Did you all know that the private, password-protected forums can be read by ALL mods? Even mods who do not have a reason to be there (i.e. either have that particular issue/need, or are the moderator of the forum). Just thought everyone should know! It's a policy of TS that I have had a problem with for a long time, ever since I found out by seeing all the mod names at the bottom of the screen in the particular private forum in which I participate. I wondered what they were doing there, got told all mods have access to all private forums, and nope, there isn't going to be a policy change. Sorry, but I disagree with this practice, and I'm betting some of you (the members of TS who use private forums) won't be happy to know this either. Why does a mod who has no business in the mental health, religion, abuse, or other sensitive areas need to have access to that forum?
My question for you Kelly, is, who are you to decide their reasoning for being in there? How are you for certain that every mod you have ever seen in there does not belong if they have never posted?
Thank you very much Becky for posting that question. Many on TS do not know my religious beliefs (or lack there of) or how I'm doing mentally. Ridiculous.
We have standards set in place to deal with sensitive areas of the site. We select mods who we believe will follow these standards and practices. Yes, we can. But we don't unless there is a need.
Really? Mods that I know and have stated their religious beliefs "need" the forum for Atheists, Agnostics, and Alternative Believers? BTW, I'm just not talking about the AAA forum, let's not make it about that. It is true that ALL mods have access to ALL private forums. Why, I ask? Thanks for saying this is a ridiculous question. That's real nice.
:hi: Your welcome. Kelly, you know what? I don't speak up much against anyone, I don't let my real feelings come out to often, I try really hard to stay neutral with things that don't really involve me directly BUT I don't think your thread was just asking a question. You even stated "everyone should know!" so you are trying to cause a stir. Well, you've stirred. It is the way it is and I guess I'm trying to understand what your intentions are with this thread because it's just not as innocent as you are making it out to be.
It's something that's bothered me about TS for a long time, and I never got an answer besides "that's just the way it is." I do think everyone should know that their private forums aren't as private as they might have thought. It would be nice to finally get an answer on that one. Maybe if more people knew about this aspect of TS, we could get a change?
Yes, we can read in every forum if we want to. That is why we have moderators, to moderate. If a mod reads something and is concerned about it, she can get some help from other mods. That is why mods have access. We are a team and we often help each other. We try our best to keep this site clean and safe, in order to do that we need to have people working to keep it that way, hence none of the forums on this site have a free for all policy.
If we were truly as manipulative as you say, we would have closed this thread and moved it or deleted it. We have nothing to hide with regard to this topic. The mods of the sensitive forums know who has been visiting the forum and threads and would request that others not do so. We DO have practices in place for our more sensitive forums and your personal information is quite safe. I can't vouch for everyone, but I think that everyone is quite respectful of that.
Why would Snitten's question be ridiculous? Just because you don't agree? I can imagine that many moderators would have reason or interest in joining private forums; but why have them all automatically signed up? Why not ask them to request passwords like everyone else? We have a couple of very sensitive forums (support for abuse, wellness for life, etc.) and it seems that only people who feel they need to participate should have access in order to support the privacy needs of the people participating. I don't mean to say that mods are just sitting around playing voyeur. I simply don't understand why mods would automatically be provided access to forums they don't moderate.
Like I said earlier, it just seems like there is more then a simple question here. It sounds like mods are just reading in these forums and there is no evidence of that at all. All assumptions. Or maybe I just didn't agree... who knows!
I've been on other sites with private forums, and they do not have an "all mods have access to all private forums" policy. Frankly, there's no need for it. If the mod of that particular forum is having an issue and needs back-up, she can refer it to the admin, or can cut and paste the text of that thread to the mod room if it's an issue that truly needs more input than just that mod and the admins. There are SO many mods on this site, I just don't see why they all need access to every forum. Sure, you guys are on your honor not to go into the sensitive forums, but who's to say someone just doesn't get bored and wander into that forum? Or sees that there's a lot of action on a particular forum and decides to take a look?
