Feedback for the Mods of this section......

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

Before I start, I would like to express that I am not anti-mod. In fact I am in full support of all they do here and am actually thinking of applying myself. I write this as a "constructive criticism" of some of the things that I see in our forums. No offence is intended or directed at any one person. I would also suggest that ALL MODS read this, so direct them to this topic in your off-site chats. I'm prepared for the backlash. :)

 

To posters: Please do not give examples of specific issues in this topic. You can always use Private Messaging (PM) for that.  Keep it respectful and on topic and do not be rude. If we, as players, want more respect, then we need to show the same level of respect to them.

 

 

Problem

 

Far too often I see someone start a topic, asking about a problem they are having. Sometimes someone will offer an answer or solution to the problem. Then the next thing that happens is a mod will close the topic. The problem is that sometimes the answer given is incomplete, incorrect, or confusing, and sometimes it just raises more questions for the original poster or some other reader that stumbles onto the topic. Some times the "right" answer today may be the "wrong" one in the future. If someone comes across a topic at some point in the future and has a better answer or solution, they can't add to the topic because it is CLOSED. 

 

 

Solution

 

Here is Tanki's own description of a moderator.

 

 

Forum moderators watch over the forum day and night taking care of off-topic messages and trolls, removing the irrelevant information and focusing our attention on important things. So if someone suddenly decides to make a mess in the forum because "you can do anything on the internet" just call a forum moderator, he or she will explain that there are rules to be followed both in real life and in the forum..

 

My advice would be to leave such topics open for discussion, unless they get off-topic or out of control. Even then all that needs to be done is remove the offending comments and carry on. I hi-lighted the "explain" part because I feel that our mods do not offer enough explanation for why and what they do.

 

Here is a snippet from Wikipedia about what a moderator is.

 

 

Moderators

The moderators (short singular form: "mod") are users (or employees) of the forum who are granted access to the posts and threads of all members for the purpose of moderating discussion (similar to arbitration) and also keeping the forum clean (neutralizing spam and spambots etc.). Moderators also answer users' concerns about the forum, general questions, as well as respond to specific complaints. Common privileges of moderators include: deleting, merging, moving, and splitting of posts and threads, locking, renaming, stickying of threads, banning, suspending, unsuspending, unbanning, warning the members, or adding, editing, removing the polls of threads. "Junior Modding", "Backseat Modding", or "Forum copping" can refer negatively to the behavior of ordinary users who take a moderator-like tone in criticizing other members.

 

Essentially, it is the duty of the moderator to manage the day-to-day affairs of a forum or board as it applies to the stream of user contributions and interactions. The relative effectiveness of this user management directly impacts the quality of a forum in general, its appeal, and its usefulness as a community of interrelated users.

As you can see a moderators job is not easy, and I understand that, however just closing topics is sometimes not the best way to handle things. Mods are very often hated for what they do and sometimes for good reason. There has, in the past, been some mods that, once they got the job went on a power trip.  :angry: This is not good for the image of our forums or Tankionline.

 

I've said it before but will repeat it. Feel free to join in the conversation, in fact I encourage you too. We look forward to your input. Many of our younger players look to the staff of Tanki Online for guidance and direction, much the same way a student looks to a teacher or maybe a parent. Mods and Consultants are supposed to have all the answers and be there to help, not to be hard handed, unforgiving enforcers of the rules.

 

You can choose to lock this topic, as it does lean towards breaking of the "no negative or open discussion of the staff" rule, or you can leave it open and see what others think.  But remember your actions sometimes speak louder then words.

 

---

 

"Making a Difference One Report at a Time"

Edited October 18, 2014 by Canadian_Eh

[jokersus.cava 1,503]

If you aren't happy with it, you can send an email to claim@tankionline.com

[lordmostafa 3,821]

I can assure you that mods don't close topics like that, we close topics in this section in two cases. 1. we are completely sure that answer is complete.

2. when the author of the topic himself says that that problem is solved.

