Moderation of MDC - What do you think? - Page 31

[trekkingirl]

I think what's really missing isn't the way we used to be moderated. What's really missing is Mothering Magazine! That's what I miss. I feel less meaning and centeredness sice the magazine isn't around anymore.

[coffeegirl]

Originally Posted by Subhuti 

I hear you.

But I don't think the low traffic has to do with the moderation.  I think it has to do with tech-stuff:  I think the switch to this new platform made it harder to use on many computers.  I think people have begun to switch to "devices" (such as iPhones) that are not (without adding an App) supporting this format.  Plus, when you are using a tiny, screen keyboard on a device, you are not apt to type many posts.  

Finally ... my sense is FB has taken away much of the traffic here.  I don't use FB but I've seen another fav forum (a dog forum) of mine just slow to a crawl, and people have complained of people migrating to FB.  

It's sad.  I much prefer the stored threads and meaningful, more in depth conversation of a forum like MDC to the choppy, atomized blips of back-and-forth you find on FB (from what I understand).

I don't know what the numbers are, but my sense is the post count here must be down by at least 50%.  Just compare TAO of the old days to now.  Now, the threads from several days ago are still on the top page.  It used to be that there would be three or four pages of TAO threads each day, right?

I think that the reason for the low-traffic is four-pronged-- both of the things you mention, moderation and the new format, plus the elimination of the magazine, plus a shift in attitudes about AP/NFL in general (I think) in the online mommy culture. I don't think that this has as much to do with the relevance or lack thereof of these philosophies as much as it has to do with the way these things go....whenever a movement has a big "moment" in the culture, there's going to be the eventual let-down or backlash or whatever you want to call it. The true believers will stick around, as will those who were maybe never into it so much as a lifestyle "fad"....people, like me, who never thought of themselves as "AP people" but just found some usefulness and some wisdom in NFL and babywearing and GD and who loved and still love the breastfeeding support, etc.

That's just my opinion, I could be totally off-base. I don't have my finger on the pulse of the culture so much as I've seen this kind of thing happen with other big lifestyle movements like AP. (I do know, btw, that AP and NFL have been around for a LONG time, but it only really hit the mainstream a few years ago.)

Also I wouldn't underestimate the format change. I already posted about this before and don't want to beat a dead horse if there's nothing the admin can do about it. But when they first changed over, I absolutely couldn't come over anymore. It took 5 minutes for a page to load sometimes, and there were several glitches such as trying to pay to get back a spot in the Trading Post and not being able to do it, etc. I know I can't have been the only one. I came back when I started using a new browser that was faster in general. So that's been ironed out, but I imagine a lot of the others who left have just never come back.

[ShadowMoon]

Originally Posted by CariOfOz 

I disagree with the bolded bit.. I know that when *I* come across a thread full of snark & see people verbally attacked, I'm not really encouraged to come back.  I visit mothering FAR less than I used to, I would often be here several times a day... now if I come in once a week I'm surprised.  If I wanted threads full of snark and 'mainstream' ideas, I could go to any number of OTHER parenting sites... Mothering has lost it's focus, and I don't see it regaining even a shred of it's former 'glory' so to speak.

Yes! Exactly. Though the new format does turn me off as well.....hard to navigate and I hate the Facebook/social media direction it's taken. It used to be a breath of fresh air compared to other parenting site options out there. Now, not so much. I really would love to know why the managing body thought this was the best direction, especially since this switch seemed so sudden. (Though I understand these decisions may have been months or years in the making). I'm glad I got to enjoy it when I did.

It's definitely lost it's focus, I feel like Mothering is grasping at everything....and going nowhere with it.

[coffeegirl]

OK....in response to the last couple replies....MDC definitely decided on a format change, but was there a conscious decision made by the Powers That Be to move into a more "mainstream"direction? (I ask because I haven't seen any evidence of that, so I assume the answer is a big NO.)

[Agatha_Ann]

I could be way off base here, but sometimes I think people cry mainstream when everyone doesn't agree with them. I don't personally think we all have to agree on everything all the time in order to be a community of like-minded mamas. I also think anyone who thinks this board is mainstream has never actually browsed a mainstream forum.

[coffeegirl]

Originally Posted by Agatha_Ann 

I could be way off base here, but sometimes I think people cry mainstream when everyone doesn't agree with them. I don't personally think we all have to agree on everything all the time in order to be a community of like-minded mamas. I also think anyone who thinks this board is mainstream has never actually browsed a mainstream forum.

Oh yeah, I absolutely think that too.

[contactmaya]

Most of the forums seem fine to me as far as their crunchiness value is concerned. The only exception is the 'gentle discipline'  forums which i now avoid because they are just too mainstream to me. Maybe things have changed, i dont know, but i just dont bother anymore.  The recent witchhunt in the aldort thread was really just the same sort of thing. I contributed so there could be at least one voice who wasnt part of the witch hunt. 

