How do I know which moderator?

limr · Mar 23, 2014

I'm curious about something, and will add the disclaimer that this truly is hypothetical and not a veiled, passive-aggressive attempt to publicly air grievances.

I often see comments that say, "Contact the mods" about an issue that is probably best left private and not public.

If I were to have a problem with something and want to contact a moderator, which one would I contact? Do I just report the post I have a problem with and it goes to the appropriate moderator? What if it's not connected to a specific post, though? Do I just contact the person I feel most comfortable with? Or send a group message to all the mods?

There are specific moderators for different sections of the forum, correct? Is there a way to know who's got what section?

Again, let me say that I don't have any issues to report and am not bothered by anything (well, other than some annoying members that I just ignore anyway

) but am curious about it for future reference if I ever do need to contact someone about something I think is more serious.

Designer · Mar 23, 2014

You can select one that is currently online if it is something for which waiting would not work.

Or you can select the one with whom you have communicated before.

Yes, I do think some are more approachable than others.

runnah · Mar 23, 2014

If you use the report post function, all the mods see it. The only mod that has a specific section is me.

Designer · Mar 23, 2014

She might not want all mods to view the report.

I find myself out on a limb so often, I might as well learn to fly.

Robin Usagani · Mar 23, 2014

I have never reported anyone. I think I may start using that.

limr · Mar 23, 2014

runnah said:
If you use the report post function, all the mods see it. The only mod that has a specific section is me.

Designer said:
She might not want all mods to view the report.

I find myself out on a limb so often, I might as well learn to fly.

Can't imagine a situation in which I didn't want all the mods to see - maybe if I had a problem with one of the mods? But then I'd just PM that particular person directly. But it's good to know that it works that way.

Designer · Mar 23, 2014

O.K., picture me falling off the limb.

Again!

limr · Mar 23, 2014

Designer said:
O.K., picture me falling off the limb.

Again!

Okay, just pictured it and it was really comical! I give it a 8.5 (you stuck the landing but forgot to present.)

Overread · Mar 23, 2014

We don't operate moderation section by section on the site; we simply don't have such a huge volume of posts and contents that we need to break things down that way. As a result all moderators mod the whole site*.

If you have a problem with a post or thread then you can report that using the report function; you can also do this for any private messages you are sent (this is the only time mods see private message content otherwise we can't even access the contents of pms).
All the mods will see this and generally whoever is around will deal with it - if its a more complex situation we'll discuss it in the background before acting (so you might see one mod deal with the issue but others will be aware of it).

If you have a more general problem or just questions then any mod will do. The only areas we really can't deal with are those relating to subscription and advertising (sign-up and management of that is dealt by the admin only). However any mod if contacted about these will pass you on details of the admin to talk with.

If you've a personal problem with a specific member, then again just contact a mod - generally so long as you choose someone who is around the site and active they should be able to deal with it - either directly or present it to the group to deal with (any major choices we do talk through).

If your problem is with one of the mods and you don't feel comfortable talking to the other mods then contact the admin. Admin on this site (with the exception of Teri) are external to the site; they run multiple forums and keep a control over everything, however mods deal with the day to day running (Teri is our day to day admin who is, like the mods, from the userbase of the site and only deals with TPF).

*runnah is a special case and is a mod for one specific section so that he can run the competition with some needed mod tools. We also have a handful of people who have some limited capacity to adjust things on the site so that they can remove spambots - they are not part of the mod deal that deals with use problems and the like; but they are there to help weed out spambots when they appear.