If you think a moderator is closing topics while they aren't full answered or have any sort of complain about a moderators work, send it to @Yele.

Edited October 18, 2014 by lordmostafa

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

If you aren't happy with it, you can send an email to claim@tankionline.com

Why is everyone so afraid to discuss things in public view. Sending an E-mail accomplishes nothing, as it does not promote discussion which may make things better for everyone. Great ideas come from discussion. If everyone just excepted things for the way they are we would all still be living in caves. 

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

I can assure you that mods don't close topics like that, we close topics in this section in two cases. 1. we are completely sure that answer is complete.

2. when the author of the topic himself says that that problem is solved.

If you think a moderator is closing topics while they aren't full answered or have any sort of complain about a moderators work, send it to @Yele.

We have all seen it in the past. However, as I said not all mods do it and not all the time. And @Yele and myself have discussed this already in the past.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Canadian_Eh

[lordmostafa 3,821]

As I said, PM @Yele.

[trombone_ftw 734]

Lord, I have had my own thread closed prematurely in this section.

 

(I got it opened up again by PMing the mod who closed it)

[Hatchi04 1]

To Be honest, I agree, Mods just close it for nothing.... 

I ask a question, Someone answers but not correctly.....

The mods are like Closed!

i think that the mods answer the question then close it.... 

Some mods are just plain mean like, and i quote "Good luck with your Clan, BTW its not working out so closed!"

I jst think that mods should be more respectful and be more active to answer any questions made and ACTUALLY be on and reply to messages faster!

 

I am not against mods its jusst they have some Flaws that needs to be corrected to make T.O a better Worldly game!

[blackopspaul 753]

I have seen it, A tanker made a topic explaining a problem, 1 person replied gave him/her the link to a topic, then a moderator closed the topic straight away. One day later the tanker put up another topic, saying that the link player X told him to go into. The topic didn't solve the problem. It was never solved.

[Hatchi04 1]

I have seen it, A tanker made a topic explaining a problem, 1 person replied gave him/her the link to a topic, then a moderator closed the topic straight away. One day later the tanker put up another topic, saying that the link player X told him to go into. The topic didn't solve the problem. It was never solved.

I agree

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

This is not a complaint about any one person. It is a discussion of an issue that has plagued this community too long, and is a discussion long overdue. What are you afraid of?  So far no one is being rude or disrespectful, lets keep it that way people. And did you actually read the whole original post? 

Edited October 18, 2014 by r_Damn_Slow0
quote removed

[lordmostafa 3,821]

I did, and I gave you my answer, nothing else to be said, mistakes rarely happen, if they do, you can always PM the mod or send a message to Yele :)

[blackopspaul 753]

We are not discussing who.

---

Next time I see this I will Pm @Yele .

Edited October 30, 2014 by blackopspaul
quote removed

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

I did, and I gave you my answer, nothing else to be said, mistakes rarely happen, if they do, you can always PM the mod or send a message to Yele :)

I never asked a question in the OP. I stated a problem and gave my own opinion for a solution. So there was no answer for you to give. No disrespect to you.

[lordmostafa 3,821]

In that case "answer" can be "response" :P

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

In that case "answer" can be "response" :P

Fair enough. Lets see where this leads. We may be surprised what we learn.

[jokersus.cava 1,503]

Why is everyone so afraid to discuss things in public view. Sending an E-mail accomplishes nothing, as it does not promote discussion which may make things better for everyone. Great ideas come from discussion. If everyone just excepted things for the way they are we would all still be living in caves. 

If you have complaints about rules, send a PM to .

[falcosenna1 8,320]

Firstly this section was made for technical issues only and I think we can agree that this is NOT a technical problem. This kind of threads are to be created in the section 'General'. 

