PMing Users When You Delete Their Posts

[Jamie]

I've been a member since 2012 and I have not once
once

EVER

been PMed after my post was deleted. Never. When I was a staff member, I remember us addressing this issue, and myself I PMed people after deleting their posts, and we encouraged all staff members to do so, unless it was an obvious one like they posted porn. But nowadays, it seems that courtesy has been lost, and a user can't even get a dang PM when their posts are mass deleted.

So, should mods PM a user when they delete their post for no justifiable reason (not even replying in the thread where the posts were deleted and indicating why the dang posts are gone)?

 

[Vanessa28]

This. The last time when a fellow mod removed posts, I got some questions why the posts were deleted. I posted a reply to let people know why. If you don't do that, people keep on asking questions. And the wrong ideas might be brought up and people could think it's because of a personal vendetta or something. I would like to know the reason too if a post of mine got deleted. So yeah, this is definitely something that should be done at all times.

 

[A Link In Time]

A lot of problems are simple issues that are caused by a lack of communication. I know I myself didn't notify MattMVS7 when I moved several of his MD threads to the trash section, but I think it sets a good precedent when the moderators are transparent with the users of the forum. There shouldn't be any sudden surprises.

 

[Krazy4Krash]

This is a good action, it's the best way to clarify when it may be unclear why a post was removed. The iffy point is when it becomes unclear. Like you say, if it was obvious why then it doesn't matter.

 

[Jamie]

This is a good action, it's the best way to clarify when it may be unclear why a post was removed. The iffy point is when it becomes unclear. Like you say, if it was obvious why then it doesn't matter.

Yeah, such as when you post a picture and it's deleted, that's rather unclear.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Yes, I do think members should be PMed if their posts are deleted.

I know that atleast once or twice I got a post deleted but I already knew why they were being deleted anyway (a spam post, and one time I placed a link to the Hyrule Refuge SB in a post...).

I do think there should be better communication though.

 

[Guest_1]

Stealth modding is never the way to go. Sure, talking to members when you delete their PMs/posts is harder to do, but you have to think about the long term consequences of your actions and not just the short term pay of off "oh, this user will just get upset at me if I say anything". Like, seriously, even just going into a thread and asking people not to post certain content would go a long way than deleting and not saying anything at all.

Just sayin'.

 

[Dan]

Not sure what's got into Krazy recently but yeah stealth modding isn't the correct path to handle situations.

 

[Maniacal Ezlo]

I can recall 2 times in the past when I had a post deleted, and both times, the staff member in question (Jimmy and Vee) explained why it was deleted. So maybe it's a case of certain mods not following protocol, idk, but in my experience with those two in particular, I was informed, and I think people should be every time, regardless of the circumstances. Even if someone posts something that they know is against the rules, they should still be warned instead of simply having their posts deleted with no explanation. It's something that I see quite often around here, and of the current staff, I've only really seen Jimmy and Vee warn people of deleted posts. Perhaps there needs to be better communication amongst the staff, there definitely needs to be better communication between the staff and members.

This isn't to say the staff aren't doing their jobs, I just thing the whole communication issue needs to be solved. At this point, it can be hard to tell what kind of posts would be allowed or not, so everybody deserves an explanation when their posts are removed. It's not very hard to hit the conversations button and say "your post was deleted because it was considered spammy." That's all it takes. Some staff do this all the time, some don't. It needs to be something they all do to avoid problems like what happened earlier.

 

[Jamie]

Stealth modding is never the way to go. Sure, talking to members when you delete their PMs/posts is harder to do, but you have to think about the long term consequences of your actions and not just the short term pay of off "oh, this user will just get upset at me if I say anything". Like, seriously, even just going into a thread and asking people not to post certain content would go a long way than deleting and not saying anything at all.

Just sayin'.

If you can't take users being upset at you, you shouldn't be a mod to begin with.


I think there's some weird mindset where "troublemakers" don't need to be told what they did wrong because they simply "know" it.

 

[Link Floyd]

I had a post deleted once and wasn't informed. I thought it was odd, and I felt like they should have explained to me why my post was deleted.

 

[Pen]

As far as I know I have had at least one post deleted by a mod during my time here at the forums, and I received no message at all about why it was removed. I didn't care enough to bring it up, but I do think it's a good idea if the mod who deletes a post somehow contacts the person who made the post so that they can know what they did wrong and don't make the same "mistake" again.

