Scratch

Vista4563 wrote:

Agh, I'm clueless...

BAN THEM, BAN THEM ALL!!!

Jk, find the problem and stab a wooden steak through its heart (NOT a typo).

Last edited by juststickman (2010-05-31 14:13:35)

I'd like to say that I know the answer, but I don't think I do - considering that my moderating experience is... minimal, to say the least.

From my viewpoint, perhaps postpone the election, then reopen it when things seem to have calmed down? Or maybe just close the threads that are heating up the most for a while..?

I'm not really sure 

Vista4563 wrote:

It's rarely that a moderator asks help from another... but whatever. xP

Actually, Scratch mods ask each other for opinions / thoughts about different situations a lot. It really helps to get more perspectives when trying to address a problem, or decide what action to take.

Vista4563 wrote:

Getting to the point, I see that the TBG elections have been the source of all complaints, reports, and flames so far. Can anyone suggest as to what I should do?

Hmmm... I'm not too familiar with the specifics of the situation with the TBGs - maybe you can summarize what's going on, and then we can offer some suggestions?

How's this coming?

Vista4563 wrote:

How's this coming?

What do you expect them to do?

Vista4563 wrote:

Help with the investigation of the TBG election.

Just so both of you know, I'll be asking the moderators to delete this thread afterwards...

Don't ask for it to be deleted just yet. I just read over the TBG election posts and noticed a lot of things going wrong. Watch out for this post - a semi-massive wall of text is going to be put here later when I figure out the forum posting issue on my computer. 

EDIT:
Okay, the issues about the TBG elections seem to go a bit more farther than simply investigation over voting fraud. Aside from issue with Selectricity, you have issues over the list of official candidates, arguments over a candidate's integrity, and fighting between candidates themselves.

For the issue about the official lost of candidates: I have this sense that there is something amiss, perhaps chaotic. I'm not really a person who visits the TBG much (I usually "window-shop" at art threads), so I'm going guess here that there was no public specified time and date to when applications for candidacy was to be closed, or, if there was, it wasn't clear enough. If it's the former, agree on a deadline date that most TBGers are able to meet; if it's the latter, find a way to specify the deadline date clearly where it will not be missed easily by those interested (and perhaps waiting for the last minute for whatever personal reason  ).

For the issue about integrity: Obviously, TBGers do have preferences and have reasons for voting against a certain candidate. If someone feels a candidate isn't up to the job, the need to prove this to let other TBGers know before voting closes usually ends up in attacking the candidates, which seems to have erupted into semi-flame wars. I have a feeling that this will also be an issue in future elections, and it might turn rather ugly. It's hard to say here what a possible solution could be because, with all honesty, I do believe that the TBGers should be able to say why they will be voting for or against a particular candidate. So there has to be a way for people to reason out why people are picking their candidates for whatever reason, without it turning ugly. (Maybe a way for users to submit [reasonable] questions to candidates and have the candidates answer them? Usually asking questions can give insight to a candidate's character and integrity.)

For the issue about candidate fighting: it ties in similarly with the issue above because it deals with the integrity of a candidate's character. (Some of there are rather a bit serious, in my opinion, and raise big questions about the candidate's ability to moderate accordingly). I'm assuming that the Scratch Team and TBG moderators will have a final say, so best thing I could suggest is to bring up these issues to the Scratch Team before a final call on moderatorship is made. Another option, although harsher, is to revoke candidacy for candidates getting into serious fighting (hopefully you won't need to resort to something like that).

Now back to the issue with the voting: Yes, we all know about Selectricity's pros and cons, with the biggest con being the ability to bypass the voting limit via clearing the browser cache. You have a secondary voting poll in there that forces people to put in their Scratch username, which is good, but I would suggest also adding a section on the forums where users can write in an answer and explain how they voted (I suppose this also ties in with the candidate integrity issue because it does give a place where users can voice out why they voted for a particular candidate and against a another one). I believe SurveyMonkey could also be used here: SurveyMonkey uses IP identification, which could help against voting fraud.

Wow, I typed a lot. Hopefully I got my point out across straight. Feel free to ask questions about what I've said in case I wasn't clear.

Last edited by cheddargirl (2010-05-31 19:54:39)

Vista4563 wrote:

Will do. Thanks! 

If your using Firefox, and your posts are deleting themselves, try the Lazarus add-on. It's worked for me so far.

Done with my post (look above).

I'm using Flock. For some reason, my log-in status is being timed out. 

Vista4563 wrote:

Uh... I'm particularly fond of long writing, but this is kind of hard to grasp at once...
can you create a "in-a-nutshell" version so I can understand it better? Like a bulleted list? You typed a whole page in Word! 

In a nutshell:
- You have fights over the official list of candidates. You need to find the source of confusion and rectify the problem.
- You have people questioning other people's candidacy. You need to find some happy medium where people are able to share opinions about other candidates without it erupting into a flame war.
- You have candidates fighting each other, you need to find a way to encourage them to stop.
- Last, you may want to consider something other than Selectricity, particularly a voting site that uses IP identification and gives more leeway in getting answers and opinions from voters.

I'm still going to ask you to read my long post though because it provides insights as to why it might be happening and how to possibly solve it. I didn't real through 13 pages of TBG posts and typed a huge text wall for nothin'. 

Last edited by cheddargirl (2010-05-31 20:25:58)

I sticked up a discussion topic; is it missing any critical points?

You've closed the other topics, it should all settle by itself now. 

I've noticed that even though you closed all the flamely threads, you barely reacted to it in an actual post. Believe me, strong-worded warnings work really good. I'd suggest for you to actually state your opinion regarding those ugly fights there.

Should you notice any more flame wars after you reopen those threads, jump in immediately and threaten to close them again... also, a good thing is to participate in the actual discussions. That way you will be able to control and direct the discussions and avoid resorting to warnings.

Cheers! ^^

P.S. I voted 

You said you wouldn't leak word about the election... 

Looks to me like CDG's and MRN's posts say it all - and very eloquently. I've very little to add.

Moderation is hard to do. I think you are handling things admirably now, but it's not an easy situation.

Before the next election, it would be a good idea to start a discussion about what didn't work, and what changes to put in place. It can be hard to admit when something has failed or broken down, but the act of doing so creates new possibilities for solutions. And it is a good idea to remind the TBG community that this is _their_ space. Its continued survival or failure depends on their choices. Mods have some power - (just like elected politicians do) but ultimately it's the people who are responsible.