 

Secondly moderators will only close topics when a complete and understandable answer is given or when the author of the topic declares that the problem is solved. When you still think the answer of the problem is obscure or incomplete, feel free to contact the moderator who closed your topic. He's able to re-open it. When you're really displeased or disappointed about the actions of a certain moderator, you can always contact @Yele (Forum Moderators) and @Shar0n or (Chat Moderators) to let them know your complaints. 

 

You can choose to lock this topic, as it does lean towards breaking of the "no negative or open discussion of the staff" rule, or you can leave it open and see what others think.  But remember your actions sometimes speak louder then words.

Thirdly we prefer to keep topics open. We encourage discussion since it keeps the forum alive. However we must close topics that violate the rules! No exceptions! 

[Yele 3,982]

In this section the same questions are being asked over and over again, sometimes the moderators cannot answer because they don't have such information. Moderators know that I ask them to wait for the player to reply whether he solved the problem. This is why I'm surprised by those complaints. I will better monitor this section because I think it's important for players, if you see an unjustified closed topic, send me a PM.

 

This topic will remain open to discuss ways to improve the work of the moderators, but it will be closed if the main subject will be about every moderator's work.

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

Well now this is a surprise

 

In this section the same questions are being asked over and over again, sometimes the moderators cannot answer because they don't have such information. Moderators know that I ask them to wait for the player to reply whether he solved the problem. This is why I'm surprised by those complaints. I will better monitor this section because I think it's important for players, if you see an unjustified closed topic, send me a PM.

 

This topic will remain open to discuss ways to improve the work of the moderators, but it will be closed if the main subject will be about every moderator's work.

 

Thank-you on behalf of the players.

 

I have asked that people do not post any specific incidents in here.This is not about that, it's about improving our forums.

 

I believe that there is no reason to close a topic just because it seems to be solved. Leaving them open hurts no one and actually may save having players repeating topics about the same issue. They could simply carry-on in an already started topic. 

 

 

It has ocurred to me that I did post this in the wrong area. It actually applies to the whole forum in general, and is not a techinical issue as pointed out by @falcosenna1 I'm not sure where the correct place would be.

 

I will say it again, that this is not directed at any one person or incident. I do not wish to offend anyone, but I believe the only way to improve one's self is to learn from other's and to learn from "constructive criticism".

Edited October 19, 2014 by Canadian_Eh

[r_Damn_Slow0 12,476]

In this section the same questions are being asked over and over again, sometimes the moderators cannot answer because they don't have such information. Moderators know that I ask them to wait for the player to reply whether he solved the problem. This is why I'm surprised by those complaints. I will better monitor this section because I think it's important for players, if you see an unjustified closed topic, send me a PM.

 

This topic will remain open to discuss ways to improve the work of the moderators, but it will be closed if the main subject will be about every moderator's work.

Well da big boss said it all there.  It is true mistakes happen from certain mods when they close a topic, or cause they don't have the up-to-date piece of info of the matter and think they got it covered.  Happens even to the best one of us.  But we're always ready to open up a topic if it wasn't satisfactorily completed, its just a matter of sending us or @Yele a pm.

 

Also, not to throw the ball to the other camp or anything, but it would be great to see the OP of a topic reply to it whenever someone answered to it.  Most of the time they don't, they make a topic and then never interact with it again and in these cases it is impossible for the mods to know if the answer given was satisfactory enough.  So yeah, more OP interaction would lubricate that 2 way machine better :)

 

And last, as someone mentioned earlier^{(damn it I can't who, cause we're already on other page > . <)} there are often a lot of topics being made with the same questions over and over and often the best answer is already found in a previous topic which players failed to see cause they didn't even bother to search the forum for it.  

 

The forum: How to use it? - Describes how to use forum and search for stuff

 

How to search for clans - If the above one looks to complicated for you, you can also try this one.  Its the same basic way all across forum,  we just haven't had time for updating the former yet.  (whoever wanna volunteer for it are welcome btw)

[GG_reg 1,521]

I don't think I've ever seen a moderator close a topic when it hasn't been unanswered/not in need of closing. This topic should have the information condensed and sent to the admin of the group. The admin will then decide when a moderator has closed a topic incorrectly. Sometimes moderators will make mistakes - everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect.

