Protesting unfairness and DU's moderating system

[uppityperson]

One thing the last couple days has shown me is how many here do not understand how DU's moderating system works.

Or how to protest what they see as unfairness, whether it is banning or not banning a poster, hiding or not hiding a post, locking or not locking a thread. There are ways to protest that help, and ways that just cause more problems.

Protest what you see as unfairness, whether is is a poster, a post, a lock, a hide. We need to continue to provide input into DU, but please, please, try to do it in a way that causes fewer issues, not create more.

Let me make it simple.

1) At the bottom of EVERY page on DU is a Contact link. That is the best way to contact Admin, or use Ask the Admin forum if you do not mind your questions/comments becoming public once they answer there. Posting in other forums will not get a message to them as they, like the rest of us, do not read everything here. Notice how little they post? Don't assume they would read anything except that which is sent directly to them.

2) DU no longer has Moderators named that. They do, however, have a moderating system.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=modsystem

Instead of utilizing a single group of all-powerful moderators whose job is to handle every aspect of forum moderation (deleting posts, locking threads, banning troublemakers, etc.), we recruit different groups of people to handle different pieces of the system.

DU Juries are made up of discussion forum members who have opted to allow themselves to be selected at random whenever a Jury is needed. Juries handle potential violations of Democratic Underground's Community Standards. For more information see the DU Juries section below.

Forum and Group Hosts are discussion forum members who volunteer to serve in a particular forum or group. Their role is to deal with posts which may violate a particular forum or group's Statement of Purpose. Forum hosts cannot serve for more than 90 days at a time. Group hosts may serve indefinitely. Members must meet certain criteria before they are permitted to serve as Hosts. For more information see the Forum and Group Hosts section below.

The Malicious Intruder Removal Team (MIR Team) is made up of discussion forum members who volunteer to serve. Their role is to keep the discussion forum clear of conservative trolls, spammers, and other undesireables. MIR Team members cannot serve for more than 90 days at a time. Members must meet certain criteria before they are permitted to serve on the MIR Team. For more information see the Malicious Intruder Removal Team section below.

The DU Administrators oversee the operation of the website. They enforce the website Terms of Service, occasionally review decisions made by the MIR Team or Forum Hosts, and deal with long-term members who cause problems. There are three Administrators and they can be contacted here.

There are links within that that lead to more explanations if you so chose to learn about them. Please take time to look through at least this basic information as the more we learn about how this site works, the better for us all.



Thank you.

[NCTraveler]

1. Great op. I appreciate it.

Really not that long of a read and it brings it all together when read.

[uppityperson]

2. Thank you. I encourage everyone to do a volunteer stint as it helps understand as well as actively

partaking in DU. I have seen jury alerts with comments "leave, let the mods deal with it" and a couple times people have alerted on and tried to hide a Host's explanation as to why a thread is being locked to protest the locking of the thread.

There are ways to protest that accomplish change, and ways to protest that don't. Ways to protest that work and ways that cause more problems.

And too many do not understand the system, how to work it, how to make it work. I mean, who reads the information provided unless it is needed?

With star requirements being minimal, even $5 will get you one for a year, am not sure if $1 will, it is possible to volunteer for Host or MIRT and it is a good thing to do.

[MineralMan]

3. I've served as a host a number of times, and on MIRT.

I encourage everyone who qualifies to do that, just for the experience.

I also encourage everyone to read DU's about page and TOS page. Links to both are at the very bottom of every page displayed on DU. There's really no excuse for not reading them.

[uppityperson]

5. Those are also good tools.

[wyldwolf]

6. nor do I

Tyranny of the majority... or something like that.

[zeemike]

7. What I hear is work within the system.

Do not create OPs that may get hundreds of recs and thousands of hits and cause public debate...Is that it?

That is a hard one for me because I am for open debate on all issues and that seems not to be the case for some folks here...but that is just me, and this is not a democricy...and we don't get to vote on it.

[uppityperson]

8. I am not sure how presenting info on the moderating system and how to protest things is

"don't cause public debate".

It is true that t.his is a privately owned forum with its own rules.

I have seen too many DUers not know the info in my OP here, so thought I'd take advantage of the time and post it, hopefully to educate people.

[zeemike]

9. Information is always a good thing.

Thanks for that.

[uppityperson]

10. If I hadn't been on MIRT, I'd probably have ignored all this like I do with "read first" info that

comes with appliances, etc. It all works until it doesn't and I am finally finding that it is good to know how it works before you need to and I am getting old.