, some guy got out of his car at a stop light and threw a Gatorade bottle at the windshield of the car behind him.

 

[ChaosStar79]

The mere fact that this thread exists (and previous others like it) should tell you that it is annoying to other members. 👎

 

[CodeRedR51]

The mere fact that this thread exists (and previous others like it) should tell you that it is annoying to other members. 👎

People that don't follow the AUP are more annoying, IMO.

 

[Caz]

Umm, I am not sure what IMO means. Is that some form of text speak?

 

[Northstar]

Umm, I am not sure what IMO means. Is that some form of text speak?

It's short for "In My Opinion".