I vote for a middle ground when it comes to moderation.

[Lillian J]

It seems to me that a lot of the problems that have been mentioned are just from the fact that this is part of the Internet - there are all types of people with all types of philosophies and backgrounds coming into what was once a quieter little neighborhood with more shared values. I haven't seen much in the way of snarkiness or animosity in the homeschool forum - in fact, I didn't even know it was allowed anywhere in the site, so much of this thread has come as quite a surprise to me. I've noticed that I no longer have much interest in participating in a meeting place were the mainstream attitude about education has become so strong that I don't feel particularly welcome or comfortable offering a more alternative viewpoint - but that's not Mothering's fault so much as just the way things are flowing.

Mothering Magazine used to be such a wonderful haven for gentle support - I hate to see it faced with all these problems, but I guess that's just what naturally happens when moving into more of the bigger world of online communication. And it isn't as if this is a nonprofit organization - people are needing to support themselves and their families with this business - so it has to do what it has to do in order to keep revenue flowing. I hope its able to do that with a tighter moderation policy, though, so it can be a resource where people can find ways to have safe-feeling and comfortable discussions and exchange information and support around the kinds of issues it's always been such a great resource for. Mothering has meant a lot to me and my family and to a whole lot of other families, and I sure hope it can manage to smoothly navigate through these currently rather confusing waters.    - Lillian

[coffeegirl]

Originally Posted by contactmaya 

Most of the forums seem fine to me as far as their crunchiness value is concerned. The only exception is the 'gentle discipline'  forums which i now avoid because they are just too mainstream to me. Maybe things have changed, i dont know, but i just dont bother anymore.  The recent witchhunt in the aldort thread was really just the same sort of thing. I contributed so there could be at least one voice who wasnt part of the witch hunt. 

I vote for a middle ground when it comes to moderation.

Witch hunt? How was it a witch hunt?

[Adaline'sMama]

So, Im interested in how much longer this poll will be available for voting. Will it close at some point? Have any decisions been made about anything as far as moderation is concerned. As a lot of people predicted, things have calmed way way down compared to where they were about 6 weeks ago. i think people are just sick of arguing. I havent seen any huge displays of rudness or name calling, so I think people are learning to moderate themselves more.

[Cynthia Mosher]

I'll be closing it this week and posting a summation of how we'll proceed. 

[Cynthia Mosher]

Okay, summing things up.

From the poll and the posts as well as some PMs and emails we've received, we find that most of you like the more hands-off moderation that we put into place a couple of months ago. However, we also understand that many of you feel we've stepped back too much and a bit more moderation is needed. So, something between where we were and where we are now. There are a few other things raised that we want to address too. So, here's our plan:

MODERATION

• We will identify and make known what the core values of Mothering are and we will work to protect those values in discussions. We will make room for people new to AP  - meeting moms where they are - but they must come to our community with a desire to examine, discuss, and learn, and not defend or validate their beliefs and practices that are contrary to our core values.  
• We will be more active in reviewing discussions for posting behavior that is deterring from the comfortable, respectful, and courteous atmosphere we wish to uphold. 
• We will moderate directly within the discussion. This might be done in one of several ways:
   

• A post to the discussion to remind everyone of the rules and ask them to post appropriately.
• A post to explain Mothering's focus and purpose to make new members aware of what our community is about
• A post to the discussion to point out inappropriate posting behavior and where necessary ask the member(s) to edit.
• Removing posts that are extremely inappropriate and posting to the thread to explain what and why.

1. Removing the membership of those whose activity proves to be for the purpose of disruption or drama. Notification and explanation will be sent via email.

Any of these approaches might also be followed up by a PM to the member to clarify violations and issue a reminder, alert or warning. But where possible we want to moderate directly in the thread rather than via PM and post or thread removal. We will reserve removals for the very severe situations. However, sometimes we need to close a thread to read through and see what's going on and address issues without it continuing to be posted to.  Likewise, when threads that have gone beyond the point of salvage and where the conversation has run it's course we may decide it best to close with a note explaining why and leave the discussion in place for reading.

GUIDELINES

We will review specific forum guidelines and make changes or clarifications where needed. Those guidelines will serve as forum policies and especially for our core forums where we need very clear rules to uphold the integrity of the forum.

THE KITCHEN TABLE

There have been some complaints about "abuse of power" or of policy enforcement being unfair. To make things more transparent and give members an option to have their issue reviewed we are opening up a grievance process. The Kitchen Table will allow you to present what you feel was unjust judgment and policy enforcement against you as a member. It can be a public or private "hearing" where you can air your grievance to a panel of members from the community for judgment. We are working out the procedures and guidelines and will launch this soon.

 

I'd like to close this thread so that we end it with this post. I will also post a new thread with this as the first post so if you have any questions or comments about anything you can do so there.

 

Thank you all for the ideas and feedback. It was very helpful to hear from you all so that we can make firm decisions to move forward with our moderation.