 

[Dan]

I can recall 2 times in the past when I had a post deleted, and both times, the staff member in question (Jimmy and Vee) explained why it was deleted. So maybe it's a case of certain mods not following protocol, idk, but in my experience with those two in particular, I was informed, and I think people should be every time, regardless of the circumstances. Even if someone posts something that they know is against the rules, they should still be warned instead of simply having their posts deleted with no explanation. It's something that I see quite often around here, and of the current staff, I've only really seen Jimmy and Vee warn people of deleted posts. Perhaps there needs to be better communication amongst the staff, there definitely needs to be better communication between the staff and members.

This isn't to say the staff aren't doing their jobs, I just thing the whole communication issue needs to be solved. At this point, it can be hard to tell what kind of posts would be allowed or not, so everybody deserves an explanation when their posts are removed. It's not very hard to hit the conversations button and say "your post was deleted because it was considered spammy." That's all it takes. Some staff does this all the time, some don't. It needs to be something they all do to avoid problems like what happened earlier.

Vanessa is an o.g mod, she's pretty skilled in her duties and rarely makes mistakes I've found. Jimmy has real life experience managing people so both of them are going to know a little more about dealing with people.
I would like to know which mod seems to be deleting posts without question though.

 

[Guest_1]

If you can't take users being upset at you, you shouldn't be a mod to begin with.


I think there's some weird mindset where "troublemakers" don't need to be told what they did wrong because they simply "know" it.

I completely agree. Being a mod is not an easy job to begin with, but if you lack the emotional maturity to deal with criticism or even downright vitriol, you probably shouldn't be a mod at all.

Assuming is a dangerous thing to do. Rules change, and so do the members that come here. What might seem obvious to one person might not register to someone else, although I think the amount of years one has been a member of the community should be a factor. A long time member should know the rules far more than a newer member.

I had a post deleted once and wasn't informed. I thought it was odd, and I felt like they should have explained to me why my post was deleted.

As far as I know I have had at least one post deleted by a mod during my time here at the forums, and I received no message at all about why it was removed. I didn't care enough to bring it up, but I do think it's a good idea if the mod who deletes a post somehow contacts the person who made the post so that they can know what they did wrong and don't make the same "mistake" again.

See, that's something I don't understand. Stealth moderating never accomplishes anything positive. It is better to go in and explain your actions than to be a ghost and delete posts without any explanation what so ever. On top of that, it doesn't actually address the behavior in any meaningful way. If you're going to delete posts, at least say why, be it in the thread or in a PM. Communication really goes a long way in preventing disputes of all kinds.

Vanessa is an o.g mod, she's pretty skilled in her duties and rarely makes mistakes I've found. Jimmy has real life experience managing people so both of them are going to know a little more about dealing with people.
I would like to know which mod seems to be deleting posts without question though.

While I'm curious myself, I'm not sure how productive it would be to single mods out. I've seen it happen in other threads, and it only leads to frustration on both sides. No one should be going into threads and stealth modding to begin with. If you want the community to respect you as a mod or admin, show some respect back by explaining why you've taken the actions that you have. Members might not like the actions you've taken, but not explaining yourself only serves to make the experience more negative on both sides. A wall of text isn't necessary, just a simple explanation will suffice unless the situation dictates otherwise.

EDIT: While I'm on this subject, we should all remember that moderators are members, too. You should never respond to a mod's actions with downright vitriol, that will not accomplish anything on your end at all. If you approach a mod and are reasonable about your request/complaint, you will get a much more positive response than telling the moderators to "go **** themselves" or "go to hell". It goes both ways, guys.

 

[Nathanial Rumphol-Janc]

This is one thing I absolutely love about IPB. When a post is deleted I can force it so mods have to type in a reason for deletion. That reason is then automatically pm'd to the user's who post was deleted. It created a really smooth way to moderate while not creating more work for the mods that is unreasonable while automating the whole process. IPB really just has a lot more robust options for moderation in general.

Setting that aside, I think it's absolutely essential that there is a form of a communication about post deletion. I specifically think PM's is the best way to do it. While leaving a warning in a thread can work, reality is that unless that warning is too several members at once, it can seem out of place to any new person coming in. A simple email that says "x post was deleted in y thread because of reasons" will suffice. They may disagree, but at least they know what caused the deletion.

Assuming things are obvious and easily understood shouldn't be a thing mods do. IE, let's say someone posts a picture of literal porn. Obvious post deletion is going to occur - but maybe the user doesn't know the rules or doesn't fully think porn is disallowed. So even in the most obvious of cases, it's good to PM the member anyways.

Obviously repeated offenses of the same kind after being informed requires harsher actions.

Honestly, this should be a standard.