Yes, I as I said, I thought everyone on TS should know. I didn't know about it until I joined a private forum. So, there's my big agenda, besides asking a question.
[font="arial][size="3"] [/size][/font] [font="arial][size="3"]So what do you suggest? Members taking screen shots when they see mods not related to the forum, reading threads?[/size][/font]
First of all, I'd like to caution everybody here not to discuss any specific posts or members of any of the password protected forums. They are private, meaning they aren't available to just anybody, and that privacy should be respected. And before I get jumped on for that last statement I'd like to say that the mods DO respect the privacy of those forums. Kelly, what exactly do you want? Obviously several other discussions on this subject haven't solved the problem.
It's a legitimate question, but the very best I can tell you is that if a mod reads a topic in a forum they don't belong in (and again, how do we really know they don't belong?) then the mods of that forum will contact them and find out their intentions and ask them to respect the privacy of the users of that forum. Or, perhaps they need to be there and are shy about getting started. The mods of those very sensitive forums will encourage them to go in and gain the support of the forum. I don't know how to tell you that I'm responding to this in the most truthful way that I can. The mods have asked the ENTIRE mod room to not go in if you don't belong and they do so in private on an as needed basis. They have their own sensitive information in there. We don't typically have a need to moderate those forums listed above as much because there have never been TOS violations that have occurred (to my knowledge) in those forums. I realize that this isn't going to satisfy the OP's question as I don't see a change to this on the horizon and I see that's what she's getting at.
Only mods who have business in that forum - for example, are the mod of the umbrella forum, or have that particular need and participate in that forum - should have access to that forum. Admins of course have access to all forums. I don't think that's unreasonable.
I'm sure every forum on the internet has different policies and terms, it's up the owners of those sites to determine how to best run them. Our non-public forums are password protected, I wouldn't call them private. This is to protect our members from those posts being indexed by search engines and viewable by anyone who comes to our site. I'm sorry that you are unhappy with our site policies and administration.
Fair enough. If nothing is going to change, then I think the members of TS have a right to know what exactly the password protected forums' parameters are on here. I was mistaken when I first joined one, and was surprised to see the members who I *know* don't belong reading the forum. If a mod needs/wants access to that forum, they could just ask for the password like any other member. It has calmed down (mods reading the forum in which I belong), but it still happens when our forum gets "exciting" or someone say has big news.
When I am in Wellness and I see a mod who is not a regular in there, it bugs me. BUT I have no reason to know if they belong in there or not. Who am I to say that they don't need help but are afraid to post, so they lurk?? The same can be said for any forum on TS. And quite honestly, it's the internet. If there is something that you (general you) are uncertain or uneasy about posting, then maybe it's best to keep it to yourself until you feel more comfortable. Or just throw caution to the wind and lay it out there and assume that you will never meet anyone IRL that cares about what you post. ardon:
Diane, thank you. I really appreciate your honest response. There seems to be a climate on TS in the last week that anyone questioning a TS policy will be seen as a troublemaker, so thank you for not assuming that just because I had a question (or Snittens had a question), we were being jerks or trying to incite a riot.
It's not unreasonable. The next question I have is how do you know the moderator in question doesn't have business in there? If you're concerned you should contact the moderators of that forum since we have the resources to find out what was actually going on. In any case asking why a mod was in there wouldn't hurt. As a general rule though if anyone sees someone they think shouldn't be in a password protected forum, please contact a moderator with their screen name and reason why they think that person shouldn't be there. If you see objectionable posts in your password protected forum, please report them. If this is an AAA specific problem, may I suggest opening a thread in there so we may discuss it freely? And if one is opened, then yes, please be prepared for a flood of moderators in that forum. If that is uncomfortable for you then maybe this can be hashed out in PMs?
That's exactly the point, Jenny. If we're having an issue in AAA, then why should any mods besides you, Kim, and the admins even be there? To answer your first question, the mods I have seen in AAA have been outspoken elsewhere about their religious beliefs, so I'm pretty confident that they don't belong there. Sure, I could PM you every time it happens, but then I'll just get told the same line about all mods having access to all forums.
