Moderating Fora

Further to my post of 14 October 2008, "Moderating Message Boards", once again I have been asked to join a moderating team. Its nice to know that people have such respect for me, and my contributions, to consider me for such a position.

Unfortunately, this time, I believe I am going to have to decline the position. As much as I would like to give something back to this particular forum, I won't have the time this year. I want to concentrate on my Gaelic in my spare time, and, to be honest, I have a feeling we will be very busy at work this year, leaving very little time on the internet to write my online journals, and participate in the various forums where I am a member, let alone undertake any kind of administrative duties for message boards.

Although I've not made any resolutions for this year, I have set myself some goals; one of which is to make headway in my "to be read" list of books, and in order to achieve that goal, I have set another whereby I will reduce the amount of time I spend surfing the internet. I haven't made a start yet, because I now need reading glasses and I am awaiting my prescription but, once I have my glasses, I will work out a timetable to ensure I meet my target of 20 books by December, which I feel is achievable.

So, if it appears I am not writing as much as before, its because I am studying (and practising) more. Either that, or work has indeed become manic.

Moderating Message Boards

Further to my post "Moderating Fora" of 27th May, 2008, I find myself being asked to moderate another pagan message board. Having just asked to "step down" from moderating the forums of a pagan magazine, I'm not sure I am up to the responsibility.

Although I have regular internet access, its on my work computer and my time on the web is limited to "free time" during my shifts at work. Its not the most suitable situation if you are a moderator and have to take action against trolls, mediate in delicate situations or just keep an eye on the messages in general. I'm just not always available and my situation is unlikely to change until the New Year, when I hope to get home internet access.

I felt honoured to be considered for this position, as the fora in question, and many of its members have been good to me. Its undergone several changes, owing to rifts, and its a kind of Marmite to pagans (they either love it or hate it), but those that I respect have remained true to its ethos and so have I. I haven't been privy to most of the rifts, as these seemed to have occurred behind the scenes and, as such, I have been sheltered from a lot of the personality problems of the site. This would all change were I to accept the position as moderator and its something I have to consider carefully, as I dislike personality wars, preferring to stay with those boards that relish good, robust debate based on facts or experience leaving all personal agendas aside.

I have gained so much from participating in said fora, and I feel a debt is owed. In repaying such debt, I want to give 100 per cent. and I am not sure I can commit to that, at this time. I've asked for some time to consider the idea, and its been granted, but, out of respect for administrators, I don't want to leave them hanging without any additional support. I just wish there was a way to cruise the position until 2009, but I don't think that would be fair.

Decisions, decisions ...

A New Class of Pagan Troll

At one of the message boards where I post, we have invented a few terms for various sorts of pagans. One that has been in regular use is IRAB an acronym for "I read a book ...", i.e. those who constantly spout they read this book and it told them all they needed to know about their particular pagan path. Usually, its only the one book or author, but you do get some who read two or three books, but they are always of the awful kind, i.e. bad history, mistaken facts, misguided exercises, etc. This particular message board frowned on these types and made light work of dismissing them from the forum altogether.

This week, one of our regular posters, Nelli, realised that there was a new sort of IRAB, only they used the internet. Nelli coined the term "Google Botherer" with the accompanying acronym "GB". These are those pagans who are full of their own self-importance and post whole swathes of information on message boards. However, the canny pagan poster can soon detect that this is not the usual writing style of the GB and goes in search of the text on the internet, only to find the GB has googled one or two salient words and then "cut and paste" the information from another website.

Rather than referencing the site to prove a particular point, the GB seek to affirm their position as the great know-it-all by blatantly posting information as though it were their own. The GB is often ignorant of the fact that most people know how to use Google and have encountered Wikipedia several times before. When someone else on the message board points out the copyright breach (and the possible legal ramifications for the owner of said board), the GB will claim ignorance; even when referred to the copyright notice on the website from which they pilfered the information in the first instance.

I've encountered these types before, mostly at the Pentacle message boards, where such behaviour is swiftly intercepted and the offending GB is told to desist posting without the appropriate links and/or acknowledgements to the original website/author. And, yes, they often claim ingorance, but they are soon reminded that "ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law".

What I find sad about GBs is that by cutting and pasting whole swathes of text belonging to others, it almost appears as though they have no opinions or thoughts of their own. The number of times I've questioned people on posts, only to find that they "read it in a book" (though I later find they cut and paste from a website) and its not really their own opinion. Then, why do GBs or IRABs bother posting? Its smacks of trollish behaviour to me and I find it offensive in some instances. Its as though the other posters are just there to be played with - the GB dangling tid-bits of information (from other sites) in front of them in order to keep them happy.

To paraphrase that old maxim: "If you've got nothing to say then keep your mouth shut (or refrain from posting) and be thought a fool, rather than post words that are obviously not your own and be known as an idiot."

I wonder how prolific this behaviour has become if others have noticed it?

Trolls

If anyone out there who owns a forum wants a particularly pesky troll to play with, or if you just want the pleasure of killing one, I've just encountered one in my new role as a moderator that I will be happy to send your way.

I have to warn any trollhunters who may be interested that this one is underage (being 16) and so its awfully clumsy in its attempts to gain access to closed fora. It does leave a trail in other fora wherein it positively states its is underage and living at home. However, it claims that this is a typographical error when told its too young for most occult fora and that this is a legal matter in some countries.

It also moans a lot about how difficult it is to learn anything [about traditional witchcraft] from the internet. This one is particularly annoying in that it continously changes its IP address in order to avoid being banned. Unfortunately, it doesn't change its spelling errors, syntax or remove its profiles from other fora thereby making it easy to catch out. Oh, and its tries to be tricksy in that it says its leaving your forum, it will leave you alone and within 24 hours its trying to get back on.

So, any troll hunters willing to take this one on?

Moderating Fora

Well, one of the fora that I frequent have decided to set up a separate section for those new to ideas of Irish paganism and Irish witchcraft. So far, its been a very closed site, allowing new members only through invitation. I was very lucky to have received such an invitation after I kept asking questions of one of its members, who frequents An Fianna.

I am still a beginner, having started on a heathen path, which originated with Anglo-Saxon interests. When I made the transition, after a freak encounter, I started to trawl information about Irish paganism on the internet, only to find it overloaded with pages from delusional and/or uninformed writers. Even my limited grasp of Irish history and society told me that what I was reading was unreliable at best. Bibliographies were missing, and those that were in place were loaded with authors I knew to be doling out fodder for fires - see the ancient Irish potato goddess of one particularly prolific author.

I joined ITW in February of last year and have been asking questions, on an off, since that time. With trepidation, I consented to moderating the fora for new members of ITW. I have to admit to having some doubts, as I cannot answer the questions of fellow seekers at this point; I am still reading ferociously and trying to absorb the meanings behind texts, whilst getting a good grasp on history. It can be overwhelming and somewhat confusing - I just hope that other newcomers won't be put off by the work involved in treading a traditional path.