 

By the way, just a note to everyone, please be careful discussing work of the moderators.

 

Game Rules: 2.3.22. Express or implicit public discussion of the Administration or moderators of the Game;

Edited October 18, 2014 by Makhlas

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

Sometimes a better answer comes from within the community itself. There are some great minds in this forum but sometimes they miss the opportunity to offer up their info due to premature closure.

 

 

 

Also, not to throw the ball to the other camp or anything, but it would be great to see the OP of a topic reply to it whenever someone answered to it.  Most of the time they don't, they make a topic and then never interact with it again and in these cases it is impossible for the mods to know if the answer given was satisfactory enough.  So yeah, more OP interaction would lubricate that 2 way machine better :)

 

 

 

That is a very good point. The original posters do need to respond to their own posts, but unless they "follow" their own topic or someone "quotes" them they may be unaware there was even a response.  This really shouldn't be an excuse, as they should be able to remember and find what they wrote, but what seems obvious to one is a mystery to others. :huh:

[Canadian_Eh 1,354]

I don't think I've ever seen a moderator close a topic when it hasn't been unanswered/not in need of closing. This topic should have the information condensed and sent to the admin of the group. The admin will then decide when a moderator has closed a topic incorrectly. Sometimes moderators will make mistakes - everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect.

 

By the way, just a note to everyone, please be careful discussing work of the moderators.

 

Game Rules: 2.3.22. Express or implicit public discussion of the Administration or moderators of the Game;

I'm aware of the rule, I mentioned it. However without proper feedback, how can we improve. Ever heard of a review board ? This is kind of what this topic is about. 

 

As to your comment about them closing topics once answered. Again I ask why close them at all? What propose does it serve?  Who does it hurt to leave them open for further discussion? I'm not suggesting that all topics be left open, I'm only suggesting to ask the question "Do I need to close this? and Why?.

[r_Damn_Slow0 12,476]

^ well it depends really.  IDK about other mods and other section, I'm the least forumy mod btw, sticks to only 1 section really.  But consider these 2 cases:

 

how to make a clan war/ tornament with a newly made team 

This one, even though it was answered and the OP seemed satisfied with the answer given, there still isn't any other topics discussing this aspect of the clan gaming, and there isn't any guide either at the moment, though there was one in the past.  So I personally leave it open for whoever needs to comment on that tomorrow and add up something new relating to the subject matter, cause you never know if the subject area is fully covered in that case.  We might have missed a thing or two.

 

how to join a M3 clan in a second

However this one is instantly closed!  The OP itself is unclear.  The topic title seems to have had more thought put into it than the OP itself .  But more importantly that aspect of clan gaming is covered in great depth and all over that whole sub-forum area.  Every single clan section you visit there's a topic pinned right up there for all to see in such a way that you cannot miss them.  Allowing such a topic is as pointless as it gets + a huge waste of time for both the forum moderators who have to keep an eye on it and the hardcore forumers themselves who like to keep updated on as much topics as they can.

 

As for if there needs to be a discussion about it, there's a feedback topic in that section pinned right on top, again, any sensible forumer shouldn't miss that one, and they are free to voice their concerns about related stuff there, plus it has the added benefit of having the eye of the mods/devs monitoring that discussion thread.  If the topic is allowed to remain open in that case then the discussion would get scattered all over the place and it becomes hard for everyone to keep track of valuable feedback.

 

As a clan leader yourself I trust you'll remember this one time we had to close 4 separate topics in order to focus all discussion in 1 place, and it worked out rather well since most of the reasonable feedback received was applied and certain Dev decisions were even reversed in that case as you'd recall 

 

 

 

I hope this answer your questions as to why sometimes it is necessary to close down some topics after answering them compared to when we can allow to leave threads open for discussion even after they got answered.