Ditto, thanks for not jumping all over me and giving an honest response. I guess it's my last chance at trying to make a change on something that bothers me, combined with knowing it probably won't change, and wanting to make people aware of the situation.
Thank you also for seeing it for what it was! :good: I feel like you know me well enough from the age forums to know that I'm being sincere. At least I hope so! I do agree that it's important especially for people in the forums that Tricia brought up for people to be aware that it's NOT entirely private. Rachel's response was right on, be careful what you post on the internet. It's a fair reminder for people to know. I cannot speak for everyone, but since everyone who reads a thread has their name at the bottom in most forums (even after they leave) those mods know. I am assuming this is true in those forums but it may not be as I don't go in there.
and then after taking a look, decides to comment (and not in a mod-related way) ex: congratulating someone who mentioned a pregnancy or offering sympathy for a death in the family. Nice and all...but would leave one to wonder why said mod read that in the first place.
We discuss site changes as a team, and as you are aware neither Kim or I are AAA ourselves so the input of the other mods who are also AAA themselves is invaluable. PMs, however, can contain up to 30 people. If you'd like to have this discussion targeted towards only the admins and moderators regarding that forum it would be completely doable. Can't knock it until you try it. ardon: I've already received one such report this morning and I'm looking into it. If you're confident they don't belong in there, you don't report it to the mod and it doesn't appear that we are aware of this problem, then how can we solve it? The mods have been asked as a group to respect the privacy of the password protected forums and if you feel like that hasn't happened telling us specifically who or what the problem is will go a long way towards coming to a solution.
As a mod of the password protected subforums in R&P, I just want to reiterate what Jenny has said here. We really do welcome you to contact us whenever you feel there is an issue in any of these subforums. I think I understand the concerns about all mods having access to these intimate subforums where people may be sharing sensitive information. However, we do all have your best interests at heart and that of the website as well. So any time there is a reason for concern or a question, please by all means send us a message and we'll answer to the best of our abilities. We are here to help you and to facilitate operation of this website.
I felt like I've :BDH: about the snoopy mods in AAA thing. But sure! If I see it again, I'll PM you or Kim.
I totally understand the OP feelings on this one and I don't like it either but that being said you don't need to prove yourself to get a passward to any of these forums so anyone could ask for it just to be snoopy too! We are trusting that who is there needs to be there and thats all you can really do. I would limit the info you give if you think that there is a chance that people are just being snoopy.
Kelly I have posed this same question in the past before we had the AAA forum about the Families for Christ forum. If you replace the word(s) AAA with FfC this post would have been a mirror copy. I 100% understand what your feeling. I understand your frustration and wonder of why someone who does not share that belief or lack of or if they are not struggling with an issue why are they lurking in the forum? just because they can? I believe the answer I got back when I posed this question was something like Mods do not make decisions on their own so when there is an issue they discuss it together in the Mod forum and how can they discus something that they are not informed about? I understand that but like you I do not agree that ALL Mods need to be lurking just to be able to make decisions on or help other Mods belonging to that forum make decisions. Honestly I felt like they were just there to see what was going on like how drivers slow down to gawk at a car accident on the side of the road. Even if that driver is a Dr They are not on that team of Drs helping the person/knowing what that person needs to get help. While I agree with you to a point you know I can't agree 100% Kim. I would trust you to Moderate any forum on this site and appreciate your advice on a multitude of topics. I trust that you along with a few other Mods do have members best interest at heart and respect members privacy. I do have a few questions myself now that I typed all that.... Has any member ever been denied access to a private/protected forum? Meaning when they asked for the password they were denied. What does it take to get access other then to ask? Couldn't any member ask for access to AAA or FfC or any other protected forum? Do Mods only have ability to "hide" that they are on the site or is that feature available for all TS members?
